《The world turned into a game after I woke up》 Prologue The voice came out of nowhere. "Ah! Ah! Can you hear me? The test is over." It wasn''t a language anyone from anywhere in the world spoke, but it reverberated clearly throughout the planet. People''s heads could only gravitate towards the sky, where the never-before heard words had come from. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in the sky. Depending on the region, it was raining, or snowing, or the sun was shining brightly, or the moon lit up the night sky. But for the first time ever, a rather lazy voice echoed through that very ordinary sky. Chapter 1: Test 1455? Chapter 1: Test 1455? Waves thundered against the base of the Cliff below. "Damn it all! I can''t believe I have to go into the Sea of Reset just like this," I sighed as my eyes stared over the ninety-degree cliffside. Black, not blue, waves crashed powerfully against the bottom of the cliff. "This is all because of that rotten bastard. I have no idea what sort of rotten heart he had to do this to me. Just you wait! I''ll chase you to the ends of Hell to get my revenge..." But with all my angry talk of revenge, I sighed deeply as I gazed at the Sea of Reset below. If you drop into the Sea of Reset, everything resets to the beginning. Everything that I worked my ass off for eight years would reset and return to level 0. I had no other choice but to erase eight years of blood, sweat, and tears and return to when I was level zero and work my way back up. Even though I changed to a deva three years earlier, it would take me eleven years in all to catch up to that bastard. No, more like it was impossible... "Whew¡­ still, this is the only solution I have, right? As long I have even a sliver of chance to make this work." It was irritating and maddening that this was the only way. "Oh God, please. To the beginning! For the love of God, to the beginning! To that crappy day of July 12, 2023! Yeah, right. As if some crappy God would listen to my prayers..." I scoffed at my now dismal future and threw my body into the Sea of Reset, dreaming of returning to that first day. -------------- "Huh? What the hell was that about?" I jumped out of bed as if I had been struck by a bolt of lightning, confused at where I was. I was sure I had jumped into the Sea of Reset. Like, just now?! If you jump into the Sea of Reset, all of your skills, stats, and even your inventory items are set to zero, and you start again. In other words, I should have returned to the time when I became a deva. Furthermore, after resetting, regardless of where you started at level Zero, you are taken to a spawn point in a lake in Minnesota, USA. Once you awake after resetting, the first thing you''re supposed to do is take a drink from the lake. However, no matter how many times I looked around at my surroundings there was no such lake. Forget the lake, there was not even a single drop of water! Confused at what was going on, I unconsciously spat out the words, "Status menu!" Nothing happened. "Huh? What? Skill tree menu!" Nothing continued to happen. "What is this? I know resetting means restarting from the beginning, but for everything to be erased? More than that, where the heck am I?" Unable to understand this situation, I looked around and noticed a calendar on the wall. "July 17, 2022?" That was the date clearly marked on the calendar on the wall. Even more unable to understand or believe what was going on, I looked around again and discovered the phone on the desk. "July¡­17¡­2022¡­7:20 AM¡­" I stared at the words and numbers on the phone''s screen, shaking. The trembling of my lips soon spread to my entire body. The day I jumped into the Sea of Reset was exactly April 15, 2034. The day the world changed was July 17, 2023, exactly eleven years before. But the date on the calendar and phone showed that it was exactly a year before the change. Shaking, I looked around at the room once more and slowly started to remember where I was. The rooftop room on the top of a small four-story building. The room where I experienced the world''s evolution. "This is where I lived for three years before the world changed!" Slowly, I walked out of the room. It was just after seven AM, but the sun was already shining brightly and its warmth embraced my shaking body and calmed me down. In the back of my mind, I couldn''t believe this was happening; maybe the calendar and phone were wrong. But at the same time, I felt that if this were real and became ecstatic and soon my body started trembling again. Trying to keep my shaking body still, I raced down the stairs to the street below. I needed more proof. More definite proof. That calendar and phone weren''t enough to make me believe this was real. I came down from the fourth to the first floor and went to into the 24-hour convenience store next door. In 2034, there were no 24-hour convenience stores. The fact that my eyes could be deceiving me crossed my mind. The bell above the door rang as I entered. The second I entered the store, I asked the girl behind the counter. "What year is it?" "What?" "I''m asking what year is it right now!" I shouted in confusion. We had greeted each other a few times before, since the store was right outside where I lived, but her face drained of color at my shouting before she slowly answered, "It¡­it''s 2022." "Today''s date is July 17, 2022?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "Yes. It''s really July 17, 2022! It says so on that digital clock there!" She pointed at the digital clock, which said in bright red LED lights that it was in fact July 17, 2022, 7:25 AM. Exactly five minutes had passed since I checked the time. "Huh¡­" --- I stumbled out from the store and went back up to my rooftop apartment. As I trudged back up the four floors, my vision began to widen. The sun I barely noticed before was steadily rising from the east. I was able to take in the view around me. Among the huge buildings, there was no evidence of rubble or craters or the like. There weren''t any orcs or goblins roaming the earth, nor were there drake-like monsters in the sky. Cars were running normally and the streets were clear of traffic. In other words, it was peaceful. "Ah¡­" Tears streamed from my eyes seeing the peaceful surroundings. I could now believe it. "I''m back. It''s 2022! Not 2034!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I may have jumped into the Sea of Reset, but I came back in time! Back one year before the world changed! Chapter 2: Test 1455? Part Two Chapter 2: Test 1455? Part Two Once I returned to my room, I turned on my used television set. There weren''t any news stories of monsters or reports of hunting fields on TV. As I flipped through the channels, there was nothing that could explain what had happened to me. Could I be dreaming?... No. There was no way this was a dream. I could remember everything clearly. Those nearly tangible memories were still in my head. If it were a dream, there was no way I could clearly remember everything. "If it isn''t a dream¡­just what happened here? I know I jumped into the Sea of Reset. It''s not that special of an action. There are a lot of people that have jumped in other than me..." Besides the act of jumping into the Sea of Reset, there was nothing really special about it. Anyone who could use the reset jumped in. There were even people waiting nearby as I jumped off the cliff, crying to God to turn back time. "There''s no way¡­did my prayer to return to the beginning come true?" There was nothing else special other than that. "How could that wish come true?" Anyone can dream of winning the lotto, but it would still be a dream. No, it was more of an illusion that would never become reality. But it did. I began to worry. But soon that worry turned to euphoria. My heart raced as I grew more and more satisfied with my situation. Because now I had a chance to be ten, no, eleven steps ahead of everyone else. I already gone through that Hell on Earth for eleven years. I alone had already experienced what no one else could ever imagine. But that euphoria was competing with the uneasiness that came with not knowing why this had happened in the first place. Not knowing why the Sea of Reset sent me to the past made me tremble with worry. It felt like someone would come out of nowhere and tell me that this was all a nightmare. I was afraid to even attempt to do anything. I felt I would awaken from this dream if I stubbed my toe against the wall, trying to move. I couldn''t bring myself to do anything. I felt like I was a piece of fragile glass. And like that, one, two, three days passed while I tried to come up with some sort of answer to this predicament. I realized that not even spending an eternity worrying about this would do me any help. They say time heals all wounds. Soon the bruises that the worry left on my body disappeared. The thought that no dream would last one, two or three days eased my worries and fears altogether. "OK. I don''t know why I came back in time. I don''t know how it happened, either. No matter how long or how many times I think about, I won''t come up with an answer. There is one thing I do know. If I don''t utilize this chance, I will royally screw this up. I would be a complete idiot!" I balled my fists tightly. I rose from my bed, sat down at my desk, and started to write down everything I could remember. I only drank water for three days straight, but I didn''t have the time to feel hunger or fatigue. I remember it was Korean Standard Time, 9AM, 7/17/2023. I remember it exactly. How could I forget¡­the day the world seemed to have ended. That day was like any other¡­ except for the voice that echoed through the heavens. -Ah, ah! Can you all hear me? Inhabitants of world 1455! The test is now over...- On that day, I was getting ready for work at a small factory near the Uijeongbu suburbs that I had worked at for just about two years and had just gotten into my uniform. But when the voice spoke, I and everyone in the factory came out and lifted our heads towards the sky. And it wasn''t just the people in the factory. People in the buildings surrounding the factory; the truck drivers making their rounds stopped their trucks; everyone came out to look at the sky. -I won''t explain again so listen carefully. At first I thought someone was speaking through a megaphone nearby, but the voice sounded too clear and reverberated everywhere. It also spoke in a language I had never heard before, but I realized that I could fully understand it. -The World number 1455 that you all live in¡­no, you call it Earth. Earth''s test has completed. It will now move on to the next stage, the Otadolon. I didn''t know then, but everyone on Earth was staring at the sky, without a clue as to what was going on. -Anyway, first off. You will all now use the Genenian language to communicate. What is Genenian, you ask? It''s the language you all are hearing right now. You will all now be able to use it naturally. -Second, once you enter the Otadolon stage, you will be prohibited from having children. Ah, but not to worry. Current fetuses will be acknowledged! -Third, when you enter the Otadolon Stage, you can use the token of knowledge to obtain immortality. Of course, if you don''t use it, you will remain mortal. That will be your choice. Don''t use the token of knowledge and die a natural death, or use it to ascend as a deva and live an immortal. Those unborn will be born with a token so do not worry. -Well, that''s about it. It''s up to you to figure out the rest of it. You will all be granted a token of knowledge. Oh, one more important thing. You can only use the token of knowledge at the Don Gate. Where is the Don Gate? You will have to find it yourselves. At that moment, everyone on Earth, without exception, received a token of knowledge on their wrist. Even infants just born a second ago received one, as well! Then all 6500 recognized languages turned to one single language. We were able to speak, read, and write Genenian as if it were our mother tongue all along. "Phew¡­now that I think about it again, it really doesn''t make sense." I had stopped writing and read it over once more before heaving a big sigh. I wrote down what I had experienced myself, but it was still hard to believe. I could only sigh at the fact that it was all true. The being we called the Scientist (Well, at first we called him God, but we called him the Scientist later on because he referred to the world as a test, and we felt it was more accurate. Really, we felt that by calling him God, we were worshipping him, and calling him a Scientist seemed better) had explained less than one percent about the new world. The most important thing the Scientist told us about was the token of knowledge. We could neither steal it nor lose it, and it could only be used at the Don Gate. Only one token could be used at one Don Gate, and the Gate would disappear and reappear at another random location. There was only one requirement to using a token and that was age. You had to be at least nineteen, an adult, to use a Don Gate. At first only a few Don Gates appeared, but as time went on, more and more started to appear. However, there were still not enough for everyone to use. After ten years, only two billion or so people were able to become devas. Those that used a Don Gate were no longer human. Rather, they looked like avatars from a VR game. Perfect, never-dying, never-aging avatars. A Don Gate was about two meters wide and three meters tall, barely, and using a token at one felt like you were physically leaving your current body and entering a new one. It didn''t matter if you were a youth in your twenties, or an elder over eighty. You would look the same, but the condition of your new body was perfect. To be exact, it was like taking a durable, strong, but empty shell of a body, and putting your appearance over it. Those with terminal stage cancer or diagnosed with AIDS would use their tokens at the gate, and be completely cured, without exception. Those that became devas would keep their stats, skills, and inventory items. Fields and dungeons had formed all around, filled with orcs, kobolds, ogres, and trolls. Killing monsters leveled you up and granted you bonus stats that you could put into strength or stamina, making you stronger or tougher, respectively. "Should this much be enough? Now what? Would anyone believe this were I to show them?" No. No one would believe it. Even I think I''m crazy, and I''m the one who wrote it all down. No one would ever believe it. "But it will happen. Even if it doesn''t, it''s fine. It''ll end with just me being crazy. I have to properly prepare myself. I survived for eleven years after the change. I know way more than anyone else." I clenched both my fists, and looked through my notes in front of me. "In order to be prepared for the future¡­the most important thing is the Don Gate!" The Don Gate was the priority! I had to use my token at the gate! I had to be the first one to do so! Chapter 3: Test 1455? Part Three Chapter 3: Test 1455? Part Three Before my return, there was a piece of information that just about everyone knew. A special piece of information... about the first person to become a deva. The first person to use a Don Gate was granted a title, "Humanity''s First Evolver", along with 100 stat points. To have a total of 100 points was an enormous amount. But it wasn''t for just one stat, but all stats. Normally, when you gained a level, you were granted 10 bonus stat points. You could use those points however you want for 5 stat categories: strength, stamina, intelligence, willpower, and agility. But the first person to use a Don Gate received 100 points for all five stats: 100 for strength, 100 for stamina, 100 for intelligence, 100 for willpower, and 100 for agility for a total of 500 points. That was equivalent to 50 levels! Just being the first to become a deva meant you were 50 levels ahead of everyone else! "It''s a complete scam. Such an advantage available at the beginning." Of course, back then, it wasn''t that crucial of information. It had to happen for people to know about it. Everyone knew about it because it never happened again. But now this information was precious. I wouldn''t sell it for a billion dollars! And so, I had written down everything I knew and everything I needed to be ahead of everyone else. This time it would be different. This time I would emerge as the victor, not the loser. When I jumped into the Sea of Reset, it was because I was a complete loser. When you use a token of knowledge at a Don Gate, you were no longer a human, but rather a character from a VR game, an avatar-like deva. When you become a deva, it doesn''t matter if you die from a monster, from falling, or from drowning at sea; you don''t really die because you can resurrect yourself. But there was a penalty system to that. The first time you die, you lose 2 points from each of your stats. This effect was semi-permanent. Of course, there was a way to recover those lost points, but it was at a heavy cost. It wasn''t also easily accessible, especially to a normal guy like me. I never even came across it. Anyway, when you use a token at a Don Gate, you start at level 0 with all your stats at 20. But once you die, your entire stat line drops by 2 points; when you resurrect, your stats are at 18. You also lose the 10 points you gained when you leveled up. In other words, dying meant you lost an entire level. Hypothetically, if you were to die 10 times without increasing any of your stats, and die another time, your stats would be at -2. At that point, when you leveled up and gain 10 stat points, those points would only serve to cancel out your current -2 points, putting you at 0 stat points in all. It was for this reason that everyone feared the death penalty the most. Back then I hunted like my life depended on it, and managed to reach level 576. That was my level right before I jumped into the Sea of Reset. With that level, I was considered to be mid-low tier. But the reason I was a loser was that I had died 154 times! Leveling up to 576, I had gained a total of 5760 points. When I became a deva, I gained an additional 20 points each, a total of 100. So in all, I had 5860 points, but dying 154 times meant I had thrown away a total of 1540 points. So while I was level 576, I only had the stat points of a level 422 person. On top of that, I was a fire mage and my stats were allocated accordingly. And so, after my 100th death, my already low strength and agility had dropped down to negative. All of the stat points that I gained by leveling automatically went to my negative skills to bring them back up to zero. For a while, my main stats remained stagnant. It didn''t matter if I was a fire mage or any other job; I was already in that sticky situation and there was no way out of it. The only thing that I could was to hunt monsters at or below level 576. But hunting in itself was hard enough. I couldn''t just enter a party to hunt, as my damage output was too low and I would just become a burden to the rest of the party members. Even using items and buffs to compensate for this penalty was not efficient enough. And so, even after using my token to become a deva and grinding to level 576 for eight years, I ended up jumping into the Sea of Reset! "Grr¡­" I ground my teeth thinking of that bastard! "Son of a bitch! Just you wait. I don''t know why you forced me into that position, but it will be different this time! I will crush your bones to dust!" I may have died 154 times, but 132 of those times happened at level 576. I died 132 times at level 576. Back to back! The times I died at first seemed almost wasteful. But that was because I was inexperienced and didn''t know much about the monsters I was hunting. There was no exchanging of information with one another. You had to pay for any small amount of data. Info became power, authority, and money. People who had it never just gave it out to those looking for handouts. Back then, there wasn''t even much data about the Sea of Reset. The Sea of Reset had only been discovered for about a year. At that level, people usually had a death count of 30 when they used the Sea of Reset. There were also plenty of people with an average of 40 deaths that used the Sea. I was helpless when I first died, but I accepted and learned from those mistakes and worked even harder. Which is why the other 22 times I died happened when I was a noob. If I recall correctly, from level 300 to 576 I had only died about 10 times. That''s how hard I worked. But then I met that bastard. "Lee Gi Chan! Son of a bitch!" It was all Lee Gi Chan''s fault. The bastard that killed me 132 times! The bastard that tied me up and killed me over and over, the bastard that had his familiar shadow me to my respawn points to kill, was him! The shadowy familiar was incredibly stealthy and had high magic resistance, and since I was a fire mage with limited range and only had items that would boost my magic damage, it made it very difficult for me to properly counterattack. And like that, he killed me 132 times before freeing me. Freed me as if he was going out of his way to help me. I had no idea who he was. I had no information about him. At first, he came up to me as if he were finding out who I was. He didn''t approach me with any hostile intent. But like he just flipped a switch, he just ruined me. He left me no choice but to jump into the Sea of Reset! "I don''t know who you are, but I will have my revenge. I will do everything in my power to bury you. I will drag you to Hell!" Of course, none of this has happened yet... I don''t know why I had returned to the past, and to dream of revenge about something that hadn''t really happened yet seemed a bit much. But the grief I received was too much. The fact that we were under the same sky and sun pissed me off so much! It was obvious that he had authority. He had over a hundred people under his command, some of which were quite strong, so strong that I couldn''t even look at them. But I would become stronger than him and absolutely bury him. Because I knew the future! I will be stronger than him by tenfold! A hundredfold! A thousand fold! I know I will become so strong, that no one will be able to contest me! I had just wandered around, not taking advantage of all those great changes the Scientist had given us, but this it would be different. I knew it all now. All those experiences had been engraved into my bones. "I have one year left. One year to carefully prepare myself! And I''ll have to go there right away. To the place the first Don Gate appeared and become the first to be reborn!" I wrote in big letters on the front cover of my notebook. It was the first thing I had to do to become the victor. I had to find my way to a one-hundred-meter tall Beguru tree in the Bakassi Peninsula, an area under territorial dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon. And so began my preparation for the great change to happen in one year¡­ ------- The first thing I did was to call my workplace, to tell them I wouldn''t be able to work for them anymore. "What are you saying all of a sudden? You''ve been doing so well so far, so why now? Has it been tough on you? This job is always hard in the beginning, but once you build up enough experience and skills, your pay will also go up. Look at Mr. Seo. He''s doing very well." My sudden request had taken my boss quite aback. The factory I worked at was small, with only fourteen employees. The work was hard and made it difficult to find additional help. No matter how hard we tried to employ more workers, we could never fill up the positions. Still, I faithfully stayed and worked for two years. "I''m sorry. Some personal issues came up and I won''t be able to come in anymore. You won''t need to pay me this month''s wages. I have to go now." "Hey! Hey! Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!" I hung up the phone even while he called my name. The money I had already saved up to now was enough. It didn''t matter if I didn''t receive this month''s paycheck. Rather, paychecks and wages didn''t matter at all to me anymore. Something more important than money was waiting for me. I grew up as an orphan, and after spending my childhood at an orphanage, I went straight into the military after high school. I didn''t study well while l lived at the orphanage. I thought that as an orphan, I didn''t have much of a right or privilege to study, and ended up mixing in with a bad crowd. After I became an adult, I found out that I didn''t have much to offer society. All I had of use was my somewhat healthy body. And so, when I was drafted into the military, I naturally joined up with the Army. Under the orphanage director''s advice, I volunteered to be the acting NCO when I became a corporal and worked my way up to the rank of sergeant. And so, I spent eight years in the army, before being discharged with the rank of staff sergeant. It wasn''t like I had any special talents. I made it my goal to stay in the army for as long as I could, but I wasn''t really a favorite of my superiors, and the chance of a promotion was next to dismal. Tired of walking on eggshells, I sort of naturally let myself be discharged as a staff sergeant. By that time, I was already twenty-nine, and all I knew how to do was what the army taught me. The pay I received while in the army ended up just stacking up in my account, but wasn''t really enough for me to start my own business. I ended up working at the factory, which was why I had plenty of money in my account. Once I had finished with the factory, the thought that I no longer had any physical ties with anyone felt bittersweet. That''s how constricted I felt human relationships were. "Whatever. I don''t have anything more to do with that place now." I chased away any weak feelings. "I have one year from now. I have to try no matter the outcome." --------------------- Everything had gone according to plan. Using most of the money had saved up, I made a reconnaissance trip to the Beguru tree in the Bakassi Peninsula, where the first ascension took place. Because the land was under territorial dispute, there were many problems down the road, but I didn''t have to pinch pennies. I bought a car, a gun, and a guide to take me where I needed to go efficiently. "So this is it." The Beguru tree was larger than I had imagined. I observed the surroundings. This place would either become my path to victory or my biggest crutch. I absorbed everything my eyes took in. After I returned from the tree, my lifestyle remained the same. After a restful sleep, I would lightly exercise and eat at a protein-filled meal and nap. After that, I would work on my stamina and train at the local hapkido and kendo dojos. I may have leisurely spent eight years in the army, but now I was relentless in learning Special Forces combat and had no trouble in training myself. And on July 1st, 2023, I was on a plane heading towards the Beguru tree I had scouted out. --------------------- When I arrived at the tree, I set up a tent nearby to live out the remaining days. There were sixteen days left from now until that fateful day when the terrible change would happen. As the days passed, worry began to creep up on me. Over the past year, all of my human relationships fell away. Rather, I got rid of them. I had thoroughly isolated myself, and wondered how I would spend my life if the change wasn''t going to happen. Just coming halfway here, I had spent fifty million won. Most of it went towards transportation and hiring seven heavily armed bodyguards for a week. This last part of the trip cost another thirty-five million won. I didn''t work for a whole year. If¡­if¡­ on the 17th, nothing happened¡­ "Haha. Is suicide all I have left?" The thought kept circling in my head. I kept thinking what I would do if it didn''t happen. It would just end up with me being insane... It would just end with me having thrown a fit for the past year¡­ ----------------- Finally, the fateful day arrived. It was July 17th, 2013 in Korea. And I heard it. Ah! Can you all hear me? Inhabitants of Test World 1455. The test is now over. In the back of my mind, I wished I really was insane, but I really heard it again. The annoyed, demon-like voice¡­ coming from the empty sky! Chapter 4: The Luckiest Man, Part One Chapter 4: The Luckiest Man, Part One As soon as the Scientist''s voice in the sky grew silent, the air in front the Beguru tree began to shimmer. As a precaution, I had given the nearby tribe all of my money, food, and drinking water and asked them to clear the area. I told them it was for ecological research purposes. The object coming from the ground began to take a dome-like shape. There wasn''t anyone around me, but I was sure everyone on Earth was shaking in fear and confusion. I knew I was. As the shimmering in the air dissipated, the area looked as if the Temple of Athena Nike had shrunk down to the size of an altar, usable by one person. I slowly approached the newly appeared Don Gate. I had, of course, seen many gates before, and even used one before. This one looked just like the rest. But this time, this gate was completely different to me now. "This¡­is¡­the first Don Gate!" There was no way that the information was wrong. The first deva had already been born in the past and that information no longer had any worth to it, so anybody could learn it. But the sliver of doubt never left me. I was always worried what I would do if the Don Gate never appeared. I needed it to become mankind''s first to evolve! I couldn''t give up on the 500 stat points. Once I laid my eyes on the Don Gate, all of my doubts vanished. "I feel kind of bad. That person won''t be able to gain fame like he did in the past." Mankind''s first deva wasn''t the strongest by far, but he was definitely strong enough for his name to carry weight. He was known as the "Black Clawed Panther." There was not a person that didn''t know his name, and he was strong enough that the top 0.1% didn''t hesitate to let him into their ranks. He was famous for wielding twin swords, and with his stats upgrades, a nimble assassin. But there was no way he was in the top 0.1% for that alone. He was exceptionally adept with poisons! Among his arsenal were bleeding poisons, neurotoxins, paralytic poisons, and cursing poisons! It was his frightening ability to use twelve different types of poison in tandem with his powerful body and his sword skills that earned him the nickname Black Clawed Panther! The poison he seemed to prefer was the cursing poison, which would leave weakening effects for certain attributes like attack and movement speed, physical and magical resistance, and random status attributes. Because he could also stack these effects on his opponent, it seemed to me that he wasn''t really picky about his fight style. But the thought that I would never meet the Black Clawed Panther made me feel a little sorry for him. "I can''t get weak now. It''s not like I''m going to concede this chance to him. I could never do that. I can''t give up here. It''s not like I''ll ever encounter him." I may have felt slightly guilty, but I knew I was not going to give this up. I gathered my thoughts and stretched out my left wrist, which had the token of knowledge embedded in it, towards the Don Gate. As soon as I did, my body was embraced in a flash of light. Chimes rang in my head. The token of knowledge will now be accepted. As the message faded, the light began to pull me towards the Don Gate. The clothes I was wearing couldn''t enter the gate with me, and were peeled right off of me as my bare body entered the gate. It wasn''t wide or large inside the gate. It was true that it was simple, with not a single piece of furniture inside. The only special thing you could say about it was that it was flawlessly white all around. In front of me a hologram appeared and spoke. -Human Lee Jiwon of World 1455 has used their token of knowledge. Congratulations! You are the first of World 1455 to use a token of knowledge! -Your transformation into a deva will now begin. The process will take 600 seconds. -During your transformation you will feel some discomfort. This is part of the process, so please bear with it. As the voice spoke, the silvery material of the token melted like it was dissolving in water and began enveloping my body. It started from my left wrist and almost violently spread all around my body, to my elbows and shoulders. The area in front of me turned into a hologram screen. Deva transformation is 9% complete. Deva transformation is 21% complete. Deva transformation is 34% complete. As the percentage on the hologram rose, so did the pain. I gasped despite myself. The small card tattoo on my wrist was secreting an unbelievable amount of silvery liquid that was covering my eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and anus. Even my pores were clogged with the stuff! Soon, my eyes were submerged in the liquid and I couldn''t see in front of me anymore. It hurt so much that I thought my eyeballs were going to burst from the pressure. "Eugh...guh...gurg!" The liquid began rushing into my mouth without resistance and I lost the ability to breathe as it kept entering my body. I collapsed onto the floor from the pain and started to spasm. No longer able to breathe, I couldn''t even make grunts of pain. All I could do was pray that the pain would go away faster. It was my second time, but there was no way anyone could get used to this. All I could do was hope that the 600 seconds would end soon. -Deva transformation is now complete. "Cough! Ugh, guh." I stayed lying on the floor on my stomach, coughing violently. "Huff, huff, damn, this nearly killed me a second time!" Panting, I flipped over and looked down at my new deva body. To be honest, it didn''t feel like anything had changed. It was the same body I had had for thirty years, with no visible difference from yesterday or today. The only thing different showing that I was now a deva was the token had disappeared from my left wrist. Once you used a Don Gate, you would never truly die. Even if a blade cut off your neck or sliced off your arm, you would only lose health points. But if you lost enough health points, a cut throat or arm could kill you. It''s just that you wouldn''t truly die, and instead resurrect. You would resurrect in a perfectly fine body, like a video game avatar. That was a deva! "Status check!" I unconsciously called for the stat check menu to open. If there was someone nearby watching me, they would have definitely thought I was crazy, but I didn''t care. It would become natural later on. A small rectangular holo-screen promptly appeared in front of my eyes. [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: None HP: 10000/10000 MP: 2000/2000 Strength: 20 Agility: 20 Vitality: 20 Willpower: 20 Intelligence: 20 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Job: None Physical attack: 60 Physical Defense: 20 Magical attack: 60 Magical Defense: 20] It was the same status menu I had seen for eight years. Of course, the information displayed now was much simpler. 1 point in vitality granted 500 in HP, which meant 20 points gave me 10,000 HP. 1 point in INT granted 100 in MP, which meant 20 points gave me 2,000 MP. 1 point in strength increased ATT by 3, 1 vitality point increased DEF by 1, 1 INT point increased MATT by 3, and 1 willpower point increased MDEF by 1, which means my ATT and MATT were at 60, and my DEF and MDEF were at 20. Anyone who became a deva obtained a stat menu that looked like this. As I was checking my stats, a voice came from the Don Gate. You are the first of World 1455 to become a deva. You will be granted an additional 200 points to each stat! You have been granted a Title for being to the first to become a deva. You will receive an additional 10 skill points! Your deva transformation is now complete. Good luck out there in the Otadonol Stage! As soon as the voice stopped speaking, I was flung out of the Don Gate without ceremony. The Don Gate vanished with the same bright light it arrived with. Because the gate disappeared after each use and reappeared at another random location, many fights broke out for the right to use the gate. But the last few messages shocked me far more than seeing the gate disappear in front of me. It shook me so much that I couldn''t move. Not because of a physical shock, but a mental one. "That¡­that conman! That Panther bastard conned us all!" I was absolutely sure that the rumor we all heard said the first deva received 100 additional stat points. Even that much was a significant amount! You would be not one or two steps ahead, but ten steps ahead of everyone else! In the beginning, no one really had items to use, and your stats and skills would already be so much higher that you couldn''t be compared to anyone else. This was why I invested so much for this past year to become the first deva! It was more important than anything else I could have done. But now I found out that it was not 100 points, but 200! There was no way I could have expected this! "And I got 10 skill points as well?!? Title check!" Chapter 5: The Luckiest Man, Part Two Chapter 5: The Luckiest Man, Part Two [Title: Earth''s First Deva Title granted to the first deva of Earth''s Otadonal stage. Rank: Unique Grants 10 bonus skill points] Stat points were important, sure, but skill points were worth more. You needed skill points to learn and use skills! Normally, when you became a deva, you started with 10 basic skill points, and you gained an additional skill point for every 50 levels you gained. If you were level 500, you would have 20 in all, including the 10 points you started off with. Obviously, you needed skill points to learn skills! Most skills required 1 skill point, but rare or unique skills would require 2 or 3 skill points, sometimes more. You could also gain skills that could temporarily boost your stats. There were also skills that could raise your critical chance, critical damage output, or anything that could alter the flow of a battle. With such a high demand for skills, it was no wonder that skill points were in short supply. You had to choose the skills you learned carefully! If you were a mage, for example, there were different types of magic you could learn: fire, ice, wind, earth, and lightning. Choosing one and focusing on that single skill tree was the wisest choice. If you mixed up the types of magic you learned, you wouldn''t be able to progress higher in the skill tree and were unable to receive the synergy effect that you would get from choosing only one type. "Open skill menu!" [Skill tree Unused skill points: 20 Passive skill: none Active skill: none] "I have 20 skill points. 20 points at level 0!" I was honestly happier about this than the 200 stat points I received. The fact that I could obtain one more skill than anyone else made me happy. And I was actually thankful to the Black Claw Panther for keeping all this to himself. It felt like receiving a gift and finding another inside. Ding ding! The alert went off in my head. You may now participate in a hidden event. The alert woke me up from my little celebration of having 200 stat points and 10 skill points. "Huh? There''s more to this?" Everything I had now was cheating. I was actually cheating at this point! [-Who Will Be the Fastest Deva of All! All inhabitants have completed the test stage and have entered the Otadonal stage. Find the person holding the record of the fastest deva transformation! Participation requirements: Must be an inhabitant of a world in the Otadonal stage. Description: Only one winner out of all current inhabitants. The person to become a deva the fastest will be the only one to receive the event''s rewards. Beat this person''s record to receive the rewards. Current 1st place record: 3 hours 27 minutes 41.9755 second Lee Jiwon''s record: 2.1777 seconds] [- Congratulations. You now hold the fastest record in the "Fastest deva" event. You may choose one of the following buffs and will continue to receive the effects until your record is broken. 1. Skill cooldown reduced by 30% 2. Critical chance raised by 5%, critical damage raised by 200% 3. Receive 2 additional stat points upon leveling up. (When the record is beaten and the effect is removed, you will lose all bonus stat points. If there are no available unused stat points, points will be removed from the highest stat.) 4. Drain 3.5% of enemies HP 5. Luck boost. X + 1 (X equals the luck of the current luckiest inhabitant.] "Oh my¡­!" I could only gasp as I read the message screen in front of me. "What is it with these overpowered options?" I gaped as I looked over every single option. They weren''t really permanent effects, sure, and there was still a chance they could be removed, but after comparing my record with the previous one, I wasn''t worried. "As long as they don''t go back in time like me!... But what should I pick?" They were all so appealing and the inflexibility nearly made me stress out with indecisiveness. "Still, Option 3''s additional 2 stat points isn''t worth it, huh?" Sure, it didn''t look like anyone could break my record anytime soon, but Option 3 just seemed wasteful. "Why is it just one? I should be able to pick three; no, even two would be great. Ahhhh!" Unconsciously, I felt my eyes drift to Option 2. The 5% increase in crit rate and 200% increase in crit damage would be like receiving the effects of a rank 8 or above accessory for free! "But¡­maybe I should go with Option 5." The choices I eyed first were 1, 2, and 4. I would feel the effects right away. But luck was more tempting. The difference in number 5 and the other choices was that I wouldn''t have to specially plan out or cater to it. I would always be one point higher than whoever had the highest luck. I wouldn''t have to do anything special; I would always be the luckiest person! The stat menu didn''t have a Luck counter. You couldn''t increase your luck through points; rather, you had the choice of using items to boost your overall luck. Since using those items to boost luck by a few points didn''t really have a visible effect, I and most other devas didn''t care about luck. It usually required all your time and focus to get an item with active effects, and luck items were costly just because they had luck attributes added to them. This made luck items a luxury, and usually a waste. Of course, the real reason was that no one really had the funds to buy them. "Well¡­ that just means luck is that important, right?" To us mid-class devas, slightly increasing Luck didn''t yield direct results and we didn''t care about it. But there were others; those that had taste of real luck and cultishly sought after luck items and spent their resources and stats towards increasing their luck. Luck items that would show up on the marketplace were the favorites of the wealthy and powerful, and luck items that actually had a use or were laced with luck caused a fervor at marketplace auctions. To be honest, I called those events a load of crap... although, it was really because I was jealous that I would never be able to participate, and could only look on, like a street urchin at a fruit stall. A lucky person compared to a normal person could have any of the following happen: hit with more critical hits even though their critical chance was the same; looting from the same monster could yield an extra golden ring; opening the same random chest could yield higher rank items or more golden rings; or you might be able to learn a higher ranked skill or random skill. Luck meant that all your worldly desires could just fall into your lap at any time. It was easy to overlook it if it didn''t provide any visible effects, but luck was ultimately the force that would create your most advantageous environment anywhere! "If I were only getting 10 or 20 points, I would have picked something else, but Option 5 is telling me that I will always be the luckiest guy, right?" No matter how many times I thought it over, Option 5 was the choice! "I choose Option 5!" [- You have chosen: 5. Luck boost. X + 1(X equals the luck of the current luckiest inhabitant.) You will receive this effect until someone else breaks your record.] "Stat check!" I opened my stats menu as soon as the message disappeared. [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 110000/110000 MP: 22000/22000 Strength: 220 Agility: 220 Vitality: 220 Willpower: 220 Intelligence: 220 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost ( x+ 1) Physical attack: 660 Physical Defense: 220 Magical attack: 660 Magical Defense: 220] "Ohh¡­ I don''t believe it... This can''t be a level 0 stat menu..." It was so beautiful, it was like my eyes had turned to stone. I mean, if this were a level 100 stat menu, it would be just average, but this was made up of all free points! This, this had yielded far better results then I had expected. The first part of my plan had gone perfectly! Chapter 6: The Luckiest Man, Part Three Chapter 6: The Luckiest Man, Part Three "The Black Clawed Panther didn''t change into a deva as fast as I have, so he probably didn''t participate in the hidden event." From my knowledge, it took the Panther more than a day to become a deva. "But he couldn''t become the strongest? Even with all those extra points?" Even without the hidden event, being the first deva meant he had a total of 1000 points. That gave him a 100 level head start! He even started off with not 10 skill points, but 20 from the Title! He had 20 skill points at level 0 while everyone else needed to get to level 500 for that many! Well, I had no reason to scorn or scold him. He hd been strong enough in his own right. His specs were still second to none. He had still managed to garner respect anywhere he went. He was an assassin that could slay his targets in an instant and specialized in a small variety of poisons, rather than dabbling in many. He was a nightmare for archers and mages who had low vitality. But... "This would have been enough for him to reach the top¡­ does that mean the road to the top is that much of a battle?" In my past life, there was a sect that I and my fellow low-tier people could only look up at with disdain, called themselves the Heavenly Sect. Those belonging to the Heavenly Sect received the utmost hospitality everywhere they went and they accepted it as if it were the natural order. Of course, I never had the chance to meet one. We existed in worlds apart. I gathered my wandering thoughts once more. "Alright. Let''s start here. I''m off to a great start! I just need to keep this up!" ----------------------------- Store 72 Visit: Part One After checking and confirming this and that, I realized I was still naked and put on the clothes that had fallen on the ground. I then picked up my bag that was left to the side and took out my notes. "The first part has ended perfectly. It can''t get better than this." I circled the part with the first deva with satisfaction and shifted my attention to the part below. "So it looks like the next part are the dungeons? Monsters won''t begin to appear until there''s a certain number of devas, anyway. Back then, it took eight months before monsters began to appear." If it went the way my notes indicated, it would be a while before monsters would appear. I would have to wait eight more months before I could start to level up. Was this a brief chance to prepare? The world around me had begun its alteration. The Genenian spoken and written language was all the evidence needed to prove the voice in the sky right. I didn''t need my token or a Don Gate anymore. "There''s a bonus for being the first to find a dungeon, right? Even though I''ve never found one first myself..." Being the first to find a dungeon was like winning the lotto; you received bonus stat points if you were the first! Obtaining stat points in other ways rather than leveling was a surefire way of increasing the distance between you and others. It was the reason that tens and hundreds of thousands of devas wandered around looking for dungeons. There was no assurance of when or if one could find a dungeon, but the sweet fruit of temptation of being the first to find one was that much greater. Sure you could try to catch up to others by grinding levels on monsters, but you could never beat the advantage of bonus stat points! And so, many people set out to find dungeons. As a result, it became known that dungeons had a high chance of appearing in dangerous places, like towering mountains or scorching deserts. There were two large classifications of monsters: field monsters and dungeon monsters. The most evident difference between these two types was that field monsters would also fight amongst themselves, and had their own territory. The stronger the monster, the larger its territory, and sometimes elite and boss types would also spawn. The biggest problem with field monsters is that when they hunted other monsters or killed humans and devas, they themselves would increase in level. It was because of this that orcs found in fields would be stronger than orcs found in dungeons. Every so often, some poor fellow would die from carelessly trying to fight one of these levelled-up monsters outside. Dungeon monsters... were different. Dungeon monsters somehow knew that they were on the same side, and would not level up when they killed a deva that had entered the dungeon. The more obvious difference was the amount of experience and reward gained. A dungeon orc will yield twice as many experience points, item drops, and gold ring drops than a field orc of the same level. In addition, the amount of time and effort it took to hunt in a dungeon was far more efficient than farming in the fields. The guilds that would appear in the future would be ranked according to the amount of dungeons they acquired. The strength of a guild would be determined by the number and rank of dungeons they controlled. These dungeons would also provide funds for the guild. The guilds would be able to control who entered their dungeons and how much to charge for each entrance. And of course, the guild owning the dungeon would monopolize the dungeon''s boss and its loot! "Honestly, I won''t be able to occupy or maintain a dungeon on my own, let alone make money off it. But as long as I''m strong enough, such a thing shouldn''t get in my way." Back then, there were small commando parties, parties strong enough to overpower larger guilds. These guys were so strong that they could just walk into any guild-controlled dungeon and do whatever they wanted. They would even kill the dungeon''s boss. They were just that strong! Besides these guys, there was an entity known as the Liberation League. Led by a man named Lagus, aka Demon Lord, the league was made up of people who couldn''t afford to pay the guilds for access to their dungeons. Rumored to be of Indian heritage, Lagus was a telekinesis user. He had probably acquired telekinesis through a random skill and had focused on training just that skill. I had heard that having invested all of his natural skill points into telekinesis, he was able to move tens and hundreds of tons all at once, and counter any attack up to over one hundred meters away from him. I never saw it myself. "It''ll be tough to monopolize and maintain a dungeon myself, even with or without the help of a commando party. I would have to consistently pay attention to it, and there would likely be many that wished to forcibly take it over. I just need to gather more strength, and be strong enough that dungeon-owning guilds won''t matter to me. I just have to be the first to find dungeons. Multiple ones, at that. I can''t let anyone else get those bonuses!" I had written down the locations of the dungeons that I knew of in my notes. I wrote down the locations of the dungeons that I used often ,and of the dungeons that I only knew about through rumors. It was key that I found these dungeons before anyone else! "OK. I don''t have time to waste. It''s obvious I won''t be able to find all the dungeons myself. But I have to find the most that I can as soon as possible. As long as I find the ones that I know of, it will be enough!" Back then, I had never been to this area of Africa before. There were numerous high level dungeons in Africa, as well as dangerous fields of monsters. In my past life, I was never strong enough to join raids, or wasteland pioneer groups. It was a foolish choice to even think about looking for dungeons here, especially without any sort of information. It was enough to get by using the knowledge of the dungeons that I had been to. I didn''t know of any high-tier dungeons, but the low and mid-tier ones that I knew of would suffice. "I suppose the first would be Bukhansan?" The dungeon that I went to first and used the most frequently should be the priority. "Alright. First stop is Seoul. The store should have opened in Seoul by now, right? Seoul is one of the bigger cities. Let''s buy my skills there first. I''ll definitely need tracking skills if I''m going dungeon hunting." I walked towards the motorcycle I had parked on the other side of the Beguru tree. Since Nigeria was closer to here than Cameroon, I decided to take the same way back to Korea. I would have to ride to Port Harcourt International, take a connecting flight out of Nnamdi Azikiwe International to Germany, before taking one more flight back to Korea. "I wonder if it''s a good thing that society continues to function after all that commotion. I will not become a lost child in the middle of Africa." It would be another eight months before field monsters appeared and threw nations and society into chaos, but there was a chance that another deva could appear tomorrow or the day after. Nations may have shrunk or altogether ceased to function, but society would continue to exist, thanks to the first few guilds forming and maintaining order. It was thanks to them I had managed to live for another three years before becoming a deva! "It''s true that humans are resilient and can easily adapt," I mused to myself. When I arrived at the almost embarrassingly small international airport of Port Harcourt, I found the flight flying out to the capital. Even though something extraordinary just happened, the airports and planes were still in working order. I would arrive at Incheon International in twenty hours! Chapter 7: Store 72 Visit, Part Two Chapter 7: Store 72 Visit, Part Two "This is the end, I tell you." "The world is actually going to end!" "Shouldn''t we be fleeing to a different planet or something? Is staying on Earth really a good idea?" "This has to be a giant hidden camera prank, right?" "If it was a prank, how do you explain the token of knowledge on your left wrist?" "Someone must have drawn it on as a joke." "Someone pranked every single human being on Earth? That thing won''t even come off!" "Shit! What kind of crap is this? What the hell is Genenian or a token of knowledge or a Don Gate?" The response in Nigeria and Germany was about the same, but at Incheon, it seemed especially chaotic. Everyone was busy arguing about their tokens or about devas. I didn''t have time to argue with the rest and quickly made my back to base; the rooftop room at Insu-dong of Gangbuk-gu. "Phew¡­it''s only been one day but I''m already mentally exhausted. Stat check!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 110000/110000 MP: 22000/22000 Strength: 220 Agility: 220 Vitality: 220 Willpower: 220 Intelligence: 220 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 7 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1) Physical attack: 660 Physical Defense: 220 Magical attack: 660 Magical Defense: 220] My body was feeling light, but there was no helping the mental exhaustion I felt now. The stat menu showed that my fatigue had risen to 7. "My fatigue is 7¡­I should learn the berserker skill as well." Fatigue was another important element. If you allowed your fatigue to accumulate past 70 points, your attack, defense, and other general abilities would begin to decay. If you let it go past 90, your abilities would decay to the point that it was obvious. But if you had the berserker skill, your attack, defense, and other abilities actually increased as your fatigue went up, with a cooldown time of seven days. Even with a seven-day cooldown, this skill was seen as essential. It wasn''t like you could hunt or fight at all the times you wanted to! "Still, it gets better the more I look at it." Just looking at it was enough to make my mental exhaustion fly away. A small smile kept forming at the corners of my lips. "Let''s just wash up and get plenty of rest today. Tomorrow, I''ll go to the store first thing. It should still be at the same spot, right?" I asked myself. NPC stores had suddenly formed in all the world''s biggest cities. Simply called Stores, they looked like Mongolian yurts or circus tents from the outside. About thrice the size of yurts and slightly smaller than a circus tent, these stores didn''t actually carry any wares. The twist was that while it looked like not even a hundred people could fit in there from the outside, the inside was different. These dull-looking stores were bigger than most apartment buildings! From the outside, the store looked to be just below stories tall, but when you entered, the store also reached two stories underground, and four stories above! I once heard from a manager of one of these stores that the stores were magically built to fit in any city and to have more room on the inside than it seemed from the outside. At the second basement floor, there was a public marketplace where people could buy and sell rare items from one another. As for the first basement level, there was an exchange store. At the exchange store, you could sell whatever item you wanted without having to look for a buyer. The exchange store would instead take a small fee and pay you the rest of the funds. The fee was three percent of the selling price, but it was tough to find buyers or sellers in a timely manner, and so the exchange store was usually packed. On the first floor, there was a bank where you could store your golden rings and items. Of course, there was a fee you had to pay to use those services. On the second floor were shops selling potions, weapons, armor, and accessories. The third floor had a store selling skills, and the fourth floor served as a traveler''s inn. ------------------- The next morning, I washed up and had breakfast in front of the TV. I may have become a deva, but I still had to eat to keep living. Not eating or resting sharply increased fatigue, causing abilities to decay. I had to make sure I ate and rested properly. My current abilities as a deva were actually easy for a normal person to spot. "There still isn''t any news about devas?" It took a whole day to travel across Nigeria and Germany, so it had been two days since. Someone should have found a new Don Gate and become a deva by now. But there was only a panel of astronomers discussing the voice in the sky on news. "Well, it doesn''t matter. Even if another deva appeared, monsters won''t spawn yet so leveling is out of the question for now. Let''s just go to the store as planned." If I recalled correctly, the store was right next to the Gangnam Severance Hospital. I left my rooftop room and took a taxi to the hospital. It was quite a distance, but I had no need to pinch pennies. Soon, all currency would lose its value anyway. Golden rings would become the new currency used all around. --- I got off in front of the hospital and leisurely walked down the street. After about ten minutes, I came across an opening and in the middle of that opening was a flabby, yurt-like tent that looked like it absolutely did not belong there. "I think I''m an idiot," I said to myself as I stared at the store. I didn''t think about it before I got in the taxi. I realized that I had not a single golden ring on me. The only type of currency the store received was golden rings. Obviously, I wasn''t going to be able to buy anything with the won and dollars I had left from my trip to Africa. The thought finally came to me as I laid eyes on the store. "Whew. Still, since I came all the way here, why don''t I take a look around?" It felt like a waste to just turn my feet around after making my way all the way here. Back then, I had come and gone into stores frequently that I didn''t really feel inspired to go in. Still, this was the first Store I''d seen since my return, and so I began to walk towards the front entrance. "Not being able to get a tracking skill is going to suck. I really could have used it¡­" The difference of having and not having a tracking skill when it came to dungeon seeking was like heaven and earth. There was no way to get a golden ring in a world without monsters. I lifted the unnaturally large flap of the tent and went inside. As I stepped inside, I was greeted with a view so large; it couldn''t make sense from the outside. From the outside, it looked to be about three hundred square meters, but the inside was unbelievably wide. There were seven sets of stairs that went up to the second floor. This place would be filled with people in the near future. There was a gasp from nearby. "What?" I flinched as the voice invaded my recollection of the past. "I wonder who this is! You must be a deva! But isn''t that weird? There hasn''t been news that a deva entered a store yet. No¡­no way! Are you the first?!" In my past life, I had spent most of my time in Seoul and used this store quite often. But the manager standing before me was not the manager from back then. Back then, the manager was a three meter tall fat man in his fifties named Igor. Now, the manager was a young man not even a meter tall. I would have had no idea this guy that barely reached my chest was the manager were it not for his name tag that read Anton. "No way¡­for me to be this lucky! Marie! Marie! Come quickly! There''s a deva here. He came to my store first!" Seemingly very elated about something, Anton shouted in a high pitched voice and began to dance on the spot. Nearby, a teenage girl with a name tag reading Marie, dressed in a chambermaid''s outfit, came gliding towards us. Anton produced a square object from his body and started fiddling with it. "Manager Ji. Please calm yourself. You aren''t being dignified." "Do you think I care about dignity right now? Look at this." Beaming, he passed on his iPad-looking device over to Marie, as if he were a schoolboy boasting to his older sister. "I really am the first. In all of Earth, a deva entered my store first! This is the best! Ahahaha. I wonder how many points this is! A few more and even the head clan will have to acknowledge me! Hehehe! Oh, what a lucky charm!" Anton left the iPad-looking device to Marie and started hugging me, calling me his lucky charm. I grew increasingly confused at this unexpected reaction. "Oi! Get off! Get off of me!" "Hehehe! Nope! Never! You''re my lucky charm!... Huh?" In the middle of laughing and clinging to my thigh, Anton suddenly grew solemn and looked up at me. "You! You!! You!!!" The sudden change in Anton''s demeanor stiffened me up. "There''s no way¡­you! Are you Earth''s first deva?!" "Well, yeah..." He was just an NPC. There was no need to lie to him. "Gasp! I thought you were just a golden egg...It turns out you''re a goose. A golden goose! Puhaha! It was already great that a deva came to my store first! But you''re the first deva! How many points¡­how many more points do this mean? Ahahahaha!" Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Store 72 Visit, Part Three Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Store 72 Visit, Part Three Anton''s inquisitive scowl quickly turned into a grin and he lifted his arms in a hurrah and nearly shouted the sky away. "Good. Good! It''s your first time here? Follow me! I, the manager, will personally give you the tour. Heeheehee. Oh, and my name is Anton. You see my name tag, right? And what''s your name? Wait, let''s get some tea first. Marie, you know the tea I always leave out for later? Prepare two cups of that." "Yes. Right away." At Anton''s command, Marie left in the opposite direction. "My name is Jiwon." "Good! I will especially remember your name. If you have any questions about Store number 72, ask ol'' manager Anton. I will personally see to your needs. Now, let''s start with Sub-basement Two!" Anton grabbed my hand and moved forward. "Here we have the public auction marketplace that connects with all one hundred and seven Stores. Once quite a few high-grade items have been amassed, the 107 Stores will invite the wealthier devas. Of course, money won''t be our only requirement. Here on Basement One, we have the exchange shop, where devas can easily buy and sell items. It''s quite simple to use!" The child-like manager Anton dragged me through all the floors, explaining all the way. I supposed he really was the manager, as all the other employees bowed to him as he walked past and stayed out of our way. I already knew most of what he told me, but I stayed with him without complaint in case there was something I didn''t know. "Kehehe. You see? It''s a great honor that a manager such as me personally gave you the tour. But you don''t have to thank me. You chose Store 72 out of the 107 to be the first Store ever visited!" After taking me all the way from Sub-basement Two to Floor Four, Anton took me by the hand and led me to his private office on the fifth floor. In my past life, I had never set foot here. I never even knew there was a fifth floor... He led me to a single desk standing in the middle of the room, where Marie the maid poured us tea. "Drink up. This is a very expensive tea. Even I drink it sparingly." As I drank Anton''s tea, I asked a single question. "So, all sales require golden rings, right?" "Of course. What will you use if you don''t have golden rings? You''re not thinking Earth currency, are you? No. No. Exchanges of goods and services must use golden rings. It''s already established like that." "Tsk." I already knew that but after hearing that answer confirm it, I was left without words. I had the most skill points than anyone else, but I had no way to use them for eight months. "Wait a moment. There was something about rewarding the planet''s first shopper during my training¡­" Anton produced a book thicker than an encyclopedia out of somewhere. It didn''t look like he took it out of his inventory, so the fact that he could take out a book that big from his person was interesting, to say the least. But after all that had happened, I just thought it must be natural for him and moved on. "Hmm¡­" After flipping here and there through his book, Anton began intently reading through a page. As he had mentioned a reward, I sat there and waited, slurping at my tea. After waiting for about ten minutes, I began wondering if it were time for me to go. That was until the maid grabbed the giant book out of frustration and flipped to another page. "Ugh. Manager, it''s here on page 455! I told you that this was very important! Of the dispatched stores, the first store to receive a deva is to provide them with a reward. Failure to comply means the store will have to pay a fine. It says so right here! If we forget to reward him, the fine will be so great that selling the store wouldn''t be enough to cover it!" "Ah, that''s right. It was on page 455. Thank you, Marie! I can''t do without Marie! Marie is the best!" Anton said to Marie with a grin. This must have happened a lot between them, as Marie just silently took her place behind him. "Let''s see here. Over here. Special reward rule. Listen carefully. Of the dispatched Stores, the first Store to receive a deva is to provide them with a reward. The deva may choose whatever they want from the Store''s stock. However, the deva has only ten minutes to decide." "Excuse me?" I could only ask in shock at what Anton just said. "What? Did you already forget? Are you dumb? Anyway, listen carefully. Whatever this Store is selling, you can take as a reward. You do have ten minutes, though. Choose wisely. Because you only have one chance. No exchanges, either. Don''t ask me what a good choice is because I can''t tell you. Of course, I''m very grateful you made my Store the first to receive a deva. And since you''re the first deva, I got a load of points. But I''m not allowed to make a recommendation as to what you should take. If I did help you and someone found out, I would take on a huge, huge fine. That''s why I can''t¡­help¡­help¡­" Anton talked and danced to himself for a while, but I couldn''t pay attention to him. Anton just told me that I could take whatever I wanted from the Store for free! The most valuable items of the store were among the weapons, armor, accessories and skills. Weapons, armors and accessories sold were ranked from 1-6. Rank 7 equips could only be rarely obtained from bosses, while ranks 8-9 were next to impossible to obtain. No amount of money could get you a rank 8 item. Usually, you would exchange for items of the same rank, but when you took an item to the market, you ended up attracting a massive crowd. Furthermore, there was a limit of rank 6 equips you could buy at the Store. Obtaining a rank 6 item would obviously be an advantage. But I knew better. If I had to pick one thing, it had to be this. And if it was free, then all the more reason to. [Skill: Unrivaled] That skill required 20 skill points! A monster tamer had discovered this skill while allocating his 27 leftover skill points after unlocking tames of certain monsters and beasts. Unlike items, if you were not high enough level, you were unable to learn certain skills, or even be made aware of them. For example, if your INT was too low, certain spells in your skill tree would be locked to you, and you wouldn''t be able to see them. And so, skill shops had a chance to carry certain hidden skills. Who in their right mind would spend 20 of their remaining skill points to find out what certain skills being sold in shops do? This was why it took five whole years for people to know what the Unrivaled skill did! I had 20 skill points to use. It was the right fit. But there was another important reason that I didn''t need to think twice about this. The cost to learn this skill was 2.4 billion golden rings. 2.4 billion golden rings was an insane amount, and no normal person could ever dream of having that much. In my past life, my entire inventory, including golden rings, was valued at around 50 million. I had no way of obtaining that skill. That tamer was the leader of a large and fairly rich guild and the tamer himself, was wealthy. The tamer only found that skill while trying to unlock and upgrade all of his monsters and beasts. There was no way this skill could have been discovered naturally by anyone. There was a limit of 114 people. Only 114 people could learn the Unrivaled skill! Once 114 people learned the skill, no one else would be able to learn it. That is, as long as no one managed to kill one of the 114 holding the skill. "Which is why I''m saying. I can''t help¡­" "Stop! Enough! I can really pick whatever one I want? Since it''s free, I don''t need golden rings, right?" "Of course. This is a special rule established before Earth transformed. You just can''t get help from anyone and you only have ten minutes." "Perfect! Then I''m ready to start now." "You don''t need to think about it? Now? The timer will tick once you start." I wanted to tell him that I had finished thinking while he was busy blabbering on, but I bit my tongue. "Yeah? OK. You have exactly ten minutes. I''ll be counting. After ten minutes, it''ll vanish into thin air, so pick whatever. Theeen, start!" As soon as Anton said start, I burst open the fifth floor office door and ran down to the third floor skill shop. "Welcome to Store 72''s skill shop!" "Show me your skills!" I ignored the greeting of the employee, Slengy, and checked the skill right away. [Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random skill (not applicable)] From the message screen that appeared in front of me, I chose the General tree! Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Store 72 Visit, Part Four Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Store 72 Visit, Part Four [General Skill Tree] HP boost (3/3), (passive) MP boost (3/3), (passive) STR boost (3/3), (passive) INT boost (3/3), (passive) VIT boost (3/3), (passive) WIL boost (3/3), (passive) AGI boost (3/3), (passive) : : Vision boost (3/3), (passive) Movement speed boost (3/3), (passive) Attack speed boost (3/3), (passive) Decrease skill cooldown time (3/3), (passive) Decrease skill MP cost (3/3), (passive) DEF boost (3/3), (passive) MDEF boost (3/3), (passive) Curse resist boost (3/3), (passive) Poison resist boost (3/3), (passive) Critical damage boost (3/3), (passive) Critical rate boost (3/3), (passive) Burning Man (1/1), (active) Taunt (3/3), (active) : : Increase Accessory Slot (1/1), (passive) Boost Equipped item Effects (3/3), (active) Recovery Death penalty (1/1), (active) : : Clicking on the General Skill tab showed a myriad assortment of different skills. Learning all these skills would give anyone so much help, but the shortage of skill points made it imperative to choose only the ones that were the most beneficial. The (3/3) indicated that a skill maxed out at 3 levels, while (1/1) indicated that a skill maxed out at level 1. I already knew about the skills in the first section and scrolled past, but the skills below that I''d never heard of caught my eye. "There were these kinds of skills, too?" I selected the Increase Accessory Slot skill. [Increase accessory slot (1/1), (passive) Opens up a new slot on an accessory. Usable only on rings and bracelets. Skill points required: 1 Golden rings required: 7,875,000,000] Due to the special reward rule, 0 golden rings are required. "What!" The description was simple enough, but that was a lot of information. To be able to open up a new slot on an accessory... Amulets had one slot, earrings and bracelets had two, and a belt had eight. It was as helpful as the amount of slots you had. Increasing eight slots to nine didn''t seem that helpful at first, but increasing the number of slots by equipping another ring or too was instrumental! This was like cheating, to be honest! "This price is damn scary, too. It costs nearly 7.9 billion¡­" The cost made it hard for me to imagine that there was someone with this skill during my past life. All these skills that I had never seen before were revealed before me because right now, they were free and I had 20 skill points to use. I clicked on the other skills below. [Boost Equipped Item Effects (3/3), (active) Boosts the effects of a selected item. After a cooldown time of 1 month, a new item can be chosen to take the effect of the skill. Level 1 ¨C Boost the effect of one item by 5% Level 2 ¨C Boost the effects of two items by 7% each Level 3 ¨C Boost the effects of three items by 10% each Required skill points: 1 Required golden rings: 1,940,000,000] Due to the special reward rule, 0 golden rings are required. [Recover Death Penalty (1/1), (active) Recover penalty received upon death. Usable once every 10 days. Usage limited by 5. Required skill points: 2 Required golden rings: 3,000,000,000] Due to the special reward rule, 0 golden rings are required. "Whoa¡­" I practically drooled over these skills. During my previous life, I had never even heard of these general skills! This death penalty recovery enticed me the most. If I had this, I would never have to be afraid of dying ever again! I could hunt in dangerous areas, and challenge stronger people without fear. "No. I still need to check out that skill. Search for skill: Unrivaled." I didn''t see it below on the list, so I decided to search for it instead. [Searched: Unrivaled] Unrivaled (1/1), (passive) The skill showed up on a new menu. I clicked it right away. [Unrivaled (1/1), (passive) This is a skill designed to give one an advantage over others. Unrivaled is a skill available to only 114 people. Once all 114 ''Unrivaled'' skills have been acquired, this skill will not be available to anyone else unless a previous holder removes it. Acquiring Unrivaled increases all stats by 1000 points each. This skill grants another 10 stat points upon leveling up. (This effect is not retroactive.) Immune to all status depreciation Decrease damage received by deities by 50% Required skill points: 20 Required golden rings: 2,430,000,000] Due to the special reward rule, 0 golden rings are required. [Unrivaled comes with 3 options to choose from. The first Unrivaled: Increase damage and accuracy against deities by 25% 77th Unrivaled: Decrease incoming damage received by deities by 50% The last Unrivaled: Increase damage and accuracy against deities by 15% and decrease incoming damage received by deities by 15% "...!!!" I stood there, mouth wide open, staring at the godly effects of the ''Unrivaled'' skill. I may have known the ''Unrivaled'' skill existed, but a normal deva like me could never learn what the valuable info about the skill was. I couldn''t help but be shocked looking at it all for the first time. "This¡­ all looks great, but if I think about, it''s a pretty risky choice, isn''t it?" It cost more than 2.4 billion golden rings, and required all 20 of my skill points! I was able to receive 20 skill points at level 0 for becoming the first deva, but anyone one else would have to save for 500 levels to get to that point, and they would even have to save up 2.4 billion golden rings to even hope to buy this skill! Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Store 72 Visit, Part Five Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Store 72 Visit, Part Five Resetting all the skills you learned up until level 500 just to get back your 20 skill points so you could learn the Unrivaled skill was a waste. You wouldn''t have any other skills to use and would still have to fight others in that condition. Since the skill''s effects weren''t retroactive, learning the ''Unrivaled'' skill at level 500 wouldn''t net you the additional stat points until level 501. That barely made a difference compared to levels 0-500. "Learning ''Unrivaled'' at level 500 means I would have level up to 1000 to have just 10 skill points to use. I mean, I would still get 1000 points each towards my stats. That means 5000 points total at just level 500. Phew¡­now that I think about it, that''s a lot. But it still burns a lot of skill points." Still, it was good. There was no doubt about it. Not only would I get 1000 extra points, I also got status immunity, which would make hunting monsters easier, and not getting debuffs against fighting other devas. This was the best part. To me, who spent eight years as a deva, these buffs made me happier than the extra 1000 stat points. Being able to trap my enemies in a Slow hell, constantly burning them with fire magic, and all the while lowering their accuracy made me immune to them anyway. "But the main attraction is... what I can do to deities, isn''t it?" Deities were different than devas. There was a chance of becoming a deity instead of a deva, even though one would use a normal Don Gate. Only 114 people could become deities. A mere deva like me could never get within arm''s distance of a deity. They knew they were in a different class than devas, and carried themselves as such. They weren''t enemies, however. Monsters were enemies, because they yielded experience and items when you killed them. Deities and devas would gain neither when they tried to kill one another. Deities and devas had the same experience of being human once. But deities knew they were a level above devas, and didn''t interact with them. It was like devas were the common folk, and deities were nobility. "Well¡­it''s not like I''ve ever met a deity." I had also never heard anything good about a deity. I heard rumors that deities would think of devas as toe jam, or that they would kill devas for no reason, or that they would kill steal monsters a deva was hunting. "Does ''Unrivaled'' mean that I would be unrivaled against deities?" That''s the thought I had reading the skill''s description. I''ve never met a deity before, but I didn''t have a good opinion of them after all the stuff I''d heard about them. "Ok, let''s learn it." After thinking about it more and more, I knew I had to learn it. It was better than all the rumors I heard about it. I had the chance to learn the ''Unrivaled'' skill at level 0. Furthermore, I would gain 20 stat points every time I leveled up. Different from other devas, I would be gaining 10 more stat points per level than them, meaning that at level 500, I''d have 5000 stat points. I had no reason to not learn it! It would mean that I won''t have any usable skill points to learn other skills for a while. Still, learning ''Unrivaled'' at level 0 was a steal! "It''s¡­ like I was destined to learn the ''Unrivaled'' skill." I wondered what would happened if someone else became the first deva and got the extra 10 skill points. I wondered if that person was the first to visit a Store. Could they discover the ''Unrivaled'' skill as I had? No, would they choose to buy a skill, rather than buying an item? I was sure that the Black Clawed Panther hadn''t done that. The Panther didn''t learn the Unrivaled skill. Someone had to have the past knowledge that I had to make this happen. "OK. This is it. Select Unrivaled." [You have obtained the skill Unrivaled.] "Stat check! Skill check!" I opened my stat and skill menus right away! [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 610000/610000 MP: 122000/122000 Strength: 1220 Agility: 1220 Vitality: 1220 Willpower: 1220 Intelligence: 1220 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects Physical attack: 3660 Physical Defense: 1220 Magical attack: 3660 Magical Defense: 1220] [Skill menu Residual skill points: 0 Passive skills: 1 skill in effect Unrivaled (1/1) ¨C MAX Active skills: None.] As I looked over my stats and skills in awe, Anton cried out in surprise, "Ack! Just what in the world are you? How did you know about Unrivaled¡­?" Anton grabbed the collar of the employee standing next to me and yelled at him, "Sleng! Did you tell him about it? That we have that skill?" "No, Mr. Manager! I would never! I didn''t even say anything to him. He looked through the general skills and researched the Unrivaled skill himself!" "What? How does that make sense? How could he know about the skill and look it up?" "It''s the truth. If you don''t believe me, you can scan my memories and see for yourself." "Ugh¡­" As soon as he heard memories, he unclenched his fists from the employee''s collar. Everything in Store 72 was recorded, so if Sleng was lying, he would be found out in an instant. But to mention that himself... "Lee Jiwon. How do you know about the ''Unrivaled'' skill?" "Do I have to tell you that much?" "Tsk! Fine! Grr! I just gave away that expensive skill for free!..." I ignored the sulking Anton and looked back at the general skill tab. [General skill tree (not applicable).] Not a single skill showed up on the menu. I didn''t have any skill points or any golden rings to spend, so that much was obvious. "I could have used a scanning skill." I already gained a lot in this single visit. One scanning skill didn''t compare to all this. It was a very good thing that I didn''t turn back around after I realized that I didn''t have a single golden ring to spend inside the Store. "I wonder¡­this was all luck, too..." My eyes kept looking over at the luck effect on my stat menu... Dungeon Seeking: Part 1 "Tsk. I''m grateful you came to my store first instead of the other 107 but that skill is such as loss. It was worth so much." "Thank you very much. We hope you come back to our Store 72." I turned around and left the store, leaving the grumbling Anton and the brightly bowing maid behind. I came this morning thinking I was only going to buy a scan skill but leaving with the amazing ''Unrivaled'' put a huge grin on my face. "It''s 10 in the morning. Looks like my next stop is looking for the Bukhansan dungeon." Now that I had the ''Unrivaled'' skill at level 0, I had become unexpectedly powerful. To be honest, I was strong enough to not have to find a dungeon. I already had 1220 points on all of my stats at a measly level 0. Altogether, that meant I had 6100 stat points. I was practically level 600. I mean, sure, the points weren''t focused on a few and instead, were spread out evenly. The best part, though, was that all these points were bonuses. These points weren''t given equally to anyone else; just me. "Anyway¡­in which direction should I choose to go with?" In my previous life, I was a fire mage. That and ice mages were the most common jobs around. Fire magic was the safest choice and had decent damage, making it a popular choice for devas with no special backgrounds. Up until this morning, I was thinking about being a fire mage again since I already knew enough about it. I spent 8 years as a fire mage and leveled up to 576 and stumbled all the way, but I know I didn''t screw up it up too much. I made up my body and configured my skills to be optimized for fire magic. It as a popular job, but there were still famous fire mages out there. Rather, if you were good enough, you were sufficiently famous. Chapter 12: Chapter 11: Dungeon Seeking, Part Two Chapter 12: Chapter 11: Dungeon Seeking, Part Two "Becoming a fire mage seems like a waste now. No, it is a waste. Stat check!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 610000/610000 MP: 122000/122000 Strength: 1220 Agility: 1220 Vitality: 1220 Willpower: 1220 Intelligence: 1220 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects Physical attack: 3660 Physical Defense: 1220 Magical attack: 3660 Magical Defense: 1220] I stopped by a bench on the way to Bukhansan and took out my notes. I reread the fire mage skill guide I had written down. "I did not know that I could have learned the Unrivaled skill when I wrote this. Actually, I never expected to get the 200 stat points as the first deva." There were many changes to the plans I made. They were all good changes, but the problem was that they were all too good! The fire mage path was not a bad path, for sure. It had better damage compared to the other elemental mage paths and came with burning damage, as well. Later down the skill tree, there was a ranged skill you could learn that rained fire on your enemies so hot that it could chase demons back to Hell... Even though I thought that, it seemed like a waste of points just to become a ranged type. In the future, I would be gaining 20 stat points every time I leveled up. I was going to get twice the points from level 1 on! "The answer has to be melee, right?" What was one thing that devas feared the most? It was the death penalty! You lost 2 points to all your stat points every time you died, adding up to 10 points in total. A simple death meant you lost a whole level that you worked so hard for. The restorative item that helped you recover those lost points was only dropped by boss monsters. Normal and elite monsters didn''t drop it. Random chests found in dungeons sometimes carried rank 1-10 restorative items, but the spawn chance was too low. As a result, you couldn''t find the items on the market. The items were so rare, there was never a set price on them and they always fluctuated. I remember that a rank 1 recovery item was selling for 500,000 golden rings. Everyone believed that it was better to buy other items at that price to compensate for the penalty. Soon, people came to believe that recovering from the death penalty was just impossible. Unless you were exceedingly wealthy, of course! That was why fighter jobs were so rare. They were the most dangerous and always so close to death. It was also why successful fighters received a lot of recognition. The roses of all fighters were the tankers. Any guild that didn''t have a main tanker as a part of their ranks was considered low rank. The tank role was irreplaceable during boss raids. "Well. I do have that choice, but the skill point shortage from the Unrivaled skill is going to be rough." One of the differences between melee and ranged jobs was the utilization of skills. Fighters had a number of skills under their belts, but they were more known for their ability to fight with their weapons. They also fought with skills that would boost their attack or provide support. Ranged jobs, on the other hand, largely fought with only skills. Jobs like mages, clerics, and conjurers used skills as their main way of attacking. Even archers used skills, rather than just their arrows. "I''ve already used the extra 10 points the title gave me, but they definitely weren''t a waste. At this point, I''ll be behind other devas in terms of skills. Was that why they were all melee?" I hadn''t thought about it too much during my previous life, but now that I think about it, the guys that had the Unrivaled skill were all fighters. They had probably lost more skill points than I had. They probably had to switch to fighter jobs to make up for that loss! "The status immunities mean that they would have to be hit with a lot of debuff attacks for debuffs to work. They would be next to useless trying to fight from the rear lines. That means that learning Unrivaled forces you to go melee. None of them switched without a reason." After looking through my notes for a long time, I made a large X over the fire mage section. It was an unexpected variable, but a favorable one nonetheless. "Fine. I''ll go melee, too! My situation may be better than the rest of them, but that doesn''t mean I need to take some other route. And I''m pretty confident I''ll do well as a fighter. Heck, this seems better, doesn''t it?" After reconfirming my decision, my heart felt lighter. "Since I''ve decided to be a fighter¡­I''ll go with dual-wielding. I wanted to be one in my past life, but with my abilities then, I couldn''t even dream about it." After becoming a deva, you didn''t choose a path. There was no path description on your stat menu. The equipment, skills, and position you used decided whether you would be a fire mage, ice mage, two-handed sword dealer, two-handed sword tanker, shield tanker, mace wielder, archer, ranger, martial artist, assassin, shield and sword tanker, beast tamer, summoner, alchemist, healer, buffer, or sorcerer. The weapon I liked the most was the two-handed spear. It had the most damage out of all melee type weapons and while it was slower than a one-handed sword, it was faster than the two-handed sword and the two-handed mace. It also had decent range, after the whip, scythe, and chain sword, which I also liked. "I can also defend pretty well with it, too..." It didn''t do as well as a shield and sword combo, or a two-handed sword, but it definitely did better than a two-handed mace or chain sword. "I really like the spear''s flip skill, too." Back then, there was a pretty famous spearman that favored using the flip skill. He was a spearman and a sub-tanker that was envied by other spearmen. "Well, there won''t be any monsters spawning or golden rings and items dropping any time soon. Let''s just be happy with a well laid out plan." Under the crossed out X, I wrote down "spearman". "Done. Let''s get going..." Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Dungeon Seeking, Part Three Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Dungeon Seeking, Part Three I brushed off my pants and grabbed a taxi to head to Bukhan Mountain. The driver must have heard about what was going on with the world, so how could he continue to work like this? Could he feed his family if he stopped working? I listened to his stories as we made our way to the entrance of the mountain. I could have given him some advice, but I didn''t know if he would believe me. Besides, if people started coming out, bragging that they had become immortal devas, society would quickly crumble. There would still be nations and societies that could hold themselves together, but sooner or later there would be others that would fall into chaos. Third world places like Africa would be the first to fall. Korea seemed to still be standing. To be exact, the nation of South Korea would end up collapsing. In its place, corporations took over and set up guilds all around to reestablish order. Seoul ended up being controlled by the Sunbin Group. Sunbin Group was the largest corporation in South Korea and controlled everything from Seoul to Incheon, including Gyeongi. Sunbin commanded 37 first response commando teams and used them to herd field monsters to Gyeongi, creating a safe haven for humans to live in. It was hard to keep the haven completely safe from boss monsters, but it was due to the efforts of Sunbin that normal people like me were able to continue living. As the group grew stronger, its influence reached all the way to Daejun. During that time, I also worked for Sunbin from time to time, just enough to make a living. They treated us well enough, anyway. Over at Busan, the YungGong Group, owner of the YungGong guild, didn''t protect non-devas and instead treated them as slaves. Compared to that, I lived like a lord. Like that, I was lucky to find a Don Gate nearby and after three years, became a deva. After that, I set out to hunt monsters and went with parties to hunt in dungeons. Soon, I had adapted to my new lifestyle. "If only if I hadn''t met that ass, Lee Gangchan, everything would have been OK." It was like that when I met Lee Gangchan, and how I ended up with this new life now. "Wait¡­shouldn''t I be thankful to him? If it weren''t for that bastard, I would never have jumped into the Sea of Reset. No, I''m still pissed! Just you wait, Lee Gangchan! I will destroy you for sure!" Making sure Lee Gangchan was still my target for revenge; I continued walking up Bukhansan towards the peak. --- I used this trail from time to time when I still lived at my rooftop apartment. In my past life, I used this trail often to use the dungeon. "Still, I''m not tired at all." Right now, my strength, agility and vitality were all at 1220 points. They were higher than my stats when I was level 576! Sure, I was a fire mage back then, and had invested more points into my INT and WIL, but I was now level 0 with stats higher than level 576. The fact that my physical prowess was being influenced by the higher STR, AGI, and VIT really encouraged me. "Should I run a bit?" I sprinted up the steep peak trail as if I were running on flat terrain. I ran the hour and a half course in thirty minutes without breaking a sweat. "Good. This must be why people raise their physical stats!" The feeling I was getting from my higher physical stats was way different than the feeling I got from raising my INT and WIL as a mage. It was fun being able to move my body easily and how I wanted it to. "Now, let''s check out this dungeon." The entrance of the dungeon was located at the very peak of the mountain. I had come here to this dungeon so often that I knew exactly where the entrance was. "Wait, what?" Unfortunately, there was no sign of an unopened dungeon. There was no opening either, which would have indicated that someone had already found it. "I''m sure it was here..." I was dumbfounded that I couldn''t see the dungeon, but I was so sure that it was supposed to be here. The low-grade dungeon that was so helpful for beginners... The Sunbin Guild made this dungeon freely available to its devas. This area around Bukhansan dungeon was always busy, filled with newbies carrying sacks of items to sell. I was sure it was here. "Am I remembering wrong? No! I''m positive it''s here. What changed?" Just to make sure, I searched all over the area of the peak¡­ --- With my stronger body, I climbed all over the trees and searched around for over two hours, to no avail. I dropped to the ground, drained. "I know it was here. There has to be a reason it''s not." I took out my notebook from my backpack. First possibility, the dungeon hadn''t formed yet. "It''s possible. Monsters took eight months to spawn." Second possibility, the dungeon''s spawn location had changed. "Hmm¡­that could be possible, too." In the past, the Seoul''s Store manager was a giant, three meter tall fat man named Igor. But today, it was a small child named Anton. "Hah¡­ the first possibility isn''t too bad, but the second one means crap." If the dungeons were going to spawn in eight months, I still had other dungeon locations written down, and I still had the chance to be the first to find a dungeon. But if the dungeons'' spawn location had changed, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I sighed deeply. I wasn''t so bad off that I needed the dungeon bonuses. I had already become strong enough that I could ignore the dungeons altogether. However, I already had a spare period of eight months and I didn''t need to get all the free bonuses, making it unnecessary to find a dungeon. I wished I had a scan skill. If I had a scan skill, I could easily locate a dungeon entrance. But that meant discarding a skill worth 2.4 billion over a skill worth only a few thousand golden rings. I was not going to find even a crack that indicated an unopened dungeon without completely focusing on it. I managed to come here because I remembered the exact location, but if you don''t know an unopened dungeon''s location, you might miss it; even if it was right under your nose. Actually, most people did miss it completely. "Fine. Nothing is set in stone. The dungeon could not have spawned yet, or its location could have changed. Or... I just couldn''t find it. There''s nothing else to do now. Let''s look carefully, one more time. It''s too much of a waste to give up now." I had flown through the trees and only glanced over the area, but now, I decided to dig around more carefully, as if I was looking for Waldo. ----------------- "Phew¡­is this my limit?" The peak was too large to be able to properly comb through. I barely covered five percent before the sun began to set. "Let''s turn back for now and come back. I can''t just let it go like this." The peak trail was dangerous to trek in the dark, but for the present me, it was nothing. It was actually easier than going up; I practically slid down the trail. I took a taxi back towards my neighborhood. Before I went back home, I decided to treat myself to some meat and went inside a BBQ restaurant. I had to be careful about my deva status. The changes were pretty obvious. "Welcome." The numerous stores were operating like normal, and there were still plenty of customers inside. "How many in your group?" "Just me." "You''ll still have to order for two¡­" "I''ll have seven orders of pork belly." "Excuse me? I thought you were alone." "Yes, it''s just me. Don''t worry about it." A good thing about becoming a deva was that no matter how much I ate, I didn''t need to diet. Also, as my body''s condition went up, so did my metabolism, and I could eat so much more and feel full for a long time. "Yes. I understand." As I sat down and waited while the food was being prepped, I looked at the TV and noticed the news was on. It was a live press conference of the President and his Parliament members. [The state is analyzing the situation scientifically and is discussing various directions in-depth. It is our sincere hope that this situation will be socially perceived as anxiety and misgivings, and that it will stop at its source, and that all of you will be able to lead everyday lives once more. The state will not hesitate to use its public authority to ensure that society continues to operate in an utmost stable manner. If necessary, we will do our utmost to maintain order via martial law. In addition, prices will remain at their current state and those that hoard goods will be punished. Businesses and factories will continue to produce their goods and consumers will be able to quickly purchase the goods they wish from marts and markets. The Diet will also enact legislation as soon as it is needed, if necessary, for social stability. Again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your continued economic activity and everyday life.] Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Dungeon Seeking Part Four Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Dungeon Seeking Part Four The TV showed the President reading off his announcement with the Diet members behind him, all with serious looks on their faces. "Bullshit¡­" I could only swear at what I was looking at. I already knew what they were up to at this point. It was obvious to me that they were using the military and police to search for and seal off a don gate so that they can use it for themselves. While some of the top members were hesitating about the change, a don gate was discovered with reports from nearby citizens. 14 legislators and 3 cabinet ministers got into fist fights to try to be the first to use the gate. They even had the local police chase out the other Diet members and ministers. I remember watching the scene of all of them shouting and screaming at each other on TV. Of course, this was all after the President became a deva. After all that spiel they spat about how they''ll put the nation''s security first, they all soon disappeared. Soon, that shameful scene of their greedy and ambitious selves was caught on camera. But they didn''t care that they were being filmed. All they cared about was trying to make themselves and their associates more powerful and used their public power to get their way. They restricted the don gate''s areas and made it a dangerous place and passed laws that it was illegal to use and required the populace to report any and all don gate related activities. They used all of their political strength to make sure they had the monopoly of the don gates. In the end, the Sunbin Group and a few sincere Diet members came together to help the citizens and altogether forced the President and his fellow corrupt officials out of Seoul. They fled to Busan to join the YungGong Group and took over Gyeongsang Province, where they remained, busily filling their own plate. "Ugh. This guy has his token now and he''s obviously trying to use a don gate. Why does that gate belong to him and where''s he keeping it?" "I know. There''s a guy a claiming he used a don gate on T-tube." "Wasn''t he lying?" "I don''t know. He claims it''s true and that he used to have terminal stage cancer but when he became a deva, the cancer was gone. He said his body felt like he was back in his 20s." "I saw that, too. He had a doctor confirm and had a x-ray picture of him with cancer." "Anyone could fake that." "I care more that I haven''t been fired from my company yet than all this. All this crap is going on and I''m more worried that the price of baby formula is going to go up." "That''s true. I already have enough problems on my plate and I don''t have time to worry about this crap." "I''m sure the President and the Diet will come up with something after all their babbling." "You''re right. Let''s finish up and go home. Tomorrow''s another day." I quietly listened to their conversation as I grilled and ate. They wouldn''t be able to accept it if I told them the truth. In the end, only time will tell. "Seeing the President and all those high officials reminded me of some dark days. Just you all wait." I was a little glad that I was going to have bastards to bully after I got stronger. I later went back home to rest. The next morning, I was at my rooftop room. "Let''s try the Seorak Mountain today." Last night, I had the thought of checking out another dungeon spawn before rechecking Bukhan Mountain. If there wasn''t a dungeon there either, then I could confirm that there was some sort of change. I took a bus to Sokcho and from there, took a taxi to Seorak Mountain. I decided to go straight up to the peak, rather than take the hiking trail. I had to quickly see for myself with my own two eyes. "Ugh! It''s not here either." The low-grade dungeon of Seorak Peak was nowhere to be found. I didn''t use this dungeon as much as the Bukhan one but I came here often enough to know where the exact location was. But the dungeon I remembered wasn''t here. "This is¡­really discouraging." I plopped down and stared down the mountain. A bunch of thought went through my head. I didn''t want to hastily make a decision, but I had no one else to consult. "Ah! Wait¡­should I just ask Anton?" In my past life, I never really talked to the Store manager and never really held a conversation with the Store''s employees. Besides, managers usually only interacted with stronger players. But this time, I managed to create ties with Anton, as flimsy as they seemed. I had nowhere else to turn; he was my only chance. I practically flew down Seorak Mountain and took the bus back to Seoul. I immediately made by way to Gangnam Severance hospital, where Store 72 was located. Dungeon Seeking, Part Five The out-of-place, pitiful-looking Store came into sight. I entered right away. "Huh?" There was something different with Store 72. Inside, there were two men and a woman, but they didn''t have name tags. That meant that they weren''t employees, but rather, devas that came to shop. But, I guess it wasn''t surprising that new devas had appeared. It had already been three days and there should be more than a few devas by now. But the fact that I recognized one of them took me off guard. It was the woman, to be exact. Well, I knew of her, but she didn''t know me. She was one of the greatest devas of South Korea. She was one of the 114 that had the Unrivaled skill! As I stood there, shocked, she noticed me and came towards me without any ill intent. In fact, she smiled as she talked to me. "Oh my. Are you a new deva, too? We thought we were pretty quick, but you don''t seem far behind." Crazy Calf, Song Hyein! There was a different reason why I knew who Song Hyein was. Besides the fact that she was one of the 114 ''Unrivaled,'' she was also a main player of the Sunbin Guild. She had also had a rank 8 Curtain of Rage in her possession. She was a tiny 160 cm at barely 50 kg, but she was also Sunbin Guild''s Second Platoon''s main tanker. No one would have ever guessed that she was a tanker based on her appearance, but people called her tanking abilities (whether it was Party Plays, raids, or PVP, tankers had the duty to take on damage for their allies) crazy on the battlefield. Even in front of boss monsters that were way out of her league, she would hold her ground. Soon, she had an enormous following of epigones, and her abilities were even known in other countries. Backed by the Sunbin guild and her rank 8 Curtain of Rage, she became the Atlas of South Korea! Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Dungeon Seeking, Part Six Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Dungeon Seeking, Part Six "Hello?" I couldn''t just keep ignoring her greetings and replied, "Yes. It''s a pleasure to meet you." I had to hide that I knew who she was. "We''ve only become devas for a day now. When did you become a deva?" "It hasn''t been long for me, either." I was obviously the first deva, but I couldn''t just tell her that, nor did I need to. It would only make her wary of me. I had to constantly watch what I said. "Ah, I see. Anyway, this place seems quite unwelcoming. No one really answers our questions, and if they do, it''s all one-word answers. Oh yeah, is this your first time to Store 72?" "No, it''s my second visit." "So, you''ve been here before us. Then, you probably already know." Not a single person was unwelcoming to me. The problem was that they were too overbearing. I never had anyone like the Manager cling to me like that. "Well¡­" "Oh, we haven''t introduced ourselves yet. I''m Song Hyein, 27 years old. The guys behind me are just some helpers of mine." "I''m Lee Jiwon, 30 years old." "It''s almost like our encounter was fated, and we probably have more to learn as devas. By chance, how do you feel about exchanging information with each other, should either of us need to?" "Um¡­I''m sorry. That will be difficult." I turned down her offer without a second thought. I mean, I understood why she asked. Neither of us had been devas for long, and they had no idea where to go from now. She may have been South Korea''s Unrivaled tanker, but that was before. Right now, she was a new deva. Even the Sunbin Guild had a hard time back then. We all did. The normal reaction was to combine forces, but I was busy. Twenty-four hours a day wasn''t enough for me to do everything in my head. More importantly, I had to take advantage of anything helpful. I didn''t even think about sharing it with anyone else. "Ah¡­" She seemed taken aback at my curt response. "Oh? Deva Lee Jiwon, you''re back?" Marie approached us with broom in hand while we were talking. She was always in the background, like when I had tea with Anton. I knew from the beginning that she was not a normal maid. I moved past Song Hyein and greeted Marie. "Hello, Miss Marie." "You''ve already taken Store 72''s foundation¡­I should be scared. I wonder what you''ll take this time." "No¡­that''s¡­" "Fufu. It''s a joke. With the points deva Lee Jiwon gave us, we can give you 10, no, 100 of our most prized stock." "Ahaha!" I could only awkwardly laugh. "I''m actually here to speak to Manager Anton." I''m sure I could have asked Marie about dungeons, but I felt that she would never tell me even if I asked a hundred different ways. That''s what my gut told me. "The manager''s taking his break right now. Hmm¡­" Marie shook her head in thought. "That''s fine. deva Lee Jiwon has that right. Follow me, please." "Wait a second!" Song Hyein interrupted as soon as Marie finished her sentence. "What is going on here? Don''t you think your treatment of him and us is too different? You''ve ignored all of my questions and all your employees have been unreceptive this whole time, but don''t you think you''re treating this Lee Jiwon guy too well? I don''t mean treat him any less, but treat us fairly!" "Fufufu." Marie slightly smiled and gave a small laugh at Song Hyein''s demand. "Did you want special treatment?" Instead of Song Hyein, a 40-something man behind her relied with a scowl."I don''t mean special treatment, but treat us fairly." "Fairly, you say¡­I don''t know. You want fair treatment in an Earth in the Otadonol stage. Let me give you a piece of advice. This is advice that even deva Lee Jiwon knows." Marie glanced at me before looking back Song Hyein. "If you want to be treated fairly, become stronger. Fairness and even ground isn''t a right for the weak, but given by the strong." "..." Song Hyein didn''t reply to Marie. "Now then, deva Lee Jiwon. Let us go." "Yes. After you." I bowed slightly to Song Hyein, who just stood there, and followed Marie. --- Store 72''s manager, Anton, and his maid, Marie, were not beings of this Earth. In my previous life, there was little known about these beings. We just called them NPCs. They were definitely alien to us, even though they looked like us. "Miss." The always supportive Chief Kim Sungryul called out to Song Hyein in a worried tone. "Leave it. She''s not wrong. I''ve done the same to others before. Conglomerate life is even worse. If you don''t have power or underlings, you will find yourself in a position lower than mudfish. That''s our life. I just didn''t expect to hear that from a stranger." Chief Kim Sungryul had supported Song Hyein for ten years and knew what she was thinking just from the tone of her voice. Song Hyein and her two executive secretaries had become Sunbin Group''s devas the day before. Her parents and grandparents always told her off, but could never beat her stubbornness. As Sunbin Group''s heir, she became its first deva and spent that whole day experimenting with her newfound abilities. When she received the report that a strange tent had appeared in the middle of Seoul but no one could enter it, she arrived to enter herself three hours ago. Normal people were not allowed to enter, but as a deva, Song Hyein was allowed entrance. She dismissed the rest of her people and searched around the store with her executive secretaries for three hours. They found the skill shop, item shop, public marketplace, and the exchange shop. They found everything except civility. Not a single trace of hospitality. Everyone just looked at them idly, with arms crossed. "His name was Lee Jiwon¡­30 years old. Do you think that''s enough?" "I''ll look into it right away." As long as they knew a name and age, the Sunbin group could find out where one''s parents lived, their job, and where they lived as long as they were in Korea. They could even find out what someone else looked like. "OK. Let''s go. There''s nothing else to find out here." They needed golden rings. It wasn''t just Seoul''s Store, but all the Stores in the big cities. Any functioning Store was the same. They all wanted one thing if you wanted to do business with them... golden rings. "It''s all good. Just finding out about Lee Jiwon seems like a huge catch. But the power Marie talked about¡­ it''s only been three days. In three days, he has enough power that even she acknowledged him. I wonder what that is." While everyone else would be overwhelmed with the limited information and would not know how to respond to the uncertain future, the Sunbin group would be prepared. While everyone else refused to accept such an unbelievable event, the Sunbin group knew that it was stupid to ignore all the events that were happening right before their eyes, and so they prepared. Even though some within the group argued that it was useless, the Sunbin group secured a Don Gate not an hour later and devoted all their power to it¡­ -------------- I followed Marie to the fifth floor. There were two guard-like beings blocking the stairs from the fourth to the fifth floor, but they did not stop Marie or me from entering. We walked towards a door that reading "Manager''s Office." "Mr. Manager. Deva Lee Jiwon, who came by yesterday, is here." "Uh huh. Come in!" From inside the door, Anton called us in as if he already knew what had happened outside. "Go on in." "Yes. Thank you, Miss Marie." "You are most welcome." Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Dungeon Seeking, Part Seven Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Dungeon Seeking, Part Seven I went in after saying goodbye to Marie. Inside, Anton was leaning back on a chair too many sizes bigger than him. "Bring tea for two, Marie." "Of course, Mr. Manager. Shall I bring the tea from yesterday?" "No! There''s not that much left. Today, we''ll have Pirim tea instead!" "Yes. Right away." Marie closed the door behind her and left Anton and me alone in his office. "You sit here. So, what brings you here after yesterday? There''s no way to get golden rings yet, so you don''t have anything to buy here. Other devas came by, too. Three of them, to be exact. I have a good feeling this time. I think I found a good site. To be honest, this place was losing popularity, but I didn''t have the funds to afford another site and ended up here, but I''ve been lucky so far! My Store was first to be visited by a deva out of all the other Stores! The best part was that deva was the first deva. Kakaka! It''s proof that Molina, who protects my family, is looking after me. Anyway¡­" "..." "Mr. Manager, I''ve brought the tea." "Yeah. Come in, Marie." There was one thing I was sure. This Anton guy talked a lot. He had not stopped talking since I sat down. If Marie hadn''t brought the tea that moment, he probably would have gone on for another ten minutes. But I didn''t interrupt him. I came here looking for information about dungeons, and Anton might slip up and tell me something he shouldn''t. I just sipped at the tea "Oh yeah. What brings you here today?" Anton finally asked as we drank our tea. "I came because I was curious about something." "Curious? About what?" "Do you know anything about dungeons?" "Dungeons? Sure I do." "How much do you know about them?" I knew I wasn''t that much of a conversationalist. But I knew how to lead the conversation with Anton. What I mean is that Anton was a chatterbox. A chatterbox that would never close. Rather than asking directly someone as gossipy as him, slightly beating around the bush would make it more likely that Anton the chatterbox would spill something on his own. I was just waiting for the right moment. "How much do I know? Are you dumb? Dungeons are your treasure chest. You devas will be constantly going in and out of them soon. You will have to hunt monsters and build up experience to level up so you can grow stronger. Of course, you''ll find plenty of items and golden rings along the way. If you''re lucky, you can find a random box that will give you some unbelievable treasures. If you find any materials or items you don''t need, you bring those to us. We''ll give you golden rings for those. Of course, what you sell is up to you. You can even trade with others." After he finished his sentence, he sat up from his chair and leaned over his desk to bring his face closer to mine. "I''ll tell you this especially, because it''s you. There''s nothing to be afraid of attempting a dungeon. There''s nothing better than dungeons that will make you guys stronger. If you hesitate about dungeons, sooner or later, something far scarier can come to make your life hell." Anton told me as if it were some great secret, throwing his light demeanor away and putting on a serious tone. "Anyway, why are you asking about dungeons suddenly? It''s not the time for monsters to spawn¡­gasp! What? You couldn''t have found a dungeon already, have you?" "That''s¡­" Thunk. Anton suddenly sprang from his chair that he was pushing so close to desk and shouted. "That can''t be! It hasn''t been three days since the Otadonol stage and you''re telling me that you''ve found a dungeon already? Even though field monsters haven''t spawned yet?" "No¡­" "You''re Earth''s first deva. You learned the Unrivaled skill at level 0. And you''re telling me you found a dungeon three days after the Otadonol stage started? How lucky are you? Are you sure you''re a native of Earth that entered the Otadonol stage?" Anton didn''t wait for me to reply and got all excited by himself. "Wow! In all my years, I''ve never met a guy luckier than you. How can anyone get this lucky? All else aside, dungeons are supposed to be hidden by a protective spell before field monsters spawn. The only way to check for an entrance of a dungeon is to break that protective spell, so how exactly did you find it? Even if the shield was weakened, you shouldn''t be able to feel or see it, so how did you know the shield was there? Did you just attack randomly and the shield happened to be fight in front of you and the shield just happened to break under your attack? That would be your only chance of finding a dungeon." "!!!" Sure, I led the conversation on purpose. But he took the bait perfectly. "Mr. Manager!" As soon as Anton finished speaking, Marie called to him hurriedly, to try to stop him from saying any more. "Huh, what?" "You can''t just say things about dungeons like that." "But, Marie, this guy already found a dun¡­" Anton looked at my direction as pleaded to Marie. "Didn''t you tell me you found a dungeon?" "I didn''t find one yet." "Damn it! You con!" Anton shouted as his face grew beet red. "Ok, I may have baited you into telling me something, but I didn''t con you." "That''s called conning!" "I guess you can feel that way, but I didn''t say that I found a dungeon. If you really feel that way, then I''m sorry." If it was just me and Anton in the room, I probably would have denied it to the end. But Marie was behind Anton the entire time, so I confessed and apologized. If I had continued to deny it with Marie there, I had a strong feeling that I would no longer be able to use Seoul''s Store 72 in the future. "Curses! You scammed me. Because of you, I''m about to be broke. You idiot! Ahhh! What will I do, Marie? Ahhh!" Anton was still red after my apology. His eyes even began to well with tears and cried into Marie''s embrace. Marie spoke to me as she held Anton in her two arms. "Deva Lee Jiwon." "Yes, Miss Marie." "From what I see, you led the conversation in order to get information from Mr. Anton who hasn''t been a manager long enough to know what his current situation is. Am I wrong?" "Hmm¡­ I won''t deny it." She sighed... Chapter 17: Chapter 16: Dungeon Seeking, Part Eight Chapter 17: Chapter 16: Dungeon Seeking, Part Eight Marie gave a soft sigh at my confession. Based on Marie''s and Anton''s reactions, there was something else that I didn''t know about. "Marie! Do something! Are you just going to let it go like that? Scold this jerk some more!" "Calm down, Mr. Manager. We can''t take back what we''ve already said. It''s only illegal to tell devas the locations of dungeons. You didn''t tell deva Lee Jiwon where a dungeon was, so you won''t lose your entire fortune, and you won''t have to serve the five hundred-year sentence." "Ah? Really?" "Yes. You don''t have to worry about a thing. Has Marie ever lied to you, Mr. Manager?" "No. Marie has never lied to me. Hehe!" Anton seemed to calm down and regain his smile at Marie''s words. He released himself from Marie''s embrace and sat back down on his chair to glare at me. "You rotten jerk! Do you have any idea what could have happened to me because of you?" From their conversation, it seemed that if either of them were to tell a deva a dungeon''s exact location, they would lose all of their money and spend five hundred years in prison. "I''m sorry." "You can''t just end this with a single sorry!" "Calm down, Mr. Manager. Nothing will happen since you didn''t tell him where a dungeon is located. And since deva Lee Jiwon has already apologized, don''t you think accepting it with a large heart would make you a cooler man?" "Ohh¡­ still, Marie, because of this guy¡­" "A real man also knows to accept apologies. You must also be calculating if you want to be a great manager." Marie looked at me after she spoke to Anton. "Are you truly sorry, deva Lee Jiwon?" "Yes¡­" "Good. Then accept his apology. Of course, there''s no way to tell if a verbal apology or forgiveness is sincere, right? Fufu." Somehow, Marie''s smile sent a shiver down my spine. "R¡­right?" "Since Master Lee Jiwon doesn''t have any golden rings in his possession, we should talk about the future. Since the insult of nearly making Manager Anton a criminal was great, he should first only use Store 72. Even if he is somewhere far and if there is another store in his vicinity. Second, he will work to become Earth''s strongest, without rest. Manager may be happy that Master Lee Jiwon came to Store 72 first, if Master Lee Jiwon becomes much stronger than he is now, it would help the Store much more than a hundred million other devas visiting the store. Can you do this much for us?" "Of course I can." "I believe that Master Lee Jiwon will keep his promise, no matter what." I was almost afraid to reject Marie with that smile on her face. Beneath that pretty smile of hers, something told me that if I didn''t keep my promise, something really bad might happen to me. "Mr. Manager, Master Lee Jiwon promised even this much. Please don''t be angry anymore." "Hmph! Fine. I''ll let it go for Marie. If you pull anything like this again, I''ll have Marie punish you properly!" "I understand. I''ll be more careful from now on." "Mr. Manager, since Master Lee Jiwon will be here more often, why don''t you give him Store 72''s VIP card?" "VIP card?" "Yes. The more Master Lee Jiwon''s name becomes known, Store 72 can reap even more from it." "You''re right. Wait just a sec." Anton produced a small card from his person at Marie''s suggestion. "Here. This is my Store 72''s most valuable VIP card. You get a twenty percent discount at this Store, and you won''t owe any fees when you use the marketplace on the basement first floor. There are only three of these per Store." "Oh ho~" I, of course, didn''t know about this in my past life. "I only have three of these precious things, so you better be grateful." "Of course I am. Thank you, my friend!" Of course I was grateful! "Friend? Sure! OK, friend!" --- After that, I exchanged a few more words with Anton before leaving his office. "Thank you for today, Miss Marie." "It was nothing. I''ll be content with Master Lee Jiwon keeping his promise. If you don''t¡­stat menu open!" [Name: Marie Grandel Level: 2177 Death count: 84(+84) Title: Anton Family''s Faithful Vassal : : :] "!!!!" Stat menus aren''t usually visible to anyone else. But, I could only see one thing. She was level 2177! In my past life, I was painfully mid-tier. I wasn''t part of a large guild, and couldn''t learn anything about the max levels. I did manage to hear rumors here and there that devas over level 1000 were like gods. Level 1000 was that strong, and no one had ever heard anything about level 2000. Under the death count, it said that she had died 84 times, but the (+84) indicated that she recovered her 84 death penalties. It basically meant that she never died. She smirked. "Then, I look forward to your business with Store 72, Master Lee Jiwon." That smile on her face seemed to make the air around us colder. ------ With my newfound friendship with Anton, I exited the Store and went outside. "Looks like Song Hyein left already." There was no trace of her inside or outside. "I definitely did not expect to meet her only three days after I changed." I guess you could say it felt like meeting a celebrity for the first time. Song Hyein was one of South Korea''s strongest and had the backing of the Sunbin Guild. Sunbin Guild enabled her voice to be heard all around the world. "I feel like I''ll probably run into her again¡­ think I managed to grow that much?" I felt proud of myself that I didn''t let myself get caught too off guard and managed to hold a conversation with someone that great. "Ah. I don''t have time to waste. I should hurry..." Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Dungeon Seeking, Part Nine Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Dungeon Seeking, Part Nine I took a taxi towards Bukhan Mountain''s front entrance and practically flew straight for the mountain''s peak. It only took me about twenty minutes to climb the two-hour hiking trail and reach the top. "Hmm. I''m sure it was around here..." I was standing in front of where I remembered the entrance of the dungeon was. As Anton said, I didn''t feel or see anything around me. I was sure that even with a scanner skill I wouldn''t be able to find anything. "The durability must be low, but that just means the spell is stronger in other places." I gathered power into my fist and punched out in front of me. I definitely felt my fist hit something. I gathered more strength and began pummeling the area around the dungeon''s entrance. As my fists collided with something, I felt a repelling force go through my body all the way to my heels. After about ten hits, I heard a different sound. [Low-grade Dungeon 47 has been discovered. Congratulations, You have discovered a low-grade dungeon! You will be given your bonus! All stats will be increased by 5 points.] "Oh!" As soon as the message appeared before me, I felt a wave of relief flow over me. It wasn''t much compared to the stat points I already had, but the important part was that they were all bonuses. These points weren''t distributed fairly to other people, but were mine only. If I could amass even just a little by little now, I would have an overwhelming advantage over everyone else. Once the invisible wall broke, a four-meter tall, five-meter-wide cavernous entrance stood in its place. It was the dungeon I had used so often in my past life. It original name was low-grade dungeon 47, but to the ones that used it, it was known as the Bukhan Mountain Dungeon... and it was standing right before me. Ding dong! As I stood there, happy that I finally found the dungeon, another message came up. [Otadonol Earth has been notified that a new low-grade dungeon has been found. You will be granted one point for locating a dungeon. You will be granted a bonus after 10 points. Please explore Earth to discover more dungeons. Low-grade dungeon : 1 point Mid-grade dungeon : 2 points High-grade dungeon : 3 points Dungeon Seeker will be added to your special.] "Huh. What''s this?" I knew that finding a dungeon first netted a bonus, it was why I put finding a dungeon first as one of my priorities. But I had no idea that the dungeon seeker special was a thing. "Was this why everyone else tried so hard to find dungeons and ignored everything else?" While everyone knew about the bonuses the dungeon gave out, there were others that were almost obsessed with finding dungeons. They were the expedition and pioneer groups. These groups were made up of elite guild members and people they seemed to favor. These guys were the ones that made the monster-teeming Africa and Amazon rainforests somewhat habitable. "Doesn''t this make the competition fierce? It''s easy to say, but I would have to find ten low grades just to get all ten points..." I took a second to calculate it all. "If I take all the dungeons I know of in South Korea, that''s 1 mid-tier and 4 low-tiers. There''s a mid-tier in North Korea, but that''s going to be a little hard at the moment, so I''ll pass on that. I remember there being a mid-tier at Mt. Fuji in Japan¡­" I knew exactly where the five dungeons of South Korea were. One mid-tier, and four low-tier. That was six points in all. On the other hand, I''ve never been to Mt. Fuji''s dungeon, and didn''t know where it would be. I still knew of one other mid-tier dungeon in that area. "Phew¡­OK. Let''s find South Korea''s five dungeons first. Then I''ll go to Japan. I''ll find that other mid-tier and look for Mt. Fuji''s." Now that I thought about it, I felt regret. Even though I couldn''t join professional hunting parties, I had many chances to join expedition parties that went to other countries in search of items and experience. That was how I got to the mid-tier dungeon in Hokkaido. Still, I joined only a few of those gatherings. "Phew¡­I shouldn''t blame myself now. It''s all going to be different now..." Low-tier Dungeon 47 I "Wait, would there even be monsters in this dungeon?" There weren''t monsters out in the fields yet. It was thanks to this that society continued to function as normal. If monsters spawned on the first day, things would have been chaotic and too many people would have died. "Eh, I guess I''ll find out..." It was only low-tier dungeon 47, also known as Bukhan Mountain Dungeon, designed for newbies of levels 0-100. With my stats, I was confident that I could kill any monster in this dungeon with my bare hands. "Open stat menu!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 0 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 612500/612500 MP: 122500/122500 Strength: 1225 Agility: 1225 Vitality: 1225 Willpower: 1225 Intelligence: 1225 Residual stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 1 point Physical attack: 3675 Physical Defense: 1225 Magical attack: 3675 Magical Defense: 1225] "Hahaha!" A smile grew on my face as I looked over my stats. This was my first time entering a dungeon since my return, but I didn''t feel nervous, and instead felt quite confident. I didn''t have a weapon or a piece of armor, or even a single skill, but that didn''t faze me. My base stats were already high enough that I didn''t really feel a difference with the 5 point bonus. "Still, a penny saved is a penny earned. A low-tier dungeon will still net me 25 points total. That''s like 2.5 levels! A mid-tier nets me 7 points each and a high-tier is 10 points each, so I shouldn''t ignore those. I should get all 10 points in Dungeon Seeking to find out what the bonus is." I closed my stat menu and walked inside the entrance of the dungeon. I hoped there were monsters inside... Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Low-Tier Dungeon 47 Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Low-Tier Dungeon 47 The dungeon looked different on the inside than it did from the outside. Like the Stores that appeared on Earth, dungeons were magically designed. Some were bigger on the inside than on the outside, while others were smaller on the inside and bigger on the outside. In other words, you could never judge what a dungeon was capable of unless you went inside. [Weak Orc grunt] [Weak Orc archer] [Weak Orc soldier] I smirked. As I entered the dungeon, I noticed that the monsters were those that I had fought and encountered in the past. It brought a smile to my face. In the past, I hesitated so much that it took me a week before I went hunting monsters. After I became a deva, I didn''t have a single golden ring on me, so I couldn''t buy any skills with my ten skill points. I had to fight them with my bare hands! All I had then was a kitchen knife, but even then, I wasn''t a match against them and for a while, I felt like I had nowhere to turn. Finally, Sunbin Group came forward and gave out small loans to new devas to start. I borrowed twenty thousand rings, learned Fire Bolt, and finally managed to start hunting. Most devas had a repertoire similar to what I had. Guns and explosives could provide quite a bit of help when hunting, but that only worked in the beginning. A Fire Bolt cost less than three thousand golden rings and was better than a rifle in the long run because there were maintenance costs and ammo costs to take into account. Soon or later, skills would end up being more cost efficient and stronger than most modern weapons. Anyway, these were the first monsters I''d encountered since my return and I didn''t feel afraid or threatened. In fact, I felt a glad to see them. As I walked towards the orcs, the orcs turned and noticed me. As soon as we locked eyes, they sprinted towards me. 5 orcs - 3 weak grunts, 1 weak archer, and 1 weak soldier - thundered towards me. The weak orc archers on the first floor didn''t fire arrows, even though they were archers. Actually, it was more like they couldn''t. Even they were archers; all of the arrows they carried were broken in half. "I have no items, no skills. Looks like it''s just my two fists." I swung my fists accurately at the heads of the grunts that were at the front of the group. My fists were fueled by 1225 STR and VIT made contact with the orcs'' face before the orcs could reach me. Pow! It only took one hit. All it took was one hit to crack open a weak orc grunt''s head! The orc''s body continued forward after being clotheslined, but I dodged past and moved towards another one. The other orcs weren''t phased that their comrade had fallen with one hit, and continued their charge. I knew the damage one punch could do so I had no reason to back down either. This was only the first floor of a low-grade dungeon. I could just keep charging forward and attack. I didn''t need to chase after anything. A bow twanged. I deftly dodged an arrow shot from the right by the orc archer. While the archer was floundering at his missed attack, I swung my left fist at him and struck his temple. Even the weak orc archer fell to one hit. The orc''s body bounced off my fist and spun once, before rolling onto the floor wo meters away. I could easily see the orcs'' attacks. It was extremely refreshing to feel my body move where and how I wanted it to. I had never experienced hand-to-hand combat like this before. After failing with my kitchen knife and learning Fire Bolt with the money I borrowed from the Sunbin Guild, I never went back to close combat. Of course, there were melee monsters that got too close that I couldn''t avoid. I died without being able to counterattack, so I couldn''t really call that close combat. "This is pretty nice." My fists were covered in orc blood by now, but I didn''t feel grossed out or anything. I was reveling in the adrenaline that I hadn''t felt in a long time. "That''s right. Come on." The remaining three orcs didn''t miss a beat and continued their charge. I closed the distance between us and slipped into the middle of them. During the year before the world changed, I didn''t waste a single day of boxing and Hapkido training. I felt my physical force rise as my 1225 STR, VIT, and all my training combined. As soon as I slipped into the triangle of orcs, I planted my fists into their faces. Bone crunched and broke. An orc grunt got pushed back and crumpled to the floor, without even a reaction. At that moment, the orc soldier swung a sword that looked like a sorry excuse for metal skewer at my back. I couldn''t see the attack but I could feel it clearly. I ducked my head and felt the sword swing pass my head. I already knew that with my high DEF, the metal skewer would just bounce off me and wouldn''t even leave as much as a scratch. But to be hit by a weak orc on the first floor wouldn''t do well for my pride. I grinned. Thinking these thoughts in the middle of a fight didn''t make sense, but I smiled regardless. The fact that I had wandering thoughts meant that I was confident that I had this fight in the bag. As soon as I ducked, I spun around 180 degrees and swung an uppercut at the orc who was unbalanced by his attack. I hit the orc soldier in the head so hard it practically came off his neck and his body flew back over a meter away. At that moment, the remaining orc grunt swung his fist at the side of my head. I tilted my head to the other side to dodge and grabbed the orc''s arm as it swung past my soldier and judo-flipped him over my head. The orc''s arm audibly cracked as his body came crashing down. As the orc floundered in pain, I kicked his head to finish him off. With one kick, the orc grunt''s body slid across the floor over two meters away. I finished all five of the orcs with one hit each. The whole fight didn''t even take a minute. I stood in place and looked down at my hands. "I''m¡­ strong now!" Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Low-Tier Dungeon, Part III Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Low-Tier Dungeon, Part III This was only the first floor of a low-grade dungeon. They were the weakest monsters; created to be fodder for beginners. They were monsters that I hunted many, many times during my past life, but now, the experience was different. [You have leveled up.] As I was trying to come to terms with this new feeling, a message popped up, telling me that I had just gained a level. "Awesome," I said in self-satisfaction. "Seems like a waste to stop now, now that I have a taste." My body was itching for more action, and I had too much adrenaline running through my body for me to stop now. "Alright, then. I''ll go all the way to the third floor and get the first boss." It didn''t matter how much the Sunbin Guild appeased and considered other devas; the fact that the guild had the dungeon''s bosses on lock was a different story, even when the bosses were the lowest of the low. The Bukhan Mountain low-grade dungeon had only one rule people had to follow in order to use it; the bosses could only be defeated by the Sunbin Guild! There really was no reason to curse or blame the Sunbin Guild. Other guilds did the same with the dungeons they monopolized. It didn''t matter how strong the bosses were; they were actually taken care of by guilds quite well. Larger guilds even had guards keeping an eye on the bosses at all times. "I should go. I''ll need to hurry if I want to kill a boss monster today." Each floor of a low-grade dungeon could be big enough for just over a thousand people to hunt in. I had to hurry if I was going to cross three floors in Bukhan Mountain''s dungeon and kill a boss by the end of the day. "Oh, that''s right. I shouldn''t forget about the golden rings." I picked up the golden rings that appeared in place of the dead orcs'' bodies. Most times, one golden ring would drop without items and weak orc grunts usually dropped two golden rings. "It''s better than nothing." I put the golden rings that I hadn''t seen in a long time into my pocket. "I should save up as much as I can and buy an inventory box as soon as possible. That way I won''t get mugged by thieves and have to carry all this around with me all the time." Inventory boxes weren''t just given out in the beginning. You had to buy them. A person could have up to three inventory boxes in their possession. There were five different sizes of inventory boxes one could obtain: 10 slots, 20 slots, 30 slots, 50 slots, and 100 slots. It was possible to have three 100¨Cslot boxes, giving you 300 slots to work with. The problem was that a 100-slot box was crazy expensive. "If I recall correctly, a 100-slot box cost a billion golden rings." In my past life, someone like me couldn''t even dream of owning a 100-slot box. Heck, even a 50-slot box was way out of my reach. Back then, I had 1 20-slot box and 2 10-slot boxes, which gave me only 40 slots of inventory. I had the money to switch my 10-slots to 30-slots, but my inventory was constantly filled with items and I never had the time to get out of the 40 slots. "40 slots of inventory was way too frustrating. Let''s get out of that rut now." There were general items that had to be equipped, consumable items, and random material loot that monsters dropped in hunts. All these added up quickly and were too much for 40 slots. I always thought that, at a minimum, the three boxes should all add up to 100 slots. I began to make my forward after putting the golden rings into my pocket. Even though it was a low-grade dungeon, the Bukhan Mountain dungeon was actually quite large. The first floor of this dungeon was larger than those of other dungeons, and two thousand devas could hunt simultaneously without any problems. The second floor was similar. I made it my mission today to clear the third floor. In my past life, I came so many times to hunt in this dungeon, but never made it to the third floor. That floor was where boss monsters spawned. I''ve never actually been there, but boss raids were news stations'' favorite stories to cover, and I saw plenty of videos of raids on air. Unlike the first and second floors, the third floor was built to be narrower than the other two. Once you go went down to the third floor, there was a room filled with elite monsters. You had to clear that room before you could enter the boss room. There was also a safe zone between the rooms where you could safely rest up before moving on. "I hunted so many times in this dungeon, but I don''t think I could ever have dreamed about entering the boss room. This time, there''s no one controlling anything here, so I''m going to try to kill that boss." I continued forward, with confidence exuding from me. ----------------- I sprinted down the path leading to the second floor. I had hunted in the dungeon so many times before that I knew the paths like the back of my hand and moved forward without hesitation. I only hunted the monsters that were in my direct path. I didn''t need to stop for anything. All I needed was one hit to kill them As I finished off a swarm of orcs, another group appeared, noticed me, and charged towards my position. I saw them rushing me and took a nearly dead orc grunt straggler by the foot, spun him around and threw him like a shot put. "Arrrgh!" Seven orcs crashed down like bowling pins. I threw the orc so hard that the orcs that were hit died instantly. [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] "Strike!" I picked up the golden rings that appeared as the bodies of the orcs disappeared. "A penny saved is a penny earned." I couldn''t afford to miss even a single golden ring right now! "Hehehe!" I was having as much fun hunting the orcs as I would at an amusement park. I wanted to hunt all the orcs in every nook and cranny of this floor, but my plan was to reach the third floor as soon as possible, and leave the farther orcs alone. I only attacked the orcs that were directly on the path to the second floor. I took the most direct path to the second floor, but it still took me eighty minutes to cross it. That was just how big the dungeon was. "Let''s see here. I''ve gained six levels so far." I only hunted casually, but the level-up messages from before showed up three times. "Well, it doesn''t look like I have to allocate my stat points quite yet. Well, I''ll need to get to the safe zone to even have a drink of water, so I should quickly clear the second floor and make it to the third floor." I didn''t bring any food or water with me when I came to the dungeon, so I had to be quick. [Orc archer straggler] [Orc solider straggler] [Regular orc archer] [Regular orc soldier] As I entered the second floor, I saw orcs different from those on the first floor. These orcs were physically bigger and didn''t have "Weak" in front of their names. "But that doesn''t matter to me!" Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Low-Grade Dungeon 47, Part IV Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Low-Grade Dungeon 47, Part IV I began to tremble in excitement of the impending fight. I wondered if I could take out the regular archer and soldier with one hit, too. I sprinted towards the orcs. There were eight orcs in all: two regular orc archers, one regular orc soldier, three orc archer stragglers, and two orc soldier stragglers. They must have sensed me coming towards them and turned to look at me. The two regular archers nocked their arrows, drew back their bows and fired. The small, wooden arrows were the first to greet me. The crude arrows made a beeline towards me but I reached out with my left arm and swatted them away. They hit the stone floor impotently. "Heh." If those arrows were fired at full strength, I would have been forced to a stop or at least felt a repelling force and taken damage. These arrows, however, only felt as strong as a puppy''s playful bite. That just meant that I didn''t receive any damage whatsoever and made me laugh at the absurdity of it. Before the orc archers could reload their bows, I quickly moved in front of the regular orc soldier. The regular orc soldier had a somewhat decent looking sword, obviously better than that metal skewer the weak soldiers carried. The orc raised his sword over his head as I moved in front of him and slashed at my head. At the same moment, I leapt up from the ground and crashed my right knee into the orc''s face. My knee came into contact with the orc''s face at full momentum, and the orc''s head split open with a sickening crack. The full inertia behind my knee kick caused maximum damage. Another orc appeared behind the collapsing body and stabbed at my chest. Laughably more afraid of the tetanus than the damage the sword would inflict on me, I jumped back two paces. The orc stabbed into thin air, leaving him in an awkward position, and I charged back at him. If I were fighting against higher leveled monsters or beasts or even magic, I would have taken a different approach. But, as this was one of the lower level dungeons, the monsters here had a long enough delay after they missed an attack. While the orc just stood there awkwardly, I closed the gap between us and threw my elbow into his face. The orc soldier crumpled onto the floor at the hit. A stronger regular orc soldier still couldn''t take one hit! There wasn''t anything spectacular after that. I flicked away at second set of arrows like annoying flies with my wrist. I finished off the orc archer stragglers and soldier stragglers like I did the two regular orc soldiers. It took less than thirty seconds to wipe the floor with six orcs. All that were left were the two regular orc archers. The two orc archers could do nothing but fire arrows and did so relentlessly, but could not stop my advancing. One punch and a kick were enough to wipe them both out. [You have leveled up.] I heard the congratulatory ring of the level-up message. "Have I always had an innate ability in melee combat? Was being a fire mage in my past life a mistake?" After the successful fight, my mind began to wander. The first floor of Bukhan Mountain dungeon was for levels 0~50 and the second was for levels 50-100 to hunt. Right now, I had 1235 points in each of my stats. By STR alone, I was considered level 123.5! If I were level 100, I would have a total of 1000 stat points. I would have to evenly allocate those points into STR, VIT, and AGI, which would come out to barely 350 each. But I had 1235 points in each stat, so it was obvious that I would do this well right now. "That''s right. I shouldn''t regret anything now. This is the obvious result. Huh?" While I was gathering my thoughts, I noticed that among the fading bodies, an item had appeared instead of a golden ring. "Oh. It''s VIT recovery item." It was an item that I used frequently in the past. "Item check!" [Low-grade Health Potion (1 count) Recovers 10,000 points of Health over 60 seconds upon use.] "This was useful to me in the past, but now it doesn''t seem that great." Right now, my HP was over six hundred thousand points. Since it restored 10k points over 60 seconds, that meant it was only 170 points per second. It wasn''t wrong to say that 10000 HP was a small amount to me now... On average, devas that hunted here would have their VIT at around 200-300. Their HP would be around 100k to 150k and at that level, a low-grade potion would be one of the most important items. It was even more important if one were to solo play without a healer. "Well, there''s nothing better than this when you''re thirsty." I picked up the potion and made my way towards the third floor entrance. ----------------- I confirmed that the rest of the orcs on the second floor fell to one hit. It wasn''t bad, as I was leveling up more with the hunting I did on the second floor, but I still had to quickly get to the boss room. I felt that in my condition, I could easily face the boss on my own. The sounds of crushed orcs followed me as I continued nonstop towards the third floor entrance. I didn''t go out of my way to look for more orcs, but I did not spare any of them that got in my way. I only stopped to pick up the golden rings the orc soldiers dropped. [You have leveled up.] "Huh?" Another different item appeared in place of a golden ring. "Oh. It''s a weapon!" It wasn''t a common item like the low-grade potion, but a weapon! "Item check!" [Orc soldier''s crude sword (1 count) A sword used by orc soldiers. Made of low quality iron, it isn''t very durable and craftsmanship is poor. Decreases attack speed by 10% Penetration increase by 3 Increase STR by 10 Durability 17/45 Weapon damage: 100] "Heheheh!" I actually welcomed the sight of the weapon. This weapon was so bad that not even beginners bothered to use it. The bad part about the weapon was the low durability and its quick decay rate. Even if you repaired it, the repair cost would outweigh the overall value of the weapon, it was that bad. Beginners that would pick up the orc''s weapon would use it until it broke and tossed it. It was sellable in the marketplace, but could only be sold at 20 golden rings per 1 durability point. The sword I just picked up had a durability of 17, meaning I could sell it to another deva for 340 golden rings. Chapter 22: Chapter 21: Low-Tier Dungeon 47, Part V Chapter 22: Chapter 21: Low-Tier Dungeon 47, Part V The sword attack increased physical damage by 100, which was about a 33 point increase in STR. It also had a STR increase of 10, making it a 43 point increase in STR altogether. That was like gaining another 4 levels, just by equipping the sword. "Well, it''s better than nothing." I slung the sword on my side by my belt. Punching and kicking the monsters on the second floor would be more than enough, using the sword on them would just be a waste. I was going to save the sword for the third floor boss monster. [You have leveled up.] After two hours, I finally made it to the third floor entrance. The level up message appeared after I cleared the area of monsters. "Perfect. That was exactly what I needed." I gained six levels on the first floor and four levels on the second floor. I was far from tired and had leveled up so easily that I was tempted to keep hunting. "Whew¡­ this would have normally been my limit." Of the three floors of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon, the Sunbin guild allowed beginner devas to freely use the first and second floors without charge. The third floor was a different story, however. Even for a dungeon of this level, the boss was still a boss. No matter how much the Sunbin guild catered and took care of beginner devas, the boss was always off limits. Having exclusive claim to a dungeon''s boss made a guild stronger. Sure, you could get decent drops from normal monsters, but they were nothing compared to boss drops. I heard that in the very beginning, the guild allowed access up to the elite monster room. When they found out that someone had snuck into the boss room and stolen the kill, the guild completely closed off the third floor. When I first became a deva, the third floor was already closed off and I could only come down to here. I hadn''t wanted to needlessly make the Sunbin Guild an enemy. "Even though I ground away in the Bukhan Mountain dungeon for a long time, I''m feeling a whole different sense of inspiration, now that I''m about to enter the third floor for the first time!" Even with all those dungeons I had covered in the past, I had never killed a boss before. I never even got to participate in a boss part, either. The thought of me being about to solo a boss fight started to get me slightly excited. "Alright. Let''s see what the third floor looks like¡­" ---- I went down to the third floor with confidence in my steps. [Elite orc guardian] [Elite orc soldier] [Elite orc archer] [Elite orc champion] Unlike the first and second floors, the third floor was only about as a big as a school field. I could see all of it in one glance. There was a small door on the other side of the room; the path to it was blocked entirely by monsters. Through that door was the boss room, and the elite monster room was basically the first gateway to it. There were twelve of them in all. There were 5 elite guardians, 3 elite soldiers, 3 elite archers and 1 elite champion guarding the door to the boss room. There may have been only twelve of them, but the atmosphere of the room was completely different than that of the other two floors. The elite orc champion was about half a size bigger than the other orcs and carried a massive two-handed sword. This guy was definitely on a different level than the other orcs. I could feel the intimidating aura it exuded just by looking at it. "Heh." Still, I didn''t feel afraid or the need to withdraw. "The first and second floors were just too easy. All the monsters should be at this level." I took off the crude orc soldier''s sword and laid it down on the ground. The sword was increasing my STR by 10 and my damage by 100, increasing my base damage to 3675 and added another 130 damage (with the 100 increase in damage and the 30 damage increase from the 10 point STR increase), making my total damage output at 3805. It definitely made me significantly stronger, but I decided to keep it for the boss. I cracked my knuckles to warm up my hands and took one step towards the orcs, with a grin growing at the corner of my lips. As I slowly walked towards the group of orcs, the orcs finally took notice of me at drew their weapons and took up fighting stances. The elite guardians drew their spears, the elite soldiers drew their one-handed swords, the elite archers nocked their bows, and the elite champion drew its giant sword before taking positions and marching towards me. The orcs on the first and second floors charged at me without a thought, but the elite orcs were different. "So I guess you guys are elite, huh?" If they weren''t going to come to me, I would go to them. I charged forward. As soon as I moved, the elite archers quickly drew back their bows and fired. There arrows were different from the flimsy wooden arrows used on the second floor. These arrows were definitely stronger and well-made and the sound they made as they cut through the air was different. I managed to deflect an arrow that was flying straight at my head, but I had to take other two arrows, one to the body and one to the thigh. They only managed to break the skin. I may have taken a little damage, but it wasn''t so much that I had to take special care to not get hit. If that was all the damage I was going to take, then this wasn''t going to be a problem! I didn''t stop the archers'' attacks and sped up towards the spear-wielding orc guardians. The orc guardian that was at the very front thrust his spear at my chest. I didn''t dodge his attack instead grabbing the spear by the other end of the blade. I lifted the spear with all my strength. The orc guardian was holding on tightly to the spear so he went up into the air, too. "Heh. Welcome to my special amusement park." I lifted the spear further over my head and carried the orc behind me. Then, like casting a fishing line, I threw the orc at three archers. "Nice shot!" I complimented myself. The orc guardian crashed right into the archers. The throw was so accurate that I thought that I should have gone to a bowling alley instead of doing boxing and hapkido. The three archers collapsed while trying to re-nock arrows. At the same time, the orc guardian''s spear that I was holding vanished from my hands. The spear wasn''t a weapon that was dropped and that I equipped. It still technically belonged to the now-dead orc guardian, and vanished like it never existed. I wasn''t surprised as this was part of the normal system. At that moment, the other four orc guardians thrust their spears at me in tandem. I grabbed the two spears that were aimed for my head, but had no choice but to take the other two spears to the body. I definitely felt more force and pain from the spears than I did from the arrows. It meant that I had taken significantly more damage from the spears. I looked down. The two spearheads had dug into my body about a fifth of the way each. "Health and fatigue check." [HP : 601594/612500 Fatigue : 11] Credits Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED aka Aelryinth Chapter 23: Chapter 22: Low-Tier Dungeon 47, Part VI Chapter 23: Chapter 22: Low-Tier Dungeon 47, Part VI I opened up a menu to check on my HP and fatigue levels. I had lost less than 10,000 health points. "Hehe!" I had so many more health points now than when I was a fire mage, and I only had 11 points in fatigue after so many hours of hunting today. All that and the fact that I had lost less then ten thousand health points was funny to me. "Arrgh!" I pushed back on the two spears I was holding on to. The orcs that were holding on to the other ends of the spears rolled back three meters from the force of the push. As those two orcs were rolling back, I grabbed the two spears that had been stabbed into my body and pulled them out. I rushed in at the other two orcs that were just standing there, dumbfounded, and threw two punches at their heads. "That''s for stabbing me." The elite orc guardians still needed two or three more punches to die. As one orc fell down to the ground dead, I rushed and drop-kicked the other that was still struggling to get up in the head. I didn''t check to see if the orc whose head just split open like a melon was fully dead and rushed the last orc guardian and kicked its head like it was soccer ball. It died instantly from the kick. Of the twelve elite orcs, I had killed five guardians and three archers in less than three minutes. All that were left were the three elite soldiers and the one elite champion. Just four left! I felt it at that moment. "I''ve been reborn a predator!" It was true that my current abilities were too high for the Bukhan Mountain dungeon. Not just high, I was massively overpowered for this place. The monsters were obviously no match for me now. Even back then, there were plenty of monsters that I could kill in one attack. Regardless, I had never felt anything like this before. This elevated feeling that I could do anything. The feeling that I could conquer anything in my way coursed all through my body. It felt like a slumbering beast had just awoken inside me. The beast finally cracked through the hard shell that was encasing it; a shell that I had no idea existed in me all this time. I finally noticed the three soldiers and the orc champion that were kind of just standing there, seemingly out of place. "Chaaaa!!!!!" I shouted a war cry from all the excitement and energy that was building up inside me, and charged into the middle of the elite orcs. As if I were a hungry wolf in the midst of a flock of frightened sheep, I grabbed an orc soldier by its collar and pummeled its face with my fist. The other orc soldiers and the orc champion didn''t miss a beat, and swung their blades into my sides and back. Their attacks cut deep into me. I felt a slight pain and pushback from their attacks, but they still weren''t enough to stop me. It was probably more work and loss for me to try to evade their attacks than to just take the damage. As long as I avoided getting attacked in the face, neck, and groin, I was going to be fine! It was a barbaric mud fight, between just my attacks and four monsters, but regardless, I had no reason to avoid their attacks. "That''s it. This is the least you all should do!" Pow! Wham! Slump. Crash! The orc champion at least fought with some skill. It had the three orc soldiers fight in front of it and it attacked from the back while looking for openings. The champion''s attacks actually had enough force behind them that I was occasionally slightly lifted off the ground. I definitely felt more pain from its attacks than from the soldiers. "But that''s still not enough to stop me! I''m just saving the best for last! Just you wait! Hahaha!" I ignored the champion''s attacks and focused on the orc soldiers. These guys seemed to have a bit more defense than the rest, but they still fell with four hits. "Haha! And then there was one!" The remaining elite orc champion held his greatsword to his chest and watched me. It wasn''t enough to make me feel threatened. He shifted with a chink of armor. "Rahhhh!" The sole orc champion snorted strongly in anger. With a war cry, he gripped his greatsword and charged at me. "Chaaa!" At that sight, I replied with my own shout of final determination and met his charge. We were about ten meters apart, but the distance closed in an instant. As soon as we were close enough, the orc spun at his hip and swung his greatsword at my waist, attempting to slice me in half. I saw his attack coming. I charged in a little closer and pushed off with the ball of my foot to jump into the air over the orc. I rolled forward in midair once and landed behind him. The orc champion''s attack missed and sliced the air in front of him with a whistling sound. I stood straight up and spun around to face the orc. The orc champion must have put in all his power into his attack, as he stood there for a split second longer than he should have. He left his back defenseless to me. "Chaaa!" I sprinted the short distance and jumped onto the orc''s back and pushed. The orc fell straight onto the floor on his face, with me hanging onto his back. The orc snorted and growled with his face planted on the floor, but I had no thoughts of letting him up from that position. I began pummeling the back of the orc''s head and neck. With every hit, the orc struggled more and more to get out of that position, but I was pushing down with all my strength. I had full mount over his back so he couldn''t fully use his arms. The orc tried with all his might, but my STR and VIT were considerably higher that his, so it was to no avail. I kept pounding my punches on the back of the orc''s head and neck. The orc champion grunted in rage, but with his face pressed against the floor, all I could hear were his snorting exhalations of breath. It took four focused hits to the weak part of the back of the orc''s head and neck for the orc to finally die. [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] Once the fight was over, the level up alert message showed up five times in a row! "Nice!" No matter how many times I heard it, the level up sound was always sweet to hear. But that wasn''t the only sweet thing. "Item!" Two items had appeared in place of the elite orc champion''s body. "Item check!" Credits Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED aka Aelryinth Chapter 24: Chapter 23: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part I Chapter 24: Chapter 23: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part I Foreword: Thanks to everyone who''s been reading along! Just some comments for you¡­ The novel display here on novelupdates is¡­ rather lacking. All chapter were unloaded with bolded, underlined, and italicized parts to divide up the story and make for easy reading. They were all cleaned off when we posted here. I would like to apologize, as we put all them in to make the story a more enjoyable read (for instance, all ''menu'' items are in italics in the TL''s we did), but they''re gone. Likewise, the author/editor credit was supposed to be automatic. Oh, technical error. We''ve been doing this for three weeks only, so no massive book release planned. We will release at two/day, every day, however! Thanks for your support! ===RED and Hunter W ====================================================== Chapter 23: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED [Orc Champion''s Armor (Rank 2) Armor worn by an orc champion. It was made with crude craftsmanship, but seems to provide sufficient defense. Decrease movement speed by 7% Increase chance to avoid critical hits by 35% Increase VIT by 20 Durability : 49/200 Increase DEF by 200, increase MDEF by 9] [Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (Rank 3) Greatsword wielded by an orc champion. Crafted by orc craftsmen and forged with the majority of the orcs'' steel. Although crafted with poor-grade steels and shoddy craftsmanship, the weapon itself came out better than expected. Attack speed decrease by 25% Penetration increase by 47 Critical change increase by 1.7%, critical damage increase by 112% STR increase by 40 Requirements: minimum of 400 STR to equip Durability : 317/750 Damage : Increase by 45] "Wow. I was expecting a Rank 2 at the most, but I got a Rank 3, too!" Item Ranks went up to 10. The higher the Rank, the better the item, making Rank 10 items the best items. In my past life, Rank 10 items were so rare, only a few ever existed. The same went for Rank 8 and Rank 9 items. Rank 7 items were the highest anyone could ever expect to reasonably find. Rank 3 items, like the one I just found, were used by devas around levels 200-300 and were in no way insufficient. If you couldn''t find Rank 4 items, you had to keep using Rank 3 items. Because they were found by devas quite often, Rank three items were sold and bought at fairly decent prices consistently. Furthermore, the more Rank 3 items you had in your possession, the more you could be recognized as a decent player. Rank 3 items could be dismantled and turned into a special kind of Dust. Rank 3 weapons yielded 20-30 Rank 3 Dust, armor yielded 10-20, and accessories yielded 30-40. You could then use the Dust in crafting. The Dust increased the chance of creating Rank 4 items. No matter how useless a Rank 3 item seemed, it could always be sold! "To think that I just got a Rank 3 item from the lowest leveled Bukhan dungeon. And I got it from an elite monster. I haven''t even see the boss yet!" Even better, this Rank 3 weapon boasted a pretty decent ability. Heck, that Penetration ability alone would have made it good enough for a Rank 3 deva! "It increases penetration by a whopping 47 points. This rank-3 item could be like Rank 4 or 5." Penetration was an ability you did not need when facing normal monsters or low-level devas. When facing those opponents, they would be weak enough that they would receive all damage inflicted. But when you were facing opponents with high defense and high physical resistance, penetration became important in winning the fight. When you looked at a weapon, you need to look at its three most important stats. First, its critical chance and critical damage. Second, its damage. Third, its Penetration level. You needed those three things to decide how good a weapon was. The orc champion greatsword I just got had a crit chance and damage that was kind of low for a Rank 3, but its other stats made up for it. The level 47 Penetration it had was going to make a huge difference in the upcoming boss fight. "It''s a shame it''s not a spear, but I don''t have the time and freedom to complain about that. And I shouldn''t forget to take everything else." I picked up the additional 75 golden rings the champion dropped and went around picking up the golden rings that the elite orcs had dropped. Being elite orcs, they dropped about 10-20 golden rings each. I went back to the entrance of the third floor to pick up the orc soldier''s sword that I had dropped earlier. I then confidently made my way across the elite monster room towards the safe room! =============================================== First Boss Monster Hunting, Part II As I left the elite monster room and entered the safe room, I heard an alarm go off. [You have arrived a safe room. Your health and mana will restore at double the normal rate, and your fatigue level will decrease at double the normal rate.] "Whoa. So this is what the safe room looks like." Finally coming into the safe room this first time, I noticed that it was about the same size as the elite monster room. There was enough room for about two hundred people to comfortably rest up here. On one side, there was a pool of water so clean that one could mistake it for the fountain of youth. I scooped up some water with my hand and had a drink to quench my thirst. In my past life, I had seen plenty of videos of boss raids and of parties resting and planning before their raids here in the safe room. It definitely felt different from just watching the videos and actually being here. In the middle of the room, there were a group of precious stones on the floor that I had always been curious about, and I moved towards them. "So these are the teleport stones that will send you back to the surface after killing the boss." The low-grade Bukhan Mountain dungeon had three floors, each of its first two floors was big enough to hold two thousand hunting devas. It took me an hour and half to two hours to traverse the first and second floors, even though I took the most direct route and ran all the way. If I took my time hunting or just walked all the way here, it would have taken me hours or the entire day. Low-grade dungeons usually took that long, but mid-grade and high-grade boss raids could take anywhere from a couple days to a few weeks, and sometimes even a whole month! These bosses weren''t going to die in one hit like the other monsters, and you had to fight monsters of similar levels strategically in order to save your strength before the boss fight. After a boss fight, you most likely would have already expended most of your energy and retracing your steps back to the entrance was going to be even more tiring. To make up for these cases, there were safe rooms before all boss rooms, and in those safe rooms were teleport stones. After a successful boss fight, these stones would light up in flames and for three hours, anyone in the safe room could teleport back to the dungeon''s entrance. Of course, I had never used them myself. Everything I knew came from the videos I had watched. I approached a large rock and promptly plopped down on it. I put on the orc champion''s armor that I was carrying in my arms. A message appeared as I finished putting on the armor: [You have equipped Orc Champion''s Armor (rank 2). Do you wish to toggle on the armor''s outer appearance?] "No." I had no intention of letting this ugly piece of armor be seen by other people. The armor covering my body slowly faded away. I laid the orc soldier''s sword down next to me and picked up the Rank 3 greatsword in my hands, gripping the handle tight. [You have equipped Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (rank 3) as your primary weapon.] You could decide whether or not armors and accessories were visible to others, but not with weapons. Weapons were set to be consistently visible. "Stat menu and equipment menu open!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 15 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 622,500/622,500 MP: 122,500/122,500 Strength: 1,265 Agility: 1,225 Vitality: 1,225 Willpower: 1,225 Intelligence: 1,225 Residual Stat points: 300 Fatigue: 4 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 1 point Physical attack: 4,245 Physical Defense: 1,345 Magical attack: 3,675 Magical Defense: 1,234] [Equipment Menu Weapon: Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (rank 3) Armor: Orc Champion''s Armor (rank 2) Accessories: None.] By the time I finished checking this and that, my health was completely restored and my fatigue had gone down from 13 to 4. "Nice. This is perfect!" A smile grew at the corners of my mouth at the sight of my stat and equipment menu, and I just couldn''t hold in my glee at that point! Chapter 25: Chapter 24: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part III Chapter 25: Chapter 24: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part III Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED Who was currently the strongest on Earth? I wasn''t being vain, but it was obviously me. But I knew that there was no assurance that I would remain the strongest in the future! There were the lucky 114 deities with their unfair advantage and the remaining 113 devas that would learn the ''Unrivaled'' skill. There were going to be devas from not just South Korea''s Sunbin guild, but from all around the world. Japan''s Nayuta guild, China''s Chunlong guild, and other large guilds from Europe, America, and Brazil were going to have some of the best devas as their guild leaders. There was the "Demon Lord", Arman Lagus, who began in an insignificant environment as I had and would lead the liberation forces to free dungeons from the control of large guilds. There was also the "Mercenary Lord", Madun Yatekin, who led a mercenary force of twenty-five thousand devas. There were more powerful players than there were fingers on my hands. Right now, I did not know if I was going to be stronger than any of them. "But with my stat menu like this and with the equipment I just picked up, it definitely isn''t impossible. There are still eight more months until some serious change happens. I just have to find better items to gain more ground. I can definitely get stronger than anyone else!" My situation right now was definitely cheating, and I had a backup plan that could make me even more of a cheater. It had to do with the fact that I was Unrivaled at level 0. The future 113 Unrivaled would have to wait to level 500 to learn the skill and would then gain the 20 stat points per level up. On the other hand, I gained the 20 stat points at level 0. A magistrate of the Heavenly Sect was a normal deva with 10,000 total stat points at level 1000. An Unrivaled who learned the skill at level 500 would have 15,000 total stat points at level 1000. I, on the other hand, would have 20,000 stat points at level 1000! I might have fewer skills to use than other devas for the time being, but I was going to have 10 more skill points than the other devas who were going to learn the Unrivaled skill at level 500. "Well, none of this really matters. If I have the chance to have ten thousand more stat points than other devas, then it''s worth the penalty. Alright. Let''s just continue like this. I''m doing fine." I gathered my thoughts after thinking about this and that. "Then where should I invest my unused 300 stat points?" I believed that even if I saved the unused points, I would still be able to take on the boss on my own. I was also confident as I''d watched plenty of videos covering the raids of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon''s boss. "Still, I suppose it''s a good idea to use all that I can. It''s not like anything bad will happen if I don''t save my points. Since I''m planning on a melee class, I shouldn''t put any on INT and WIL. My VIT is definitely high enough so all that''s left are the already high STR and AGI. Hmm¡­" I contemplated between strength and agility. "Let''s go with agility." Since I didn''t have that much freedom with my points, I decided to go with supporting my physical damage, accuracy, and critical damage. I needed high strength and vitality so as to not get pushed back by my opponents. There was no doubt about where to spend them. But if my agility was just as high as my strength, then I would truly become a force to be reckoned with. Agility affected evasion rate, attack and movement speed, and critical rate. With a high enough agility, one could attack accurately at greater distances with ranged weapons, such as bows and crossbows. In other words, agility affected everything little by little. Most melee tanks ignored AGI in favor of increasing STR and VIT, but I didn''t have to do that as my STR and VIT were already high enough. I decided to invest the rest of my points into agility. "One last time before I go fight the boss¡­Stat Menu open!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 15 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 622,500/622,500 MP: 122,500/122,500 Strength: 1,265 Agility: 1,525 Vitality: 1,225 Willpower: 1,225 Intelligence: 1,225 Residual Stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 1 point Physical attack: 4,245 Physical Defense: 1,345 Magical attack: 3,675 Magical Defense: 1,234] "Heh." There wasn''t much change in the Stat Menu after putting the 300 stat points into agility, but I felt the change in my body. "Perfect. Stats don''t lie. Fatigue''s at 0 now. Let''s begin!" I gripped the handle of the greatsword and walked towards the door to the boss room! --------------- Ding dong! A message alert sounded as I entered. [You have entered dungeon 47''s boss room: Legendary Red Orc Champion.] This raid is recommended for parties of at least 4 participants. There is a maximum of 8 participants, and for every participant over 4 the boss''s stats will increase by 30%.] "Huh." There was a recommended number and a limit of participants for all boss raids. The number was always different according to the difficulty of the fight, even when comparing two low-grade dungeons. On average, low-grade dungeons would need about 4-8 combatants, and mid-grade would need about 10-20. I had once seen a high-grade dungeon limit the number of combatants to 50. The higher the limit was, the stronger the boss was. All dungeons allowed parties to go over the recommended number, but as far as I knew, no party ever voluntarily went over. For every additional party member, the boss''s stats went up. How much they went up was different by dungeon. At the very least, the stats would go up by 10%, but even that much made raids that much more difficult. Soon, everyone knew that keeping to the recommended number of party members was important. "A four-man, huh¡­a four-man should be enough for me..." Despite the fact that it was four-man raid, I was still confident. I closed the message window and walked forward. --- There was a snort from up ahead. "Who dares disturb my slumber! Snort!" This was definitely a boss. It was over three meters tall and bulging with muscles. In between its sparse black hairs, it had spiky red hair poking out from behind its ears. "Snort. You come here! Snort! To be sacrificed to the Legendary Red Orc Champion! Snort! Get on your knees. Then I shall kill you painlessly. Snort!" "Hehehe. I''m sorry about this, but I have no intention of kneeling." It may have been an orc, but I was still able to talk to it in Genenian. "Snort. Then all that''s left for you is a painful demise. Snort. DIE!" It jumped up, driving its three meter tall muscular body into the air, and swung its giant blade at me as it came down! Chapter 26: Chapter 25: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part IV Chapter 26: Chapter 25: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I raised my greatsword over my head to block the attack. The two swords collided in the air with a giant crash. I managed to perfectly block the attack and didn''t take any damage, but the force of the attack pushed me back two paces. This definitely was a boss. The boss was probably stronger than all of the other dungeon''s monsters combined, the elite monsters included. "Grrr. You managed to block my attack! Grrr. It''s been a while since I''ve fought someone as strong as you.!" "I could say the same to you. Rahh!" I didn''t have any skills pertaining to greatswords, so it wasn''t going to matter how I used it. However, I had a year''s experience in hapkido and kendo. The training might be a lot different from using a greatsword, but it was going to be enough! My physical stats were all over 1200, and the synergy of my stats was more than compensating for the lack of skills. I swung my sword at the Legendary Red Orc Champion''s midline, but the boss deftly blocked it with his sword''s backend. He followed up with a counterattack again aimed at my head. I moved my sword back up above my head to block the attack in the same fashion as before. The orc was over three meters tall and mainly swung down to attack me. He was as strong as he was big, and every attack I blocked shook me to the core. I no longer got pushed back like before, but the greatsword was beginning to take the brunt of the force. We attacked and blocked a few more times, but neither of us managed to damage the other. Normally, there would be at least a total of four players in this battle, like the message before stated. There would be someone like me tanking the attacks, and two damage dealers attacking the boss. The remaining party member would be focused on healing the tanker or providing buffs to the entire party. The raid videos I had watched showed the same tactics, and generally, that was the norm. Trying to fight the boss on my own was indeed tough! Right now, I was performing perfect blocks, so I wasn''t taking any damage so far. The boss was much bigger, but I felt that there wasn''t that much of a strength difference between us. I was definitely more agile, and was managing to counterattack right away after every block. I was managing to perfectly tank the Legendary Champion''s attacks, and also deal some damage every time I could, but it wasn''t enough. I was doing well, for a tanker. But I didn''t have anyone else to deal more damage to the boss and I knew that if this fight continued like this, it was going to last hours. "Tsk. Do I have no other choice?" The fight must have gone on for about ten minutes by now. If I focused on tanking, I wouldn''t take any damage but I wouldn''t be able to kill the boss like this. If this I were in a four-man party, things would be different, but I was alone and couldn''t ask anyone for help. "Looks like I can only attack." The only way I was going to beat the boss in solo play was inflicting as much damage as I could. It was obvious that the only outcome from just tanking the boss''s attacks was a race to see who was going to fall first from over-fatigue. "Whew¡­is this going to be a messy dogfight? Fine! I knew it wasn''t going to be easy the second I decided to solo a boss. I''ll fight even if you knock out all of my teeth. I''ll beat you down with just my stats! "Grr. DIE! Grr!" I switched my fighting style from defending to attacking. I trusted my defense and health points. Erk! I didn''t block the oncoming attack aimed at my side and dodged, but couldn''t completely evade the long reach of the giant blade. I felt more pain than any that I had felt in the dungeon. I felt that the blade had sliced kind of deep, but I didn''t flinch and rushed in close to the boss. I stabbed my greatsword into the orc''s right calf. "Grrrrrr!" The Red Orc snarled at the pain! "I''m not done yet!" I pulled the blade out from its calf and repeatedly stabbed there. Was it thanks to the agility that I had raised by 300 points? The greatsword decreased my attack speed by 25%, but my attacks felt faster than when I was using my bare fists before. I focused on a single area between his calf and thigh. After about six attacks, the Red Orc turned and punched my chest with his left fist. I focused on one side of the orc because I didn''t want to orc to use his giant sword he was holding in his right hand. The blade inflicted the most damage. But I didn''t think he was going to punch me with his left hand like that! I rolled backwards three times from the force of the attack with a cough and splutter, but got back up right away. I briefly checked the status of my health and fatigue. [HP : 557,600/622,500 Fatigue : 11] "Phew. This thing really is a boss." I had easily wiped the floor with the monsters in the first two floors and the elite monsters in the room before. With my overwhelming strength in comparison, I was able to just attack with no regards for my health. But this guy''s strength was pretty damn close to mine! Still, my agility was way higher and I managed to connect more hits than he did. "I can see now why a boss of a low-grade dungeon needed at least four-man party!" But I knew I had no choice but to keep attacking. I held my greatsword in front of me and rushed back in. "Grrrrrr!" The orc had grown enraged at my attacks and rushed at me with steaming breath billowing out his nose. I dodged the attacks I could evade, took the hits that I couldn''t, and countered. The boss was much slower than me and managed to get off three attacks. I managed to evade one, and another one I couldn''t completely dodge but managed to roll with the attack to lessen the damage. I couldn''t dodge the orc''s last attack and took it full brunt. In return, for every one of the orc''s attack, I put in two or three hits. I knew that this was the only way to solo this boss. Slash! Guh! Grrrrr! The dogfight went on for another ten minutes. The orc swung his giant sword in an overhead arc, and I raised my lower left arm to block it. Had my defense and vitality been lower than the orc''s ATT, the attack would have crushed my left arm and me, but my left arm held the attack. But I still took significant damage. I heard my bone grinding against the giant blade and blood began pouring from the wound. The pain was tremendous. I had to return the favor. I ignored the blood pouring out and lifted my greatsword with my right hand, stabbing at the orc''s now-defenseless body! Chapter 27: Chapter 26: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part V Chapter 27: Chapter 26: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part V Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Grr! Rahh! I''ll tear you apart, limb from limb. Grr! Rage Slam!" Enraged, the orc raised his giant blade once more and slashed down. The power of this attack was obviously greater than that of the other attacks and I rolled backwards to evade it. The blade came crashing down to where I was standing and left a fifty-centimeter deep crater. "Hoo~... good thing I dodged, but it looks like this guy knows how to use skills, as well. If only I had just one attack or movement speed on me, this fight would be so much easier..." The best thing for me in this situation would have been ice magic. I was already using my much higher AGI to inflict more damage than he was doing to me. If there was ice magic put into the mix and slowing down the orc as well, the fight would be so much easier for me. I would be able to dodge the orc''s attacks gracefully, instead taking his blows head-on. "But the problem here is that I can''t get any skills right now." "Grr. You bastard, you''re like a fly! Rahh. Enraging Consumption!" Missing his attack again must have enraged him even more, and caused him to activate another skill. The orc''s black eyes flashed a bright red color and his body oozed a red haze. "Phew¡­looks like I managed to lower his health to more than half." I had watched enough raid videos of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon''s boss that I knew what the Red Orc Champion''s attack patterns were. The orc used the Enraging Consumption skill only when his health points dropped below fifty percent. The skill increased his attack and movement speed, and his physical attack power, while decreasing his physical defense. "Grrrrr!" The Red Orc Champion, the red haze surrounding his body, charged in. Rather than retreating, I met his charge head-on. Crash! We came into contact with each other in the middle of the room with a resounding boom. From there, we were putting everything we had into trying to push the other away. "Ugh. That buff of yours made you way too strong." "Snor! Grrraah!" Draaaag. I felt a repulsion stronger that was much stronger than before. I was being pushed back in terms of strength, and I was slowly shoved backwards, my feet sliding on the floor. I couldn''t just let him push me like that, and I head-butted the orc''s chest. It must have had some effect, as the orc seemed to be pushing less. I head-butted the orc''s chest a few times more until the orc gave up and retreated. "That''s right. Let''s do this until only one of us is left standing!" I lifted my greatsword and charged once more at the orc. The orc retaliated and swung his blade at me, but I didn''t dodge the attack and let it hit my shoulders. I winced at the burning pain in my shoulder, but I kept going and slashed with the intent to cut him to pieces. "Snort! Grrahh!!!!" The bastard must have felt some pain as well, as he roared out. Consumed in rage, the orc didn''t dodge my attack either and swung his blade in retaliation. Pow! Pow! Clang! Another dogfight started. I knew that all I could do was to continue fighting, and did not retreat. I kept attacking the orc without dodging or blocking, hitting the orc harder each time he hit me. If I didn''t have room to swing my sword, I stomped on the orc''s foot and head-butted the orc in the chest. When our swords locked into each other, I bit into the orc''s wrist. I fought so hard that I felt like I wasn''t me anymore. During my past eight years as a deva, I had never hunted or fought with this kind of ferocity before. In my school days, I may have run around with other orphan kids and gotten into trouble, but I had never gotten into brawls like this. I bit and tore at the orc, wondering if I always had this capability of violence and boldness inside of me all along. I roared as if a beast inside of me had awoken. The Red Orc Champion replied with a roar of his own. [HP: 257,789/622,500 Fatigue: 31] I quickly took another glance at my health and fatigue. After one whole hour of fighting, I still had plenty of health and fatigue. "Phew. It''s about time to end this fight." The boss was much tougher than I had initially expected. I knew now that soloing a four-man boss was not easy, and was not the wisest decision. But I had no intention of backing down now. I decided to end the fight now, no matter who would be left standing. "Before that, I should take that low-grade health potion, just in case." [You have used a low-grade health potion. Health will be restored by 10,000 points over 60 seconds.] It was only 10,000 health points and it was going to be over a long 60 seconds, but I took it just in case I needed the extra health. There was also a small chance that I could lose to the orc and I didn''t want to bet on that. "Let''s finish this!" "Grr. Come on! Grr." I slammed once more into the Red Orc Champion. ------ Twenty minutes later¡­ "Haah¡­haah¡­" "Snort¡­Guk..." There was a crash as the mighty orc fell over, bleeding everywhere. After more than an hour, the fight had finally ended! [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] : : [You have leveled up.] "Yeeessss! I won! I soloed a boss!" The level up message alerts came up as the red orc champion fell to the ground. It was only then that I realized that I won the fight. I collapsed to the floor. "Wow. 17 levels at once! I guess that makes sense¡­." In the raid videos I watched, I noticed that the four participants were always high leveled. I''m sure there were some opposite situations that I didn''t know about, but according to what I''ve heard and watched, the raids were never run by lower-than adequate people. This was my first boss fight victory, but I knew for sure now. Bosses were not to be underestimated! "This was a huge mistake. I didn''t even have any skills to use in the raid and thinking that I could win just by stats alone was stupid. I can see now why the raid needs at least four people." [HP: 95,568/622,500 Fatigue: 43] I opened a window to show my health and fatigue status, and sighed in relief when I saw them. I had managed to survive with a little over 95k health left! I got up and went over to where the Legendary Red Orc Champion''s body was sprawled, even as it faded away. "Oh. It''s an accessory!" In place of the Red Orc Champion''s body were 100,000 golden rings, and a belt. This was, of course, a small amount compared to how much work I had just put into killing the boss. But there was a bluish light surrounding the belt, telling me ''quality over quantity!'' Rank 1-3 items did not shine with any sort of light like that. Rank 4-6 items did shine with a bluish light; Rank 7 items shone orange, Rank 8-9 shone red, and Rank 10 items shone purple. These lights were sometimes known as common, magic, rare, unique, and legendary. Devas called them white items, blue items, orange items, red items, and purple items. Their actual labels were Rank 1 items, Rank 2-9 items, and Rank 10 items. Chapter 28: Chapter 27: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part VI Chapter 28: Chapter 27: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part VI Foreword: This is RED, and I''m calling shenanigans on some of you who are complaining about his fight and his weapon, because you ain''t done the math. We don''t know the effect of AGI on attack speed or dodge percentage. Likely, it''s just reflected in his melee defense¡­ that''s it! And since he''s still getting hit, obviously it isn''t high enough! We know 10 Str =+1 damage. So, his 1200 Str is +120 damage. Equipping that Greatsword gave him +100 damage. That''s equal to +1000 more Strength. PLUS...it has higher crit chance, crit damage, and armor penetration, which his normal attacks wouldn''t have. So, basic math: x dmg, + 120, at 100% speed; or x damage, +220, +Armor Penetration, crit stuff, at 75% speed (or, net +165 dmg + kickers). Doing the math, which weapon would YOU bring to a fight? Righto. The only thing which would skew it is just how high the base damage is. Which, we don''t know...but a Greatsword has to be higher than a fist, right? Now, the boss. No, we don''t know the Health of the Boss, other then it''s a boss, and health is ridiculous in this game. BUT¡­ we do know it has armor, and regenerates, and normally takes four people to kill. How many people with greatswords is our MC equal to? Two. Yes, that''s it. Two. Because the greatsword is +100 damage, and half his damage all by itself! His monster stats...are just like adding another greatsword, maybe. So he''s one man, attacking like two people, on a four man boss. He''s being carried by high attack skill and more Vit then is proper at his level, and melee def and VIT high enough to mitigate some damage. Special Note: The reason he''s not using a spear or halberd is because he hasn''t encountered one yet, and for some reason, spears are Rank 4 weapons, and Greatswords, pretty much the last of the swords to be invented, are rank 2¡­ So they aren''t going to drop easily. Yeah, we''re looking for him to start using a spear, too. Just be aware that having 1000 AGI doesn''t necessarily make him 100x faster and harder to hit then a normal person. Pretty sure as far as fighting goes, all it does is buff Melee Defense and some attack speed¡­ and those are right there on his Stat Menu! On with our story, as our MC scrabbles for his japtem... ================================================================ Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Just as there was a difference in colors between item Ranks, there was also a difference in the value of the ranks. For example, while there wasn''t much of a gap in value between Rank 1, 2 and 3 items, the gap between the values of Rank 3 and 4 items was much larger. The same went for values between Rank 4 - 5, and Rank 6 - 7. That was why finding an item of at least Rank 4 was pretty encouraging and lucky. The belt shining with blue light meant that it had a Rank of 4-6. "I don''t expect a Rank 6. I''ll be more than satisfied with a Rank 5. It''s an accessory at that. They''re the most expensive, and hardest to find of all equipment types." I bent down and picked up the shining blue belt. "Item check!" [Red Orc Tribe''s Ruby Encrusted Belt (Rank 6) The red orc tribe''s most valued gemstone is the red ruby. The Red Orc tribe believes that they are born from rubies and that they return to the rubies upon death. The nobler and stronger members of the tribe have their master craftsmen select the rubies of the highest quality for their use. A master craftsman of the Red Orc tribe has crafted this belt with the utmost care. Attack speed increase by 5% STR increase by 200 VIT increase by 200 Accuracy increase by 3.7% Critical chance increase by 2.4%, critical damage increase by 80% Fire magic resistance increase by 12% Regenerate Health increased by 50 points MDEF increase by 150] "Wow!" This was the first blue item that I found since my return, and I didn''t expect to get a Rank 6 at all. A Rank 5 would have been just as awesome. Besides, this was a low-grade dungeon. Who would have expected a Rank 6? I stood there, mouth wide open, as I read the Rank 6 tag next to the belt''s name. In my past life, I did get to use a Rank 6 item, even though it was only a piece of armor. I never got to use, let alone see, Rank 4 or 5 blue accessories. Out of all types of equipment, accessories were the rarest, which made them the most expensive. A small, common accessory would be much more expensive than a weapon of the same rank. In my case, when I was trying to find a piece of equipment to raise my fire magic, I had no choice but to choose a weapon over an accessory. "Should¡­there be so many abilities on the belt?" The belt was practically filled to the brim with different abilities. "The STR and VIT boosts aside, the accuracy and the critical rate are higher than that of my greatsword. A belt is stronger than a greatsword! It even increases my critical damage by 80%!" The boss I had just fought had a tremendous amount of health, and had a passive ability that slowly regenerated his health when he took damage. Having high critical rate and critical damage were going to be vital in fighting bosses. Normal physical damage wasn''t going to be enough. It wasn''t just against bosses; they were also required when fighting other devas and deities. You needed accuracy, critical rate, critical damage and Penetration, and the higher they were, the better! "I''ve seen a few useful belts that increased quite a few stats, but I''ve never seen a Rank 6 belt stronger than this one." Needless to say, I''d never seen a belt of a lower Rank with similar stats. Ding dong! As I was admiring my new Rank 6 belt, a message alert came on. [You have just defeated the boss of the 47th low-grade dungeon. As a reward, you will be presented with 4 random chests to choose from. These random chests have the chance to yield golden rings, rare items, or nothing at all.] As the Bukhan Mountain dungeon needed a four-man team to challenge the boss, four random chests appeared. If there were eight members in all, then there would be eight chests. "Oh! This must be it!" These random chests had a pretty bad reputation. The random chests had a chance to have nothing in them at all, or have Rank 8-10 items or other similarly rare treasures. It was because of these random chests that large guilds did whatever they could to monopolize dungeons and boss raids. They sought out all low, mid and high-grade dungeons. But mostly, they wanted low-grade dungeons. When you beat the boss from any dungeon, the random chests you got afterwards were the same as the ones that appeared in any other dungeon. Beating a boss of a high-grade dungeon didn''t mean you got better items from the random chests or that the chests had a higher chance. They were all the same everywhere. "I already got what''s probably the best Rank 6 belt out there, so would expecting another miracle from a random chest be greedy? No! I''m supposed to be luckiest guy on Earth! No one is going to have better luck than me!" I looked down at the belt. "I probably only got this belt because my luck is unmatched." I walked over to the four random chests that had appeared in the boss room and stood in front of the leftmost chest. "Phew. The belt itself is more than enough. Anything more at this point is just going to add on to it. I don''t have to agonize over this. I''m going to just open them all one by one!" I had never opened a random chest in the past! That was obvious enough since I never even participated in a boss raid. Was that why I was more nervous than when I was fighting the boss? When I opened the leftmost chest with a click, I was surprised. "There''s nothing in here." There was nothing inside the chest. Not even a single golden ring! I sighed. " That''s ok. I still have three more left to open. Other parties would get only one chest per person, since they would have to fill up spots, but I get three!" I opened the second and the third chests. "Huh¡­ did I use up all of my luck already?" There was nothing in those two chests, either. "Did I really just get three empty chests in a row?" Golden rings had the highest chance to appear in random chests. Chests with golden rings appeared more often than duds. If I had gotten three golden ring chests in a row, I might have gotten pissed off, but getting three duds in a row didn''t make me remotely angry. I was more dumbfounded. I turned to look at the final chest. "There''s no way this one is a dud too, right?" I nervously opened the remaining random chest. As soon as I opened it, a different sound boomed out! ------------------------- I left the boss room after checking what was in the final chest, and came out to the safe room. "That was fun!" The day was tough, but this recent short time as a deva was far more exhilarating than the previous eight years I spent as a deva. No one could imagine anyone who would solo a dungeon boss of the same level. I mean, if that person was a seriously higher level, it was a different story... "Looks like I''m healing nicely." The nearly unprotected arm I used to block the Red Orc''s giant blade was healing very nicely. There was almost no visible mark remaining. There was nothing I could do about the giant blood stains on me, though. "Vitality really is necessary for fighters..." There was so much more in investing points into strength, vitality and agility. A high vitality meant I was fatigued more slowly, and resting worked faster. It also made my body more durable. A more durable body meant injuries and negative status effects won''t do as much damage. Of course, I was already immune to all negative status effects... Chapter 29: Chapter 28: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part VII Chapter 29: Chapter 28: First Boss Monster Hunting, Part VII Foreword HunterW here. I just want to start off with saying thank you for following this webnovel so far. It''s my first time doing this and it''s been quite the challenge. I understand many of you want more chapters a day and I''ll feel you. I want to upload more a day so I can get paid more XD. Unfortunately, I''m still in college. It''s my last year and the workload is definitely piling on. Another thing is that the author uses a very archaic tone and word choice. If you''ve ever seen medieval Korean dramas, that''s basically what I''m dealing with. He uses a lot of old, Korean idioms and I''m a Korean American; I don''t see or hear them very often. So, please bear with me; I''m doing the best I can. To those of you who are unhappy with the MC and how he acts; we''re less than 30 chapters in. The story is yet to fully unfold, so please consider sticking around a little longer :). Jiwon''s true power is yet to be revealed: ================================================================ Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Ding ding! Another message alert rang as I left the boss room. [You have received a blessing for defeating the 47th low-grade dungeon''s boss. Blessing effect: Granted skill ''Create Safety Crystal'' for 30 days. (After 30 days, this skill will be removed.) The ''Create Safety Crystal'' skill does not consume skill points. Hunt field monsters for 30 days and a Safety Crystal will amass experience points. On the 1st, 10th, and 30th day, the crystal will take form and you will be able to receive the Safety Crystal. You will be restricted from entering another dungeon for 30 days.] "Oh! That''s right." I had forgotten about the dungeon blessing. The dungeon blessing was bestowed on all raid participants that successfully defeated the dungeon boss. As the message stated, the blessing placed a thirty-day restriction on entering other dungeons, but gave out a crystal that created a safe zone for safer field monster hunting. This perfect safe zone made it impossible to attack each other while in the zone. The zone had an area of 327 square meters, which increased the more people used it. One might think that there was no point to it since devas no longer feared death, but there were other uses to the safety crystal. The safety crystals were usable in dungeons, as well. It took on average more than a few days of fighting and killing monsters to reach the boss room. In these dungeons, a large party moved together and rotated the fighting among themselves so others could rest, but sooner or later, everyone would tire out. The comfort of not having to worry about monsters'' attacks provided by a safe zone was absolutely irreplaceable. Africa''s pioneer group and the Amazon Expedition Team counted on safety crystals to get them out of hairy situations where they were surrounded by monsters. Of course, it took about an hour after use for a safe zone to be set up. Using a crystal in the middle of a fight was just wasteful. Even non-devas were able to receive the effects of the safe zone created by safety crystals, and many of them sought them out when they could. "Well, the main reason these crystals are so popular is the Store." Stores bought all sorts of items that monsters dropped. It didn''t matter if the items were cheap or were just loot materials that monsters dropped; Stores bought them all. The price of each individual item wasn''t much, but Stores still bought them and it became the norm to pick up everything monsters dropped. The one thing Store employees went absolutely crazy over was safety crystals. These employees treated normal item sales with nonchalance and aloofness, but when someone came in to sell a safety crystal, they all fill to the brim with smiles and hospitality. They would even buy safety crystals at a premium price, buying for way more than the normal asking price. The Store''s manager would even come out to shake hands and personally thank the person selling the crystal. If someone sold a few safety crystals to a Store, the manager would sometimes invite them to auctions, let them use storage for free, or give discounts at shops, and took special care of them. "These things were pretty expensive." Safety crystals sold at extremely high prices. No other items sold as high as crystals. Besides hunting and farming for rare Rank 6 items, the fastest way to earn golden rings was to make as many safety crystals as possible and sell them. Stores weren''t the only buyers of crystals. There were other buyers that would buy crystals at even higher prices than the Stores. Those buyers were large guilds, and the wealthy. "There were so many parents with children that became devas." There were countless parents whose children were still minors. How much would they spend on a safety crystal to keep their children safe? Those parents would spend every penny they had on them! Reputable guilds whose members had children or family members that hadn''t become devas yet set up safe zones to keep them safe. The guilds wanted nothing to happen to them. One could also say that safety crystals were created for the few devas that set out to hunt the usually avoided field monsters, but didn''t possess the blessing. The biggest difference between field monsters and dungeon monsters is that hunting dungeon monsters yielded twice as much experience, items, and golden rings. Furthermore, field monsters would fight among each other and whenever a field monster killed another monster or a deva, that monster would gain experience and level up to become even stronger. A monster that leveled up has its stats go up as well, and attempting to fight that monster while mistaking it for just a normal monster could mean death! Hunting dungeon monsters rather than field monsters saved time and energy. Those that have grown stronger from defeating monsters should continue training with field monsters. and beginners should use dungeons to quickly grow. Should you hunt avoided monsters normally avoided, you will be compensated with useful items.'' That was what most people said, right? This was the most plausible theory. But the problem was that it was only theory. Large guilds that had dungeons in their grasps did almost everything in their power to not lose their dungeons. Since large guilds and those with influence had monopolies over dungeons, they were the only ones able to receive blessings, and normal people never had the chance to obtain a safety crystal. The same went for me. That was why the dungeon blessing completely slipped my mind. "By the way¡­I may have a dungeon blessing, but how and where am I going to use it?" There were seven more months left until field monsters were supposed to spawn. That meant that I had no way of proper way to use the blessing, and I wouldn''t be able to enter a dungeon for another thirty days. There wouldn''t be field monsters for the time being, so I needed to hunt dungeon monsters to level up, but it looks like I wouldn''t be able to do anything for a month! I sighed. "I hadn''t thought about this. I won''t be able to enter the dungeons at Seorak Mountain and Jeju Island." Finding more dungeons took priority over leveling up. I wanted to take advantage of all the bonuses I could get from the dungeons, and utilize as many of the dungeons as I could! "Looks like all I can do for a month is nothing else, but find the dungeons." I found a flat spot on the floor of the safe room and sat down. The stones in the middle of the room were glowing with a blue light now. The number 177 was written in the middle of the gemstones. The counter counted down from 180 minutes, after that everyone in the safe room was going to be teleported to the dungeon''s entrance. "OK. Let''s rest for three hours for now..." Chapter 30: Chapter 29: The Rank 8 Item, Part I Chapter 30: Chapter 29: The Rank 8 Item, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I trekked down the mountain after I was teleported to the dungeon''s entrance. The sun had just about fully set, and it was swiftly getting darker. The clothes I was wearing were in complete tatters, I was caked in dried blood, and I just felt extremely grimy. I ran quickly ran down the mountain and decided against taking a cab. Instead, I ran back to nearby Insu-dong to get back to my rooftop room as fast as possible. There were a lot of people who seemed to be shocked at my speed, but I ignored them and headed straight to the rooftop room. Rather than take the stairs to the fourth floor, I decided to wall-jump a couple times to get to the top. It was only possible because my agility was over 1,500! ------------------------ "Phew. It''s been a long, tiring, but meaningful day." I defeated a boss monster that I could never have dreamed about in my past life. I did it alone! That reason alone was enough to celebrate! "I''ll have ten servings of pork belly for dinner tonight. I should wash up first..." I tossed aside the clothes that were now rags and showered. After my shower, I went back to the table where I had left the five items I had found. "The orc soldier''s sword is only Rank 1, so I should just sell that at the Store..." The Bukhan Mountain dungeon''s boss dropped a hundred thousand golden rings, but selling the weapon was still going to net me another 300 golden rings, so I decided to take it with me. "I should get the orc champion''s armor and greatsword repaired and keep using them." The orc champion''s armor was only Rank 2 and its stats weren''t that great ,but it was still better than nothing, so I decided to repair and keep it. The greatsword was going to have to last me until I found a useful spear. "Hehehe." Just looking at the shiny, blue belt made me smile! "Item check!" [Red Orc Tribe''s Ruby Encrusted Belt (Rank 6) The red orc tribe''s most valued gemstone is the red ruby. The Red Orc tribe believes that they are born from rubies and that they return to the rubies upon death. The nobler and stronger members of the tribe have their master craftsmen select the rubies of the highest quality for them. A master craftsman of the Red Orc tribe has crafted this belt with the utmost care. Attack speed increase by 5% STR increase by 200 VIT increase by 200 Accuracy increase by 3.7% Critical chance increase by 2.4%, critical damage increase by 80% Fire magic resistance increase by 12% Regenerate health by 50 points MDEF increase by 150] "Hehehe! I''ll keep this with me forever! Equip!" It was awesome the more I looked at it. It was so great that I could probably look at for a whole day and not get tired of it. [You have equipped Red Orc Tribe''s Ruby Encrusted Belt (Rank 6). Would you like it to be visible to others?] "Of course I would!" The ruby-encrusted belt looked expensive even at a quick glance. The large, bright red ruby in the middle of the belt just screamed "I''m an expensive item!" "Ah! That''s not right. There''s no one out there right now that will recognize the value if I make it visible. Walking around with the belt visible right now will definitely attract some annoyingly unwanted attention. I should make it invisible..." I switched the belt''s settings right away. "Whew. By the way, this one is¡­damn." I looked at the last item on the table. It was the item from the fourth random chest after I opened the three duds. The item shone with a red light. This was a unique item, AKA a red item, Rank 8 and was right there right before my eyes. "Item check!" [Orb of Vitality (Rank 8) The Orb of Vitality is one of the 5 Orbs in existence. Once this item comes into your possession, the Orb is bound to you. The Orb collects 1 VIT point a day, starting on the day you obtain the Orb. There is no limit to how much Vitality the Orb can collect. When you consume the Orb, the Vitality points the Orb collected will be added to your total VIT stat. Bind on pickup. The Orb of Vitality will dissolve once consumed. Once consumed, the collected Vitality is transferred to the consumer. While the Orb is in your possession, Health regenerates by 500 per tick. Current Vitality collected: 1] It was definitely a Rank 8 item, because it oozed a red haze. It even said Rank 8 in the item''s description! "But it really is a damn shame." There were so many other Rank 8 weapons, armor, and accessories, like Song Haein''s Overcoat of Rage, Warrant of Tutelage, or her Hestia''s Authority. It was such a bummer that I just got an Orb of Vitality. In the long run, the orb wasn''t a bad thing. If I could hold out for another ten years, until that fateful day before I turned back in time, and kept collecting Vitality points, I could end up with 3650 vitality points, for free! But what would happen if I had a rank 8 Weapon or Accessory, or even just a piece of armor? "That would be game, set!" That was why it was such a shame. "Phew¡­should I be thankful that I didn''t get four duds in a row? Ha, to think that I would be bummed out over a Rank 8 item." I had never even touched a Rank 7 item before, and it was funny that I was standing there complaining over a Rank 8 item. "Oh, well. It''s like I said to myself before; getting a Rank 6 belt was a miracle already. Everything else is just an added bonus. Finding a Rank 8 item is a bonus enough. It''ll collect a Vitality point once a day, so it''ll be worth it the long run. Even though it''s going to be a very long run..." I gripped the Orb of Vitality tight in my hand. "Let''s go buy the pork belly now. I should eat as much as I can when I can. It''ll become its weight in gold soon." Once field monsters spawned, human territories would subsequently shrink and the prices of food would skyrocket. The general shops in Stores sold food like bread and drinks, but they were expensive. They were only simple foods to fill one''s hunger, but the high price forced people to go out hunting or spend a long time in high-grade dungeons to hunt and make money. The danger of these choices put a great burden on people. I worked on Sunbin Guild''s pig farm and cattle ranch for three years to make enough just to feed myself! Sunbin Guild was at least humanitarian in its treatment to normal humans, but those living in Busan had to deal with Yung Gong Guild''s harsh treatment and borderline slavery. Life was hard for them. Still, people were still able to carry on with their lives. "Society will crumble into chaos in about three or four months, so I should enjoy the time I have left." --- I left my room and headed towards the local butcher shop. But I realized I had a problem. "Oh, that''s right. I''ve been spending quite a bit lately." After spending about tens of millions of won on my trip to Nigeria and on guides there, I had been continuously spending nonstop. I knew that all currency was going to become worthless except for golden rings, and I had been pretty much living as a spendthrift. "All I have left is two hundred and fifty thousand won." I had four 50,000 won bills, and five 10,000 won bills in my wallet. All I had left was a measly two hundred and fifty thousand won! I had already emptied out my bank account, and no longer had any place to get more money. "I still have to go to Japan¡­" I was planning on going to Japan after finding all five dungeons in South Korea. If it were someplace close enough, I could walk, but I had to fly to get to Japan. I had to use all the time I had left into finding dungeons and couldn''t just spend it on transportation. "Meh! I''m going to eat pork belly today. If I don''t eat it today, I won''t be able to eat it ever again." ----------------- I spent a hundred and seventy thousand won on ten packs of pork belly, and went to sleep blissfully on a full stomach. With the personality of my past life, I would have been frugal with the last amount of my allowance. I was unfamiliar with the person that was spending all this money. But it wasn''t like I was being irresponsible or thoughtless. Was it confidence? The change didn''t feel bad at all... ================================================================ Editor remarks: Some more story comments for you all. Some readers already pointed this stuff out in the story below, so I''m just building on them. Oh, and sorry for not putting in a story break for the forewords. Corrected! This guy is not an elite gamer. Look at his backstory. There''s nothing about gaming there. He''s a loser who was in the military, got drummed up, and ended up working a factory job at low pay because it was all he was good at. He''s not someone who calculates damage values in his head, balances skill choices, or the like. He''s got so few connections that he doesn''t even have someone to hold onto his stuff when he resets! Information is restricted. League of Legends has been out for ages. Imagine trying to get good at that game if you were only allowed to pick one game, ever, and weren''t able to access an online information guide about the character, there was no rules guide, you didn''t know how to access all the commands, and you could only get info by word of mouth from close friends¡­ who might not play the game yet. You couldn''t pick up up a leveling guide except by word of mouth, character builds, skill choices, or the like. You just got to play purple-skin mage guy¡­ and then you were stuck with it, with no real friends to show you how to play, and constantly getting picked on by maxed out other LoL players who cost you days or weeks of hard work if they killed you¡­ which they could do easily. You got to play games against Masters as a Copper Rank, they had all the upgrades, you didn''t, they stopped you from getting them, and you generally just got owned. Gear is pricey, skills are pricey, and there''s no internet there listing everything for you, or offering them up on Amazon at a cheaper price. You only find them in live auctions, in the Store, or on the street. That makes it VERY hard to get a good deal, since you never reach the commodity stage. And people only have that area between the Store buying the item and selling it to work with¡­ and most of them aren''t going to sit around and shout out that they want to sell something for hours in hope of making money, because they can''t program a bot to do it for them! They would actually have to pay someone money, and hope they wouldn''t run off with the item, and would do a good job. Perfectly trustworthy bots and stuff just don''t exist here. So people would sell to the Store, and that precious gear you want just disappears inside the system. That''s right, it''s gone¡­ There''s no warehouse stacking up zillions of greatswords and driving their value down to nothing. Nope, they are sold to the Store and gone, presumably recycled back for other monsters to drop. No extras just to give away because they aren''t worth anything. 4) So, you work your way up to Silver Rank Purple Mage Guy in LoL, and then some bastard slams you back to Copper grade, and you realize that getting back to Silver from where you are will actually be easier starting over then continuing on. 5) THEN¡­ you get thrown back in time, and can make use of all your foreknowledge. Cue our kiting, fire-casting sniper of a PC. Except now, he''s Unrivaled, and he realizes that it is very, very stupid to be a sniping fire caster¡­ and so now instead of Purple Mage Guy in LoL, you pick Cheerful Big Sword Guy for your one and only character! But you''ve never played CBSG, certainly never read a build guide for one, or gotten tips on how to be one. Just like in LoL, you''ve got to hop on the learning curve again. You know the game¡­ but you don''t know the CHARACTER... 6) Yeah, he practiced hapkido and all that stuff. Mostly that was to keep himself combat ready and mentally sharp. He thought he was going to start over as a fire mage, remember? Why would he practice weapon wielding? All that stuff happened AFTER he got the whole Unrivaled thing going. (Hear that crash? It''s all his tightly laid plans going down, down, down) In short¡­ his own uberness cut him off at the knees. And another point: there is no martial art invented by man that has been designed to fight three meter tall superhumanly tough and strong orcs! 7) Monster Stats, same as a level 500, sure. But as numerous people pointed out, he''s got NO Stat allocation. In other words, he''s got the fighting power of a level 125 melee fighter, approximately, although its improving fast. What he DOES have is probably better melee and magic defense, and he''s probably got more VIT than four average people combined. 8) We don''t know how the stats translate to reality. Agility seems to reflect his movement speed more than anything. It doesn''t seem to have significantly affected his reaction time that much. Also, dodging is melee and missile defense, no more, no less. Since he is getting hit, obviously it isn''t all that massive¡­ about at the level of a 125 level character, who the boss is geared to fight. His Int boost probably helped out his ability to memorize and recall information, and maybe figure out new stuff, but obviously he isn''t running simulations in his mind, doesn''t have multiple thought streams, and doesn''t think at superspeed. Those are probably skills, if anything. 9) As someone else pointed out, high level with no gear is crippling. He''s got the damage output of a melee combatant around level 125-175 right now, because they''ll have melee skills he doesn''t have, and proper Stat allocation. 10) Unlike a game, where you have a straight quest line, campaign, and side quests, real life doesn''t come with returns to previous saves if stuff happens and you get off track; nor are your plans in game derailed by stuff that happens there very often, nor do you get multiple playthroughs to pick the most effective course or reverse something happening you didn''t want to happen. Our MC made all these great plans, and look how far off track they already are. He''s now a tank, not a mage, and he keeps getting derailed by real life. 11) Building on information restriction; there''s tons of important, high level stuff he doesn''t know, because he never traveled in those circles, never had the money, never had the power/skills, and was just an average player. He''s uber now, or potentially so, but in the past? He was the equivalent of a casual LoL player who might be a fan and cheer on the real teams, but just gets owned when brought up against a real player, and really can''t get much better. He didn''t even know some of those expensive skills existed, because he never had the money free, and the high level people don''t share or talk about them. And it''s only going to continue! :) So, yeah, don''t expect him to act like an uber gamer anytime soon. He knows some stuff, but none of it is high level. This isn''t RSSG, where you have a truly uber gamer starting over, knowing the game and ALL the tricks. This is a guy who worked hard just to get to mediocre status, and he would never be able to sit up at the Challenger table of LoL in anything resembling normal circumstances, despite his dreams. (Truth be told, not having information sharing in a society that obviously still managed to hold onto computer tech and the internet just strikes me as crazy and unreal, but w''ever. Part of the story!) If you want to see a supraintelligent gamer exploiting and knowing everything, and life never derailing his plans, there''s other stories for that. Oh, and thanks for the voting and powerstones! PS: Man, did I goof up the Str = dmg thing. Yes, dmg = 3x Str (start of Chapter 21, when he''s in the dungeon, part V). Thanks for pointing that out to me. So, picking up a Greatsword didn''t double his damage like I thought. Oops. On the other hand, it was obviously better then using his hands. So, those penetrating and crit things must be REALLY important, right? And damage obviously isn''t flat, there must be a multiplier at work, and it must be bigger for the sword... ========================= Now, let''s see our MC gloat over getting his phat lewt, and blow the last of his piggy bank. ===RED Chapter 31: Chapter 30: The Rank 8 Item, Part II Chapter 31: Chapter 30: The Rank 8 Item, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The next morning, I had a full breakfast, washed up and got ready to go out. "I should go to the Store first and buy 10 slots of inventory." Beating the Bukhan Mountain dungeon''s boss netted me 100,000 golden rings. Before the fight, I had 2,475 golden rings, so I had a total of 102,475 golden rings in my possession. I remembered that an inventory with 10 slots cost exactly 100,000 golden rings and decided to buy one from the Store. I also had the VIP card that Anton gave me, which meant I was going to get a 20% discount and could buy the inventory for only 80,000 golden rings! I picked up an orc sword in each of my hands. "This¡­might not be a good idea to just go like this." In a few more months, it wouldn''t look strange, but if I left carrying two swords right now, people would think that I was some sort of criminal and I''d be dragged down to the police station. I thought about leaving the greatsword at home, but since I was going to keep using it until I found a spear, I decided to take it with me to get it repaired. I didn''t have a box big enough for the swords and decided to just wrap them up in newspaper. I barely had 100,000 won left in my wallet, but I still decided to take a taxi to Store 72. ------ The Store still looked out of place in between all those buildings. I lifted the flap and walked inside. I only saw the Store''s employees with their name tags inside. There weren''t any other devas like when I met Song Haein. I walked over to the smithy that was over at one side of the first floor plaza. "Welcome, Master Lee Jiwon." "Yes?" There was a large, mustached man manning the smithy''s counter. His unexpected greeting surprised me. The nametag on his chest read Batum. He surprised me for a second, but I quickly regained my bearings and greeted him back. "Yes, hello! How did you know my name?" "Oh, come on. Everyone knows that you''re a friend of the manager. All of the employees of Store 72 are like manager Anton''s family. There is no way I couldn''t know." "Ah¡­" I immediately understood what Batum was saying. "Anyway, what brings you here?" "Ah, yes. I wanted to repair my armor and greatsword. I also would like to sell this one-handed sword." I handed over the newspaper-wrapped swords, and took off my armor and handed that over as well. "The Rank 1 orc soldier''s crude sword''s durability only has 17 points left. The sword itself is useless so there''s no point in repairing it. I''ll pay you 250 golden rings for its scrap iron value." "Yes, let''s do that." I could have saved the sword and sold it to another deva for 20 golden rings for each point the sword had in its durability, and gotten 340 instead. But since, I was spending almost everything that I had on a 10-slot inventory anyway, I just sold it. It was going to be waste of inventory space to hold onto an item that was only worth only 340 rings. I was only going to have 10 slots to use so I had to be careful what I put in each slot. "The Rank 2 orc champion''s armor seems to be in decent shape. It''ll cost 400 golden rings to fully repair it. Oh! This greatsword is a Rank 3 and seems to be pretty well-made..." Batum took his time examining the greatsword, while he just gave the armor a quick glance. "The balance is good and the iron is well-forged with no air pockets. It''ll cost 5,000 golden rings to fully repair it. Do you have your VIP card with you?" "Yes." "Then with the 20% discount, your total repair cost comes out to 4,320 golden rings. If we take out the weapon sale, your total comes out to 4,070 golden rings." Happy with the discount, I took out the 4,070 golden rings out of my pockets. "Ok, I received your payment of 4,070 golden rings. The repairs should take about ten minutes. Come back to pick up your things then." Batum took the money and carried the equipment into the smithy. There was a crashing sound behind me, and someone called out, "Who''s there?" It was a voice that I had heard many times before¡­ Anton! I came out of the smithy and looked up. I saw Anton looking down and locked eyes with him. "Lee Jiwon?" Anton practically jumped down from the fifth to the first floor and walked towards me. "This¡­this smell is¡­" He began to sniff my body like a dog. "What are you doing?" I pushed Anton away from me, confused at his weird antics. "You! What did you do in the span of one day to bring me this many points?" "What are you saying?" "You just sold or bought something at my shop, didn''t you?" "Yeah, I requested a repair service." "That''s what I''m saying! I was just sitting there in my office when I received an alert that I just got a bunch of points. You''re the only deva in my Store, so it has to be from you! What did you do in one day that you brought back that many points?" "Hehe!" I could see why Anton was so surprised. "I didn''t do much. I only became the first to find a dungeon and the first to beat a dungeon boss," I replied as nonchalantly as I could. "Whaaaaaaaaat!?!?" Anton''s jaw dropped at my answer. He stood there shaking, while pointing his finger at me as if he wanted to say something, but couldn''t get it out. "Am I fulfilling my promise enough? Miss Marie?" I asked Marie, who had come up behind the dumbfounded Anton. "Of course, Master Lee Jiwon. You have done much more than I expected. It''s our manager''s first Store, but it seems he''s very lucky. It must be because of you, Master Lee Jiwon!" "It was nothing. You are all helping me out more." Seoul''s Store 72 was helping me out much more than they thought I was helping them! It was thanks to them that I got the Unrivaled skill for free and found out information about dungeons so I could go defeat a boss monster. "Well, I still have something to buy. I''ll say farewell for now." "Yes. Please, enjoy your time shopping, Master Lee Jiwon!" It was going to take the repairs ten minutes to finish, so I headed up to the third floor general store to buy an inventory box. "Welcome, Master Lee Jiwon!" A woman named Sing was working the general store. She knew my name like Batum did, but I wasn''t surprised this time. "Show me your inventory boxes." "Yes!" A screen appeared in front of me with a variety of inventory holding items. [Inventory (no rank) A virtual backpack used to carry golden rings and items. Limit to 3 per person. Items such as food, potions, and monster loot can be stacked up to 100 in one slot. Weapons, armor, and other equipment do not stack. 10 slot inventory: 100,000 golden rings 20 slot inventory: 1,000,000 golden rings 30 slot inventory: 10,000,000 golden rings 50 slot inventory: 200,000,000 golden rings 100 slot inventory: 1,000,000,000 golden rings] They really were expensive. The price between the first three jumped tenfold each time, for a difference of only 10 slots. From 30 slots to 50 slots was¡­ "Ugh." The price difference between 50 and 100 slots wasn''t ten times, but the price was just insane, anyway. "This is why the largest box I had was a 20 slot. There''s no way I could have afforded a 30 slot." In my past life, I could never break the 30 slot barrier! Chapter 32: Chapter 31: The Rank 8 Item, Part III Chapter 32: Chapter 31: The Rank 8 Item, Part III After I bought a 10-slot and 20-slot inventory item, I wanted to aim for a 30-slot, but the price jump from a million golden rings to 10 million golden rings was just too high, and made it just about impossible for me to do so. What normal person carried around ten million golden rings? It was just way too expensive. I selected the 10-slot inventory item for now. "The inventory item costs 100,000 golden rings. With the 20% discount of your VIP card, your total today comes out to 80,000 golden rings." I handed over the 80,000 golden rings.(1) I opened up my inventory and put in the leftover 18,355 golden rings I had after the smithy visit and from buying the inventory box. "Whew¡­I finally bought an inventory. Equipment aside, carrying golden rings was even more uncomfortable. I have an inventory now, so I should buy some potions just in case." I backed out from the inventory menu and looked up potions. [Low-grade health potion (Rank 1) Heals 10,000 points of health over 60 seconds upon use. 55 golden rings] [Mid-grade health potions (Rank 1) Heals 50,000 points of health over 60 seconds upon use. 250 golden rings] [High-grade health potion (Rank 1) Heals 100,000 points of health over 60 seconds upon use. 450 golden rings] I selected five high-grade health potions because of my large amount of health. "The potions cost 2,250 golden rings. With your 20% discount, your total comes out to 1,800 golden rings." "I want to buy some other things, too. Search for Shining potions!" [Shining low-grade health potion (Rank 2) Heals 10,000 health points at once upon use. 300 golden rings] [Shining mid-grade health potion (Rank 2) Heals 50,000 health points at once upon use. 1,300 golden rings] [Shining high-grade health potion (Rank 2) Heals 100,000 health points at once upon use. 2,500 golden rings] "Shining potions are much more expensive." Normally, you could use regular potions just fine, but in emergency or dangerous situations, you had to use Shining potions. Sure they were expensive, but when you compared the cost to dying, they were well worth it. "I''ll buy two Shining high-grade health potions." "Yes. Two Shining high-grade health potions cost 5000 golden rings, but with your 20% discount they come out to 4,000 golden rings. Your total today comes out to 5,800 golden rings." I handed over the 5,800 golden rings and received the seven potion bottles that I just bought. While the Red Orc Ruby belt healed my health by 50 points per second and the orb healed 500 points per second, it was better to prepare for the worst, and I bought as many potions as I could. "Is that it for now? Oh, that''s right! I need bread and water." An inventory takes anything you can get from monsters. You can even put in cell phones, radios, and other similar modern world products. However, large items such as cars and motorcycles can''t be put into inventories. You have to learn subspace magic in order to store those kinds of items. Earth food can''t be put into inventories, either. Meat, kimchi, rice, cooked meals, and water can''t go into inventories. Instead, the only types of food that can be stored in inventories are bread and drinks sold in the Stores. This made it important to buy bread and drinks from Stores and store them in inventories before dungeon hunting or exploring. Of course, they were also expensive... "I''ll also buy fifty bread and fifty beverages." One loaf of bread was enough to keep you full for a day. One bottle of beverage was also enough to quench your thirst for a day. "Bread and beverages cost 100 golden rings each. Fifty bread and fifty beverages, totaling 100 items. It comes out to 10,000 golden rings, but with your 20% discount, your total is 8,000 golden rings." "Looks like I''m spending all of my golden rings today." South Korea was about to implode and here I was, making most of my golden rings disappear along with it... "Still, I can''t do without any of these." I opened my inventory to see I still had 12,555 golden rings left. I took out 8,000 and handed them over to Sing. "Thank you very much." I bid Sing farewell and left the general store. "Inventory check!" [-4555 golden rings -High grade health potions x5 -Shining high grade potions x2 -Bread x50 -Beverage x50 -Orb of Vitality -Remaining slots x4] "Good." With this much, I could last anywhere for a month with no problems. I went back down to the first floor towards the smithy. Anton, Marie, and even Batum were standing outside the smithy. "Lee Jiwon." Anton called out to me with a serious look on his face. "What? What''s wrong?" "Kekeke." His expression suddenly turned mischievous and cackled. "What¡­what is it?" I felt a little out of place with his sudden changes in demeanor. "You''re such a cool guy! You''re not overdoing it lately, are you? You really ought to take it slow." He then took something out. "This is my present to you. It''s Atikun tea. I don''t have much of it, so I try to save it as much as I can." It was the tea that Anton first served when I came to the Store for the first time after I became a deva. "Heh." I completely understood why Anton was giving this tea to me. They may not know exactly who I or any other Earthling was personally, but they had the ability to check the points of everyone they came across. Since I had just become the first to find a dungeon and defeat its boss, I had probably just amassed a large number of points. As I used Anton''s Store, Anton would likely receive a large amount of points, as well. "Are you bribing me?" "I am not bribing you! This is just a present between friends. Hmph! Let''s go, Marie." Anton jumped at my bribe question and walked away, dragging Marie with him. As they were leaving, Marie turned around and bowed slightly to me. I gave a small bow in return. Once Anton and Marie disappeared from sight, I turned to Batum. "Here is your repaired armor and weapon." "Thank you very much. Item check!" [Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (Rank 3) Greatsword wielded by an orc champion. Crafted by orc craftsmen and forged with the majority of the orcs'' steel. Although crafted with poor-grade steels and shoddy craftsmanship, the weapon itself came out better than expected. Attack speed decrease by 25% Penetration increase by 47 Critical change increase by 1.7%, critical damage increase by 112% STR increase by 40 Requirements: minimum of 400 STR to equip Durability : 750/750 Damage : Increase by 45] ----------------------- [Orc Champion''s Armor (Rank 2) Armor worn by an orc champion. It looks like it was made with crude craftsmanship but seems to provide sufficient defense. Decrease movement speed by 7% Chance to avoid critical hits by 35% Increase VIT by 20 Durability : 200/200 Increase DEF by 200, increase MDEF by 9] -------------------- The durability of the armor and weapon had been restored to full. "Good! Equip all!" I equipped the greatsword as my primary weapon, and equipped the armor and set it so that it was invisible to sight. "Open Stat Menu! Open Equipment Menu!" ---------------- [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 722,500/722,500 MP: 122,500/122,500 Strength: 1,465 Agility: 1,525 Vitality: 1,425 Willpower: 1,225 Intelligence: 1,225 Residual Stat Points: 340 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 1 point Physical attack: 4,845 Physical Defense: 1,545 Magical attack: 3,675 Magical Defense: 1,234] [Equipment Menu Weapon: Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (Rank 3) Armor: Orc Champion''s Armor (Rank 2) Accessories: Red Orc Tribe''s Ruby Encrusted Belt (rank 6)] ----------- Equipping the one belt changed my Stat Menu completely. My critical rate and critical damage stats didn''t show on my stat menu, but they were arguably my most important stats, and the belt was probably the best boost to those stats right now. "Anyway, I really want to hurry and reach level fifty so I can learn at least 1 skill. I still have a month, no, more like twenty-nine days left until I can see another monster. It''s going to be tough to learn a new skill," I thought out loud. I had no choice since the dungeon''s blessing was going to prevent me from entering another dungeon for twenty-nine more days! _________________________ Editor''s Note: No, we don''t know where or how he carried them, either. 80k rings would have filled a large backpack, and probably weighed something near to half a ton. He probably put them in his pants pockets or something, yeah. Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Hyungjae Loans, Part I Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Hyungjae Loans, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I stored my orc greatsword in my inventory and came out of the Store. It was definitely easier not having to carry around all my weapons and golden rings in my hands. "I still have to go to Jeju Island and Busan, but I don''t have enough money." I could leave the trip to Japan until later, but I still needed to find the rest of the dungeons in Korea. To do that, though, I would need at least another hundred thousand won. Sure I could utilize my super high STR, AGI and VIT to run around the country to find the dungeons. But that would be stupid and I wasn''t not going to use Korea''s fine methods of transportation. "Do I¡­ need to rob a bank, or something?" I muttered to myself as a strong breeze blew around me. As I tried to think of ways to quickly make some cash, a small, business card-like piece of paper flew at me and I instinctively reached out to grab it. ---------------- We specialize in one-day loans. We loan our help like a brother who will never leave your side. Pay us back daily, every three days, every five days, or once a week. Stop worrying and give us a call. Oh Hyungjae is at your side. Call Oh Hyungjae! 010-XXXX-XXXX. ------------------ It was a loan flyer you see everywhere. These loan sharks were just parasites feeding on the misfortunes of their fellow citizens and neighbors. "Wait¡­ Oh Hyungjae?" That name sounded very familiar. The flyer was worded to seem like it was five brothers running the stint, but as soon as I read it I knew it was someone''s name. "Where have I heard that name before? I know this name from somewhere." I stared at the flyer for a while. "Ah. It''s that piece of garbage." I remembered as soon as I connected loan shark with Hyungjae Oh. "Oh Hyungjae, the human trafficker!" Seoul became one of the better places to live in after the Otadolon stage. Well, to be more exact, the best place to live was Gyeonggi Province in Seoul, which the Sunbin Guild had control over. The Chungcheong region of Jeolla Province was the next best place to live in, because of the control disputes between the Sunbin Guild and the Ojin Guild. The absolute worst place to live in was Gyeonsang Province, where the Yung Gong Guild reigned. Gangwon Province and the area around it basically belonged to the monsters. Gyeonsang Province was where a man''s life was worth about as much as a fly and where the conceited Yung Gong Guild and its associates lived as kings. Mortals and devas who had the misfortune of living in Gyeongsang Province were rounded up by the Yung Gong Guild and forced to work as slaves, whether by force, threatened, or being held hostage. Every day, the number of these unfortunate souls rose. Yung Gong Guild members spent a lot of time training in their dungeon. They left the job of clearing their territory of field monsters to regular devas. As the guild members focused solely on their own gains, they weren''t able to keep a close eye on the happenings of Gyeongsang Province, and soon the guild began losing its hold over its territory. Little by little, mortals and devas began escaping and the guild could do nothing to stop them. All they had to do was treat everyone else better, but the guild had no intention of doing so. Devas got it worse than the mortals. While Yung Gong Guild members were off busy training in dungeons, non-guild devas were left with the duty of clearing Gyeonsang''s fields of monsters. Guild members were the only ones who could enter dungeons to get the double experience and the extra items and golden rings. Non-guild devas were absolutely prohibited from entering dungeons and could only hunt field monsters to level up. The Yung Gong Guild even held mortal families of devas hostage, forcing the devas to field hunt for the guild, all the while taking away any golden rings the devas earned during hunts. The guild also closely monitored what skills the devas would learn. Their mortal families didn''t live comfortably, either. They lived in Ulsan and Daegu, Gyeongsang''s larger and safer cities, and had to slave away at pig farms, cattle ranches, and crop farms. The Yung Gong Guild had no intention of sharing the fruit of its labors with anyone. It had to have everything for itself. That was the Yung Gong Guild! The sins and disgrace of the Yung Gong Guild were soon revealed by the devas and mortals that had managed to escape, but Jeolla''s Ojin Guild was adamant in taking no action. The Ojin Guild barely managed to hold on to Jeolla Province and parts of Chungcheong in a territorial dispute with the other guild. Everyone knew that the two held an unofficial alliance that split Chungcheong as long as the Ojin Guild was allowed to hold on to the mid-grade dungeon on Jeju Island. The reason I still favored the Sunbin Guild after my return was that the Sunbin Guild did not ignore those in need. There were three guilds with the most influence in South Korea: Sunbin Guild of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province; Yung Gong Guild of Gyeongsang; Ojin Guild of Jeolla. There were other established guilds in Chungcheong and Jeju Island, but the three guilds were so powerful that none of them ever became worth mentioning. If the Sunbin Guild had a STR of 1, then the Yung Gong Guild had a STR of 0.6 and the Ojin Guild had a STR of 0.3. People everywhere had the same belief that the Sunbin Guild had to be stronger than the other two guilds. Although the sense of patriotism had diminished over time, people knew that they were still citizens of South Korea and eventually, with pressure from the Sunbin Guild, the Yung Gong Guild began to accept people like me into their ranks. It didn''t matter if the Yung Gong Guild was one of the three largest guilds of South Korea; in front of the might of the Sunbin Guild, the Yung Gong Guild promised to cease all of its previous inhumane and illegal acts against devas. "If only it weren''t for the guys from Japan." There was an entity that interfered once the Sunbin Guild put on its pressure and force. That entity was the number one Guild in Japan, the Nayuta Guild. The Nayuta Guild was rumored to be as strong as, if not stronger than, the Sunbin Guild. With the Ojin Guild continuing its neutrality, the Sunbin Guild no longer could take on the Yung Gong Guild that now had support from the Nayuta Guild. It knew that trying to take the fight directly to them would be in vain. The Sunbin Guild''s previous acts of force and pressure against the Yung Gong ended after a few fights with the appearance of the Nayuta Guild. People all around Gyeonggi and Seoul condemned the Yung Gong Guild for accepting a foreign power, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Nayuta Guild''s intervention didn''t spark any large battles between the Sunbin Guild and the Yung Gong Guild, but after four months of confrontations, the status of the Yung Gong Guild''s situation began to leak and no one went near Gyeongsang. Even residents of Ojin Guild''s territory avoided Gyeongsang Province. "Soon, they ran out of people." There were always people escaping, no matter how hard the guild tried to stop them. With no one setting foot in its territory, the guild members could no longer focus on leveling themselves and had to focus on other things. Soon, a lot of problems surfaced for the Yung Gong Guild. Even with support from the Nayuta Guild, the four-month long battle against the Sunbin Guild was becoming a final stand for the Yung Gong Guild. The Yung Gong Guild had to pour all of its manpower and resources into stopping the Sunbin Guild from advancing. As a result, the Yung Gong guild could no longer efficiently monitor the persecuted devas and mortals. Soon, the devas and mortals made a great escape. The Yung Gong Guild was fighting for its life against the Sunbin Guild and it could do nothing but watch it all happen. The guild didn''t have the manpower to recapture the escapees or bring in more prisoners. After the four-month long battle, the guild no longer had slaves to do all its dirty work and the guild members lost all of their luxuries. The guild members that used to comfortably train in dungeons now had to run around the fields, clearing field monsters. The families of the guild members that lived in luxury now had to work the farms and ranches. All the Yung Gong Guild had to do was to change its policy and live like the rest of the mortals and devas. But of course, the guild didn''t. Instead, the guild decided to start kidnapping others. --- "The piece of garbage that was at the center of it all was Oh Hyungjae." Back when I hadn''t been a Deva for a long time and had a hard time trying to hunt with a kitchen knife, I had taken out a small loan from the Sunbin Guild so that I could learn a skill. But there was another loaner that loaned out lower amounts at no interest to beginner devas; that loaner was Hyungjae Loans. "If I hadn''t borrowed from the Sunbin Guild and instead borrowed from this guy, I probably would have been dragged to Busan. Ugh¡­ just thinking about it sickens me." People soon learned of someone that gave out loans to beginner devas with no interest and was very friendly. But the reason this guy was a real piece of trash was that he placed extremely short deadlines on the loans. When someone couldn''t pay the loan on time, he would start threatening and harassing the loanee. He would bait the loanee by saying that he knew of jobs that could help the loanee quickly pay the loan back or of a dungeon the loanee could use to earn golden rings and level up at the same time. Once the deadline was up, he would then start harassing the loanee about financial obligations, or start threatening the loanee''s family, etc. He used different ways to harass and threaten, based on his targets. He thoroughly knew the weaknesses of his targets, so they couldn''t freely ask for help from those around them. This guy and his associates also knew how to avoid suspicion from any potential investigators. If someone with connections intervened, especially from the Sunbin Guild, they would act very friendly towards that person and offer to extend the deadline or increase the amount that person could borrow. It was how they managed to stay in business for so long. They didn''t just kidnap devas; they targeted mortals as well! Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Hyungjae Loans, Part II Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Hyungjae Loans, Part II Editor''s remarks: Hey, someone said it would be a good idea to take out loans you never have to pay back. See, our MC isn''t so dumb... ================================================================ Translator: HunterW Editor: RED As Earth entered the Otadolon stage, all attention became focused on devas. Those that were unable to become devas were largely ignored. As such, the treatment of mortals grew worse. That was perfect for someone like Oh Hyungjae. If there was a family of all mortals, then no one was going to notice if that family disappeared as a whole. It was the same anywhere, even in Seoul. "Son of a bitch!" was all I could say to describe Oh Hyungjae. No, that was probably more of an insult to a dog. There was no way he could have kept up this secret operation going for so long, and he and his associates were either killed or chased out of Seoul by the Sunbin Guild. However, by then, he had kidnapped and sold over five hundred devas and twice as many mortals over to Busan. "After he resurrected in Busan, he got to live the posh life with the Yung Gong Guild," I muttered to myself as I crumpled up the flyer. "Luckily, I didn''t have the misfortune to get mixed up with him, but there were so many people that suffered because of him." But right now, he was running a quick loans business and I was in dire need of some quick cash. "It''s like the universe is telling me to deal with this jackass." Strangely enough, those words made perfect sense to me. I opened up the flyer and dialed the number. "Hello. This is Hyungjae Loans. We help you like brothers at your side." "I¡­need to get some cash as soon as possible¡­" I made myself sound like I was having serious money issues. "Oh dear. Hyungjae Loans is there for you. You can come visit us at any time. We offer 24-hour consultation and will help you find the best solution to your problem." "Then do I just go to the address that is on the flyer?" "Of course. If you have trouble finding us, give us a call back at any time. We''ll come find you." "Ok, I understand." "Then we''ll be waiting, brother!" The person on the other line emphasized the brother part before hanging up. "Hah! Sure, we''re brothers. I''ll come over right away, bro." I walked out to the roadside and hailed a cab and told the driver to take me to the address on the flyer. -------------------------------------- "Is this it?" It wasn''t hard to find as the address wasn''t near any other business. "They always have to be in crappy buildings like this." The five-story building was obviously very old. A sign indicated that Hyungjae Loans was on the fourth floor. There wasn''t an elevator and the only way to go up was a narrow, outer staircase. It was as if the building itself didn''t want people to come inside. There were a few offices on the fourth floor. Besides Hyungjae Loans, one was labeled Pig Loans and the other was labeled The Best Loans. Hyungjae Loans was located at the very end of the floor, and I walked towards it. The door was open and I walked inside the office. A pretty accountant was seated by the door and greeted me when I came in. "Welcome to Hyungjae Loans, where we offer friendly, brotherly service." "Hello. I just called, that I needed money quickly¡­" "I see. You made the smart choice coming to us." The accountant pressed the intercom on her desk. "General Manager Kim, there''s a client here to see you." "Yeah, tell him to come in. Get some coffee for us, too." "Yes." The accountant hung up and led me to another door. "You can go in." She left me in front of the door and headed to the kitchenette to make the coffee. I turned the knob and headed inside. "Oh dear. You must be the one who called earlier?" It was the same voice that had answered my call. "Yes." "You came to the right place. The chairman is with another customer in the next room right now, but he''ll be done soon. Sit here." I sat down on the chair the manager pointed to. "It''s not easy these days, is it? You don''t know which way the world will turn." "Seems it''s been that way for a while now. But we still need to make ends meet." "Of course we do. Even if the strange things happen in this world, we still need food on the table. Ha ha." I ignored Manager Kim''s small talk for a bit and turned to look at the door to the chairman''s room. I could hear the voices of three people behind the door. Is it because of my VIT?, I thought to myself. Health and defense weren''t the only abilities that VIT raised. Raising VIT also raised your five senses. I could drown out the manager''s small talk and focus on the conversation that was going on behind the closed door. --- "Huh¡­is that true?" "Boss, I''m telling you! It''s true. Look at this guy''s wrist. He doesn''t have a token of knowledge. This guy is immortal." "You punk, I told you to call me Mr. Chairman when we''re at the office!" "But Mr. Chairman, that''s not the problem right now! You heard what this bastard said. Devas don''t die. You know we killed this bastard, but you saw him resurrect with your own two eyes. We don''t have time to be going around robbing these idiots blind." The forty-something man who was called boss was seated on a thick, leather chair and a thirty-something man was nearly spitting his words at this boss. Next to these two men was a bound man, collapsed on the floor. The man didn''t have a token of knowledge on his wrist like everyone else, making it obvious he had used a Don Gate. "Hmm¡­" "Please. Mr. Chairman, I''m just so frustrated." "Be quiet, you punk! I''m at a loss, too. Christ, what a load of crap! How does this make sense? How can a person not die? He''s going to live forever? My ass!" The chairman threw the cigarette in his hand onto the floor instead of in the ashtray in front of him. "Pick that bastard up and sit him down here." "Mmm. Mmm." The younger man picked up the bound man at the chairman''s order and seated him on a leather chair. "If you scream, I''ll kill you. Ah wait¡­you''ll resurrect again, huh? The younger man seemed to stumble at his own words. "Leave it, you idiot! No one can hear us outside. The room''s basically soundproof. Just untie him." The younger man untied the bindings at the chairman''s orders. "Tell me one more time." "Cough! I¡­I don''t understand it either. I told you everything I know! Please let me go! Cough!" "Sunghoon. Do Sunghoon." "Cough.. Yes?" the once-bound man, also known as Do Sunghoon, weakly replied. "Do you think just because you don''t know something this would be over? You should know something!" "Mr. Chairman! How can I know if I don''t know? I don''t know how this happened either. Cough. I only approached it because I had never seen anything like it before. Sob. At the end of the temple¡­" "You said that before, you fool!" "Sob. That''s really all I know, Mr. Chairman." "There''s no helping this punk. We don''t have another choice, Sledge. He needs to die to¡­wait, no. Fuck''s sake. He doesn''t fully die, does he? The world really is going to shit." ----------------- I heard everything I needed to at that point and rose from the chair. "Why are you getting up all of a sudden? The chairman will be out soon." "No, I just wanted to see your boss right now." "¡­?? You little shit!" The manager grew angry at my curt response and got up from his chair. He approached me with his fists balled. "You little shit. Do you want to die now that the world is going to shit, too?" He threw a punch at me, but I didn''t dodge it and let his fist hit me. Instead of me making a yelp in pain, his fist made a sickening crunch as his bones broke at the contact. "Urgh! My¡­my wrist! AHHH!" I felt nothing touch my face. It didn''t hurt at all. "Does it hurt?" "Guh! You¡­you piece of shit! What are you? What did you do to your face?" Manager Kim cradled his wrist that was now bent the wrong way. "Me? Gee, I wonder. I could be a deva who needs money." If this guy was associated with Hyungjae Oh, then there was no way he was good guy. The fact that he knew what was going on behind the closed door made me certain that this guy was as much of a piece of shit as his boss. I lifted my leg in front of the jackass who was kneeling on the floor cradling his wrist and stomped down on his knee. "Ahhh! Erk. Cough. My¡­leg! My knee!" he coughed and wailed around the pain. With his knee bent the other way like his wrist, Manager Kim crumpled to the floor. Chapter 35: Chapter 34: Hyungjae Loans, Part III Chapter 35: Chapter 34: Hyungjae Loans, Part III Editor''s remarks: Yessir, them loans were taken out properly, they were. The paperwork is ALL in order... ================================================================ Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "I won''t repeat myself, so listen carefully. I''m about to send that Oh Hyungjae guy in there to the gates of Hell. If you don''t want to follow him, then you better come up with ten reasons why I should spare. If you can''t, well, I''ll leave that to your imagination." The level of violence used when fighting against monsters and humans was obviously different. Monsters came into this world differently than humans, and when you killed monsters, they gave you experience and drop items for you to pick up. In other words, you were supposed to go all out on monsters. But you can''t, and really shouldn''t, against humans. This was the first time I really wanted to go all out against mortal humans. I had never done this to anyone before or after my return to the past. "I am your judge, jury, and executioner." I had no thought of becoming some sort of superhero that set out to protect society and the weak. Still, since there was trash in front of me and it wasn''t going to require much effort to clean up said trash, wsn''t it be my duty to do so? That was how I felt about Oh Hyungjae right now. He wasn''t even recyclable. "Save¡­save me, please!" "Kyaahh!" As I was staring down at the manager, the woman employee had come in with the coffee and dropped the tray as soon as she saw what was going on. "What the hell is going on out there!?" Oh Hyungjae opened his door after hearing the screams of Manager Kim and the woman, and came out with his lackey. Because of his demonic reputation, I recognized his face instantly. It was the exact same face I remembered. "Good to see you, Oh Hyungjae." "Who the hell are you? Do you know me? Who the hell do you think you are to be raising Hell in my office?" "Me? Gee, I wonder. I might be a deva in need of some cash." I raised my left wrist to show him that my token of knowledge was gone. "Oh my¡­this world has really gone to shit! There are so many shitheads crawling around now. Fine! Say you''re a deva. You think you got some balls now that you can''t die? "You little shit, where do you think you are to just come barging in like this? You think you''re something now that you''re a deva? I just found out that there''s nothing special about you devas besides not being able to die. Do you have any idea how many devas I''ve killed?" said Sledge confidently. "Don''t you know that devas feel pain too? Do you want to be tortured endlessly for a month? A year?" "HAH!" I could only laugh at Oh Hyungjae''s and his lackey''s threats. It was all so amusing. They only went up against level 0 devas. Right now I was as strong as twenty devas; I was probably as strong as I was before I jumped in the Sea of Reset. Right then, something crashed behind me. "Move! Get out of the way!" "Boss! Are you alright?" I thought it was the woman making a break for it, but she must have called Oh Hyungjae''s lackeys and soon, eleven of them piled into the room. "Are you here to die, you shit?" "Who sent you here? You better tell me while I''m asking nicely." "Where do you think you are, you punkass?" Three lean and fit looking lackeys came forward, each drawing a sashimi knife. "Boss! Should we bury this punk right now?" "This guy''s a deva, so there''s no point in trying to bury him. Just beat him to a pulp. And take Manager Kim¡­oh boy. Hurry and take him to the hospital," Oh Hyungjae replied casually, as if he was ordering a burger. He went back into his office and sat down on his leather chair, propping his legs up on the desk. He was acting as if this situation was taken care of. "Oh ho. So this guy''s a deva, huh?" "You think we haven''t dealt with devas yet? You might be immortal, but you''re all still the same." "You picked the wrong place to mess with." The three sashimi-wielding lackeys scoffed at me and lurked forward. The rest of the lackeys thought that the situation was handled and hurried over to the manager while one began cleaning up the room. Oh Hyungjae was comfortably leaning back and watching what was going on. "Die!" The very front lackey gripped his knife in his right hand and stabbed at my thigh. I knew that if I let him stab me I wasn''t going to take much damage, but I didn''t want my clothes to get torn. I reached out with my hand and grabbed the knife by the blade. "You ought to be using this on fish. Why are you carrying it around? Are you trying to become a sushi chef?" I squeezed the blade and the metal protested as it folded on itself. "!!!" "!!!" At that moment, the lackey trying to move the manager and clean things up had dumbfounded looks on their faces. "What¡­in the world are you?" my attacker could only mutter. He just saw me stop his knife with my bare hand and break the blade without as much as a scratch. "How many times do I need to tell you all? I''m just a deva who needs some cash." I stomped on the confused lackey''s knee the same way I did to Manager Kim. I was rewarded with the sound of bones breaking. "Gahhh!" This time, rather than the knee bending the other way like Manager Kim''s, the lackey''s shin bone pierced outside of the leg and he began bleeding profusely. "Ahhhh! My¡­my leg!" "Sungchul!" "Sungchul! Bro!" The other lackeys broke out of their stupor when the Sungchul guy cried out in pain and called out to him. "You piece of shit, you must really want to die!" "What the hell is up with this guy?" "What kind of shit are you up to?" The lackeys that were tending to the manager left him and came to surround me. They were obviously still confident in their numbers. "Attack him at the same time!" Oh Hyungjae shouted at his lackeys, sensing it wasn''t going the way he expected. "Die, you piece of shit!" "I don''t know what kind of shit you pulled, but you''re dead, you son of a bitch!" The rest of the lackeys rushed at me at once, but I didn''t feel afraid or threatened. It was like they were moths, and I was the fire drawing them to their deaths. "This is fine, too. I don''t have much time, so let''s finish this quick." These mortals were probably weaker than the orcs of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon. "Ah! My hand!" "My leg!" They were hurting themselves trying to attack me. The more strength they put behind their attacks, the more pain they felt, and they ended up collapsed backwards. My attacks were plain and simple. A knee kick here, a stomp to the knee there, and an occasional low kick. They fell like dominos as I literally kicked out their kneecaps. "I''ll have to break your wrists for coming at me with your sashimi knives." I grabbed the three guys by their wrists as they writhed on the ground in pain. "Gahh! My wrist!" "Spare¡­spare me." "Forgive me." It was too late for them to beg for forgiveness. The writhing bodies of lackeys were soon strewn across the office floor. I walked over to the woman, who had slumped to the floor and pissed herself in fear. "Spare¡­spare me! I''m not involved with them. I just¡­worked for them!" "If you had run away before, I would have believed you." I wasn''t going to let her go just because she was a woman. It was obvious she was in on it all based on her actions. "Please¡­please. I''m a woman¡­Ahh!" I stomped on her knee before she could finish. It was only fair! Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Hyungjae Loans, Part IV Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Hyungjae Loans, Part IV Remarks: And here we see that the loan has been finalized properly. --RED ============================ Chapter 35: Hyungjae Loans, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Sob...sob...." "Gahh! My leg!" "Please! I''m...bleeding!" Cries of pain and cries of help echoed all over the office. "All of you, shut up. If I hear even hear you breathe, I will break your other leg." "Mmm!" "Mm mm!" They all covered their mouths with their hands in fear as soon as I finished talking. "Good. That''s perfect. Now I think I can hold a proper conversation with your boss." I walked over to Oh Hyungjae, who was still lounging in his comfortable leather chair with his legs propped up on his desk. Except he wasn''t comfortable at all. The closer I got to him, the more his body visibly shook. "Who¡­who are you¡­why are you doing this to me¡­" All that confidence was gone and he promptly dropped his legs off his desk and asked me very politely. "How many times are you going to make me repeat myself? I told you. I''m a deva who just needs some cash." "Ah! R¡­right. I¡­I''m sorry." He jumped off his chair as if he had just remembered, and took down a large painting hanging on the wall on one side of his office. Behind the painting was a large wall safe. Oh Hyungjae entered a code into the safe with shaking hands. [Incorrect password.] "Slow down. Do you think you''ll be able to put in the right code, shaking like that?" "Ha¡­ha¡­I''m¡­I''m sorry." He re-entered his password and must have gotten it right this tim, as the safe clicked open. Inside the safe, there were stacks of 50,000 won bills and bonds. At a glance, there was probably around few billion won in there. Oh Hyungjae reached in with both hands and took out an armful of stacks of 50,000 won bills. Oh Hyungjae could only think about staying alive right now. He didn''t care about his money at this point. He was up against a monster! Fists and knives didn''t work against him. He saw with his own eyes how the monster''s kicks could easily snap a man''s leg. He had to live first! Revenge would have to come later! "Here¡­ here you go. You can take everything in the safe. If it''s not enough, just tell me. If you just give me some time, I can prepare more for you." Oh Hyungjae poured out the cash in front of the real, bonafide deva. At a glance, it was probably about a billion won. "See? If only you had just handed over the money in the first place. Then I wouldn''t have had to hurt your buddies like that. Tsk tsk tsk." "For¡­forgive me. I have a bad eye for people," Oh Hyungjae replied, bowing his body as much as he could. "Before I go¡­" Oh Hyungjae''s trembling body flinched as I came closer to him. He had just witnessed the most violence in his life as a mobster and probably couldn''t think straight. He dealt with stall merchants and bums for the most part, but this loan business was the most competitive amongst gangsters. He had killed and buried his competition before. All those lives he had taken were the reason he was able to build his company to point it was at now. But the man standing before him was different. He was different than the other people Oh Hyungjae had dealt with previously. This man could kill a man with a finger. Oh Hyungjae could do nothing but tremble in fear in front of that man. "What¡­whatever you need, just tell me. Ah!" I kicked Oh Hyungjae''s knee before he could finish talking. "Gahh! I¡­I gave you all of my money. If it''s not enough¡­gahh!" With his knee shattered like his lackeys'', Oh Hyungjae scrambled and writhed on the floor. He didn''t want to die. Not fazed by that pitiful sight, I lifted my foot and placed it on his other knee and put all my weight on it. "No¡­please. Gahhh!" His other knee crushed in a sickening crack and Oh Hyungjae cried out in pain. "Please¡­spare me. Gahhh!" Oh Hyungjae cried out with tears and snot running down his face. But I was far from satisfied. The more I looked at him, the more I was reminded of how he managed to escape to Busan even after being killed by the Sunbin Guild. I kept remembering how he lived the good life with the Yung Gong guild and how he went about bragging that he kidnapped and sold so many souls to the Yung Gong guild. I remembered how he continued to torture the very people he kidnapped. It didn''t matter to me that I wasn''t one of them. I didn''t have the misfortune to get mixed up with Oh Hyungjae, but that didn''t matter. I wasn''t trying to be some goody-two-shoes protector of the weak, but it didn''t sit well with me to leave this piece of shit go unpunished. If I didn''t know who he was, well, who knows? His one-death penalty back then was not enough compared to all the sins he had committed. "Gee¡­I''m not sure if I should spare you." "Please! I beg of you! I apologize for whatever I''ve done. Sir! Please, let me go this once," Oh Hyungjae begged as he crawled on the floor with his arms. He crawled to get as far away from me as he could. I slowly walked up to him and placed myself in front of him. I looked down at him and he raised his head to look back at me. "Spare¡­spare me," he spouted again with tears and snot streaming down his face. I lifted my foot once more and held it over his right elbow. "No! Please!" I put my weight on his elbow despite his cries and broke the bone with a sickening crunch. His elbow looked like a car ran it over. "Gahh! My¡­arm! My arm! Gahh!" Oh Hyungjae writhed on the floor in pain. "You son of a bitch! Ahhh! Why are you doing this to me! Gahh!" I stepped on his left elbow and broke it the same way. Overcome with more rage than pain, he glared up at me and swore. But I didn''t care what he said or how he felt. I had made my decision in the cab ride here. He was the lowest piece of shit ever. He committed so many atrocities after he became a deva. It was probably for the best to kill him while he was still a mortal. The thought that this was all predestined from the moment I caught his flyer in the wind came to my mind. I had killed someone in my past life. Of course, that person was a deva and I knew he was going to resurrect. But I had never committed actual murder. The desire never came to me even when the worth of mortals plummeted. If I killed Oh Hyungjae, I would be murdering a man for the first time. Killing other devas back then didn''t count. Even though I made my decision, my conscience kept making excuses for him. My conscience kept back when I killed devas, probably because I knew they would resurrect sooner or later. "Cough! Please¡­I''ve done wrong. Just leave me with my life! I need a hospital." Blood poured from his elbows and knees and soaked the floor. All of his rage dissipated pretty quickly, as he begged for his life with a pitiful voice. "I''m going to kill you, right here, right now!" I shouted with steady determination. I think I shouted louder than I should have to drown out my conscience. If I stopped here, there was a chance Oh Hyungjae could change. After all that he just went through, he could move back to the countryside and work on a farm or join a temple. "But I''m not going to leave here with potential regrets. If I''m going to regret anything it''ll be after I know I''ve done all that I could!" That was what the new me decided. I decided I wasn''t going to leave any of this to chance, but to make sure to finish it all. If I couldn''t make a difference because I was afraid that I would regret it then nothing was going to change. I looked over at Oh Hyungjae who was lying back, gasping and panting for air. I lifted my foot one last time and placed my heel on his neck. I pushed down on my heel. "Gak! Gurg!" Oh Hyungjae couldn''t move his limbs and could only squirm. I didn''t want to watch him wriggle like that under my foot, even if he was a bad guy and pushed down with all my weight. His neck finally gave with a crack and his body stopped squirming and laid still. I had killed a man for the first time. I felt a strange, confusing feeling wash over me, but I quickly held it together. Right now, I didn''t regret what I just did. I was going to leave the shaking till later. I looked over at the other fourteen people on the floor of the office. They were all looking at me with fearful and horrorstruck eyes. My only target was Oh Hyungjae. They weren''t the best people for working with Oh Hyungjae, but I didn''t need to kill any of them. "Take this chance to lead better lives." "¡­" "!!!" "???" I uttered that one sentence to them and walked over to the pile of money. I picked up twenty stacks of 50,000 won bills and placed them in my inventory. A hundred million won should be enough for the remaining time it was still useful. If you want the hundred million back plus interest, then come back as a ghost. I''ll meet you anytime, I thought to myself as I gave Oh Hyungjae''s dead body a final look. I wasn''t going to shirk away from my first murder. I looked over at the imprisoned deva in the room and locked eyes with him. He was already untied and ungagged at this point. There was nothing I could do or say to help him and I looked away. I wiped my bloody soles on the carpet floor and went outside. I didn''t want to come back here ever again. I didn''t like drinking. But right now, I was craving soju. --- My name is Do Sunghoon. I was a one-day laborer working for Oh Hyungjae, and had found a Don Gate by chance. I used it to be reborn as a deva. But other than that, I felt nothing different. I didn''t have overwhelming strength, I couldn''t fly, nor could I breathe fire. I was the same as before. I continued my work like always, before I was taken by Oh Hyungjae''s goons. They saw that I no longer had my token of knowledge on my wrist and knew that I became a deva. The goons were curious if devas really didn''t die and killed me. I resurrected soon after. They questioned me after witnessing that, but I didn''t know anything else. The Don Gate painfully transformed me before spitting me out with a message that I had become a deva. All I could do afterwards was to stare at the fading Don Gate. I wanted to tell them everything, but I didn''t know anything else and these assholes kept hounding me for answers that I didn''t have. After all that, they killed me again and found out that devas felt the same pain. While I spent so much time in pain, the man appeared. "A deva, like me!" That man definitely did not have a token on his wrist, and he himself said that he was a deva. All I knew about devas was that while they couldn''t fully die, there was nothing else separating them from other humans and expected him to fall into the same situation as me. But I was wrong. He was a deva like me, but he was different. He could grab knives by the blade and not get a single scratch on him. Oh Hyungjae''s goons punched and kicked him, but they were the ones that were hurt. "That deva was on a whole different level!" That man was everything I had expected a deva to be. I felt the force of the seemingly light kick as I watched it shatter the knees of the thugs. The sight of all the blood, flesh, and bone shards splattering around the room didn''t disgust me or scare me. Watching all those thugs that I feared cover their mouths and sob at the deva''s command to be quiet was like watching a dark humor skit. I was moved by the fact that this man was a deva like me. I had hope that I had the possibility of becoming as strong as him. In the thirty minutes that man was in Oh Hyungjae''s office, he killed Oh Hyungjae and fully traumatized all of the thugs. When that man crushed the arms of the knife-wielding thugs, I didn''t think that it was cruel. In fact, it felt good watching them get their just desserts. They weren''t going to be able to feed themselves for a long time. Superman! He was like the Superman that I dreamed of becoming when I was a kid. It was a dream that I quickly grew out of, knowing that it was impossible. But he was real. Superman was real. Superman was a deva! I''m a deva, too. I am a deva, too! There''s nothing I can''t do. The proof is right in front me. I can be as strong as Superman and shatter kneecaps with a small kick! I lived my life in fear, afraid to get hurt. These guys were the devils in people''s ears. Oh Hyungjae and his ilk were human trash that made their money by coercing people into borrowing from them and forcing them to pay them back at insane interest rates. Just killing them once was too good for them. The deva I had just witnessed was stronger and cooler than any sort of hero I had heard of. "I¡­I want to become a deva like him!" I ingrained the man''s appearance in my mind. Chapter 37: Chapter 36: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part I Chapter 37: Chapter 36: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I looked up to the sky as I walked out. It was only three in the afternoon and the sun was still out, scorching hot. "I just want to go home and have a drink. I''m too tired to do anything else today." I briefly checked my health and fatigue levels and noticed that my fatigue was still at 0, but I was still tired. So tired. I didn''t normally drink, but I bought five bottles of soju and went up to my rooftop room. I wasn''t hungry, either; I just wanted to drink. The more I drank, the more I shivered. It was in the middle of July, but I turned on the heater. I soon fell asleep. I didn''t notice that my cold sweat was soaking through the covers. --- The Sunbin Group was headquartered in a ninety-seven story building located in Gangnam, Seoul. On the eighty-thirdrd floor, a group of sharply dressed men and women were holding a meeting in one of the conference rooms. Song Daechul, the chairman of the board of Sunbin Group, looked through the report in his hand for a while before sighing and asked his executive secretary. "You are saying that everything in this report is true?" "Yes, Mr. Chairman! There''s no doubt about it." "Father! We don''t have time for this." "He''s right, grandfather!" Song Daechul''s son, Song Myungsoo, and his five granddaughters implored the chairman. One of the girls was Song Haein, one of the first of them to become a Deva. "So, humans can no longer leave descendants?" Song Daechul asked his head of Sunbin Pharmaceuticals, Lee Daehun, while ignoring his family''s pleas. "Yes, Mr. Chairman. We investigated 7,500 different cases and we concluded that no man can produce sperm and no woman can produce eggs anymore. We''ve also tested on mice, pigs, and dogs, but they have no problems with reproduction. It''s only with humans! Humans can''t reproduce anymore." "Hah¡­" the chairman sighed deeply at Lee Daehun''s affirmation. "Mr. Chairman." The fifty-year old chief of security, Han Chulgyung, looked upon his employer. This man had been Song Daechul''s personal guard since the chairman''s beginnings; even the chairman''s family respected him. "You must become a Deva. I''m sure you have seen my men''s reports, but you escape death for good once you become a Deva. We don''t know what else will happen to the world. You must become a Deva as soon as possible." While everyone else hesitated and feared about becoming an unknown Deva, Han Chulgyung stepped forward and took the initiative. He had even committed suicide to reveal that Devas truly couldn''t fully die. As head of security, he was extremely sensitive about the safety of his ward and took it upon himself to experiment, even after all of his men volunteered to take the task. He did it in front of Song Haein. It was because of his experiment that Song Haein could become a Deva so quickly. "He''s right. If we go by the R&D report, there is something known as a stat and skill menu. It''s very similar to that of a virtual reality game." "The only thing that can top this weirdness is if a meteor strikes the Earth tomorrow. The best option we have in all this uncertainty is to have you become a Deva, Mr. Chairman. Quickly." Kim Soochul, the executive secretary, and Park Manho, the head of the R&D, both agreed with Han Chulgyung''s advice. As soon as Song Daechul heard the voice in the sky, he had immediately ordered Sunbin''s R&D to investigate. It was thanks to his preemptive decision that the Sunbin Group had learned so much more than anyone else. Song Daechul took in what everyone said, and remained deep in thought. "Would that be the right thing to do? No, the problem here isn''t that if it''s right or wrong. It doesn''t matter if it makes sense or if it''s absurd. No, the real problem is¡­" The chairman trailed off and looked over at the Don Gate. The executives had cordoned off the floor and held their meeting there because there was a Don Gate sitting in the middle of the lobby. This was the Don Gate he was looking at. "This is the problem, here. Is it really okay for humans to not be humans anymore?" Would immortality truly be a gift, like everyone believes? Or would it turn out to be a curse? Mortality was the most beautiful part of being human. Humans could have pleasant memories and happiness because of their short lives. There was no such thing as everlasting love and everlasting happiness. Nothing was permanent, which was why humans could have short, burning love and dream of happier days. "This might as well be the end of days! How am I supposed to make a decision like this?" The executive members fell silent at the chairman''s monologue and watched him. Sunbin Group was South Korea''s largest conglomerate. There was no foreign power that did not know about the Sunbin Group and its influence. Sung Daechul took over his father''s small textile factory and converted it into a construction company, to take advantage of Korea''s growing economy. Then at the peak of Korea''s construction boom and Korea''s construction projects in the Middle East, Sung Daechul used all of his profits to convert his company into an electronics company and focused all of his investments to create today''s Sunbin Group. He beat political interference and his competitors fairly and legally and gained the reputation of a bulldozer as he struggled through many difficulties. "There''s a chance I''ll become more of a monster than human!" Deva. Immortal human being. There was no such thing. That was a monster! And so, the chairman of the board stood there in silence for more than twenty minutes, staring at the Don Gate that had appeared in the lobby. The others silently watched over the chairman as he stood there, ready to follow whatever order he gave them. "Hah!" the chairman suddenly laughed. After frowning in contemplation for so long, he finally gave a smile. "Fine! If the world wants me to, then I will. I''ll become a monster! I can''t stop here now, no matter what might be waiting for me on the other side." He finally made his decision after considering all of his departments'' reports. [The era of humans has come to an end. If we can''t prepare for the future, then who are we leaving our future to? There is no such thing as forever!] Those that knew Song Daechul personally knew that he didn''t like the word forever. To him, forever took away dreams and hopes. If something was forever, then it had no value. Why? Because it lasted forever. But that didn''t mean he was going to go stand against the flow of time. He knew that was impossible. If he couldn''t stand against the tide, then he was going to ride it out. He believed that he should at least see where the tide would take him, even if he fell off the wave midway. In the years he had spent building his businesses; he had to make the toughest decisions and had many times where he thought it was the end. But he always made it through. And so, on that day, the Sunbin Group gathered its most talented people and turned them into devas using all the Don Gates that had been hidden all this time at the chairman''s command. "By the way, what was that young man''s name again?" Song Daechul asked his youngest and most favored grandchild, Song Haein. She was shrewdest of his grandchildren, and she took after his boldness and resolve. She had quite the ability to accurately judge people. "Do you mean Lee Jiwon?" "Yes, him. I would like to meet him once." After Song Haein encountered Lee Jiwon, she had thoroughly investigated him. Obviously, she hadn''t done it herself, but she still handed the report on him over to her grandfather. They weren''t going to leave any stone unturned about devas! "I understand. I''ll see if I can contact him, grandfather." Chapter 38: Chapter 37: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part II Chapter 38: Chapter 37: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The next morning... "Ahk! My head." My vitality may have been higher after becoming a deva, but after all that drinking, I still got a hangover. "I might be immune to all status effects, but looks like I can''t do anything about alcohol." I placed a hand on my nauseous stomach and sat up. "Huh?" When I placed my other hand to prop myself up, my bed felt damp. "What is that? Did I spill soju?" Uncomfortable at the damp touch, I quickly took off my sheets. "At least it doesn''t seem like I threw up." I ran my sheets and blanket in the wash for at least an hour and left the house at 10:27 AM after taking a shower. "I think I fell asleep at around four PM yesterday, so I must have slept for about fifteen hours." I had just about slept the day away. "I should get something to eat to sober up." I had a quick brunch to ease my nauseous gut and went back to the house. "I won''t ever forget it. But I also won''t regret it. Not yet," I said to myself while staring at my reflection in the mirror. "I took a whole day off yesterday. Time to get back at it again!" I wasn''t done with finding dungeons. I was just beginning! I wasn''t going to be able to enter anymore dungeons for a month anyway, and field monsters wouldn''t be spawning anytime soon, either. "All I can do now is to find as many dungeons as I can. I won''t have time to rest." I walked over to my desk and took out my notes from my inventory. "I''ve already found Bukhan Mountain''s dungeon. There are four more dungeons left in South Korea." I checked the dungeons'' locations that I had written down in my notes. [Mid-grade dungeon located by the Baengnokdam (TL Note: literally White Deer Lake) crater lake on Hallasan Mountain in Jeju. Low-grade dungeon located at the Peak of Seorak Mountain in Gangwon Province. Low-grade dungeon located in Eulsukdo Island, at Saha District, Busan. Low-grade dungeon located at Oksunbong Peak in Danyang County, North Chungcheong.] "I''ll probably need more than a day." I knew the exact locations of three of the dungeons. I knew where Seorak Mountain''s dungeon and where Oksunbong''s dungeons were exactly. I used to hunt there before. I had never gone to Jeju''s Baengnokdam dungeon before, but it was South Korea''s only mid-grade dungeon and a lot of people went there and talked about it. I could probably find it just by the rumors I had heard. I had no idea where Eulsukdo''s dungeon was, however. That was the dungeon the Yung Gong Guild had controlled. "I''d have to be crazy to even think about trying to go there. I would have been kidnapped. It was supposed to chock full of Yong Gong guild members." I stared at the word Eulsukdo, and thought for a bit. "Should I give up on it? Or should I chance it and look for it?" Most low-grade dungeon entrances were five meters tall and four meters wide. Therefore, if I wanted to go looking for the dungeon, all I would have to do was attack the air every four meters. I didn''t know how long that would take, but I would eventually find it. "Oh, that''s right! The Bukhan Mountain dungeon!" At that point, I remembered something about the dungeon. "There''s a giant hole on the side of Bukhan Mountain''s peak; someone''s bound to find it sooner or later." You''d have to be blind to miss that entrance. "Ah, whatever! Only devas can enter anyway. Let''s just leave it so someone can level up." I had a penalty of a thirty-day dungeon restriction, but I wasn''t stressing it. It wasn''t much of a penalty, anyway. "It''ll be a good thing if more and more devas can grow stronger." No one would ever know what the endgame here would be. I had heard about a keyword known only as the Judge''s Continent during my past life. I was too low on the power spectrum then, so I had no other information about it. "It doesn''t matter. It''s going to be different this time. I''ll go to the places I know of first. I''ll work my way from the top to the bottom. I''ll start at Gangwon Province and make my way to Chungcheong. Then I''ll take a plane from Chungcheong Airport to Jeju Island." I''d be satisfied if I can make it to one of those three places today. "But Eulsukdo¡­" I looked at my notes once more. "I''ll look for it, too. Eulsukdo has to be where the Yung Gong Guild set its foothold. I don''t even want them to have the five bonus stat points." I had already killed Yung Gong Guild''s ally, Oh Hyungjae, with my bare hands. I was probably even strong enough to kill Yung Gong Group''s chairman, Shin Changil, if I wanted to. "But¡­it''s not like I can kill all the bad guys from before. Even if I kill them, more will take their place. It''s not like I want to be some sort of hero, either." The whole thing was a contradiction. I prevented one thing by killing Oh Hyungjae, but there were so many like him in the Yong Gong Guild. The only way I could prevent the Yong Gong Guild from ever forming would be to kill every single one of its members. "It''ll be a pain in the ass if I become wanted by the police." If someone reported Oh Hyungjae''s death, it would still take a few months for an investigation to get underway. The society I remembered was going to fall in three or four months anyway, with everyone scrambling to become devas. "It''s still going to take another two years for some stability to take hold." Absolute chaos. The spiral of chaos had barely started yet. "If I were to take out all of Yung Gong Group''s main family¡­" I was sure I could get away with it if I ran from the cops for a few months, but I''d probably have a pretty high notoriety for a while after. "I don''t particularly care about notoriety, but I doubt that it''s smart to go looking for it." I decided it was probably for the best to leave the Yung Gong Guild alone for now. The whole spiel about running from the cops was probably just a lame excuse to try to convince myself. I was strong enough to not really care about the cops. I knew it was only hard in the beginning and that it would only get easier, but I didn''t realize how bold I could be with the whole Oh Hyungjae business. I never knew I had it in me. I would never forget that I had killed a man, but I wasn''t going to become some kind of serial killer. It was my decision that killed Oh Hyungjae. But just because I killed him doesn''t mean I''m going to go around doing the same to other bad guys. This isn''t about justice or equality. I''m a person, too. I''m no god. I can''t be condemning myself like this. My decisions have consequences, I thought to myself, shaking my head. "But once I''m strong enough, I''ll definitely hassle them. Anyway, I''ll find Eulsukdo''s dungeon as well. It probably won''t take me long with my stamina." If it meant spending a couple days, then I was definitely not going to let the Yung Gong Guild have that bonus. "Looks like I''ll be busy for a while. I should hurry." I set out and took the express bus to Sokcho. From there, I took a cab to Seorak Mountain. --------------------------------------- I sprinted up to the peak. No steep or dangerous path could slow me down. "Ah. Open Stat Menu!" --------------------------- [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 722,500/722,500 MP: 122,500/122,500 Strength: 1,465 Agility: 1,525 Vitality: 1,445 Willpower: 1,225 Intelligence: 1,225 Residual Stat Points: 340 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 1 point Physical attack: 4,845 Physical Defense: 1,545 Magical attack: 3,675 Magical Defense: 1,354] ----------------- I had 340 leftover stat points from gaining 17 levels after beating the Red Orc boss. "Hmm. Let''s put these in AGI as well." I wasn''t going to be hunting monsters for the time being and decided to put all my points on AGI to help me move around faster. The faster I moved, the faster I could find the locations of dungeons that I didn''t know exactly. "With my stats right now, getting more hits in is going to be better for me." Soon, I''d be able to enter dungeons again, but I had no plan to enter Jeju''s dungeon for the time being. Jeju''s mid-grade dungeon would have monsters that were higher leveled than me and while I could gain more experience points from hunting them, I''d have to be strategic and careful about it. If I hunted in dungeons that were at my level, then I could just rush through them, like the way I did at the Bukhan Mountain dungeon. So, what did I need the most right now? Speed. I could raise my STR and VIT from the levels I would gain while doing the actual hunting. "It won''t be too late for me to raise my STR and VIT then." I entered my leftover 340 stat points into AGI. "Open Stat Menu!" [Level: 32 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 722,500/722,500 MP: 122,500/122,500 Strength: 1,465 Agility: 1,865 Vitality: 1,445 Willpower: 1,225 Intelligence: 1,225] I smiled, thinking that all these Stat points were way too much for level 32. "Perfect. Let''s go." I wondered if it was the effect of the extra 340 AGI points, but I climbed the mountain far more easily. ------------------------------ I soon arrived at the Peak of Seorak Mountain. "I think it was around here..." The entrance to the dungeon was going to be overrun by monsters in the future. The Sunbin Guild and the Yung Gong Guild would send raid parties to sneak past the monsters to fight the dungeon''s boss and then sneak back out. The other four dungeons were maintained by the guilds. Compared to them, the Seorak Mountain''s dungeon was often referred to as abandoned. I walked around the area, occasionally hitting the air around me until I heard a resounding clink! Chapter 39: Chapter 38: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part III Chapter 39: Chapter 38: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part III "Eureka!" After a few steps, I heard the same sound I heard back at the entrance of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon. Excited, I started swinging and kicking at the shield spell until it finally gave way with a loud crack. ----------------- [Low-grade Dungeon 83 has been discovered. Congratulations, you have discovered a low-grade dungeon! You will be given your bonus! All stats will be increased by 5 points.] --------------- "Awesome!" A similar message as the one from Bukhan Mountain appeared in front of me. The low-grade dungeon boosted my Stats by 5 points. The message continued. ------------------------ [You have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You will be granted 1 point for discovering a low-grade dungeon. You will receive a bonus every 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Current points: 2 points] ------------------- My Dungeon Seeker special was raised to 2 points, as well! "I wonder if I really can''t enter the dungeon right now." I had heard about the dungeon blessing preventing others from entering dungeons, but I never received the blessing before, so I wanted to see for myself if was true. I walked towards the entrance of the 83rd dungeon. Ding dong! An alarm went off right away. ------------- [A dungeon blessing is currently in effect. You will be restricted from entering any dungeons while the blessing is in effect. Remaining blessing duration: 27 days 13 hours 37 minutes] ------------ "Tsk!" It felt like there was an invisible wall in front me, preventing me from taking another step forward. I felt a little dejected when the alert went off. "Fine, I''ll let it go this time." There was nothing else I could do now, so I turned to leave. "Now then, should I head for Oksunbong now?" I practically slid down the mountain trail. I barely had enough time to make it to Jeju Island by the end of the day. "Damn, I might not have enough time." The next express bus was going to arrive in an hour and twenty minutes. I even thought about flying out from the nearby Wonju Airport, but it would be tough to plan around the flight times. "Duh! I''ll just take a cab." I slapped my forehead for forgetting about the obvious choice. "I have money to burn, anyway." ---------------------- I left the bus terminal, got in a cab and told the driver to take me to Danyang, Chungcheong. He frowned at my request, but as soon as I said 500,000 won, he practically demanded I get in. It took him less than 3 hours to get there. Money does talk. I headed straight for Oksunbong Peak. I arrived where I remembered the entrance was and punched the air like before. I was rewarded with a resounding ting. "Hah! First time!" I threw a couple more punches to break open the spell. ------------------ [Low-grade Dungeon 83 has been discovered. Congratulations, You have discovered a low-grade dungeon! You will be given your bonus! All stats will be increased by 5 points.] ---------------- "Yes! That''s two already today!" --------------- [You have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You will be granted 1 point for discovering a low-grade dungeon. You will receive a bonus every 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Current points: 3 points] --------------- Once I confirmed the alerts, I turned around to leave. Since I had already found out that the blessing wasn''t going to let me in, I had no reason to loiter around. --------------------------- "I guess I''ll finish today with Jeju Island. I''ll even treat myself to some nice sashimi and take a break there." I felt like I was obsessing over this now. I would rest whenever I could, but I couldn''t really relax completely. The thought that I had to do whatever I could to stay ahead of everyone else was constantly in the back of my mind. Every time I tried to rest, I kept thinking that there was a chance that someone out there could be finding something instead of me. However, yesterday, while I drank alone, a bunch of other thoughts flooded my mind. I let all those thoughts disorient me. I was too tired to push the thoughts away. I thought about the hellish times from before I jumped into the Sea. I thought about how happy I was finding a Rank 3 item; I thought about how happy I was finally leveling up after days of grinding; I thought about when Lee Gangchan killed me more 100 times and how furious I was. I thought about so many things. Then I thought about what had happened since I jumped. I thought about how emotional I was becoming the First Deva, how excited I was when I learned the Unrivaled skill at level 0; I thought about how I became the first to find a dungeon and to defeat a dungeon boss, how I found a Rank 6 and 8 item when I couldn''t even dream about them in my past life. I was so much happier now than I was back then. All that happiness probably made me obsess more and more. I didn''t want to lose this newfound happiness! I wanted to keep it forever! I wasn''t going to let anyone take it from me! I wanted more happiness! All those pent up feelings exploded after meeting Oh Hyungjae. "Hahaha." I stopped midway down the mountain and turned around to look at the Oksunbong Peak. "I''m so much stronger than I was before." I used to not understand the saying that greed begets more greed, but now, I understood it perfectly. "It''s not so bad to be a little obsessed." I wanted to get stronger. I didn''t want to live the same eleven years I did back then. I was the main character of my own story. If the world wasn''t go the way I wanted to, I was going to make it go at least 0.1% my way! The more power I gained, the more I wanted to make that happen! "I''ll just use greed to feed my motivation. I won''t succumb to my obsession; instead, it''ll keep me fueled. I''ve already been through so much and I won''t get another chance like this. I can''t let myself implode just yet!" This was the first time I had felt such a peace of mind since my return. I was going to use my greed and obsession to grow stronger! I wasn''t going to become prey to them! "I am the luckiest man on Earth. I won''t let myself be hasty, or let my obsession corrode me! Lee Jiwon! You can do this. You can do anything you want. AHHHHHHH!!!" I shouted out my dark feelings at the mountain. Ahhhh~ The mountain echoed back as if it was cheering me on. "Let''s go! I''m going to pig out. I''m going to make that mid-grade dungeon mine! Hahaha!" Hahaha~ The Oksunbong Mountain laughed with me. --------------------------- I got to Chungcheong Airport in the late afternoon and took a plane to Jeju Island. "I should rest once I find the dungeon at Baengrokdam." It was going to gnaw at me if I took a break before finding the dungeon. Why would I leave alone such a tasty treat when it was right in front of me? There was no reason to leave it for later. I had to take whatever I could, whenever I could! "Let''s see, now. I think it was somewhere in the middle of Baengrokdam." I had less information about this place than the other dungeons, so finding the exact location was going to be my mission. "Well, no matter." Baengrokdam was growing darker by the minute, but it was no trouble to me. I sprinted around the perimeter, occasionally swinging at the air. ---------------------------- "Hmm, it should be somewhere here." I had checked for about twenty minutes, but I had yet to find any sign of the spell. "Whew. Let''s continue for thirty more minutes." I didn''t want to go away empty-handed, and so I went around the perimeter carefully once more. Ting! "Yes! Got it!" I found the entrance about three kilometers away from where I initially thought it would be. "That''s a relief. If I started from the other side, I probably wouldn''t have found it today." I started punching where the entrance of the dungeon should be until the spell gave way. It wasn''t any stronger than the spells at the low-grade dungeons. and broke in about the same amount of time. -------------- [Mid-grade Dungeon 35 has been discovered. Congratulations, You have discovered a mid-grade dungeon! You will be given your bonus! All stats will be increased by 7 points.] ------------- My stats rose by 7 points this time. That was 35 points in all! That was like gaining three and half levels! "Perfect. There''s nothing better than finding dungeons!" The Dungeon Seeker message soon popped up. -------------- [You have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You will be granted 2 points for discovering a low-grade dungeon. You will receive a bonus every 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Current points: 5 points] ---------------- "That''s five points now." I still had 5 more points to go to get that reward. "At least I''ve been making good progress so far." I still had to find the low-grade dungeon at Eulsukdo, but getting this far today was satisfactory. "I found three low-grades and one mid-grade, so that should mean my stats were raised by 22 points each." That meant 110 stat points in all! "That''s so much for a bonus. That''s the same as 11 levels. I gained 11 levels pretty much for free, hehehe!" It was a small amount compared to my current stats but the more I accumulated, the stronger I''d be. "There''s no way I can give this up!" ------- I happily climbed down Hallasan Mountain and took a cab to the Kaltz Hotel, the largest and ritziest in the area. Their cheapest room was 470,000 won a night, but that didn''t matter to me. "Now to take it easy and have a nice meal. That should be my priority." I left the hotel at around ten and went to a nearby 24-hour seafood restaurant. I ordered their most expensive dish and pigged out. Later, I returned to the hotel to end my day. "Oh, that''s right. I should reserve a flight to Busan." I called the front desk to book one for me at eleven in the morning. --------------------------------- "He''s in Jeju right now?" "Yes, Miss Song." Song Haein and her assistants set out to look for Lee Jiwon at her grandfather''s behest, but hearing that he was at Jeju surprised her. "What''s he doing there?" "We''re not completely sure, either." "Huh¡­I doubt he''s the kind of person to just go for fun¡­" The Lee Jiwon she met at Store 72 didn''t seem like the type of person to go on a vacation just like that. It was getting stranger by the minute. "I''m positive he has a reason¡­" She was sure he was there to gain something. She had grown more suspicious after what Marie told her back then. "Whew¡­this is annoying! I''d really like to meet him in person, rather than just call him up. I should have gotten his number instead of just leaving like that." Of course, she had Lee Jiwon''s number and his address on a note. She could call him right now, but many people were sensitive about that. People had every right to be put off if they felt they were investigated without their consent. It was an outright invasion of privacy. "I''m not saying that he''s like that, but I don''t want to start off on the wrong foot with him¡­" Song Haein contemplated to herself. At that moment, Song Haein''s private assistant for the last ten years, Kim Sungryul, entered her office. "Miss Song. Someone booked a flight from Jeju to Gimhae International for 11 AM under Lee Jiwon''s name." "Gimhae¡­ he''s going to Busan?" "Yes. It seems to be that way." If the plane was flying from Jeju to Gimhae, then ninety-nine times out of a hundred it was flying to Busan. Song Haein sighed. "Is he actually touring the country or something?" She shook her head at Lee Jiwon''s unpredictable movements around the country. She couldn''t understand his actions at all. "The flight will take about an hour," Kim Sungryul informed her. Song Haein lifted her head. "Then he should arrive at Gimhae by noon. Let''s prepare to meet him there, then." Song Haein had planned to eventually meet Lee Jiwon and ask him for his help, but her grandfather told her that she couldn''t fail. She knew she had to be cautious in her approach! Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Searching for the Country’s Last Dungeon, Part I Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Searching for the Country¡¯s Last Dungeon, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The next morning... "I''ll have the abalone porridge, the grilled mackerel, the steamed pork, and the beef noodles." I requested a limo service from the hotel to take me around for the morning. It cost me 700,000 won. I had the driver take me to all of Jeju''s best restaurants. We left at 7 am and started with another 24-hour restaurant. "Go ahead and help yourself. I want to go to more places after this." "Ah, yes. Of course, thank you." Chauffeur Park had worked as a limo driver for Kaltz Hotel for the past thirteeen years, but he had never met a client like this before. For one, he definitely wasn''t dressed like someone who could afford a limo service. Secondly, his whole itinerary for the day was very strange, indeed. I have to get to the airport by 10:45 if I want to check in on time. It is 7 o''clock right now and I also want to go to as many of Jeju''s best restaurants as possible. Can you do it? In his thirteen years as a driver, this was probably the weirdest reason anyone had requested a limo and been willing to pay 700,000 for the morning, not the whole day. But, it was nice! The client didn''t look down on Park for being just a chauffeur and requested they eat together. The client treated him respectfully. "But¡­ are you sure you''ll be okay? Can you really eat it all?" The client ate so much! Park had never met anyone who could eat as much as this client. He ate like the competitive eaters Park had heard so much about. "I''m fine. The food here is great! You said the next place has grilled cutlass fish, right?" the client replied as he shoveled more food into his mouth. "Oh! Yes, it''s only about five minutes away, and makes the best grilled cutlass fish. Only the locals know about it." "Perfect. Let''s go now then." "What?" Park stared at the client, wide-eyed in surprise. He looked down at the dishes in front of the client. His eyes opened even more. "When did you¡­?" He was sure that two or three minutes ago the dishes were piled with food, but now they were picked clean. There was not a scrap left on the plates! Park had only had about three bites, but this was some sort of magic show! "I see you''re the type to take their time eating." "Uh¡­" Before he worked at the hotel, Park had spent ten years as a cab driver and picked up the habit of eating quickly. People always told him to slow down, that he would get indigestion, but this was his first time hearing someone tell him that he ate slowly. "We still have to go the cutlass fish place to go to¡­" "Let''s go!" Park dropped his spoon and got up right away. This was already the fourth restaurant they''d been to and after eating a few dishes at the previous restaurants, he had been full for a while now. He was more curious as to how much more the mysterious client could eat. After the client paid, Park drove the client to the final restaurant. ------------------- This time, Park didn''t touch his chopsticks and just watched the client eat. The sight drew him in. Park never understood why there were so many cooking and food programs on TV. But today, he finally understood. He finally understood why those programs and eating shows were so popular! It just drew him in. He looked around at the other tables and saw that all of the other customers were watching too. The client didn''t eat messily or noisily. He actually had very nice table manners, which was why more and more eyes were watching him. It was like watching a work of art. Park had lived on the island as a native for forty-five years, but had never met another islander who could pick a cutlass fish''s bones as cleanly as the client. The client skillfully tore the flesh off the bones without leaving anything behind. His speed never faltered, either. The client would lightly stab at the fish with his chopsticks and the flesh just came off. It was so natural, it was like the fish was just taking off its clothes for him! "Wow! It''s really good! I never knew cutlass fish was this good! Excuse me! I''d like to order two more, please." The client just finished three servings in five minutes, but just ordered two more!... Park didn''t have the energy to be more surprised. The world really is a large place, Park thought. The client was probably the world''s best competitive eater that Park had never heard about. He had to be famous for this! After they finished, Park drove them to Jeju International. They were a little short on time, but Park managed to get them to the airport without any problems. "Thank you for today. Here''s your tip." The client took out three 50,000 won bills and handed them to Park. Park returned to the hotel after dropping off the mystery client. "Today''s been a weird day. Did I just get spirited away for a bit?" ------------------------ "I feel pretty refreshed now," I said to myself as I arrived at Gimhae Airport. It really was a great morning. I felt pretty lavish after stuffing myself. "Alright! Let''s get to work once more!" I would have to treat dungeon seeking as a job for the time being. "Mr. Lee Jiwon!" As I was about to leave the airport, I heard someone call my name and turned my head in the voice''s direction. "Song Haein?" I recognized the voice''s owner instantly. Crazy Calf Song Haein! With her was the man she called Secretary Kim. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Lee Jiwon." "Ah..,yes." I never expected to see Song Haein outside of Seoul, let alone here in Busan, and I could only reply awkwardly. "What brings you to Busan?" I couldn''t piece together why Song Haein would be in Busan so I asked her directly. "I''m here to meet you." "Me?" "Yes!" "Why me?" "I''m sure you don''t want me beating around the bush so I''ll tell you straight. My grandfather, the chairman of the board of Sunbin Group, would like to meet you personally." "You mean Chairman Song Daechul?" How could I not know about Song Daechul!? Before the deva era, he was considered an elite and highly successful businessman. After he became a deva, he founded the Sunbin Guild and led it as its guild master! That was Song Daechul! "Yes. Ah! There is no ill intent, by any means. It''s just that I mentioned our encounter to my grandfather, and he seems curious about you. I admit, we did investigate your background a little bit, but we''re not out to harm you in any way." "Huh!" To be honest, I wasn''t offended at all. This was Song Daechul we were talking about. He was known to be very just and kind, and understood hardships. It definitely wasn''t going to be a waste of time to meet him once. "You don''t have to be burdened at all. You don''t have to go if you don''t want to," Song Haein quickly added when she saw that I might be worried. "Ok, I''ll go." "Really?" "Yes. But, I''ll go to see him. I won''t take more than a week." "Ah¡­" I was already here in Busan and I wanted to find the low-grade dungeon first. It was the last dungeon for me to find in South Korea, and I didn''t want it gnawing at the back of my mind. "I understand. Here''s my business card. Feel free to contact me at any time." She handed her business card to me. The card had her name and her title, Sunbin Group''s Strategic Planning Team Leader. After that, Song Haein and I exchanged a few more words before separating. ----------------------------- "Song Haein and Chairman Song Daechul¡­" Sunbin Group, no, the soon-to-be-born Sunbin Guild, came forcefully to mind. "The Sunbin Guild really is a dependable entity." I didn''t have its generosity, or its amiability. During those eleven years, I knew how hard it was to live in that world. I received help from the guild, too. But, to ask me to help others like that¡­to be honest, I wasn''t confident. I was extremely normal. I had to take care of myself and would rather spend the time on my growth rather than help anyone else. I would never take away someone''s hard work ,but I wasn''t going to give anything of mine to anyone else. "But I absolutely must prevent Eulsukdo''s dungeon from falling into the Yung Gong Guild''s hands." To be honest, my mentality was that I didn''t want to make the effort, but wanted someone else to do it for me. "Damn¡­I really am selfish," I scoffed at myself. Still, I didn''t hate myself or feel guilty about it. I already had that moment. I wanted to get stronger before anyone else, and I didn''t want to share my treasures with anyone else. I came first. Then I would think about everyone else. "Still, I have to give props to the Sunbin Guild. There wasn''t anyone or anything that was as generous as the guild back then. Everyone was busy looking out for themselves¡­ or busy stealing from others." The Yung Gong Guild was the prime example. The Ojin Guild wasn''t as bad as the Yung Gong Guild, but the Ojin Guild didn''t exactly pursue hardship. No matter how I thought about it, the Sunbin Guild was pretty great. "Fine. If someone of that caliber wants to meet me, then I should meet him. If they need help, then I should at least point them in the right direction." I wasn''t some psycho looking to throw someone in need under the bus. If I could help them without having to do too much, then I had every intention to. "Alright. Let''s find this dungeon in one week, no matter what." I promised them one week, but I didn''t want our first professional meeting to get awkward. I quickly hailed a cab and headed towards Eulsukdo Island. "Damn, it''s big." I stood on Eulsukdo''s North End bridge and looked down around me. "Let''s see here. It''s 2,700,000 square meters, as big as 380 soccer fields¡­" I read through an Eulsukdo tourist pamphlet that I had picked up earlier. "I know I promised them a week, but if I give myself a day to get back to Seoul and prepare for the meeting, I have six days to find the dungeon. That means about sixty-four soccer fields a day." It didn''t seem that daunting. It actually seemed doable. "Meh! I''ll just make it an even one hundred a day. It''s a bit late today, so I''ll do eighty." It was a few minutes past one in the afternoon. I punched the air every four meters as I ran around the town. "It''s only because dungeon entrances are massive that I can go around like this. If they were smaller¡­yeesh." The repetitive actions were boring, but they didn''t tire me out. The open space of the town made it easier to cover more ground and allowed me to work faster¡­ --------------------------- As I sprinted around while punching, I covered about a third of the island by eight PM. "What the? I already covered thirty percent? If I''m lucky, I can find the dungeon by tomorrow." I wondered if promising one week was too long. "No! I shouldn''t be too hasty with this." I could have worked through the night without any problems, but I still had tomorrow and the day after. I decided to leave the island and booked a hotel room in the nearby Saha District. "I''m using hotels more than I ever had in my past life!" ----------------------------- The next morning... I had already pigged out so much back in Jeju, i decided to ONLY have a small breakfast at the hotel before leaving. "Alright! I''ll work with the mindset that I''ll find it within the day!" I continued my repetitive punching as yesterday. ------------------------- Ting! "Nice!" I think it took about four hours. I found it some distance from Eulsukdo University. It sounded so much more pleasant than before. Ting! Ting! Ting! I pounded the shield spell as if I were playing on the piano, until it gave way with a great crack. [Low-grade Dungeon 144 has been discovered. Congratulations, You have discovered a low-grade dungeon! You will be given your bonus! All stats will be increased by 5 points.] [You have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You will be granted 1 point for discovering a low-grade dungeon. You will receive a bonus every 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Current points: 6 points] The two messages appeared, one after the other. "Hahahaha!" I was proud of myself; I had completed one of my own quests I set out to conquer! Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Searching for the Country’s Last Dungeon, Part II Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Searching for the Country¡¯s Last Dungeon, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Please upvote this so people see it. This is RED, the editor. Just letting you know that neither I nor HunterW the TL wanted this to go premium. I think you guys did that. We had a decent reader base and the site noticed it, and THEY flipped the switch, seeing it was ''popular'', i.e. you guys liked it. There''s no incentive for us to make this switch. As for the price, it''s totally based on word count, as I understand it. The longer the page it, the more stones it costs. And just so you know... I can''t read the posted chapters without paying, either. I can read the comments, but that''s it. Sorry, folks. :frowning: ===RED "Open Stat Menu!" Finding four low-grade dungeons and one mid-grade dungeon should have netted me 27 points to each of my Stats. It was a total of 135 Stat points! "That''s a bonus thirteen and a half levels!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 733,500/733,500 MP: 124,700/124,700 Strength: 1,487 Agility: 1,887 Vitality: 1,467 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Residual Stat Points: 0 Fatigue: 4 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 point Physical attack: 4,911 Physical Defense: 1,567 Magical attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,376] My total stats were high enough that there wasn''t much of a noticeable difference from the bonus 135 points. "It''s still worth it. I''m sure once I find enough dungeons, I can accrue more stat points than the amount I got from the Unrivaled skill." The Unrivaled skill granted a total of 5,000 stat points. If I were to farm another 5,000 stat points from dungeon seeking alone¡­ "Hmm. I shouldn''t try to calculate it. I''ll just be optimistic that one day it''ll happen." I raised my arms over my shoulders and stretched. "I found all of South Korea''s dungeons, so that ends chapter one! Chapter two will start with Japan! But before that, I should go meet with Chairman Song Daechul." I found the nearest intercity bus terminal and took a bus back to Seoul. I decided to take a break for completing chapter one of my master plan. ----------------------- The next morning... "I should give her a call first. She said it was ok to call her any time." After I washed up, I opened my wardrobe. I still had another five days left, but I didn''t want to put it off any longer. I''ve already opened up all of Korea''s dungeons, and I had turned my sights to Japan. I didn''t exactly have good feelings towards Japan, so I was planning on emptying out its dungeons. "Hmm¡­" The inside of my wardrobe was pretty miserable. I had mostly spent my nights at the factory, so all I had were work clothes. During the year after my return, everything I did was in preparation for the day Earth changed, and I never really thought about clothes. During that whole year, I never took it easy. "Still, it''s Korea''s largest conglomerate and ranked in the top fifteen in the whole world¡­I shouldn''t go meet the chairman in just jeans and a shirt, right?" I wasn''t really the type to care about formal things, or the type to go through empty formalities and ostentation. I never really cared for fashion, either, but I knew there was a time and place for everything. I always believed that if I were ever invited to a formal event, I had to dress the part. Even on TV and in books, all those main characters that believed that their way was the only way didn''t come off as cool or anything. I always grimaced at those characters. "The problem here is that I''ve never actually been formally invited to anything." I wasn''t invited to stay at the hotel in Jeju; I paid for my own room and didn''t care about what I was wearing or how I looked. "I know! I''ll get the most expensive suit tailored. I''ll get one so expensive that no one can say anything bad about me." I still had about 90 million won left in my inventory. "I''ll go to a brand name shopping mall!" I quickly got ready and left for the nearest and largest Future shopping mall. -------------------------- "This¡­ has to be my first time in a shopping mall." Even after the world changed, this Future shopping mall was still full of people. "It''s pretty nice here." It was nice seeing all these people going about their ways, chattering and shopping. "We only have three months left." Even the news stopped reporting about the day they coined The Great Event, even though there wasn''t much time left. The adaptability of humans was pretty outstanding for people to just accept it already. "It''s not like I have any right to say anything. I did the same back then." Soon, the news would be talking about the changes. Humans could no longer produce sperm and eggs, and devas were beginning to appear all around the world and didn''t really die. That would be the only thing on TV all day, every day. Once people find out about the stat and skill menu, chaos would slowly ensue. And once monsters started appearing out of nowhere¡­ "That''ll be the end." I shivered as I remembered that day. I entered the department store, weaving in and out of the crowd. "Hmm. The men''s clothing store is on the fourth floor." I rode the escalators to the fourth floor. The entire fourth floor exuded elegance that I had never experienced in any of the stores I had ever been to. My past self would have been intimidated by it all. But right now, I didn''t feel much. I wasn''t intimidated at all. I slowly walked around the floor, taking in the sights. It might have had to do with my current sad state of my clothes, but there wasn''t a single employee that greeted me as I passed by their stores. Well, that just means I can take my time looking around. As I walked around, a suit in one of the stores caught my attention. Brionir! It looked like something the protagonist of a mystery movie wore. I walked closer to the store and checked the price tag. 9,880,000 won! "...¡­" I really liked the suit, but I couldn''t produce any words when I saw the price tag. It nearly cost ten million won! That was three months'' worth of pay back when I worked at the factory! "Please don''t touch it." I didn''t even think about touching it because it was so expensive. But that judgmental tone really pissed me off. A woman with a name tag that read Manager Park Soohui came up to me and stood next to the suit I was eyeing. "You might end up wiping something on it," she muttered loud enough for me to hear as she patted the suit. My boiling anger quickly subsided and I could only smile at her attempt to embarrass me. Huh? I''m not embarrassed? Isn''t it normal to want to hide in a hole somewhere? That''s how I usually felt. Those thoughts briefly crossed my mind. Ah! I must have changed so much that such treatment can''t even faze me! Calling a beggar a beggar is no doubt an insult. But calling a wealthy person a beggar was just a joke. I was the wealthiest and strongest of anyone on Otadolon. To have someone as insignificant as her try to insult me was hilarious. I was the only person who had golden rings right now. Normal paper currency was about to become tinder, technically making me the richest person on Earth! "Hahaha!" I started laughing. "Excuse me!" My laughter must have pushed her the wrong way and she glared at me. "Where do you think you are to be making a scene¡­" "I''d like to buy this suit." I was sure I wasn''t making a scene, but I didn''t want to listen to her voice any longer and cut her off. "But not from you." I took out two stacks of bills from my inventory as if I took them out from my pocket. "I need a suit, a white shirt, and a necktie. Do you sell dress shoes as well?" I asked while slapping the stacks on my hand. "¡­.." Her expression of looking at a bug quickly disappeared. I saw her eyes start to shake. "I don''t like Ms. Manager here¡­ah! You there. The employee over there¡­yes, you." I called over to a small female employee who was holding a large rag. Surprised, she pointed at herself with the rag and I nodded. She walked up to me. "I am¡­" she kept glancing over to her manager, unsure of what to exactly say. "Are you unable to make sales here?" "What? No! That''s not it¡­" "Good, that''s fine, then. I really don''t want to buy anything from Ms. Park Soohui here, but I also really want to buy this suit. What should we do about that, then? You''ll just have to make the sale, right?" I said loud enough for the manager and everyone else in the store to hear. "Right¡­," the employee, Yung Jihye, replied while looking at her manager''s reddening face. I took out two more stacks of 50,000 won bills. I had two million won in my hand. "We''ll start with the suit. I''d like a shirt that will go well with it¡­can you pick one out for me?" I asked Yung Jihye. "Yes! One moment, please!" I followed the flustered woman. I noticed there was a man in his forties wearing a Brionir suit watching the whole exchange and approaching the red-faced manager as we walked away, but I purposely didn''t pay any more attention to it. ---------------------------- With the help of Yung Jihye, we picked out 2 shirts that cost ?500,000, a ?300,000 necktie, a ?500,000 belt and a pair of shoes that cost over ?2,500,000 to go with the suit. "Can I wear it when I leave?" "Of course you can." She gave me a pair of complementary socks, and I put everything on before leaving the dressing room. "Wow! It looks really good on you," said Yung Jihye, smiling at my reflection. "Looks like clothes were made for you," said the man from earlier. He was obviously the regional manager of the store. "Thank you." Even I thought I looked pretty cool. I puffed my chest at wearing such nice suit for the first time. I never knew a suit could be this comfortable. I always thought that all suits were uncomfortable and dress shoes hurt your feet, but I was proven wrong today! I walked over to the register while still in my suit. On the counter was a luxurious looking paper bag with the Brionir logo on it. My jeans and t-shirt were in the bag, neatly folded, along with my sneakers. "How much is it?" "Everything will come out to ?14,180,000, but as an apology for what happened earlier, may I provide the belt as a gift?" "No, you don''t have to do that. It wasn''t a big deal." "Please, I insist. It''s been a while since I''ve seen a suit fit someone so well, so I would like to gift the belt to you." "Well¡­if you insist." "Your total comes out to ?13,680,000." I handed him three stacks of bills. "Would you like a receipt of your purchase?" "No, I don''t need it." "I understand." As I left the store, I confidently walked past the still red-faced Park Soohui who was standing to the side. I exited the shopping mall, sharply dressed. I wanted to buy a few more suits, but I needed the cash for the next couple of months, and went home satisfied with my purchase. _____________ Ed. Note: If you''re wondering, the exchange rate of Won to $ is about 1000:1. So just divide all numbers by a thousand. A million won is about a thousand bucks, 50,000 won is $50. Yes, he just blew fourteen grand on a very nice suit. This also blows over into the value of currency. If you''re American, think of gold rings as pennies. It takes a lot of pennies to add up to anything of value! Chapter 42: Chapter 41: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part V Chapter 42: Chapter 41: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part V Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "It''s only two in the afternoon; it should be fine if I ask to meet later tonight, right?" I had discovered all of Korea''s dungeons, and I wanted to get to Japan as soon as possible. I dialed the number on the business card Song Haein gave me. She picked up after a couple of rings. "Hello, this is Song Haein." "This is Lee Jiwon calling." "Mr. Lee Jiwon! You''re calling earlier than I expected." "Yes. I finished my errands faster than I thought." "Would you be able to meet today?" "Yes," I replied. It seemed Song Haein wanted to make the appointment by today. I wanted to, as well. "Perfect. How does four PM sound? We can all grab dinner after our talk, as well." "Yes, that sounds good." "Shall I send a car over to you? Or would you like to make your way to the office yourself?" "I''ll get there on my own by four." "Do you know where to go?" "Yes, the building is pretty famous." Sunbin Group''s headquarters building was the second tallest in Seoul. Everyone knew where it was. "True. I''ll notify the front desk; you just have to give them my name." "I understand." I put down my phone after hanging up. "I have about two hours¡­if I take into account the time it''ll take to get there, I''ll have about an hour to spare." I decided to prepare for my trip to Japan so that I could leave right away after meeting with Song Daechul. -------------------------------------- After some time, I put the suit I just bought back on and took a cab to Samsung-dong, Gangnam Province, where the Sunbin Group headquarters was located. "3:45. Just in time." The time I left the cab was perfect. I confidently entered Seoul''s second tallest building through the front lobby. If I had come in wearing jeans, t-shirt and sneakers, I most likely would have been stopped by security. They let me in thanks to my new suit. I walked over to the front desk and asked the secretary behind the counter, "I have a 4:00 appointment with Song Haein." "Are you Lee Jiwon?" "Yes, that''s me." "One second, please." The secretary picked up her desk phone and dialed. After waiting less than a minute, one of the elevators in the back opened and Song Haein exited. "You''re here early." "By only ten minutes." "That''s early. Shall we go?" I followed her to the elevator. The elevator she took only had four buttons. This must be a rumored VIP-only elevator! -------------------------------------- It took us straight to the eighty-ninth floor. "We''re here." I followed Song Haein out to the lobby. She led me to a door with a plaque stating Chairman''s Office. "The chairman and four others are waiting inside. They''re only curious about you, so there''s no reason to be nervous." "I see. You don''t have to worry about me." I was about to meet people that I would never have been able to, had the world not changed, or had I not returned to the past. But I wasn''t nervous. Right now, everything was different from before. Back then, they were the all-powerful and I was a nobody. But right now, I was all-powerful. I wasn''t about to go flaunting my power, but I wasn''t about to let myself be stepped on. I stood up straight and opened the door. The thick door slid open without much resistance. Song Haein followed me inside. Inside, I recognized Song Daechul, whose face I had seen so many times before, and his son and Song Haein''s father, Song Myungsoo. There were three others inside, as well. "It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Song Daechul," the chairman introduced himself with a chuckle. He rose from his seat and extended his hand to me. It felt weird and interesting to have someone of such caliber speak so formally to me, who was so much younger than him. "Yes, sir. The pleasure is mine. My name is Lee Jiwon." I accepted his hand and shook it. I didn''t want to sour our first meet and greeted him the same way. He doesn''t have it. I didn''t see a token of knowledge on his left wrist, telling me that he was a deva. "Please, have a seat. This old man was curious about a few things, and had to call for you like this." "I understand. Please, you don''t have to be so formal with me. I won''t know how to present myself here." "Haha. Will that be alright?" "Yes." I expected to carry on a conversation as equals. Besides, I was younger and of a lower social standing than him, and all this treatment was making me a little uncomfortable. There are always older people that should be respected no matter what, and others that don''t need such respect. Song Daechul was the former. "Very well, then. Lee Jiwon." "Yes." I sat down on the sofa the chairman gestured to. Song Haein sat opposite of me. ------------------------------ Song Daechul watched Lee Jiwon as he sat down. Song Daechul had an uncanny ability to know the importance of every minor thing, and was a very quick learner. People didn''t know this about him, but it was because of these abilities that he got to where he was now. He could pick something out that others might miss with just a single glance. Others said that he bulldozed his way through obstacles to reach success, but that was all a load of crap. He succeeded because he knew exactly how to get there. No matter how special a bulldozer was, it still needed to exert and force its way through the toughest roads. Not even the best bulldozer could force its way through a giant boulder. He knew that he had the uncanny ability to find the road to success. He was bold and decisive. When his granddaughter told him about her encounter with Lee Jiwon at the Store, he felt a slight jolt through his body. That jolt felt something like d¨¦j¨¤ vu, or like an omen of danger in the future. It was the same jolt that warned him of the politician''s investigation when his business grew at fast pace, that told him converting to an electronics company was a smart investment while his colleagues scoffed at the idea. He had a habit he developed from running a conglomerate of letting his subordinates'' reports flow through one ear and out the other. Sometimes, however, he would pick up on something he deemed important. The report on Lee Jiwon was like that. It was because he didn''t ignore those subconscious warnings that he believed he succeeded in life. That was why he wanted to meet this man, no matter what. That feeling wasn''t wrong this time as well, it seems! He felt the same jolt again when his granddaughter entered the office with Lee Jiwon. He was a young man barely in his thirties, but he had a mysterious aura around him. Song Daechul knew that there was much more to this young man than met the eye¡­. ----------------------------------- What is this? I couldn''t help but feel a little out of place at Song Daechul''s intense stare. I couldn''t really tell him off, either, so I just sipped at the coffee in front me. "It really is good to meet you, Jiwon. I am Haein''s father, Song Myungsoo." The man in his forties seated next to me extended his hand to me. "Yes, sir. Likewise." I shook his hand and greeted the other three people that were in the room in order. They were Kim Soochul, the executive assistant; Park Manho, the head of the Planning committee; and Han Kyungchul, the head of security. If there was a similarity between everyone in this room, it was that everyone was a deva. As expected of the Sunbin Group. Pretty soon, everyone would be scrambling to become a deva. Right now, people were wary about becoming devas. People didn''t know about devas; they didn''t know what they were, exactly. That made them very afraid. Right now, there were unused Don Gates all around. It was commendable for the Sunbin Group to be able to have most of its members and employees become devas in this time of fear, including the chairman. I couldn''t help but commend them. "The reason I wanted to meet you, Jiwon, was that after Haein told me about you, I felt there was more to you." "I''m just a normal deva, sir." "Hahaha. I''ve never been wrong about a person in all my seventy years. I can see you have an aura like no other. There''s no way you''re normal. Hahaha." "Haha." I couldn''t think of a reply and could only laugh awkwardly. The chairman stopped laughing and looked at me once more with a serious expression. "I want to ask you for your help." "My help?" "That''s right." "I don''t think someone like me could do much to help the chairman of the Sunbin Group." I decided to play the weak card for now. "No. I am positive that you know something. My employees and I may have become devas, but we are still afraid. What is about to happen to the world, that we were granted eternal life? Just how much is the world about to fall into chaos, that we were given this option? I believe that there is more to devas than just eternal life." The chairman took a sip of his tea before continuing. "But, you, on the other hand. Do you know what I felt when I saw you first enter my door? Confidence! The confidence that you would be able to overcome any sort of situation you were thrown in. You have that confidence that you can break through any obstacle in your way! That''s what I saw." "¡­.." I didn''t have anything to reply to what he said. "There can only be two types of people with that confidence. You''d have to be either crazy or¡­" Song Daechul looked at me with watchful eyes. I didn''t look away and met his gaze. "You''ve completely adapted to your current situation and are prepared to conquer your fate!" I flinched slightly at his sentence. "I see you as the latter. I don''t want you to tell us everything. I just want you to help us a little to start, if you truly do know something. Of course, I won''t ask for it for free. I will make sure you are properly compensated." "Hmm." I thought about it for a moment. I knew I would have to reveal some sort of information coming here. I had no problem doing that much for the Sunbin Group. I had received a lot of help from the Group in the past. I just wondered how much I should reveal. I wasn''t going to reveal everything, nor was I going to reveal my future plans. I may have somewhat overcome my obsession to be greater than everyone else, but that didn''t mean I was going to give up on becoming the best. I still wasn''t about to share everything I had with anyone else. All the good things are mine! I don''t care if people call me selfish; I''m not about to start sharing yet. Song Daechul and everyone else remained silent as I thought. "I don''t know too much about what''s going on, but I''m sure I know the most out of anyone out there." "I knew it! I knew that was the case!" Song Daechul exclaimed, nodding with a more relaxed expression. Chapter 43: Chapter 42: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part V Chapter 43: Chapter 42: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part V "So, what would you like to know?" "Could I answer that instead, Jiwon?" President Song Myungsoo asked me in his father''s stead. "I''ll be honest. It''s something that I''ve, no, we''ve, all been curious about. We''re not exactly sure what you know, but the chairman and I pooled the group''s and the Planning committee''s resources and researched everything we could for over a week. We left no stone unturned and investigated everything, no matter how minor. But we still don''t know what this change is about. "We know that there''s a stat menu, a skill menu, an equipment menu, and that levels exist. We even found out about the Store that is supposed to sell items. But we don''t know how to increase our levels, or how to get golden rings." Song Myungsoo took a sip of his tea before starting again. "We''ve decided to accept this strange reality. We understand that this is our life now, but where do we go from here? If we take into account the levels and Stores, then this system wants us to grow stronger like one would in a video game. For what reason, we have no idea. What choice do we have but to grow stronger, the way whoever made this happen intended? I don''t think that you know the reason this is all happening. I would just like you to share with us how to adapt to this situation, and help us get started." Everyone nodded agreement to the president''s speech. I could see clearly how the Sunbin Group became so successful over the years. "Hmm¡­ I don''t know why the world has become like this, either. But as President Song just mentioned, I can only tell you one thing you must do. You must grow stronger!" Everyone in the room watched me as I spoke. "From now on, only the strong will have things. Only the strong can speak their minds, and only the strong can act on their whims. The voices of the weak will fall on deaf ears. It will be another infinite race to the top. The only way to get to the top is to have strength! You must force your way to the top. It doesn''t matter if you''re a judge, a professor, a politician, or man with money; you just need to force your way through everyone else." The only way to get yourself away from everyone else was to just force your way out. You didn''t need an education or wealth; all you needed is strength! You had to be higher leveled than anyone else; you had to have better items than anyone else. Sure, you had to be wealthy to have items, but that wealth wasn''t measured by how much money or land you had, or how many buildings you owned. Now, you needed golden rings! If you wanted a lot of golden rings, you have to hunt in high level hunting grounds which could net you plenty of golden rings and items. Basically, it all went back to having strength. "We will enter a new era where the strong will have no choice but to feed on the weak. If you fall behind, you will be left behind. If you don''t want that to happen to you, you must become strong enough to prevent that yourself." "How do we obtain that kind of strength?" "President Song, you said it yourself. We all have a Stat Menu and an Equipment Menu. You must level yourself up. How? I''m sure you must have expected this, but you must earn experience points from hunting monsters to increase your levels. You can even find some items on the way." "There are monsters?" the chairman asked. "Jiwon, the Sungbin Group definitely has guessed that there may be monsters. We believed that killing each other couldn''t have been the way to gain experience points, so we believed that there should be monsters. But we haven''t found any monsters. We didn''t find anything that remotely resembled a monster." "You''re right. You shouldn''t have found any monsters. Open public profile." I decided to show them my profile rather than try to explain it to them a hundred times. [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death count: 0] "!!!" "What¡­how?" "He''s level 32!" The members of the Sunbin Group tried everything they could to increase their levels. They experimented many ways, even killing animals, and consulting and experimenting with a gaming company. The head of security, Han Kyungchul, had the suspicion that they had to kill other devas to gain levels, and secretly ordered one of his men who had become a deva to kill him. He even knew about the death penalty. He had already committed suicide to see if devas really resurrected upon death, and found out that his stats were two points lower than everyone else''s. But he had to find something out about experience points and volunteered to die once more. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. Han knew that there had to be another way. When Chairman Song found out about what Han had done, Han received an earful. But Han knew that it was out of worry, and only offered his apologies. The members of the Sunbin Group knew that they couldn''t wait around like everyone else. There was no other way to prepare for the future, and they did all they could to level themselves up. Their search yielded no results. "I''ve always held the Sunbin Group in high regard. You look out for the little man and reward hard work. I have every intention of telling you what I know." Sooner or later, people would find the locations of the dungeons. How could they not, when the entrances were so massive. Sure, they were all located in hard-to-reach places, but I would give it a couple of weeks before reports of the entrances came out on the news. The Sunbin Group wasn''t one to let such an advantage go. Back then, after an adaptation period of eight months, monsters began appearing in the fields, and the spells on dungeon entrances disappeared. Those with scan skills were able to reveal the locations of the dungeons. Once people found out about the dungeon bonuses, more and more dungeons were discovered within four months. If the Sunbin Group could control all five of South Korea''s dungeons and start leveling up now, then it could form a guild much stronger than the guild of the past. "Are¡­are you serious?" "Yes. Just promise me one thing." "Of course! Whatever you want." "I want your priority to be to protect the weak and create a place where everyone can live in peace. Not just for devas, but for mortal humans, as well." I couldn''t do that, nor did I want to. To be honest, I still had the mindset that I had to take care of my needs first and foremost. But I guess I still had a conscience. I was afraid that karma would get back at me if I kept looking out for myself after letting me return to the past. What if fate sent me back in time to do some good, and all this time I''d been doing the exact opposite? Something in the back of my mind kept asking me that. At first I thought about asking them to fork over any good items they found later on. The members right now needed whatever help they could get, so they would probably accept such a proposition. But there was a high possibility that the future guild wasn''t going to easily fork over a Rank 8 or 9 item that easily. Handing over a Rank 8 or higher item like that wasn''t generous or nice; it was stupid and thoughtless. Making such a proposition with Chairman Song was volatile; it risked putting our relationship in danger. They would have the same thoughts, as well. I might as well make myself their enemy right now by being greedy and asking for Rank 8 or higher items in return for my help. I didn''t want to needlessly make trouble, and decided that it was more of a gain if I could make them a little more generous. If I can''t do it, then I might as well make someone else do it! Besides, the Sunbin Group is more than qualified to do so! "!!!" "!!!" "Is¡­that really all you want?" Everyone in the room looked at me in surprise, not expecting such a request. "Yes. It''s just that¡­if the Sunbin Group could become strong in the future, I just would like the same help in return." I really was a Philistine. I wanted to coolly say ''Yes, that''s all I need. You don''t need to do anything more" but I just couldn''t bring myself to say it. The way the chairman asked was as if he was wondering if there really wasn''t anything else I wanted. They were definitely going to become a large guild anyway, and even if I didn''t ask them for a strong item later on, I could still have them help me out in the future. The Sunbin Guild in the past was one of South Korea''s strongest guilds and one of the strongest in all of Asia. But with my help, the guild could actually become Asia''s number one guild. I could get so much more out of them if that were the case, whether it was items or golden rings. Hah¡­I''m so materialistic. I knew that I could get so much back from the Sunbin Guild with the value of my information. It wasn''t too much to ask for proper compensation. I was really average in my past life. There was no way an average person could pretend to be open-minded. I gathered my thoughts that kept changing every second. The eyes of Chairman Song and the others twinkled at my request. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable under their gazes. ------------------------------------ To the Sunbin Group, this was a debt that they could easily pay back. They were even prepared to hand over company shares, depending on the value of the information. But they never expected Lee Jiwon''s request. Reward hard work! And since he wanted their help in future, that meant that they would continue to work together. Who knows, maybe they could keep working for another ten years! Chairman Song always paid his affiliate partners back in full and on time, even if he had to do it in cash. On the other hand, the president and other board members were more inclined to push their deadlines as far back as they could. ----------------------------------- I didn''t make that proposition because I felt bad for them; I did it because I wanted them to deal with it and not me. But I felt a little guilty when their eyes lit up. But I wasn''t going to back out of it now, the deal was still in my favor. I cleared my throat to rid myself of the slight embarrassment I was feeling. "There''s an eight-month grace period for people to adapt. After those eight months, field monsters will begin to appear around the world. Once the monsters appear, all of society will plunge into chaos. Police and military won''t be around to protect or help anyone. Of course, we don''t have to wait the eight months. Because there is limited information on devas, society is still able to function for now, but as I''m sure you all know, people all around will start scrambling to become devas and stop living their normal lives. People will be digging through mountains, oceans, gulches, everywhere, looking for Don Gates." Everyone nodded in agreement to what I just said. I was sure that people of their caliber understood what I meant. "Once those eight months are up, monsters will begin appearing, while the world plunges further into chaos. That marks the beginning of the Otadolon stage the voice spoke of. Monsters will appear and begin to take over human lands for themselves. Many people will die. Of course, the monsters won''t appear in mass numbers in the beginning. Many people would die before they could become devas, if that were the case. Only devas can kill these monsters. That is the only way to earn experience points, items, and golden rings." "Wait! Aren''t you level 32? You just said that monsters will start appearing in eight months, so how did you reach level 32?" interjected the Planning committee head, Park Manho. "It was dungeons," I replied, knowing that I would have to tell them about them anyway. "Dungeons?" "Yes. I found a dungeon and hunted the monsters inside. There are five dungeons in all of South Korea and I have already found all five of them. As such, should all of you set out to hunt in those dungeons, you can begin to gain experience and level up like you want. You can even begin to find golden rings and if you''re lucky, find items." "Are¡­are you serious?" "Could I lie about my level?" I returned. "Hahaha. No, I suppose you can''t," replied Chairman Song with a laugh. "To be honest, you probably would have been able to find the dungeons without my telling you. The entrances to these dungeons are massive, at least five meters tall and four meters wide. It''d be weird if you didn''t find out about them," I said, fully aware that they''d find out once they saw the entrances for themselves. "Haha. Still, this is really great information. But¡­ are dungeons easy to find?" Chairman Song asked a question that no one really thought of. Everyone else was only thinking about dungeons themselves. The chairman wanted to know how exactly I found these dungeons. "I''m not trying to brag or anything, but trying to find a dungeon before field monsters spawn is like finding a needle in a desert the size of Russia." I definitely wasn''t trying to exaggerate here. The chairman peered into my eyes and I met his gaze. "You''re serious." "Yes, sir. I''m positive." "Well, if that''s what you say, I''m sure it''s true. I feel I could believe you even if you told me that the sky was green. But¡­ it seems to me that there''s something for finding a dungeon before anyone else." The chairman threw another question out of left field. I didn''t mention anything of the sort, but it really threw me off guard for him to be able to come up with that question. This must be how he was able to build such a successful company. "There are three types of dungeons: low, mid and high grade. If you look at your stat menu, you''ll notice there are also five types of stats: STR, AGI, VIT, WIL, and INT. Finding a low-grade dungeon grants you 5 stat points to each stat, a mid-grade grants 7 points each, and a high-grade grants 10 points each. This only happens if you are the first to discover a dungeon." "!!!" "!!!" "What!" Sooner or later, everyone on Earth was going to find out. This information was pretty much worth nothing. There was no point in hiding information that was going to be revealed in a few months'' time. I couldn''t lie if I wanted to maintain a relationship with the Group. I knew I had to speak the truth for the time being. "And Jeju?" asked Song Haein, after listening all this time. "Yes. I went to Jeju Island to look for a dungeon there." "That confidence you have that you''ll find dungeons during the eight months. It seems you are much more than we could ever imagine." "..." I made no reaction to the chairman''s statement. But I''m sure that made it more obvious to everyone in the room that he wasn''t far from the truth. "Since you''ve already found all of the dungeons in Korea, what''s your next move?" "Japan, sir." "Haha. I see. Good." The chairman seemed pleased, as if we were talking about him. "Then could you tell us the locations of the dungeons that you have found?" "That was the reason I brought up dungeons in the first place, sir." There was so much more important information; what reason did I have to hide the locations of the dungeons? Besides, I couldn''t enter any more dungeons for another twenty-five days. I wasn''t going to hide them. I reached out to the table to grab the fountain pen and piece of paper in front of me, and began to write... Chapter 44: Chapter 43: First Meeting With Sunbin Group’s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part VI Chapter 44: Chapter 43: First Meeting With Sunbin Group¡¯s Chairman, Song Daechul, Part VI Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Mid-grade located by the Baengnokdam crater lake on Hallasan Mountain in Jeju. Low-grade dungeon located at the Peak of Bukhan Mountain in Seoul. Low-grade dungeon located at the Paek of Seorak Mountain in Gangwon Province. Low-grade dungeon located in the Eulsukdo Island, at Saha District, Busan. Low-grade dungeon located at Oksunbong Peak in Danyang County, North Chungcheong. Even with just this much information, it wouldn''t take the Sunbin Group more than an hour to find all the dungeons. "I''ve already taken the liberty of revealing the entrances, so it shouldn''t be too hard to find all of them. They''re pretty noticeable. If you do decide to go, I strongly recommend starting with the Bukhan Mountain dungeon. It''s a good enough dungeon to start training at level 0. And I definitely do not recommend the mid-grade dungeon on Jeju Island." I went on to explain much more to them; like how mortals couldn''t enter dungeons, or that when they level up by killing monsters, their Stat points go up by 10 points total. I explained all of the basics to them. "If you want my advice, you should train as much as you can in the Oksunbong and Bukhan Mountain dungeons during the next eight months. If you do that, then no one will be able to top the Sunbin Group." Those were the best places to start off with training. Bukhan dungeon was the best place to start off, to get used to fighting and leveling. Once you got to level 300, the next place was the Oksunbong dungeon. At that level, training would be much easier. "Only the strong can get what they want and protect everything they have. The best advice I have for you is to become that strong, that way you will be prepared for whatever is ahead of you." That was the most important part. In eight months, monsters would begin spawning in full. Once society began to fall apart, strength would be the only way to come out on top. That much was obvious. Your strength could make you well known to others; if you were strong enough, people anywhere knew who you were. The pen used to be stronger than the sword in our world; now the sword was the only way to take us to the top! "I am not a normal deva, either. I want to know what the endgame to this is; that''s why I''ve been trying to become as strong as possible. I want to be there at the end. I''ll be really mad if I can''t because I couldn''t become strong enough." I didn''t want to become like I was in the past. The questions kept coming. Everyone in the room had something to ask me, and I answered all of their questions as best I could. I still omitted some information, especially about anything I managed to obtain. I wasn''t going to tell anyone about that. "I can''t tell you how I was able to find the dungeons." I denied that question. I couldn''t just tell them I knew because I already lived through all this before. Finding dungeons would be my privilege only. I would not let anyone else have that. "You can find items and golden rings from killing monsters, which you can use to trade with the Stores." Since I already told everyone everything about monsters, I decided to show them what golden rings looked like and opened my inventory. "These are golden rings. This is the only currency accepted at Stores; modern currencies are not accepted, essentially rendering them all worthless." I took out 1,000 golden rings of the 4,505 that I had from my inventory. I was only going to show them what they looked like, so I decided to take out 1,000 because, why not? 1,000 golden rings was a lot for me in my past life, but now, I could easily earn more than 1,000 in an instant. I didn''t need to be stingy here. "Monsters drop items as well. They normally drop materials, but also have a chance to drop weapons, armor, or accessories." I took off my Rank 2 Orc Armor and showed it to them. "They look something like this. Items are the best way to boost your stats and abilities greatly." "I see!" They all nodded. "Skills provide a lot of support as well. You are able to see items, but right now, you won''t be able to see any skills." "You''re right. When I went to the Store, I checked out the skill shop, but couldn''t see a single skill there. The same went for my secretary and my subordinate," said Song Haein. "According to an NPC, you need to have the appropriate amount of golden rings and skill points to see any skills you may be able to learn. Even if you had 10 skill points, you won''t be able to view any skills if you don''t have any golden rings. The same goes for the reverse." "Ah¡­" Song Haein nodded. "I don''t know that much about skills, however. I don''t have that many golden rings," I lied. I wasn''t about to tell them about all the advantages I had becoming the First Deva, or about the free skill points that I received. I was past the stage of wanting to go around bragging that I was better than everyone else. I''d seen many people get shown up doing that. I had to be careful about what I was going to reveal to these people. But I needed a reliable tank fighter for future boss raids and since I knew that in the past Song Haein was an Unrivaled, I wanted to tell them about that one part. From what I remembered, the past Song Haein didn''t learn the Unrivaled skill right at level 500. I remembered hearing that because the skill was so expensive, Song Haein couldn''t learn the skill right away at level 500 and had to wait until she was almost at level 600. It wasn''t just for Song Haein; it was the same for the majority as well. Even if someone decided to use the Sea of Reset and quickly make his way back up to level 500, once 114 people learned the Unrivaled skill, there was nothing else to be done, unless one of the 114 decided to delete the skill. There wasn''t much room around it, and so people learned the skill the first chance they got. Learning the skill at level 500 was like losing 100 levels! Telling Song Haein about the Unrivaled skill would make her much stronger. If Song Haein got stronger, then so would the Sunbin Guild. "There is a skill that costs 2 billion golden rings and requires 20 skill points." "Huh?" The board members leaned in closer at my sudden statement. "This is probably obvious to you all, but in the future, stronger monsters will appear as we grow stronger. These monsters will drop better items and more golden rings. In order to fight these monsters, we will need people that will be able to take these monsters'' attacks on equal footing." Everyone nodded in agreement. "What I''m about to tell you is more important than finding dungeons. I barely managed to learn this from the NPCs at Store 72. I advise one of you to learn this skill." "What''s so important about this skill?" "I''m not entirely sure myself. This is only from what I heard. But from what I know, this skill is extremely invaluable and powerful." "I see. If you feel this is important, then we must take heed. Thank you for telling us." "It''s nothing, sir." With just this much, the Sunbin Guild would start with a huge advantage. I probably shouldn''t tell them about the Judge''s Continent. The rumor about the Judge''s Continent had started to spread around the time I contemplated jumping into the Sea of Reset. I didn''t really know a thing about it. All I had heard about it was that it had appeared somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There was nothing about what kind of place it was, and why it had appeared. I was too insignificant to hear anything else about it. "I want to do as much as I can to support you all. I have plenty of reasons to want to do so. If the Sunbin Group ever requires my help in the future, I will do my best to do so, whatever the reason." ----------------------------------------- We continued talking for another half hour. They seemed the most curious about what would happen after the next eight months, and I spared them no details. That was the worst time I''d been through. The next two to three years were literally about to be Hell. A man''s life was pretty much about to become worth crap. Still, there was hope. After those few years, the chaos would settle down and society would find some stability. Humans had that amazing adaptability to make it happen. Remnants of local governments, corporations, and even village councils would come together to create a habitable place for mankind. The initial fear towards devas would subside and the need to fight against monsters would rise. The paradigm would shift. Mankind would no longer become the hunted, and become the hunters. Many more would still lose their lives against stronger monsters, and people would learn to avoid them. It would be a new era where people would lose sleep to hunt more monsters to become stronger! It would be an era of never-ending competition. --------------------------------------------- "I believe that if the Sunbin Group begins its preparations now, it will be more than ready to face the oncoming chaos than anyone else in the world. I also believe the Group will be able to take advantage of the new era and beat everyone in this new type of rat race." I began to finish up my speech. "I would like you all to care for as many people as possible. I''m sure you have many intelligent people working for you and believe that you can come up with a plan within the next eight months," I added to end our two-hour long discussion. My throat was a little sore after talking so much. I don''t think I''d ever talked that much with anyone. There was still more that everyone was still curious about, but I had done everything in my power to answer as much as I could. Of course, I still held back what I needed to. "Thank you, Jiwon. I am curious as to how you know all these things, but I will refrain from asking. I''m just grateful that you decided to share all this knowledge with us." Chairman Song shook my hand once more out of gratitude. "It wasn''t much, sir." "Haein, bring me that, please." "Yes, grandfather." Song Haein went over to a closet in the office at her grandfather''s behest and brought out a small ring box-like case. "I wasn''t sure how I should I compensate you for all this. Soon, it seems cash will be worthless. The same goes for land and estates. I suppose this is all I have to give you. Open it." I opened the box. It wasn''t a ring box-looking case¡­ no, it was a real ring box. Inside was a simple gold ring. "This is a family heirloom passed down from my grandfather. That ring is worth as much as all of the Sunbin Group to me, although I don''t know where the Group will end up in the future. Bring that with you when you feel you have a favor to ask of me. I''ll do everything in my power to help you. That is the most I can compensate you with." Being able to have the Sunbin Guild carry out one single favor for me was a huge gain. This was way better than asking them for a Rank 8 item later on. "I don''t think I should-" "Haha! This is more than enough. You''ve opened up a way for us. There''s nothing more frustrating than not knowing where to turn. Meeting you is that valuable to me. Oh, that''s right..." The chairman turned to face Executive Secretary Kim. "Bring that out, too." "Right away, Mr. Chairman." Kim brought out a suitcase that looked like it came from a James Bond movie. He pushed a button on the case to open it. "You mentioned that society will still continue to function for another two or three months, right? And that you wanted to go to Japan and continue looking for dungeons. We''ve prepared this for you to use however you wish." Inside the case were stacks of ?50,000 bills and $100 bills. "I had this prepared first, but I felt that it wasn''t enough. I have a conscience, too, you know. Hahaha!" That was a lot of money... "Thank you so much." I moved the case into my inventory. I had already explained the existence of inventories, so there wasn''t much surprise. "That inventory thing really is interesting, no matter how many times I see it. It''d be useful to fit a house or something into it." "Objects larger than cars or motorcycles can''t be placed in inventories. You need to learn teleportation magic in order to move such items." "Hahaha! This really is a strange world now. But as you mentioned before, there will be those that take this new opportunity and become powerful beings, won''t there?" "Yes. There used to be a definite sort of diversity in the world, but now, you need strength and will alone to be respected. Even those who had no idea what to do with their lives and had no dreams have the chance to make something of themselves. They can prove something about themselves to society now." Only strength and willpower would take us forward now. There was no reason to be indecisive about anything anymore. There was only one road for all of us to take now. I used to look down that road with disdain at all the honor, wealth, and power that I could only dream of having. Now, I had no reason to not walk that path. -------------------------------------------- We all soon left to have dinner together. Even during dinner, we talked endlessly. They were still curious about many things. We said our farewells after dinner. "Can we meet again, in the future?" "Of course we can, Mr. Chairman." "Good. I look forward to working with you." "Let''s keep in touch, Jiwon. Don''t ignore my calls, either." "Sure." Haein and I decided to drop our formalities and treat each other as friends over dinner. ---------------------------------------------- After our farewells, I headed home. "It''s been a good day. I actually managed to form a relationship with the Sunbin Guild." I had a great night''s sleep that night. I was satisfied with what I achieved today, especially since I had a favor I could call in at anytime! Chapter 45: Chapter 44: It’s a Trap?, Part I Chapter 45: Chapter 44: It¡¯s a Trap?, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Austin, Texas... A meeting was taking place in the basement second floor auction house of Store 17. "Is everyone here? It seems Manager #1 isn''t here yet." Two days ago, Lalaku, the Manager of Store 17, requested a meeting from his auction house with all of the other Managers, except for Store 72. Today was the day of that meeting. "Good to see you, Manager #17." "Welcome, Manager #44." "What did you have to discuss to call of us, Manager #17?" "One second, please, Manager #101. Once Manager #1 gets here, we will begin our discussion." [Manager #1 has arrived.] "Why did you call this meeting at such a busy time, Manager #17?" asked the latecomer Manager #1, as his face appeared in the video conference room. He seemed very dissatisfied and annoyed. "Welcome, Manager #1!" Lalaku exclaimed, ignoring Manager #1''s annoyed tone. "Now then, since everyone is here, I shall start this meeting. As you all know, I have requested this meeting without the presence of Manager #72." The other managers began murmuring to each other at what Lalaku said. "What do you mean, Manager #17?" "What do you think I mean?" asked Lalaku, giving each of the attending managers a look. "Ahem." "Hmm." The other managers coughed and cleared their throats at his question. "I''m sure all of you have noticed by now? Is there really a need to put up a noble front right now?" Lalaku continued as the other managers hesitated to retort. "Very well. Since you are all noble beings, I''ll explain it to you all. Store 72''s progress has risen far beyond our reach. I''m positive you all know, but that Store''s points have surpassed 2.4 million points. 2.4 million!" "True." "I wonder how he was able to amass that many points." "We''ve barely started and already he has¡­" "Isn''t it that Store''s first time participating?" "You''re right. The Anton family sent their youngest son so that he could gain some experience." The other managers murmured to each other in agreement to Lalaku''s claim. "If we just leave it like this, the competition will be over before it actually starts. All of you have put in a large deposit to participate on Earth. Are you really going to just sit back and let this happen? You''re all about to lose your deposits! You all know that Anton paid the bare minimum to participate. His whole intent was to just see how the inner workings of the system work. He has no reason to win. It''ll be embarrassing for all of us if we were to lose like this. If this gets out, we won''t be able to show our faces in public anymore." "Then what do you suggest we do?" "We''re frustrated about this as well, Manager #17." The conference room grew loud with many voices once more. "Now, now. Calm down, everyone. That is why we''re holding this meeting right now." "You''re not suggesting we tell the Anton family to hold back in this contest, are you? Are you insane? This is the Anton family we''re talking about!" Manager #33 exclaimed at what Lalaku said. "True. One wrong move, and that''ll be the end of us." "The Anton family is ignorant. They can never make heads or tails of any situation. All they''re good for is swinging their swords around." "It''s because they''re ignorant that they don''t have mercy." The other managers nodded and agreed with Manager #33. They all knew about the Anton family''s power. Should any scheme against the Anton family be discovered, the schemers'' necks would soon meet the merciless blades of the Anton family. There was no room for negotiation. That was how the Anton family operated. Swords over words. A clan that started with blades and would end with blades. All of the gathered managers had the same thought; they really didn''t want to make a mess of things by crossing the wrong family! "Thank you for pointing that out, Manager #33," replied Lalaku, without a change in his expression. He expected this response from the other managers. "Oho! Seems to me you have an interesting idea," Manager #1 butted in. The whole time he had maintained his annoyed demeanor and refrained from participating in the conversation, but he sensed that Lalaku had something and asked about it promptly. "Of course I do," replied Lalaku confidently. "Tell us how you expect to decrease the 2.4 million point distance between us and Store 72 without interfering with the Anton family," the other managers asked excitedly. "It''s too much of a risk to take this to Manager Anton. Instead, why don''t we mess with the deva that has been bringing Manager Anton all those points directly?" Lalaku replied, as if he discovered something amazing. "..." "..." "..." Some of the managers frowned in silence at Lalaku''s suggestion. Other managers shouted at her in outrage. "What sort of bullshit are you spouting, Manager #17!?" "You''re insane!" "If you have a death wish, go die by yourself, Manager #17!" The managers spouted insults at Lalaku one by one. However, once the outrage died down, Manager #1 decided to speak up. "We may all have our own private interests, but our main objective for Otadolon Earth is to help devas grow. Our one and only principle is to never harm devas. I know you''re aware of this, so tell me why you thought your suggestion was a good idea." Lalaku had stayed silent at the other managers'' insults and smiled at Manager #1''s question. "I''ve been a manager for many cycles. How could I not know? Hahaha." The other managers'' ceased their insults and quietly looked at Lalaku with shameful expressions. "Manager #17 seems very different today." "You''re right. Tell us what you are thinking, quickly." Lalaku looked over to the other managers, still smiling. "We cannot bring harm devas. We just need to stick to that code, correct? Then instead of harm, how about we bring them more incentives?" The other managers continued to shoot glares at Lalaku''s strange suggestions, but remained silent. They had already made the mistake once. They knew there was more to what he was saying. As if amused by the other managers'' curiosity, Lalaku looked around at them once more before taking something out of her inventory. The object Lalaku took out shone with a purple light and oozed a similar purple haze. "Is¡­that?" asked Manager #1. "Hah! Can you tell what this is?" asked Lalaku in return. "If my memory serves me correctly, that looks like the Sleepy Trainer." (TL note: the literal translation is ''The treasure chest that makes you stronger while you sleep. No joke. Might need a different name for it.) "As expected of Manager #1! I''m actually impressed you know what this is," exclaimed Lalaku. He seemed genuinely impressed. "What is it?" "What in the world is the Sleepy Trainer?" "I''ve never heard of such an item before." All of the managers had enough years of experience under their belts to boast that they knew of just about all items in existence. They had even memorized the names of all Rank 10 items they came across solely because of the rarity of the items. They were managers; they had to! But to them, this Rank 10 Sleepy Trainer was unheard of. "It seems with the exception of Manager #1, that no one knows what this item is. Allow me to explain," Lalaku haughtily said. The managers listened quietly, as this was about a Rank 10 item that they didn''t know about. "You all know who Joseph Lee is." "You mean that odd genius!" "That guy that prefers to live in his imagination!" "The man who can alter matter!" Everyone spoke in amazement when Lalaku dropped the name "''Joseph Lee". The genius that even God acknowledged! The man that could make fantasy a reality. There were too few words that could describe a man of his caliber. "There once was a world called Sylvyn that passed its Otadolon stage and entered its Mekocion stage. In that world, there was a kingdom, and the king of that kingdom had a son. But that son was lazy, and was only level 1,000 in the Mekocion stage." The other managers paid full attention to what Lalaku was saying. "The king thought long and hard. His son was his one and only heir, but he was so lazy. That was when the king discovered Joseph Lee had come to visit the kingdom. The king invited Joseph Lee over and hosted a six-year long festival. After the festival, the king asked Joseph Lee a favor. ''My son is very lazy and sleeps for twentyhours a day. Is there a way to make him stronger?'' the king asked Joseph Lee. And Joseph Lee replied, ''Isn''t the solution in front of you? If he sleeps too much, then let him grow stronger in his sleep''." There were many stories about Joseph Lee. Most of them were legends and some were first-hand accounts, but the managers'' had never heard this story before. "And after fooling around for another six years in the kingdom, Joseph Lee left one present behind before leaving. That present is this, the Sleepy Trainer. Item check!" Lalaku opened the item check for all to see. [Sleepy Trainer (Rank 10) One of Joseph Lee''s collection. Created for a king''s lazy son who slept for twenty hours a day and was too weak to be the heir. The Trainer grants one stat at random to the user once a day. When the user awakens, granted stat points can be moved to residual points. There is a side effect to the Trainer. Because Joseph Lee created the Trainer in a rush, once the user falls asleep, there is no telling when the user will awake. The Trainer''s stored Stat points Stage 0 ¨C 257,754 Stage 1 ¨C 574,334 Stage 2 ¨C 7,332 Stage 3 ¨C 1,469 Has branding effect. Once used, the Sleepy Trainer returns to the possession of the distraught monarch.] "Could this item be harmful to a deva in any way?" The other managers remained quiet at Lalaku''s question. "As far as we know, the shortest time period a user was asleep was two years, and the longest period was seven years. We all know that there is only one deva that has used Store 72, bringing Anton all those points. That deva''s name is Lee Jiwon." The other managers nodded; this was information they all knew. "What do you all think we can accomplish if we could put him to sleep for at least two years? At most seven years?" The other managers knew that if they could do that, they could put a stop to Store 72''s progress. They knew about the deva responsible. "Of course, Deva Lee Jiwon will be amassing stat points while he sleeps without having to level up. That was the reason Joseph Lee created this item in the first place. If we say that Lee Jiwon sleeps for two years, that''s 730 days. The Trainer''s total stored stat points total is 840,916 points, and we can assume that the chance of him getting Stage 2 or Stage 3 is close to 0. At most, he''ll only get 12 during the 730 days. He has a 68% of getting Point 1, a 30% chance of getting Stage 0, and a 2% chance for both Stage 2 and Stage 3. Statistically, the most stat points he can obtain from the Trainer is 520. That''s 52 levels." _____________________________ (TL note: this was a really difficult section. The Stage section of the item description was really confusing as well. The comment section of the raw chapter had readers that were confused about this part as well. The author mentioned there would be more explanation in future chapters. Basically what it means is that each stage of the Trainer has a certain amount of stat points and the user of the Trainer has a certain chance of activating a stage. I''m just unsure how the author did his math in the above paragrah.) _____________________________ Everyone nodded in agreement. There was nothing to lose if he was only going gain 52 levels while being asleep for two years, as the contest had barely just begun. By that time, other devas would have had their activities well under way. If it meant preventing Anton''s progress, they were ready to do anything! Chapter 46: Chapter 45: It’s a Trap?, Part II Chapter 46: Chapter 45: It¡¯s a Trap?, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "With this, we won''t be hurting Deva Lee Jiwon; we''ll be giving him a huge advantage. He''ll be getting free Stat points without having to level up. He can get at least 520 Stat points just by sleeping for a couple of years. Isn''t that right?" "Hehehe. What a wonderful idea, Manager #17." "He''s right! I say we do it. With all those free stat points we''ll be giving him, he''ll have to thank us, really!" "He''s getting a Rank 10 item, at the morn of the Otadolon stage. Aren''t we doing him a huge favor? Hahaha!" The other managers showered Lalaku with praise. "Hohoho. Then am I to presume that everyone here is in favor of my plan?" "As expected of Manager #17. I''m very impressed." "Thank you, Manager #1," replied Lalaku to the Manager #1''s praise with a smile. "This is why I invited you all to this meeting," Lalaku said, tapping on the Sleepy Trainer. "Even though this item has only one use to its distraught monarch curse, it''s still a Rank 10 item. I had to spend twenty billion golden rings, buying it secretly off the Troll Market. That price is too much of a burden for me to bear alone, and so I asked you all to join me in this meeting." "I''ll put in two billion golden rings," Manager #1 cut in as soon as Lalaku finished his sentence. The other managers stopped talking for a second. "As expected of Manager #1. I knew that I could rely on you and bought the item at 20 billion golden rings." The other managers had whispered amongst themselves when Lalaku mentioned golden rings; to try to pay Lalaku the least amount possible. When Manager #1 made his offer to split the cost in tenths, the other managers immediately fell silent. "Haha! Manager #1 made his amazing offer of two billion golden rings. Would the other managers be ok splitting the rest evenly?" "That''s fine with me." "Let''s do that." "Is there anyone opposed?" The managers eyed each other, but no one raised their hands. "Then let''s begin the operation." "How do you suggest we start?" "Devas get quests, don''t they? We''ll use that," replied Lalaku smiling, as if the answer was obvious. "We may have to put in more golden rings as part of the quest reward, but I''m sure with a bait this delicious, he''ll bite for sure, won''t he?" --------------------------------- I woke from sleeping at ten AM, and got up from my bed after yawning and stretching. "Now I need to get to Mt. Fuji¡­ugh." I had a good night''s sleep, but I frowned when I thought about Mt. Fuji. "It''s so big!" I had been to Hokkaido''s mid-grade dungeon a few times before, so I wasn''t too worried about that. It''s just that Mt. Fuji was so damn big. "Besides, all I know is that the dungeon is somewhere on the upper half of the mountain. It''d be real nice if I knew which side of the mountain it was on." I decided to start at the peak and make my way down in a spiraling path. Just knowing that it was on the upper half of the mountain made it difficult for me to gauge the midline of the mountain. If I chose wrong, I could end up wasting a lot of time searching the wrong places. I had to cover as much ground as possible. Once I found Japan''s dungeons, Japan''s devas would be able to begin hunting sooner than expected. There was no way that they wouldn''t be able to find a giant dungeon entrance in the middle of Mt. Fuji and Hokkaido. I even thought about waiting until the end of the eight months before finding the dungeons, but I thought against it as the timeline was too close to when society was supposed to collapse. I also doubted that I would be able to freely come back to the dungeons again. I decided it was best to find the dungeons while I had the chance. "Still, it won''t matter to me. I''ll have all of the dungeons'' bonuses, and no matter how hard the Japanese devas train, they won''t be able to catch up to me." I had no good feelings towards Japan. Or, to be honest, I didn''t really care how strong Japan got. I just wanted to focus on my growth. I wasn''t going to push back my progress just to help out Japan. Even if I wanted to, it wasn''t like anyone was going to recognize my efforts, anyway. "Fine, I''ll go. I can''t even enter dungeons, anyway; I might as well find as much as I can." I had already booked a 1:30 PM flight from Incheon International to Sapporo Airport the day before. "I should start getting ready." I stuffed a carrier with underwear, comfortable pants, and t-shirts, that way I could carry it all in one inventory slot. "Ten slots really aren''t enough. Inventory check!" [-3,505 golden rings -High grade health potions x5 -Shining high grade potions x2 -Bread x5 -Beverage x5 -Orb of Vitality -Orc champion''s unexpectedly durable greatsword -Money case, ring case, notebook, pen -Luggage carrier -Remaining slots x1] "I''ve only got one slot left." Multiple small, Earth objects could fit into one slot. I took out some cash from the case into my wallet and put the money case, ring case, my notes, and my pen into one slot. Small items dropped by monsters took up their own slot. "I should have at least one slot open." I had equipped my orc champion armor and red orc belt so that they wouldn''t take up more room in my inventory. I gave one last check before hailing a cab to head to the airport. ------------------------------- When I arrived at the airport, I still had another 30 minutes before my flight and decided to have a coffee at a nearby caf¨¦. I ordered an iced coffee and sat down, facing a window. "Huh?" I spat out my coffee. Something very unexpected just happened. "A quest? Why did I get a quest now? And why here at the airport, and not at the Store?" It was definitely a quest. There was a glaring exclamation mark in front of me so there was no doubt about it. I just couldn''t understand why there was a quest marker at the airport. Normally, they only appeared on the notice boards on the first floors of Stores. I stood up and walked over to the quest marker. "What in the world?" It was a real quest marker. I couldn''t think of a reason why there would be a quest marker in Incheon International Airport when they were only supposed to show up at Stores. I looked around me but no one else seemed to have noticed the quest marker. They probably couldn''t see it as only devas could. "Hah, geez." I was truly flabbergasted at the sight and could only laugh. [Pop-up Quest (Rank 5) Help cure insomnia! Danhari found a very rare treasure, but is losing sleep over it. Danhari is afraid that someone might steal it from her or that she might lose it herself. She has never let the treasure go from her hand and has never stopped thinking about it. She is afraid that if she falls asleep, the treasure will disappear from her hands and hasn''t slept since. After holding on to the treasure for 357 years, Danhari is now exhausted. She is sick and tired of the insomnia that has become part of her daily life and is now looking for someone to take this treasure away from her. She wants to know if there is someone out there who could sleep with the treasure in their possession. She believes that if someone can, then she could, too. Receive quest item on accepting quest. (Forfeiting or completing the quest returns the treasure to Danhari.) Losing the quest item requires a reimbursement of 1,000x of quest reward. Time limit: none. Quest reward: 1,000,000 golden rings Accept/Reject] "What is this?" I had nothing else to say about this weird quest. "What the hell kind of quest is this?" In the past, I had completed my fair share of quests. I knew about the Hokkaido dungeon that I was heading to now because of a quest. The quest required me to farm some materials from the monsters in the dungeon. I''d never seen a quest like this one before. "This isn''t a kill quest or a gather quest. It just wants me to sleep." And the quest reward was a million golden rings. A million! I read the quest description another three times, in case there was a catch, but I didn''t see anything that suggested there was. Can you sleep with the treasure in your hands? If you can, you get a million golden rings. If I lost the quest item, I had to reimburse for it at 1,000x the quest''s reward. That was a whopping 1 billion golden rings! But really, there was nothing for me or any other devas to worry about. I had an inventory. As long as the item was held in your inventory, no one could steal it from you. Inventories were the safest place to store your items. "I really don''t get this at all." The whole part where the quest marker appeared at the airport didn''t make sense. But I couldn''t pass this up, not with a quest reward of a million golden rings. "That''s a lot of money, especially this early in the game." No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for me to not accept this quest. There was no chance of failing this quest. It''s so simple. "I''ll do it. There''s no time limit, no way for me to lose the quest item. Not accepting the quest would be stupid of me, especially for a million golden rings." I really couldn''t let all those golden rings go. "I doubt anyone else would reject this quest. Besides, there''s no real reason to be suspicious about it. Quests are designed to help devas in the first place." Quests only existed to help devas progress in their growth. There was not a single quest out there designed to intentionally harm devas. Sure, some devas ended up dying trying to complete a difficult quest, but that''s because they were insufficiently prepared for it. It wasn''t the quest''s fault. As a result, it was the norm to complete quests as much as possible. It was what I did before, too. "Of course I should accept. There''s nothing to lose and it''s simple enough." I made my decision. Actually, I didn''t have a decision to make; it was already decided. I placed my hand over the Accept button. [Pop-up Quest (Rank 5) Help cure insomnia.] You have accepted the quest. As the message screen disappeared, something began to materialize in front of me. I stretched my hand out to catch it. "Is this the treasure?" The treasure that supposedly prevented that Danhari person from sleeping all this time wasn''t really that big. It was about as big as a shoebox. "Item check!" [This treasure box is locked. A password is required. If you would like to open this treasure box without the password, please pay 10x the original lock fee. Original lock fee: 100,000,000 golden rings.] I expected something like this, finding out that it was locked only made me more eager in anticipation. "Fine. I just need to go to sleep once to complete the quest. I don''t need to know what''s inside." I quickly put the mysterious treasure box away in my inventory. "The quest''s reward is a million golden rings and the box was locked for a hundred times that. Whoever made this quest had a lot of money." Happy with what I just got, I began to walk towards my gate. ----------------------------------------- "It''s done." As Lee Jiwon disappeared into the crowd, two men seemingly materialized from behind the quest marker. One man was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, obscuring his face. The other man was bald, large and gruff-looking. "Recall!" The quest marker vanished at the bald man''s command. "I''ve done as you asked, but this is very inappropriate." "It might be inappropriate, but it''s not illegal, right? Besides, this is all good for the deva." "You''re being sophistic." "So what if I am? It''s fine as long as we don''t do anything criminal." "Fine, but with this, my debt to you is clear." "Hahaha. Of course. But take this with you. You need golden rings, too, don''t you?" Lalaku took out a pouch of a million golden rings and held it out to the bald man. The bald man glared at the pouch for a minute. Lalaku didn''t react and continued to hold the pouch out. After what seemed like an eternity, the bald man finally took the pouch. "Good choice." "Don''t ever contact me again." The bald man then vanished with his pouch and quest marker. Lalaku watched as the bald man vanished and turned in the direction Lee Jiwon disappeared in. "Hehehe. You''re getting a lot out of this, so don''t be too mad. Who knows? If you''re lucky, you''ll end up with a tremendous amount of stat points. Although, I''m not too sure if you''ll ever be that lucky. Hehehe! Sweet dreams!" ------------------------------------------ I sat down on my assigned seat on the plane heading for Sapporo. "The flight''s supposed to be almost three hours¡­" The flight from Incheon to Sapporo took exactly two hours and fifty minutes. "Huh¡­I might actually be able to sleep." I put on the complementary earphones and put on a pop song to settle in to my seat. I thought about a few things regarding the time I was about to spend in Japan. What would be the best way to search Mt Fuji? Should I look for some local fine eats while I''m there? Should I visit a hot spring inn while I was at Mt Fuji? Before I knew it, I soon fell asleep. And I slept for a very long time. Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Song Haechang, Part I Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Song Haechang, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Whew¡­is he still not awake?" "No, ma''am." "You''re sure that he''s just sleeping?" Song Haein asked, looking at Lee Jiwon who was sleeping on the bed. He had been sleeping for four years now, but surprisingly with no detriment to his body. "I''m positive. His MRI and CT scans showed no abnormalities. We''ve even had a healer come in and perform numerous tests, but he really is just sleeping. Very peacefully, at that." Song Haein sighed deeply, recalling that day four years ago. ----------------------------------------- She received a call from the very busy secretary''s office. After receiving valuable information from Lee Jiwon the day before, the whole company was busy preparing for the future. Their results were going to vary on the decisions they made. "Yes?" she answered curtly. "At Incheon Airport? Jiwon isn''t waking up?" The caller told her that Lee Jiwon couldn''t be woken up at Sapporo and was put on a plane back to Incheon. A doctor that was on the same flight said that his pulse was normal and was breathing properly, and advised that he be returned to Korea, but he still hadn''t woken up by then. Lee Jiwon''s actions were carefully monitored by the Group and his condition was reported right away. "What are you saying?" Song Haein couldn''t understand what the caller was saying. He fell asleep and couldn''t wake up? "Thing is¡­we''re positive he''s sleeping. He''s breathing properly and his pulse is normal. But he isn''t waking up, no matter how we try. We''re transporting him to the Sunbin Group''s private hospital right now." "I understand. I''ll head over right away." She still couldn''t figure out what was going on over the phone call. How could he not wake up after falling asleep? She had to go and see for herself what was going on. She had to make sure Lee Jiwon was all right. She had her driver pull around the car and headed straight for the hospital. ----------------------------------------------- "It''s already been four years." Song Haein watched Lee Jiwon as he slept. They couldn''t feed him or give him any water. At first, they had to administer an IV drip and brought in a healer to keep his HP up. They were worried that he would get bedsores for being in bed for so long and had nurses care for his body 24/7. They had masseuses come in to make sure his muscles didn''t atrophy. They knew he was a deva and that he wasn''t going to die for good, but didn''t want him to accrue any death penalties and did their best to keep him alive. Soon, however, they realized they didn''t have to. Even though he didn''t eat, there were no problems to his body. In fact, as time went on, it seemed like he was getting younger. His body didn''t seem to age and his muscles were still healthy. His body and hair didn''t even get dirty even though they hadn''t been washed properly in four years. His body didn''t even create waste. For four years, he never passed urine or fecal matter. There wasn''t a single trace of waste in his body. His body kept itself in pristine condition. It was a damn mystery! "There''s definitely something going on here." --------------------------------------------- Everyone else gave up on the sleeping Lee Jiwon. In four years, the difference in strength between him and others grew tremendously. Already, there were level 500 and 600 devas all around. Even if he were to wake up now, there was no way he could catch up to the rest, no matter how hard he trained. But Song Haein didn''t give up on him. She had made it to level 673, and had learned the Unrivaled skill. She managed to become the strongest deva, and it was all thanks to Lee Jiwon. It was thanks to him that she was able to train in Korea''s five dungeons in secret for eight months! Because Lee Jiwon returned to Korea before finding Japan''s dungeons, the Planning committee deduced that the rest of the world wouldn''t be able to find out about dungeons for the time being, and decided to keep Korea''s dungeons hidden. There was debate on whether or not it was okay for them to do so just to get stronger before anyone else, but they decided that it was for the good of the company. Now, the Sunbin Guild had turned over possession of Eulsukdo dungeon over to the Yung Gong Guild, and the Oksunbong dungeon over to the Ojin Guild. The monsters outside the Seorak Mountain dungeon had grown so strong that it was impossible to enter it. The Sunbin Guild allowed free entrance to the Bukhan Mountain dungeon to devas under level 150. The guild still controlled the Jeju Island dungeon. There was some distance, but having that dungeon in its possession outweighed the risk and made the guild the strongest in all of Asia. ------------ "Tsk! I was wondering where you were." "Oppa." As she continued to watch Lee Jiwon sleep, a man resembling her came into the room. The man was the only grandson to Guildmaster Song Daechul, and the only son to Vice-Master Song Myungsoo, Song Haechang. "You really should forget about him now." "Oppa!" "It''s already been four years. You, of all people, know how much of a difference four years make. There''s not hope for him anymore. He''s not strong enough to stand at our side anymore. Besides, we still don''t know when he''ll wake up." "Is that what you should say about Grandfather''s benefactor?" "Benefactor, my ass. You and Grandfather have already done enough for him. You''ve looked after him for four years; you''ve already paid your debt to him." "That''s enough!" Song Haein interrupted Song Haechang and turned away from him. "Tsk! You and your obstinacy." Song Haein ignored her brother''s nagging. "Anyway, Father wanted me to tell you. We''ve completed our negotiations with China''s Huiman Guild, and we''ll be raiding their mid-grade dungeon boss. We''re leaving in seven hours, so get ready." "OK." "I''m telling you this again as your older brother, but it''s too late for him. To be honest, he''s basically abandoned goods. Even if he wakes up now, do you really think he''ll be of help to us? Never in a million years. He''ll never be reach our¡­" "One more word out of you and I''ll relay everything you just said to Grandfather." "Ugh. You and Grandfather are just the same." Song Haechang stopped what he was saying at his sister''s threat. His grandfather still cared greatly for Lee Jiwon. He couldn''t understand why, though. He wasn''t there at that meeting, but he had heard that Lee Jiwon made it possible for the Sunbin Guild to become not only Korea''s, but Asia''s strongest guild. But he had also heard that he was already rewarded for his help. The guild had even looked after him for four years! Song Haechang believed that was enough. He felt that the guild no longer had a reason to look after this man any longer. But he could do nothing about it, as the guildmaster himself had ordered the guild to do so. "Fine. I''ll go. Just make sure you''re sufficiently prepared. This mid-grade boss uses area-of-effect magic skills." "Don''t worry about me. Have I made a mistake so far?" Song Haein retorted back with immense confidence. "Tch! You keep that up, and one day you''ll bite off more than you can chew." ----------------------------------- Song Haechang was the first member of the Sunbin Guild to learn the Unrivaled skill. To be more precise, he had learned the skill when he reached level 500. He had removed all of his known skills to learn the Unrivaled skill at level 500, leaving him with no other skill points to use. Still, the skill brought up all of his stats by 1,000 each and by properly allocating his stat points, he became the optimal tank. He obtained complete immunity to all status effects. His damage output against deities went up by fifty percent. He could easily kill normal monsters with normal attacks, so he didn''t need to rely on other skills. He really liked that part of the skill. He had the best equipment with the support of his guild, so there was really no reason for him to be unsatisfied. He loved that he could swing his greatsword and kill monsters with one hit while they couldn''t do any damage to him. That is, until he went up against bosses. He could deal with elite monsters. They withstood his attacks better than normal monsters, but they were still no match for him. They were a slight hassle, that was all. He laughed at how easily they fell before him. When he learned his Greatsword Mastery passive skill at level 550, he participated in a boss raid for the first time. Despite others'' attempt to dissuade her, once his youngest sister, Song Haein, learned the Unrivaled skill, at level 550, she attempted to raid the boss of Jeju Island''s mid-grade dungeon. Song Haein opted instead to use the one skill point she gained at level 550 to learn her Defense Mastery passive skill and was able to perfectly fill the tanker role for the five-hour long battle. The entire guild even acknowledged her skill in combat. There were healers and buffers in the party, but she managed to keep all of her party members out of harm''s way. Their grandfather showered her with praise when he found out about her prowess. Song Haein''s performance in the raid was so good, that the video of the raid was used by the guild as an example of the perfect raid. The Sunbin Guild became the first to beat a mid-grade dungeon boss, making Song Haein''s name known all over the world. Damn that day! Once he learned of Song Haein''s success, he rushed to his grandfather and told him that he wanted to lead a boss raid as well. Song Haechang had originally planned to wait until he reached level 600, but he had lost his chance at being the first to beat a dungeon boss when his sister was only at level 550. He stubbornly decided to attempt the boss raid 588, 12 levels lower than his initial goal. Song Haein had cleared Korea''s only mid-grade dungeon. Her success made it impossible to return to that dungeon for a month and Song Haechang had to challenge the only other nearest mid-grade dungeon in China. Of course, he had to pay a large sum of golden rings to the guild controlling it. The Chinese guild hadn''t received the order to attempt this boss and as a result, this raid attracted a lot of attention. The Chinese guild also received a lot of backlash for selling out its dungeon to a foreign party, and so the raid began amidst a massive media storm. Damn it all! The result was abysmal. Song Haechang failed to aggro the boss properly. The boss monster completely ignored him and instead focused its attacks at the fire-lightning mage responsible for dealing damage and the warlock responsible for debuffing the monster. Both mages had significantly low physical defense and fell in an instant. Song Haechang''s first attempt at a mid-grade boss raid failed miserably. Eleven of the twenty party members died to the monster. Song Haechang couldn''t even save his only healer and barely survived the fight. As a result, Song Haechang lost much of his support within the guild. The mockery from the Chinese media only fueled the flames as his support plummeted. The guild analyzed the failure and deduced that rather than learning Greatsword Mastery, it was better to learn Defense Mastery level 550 and Taunt at level 600 to perfect the tank build. His youngest sister had filled the perfect tank role without the Taunt skill, and he felt that it was humiliating to learn it, but he had no choice. His grandfather had ordered him to. Chapter 48: Chapter 47: Song Haechang, Part II Chapter 48: Chapter 47: Song Haechang, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Song Haechang honestly didn''t want to be a tanker, even though he had learned the Unrivaled skill. But after spending 2.4 billion golden rings to learn the skill, he couldn''t bring up that he wanted to be a damage dealer instead. He was only able to become the first of his guild to learn the skill because the guild had amassed its resources for him to do so. He had to become the reliable tanker the guild wanted him to be. No matter how well the Sunbin Guild started off, 2.4 billion golden rings was still expensive. It was a price tag that managed to deliver a huge blow to the financially stable guild. When Song Haein learned her Unrivaled skill, the guild had run out of golden rings and she had to put a hold on her leveling. Learning the skill at exactly level 500 was the safest and the most economical way. Still, the guild''s vault remained empty for about three months. All of the guild''s members had to even watch their potion use to save up. The second guild member to learn the Unrivaled skill was not supposed to be Song Haein, but the head of security, Han Kyungchul. He gave the privilege to Song Haein when she begged him that she had to learn the skill instead. Song Haechang was the guild''s rightful heir, and it was accepted that he would be the first to learn the skill, but that wasn''t the case for Song Haein. At first, there were members who weren''t happy towards Song Haein. That is, until the raid. Song Haechang decided to try once more after learning Taunt when he reached level 600. He wanted to raid the mid-grade dungeon in Jeju, the one his youngest sister perfectly cleared. He was confident this time. Even though he was embarrassed to, he watched the video of his sister''s raid many, many times over. "God damn it! Shit!" He still failed. This raid was even more deplorable than the raid on the Chinese dungeon. Back then, only 11 of the 20 party members ended up dying in the raid. This time, however, 15 members died. Only he, a healer and three other members managed to survive. The 15 members did resurrect, but the death penalty they sustained was like losing a whole level they worked so hard to achieve. They were the most elite devas the guild had to offer. Losing a whole level was a huge cost. When Song Haein led her first mid-grade dungeon boss raid, she went in expecting that she was going to fail. The party she went with wasn''t the best squad either, as other guild members expected that she would fail, too. But she still managed to keep her squad alive and successfully defeat the monster. Failing twice in a row made a huge dent in Song Haechang''s pride. Of course, it''s not to say that the success or failure of a raid didn''t always rely on the party''s tank, and there were some words of encouragement towards Song Haechang... until the raid''s video was released. He was worse than bad. It seemed like he just had no talent for command at all. It was evident that Song Haechang had everything he needed for the raid, from the best equipment, to the highest levels, to the best party members. But he just didn''t know how to properly utilize any of it. Even though he had higher defense than his sister, he was slow in blocking attacks. He tried to block after the attack had already gone through. Even though he had the Defense Mastery skill, he just couldn''t defend against any attack. His AGI and STR were much higher than Song Haein''s, but while Song Haein matched the boss''s pace, Song Haechang was literally thrown around by the boss. He had trained so much before the raid, but his attempts at blocking were all over the place. It was an absolute crisis. There was no hope for him. The sub-tanker in the party who didn''t have the Unrivaled skill had to take over the main tank role during the fight, but that was the deciding move. Their movements tangled with one another, and they couldn''t properly control the boss monster. Even though he killed all of those monsters so easily trying to get to level 500, there was no evidence of that skill anywhere. Song Haechang had tapered his stats so that when he learned the Unrivaled skill, he would be tailored for the best fighter. He showed good promise at becoming a decent damage dealer with his skill at using a greatsword. His skill in low-grade dungeons had people come to believe that he would also make a great tanker, and they didn''t expect him to fail. After failing twice in a row, Song Haechang became a recluse, holing himself up in the guild all day. The Sunbin Guild''s master and vice-master were equally frustrated. Nothing had gone the way they planned. They had spent 2.4 billion golden rings so that he could learn the skill, but he just couldn''t adapt at all. Song Daechang just wasn''t cut out for the tank role. He never stood on the front line to take the boss''s attacks for his teammates, and didn''t understand how to create openings so that his teammates could attack the boss. ------------------------------------------- "Ugh. Damn it all!" It was a good thing that Song Haein became the perfect tank. It was like the guild had won an unexpected lottery. But Song Haechang could only sigh in frustration every time he thought about it. "Where is Haechang?" "He''s still in his room." "Whew¡­I see. What do you think about your son?" It was his grandson, but Song Daechul felt that the boy''s father would know more what the boy was thinking. "I doubt there is anything else we can do. He said he was going to remove the Unrivaled skill." Song Daechul sighed heavily. As Song Haechang''s grandfather, he understood what his grandson was going through and felt bad for him. But as the Sunbin Guild''s guild master, he was also angry. The guild was going to lose out on 2.4 billion golden rings. That wasn''t a small amount. The guild went through so much to save up that much! When the Sunbin Group first became a guild, they relied heavily on the employees. They had to persuade them that they needed money, that there was a skill needed for the guild to come out on top. The guild members put all their faith into the guild and worked tirelessly to save that much. Song Daechul placed a hand on his aching forehead and leaned his head back on his chair. "Perhaps once more¡­" Chairman Song couldn''t finish what he wanted to say. He remembered the video of the Jeju dungeon raid again. Scrambling. Stumbling. Awkward. Any of those words perfectly described what he saw. That was how much of a mess it was. He just couldn''t bring himself to suggest that Song Haechang should try once more. "Was talent always this important?" A deva''s abilities were pretty damn visible to the naked eye. You could see how strong and how fast they were. The more points added to stats made a deva that much stronger and much faster, allowing them to attack better. Anyone could become stronger and faster due to stat points, and people believed that there was no use for talent anymore. There were items and skills to compensate for any fallback. It became the norm. "Obviously that''s not true. All thanks to my own grandson." It didn''t matter if the conditions were the same; it mattered how they were used. There were those who knew what they were doing and those who had no clue at all. Unfortunately, his only grandson was the latter type. "Tell him to remove the skill." Song Daechul made his decision after contemplating for thirty minutes. There was no hope. He knew that pushing the boy further would only wreck the boy more. Even hedgehogs love their babies. He still had to accept it, no matter how badly he thought about the whole situation. This was the decision he made as the boy''s grandfather and as the guild''s master. "Take away all of the boy''s items and privileges. He is to start from the very bottom if he wants to come back to the top. Have him work the fields eight hours a day like the mortals and have him hunt only on his own time. If he can''t come back up, then he will stay down there. This is the most I can do as his grandfather and as his guild master." This was probably not enough compensation for wasting the guild''s precious 2.4 billion golden rings that the guild members had poured blood, sweat, and tears into saving. Someone squandered away the Sunbin Guild''s investment in its future, so someone had to take responsibility for it. "Yes, father. I understand." Even though this is his son they were talking about, Song Myungsoo accepted it. He knew the value of the 2.4 billion. ----------------------------------------- After the whole fiasco with Song Haechang, the Sunbin Guild began testing devas to find out what the best role for them was. The guild also trained the devas so that they knew it wasn''t just about hunting monsters; it was about making one better at fighting and better at working with teams. It was thanks to Song Haechang that the guild learned that it wasn''t just about stats, skills and items. They amounted to about 99% of a deva''s true strength, but it was the remaining 1% that mattered. Once the Sunbin Guild set up its role tester and training program, the guild became much stronger than before. It wasn''t long until other guilds adopted the same system. It was ironic that it was thanks to Song Haechang that devas growth process took a huge leap forward in a safer and better direction. ------------------------------------------ Back before Lee Jiwon jumped into the Sea of Reset, Song Haechang''s role in the Sunbin Guild was as solid as his sister''s. He hadn''t learned the Unrivaled skill right away. He had used the guild''s unanimous support to quickly level up and was level 700 when he learned about the skill. It wasn''t worth learning the Unrivaled skill at level 700 versus level 500. The stat bonuses were more valuable at level 500. Using the Sea of Reset to get back up to level 500 just to learn the skill also wasn''t wise, as there only 114 devas could learn the skill. But not having the Unrivaled skill didn''t mean he was weak. The only reason people believed Unrivaled was a good skill was that it made great tanks! Tanks with the Unrivaled skill were much better at taking damage from other devas and boss monsters than normal tanks. The skill was even more required in high level boss raids, as the boss monster had more skills to use, making their debuff abilities just about useless. Skills came in use more in fights against other devas than in boss fights. For example, ice magic damage had a passive that slowed movement and attack speed, lowered ATT and DEF, and lowered VIT. This was all part of debuffing. There was nothing else much to say about deities. There was a 50% decrease in damage received. You needed an Unrivaled to soak up damage from deities if you wanted to win a fight against them. If you took all of these reasons into account, you would notice that most Unrivaleds were tanks. For devas that wanted to be damage dealers, it was wiser for them to invest their 20 skill points in other skills than to spend them all on the Unrivaled skill. There were a few damage dealers that learned the Unrivaled skill, but compared to other dealers that used their skill points elsewhere, their abilities were the same, if not lower than normal devas. Compensating for the loss of skill points with defensive abilities really made it better to go up against other devas, boss monsters, and even deities. That was why devas that learned the Unrivaled skill made the best tanks. The Song Haechang from the past had fine-tuned his abilities as an Ice Mage. He preferred attacking from the distance rather than fighting up close and personal. He was more brains than brawn. Rather than having to consistently react, he preferred to plan out his moves and attacks to cause the most confusion possible on his opponents. That was who Song Haechang used to be. He was so adept in ice magic that he could freeze a horde of monsters in an instant. That was the power of Song Haechang! But with Lee Jiwon''s newfound connection to the Sunbin Guild, Song Haechang''s future had changed drastically. The Song Haechang who had the full support of his guild and had walked with his head held high was no more. He was now full of inferiority, like a boil on the verge of bursting. Chapter 49: Chapter 48: How Long Was I Out?! Part I Chapter 49: Chapter 48: How Long Was I Out?! Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Oh, come on! Give me something other than grapes!" I yelled at the tree in frustration. I wanted to eat something else, but I could only get at its grapes. I had no idea where I was. The only things in front of me were a shack that could fit around twenty people, and a tree as tall as a high-rise apartment. Every time I tried to leave, I always ended up in front of the shack and tree. No matter which direction I ran to, sooner or later, I was back at the shack. The tree was so damn big, it never left my sight. If I ran with the tree to my back, I would see the tree in front of me again in an instant. This repeated time and time again until I finally gave up. I adapted, soon, to this never-changing place. "You''ve got other stuff growing on you, so let me have them. Why do you always keep giving me grapes?" I kicked the tree''s massive trunk, but there wasn''t as much as a vibration. The tree stood still. "Bah!" The giant tree bore four kinds of fruit: the plump, juicy and sweet grapes that I had been eating, bright red apples, oranges that looked very sweet and refreshing, and white radishes. There really were small radish-looking fruits growing on the tree! "I know radishes aren''t fruit, but if they''re growing like apples and oranges¡­I guess they''re fruits now." It was obviously a weird tree; as a weird tree, it wouldn''t be weird for it to bear cabbages or potatoes. "Anyway, give me something else to eat. It''s always grapes. Besides, there are only a few more grapes left." There were different amount of the tree''s fruits (I''m calling them fruits because they''re growing from this tree). Oranges were the most abundant, than the radishes, than the apples, and finally the grapes. At first, I thought that this was some legendary tree that grew Rank 10 grapes, Rank 8-9 apples, Rank 7 oranges, and common Rank 1-3 radishes. It looked like that when grapes were the fewest and oranges and radishes were the most abundant. "Yeah, right! I must be going crazy. What fruits can be items?" I bent over to pick up a grape that fell from the tree and shoved it into my mouth. "Still, they taste amazing." I''ve been eating these grapes for so long, but they still tasted delectable. Every time I ate one, the pulp''s texture almost reminded me of beef and a single drop of the juice permeated sweetness and a refreshing feeling throughout my body. "Tsk. It''s good and all, but I''m eating like one a day." In the beginning, I wanted to eat more of them and tried to climb the tree, but the bark was so slippery I only managed a few feet off the ground. I had to climb at least two kilometers to get to the lowest fruits, but the more I tried to go up, the more it felt like gravity pulled at me. It was like some invisible hand had me by the leg and every time I took a step up, the harder it pulled. I couldn''t make it more than 100 meters before having to give up. "Eating one of these a day fills me up and quenches my thirst for the whole day, though," I sighed to myself. I sat on the tree''s smallest outcropping root. It was the smallest visible root, but it was still taller than me. "How many days has it been?" I had counted my days since I got here, but I lost count after five hundred days. Every day was the same, with nothing else to do. I thought that I might as well train if I was stuck here and made a whole commotion by myself. I took out my greatsword and swung it around me, I did push-ups and sprinted here and there and all sorts of work-outs. I didn''t want my body to become all rusty. "But all I can do is sleep." There was no point to do anything. Nothing in this place changed. Nothing changed and nothing regressed. If I swung my sword a million times to get better at it, the next day it was the same. If I slept for a hundred days in a row, my body was still the same. "Am I dead or alive? Someone tell me what''s going on!" I didn''t need to go to the bathroom, either. The first week I was alarmed when I didn''t feel the need to, but after a month and a year, I just accepted it. I thought that if I was already stuck in this weird place in the first place, going to the bathroom was least of my worries. "I sure can sleep well, though," I yawned. My eyelids grew heavy and let myself drift off to sleep. At first, I did everything I could to fight off the sleep, but it was impossible. I couldn''t resist for more than a second. I fell asleep at around the same time every day, and slept for at least twenty hours a day. --------------------------------------------- I woke up the next day and ate a grape that dropped from the tree. "I wonder if time is still flowing in the real world, too," I asked myself. I assumed about a thousand days had passed. "Open inventory!" [-3505 golden rings -High grade health potions x5 -Shining high grade potions x2 -Bread x5 -Beverage x5 -Orb of Vitality -Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Durable Greatsword -Money case, ring case, notebook, pen -Luggage carrier -Danhari''s Locked Treasure Chest -Remaining slots x0] "I''m positive the culprit is Danhari''s Treasure Chest¡­" It was the only thing out of place. "Danhari''s insomnia has to have something to do with me sleeping all the time." I reached into my inventory to take out the treasure chest. [Danhari''s Locked Treasure Chest cannot be taken out at this time.] "Damn it!" It was the same situation as before. Ever since I ended up here, I had not been able to take out the treasure chest. This wasn''t the only problem. I reached in again and took out the Orb of Vitality. After the five hundredth day, I didn''t take it out without purpose. I could use the accumulated VIT points on the orb to calculate how many days had passed! "Item check!" ============ [Orb of Vitality (Rank 8) The Orb of Vitality is one of the 5 Orbs in existence. Once this item comes into your possession, the Orb is bound to you. The Orb collects 1 VIT point a day, starting on the day you obtain the Orb. There is no limit to how much Vitality the Orb can collect. When you consume the Orb, the Vitality points the Orb collected will be added to your total VIT stat. - Bind on pickup. - The Orb of Vitality will dissolve once consumed. Once consumed, the collected Vitality is transferred to the consumer. - While the Orb is in your possession, Health regenerates by 500 per tick. - Current Vitality collected: 1,116 (+1,111 to be added)] ============= There was something going on with the Orb of Vitality. The Orb had 5 points collected before I ended up in this place. After that, the Orb somewhat functioned like normal. Every day, I took it out to check and the points went up by 1 each time. But next to it, another point was added with the description that it was going to be added later. "I can''t make heads or tails of this. The Orb is collecting two points a day, pretty much. Why?" I asked myself but there was no one else around to answer for me. "One thousand, one hundred and eleven days! Damn, that''s a lot of days." Three years had come and gone. It didn''t feel like it as I had slept through most of it. I didn''t really do anything while I was awake, either. There weren''t even monsters. I just lay there, eating the grapes that dropped from the tree. That was all I did here. "Huh, I''m sleepy already." ---------------------------- As Lee Jiwon fell asleep against the tree trunk, the Orb of Vitality gained another VIT point as another day passed. The Orb now had 1,117 points. As soon as the counter changed, an orange fell from the tree and collided with the Orb. Lee Jiwon hadn''t left his inventory open, but the orange made a beeline for the Orb. As the orange made contact with the Orb, the orange disappeared in a flash of light and the Orb shone with a bright orange light before settling down. The (+1,111 to be added) changed to (+1,112 to be added). The Orb stayed still as if nothing had happened. ---------------------------------- It had been 1,494 days since Lee Jiwon had fallen asleep. Four years and thirty-four days had passed, but Lee Jiwon made no sign of awakening anytime soon. Song Haein ruefully watched him sleep. "I guess I just have to come here if I want to find you." Song Haein didn''t say anything as her brother entered the room from behind her. Their relationship wasn''t like the way it was before. Song Haein wanted to keep a good relationship with her oldest and only brother, but she had to be careful around him as his position in the guild plummeted when he got rid of his Unrivaled skill. "Now you''re going to outright ignore your brother. I suppose you can, since you''re the best Unrivaled out there and everyone can rely on you now, right?" "If I reply, I''m arrogant. If I don''t, then I''m ignoring you. I just don''t know what you want anymore. Don''t you feel embarrassed when you see your kids at home?" Before he became a deva, the 37-year old Song Haechang was married and had three kids; two sons and a daughter. Before the Earth changed, Song Haechang wasn''t really the best dad, but did his best for his kids. He played with his kids when they asked and was home often enough to eat with them. But since he erased his Unrivaled skill, he had lost interest in them. "Why are you bringing them up now?" "They''re your kids, and my niece and nephews. Do you have any idea how hard your wife has it right now? It''s been six months since she last went out hunting. She had to give up on leveling because she''s afraid of what you might think!" Once you became a deva, the only thing you had to think about was getting stronger, that way you weren''t pushed around by anyone else. That was the way this system worked, and nobody had any idea what was waiting at the end. There were more realistic reasons to get stronger, but the end goal was the same. To get stronger! Anyone related to the Sunbin Guild had to get stronger. There might be a time when they had to fight for the guild. "Why is that my fault?" "Why do you care about others getting stronger? You''re plenty strong, too. I know you can do it. Don''t focus on others and focus on yourself. You don''t need to compare yourself to other people!" "Shut up!" Song Haechang screamed. His face had grown red at what his sister told him. "You! You''ll never understand me!" "I know you can do it. We''re family." "I said, shut up!" Song Haechang answered Song Haein''s pleading with cold rage. After glaring at her for a while, he turned to leave. "The guild master is calling you!" He hadn''t forgotten why he had come here in the first place, and coldly informed Song Haein. After Song Haechang removed his Unrivaled skill, he no longer used familial terms. Instead he called his grandfather and father by their guild titles only. "You must be happy. You get to follow them to America now." Song Haechang knew why the guild master was calling for Song Haein. The Sunbin Guild had become one of the world''s strongest guilds, and had been invited by the Shire Guild, the strongest guild in America. It was an invitation to raid one of America''s mid-grade dungeon bosses. The Shire Guild offered fifty million golden rings in compensation if the Sunbin Guild brought Song Haein along. The Shire Guild had its own main tanker, but wanted another experienced one just in case things went wrong. Song Haein had already become someone that foreign powers were willing to pay fifty million gr to come to their countries. If Song Haein travelled to these countries for fifty million golden rings per visit, she could increase the value of the Sunbin Group and would become the pride and joy of the Sunbin Guild. Guild master Song Daechul knew better than to lose out on this chance and promoted it all around. There was no better way to boost the guild members'' pride! This was to be Song Haein''s first foreign expedition, and the Shire Guild decided to invite the Sunbin Guild''s guild master and vice-master along. The two guilds'' relationship wasn''t going to end with the expedition, and the Shire Guild wanted to forge an alliance as well. The Sunbin Guild decided to take fifty of its most elite devas along on the expedition, as it wanted to show the extent of its true power. ------------------------------------------------ When Song Haein left Lee Jiwon''s room, Song Haechang soon came back in. The room was one of Sunbin Guild''s few special treatment rooms. "You really piss me off!" Song Haechang and Lee Jiwon had never met before, let alone passed by each other. But Song Haechang really disliked the fact that Lee Jiwon ever existed. He didn''t like the fact that Song Haein, who he was also beginning to hate, took special care of Lee Jiwon. If it were up to him, Song Haechang would have slit Lee Jiwon''s throat right then and there. He wanted to see Song Haein''s furious or wretched reaction. "If only it weren''t for the guild master!" If it was just Song Haein, he would have, but she wasn''t the only one caring for Lee Jiwon. Song Daechul kept constant tabs on Lee Jiwon as well. He had already fallen out of favor with the guild master. If he ever laid a hand on Lee Jiwon, Song Haechang could get permanently cut off from the guild. "Lucky bastard. But one of these days, I''ll cut you up and send you to Song Haein." Song Haechang hated Lee Jiwon like he was the dog of someone Song Haechang hated. Lee Jiwon was someone he couldn''t touch; someone who was constantly looked after by two of the guild''s strongest people. Song Haechang felt an anger that could not be relieved towards him. ----------------------------------------------- As Song Haechang left the room, neither he nor anyone else noticed that Lee Jiwon''s finger twitched slightly. Lee Jiwon had been asleep for 1,494 days. Four years and thirty four days had passed. The Rank 10 Sleepy Trainer was on its last two points of its third form. No one knew that there were only two grapes left on the tree. Chapter 50: Chapter 49: How Long Was I Out?! Part II Chapter 50: Chapter 49: How Long Was I Out?! Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The next day began like any other day. "Are there any more grapes left?" I asked myself as I chowed down a grape that had fallen down from the tree. As I looked up at the tree, I could see no more grapes. The grape that had just fallen down was the last one. I had wanted to try the apples, oranges and even the radishes when only the grapes dropped from the tree. I had consistently eaten the grapes so that I could move on to the other fruits, and could only guess how many grapes were left on the tree. I concentrated and looked for more as I walked around the tree, but could find no more. "I ate all the grapes¡­are the apples next?" A shiver ran down my body. After the apples would be the oranges, and after the oranges would be the radishes. "Please¡­just kill me now!" I yelled out, kneeling in front of the tree. This place wouldn''t allow me to die. Even when I repeatedly headbutted the edge of my greatsword, or even when I ran headfirst into the tree trunk, I couldn''t die. Even when I beat myself up, and even when I climbed up the trunk and jumped down headfirst I took zero damage! My HP were always full. HP: 733,500/733,500 Fatigue: 0 My health and fatigue never changed. I never lost a single health point no matter what I did to myself. "I''ve put up with eating grapes every day for 1,496 days already! Why are you doing this to me?" I remembered a movie scene I once watched. The movie was about a man who was stuck in prison, and only ate Chinese food while he was there. "I''m not Oh Daesu, I''m Lee Jiwon!" I started kicking at the tree, but it stood resilient. I had nothing else to take my anger out on and kept kicking at the tree. "After all this, sleep comes for me again." It felt even more unfair. And so, I fell asleep once more on the 1,496th day in front of the tree. --- While Lee Jiwon slept, Danhari''s Treasure Chest came out of his inventory on its own. The treasure chest opened itself up, revealing a purple light shining from within. There was a Rank 10 item inside, oozing a purple haze and light. [Sleepy Trainer (Rank 10) One of Joseph Lee''s collection. Created for a king''s lazy son who slept for twenty hours a day and was too weak to be the heir. The Trainer randomly uses one stage to grant stat points to the user. When the user awakens, granted stat points can be moved to unassigned points. There is a side effect to the Trainer. Because Joseph Lee created the Trainer in a rush, once the user falls asleep, there is no telling when the user will awaken. The Trainer''s stored Stat points Stage 0 ¨C 257,754 points Stage 1 ¨C 574,334 points Stage 2 ¨C 7,332 points Stage 3 ¨C 1,469 points Has branding effect. Once used, the Sleepy Trainer returns to the possession of the distraught monarch.] Soon, the purple light faded and a red light began to emanate from the center of the Sleepy Trainer. The purple light was soon completely consumed by the red light. The Sleepy Trainer no longer shone a purple light and instead shone bright red. [Sleepy Trainer (Rank 9) One of Joseph Lee''s collection. Created for a king''s lazy son who slept for twenty hours a day and was too weak to be the heir. The Trainer randomly uses one stage to grant stat points to the user. When the user awakens, granted stat points can be moved to unassigned points. There is a side effect to the Trainer. Because Joseph Lee created the Trainer in a rush, once the user falls asleep, there is no telling when the user will awake. The Trainer''s stored Stat points Stage 0 ¨C 257,754 points Stage 1 ¨C 574,334 points Stage 2 ¨C 7,332 points Stage 3 ¨C 0 points Has branding effect. Once used, the Sleepy Trainer returns to the possession of the distraught monarch.] The item had dropped from Rank 10 to Rank 9! Lee Jiwon had no idea this had just happened and continued to sleep. However, unlike the other times when he slept as if someone was forcing him to, he slept peacefully, snoring away. A black rift opened in front of the now-red Sleepy Trainer. A hand emerged from the black rift and reached for the Sleepy Trainer. The hand had no fleshy form and looked like it was just skin on bones. The skin had the darkest black color and the hand itself was five times bigger than that of an average person. There were dark-red rings adorning every single finger of the hand. "Live forever¡­in the abyss¡­thee who¡­stole my treasure¡­" a low, bone-grating voice emanated from the rift. The black hand quickly wrapped around the Sleepy Trainer and withdrew into the rift as if it were sucked in by a vacuum. -------------------------- "Mmm¡­I don''t want grapes. I''m not a vegan, I want meat. Mmm." As Lee Jiwon slept comfortably while sleep-talking for the first time since he arrived in this place, the space around him began to melt away. The wooden shack''s roof began melting, dripping onto the floor like water. The tree''s fruits began melting, dripping down from the branches. As the liquid dripped down, droplets of the liquid flowed into Lee Jiwon''s ears, nostrils and mouth, but Lee Jiwon kept sleeping, never feeling the liquid on his face. Soon, the strange world melted into one giant sphere of water floating in space. Lee Jiwon was floating in the middle of it. The sphere of water dropped down, as if the laws of gravity had suddenly taken hold again. The sphere collided with something on the way down and burst, flinging Lee Jiwon''s body off to the distance. ------------------------------------- "Mmm. There''s nothing better than meat. Who''d eat fruit when there''s meat?" My eyes shot open. I woke up while I was stuffing myself with delicious, grilled meat. "Ah¡­I can''t believe I was dreaming about eating meat. But, it''s been a while since I''ve dreamt of anything." Every time I started falling asleep in that place, I didn''t recall ever dreaming. The entire time I was there, it was like my eyelids just became too heavy to keep open and I fell asleep as if I was knocked out cold, before I eventually woke up again. It was like it was almost faked; I didn''t dream, and had barely any recollection of what had happened. "The meat was so good, though. The way the pork sizzled on the grill¡­huh?" As I remembered what I was dreaming out, I noticed that there was something off about where I was. "Huh?" I was in a completely different place than where I had just spent the past four years. I didn''t see the shack or the giant tree! "There''s a TV? What? This is a bed and that''s a fridge." I looked and checked every single thing around me. I noticed a calendar on wall. September 2nd, 2027. If the calendar was real, then four years really had passed! "No¡­no way!" Rather than the fact that four years had passed, the realization that I was no longer in that place and back in reality hit me like a truck. The relief that I was back was greater than the rage and injustice that I felt for being stuck in that hellhole with nothing to do. I constantly felt that I might have been stuck there for eternity. I couldn''t kill myself and had no way out. But now I was out, I had never been happier in my life. "I''m free. I''m free. I''m free! Ahhh! I''m finally free!" I got up from the bed and danced around in joy. I was just so emotional. I finally knew what crying tears of joy referred to. My own eyes had burst like a faucet. This was too great. "Oh, that''s right. Inventory open!" In the midst of my self-celebration, I remembered Danhari''s Treasure Chest. The crap thing that stuck me in that hellhole! [-1,003,505 golden rings -High grade health potions x5 -Shining high grade potions x2 -Bread x5 -Beverage x5 -Orb of Vitality -Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Durable Greatsword -Money case, ring case, notebook, pen -Luggage carrier -Remaining slots x1] "It''s not here?" The Treasure Chest wasn''t in my inventory anymore. Instead, there was something else. Or rather, there was a lot more of. "There''s a million golden rings in there¡­ does that mean the quest was completed? Quest check!" [Current quests: 0 Failed quests: 0 Completed quests: 0] "Check completed quests!" [Pop-up quest (Rank 5) Help cure insomnia Danhari found a very rare treasure, but is losing sleep over it. Danhari is afraid that someone might steal it from her or that she might lose it herself. She has never let the treasure go from her hand and has never stopped thinking about it. She is afraid that if she falls asleep, the treasure will disappear from her hands and hasn''t slept since. After holding on to the treasure for 357 years, Danhari is now exhausted. She is sick and tired of the insomnia that has become part of her daily life and is now looking for someone to take this treasure away from her. She wants to know if there is someone out there who could sleep with the treasure in their possession. She believes that if someone can, then she could, too. Receive quest item on accepting quest. (Forfeiting or completing the quest returns the treasure to Danhari.) Losing the quest item requires a reimbursement of 1000x of quest reward. Time limit: none. Quest reward: 1,000,000 golden rings Status: Completed] "I finished the quest." That was why I had a million more golden rings! "Stat menu open!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 733,500/733,500 MP: 124,700/124,700 Strength: 1,487 Agility: 1,887 Vitality: 1,467 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Unassigned Stat Points: 4,488 Fatigue: 4 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical attack: 4,911 Physical Defense: 1,567 Magical attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,376] "What¡­what the Hell?" As soon as I opened up my stats, I noticed my Unassigned Stat Points, and my eyes shot wide open. Everything else was the same when I got on the plane to Japan, except for that part. I had 4,488 unassigned Stat points now! "Hold the phone. I was in there for exactly 1,496 days, right? If I received 3 points a day, then that should add up exactly. What for? All I did was eat grapes and sleep all day." What else could I do, but eat the grapes from the tree and sleep? I remembered the Orb of Vitality. I took it out from my inventory and checked it. Chapter 51: Chapter 50: How Long Was I Out?! Part III Chapter 51: Chapter 50: How Long Was I Out?! Part III [Orb of Vitality (Rank 8) The Orb of Vitality is one of the 5 Orbs in existence. Once this item comes into your possession, the Orb is bound to you. The Orb collects 1 VIT point a day, starting on the day you obtain the Orb. There is no limit to how much Vitality the Orb can collect. When you consume the Orb, the Vitality points the Orb collected will be added to your total VIT stat. - Bind on pickup. - The Orb of Vitality will dissolve once consumed. Once consumed, the collected Vitality is transferred to the consumer. - While the Orb is in your possession, Health regenerates by 500 per tick. - Current Vitality collected: 2,997] The Orb had collected 2,997 points. The Orb had 5 points when I became stuck there, meaning I had the Orb for five days before I was imprisoned. 2,997 minus 5 equaled 2,992. "If the Orb did its job and collected one point a day, that''s 1,496 points. If it collected another point each day, that''s 2,992. The Orb collected two points a day?" I had no idea why the Orb would do that. "There''s no way the Orb will collect two points from now on, is there? That''d be really awesome. No, wait¡­the item description clearly says one point..." There had to be another reason... "Wait a second. The Orb isn''t the problem here; it''s me. I have 4,488 unassigned Stat points even though I slept for four years and thirty six days." I had just gained 449 levels in terms of Stat points! I had 449 levels worth of Stat points at a measly level 32! "To be honest, I was a little annoyed I couldn''t find more dungeons¡­" When I woke up, I thought about the dungeons first thing, as I had been on the way to Japan to find more. Most of the dungeons should have been found by now, excluding hidden and event dungeons. "But¡­isn''t this situation more favorable for me now?" Even if I was able to find dungeons for four years like I originally planned, there was no way I would have gained so many Stat points, let alone all those points in my Orb. I know I just confirmed that I had that many points, but it should be impossible to have that many. Hell, I had originally planned to try for 1,000 points, but even that much would have been difficult. I more or less knew exactly where Korea''s dungeons were located and was able to find them all quickly, but I expected to spend at least a month trying to find the dungeon on Mt. Fuji. If I add up all of my unassigned stat points and the collected Orb points, I had 5,984 points in all. Of course, 1,498 of those were strictly VIT points, but still. "Is this a blessing in disguise?" Everything that just happened seemed to tell me so. Obviously, other devas would have come far in their growth while I was asleep. That was why when I looked at the calendar, while I felt relief for being freed of that prison, I was also furious! I had just lost four years of my life. I could have risen so far ahead of anyone else in those four years. I could have preemptively set up a favorable situation for myself, like killing boss monsters, and quickly finding good items. But once I checked my Stats, my rage quickly subsided. I was obviously severely underleveled. But the 4,488 unassigned Stat points were going to help me out a lot in my effort to catch up. It wasn''t a perfect amount, but it was enough! I may have thought that my level was now significantly lower than anyone else''s, but I had a chance to turn it around. I still had my Unrivaled skill, along with the 4,488 Stat points. Sooner or later, it was going to get tough for the other devas to gain more levels, and I''d be able to catch up to them in no time. "Hahaha." I placed both hands on my hips and laughed out loud. I couldn''t help it when I thought about how I gained more than I had lost in the past four years. I didn''t try to suppress my laughter and instead let it all out. --------------------------------------------- "Damn it all! Why do I have to do all this grunt work?" Song Haechang angrily muttered to himself as he stormed down a hallway. Song Haein, the guild master and vice-master had all accepted America''s Shire Guild''s invitation. The Shire Guild had invited the entire family, and they wanted Song Haechang to come too, but he declined. He knew he''d be second fiddle anyway. The Shire Guild''s main target was Song Haein all along, and all of the attention would be focused on her and the guild master anyway. He felt even crappier after he rejected going on the trip when he met someone else he didn''t want to see. "Kim Sukhyun!" The four people of the Sunbin Guild that now knew the Unrivaled skill were Song Haein; Song Haechang, the captain of the Third Strike team; Han Kyungchul; and Kim Sukhyun and Oh Dogun, two of the first chosen by the Sunbin Group to become devas. Song Haein, the captain of the Second Strike team, and Han Kyungchul, the captain of the Third Strike team, had already shown their prowess and skill in battle, and Kim Sukhyun and Oh Dogun were working hard to prove themselves. "This is some bullshit! Song Haein and Han Kyungchul aside, those two assholes can''t do that to me! Especially that Kim Sukhyun." He had run into Kim Sukhyun earlier. Kim Sukhyun looked at Song Haechang in passing with a jeering look, which further infuriated Song Haechang. In the beginning, Kim Sukhyun had also used a greatsword like Song Haechang and showed remarkable skill in both attack and defense. He was also the sub-tanker in the first mid-grade dungeon boss raid, and performed his duties to the letter. It only served to make Song Haechang look worse. "Unrivaled this, Unrivaled that! Who cares about a damn skill? They''re all just punching bags for boss monsters. They can''t survive without healers, and can''t beat a boss alone without damage dealers. Who do they think they are to go around with their heads held so high?" Every time he thought about Unrivaled, he stiffened with rage. He wanted another Unrivaled of the Sunbin Guild to fail the way he did, that way he didn''t have to go through this mistreatment, but the guild had clearly learned from his mistakes and set up so many tests that that was going to be impossible. "And who cares about the Lee Jiwon bastard? Why does he need regular reports? He''s just some abandoned piece of trash." He got even more pissed off when he was asked this trivial thing, as if it were some great favor. It felt like this was all he was useful for now. He just couldn''t understand why that bastard was worth more than he was. So what if the Sunbin Guild got this far because of him? The Sunbin Guild could have gotten just as strong without that piece of trash''s help! The more he thought about it, the greater Song Haechang''s anger grew. He couldn''t take out his anger on the guild master and Song Haein, so he decided to take it out on the person they treasured the most. That abandoned piece of trash that had been sleeping for four years! "Hahaha." As he held his rage inside, he heard someone laughing from somewhere nearby. "Huh? What is this? Who''s making¡­" He walked towards the sound of laughter. This was the most restricted part of the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters. No guild member could go around laughing like that! He had no idea who it was, but he briskly walked towards the voice, thinking he found the perfect victim to take his anger out on. "Huh?" The voice was coming from that trash''s room. That piece of trash that had been sleeping for four years was awake¡­? "You¡­you''re alive?" He was sure that guy was just about dead after sleeping that long. He thought that the guild master and Song Haein just couldn''t accept it. He thought they were just obsessed with him. But seeing him alive and moving around shocked Song Haechang right to the core. --- While I was laughing at the fact that I had so many unassigned stat points and Orb points, I felt a strange feeling and turned around. I met eyes with someone I had never met before. It was then the thought that I was still in an unknown place came to my mind. "Uh¡­hello?" I still did the polite thing, and greeted the stranger. I felt it when I woke up, but this place was fancy. There was a TV, fridge, and an expensive sofa and table in the room. There was a humidifier that worked regularly. It looked like one of those VIP patient rooms I saw on dramas. I knew that whoever they were, they had been looking after me with the utmost care and greeted the stranger with a smile. I was also elated at being able to talk to someone for the first time in four years. I had never met the guy before, but I was really glad to see him. The stranger frowned at my greeting. Huh? Did I do something wrong? I was taken aback at the stranger''s reaction. "You have been sleeping like the dead for four years, so I thought that you really were dead. But here you are, alive and kicking. You should have stayed asleep like the dead rat that you are." The man''s cold and distant tone put me on guard. The smile on his face told me he wasn''t the person who had been looking after me. He was looking at me as if he was looking at a cockroach he was about to kill. "Um¡­I don''t believe we''ve met." "Enough! I don''t want to talk to some worthless straggler." "Uh¡­" I had no words to what this guy was saying. "If you''re up, fuck off! How long are you going to make a nuisance of yourself in someone''s house? We don''t need you leeching off of us anymore." For a second there, I wondered if I should hit this asshole or not. Ugh. I''ll let it go for now. If he wasn''t the first person I met in four years I would just¡­! I''d been asleep for four long years. There should be a lot of monsters crawling around the fields now, and just as many devas who hunted many of those monsters. There had to be devas who spent days hunting in dungeons by now. Guilds should be set up in full force by now, so the first thing I needed to do was to find out where I was and why I was here. I doubted that the rude asshole standing in front of me was going to tell me anything. Besides, he could very well be the boss of this place, and it wouldn''t be wise were I to pick a fight with him if that was the case. I got up from the bed at the rude man''s behest. I put on the clothes that were hanging in the nearby wardrobe and followed the guy out. "Huh?" My surroundings were very familiar. "Isn''t this Sunbin Group''s building?" It was definitely the Sunbin Group''s building, which served as the Sunbun Guild''s headquarters. I had been here once and noticed it instantly. "Don''t even think that you can leech off the Sunbin Guild any more than you already have." "I wasn''t planning on it." "We''ll see if that''s really the case." The man led me out of the building before turning around and walking back inside. I didn''t get mad at his insulting remarks. I was too happy after waking up after four years and receiving all those Stat points. Sleeping for four years didn''t feel like a waste anymore. Hell, if I could have gotten more Stat points out of this, I was willing to sleep for a couple more years! Ah¡­maybe that''s not right. At that moment my stomach growled. "I''m hungry!" I wanted to eat some meat first. Pork, beef, it didn''t matter. I looked around at my surroundings. There were a lot of people walking around, as it was outside of Sunbin Guild''s headquarters located in the middle of Gangnam, Seoul. "Seems pretty safe around here. I was about to be disappointed in the guild because of that asshole, but seems they did well." The people around me seemed happy. There were devas and mortals in the midst. I could see no shadows over their faces. That was enough for me to tell how well the Sunbin Guild had been helping these people out. My stomach growled again. "Let''s eat first. I''m going to get me some pork. I''ve got a million golden rings to spend!" I wanted more pork than beef; probably because I had eaten more pork than beef my whole life. I sprinted away to the nearest BBQ restaurant, with the objective to eat the place to the ground. Chapter 52: Chapter 51: I’ll Take Out My Four-Year Injustice on Monsters, Part I Chapter 52: Chapter 51: I¡¯ll Take Out My Four-Year Injustice on Monsters, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Can I get five more orders here, please?" I asked as I chowed down. The pork that I had eaten for the first time in four years practically melted in my mouth. I emptied the grill in an instant. "Oh my. You really know how to eat, don''t you? I''ve seen plenty of devas eat a lot, but none of them could eat as well as you." The restaurant''s owner brought over a plate full of pork slices. I noticed that she didn''t have her token of knowledge, so she was a deva, too! "But¡­you have golden rings, right? I''ve had so many devas come in without golden rings and eat their fill, knowing that I can''t do much about it. I had to start taking payment in advance." The menu priced one 600g serving of pork at 110 golden rings. If you compared that with the bread and beverages the Stores sold at 100 golden rings apiece, the pork was severely overpriced. A single loaf of bread and a single bottle could last you the entire day. At the owner''s suspicious glare, I took out 10,000 golden rings from my inventory and placed them on the table. "Oh my. I''m so sorry I misjudged you. If there''s anything you need, let me know. I''ll get you a drink on the house." As soon as she confirmed the amount, the owner put on a smile and brought over a soda. "Thank you." "Of course; please, don''t hold back," she said, while staring at the golden rings. I started grilling the five extra orders of pork belly. I was going to eat four years'' worth of meat today. When I finished, I rubbed my full belly while burping. I was fully satiated. I looked over at the clock on the wall. It was one in the afternoon. Now that I was full, my body was ready for some action. "I suppose I should cut down a few monsters." I had slept through a whole four years. I grew more and more pissed off, thinking how everyone else moved forward while I was stuck in that place. I sat there, seething, thinking about how everyone else got to fight field monsters and dungeon monsters and elite monsters while I was stuck at level 32. For a moment there, I even regretted returning to the past. There was only one way to calm my anger. I had to go out there and kill as many monsters to level up as much as I could. I had to kill as many bosses as possible to get as many Rank 8, 9, 10 items as I could. I had to have the highest level and the strongest items to command the envy of other devas and deities. I had to find Danhari and exact my revenge. "And Lee Kangchan! I haven''t forgotten about you yet!" I still had my original target. My 4,488 unused Stat points and 2,997 Orb points were enough to slightly calm me down but the man responsible for all of this remained a thorn in my side. "I must start with hunting as many monsters as possible." I was definitely going to complete my original goal. I was never going to forget it. "Excuse me!" I called to the owner. "Did you want more?" "No. By any chance, do you know of any good hunting grounds?" "Hunting grounds?" "Yes. Anywhere that has a lot of monsters. I don''t care if it''s a field or a dungeon." "The nearest one is Bukhan Mountain dungeon, but it''s controlled by the Sunbin Guild and they put a 150 level limit on it. But even with the limit, the dungeon''s always crawling with devas." That dungeon was always busy, even back then. There were new devas appearing every day. "Besides the Bukhan Mountain dungeon." "Then, you''d have to go to Paju." "Paju?" "I''ve heard many rumors while running this place, but I heard that Paju is crawling with monsters. So much so, that you can barely set foot there." "Do you know what kind of monsters appear there?" "I think they were giant spiders." "I see. Thank you very much." "Don''t mention it. Come back anytime!" I left the restaurant. ------------------------------ "I probably should assign my points before heading to Paju." I was so distracted by that asshole that I left the Sunbin building before assigning my points. I opened up my stats and double-checked. "What to do with 4,488 points?" My STR was at 1,487, my AGI at 1,887, VIT at 1,467, and INT and WIL at 1,247. "I obviously don''t need more INT and WIL." 1,247 in WIL was already high enough for a melee class. Melee skills didn''t rely on MP so WIL was out first. INT was also out. As long as I wasn''t going to go with a magic sword hybrid class, I didn''t need INT at all. "I need to take my Orb of VIT in account as well. I already have 2,997 points saved up and I''ll only be getting more each day." I pondered about the best way to allocate my 4,488 unused points so that I wouldn''t be laughed at for making a stupid decision. "Got it. STR 2,000, AGI 2,000, and VIT 488." I had nearly 3000 VIT points saved up, but I felt that it would be a waste to use the Orb now. The thing was like fine wine. The more I saved it, the better it would be. It could even get me out of a hairy situation. If I needed to, I could use the 3,000 points at once to bring my HP all the way up to 1.5 million. If I did that in a middle of a fight with a boss, deva, or deity and it wasn''t looking good for me, it would be really unfair for them when my HP suddenly rose to 1.5 million. The Orb was going to be my ace in the hole. I decided it was best to continue to save up. Still, I put in 488 points into my VIT in case something went wrong. "My agility, though¡­" STR and VIT were a must for melee classes. AGI provided decent support, but effect I felt from 1,887 AGI was just addictive. I had never felt this much speed and flexibility in my body back when I was a fire mage! The adrenaline I felt from wall-jumping up a four-story building was just amazing. My body could move exactly the way I wanted and envisioned it to. Of course, I could only do that with an equally high strength and vitality, but I just couldn''t give up on this new lifestyle i had experienced. "Status check!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 32 Death count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 977,500/977,500 MP: 124,700/124,700 Strength: 3,487 Agility: 3,887 Vitality: 1,955 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Unassigned Stat Points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon seeker 6 points Physical attack: 10911 Physical Defense: 2055 Magical attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,376] My stats looked like those of a level 1100 deva. Even if I took out my items'' effects, they would still be between level 900 to level 1000. I could not dream about having stats like this in the past. But this is who I was now. And I had even more room to grow, as I was only level 32! "All I need to do right now is to level up. If I can level up and get some better equipment, than I should be able to easily go up against bosses." I planned on killing as many bosses as possible, and secretly at that. If anyone got in my way, I would just force my way through. I was going to make my four-year long dream a reality. I had the power to do so! "Maybe I can become someone like Arman Lagus, the Liberator!" --------------------------------- The linear distance from here in Gangnam to Paju was about thirty-five kilometers. "I should be able to run there." I let my newfound energy envelop my body and sprinted towards Hannam University. I felt a strong rush of wind in my face. I leaned forward as far as I could and sped up. I focused all of my strength into my feet. "What was that?" "Crazy son of a¡­why''s he so fast?" "How high is his agility? How many points did he put into his AGI that he''s that fast?" "He didn''t just raise his AGI. He has to have high STR and VIT in order to move like that." I could hear what everyone around me was saying as they stared with their mouths wide open. I smiled before jumping high into the air. I jumped so high that the two-story houses below looked like toys. Soon, I could see all the monsters that made Paju their territory! "It looks like the Sunbin Guild is doing well taking care of its territory." I saw some people with the Sunbin Guild emblem on their clothes fighting field monsters around the border. They moved in groups of 5-6 and communicated over wireless radios as they patrolled the border. "They did well pushing their frontlines all the way to Paju and not just at Goyang City. But they still have people like that asshole in their ranks." I had to listen to his insults when I woke up after sleeping for four years; I doubted I will ever forget his face. "I should just forget it. I did end up as a nuisance to them, anyway." -------------------------------------- I took my greatsword out from my inventory and gripped it. "It doesn''t look like there''s anyone else here; I suppose I should let go some." I moved into the center of Paju and saw that there weren''t any Sunbin guild members around, or any other devas hunting. Rather than feeling nervous for putting myself in the midst of all these monsters, I felt excited that I got to kill all of them all on my own. "Bring it on, you ugly bugs!" I yelled out to the giant spiders. I slowly turned around in one spot with my greatsword held high, watching the spiders circle around me. The 1.5 meter high spiders also tracked me with their eight eyes, watching my every move. Back then, I only trained in Seoul''s vicinity and knew everything about the monsters that spawned there, but I had no information on these giant spiders. "Well, it''s not like the Sunbin Guild back then cared about the monsters in Paju." But I knew that their attack patterns were the same as normal spiders. While I hadn''t hunted in the fields outside of Seoul, I had hunted in China before. China was a haven for monsters. Normal spiders were around level 150-200 and attacked using their fangs and eight legs to tear apart at their enemies. Giant spiders didn''t have venom like venomous spiders, and didn''t spin webs like elite spiders, and so were considered easy fights. A giant spider could easily be taken down by a much lower-leveled deva. They only became a problem in groups. The giant spiders that surrounded me screeched back, sounding like nails on a chalkboard. They weren''t attacking yet, but the sound put me on edge. "You''re ugly and you''re loud. You''re all just annoying in general." I wasn''t sure if they understood what I said or if they were just ready to fight, but the thirty giant spiders all raised their forelegs into the air. When one spider screeched, the others screeched in return. Then as if they were all trained to do so, they completely surrounded me in a perfect circle and charged at me as one. They came at me at all sides, rushing like a raging river. I had to admit, it looked pretty damn intimidating. But I wasn''t about to back down from just that! Chapter 53: Chapter 52: I’ll Take Out My Four-Year Injustice on Monsters, Part II Chapter 53: Chapter 52: I¡¯ll Take Out My Four-Year Injustice on Monsters, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I planted my feet firmly on the ground. I was a melee fighter with no skills to use. All I had to rely on were my supreme stats. In other words, I only had my body to fight with, and my body hadn''t let me down yet. As the giant spiders came at me with their forelegs poised to attack, I swung my greatsword in a giant circle with a war cry. I swung eight times and was rewarded with satisfying slicing sounds, telling me my attacks rang true. When I stopped, I saw that eight of the closest spiders were sliced in half at their thorax. "Huh? I stood there amidst the silence. All I could hear were the sounds of the spiders'' heads falling to the ground as their bodies disappeared. "What is this? Why is this so easy?" I asked myself as I stared at the spiders'' remains. The spiders that had charged at me so confidently stopped dead in their tracks when their eight comrades were killed in an instant. "Who''s next?" I asked the other twenty-two spiders. "Huh? Hey! Why are you running? We''re just getting started!" The spiders skittered away from me as fast as they had charged at me. "Oh, come on!" Astounded, I lifted my greatsword and rested the blade on my shoulder. These spiders were pretty smart. Once they knew their opponent was too strong for them, they fled in all directions. The area that was once covered in black spiders was completely empty. "That was barely a warm up." [You have gained a level.] I felt cheated when the spiders ran away like that, but when I heard the level up alert, I smiled. It felt like I was rewarded for being unable to do anything for four years, a marvelous sense of fulfillment. But it was still just a feeling, and I bent over to pick up the dropped golden rings and items. "A penny saved is a penny earned. I might have more than a million golden rings, but I should still collect as many as I can..." Each spider head sold for about 7-10 golden rings a pop. I put them all in my inventory without leaving any heads behind. "These spider legs would sell too, though¡­" There were a few legs here and there where the spiders'' bodies vanished. "I don''t have much left room in my inventory. What a waste." If I decided to leave my greatsword out and not put it back into my inventory, I would have one more slot leftover. "I should still take them. I''ll toss them out if I find something better." I picked up the three leg pieces and placed them in my inventory. They stacked so they fit in my last inventory slot. "I don''t want to have to chase down all those that ran away, but going somewhere seems like a waste of time. I might as well catch up on lost time while I''m here." It''d be nice if they all came at me like moths to the flame, but I decided to at least enjoy the hunt while I was here. I felt like if I didn''t let loose a little, I wouldn''t be able to sleep well tonight... even though I slept way too much recently. --------------------------------- The further I ventured into Paju, the spiders'' habitat, the more giant spiders there were. And there were a lot of them. There were spiders that ran away, but I didn''t need to chase after them as more came out to attack me after I took a couple of steps. All it took was one swing to the head. I didn''t need to try harder than that. Head, body, leg, it didn''t matter where I swung; I cut them down with ease. I even saw the occasional yellow flash, telling me that some of the attacks were criticals, although I didn''t really need them. "I never got a single critical off when I fought that boss. I''m already killing them all off with one hit anyway; why am I getting so many now?" I muttered to myself, without stopping my torrent of attacks. I was still having fun killing the spiders with ease. "This is the hunt that I wanted for four long years!" As I struck down a charging spider, the rest hissed before scampering away. [You have leveled up.] I was at a low enough level that I consistently got level up messages just by killing some field monsters. I happily closed the message screen and continued hunting. This was my first hunt in four years and my excitement was far from cooling down. "There''s still more time until the sun sets. Let''s go!" I stalked around looking for more spiders, like a jungle cat looking for prey. -------------------------------------------- Back in Sunbin Guild''s headquarters, Song Haechang returned to the building after chasing out Lee Jiwon. If he could have, he would have taken Lee Jiwon to some back room and killed him a few times. He wanted to hurt the leech. He wanted the guild master and Song Haein to make ugly expressions... but he knew he couldn''t hide everything he did in the headquarters. He knew he had to get him out of there first. He could at least make it seem like Lee Jiwon had left of his own free will. "I''ll just say that he left on his own. I really didn''t want to have to look at him any longer, and I couldn''t just leave him alone like that. Hehehe! I wonder what sort of expression Song Haein''ll make." Song Haechang returned to his room and dialed a number on his cellphone. The call rang a few times before it went through. "Oh my. To what do I owe the pleasure for the heir of the Sunbin Guild to be calling me? It''s been so long that I worried you might''ve forgotten my number." "Cut the chatter." A vein on Song Haechang''s head pulsed at the sarcastic tone, but his voice remained calm. He knew this guy was like that. He also knew that contrary to how he spoke, this person was skilled. He used him every time he could. "Hehehe! I''m just grateful for your call." "I have a request for you." "If it''s the request of the Sunbin Guild''s heir, then I shall heed it. Yes, I shall. You''ve been so punctual on your payments and always pay top dollar. Hehehe! There are so many other trashy fellows that I barely get enough work these days." "There''s a man named Lee Jiwon who just left the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters a couple of hours ago. Kidnap him and hide him somewhere he won''t be found. Be mindful with this one. Make sure you leave no trace." He was going to tell the guild master than Lee Jiwon left on his own, but he knew that the guild master would set out to look for him. That was why Song Haechang decided to make such a request; so that Lee Jiwon would disappear without Song Haechang having to personally step in. "Hmm¡­you don''t want to do this simple task yourself, and you''re making someone like me do it for you without having anyone find out¡­ I''m assuming that anyone includes the guild master of the Sunbin Guild, as well?" "That''s right." "My, my. I was happy that you gave me a call after all this time, but you''re leaving me with such a dangerous task. You want me to avoid the Sunbin Guild''s eyes, here in Seoul¡­" "You can''t do it?" "Hahaha! Whatever do you mean? Of course I can do it. It''s just that it''ll cost you more than usual." "I''ll pay you three times the normal price." "Three times¡­shouldn''t you offer at least five?" Song Haechang ground his teeth. "I let you stay in Seoul this long, and this is how you repay me?" "Hahaha. Of course, we''re forever grateful to the young master, Song Haechang, for letting us live in Seoul. Isn''t that why we''ve been at your beck and call all this time? You want us to stay out of the guild''s sight to do this job¡­don''t you think that''s a fair price? The Sunbin Guild is very strong and powerful, you know." "Haa¡­fine. I''ll pay five." Song Haechang was furious, but decided to restrain himself. "Hehehe. Thank you very much. It''s not that big a price for you, is it? Just think of it as helping us poor fellows out. Hehehe!" Song Haechang didn''t reply to the sarcasm once more. "You have two weeks. You better have it done by then." "I assume the guild master, vice-master and Song Haein will return from America in two week''s time. This Lee Jiwon person you want us to kidnap must be very important." "Since when did you care about such trivialities? Are you thinking of backing out now?" "Hehehe! You know that we always work in such risky conditions." "Then I''ll ask you once more. Do you accept or not?" "Hehehe. Have we ever turned you down? We''ll do anything you ask of us as long as you pay. Hasn''t that been our policy so far?" "Good. Shall I turn over all the information I have on Lee Jiwon, like before?" "Yes. Wouldn''t that be the cleanest way?" "Good. I''ll be on the rooftop in five minutes." Song Haechang hung up before throwing his phone to the floor. "Damn hyenas, biting the hand that fed them so much like this!" The Sunbin Guild carefully maintained Seoul, as the city was its domain. The guild carried out many sweeping operations to clean out the gangsters, but could never fully root them out. The gangsters always survived as they had an inside man within the guild. That insider was none other than Song Haechang! ---------------------------------------------- Song Haechang was on the roof five minutes later, as promised. An eagle flew towards Song Haechang and landed next to him. He looked at the eagle''s beak expectantly. The eagle opened its beak wide, and Song Haechang placed Lee Jiwon''s medical records and a background report labeled ''Level 32'' into the eagle''s beak. The four sheets of paper all fit into the eagle''s mouth. The eagle then swallowed all four sheets of paper before walking around Song Haechang a couple times. He gave a nod to the eagle, which then flew off. "Hahaha! I really want to see the sad faces of Song Haein and the guild master!" Song Haechang smiled as he imagined what he would do to Lee Jiwon. He would kidnap and imprison him somewhere without anyone knowing, and get a Respawn Point item and kill him over and over until he wasn''t angry anymore. "Maybe I should take a video of it and send it to them. Maybe they''ll end up neglecting their hunts or just break down completely. Kekeke! No, I really want that to happen!" After reveling in his imagination for a while, his smile completely disappeared and he looked off into the distance. He then came down from the roof and headed for his room, wearing the same deadpan look. ------------------------------------------------- "Yes, sir. He just went back inside." "You filmed everything?" "Yes, sir!" "Retreat for now." A man revealed himself on the roof on the opposite side of the Sunbin Guild''s building after making his report. He stared at the roof access Song Haechang had disappeared into. "Song Haechang, did you really think you could discard us that easily? We have so many secrets on each other that we''re basically one now. If one of us goes down, the other will go down with them. Hehehe!" The man turned around before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Gnosis Information Guild, Part I Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Gnosis Information Guild, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I yawned loudly as I finished off the two giant spiders in front of me. I sliced them in half from head to abdomen, and their halves fell to the sides. "Still no items?" It had been over seven hours since I started hunting, but I was only getting two things from the spiders; golden rings and Spider Legs. When I collected a hundred Spider Legs in one inventory slot, I took out my two Shining Health Potions and placed them in my pocket to free up another inventory slot, but that slot was soon filled with Spider Legs too. "Still, I suppose it''s good that I let off a lot of steam and gained quite a few levels." The hunt was still fun. The 4,488 stat points definitely filled the void the four years left behind. I could kill a giant spider in one attack and even get to the ones hiding on rooftops by wall-jumping to them. Thanks to my high stats, I practically leapt from spider to spider, killing them with great ease. It was a completely different fighting style than when I was a fire mage for eight years. I definitely liked burning everything before me to a crisp with fire magic, but slicing down my foes in a single blow was a different and refreshing feeling. "Not bad." I tightly gripped the handle of my greatsword. I could feel power run through my forearms all the way to my hands as my muscles bulged. I still had plenty of strength left even after hunting for seven hours straight. "It is strange that I haven''t encountered any elite or boss spiders in such a large colony of spiders." The smart thing to do in fields was to avoid elite and boss monsters. Elite field monsters were only stronger than normal field monsters; they didn''t drop anything more, or yield more experience points, only more golden rings. Boss field monsters were even stronger than elite field monsters, but in contrast to dungeon bosses, they didn''t drop random chests. Field bosses did have a higher chance to drop at least Rank 4 items than all other types of field monsters, but the chance was much lower than that of dungeon bosses. "If I can cut down level 150-200 normal giant spiders in one hit, I could do the same to elites. Bosses, though¡­" It had taken me a lot of effort to defeat the level 150 Bukhan Mountain dungeon boss. "But I''m much stronger now than I was back then." I was only level 15 then, and while my level right now wasn''t that much higher, I still had a very good Rank 6 belt and the Orb of VIT that restored my health by 500 per tick. "My STR and AGI are well above 2,000, as well!" I was sure I could easily take on a field spider boss. "But what does my confidence matter when I can''t even find a single one..." Field bosses could be found amongst field elite; that was the rule when it came to field monsters. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn''t find a single trace of field elites anywhere. "I should just keep going. At my strength, the Bukhan Mountain dungeon is too weak and should be filled to the brim with other devas. I''m here anyway, so I might as well keep going until I find a field boss." Field monsters didn''t yield as much experience, items, or golden rings as dungeon monsters of the same level, but there were so many beginner devas in the dungeon right now that it was better to hunt in fields where there weren''t as many people around. I continued my hunt until around 10 PM, but I still couldn''t find a single field elite. "I should be able to find one by now. Where the heck are they all hiding?" I muttered to myself as I wandered the streets of Paju. "Open stats menu!" I had cut down every single spider in front of me as I roamed through Paju''s neighborhoods for ten hours without rest. My level rose by 28, to level 60. Thanks to my Unrivaled skill, instead of the normal 280 stat points, I had 560 unassigned! "How satisfactory. If I keep this up until I reach level 200, how many more stat points is that?" If I grinded away for another 140 levels, I could get actually get another 2,800 stat points! "My stats are going to rise without end." Stats truly laid the foundation for anyone. No matter how good your items or how useful your skills were, if your stats were too low, you were basically a gilded pebble. "How should I assign my points this time?" I happily thought to myself as I stared at my stats menu. "I think I''ll set my AGI to 4,200 and put the rest on STR." I really liked the fact that my insanely high AGI allowed me to quickly kill the spiders and deftly dodge their attacks. I could even wall-jump a small four-story building with ease and jump down from it without hurting myself. I decided to put 313 points on to my AGI to make it an even 4,200, and I put my remaining 247 points into my STR, setting it to 3,734. [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 60 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 977,500/977,500 MP: 124,700/124,700 Strength: 3,734 Agility: 4,200 Vitality: 1,955 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Unassigned Stat Points: 0 Fatigue: 8 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 11,652 Physical Defense: 2055 Magical Attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,376] My stats had changed drastically in one day. It was going to be harder to level up as quickly as I had, but I wasn''t worried. I just had to kill even stronger monsters. "What should I do tomorrow?" I could kill the giant spiders in Paju in one to two hits, making the hunt quick and easy. Even if they ran from me, there were so many of them that I didn''t have to chase after them. The best place to level up right now was still in the fields. "Ah! I could go to the Seorak Mountain dungeon." I remembered the Seorak Mountain dungeon. That place was ideal for leveling up past level 400. The monsters there were levels 200-350, much stronger than the spiders here, and would probably put up a better fight than the monsters here. The double experience from the dungeon monsters would be nice, too. "I''ll go to Seorak Mountain. It''s got to be dungeons if I want to hunt. Besides, if it''s anything like the past, it''ll probably be abandoned aftter being overrun by monsters. If that''s the case, then there won''t be anyone else there hunting, as well. Why didn''t I think of it before?" I smacked myself on the forehead. "I should also stop by Anton''s Store before heading to the dungeon. I''ve got a skill point to use now, and I should shop a little to prepare. I''ve got a million golden rings to spend, so I should see if anything is being sold in the auction house by now." -------------------------------------- I left Paju, happily thinking about being able to power level at Seorak Mountain. I sped my way to Gangnam, as I planned to stop by Anton''s Store later, and headed straight to Gangam''s Kaltz hotel. Why? Because I was rich. I asked for a room for the night and paid the receptionist the 3,000 golden rings the room cost without complaint. "By any chance, do you know anything about the dungeon at Seorak Mountain?" I asked in case there was something different than the past. I secretly hoped the Seorak Mountain dungeon was still blocked off by monsters. I knew I could easily force my way through and enter the dungeon. "The Seorak Mountain dungeon?" "Yes." "That place is dangerous. All of Gangwon and Seorak Mountain are swarming with griffons and twin-horned griffons. It''s too dangerous. Don''t go there." "Ah¡­ is that right?" "Yes. If you think you can even set foot on the mountain with all those griffons swarming around, you might as well take a death penalty right here. The twin-horned griffon is a boss monster that not even the Sunbin Guild can hope to take on. That boss is also always surrounded by a swarm of lesser griffons; there''s no way to beat it." It was the same as back then. The only thing different was that it was griffons that took over that part of Gangwon, but I expected as much. The giant spiders that were supposed to be in China were here in Paju. Besides, if I could get that item from the auction house tomorrow, griffons weren''t going to be a problem for me. I thanked the receptionist for her warning and went up to my room. It was a nice room, worth 3,000 golden rings a night. I took a hot shower and lay down on the comfy bed. -------------------------------------- Even though I only slept for four years in that weird place, I was constantly nervous and worried about what would happen to me, so I never had a proper night''s rest. When I lay down now, I felt so relaxed and at ease. As I drifted into sleep, I suddenly remembered something. Four years had passed! "Four years¡­ shouldn''t it be around by now?" Back then, there were three entities that all of South Korea was proud of. One of them was the Sunbin Guild, and another was the Gnosis Information Guild. The Gnosis Guild was ranked third of all of the world''s information guilds. "They really were one of the greatest." The actual member count of the Gnosis Guild was unknown, but it was a small information guild. It was rumored that there were less than a hundred members. It was called an information guild, but the guild''s specialty lay in background checks and tracking people... especially tracking people. There was a problem when someone became a deva; they couldn''t fully die anymore. In other words, if a deva was kidnapped and kept prisoner somewhere, there was chance that deva would never be found again. As long as the kidnappers prevented the deva from committing suicide and kept the deva alive, they could hold on to the deva for an indefinite time. It would soon become obvious that the deva was still alive and hadn''t resurrected yet. But the deva''s family would become stressed from being unable to ever meet that deva ever again. That was when people sought out the Gnosis Guild. America''s Hermes Information Guild specialized in monsters and dungeons; Russia''s Mysteria Guild specialized in skills, items, devas, and deities; Korea''s Gnosis Guild specialized in people tracking and background checks. These three were the world''s greatest information guilds. "That guild should be up and running by now, right? I should go there once. Maybe I can find something on Lee Kangchan. At the very least, I can find out about Korea''s state of affairs and what sorts of monsters have spawned around Seoul." To this day, I had not forgotten about my desire for revenge on Lee Kangchan, not even during the four years I was imprisoned. I was going to repay him for killing me 123 times in a row and forcing me to jump into the Sea of Reset. So what if I got to return to the past because of him? There was one thing that wasn''t going to change. "I''m going to make sure you get your just desserts!" I was going to repay him a thousandfold! That night I dreamt of how I would get my revenge on Lee Kangchan. -------------------------------------- I got up from bed and stretched out. I could feel a never-ending vigor from my body. Even though I spent all day yesterday hunting, my body had no signs of fatigue anywhere. "Let''s start the day off at the Gnosis Guild." I decided to go the guild before visiting Anton''s Store, as the guild was located on the other side of town. After deciding on today''s itinerary, I washed up before making my way to the hotel''s restaurant. Breakfast was included in the 3,000 golden ring room, so why not take advantage of it? There was a lot of food prepared in the hotel''s restaurant, as many devas stopped by to rest here. After emptying twenty plates, I got up to leave. I checked out of the hotel and headed out. "If I recall correctly, the Gnosis Guild was over there, right?" Back then, the guild had headquartered itself at Yeouido. The guild used an entire eleven-story building located near the National Assembly Proceeding Hall, but the only entrance into the building was a bar located on the building''s first floor. All requests could only be made in that bar, as well. "Let''s go. Let''s put in a request on Lee Kangchan for now. He''s my target for revenge, so I might as well find out who he is." Yeouido was much closer to here than Paju, and I sprinted straight for it. I think I was getting addicted to the way my body could move now... Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Gnosis Information Guild, Part II Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Gnosis Information Guild, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Two men were standing outside the Kaltz hotel that Lee Jiwon had checked out from that morning. "What? He''s not here?" "No, sir. They said that he checked out around 7:30 this morning." "Ahhh! You idiot! I told you not to let him out of your sight!" "But, hyungnim! The check-out time was two PM¡­ I thought we could take our time-ow!" Kim Jihan couldn''t listen to his underling''s excuses any longer, and smacked him upside the head. "Do you think that makes sense? You dumbass!" Kim Jihan yelled at the underling, still furious. Kim Jihan had received an order from his guild master the day before: keep a twenty-four hour surveillance on one deva! The target was a level 32 deva named Lee Jiwon. At first, Kim Jihan thought it was too simple a task, and accepted it with a smile, but when his guild master told him that this was a very important mission and that he would not accept any mistakes or failures, it made Kim Jihan very nervous. The expression his guild master made was even scarier. When Kim Jihan accepted the mission, his guild master repeated to him that he could not lose sight of Lee Jiwon at all during the twenty-four hours, making Lee Jiwon even more nervous as he left his guild master''s office. He knew that there was more to this mission than he initially thought. "You actually lost him because he checked out early? If I tell the boss that¡­" A shiver went down Kim Jihan''s spine. His guild master was an extremely dangerous man. To be more precise, his guild master was a carrot-and-stick kind of man. He rewarded success very handsomely, but failures¡­ "Shit!" The guild master had repeated three times that it was extremely important, that he wouldn''t accept failure... "Where the Hell do we find him? If we''re too obvious in our search, the boss will hear about it." Kim Jihan knew several places to look, but if he wasn''t careful, the guild master would find out from his spies. He already knew that Lee Jiwon had stopped by the Kaltz hotel; it would only be a matter of time until he found out that they idiotically lost him when he checked out. Kim Jihan could not let that happen! "I''ll send two more guys to you, so stay here and watch this place properly this time! He might come back here again. I swear to God if you lose him again...!" "Yes, sir. I''ll make sure to keep a constant eye on him!" Kim Jihan left while putting the screws on his underling. He had a lot to do now if he wanted to figure out Lee Jiwon''s movements and find him as soon as possible! "Fuck! I''ll have to spend all the money I''ve saved up until now." Money solved everything! ------------------------------------ I sprinted down the Han River trail. It took me thirteen minutes to cross twenty kilometers. That was forty seconds a kilometer. "I can actually run this fast now." My stamina was nothing like it was back when I was a fire mage. Back then, I didn''t even have the Blink skill, so I had to either walk or use public transportation to get around. The Sunbin Guild had set up its own taxi and bus service, but they were pretty expensive to use, so I couldn''t use them very often... "This is it." A tall building stood near the collapsed National Assembly building. There was a large sign on it that said ''Han Dong'', making it easier to spot. "This must be my first time here, as I never had the chance to come here in the past." I walked over to the Han Dong Bar that was the only entrance to the building. "Huh?" The door to the bar was locked. "Wasn''t it supposed to be always open?" As I attempted to open the door once more, I sensed bloodthirst behind me. I quickly drew my greatsword from my inventory and spun around. I wasn''t going to be taken from behind! "Ho ho?" "What the hell are you?" There was a single man in his thirties with an eyepatch about five meters away from me. I could tell that the bloodthirst came from him, as if he was about to attack. I didn''t like that he was approaching me in that manner and kept my guard up. I let him know through my tone that if he took one more step, I would attack him first! "You''ve got decent instincts. No, if you could sense me from five meters away, then you must be pretty strong. To think there''s actually someone as powerful as you in Seoul that I don''t know about¡­ we must never have met before." "Are you from the Gnosis Guild?" "That''s right." "I have a request for you." "Ha¡­a request from someone as strong as you. I''m curious as to what it is, but I''m afraid you''re a little too late. We''re in the middle of another request. We won''t be taking requests for the time being." "..." I didn''t have to reply to him, now that I knew that I couldn''t put in a request. "Come back in a week if you still want to work with us then. We should be done by then." As soon as he finished talking, the man jumped from where he was standing up to the third floor of the Han Dong building. He then disappeared behind a door. "Huh. Well, that sure was a twist..." I placed my greatsword back into my inventory and sprinted back towards Gangnam. Next stop was Anton''s store! ----------------------------------- A man and a woman appeared at a window as Lee Jiwon ran off into the distance. The man was the one with the eyepatch from earlier, and the woman was pretty, with red hair. "Who was that? Who was it that the made the lazy Cyclops go down there himself? You even let him go, when normally you kill the person for making you act. How interesting!" "I don''t know. I''ve never seen him before. But, I didn''t let him go. I ran away from him." "What?" Jay looked at him in surprise. The man with the eyepatch, Han Yongsuk, also known as Cyclops, was infamous for being the proudest man of the Gnosis Guild. Cyclops didn''t joke around, which made her all the more shocked. "He''s strong. Much stronger than me. He looks weak on the outside, but there''s a demon hiding inside him. If we fought, I would definitely lose." "And our guild has never come across him before? Never, in Seoul? How does that make sense?" "It has to be one of the two. Either the guild is wrong, or I''m wrong," he replied, as if neither was a big deal. Jay had never known either side to be wrong, and didn''t know what to think. "Do we have to use Clairvoyance once more?" Jay sighed as she opened a door and moved to another room. After Han Yongsuk was left alone, he looked down at his trembling right hand. It had been five meters. If he had taken even a single step forward, that man would have closed the distance in an instant, and Han Yongsuk would have either lost his right arm or been sliced cleanly in half. He knew it would have been one or the other. He knew it the second the man drew his greatsword from his inventory and turned around. "There''s always bigger fish in the pond, and I''m still too weak," Han Yongsuk muttered to himself, before leaving the room as well. If they were to complete their task in one week, they needed every hand on deck. ------------------------------------------------- A few days before Lee Jiwon woke up¡­ A meeting was taking place at the fifty-third floor conference room of the Yong Gong Guild''s headquarters. "Isn''t that place still too dangerous?" "Father, it must be dangerous for this to work. We just need eight people, including me, to enter the Seorak Mountain dungeon." Shin Hyuk told his father and the Yong Gong guild master, Shin Chang Il. "Father, how long must we live under the watchful eye of the Sunbin Guild? If we want to escape their grasp, we must defeat the dungeon''s boss ourselves. We need as many items as possible to bring the fight to them." Shing Hyuk turned to look at the man next to him. The man was none other than Bang Witae, the former Yong Gong Group''s executive assistant, and currently the captain of the Yong Gong Guild''s Strike Team. "Mr. Chairman, the young master is right. If we keep this up, the Yong Gong Guild will never escape the Sunbin Guild''s shadow." "Furthermore, Song Haein even received 50 million golden rings from America''s Shire Guild to participate in America''s mid-grade boss raid. Our guild''s morale is low because of that. If we let this go, it won''t be long before the Sunbin Guild decides to take us over," Shin Hyuk added after Bang Witae. Shin Chang Il fell into deep thought at his son''s and Bang Witae''s words. The Sunbin Guild was doing too well these days. When Song Haein was invited to the Shire Guild''s raid, it only added fuel to the fire. He was extremely happy when Song Haechang failed miserably, but it was short lived when Song Haein came up strong. "Hyung-nim." Shin Guhyuk, Shin Chang Il''s brother, called out to him from behind. "I say we at least try it out. We''ve prepared about seven hundred devas to distract the gryphon swarms and the twin-horned gryphon. With their distraction, Hyuk and the others should be able to make it to the dungeon." "Uncle''s right, father. As long as I have our Unrivaled deva and my personal healer, we can take any other six devas with us. We''ve experimented many times at Eulsukdo dungeon, as well." Shin Chang Il began to get more convinced, as the three people he trusted the most all said the same thing. Shin Chang Il didn''t care that the seven hundred devas would incur death penalties, they weren''t part of his guild. But more than that, he didn''t want his son to incur a death penalty, and hesitated. But with his son and his most trusted advisors strongly imploring him, he decided to let Shin Hyuk do what he wanted. "Fine! We''ll try it. But, one thing, Guhyuk." Shin Chang Il looked over to his younger brother. "Yes, hyung-nim?" "The seven hundred devas you prepared as bait are too few. Prepare three hundred more, just in case. Their death penalties aren''t a problem to us anyway, right?" "I understand, hyung-nim. I''ll increase the number to a thousand." "Good. I want you all to go forward with this with the intention to succeed, even if it''s just an experiment. Take whatever you need from the guild." "Yes, father!" ------------------------------------------ At the Yong Gong guild master''s order, a thousand non-guild member devas were gathered. All these devas were either promised good rewards and a chance to reset their death penalties if they participated, or threatened that they''d be tied up and killed repeatedly so they wouldn''t be able to carry on as devas, or that their families would be starved. Regardless of promises of reward or threats, these devas were furious. The reward was abysmal and was worth less than one percent of what was needed to remove one death penalty. But they could do nothing but act as bait, and had to swallow their anger with their tears. Soon, the Yong Gong Guild began moving its people over towards the Seorak Mountain dungeon without alerting the Sunbin Guild and the Ojin Guild. The guild practically dragged a thousand devas over to be fed to a level 800+ twin-horned gryphon boss. ------------------------------------------- "It seems they''re about to start." "Only the Yong Gong Guild is capable of such an inhumane act. A raid at the cost of a thousand lives." There was an entity that kept close tabs on the Yong Gong Guild without them knowing, of course. It was the Gnosis Guild that had denied Lee Jiwon''s request! Chapter 56: Chapter 55: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion? Part I Chapter 56: Chapter 55: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion? Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Hyung-nim! We found him!" "You did what now?" Kim Jihan of the Hitman Guild asked, annoyed. He had been looking for any trace of Lee Jiwon all day to no avail. It annoyed him even more that he couldn''t put all of his resources in to the search and could only rely on his contacts. "Lee Jiwon just passed by the Kaltz Hotel." "Are you sure?" "Yes sir!" "OK. Continue watching him and report back to me. Don''t lose him again!" Kim Jihan''s face visibly relaxed when he heard his underling''s report. He quickly hung up and called his guild master. "Guild master sir, it''s Kim Jihan." "Mm. Are you still on Lee Jiwon?" "Yes sir." "Are you keeping track of what he''s doing?" "Yes sir. He checked in to a hotel last night and just came out." Kim Jihan decided it would be best to lie that he didn''t lose him earlier that day. "Do you think we can take him now?" "Yes sir. I believe it should be possible." The Hitman Guild, Seoul''s only gangster guild, was the guild that had received Song Haechang''s request. Song Haechang wanted Lee Jiwon kidnapped, without any trace. They had to move quickly, as Lee Jiwon left few traces wherever he went. "I''ll send a Specialist over. Quickly bring Lee Jiwon somewhere there aren''t any people around, away from prying eyes." "Yes sir, I understand!" "Once he''s taken, use the Respawn Point item and set the point at the safe house." "Yes sir." "There''s a fat reward waiting for us if we do this right. Make sure you don''t make any mistakes." "Don''t worry, sir. I''ll make sure everything is done professionally." "Good. I''ll meet you at the safe house later." The guild master hung up. "That could have gone worse. He''s sending a Specialist¡­ this really must be important." The guild master had five people in his inner circle that he used as Specialists. Each of them was someone powerful. This mission couldn''t be taken lightly if a Specialist was involved! "I better prepare properly!" ------ I headed to Anton''s Store in Gangnam when I struck empty with the Gnosis Guild. On my way there, I passed the Kaltz Hotel. "There''s nothing much I can do about the Gnosis Guild." I wasn''t about to just wait a week for them while twiddling my thumbs. I could raise my level by at least a hundred! "I might as well stop by Anton''s Store. I can finally learn a new skill and I should definitely get another ten slots of inventory." I had a lot of shopping to do once I got to the Store. I got a skill point when I passed level 50, and I wanted to get two more ten-slot inventories. I could get a twenty-slot instead, but if I did, I would go back to being poor. It was cheaper to get two ten-slots instead. Besides, I could always sell them back for more, later. Right now, I could buy a ten-slot for 80,000 golden rings with my discount and sell it back for 90,000. But then again, Anton would find out right away, and probably take away my VIP card. It probably wasn''t a good idea to abuse the 20% discount like that. "I should also check out some equipment as well." I had gotten used to the greatsword from using it all this time, but I still wanted a lance. Lances got more use out of AGI, anyway. My AGI was now much higher than my STR and would probably stay that way in the future. "But I really need that one thing! If I have that, then I could safely reach the Seorak Mountain dungeon even if I run into the twin-horned griffon. I probably have about two more years to get it, but there should be a few on the auction house by now." If I had that item, I could confidently go up against the swarm of griffons and the twin-horned griffon. Then again, even if I didn''t have the item yet, I could confidently make it to the dungeon while avoiding the griffon boss. I passed by the Kaltz Hotel and headed towards Anton''s Store, while thinking about what I could buy there. I had more bounce in my steps this time than all of my other trips to the Store. ------- "Huh¡­ looks like I have a tail." I was only heading to the other side of Gangnam and there were a lot of other mortals and devas around, so I took my time walking. It would only take me about twenty minutes to get to the Store, so I had no reason to rush. But once I passed by the Kaltz Hotel, I sensed that something was off. It felt like someone was watching and following me. At first, I chalked it up to that we were just taking a similar route, but after about ten minutes, I knew that it wasn''t a coincidence. This person had some sort of intention. "I wonder who it is." I didn''t look back and continued walking, while thinking of people that might want to follow me. But I couldn''t come up with anyone with enough reason to. I was asleep for four years. I had barely met anyone new since I woke up. "Then it has to be someone from four years ago¡­" I kept thinking, but I couldn''t figure it out. "Then why not meet them face to face?" If I couldn''t come up with the answer, I might as well get it out of them, since the person was going to keep following me. I pretended as if nothing was wrong and headed towards two buildings standing close to one other and slipped into the alleyway between them. "What should we do, hyung-nim?" "What do you mean, what should you do? Follow him!" Kim Jihan wasn''t about to fail this time. The guild master''s Specialist was here, watching. Kim Jihan didn''t want to make a fool of himself. "I doubt that that is his destination." "Then, do you think we knows we''re following him?" Kim Jihan carefully asked the Specialist. Kim Jihan didn''t know his name, and only called him ''The Specialist''. He also knew how strong he was. He was rumored to be over level 550. Anyone over level 500 right now was in the top 10%. There had been level 650-700 devas appearing now and then, but they were at a whole other level. No one could keep up with these guys and it was foolish to even think to try. Anyone over level 500 was treated with the utmost respect. Kim Jihan was level 447 and was strong enough to not be pushed around, but he knew that the level 550 Specialist in front of him was someone who could get things done. He had to be careful around him. "He might be onto us." "But didn''t the guild master say that he had been under for four years? He''s only level 32. There''s no way he has the ability to sniff us out. He''s basically a mortal, isn''t he?" "There must be more to him. How many guys did you bring?" Kim Jihan just accepted the Specialist''s non-specific replies. He knew he was like that. "We have about ten experienced guys waiting, since we''re supposed to kidnap him. We just need to call them and they''ll be here in five minutes." "Tell them to get ready." "What?" Kim Jihan asked the Specialist in surprise. He had worked with the Specialist three times before, but never before had the Specialist asked for help. He took care of everything by himself. "Ah! Yes sir, right away." Kim Jihan decided not to ask any more questions and dialed his phone. "Today¡­ is looking pretty bleak," the Specialist quietly said to himself. ------ The grunt followed Lee Jiwon into the alleyway. The alleyway was narrow, only about a meter and a half wide and only about twenty meters long. He could see the other end of the alley. "Huh?" As soon as he turned into the alley, he couldn''t see Lee Jiwon anywhere and ran down to the other end. When he got there, he looked around but could not find him. He quickly called Kim Jihan. "Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim!" "What?" "I don''t see him here." "What? Are you sure you kept him in your sights?" "I did! I followed him into the alleyway as soon as he turned into it." "Son of bitch! Wait right there!" Kim Jihan cursed before hanging up. "How the hell did he get away again?" As Kim Jihan stormed over to where his underling was, he didn''t notice there was someone watching him from the roof of a nearby ten-story building. "How did this idiot lose him again?" "Leave it. Let''s go to where he lost the target," the Specialist told Kim Jihan and headed towards the alleyway. "Yes sir." "I definitely saw him turn into this alleyway. I didn''t want to lose him again and quickly followed him in, but I couldn''t see him anywhere. I ran all the way to the other end and looked around, but I couldn''t find a single trace of him." "Is that all you have to say for yourself? You''re supposed to be a good at this! The Tracking skill is wasted on you, you son¡­" "Silence!" The Specialist shut Kim Jihan up and investigated the other exit of the alley. He then looked up at the roof of the ten-story building. He met eyes with their target, and the Specialist knew right away what had happened. "Today¡­isn''t going to be easy." ------ I locked eyes with the man wearing a weird bandana and jumped down from the roof. I drew my greatsword from my inventory and rested the blade on my shoulder. "I don''t think you guys are here for a friendly chat? Who the Hell are you all?" I got straight to the point. "..." The bandana-wearing guy stayed silent. "How did he jump off a ten-story building so quietly?" The guy that was chastising his underling dropped his jaw in shock. Kim Jihan had some ability, and knew that most devas could make that jump. But he also knew that it was extremely difficult to land softly and quietly the way Lee Jiwon did. He knew that there were only two ways that was possible. Either he idiotically put all of his stats into his AGI, or that the rest of his stats were just as high and he was extremely powerful. In Kim Jihan''s eyes, he saw Lee Jiwon as the latter. "What is this? You don''t feel like answering?" "Are you Lee Jiwon?" "I am, but what do you want from me? I''m sure you knew who I was when you followed me here," I replied to the bandana man. "We need you to come with us." "Huh? Just like that? I don''t get a say in this?" "If you don''t come with us, we''ll have to force you." "Do you really think that you can?" I brought the tip of my greatsword over my shoulder and slammed into the ground. I didn''t put a whole lot of power into it, but the tip cut the asphalt like butter and dug in ten centimeters into the ground. "I don''t know. I''m asking myself that question. Unfortunately, I have my orders and only have my fate to blame." The hooded man suddenly reached into his coat and took out small throwing knives, holding them in between his fingers, and threw them at me. I could see that the six knives were aimed at my face, chest, stomach and thighs. I deflected the two that were aimed at my face, used the broad side of the sword to block the knives at my upper body, and moved so that my greatsword covered my body, dodging the knives at my legs. This all took less than a second. "Attack him! Kim Jihan, call your ten guys over here, now!" the Specialist yelled to the grunt and Kim Jihan when his attack failed. "What? Oh! Right away, sir!" "Oh? So you guys have ten more guys, huh? I guess I don''t have time to waste." I had already begun my attack. I planned to take out two of them and leave that Kim Jihan guy alive. It seemed to me that he had the most information. "Damn it! You! Do as the Specialist says and call the others here! Ice Field!" Kim Jihan shouted out a skill after giving an order to his underling. The ground I was standing was suddenly covered in a thin layer of ice. "Heh!" I lifted my right leg past the knee and heel-kicked the ground. The ice field cracked into pieces like glass. The magic wore off and the ice quickly melted into water. "Urk. So easily¡­" I may have been a fire mage in the past, but knew enough about ice magic, as all magic followed the same principle. Ice Field was a skill that covered the surrounding area and lowered the health, attack, and movement speed of anyone caught in it. Its weakness was that it took a while to completely form, and a strong attack could break it while it took effect. Of course, the cast and form speed differed on the caster''s level, skill level, and equipped items, but when it broke at my attack, I could tell that the spell wasn''t very strong. Kim Jihan''s face paled when he saw me break his Ice Field easily. "Focus! Our opponent is strong!" the Specialist yelled at Kim Jihan, who was standing still in shock. As soon as the Ice Field broke, I charged at the Specialist. The Specialist threw more throwing knives while dodging backwards. Unfortunately for him, I could see exactly where they were aimed at. I deflected them all with a single swing of my sword and closed the distance between us. "Block him. Use your magic!" the Specialist yelled at Kim Jihan, panicking as he couldn''t slow me down, no matter how many knives he threw at me. "Multi Ice Arrow!" Kim Jihan began casting "His feet! Aim for his feet! Slow him down!" the Specialist screamed. I ignored the Ice Arrows forming behind me. I had to deal with this Specialist guy first. He was obviously the strongest of them! I felt a slight pain as two Ice Arrows struck my back... Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion? Part II Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion? Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED [You have been affected by ice magic. You are now afflicted by Frostbite.] [Frostbite prevented by status immunity effect.] The message alerts came up one after the other. The most annoying thing about ice magic was its additional effect, called Frostbite. Frostbite lowered your movement and attack speed. There wasn''t much damage to it compared to fire magic''s Burn effect, but it was still the most effective debuff, as the more it stacked, the more movement and attack speed was lowered. I can finally see the effectiveness of the Unrivaled skill. My high health, VIT, and WIL were enough to deal with the damage from Kim Jihan''s ice magic. [HP: 958,185/977,500 Fatigue: 1] According to my health UI, I noticed that I barely lost 20,000 points in health from the two Ice Arrows. That was less than 10,000 points of damage per arrow, barely enough damage to affect me. I continued to get closer to the guy frantically throwing knives at me. "What the hell? Why isn''t Frostbite working?" Lee Jiwon''s back should have been covered in ice from the Frostbite effect when he got hit by the two Ice Arrows, but his back was clean. "Gah! His feet! I said, get his feet!" I ignored whatever attacks Kim Jihan threw my way and when I got close enough to that Specialist guy, I swung my greatsword at his waist with the intent to slice him in half. The Specialist kept backing up to dodge my attack, but the alleyway was too narrow for him to move efficiently. He stopped backing up and tried to block my attack with a knife, but the difference in our strength was too great. My greatsword cut through the knife and cut deeply into the Specialist''s side. "Gahh!" The Specialist scrunched his face in pain. He could see that he just lost more than 7% of his health. It wasn''t a skill; it was just a normal attack, and it hit that hard! The Specialist put so many of his stats into AGI and focused his skills into the throwing dagger tree. He learned every skill he could: active skills like Increase Throwing Dagger Capacity, Homing Throwing Daggers, Exploding Throwing Daggers, Angled Throw, and Hidden Wounds, along with passive skills like Throwing Dagger Mastery, Increase Throwing Dagger Accuracy, Increase Throwing Dagger Damage, Increase Throwing Dagger Attack Range, and Increase AGI. However, all of these skills proved to be dead weight now. He had nothing to block the attack. "He''s so fast!" The Specialist could only remark at the insane speed Lee Jiwon moved wielding that greatsword. He could also feel the difference in STR between them when he tried to block the attack with his dagger. When he realized the difference in power, he could only look at Lee Jiwon in bewilderment. He was nothing like what the information said. He wanted to take that report and throw it back at the guild master right now, but it had to wait. He had to get away from this abomination first! --------------------------- I used the greatsword''s momentum to swing my body around and attacked the Specialist once more. But instead of meeting flesh, my sword met something hard. "What?" The Specialist had jumped over my attack and deftly climbed up the building, leaving my sword buried into the wall two meters deep. At least there didn''t seem to be anyone inside... "This is fun." I looked up at the Specialist and smiled. I jumped up from the ground and chased after him. ------ "Eeek! Homing Throwing Daggers!" As the Specialist wall-jumped between the two buildings, he noticed that Lee Jiwon was hot on his heels. He threw out a flurry of throwing daggers. He knew that a head-on attack wouldn''t work, and threw his daggers past Lee Jiwon. As soon as they flew past, the Specialist bent a finger and the daggers turned in mid-air towards Lee Jiwon''s back. The Specialist then clenched his hand into a fist and at that moment, the daggers sped towards Lee Jiwon''s back. The Specialist heard the four daggers find their mark and smiled. It was his ace in the hole. If he could train this skill more, he could control up to eight daggers, but he could only manage four right now. But those four daggers had never let him down before! "Activate Hidden Wounds! Activate Grave Shock! Activate Critical Bleeding!" As soon as he saw the four daggers stab into Lee Jiwon''s back, he activated three critical effects in row. Each dagger carried all three effects, causing the damage to more than triple. This was more effective against mages with low VIT or assassins with high AGI, such as himself. These effects would decrease the opponents'' abilities by 50%. He doubted that Lee Jiwon''s VIT was as high as his AGI and STR. If his VIT was¡­then the guild master made a mistake taking this mission. This mission wasn''t worth five times the normal rate; he would have accepted no less than twenty. But that''s impossible. He wasn''t planning on killing Lee Jiwon with this attack. He had to kidnap him. He just had to slow him down enough until the other guys got here. But the Specialist''s smile disappeared in a matter of seconds. "..." He didn''t want Lee Jiwon to come out of his Groggy state, but he didn''t think there was a problem when Lee Jiwon fell towards the ground when he lost his balance. He knew his attack succeeded. Everyone he attacked like this reacted the same way. "That was tingly." Lee Jiwon smiled. The Specialist knew he was right once more. Today was going to be a bleak day. ------------------------------ I knew that the four daggers were flying at my back, but I ignored them. I didn''t want to jump from wall to wall to try and dodge them. The Specialist guy was right in front of me and I didn''t want to lose him by trying to dodge a few daggers. I felt the daggers dig into my back, but didn''t feel enough pain to make me stumble or anything. When that guy activated his skills, I felt a different kind of pain. "Activate Hidden Wounds! Activate Grave Shock! Activate Critical Bleeding!" I felt more damage from the skills than from the daggers. I would have almost lost my focus from the Shock if it weren''t for my Unrivaled skill. [You have been Shocked.] [Shock prevented by status immunity effect.] I smiled. "That was tingly." I jumped back up at the Specialist when he showed an opening in his confusion. I aimed the tip of my sword at his abdomen. The Specialist finally noticed me coming and tried to dodge to the right, but my sword was faster. The blade stabbed in through his left kidney and went through the building behind him. "Got you now!" ------ The Specialist knew that he was lacking in STR, but he still burned with indignation. He had put in 3,500 of his 5,500 total stat points. He had put 1,300 in STR, 500 in VIT and 200 in WIL. He even used items and equipment to bring his total AGI up to 3,900. He couldn''t believe that there was someone else that could move as fast as him and have just as high STR and VIT. The Specialist had used his high AGI and daggers to outpace his opponents and drain their stamina. The only person that this fight style never worked against was the Hitman Guild''s guild master. But he wasn''t furious back then like he was now. The guild master had to be careful and find an opening, and didn''t charge in like this guy. The Specialist looked down at the blade that had impaled his left side and knew that there was no other way to get out and threw his body to the right. "Gahhhh!" His abdomen was cleanly sliced a third of the way through. He could even hear his ribs grind against the blade. The Specialist quickly took out a Shining Health Potion from his inventory and quaffed it. His ripped skin stitched itself together, but he couldn''t do anything about his fatigue, which had sharply increased. He didn''t know if he could last the five-minute potion cooldown. ------ "Why did you take a potion? Such a waste. Your health is going to drop again, anyway. Shouldn''t you save your golden rings?" I asked the Specialist who had nearly ripped his body apart just to get away. "Exploding Dagger!" I just about had him. With that much damage, his fatigue should have gone through the roof. That much would be fatal. The concept of self-contemplation was something of a distant dream to devas. If devas got tired, then they got really tired; so tired to the point that their abilities lost just about all effectiveness. The only way to prevent that from happening was to learn the Berserker skill. The Specialist threw a dagger at my face and the dagger exploded. I didn''t take any damage from it, but I was blinded by the smoke. "Multi Dagger Throw!" I saw and heard a storm of daggers fly at me through the smoke. It was going to be hard to predict where the daggers would hit. It didn''t matter. If I couldn''t block them all, I could just take the hits. My VIT and health could take it. My VIT made my body even more resilient, so I wasn''t going to take much physical harm. That was why I just couldn''t give up on VIT. I tightened my grip on my sword and raised my left hand to cover my face. I walked through the smoke towards the source of all those daggers. My shoulders, thighs, and sides were pierced by one dagger each. The rest flew past me. I felt a slight pain from the three daggers, but it was nothing compared to the attack from before. I grit my teeth, sped up and swung my greatsword in front of me. I felt the blade hit something. "Ah¡­shit!" When I heard the Specialist shout, I jumped off a wall and threw myself at him. "Gahh!" I had my shoulder against his chest, and he grunted in pain. I smiled. "Got you. This is the second time, now. How will you get out of this one now?" I asked, watching him gasp in pain. ------ The Specialist was frustrated. Fuck! He could barely talk with his chest feeling like it was caving in. He had never felt this frustrated since he became a dagger thrower. He was frustrated that he couldn''t hurt his opponent. No, he knew he was doing some damage, but Lee Jiwon kept coming at him like it was nothing. In other words, he just wasn''t doing enough! He began to think that his attacks never did much damage in the first place. He couldn''t put much into his STR after investing so much in his AGI. He was mad at himself, thinking that even though he put whatever he had left into his STR, it just wasn''t enough. He knew that he couldn''t survive until the others got here. He had totally underestimated this guy. The Specialist could only bitterly laugh in pain. Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion?, Part III Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Who Would Disturb a Sleeping Lion?, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I grabbed the Specialist and dragged him back down to the ground. I wasn''t about to let him go again with him jumping from wall to wall like a damn squirrel. "Ugh." I landed on the ground on my feet and threw the Specialist to the ground. As he lay there, slumped, I stuck my sword into his stomach. I saw a yellow flash, indicating it was a critical hit. "Gah!" the Specialist yelled out in pain. The blade impaled him like a hot knife through butter. "Ice Ring!" As soon as I was about to lift my sword to finish the Specialist off, Kim Jihan''s spell flew at me like a bullet and enveloped me. My body began to freeze in a thick encasing of ice. "Specialist! Now''s your chance! Get up and¡­" Kim Jihan trailed off. I tensed my arms and spread them open, shattering the thick ice like glass. I turned to look at Kim Jihan. "So¡­strong¡­" "I need you to explain some things to me, so just wait there. I''ll deal with you later." I ignored the dumbstruck Kim Jihan and pulled my sword from the gasping Specialist and stabbed him once more. I had been holding him down with my foot and he squirmed to try to get away, but couldn''t. I stabbed him three more times before he finally died. His body vanished in a cloud of smoke. "I see he has a Respawn Gem." Devas had three ways to respawn when they died. First, if they didn''t set up a Respawn Point, then they would respawn in the same spot they died at in three hours. Second, they could respawn in a Store. There was a rest area on the first floor of Stores called the Bonfire of Life. Devas could touch these fires and set up a Respawn Point, but they could only respawn at the closest Store to where they died, and it would also take three hours. In the past, I had used the Bonfire to set my Respawn Point, prompting that asshole to use his Shadow Puppeteer to force me into using a Respawn Gem to set the point to his hideout. That was how that asshole got to kill me 123 times, once every three hours. The third method was to use a Respawn Gem, but this was easily abused by wicked people to mess with people, like the way it happened to me. As a result, these gems were largely used by guilds and party groups. With a gem, a deva could set their respawn point at their guild''s headquarters, or any other place they wanted. When they died, their bodies would vanish into a cloud of smoke and would respawn at that point three hours later. There wasn''t a limit on how many times these Gems could be used, but in order to set a new respawn point, a deva would have to buy another Gem at 50,000 golden rings a pop. The Specialist whose body just vanished into smoke was going to respawn at his own point in three hours. I turned away from the cloud of smoke and looked over at Kim Jihan. His underling couldn''t move away from where he was standing, and just trembled where he stood. "Where''re your ten guys?" It took less than five minutes to deal with that Specialist guy. If Kim Jihan hadn''t thrown his spells at me in the middle of the fight, it would have taken me less time. "I only need one of you to talk, right?" "What?" Kim Jihan blurted out at my question. "I''m pretty confident that you know more than this grunt here." I walked over to the trembling minion. "Ah! I just tail people, I''m sorry! I''m not even that high a¡­Eek!" the grunt pleaded as he saw the blade of my sword approach closer and closer, but the blade did not stop. He could do nothing to block my attack. I cut him three times, killing him. But this time, his body melted like water instead of turning into a cloud of smoke. That told me that he was going to respawn back here in three hours. Most devas used the Bonfire of Life at Stores, but strangely enough, this guy decided to use that first method to respawn. "And then there was one. When are your lackeys getting here?" I asked the remaining victim. ------ Shit! This can''t be happening! This is nothing like the intel I received!, Kim Jihan screamed in his head. This guy was way too strong. He knew that no matter what sort of attacks he threw at him, he was going to lose this fight. He knew that he wasn''t going to make a dent in Lee Jiwon''s health; this guy could easily ignore anything that came his way. Could I beat him if the guys get here? He thought about his backup that was supposedly on its way, but shook his head. The Specialist could have easily wiped the floor with them. They may have been called aces, but they weren''t that good. Anyone that was stronger than the Specialist had no reason to associate with gangsters. They could get so much more working by themselves. Besides, this was a kidnapping job, not an assassination. The backup was mostly support for the Specialist. They''re not going to be enough to get me out of this. What should I do? While Kim Jihan thought about what to do, the ten guild members he called for earlier arrived. They immediately rushed over to him. "Hyung-nim, we''re here!" One of them stepped forward and said to Kim Jihan. But Kim Jihan made his decision when the member spoke. "Go back." "Sir?" the guild member asked in surprise. Kim Jihan had called them here in a panic, but was now telling them to return. "Just go back, dammit! It''s over." Surprised at Kim Jihan''s outburst, the guild members looked at one another before slowly leaving the alleyway. Kim Jihan made his decision. He knew that even if he used the ten grunts as cannon fodder, it would be extremely difficult to escape Lee Jiwon''s grasp. Before his life as a deva, Kim Jihan had an almost nonchalant view towards death; if he died, he died. He didn''t really have anything to lose from dying. But now that he was a deva, he had so much to lose. If he died, all that work he put in just to gain one level would disappear in smoke, just like the Specialist''s body. He was an ice mage; he couldn''t lose more points to his already low STR, VIT, and AGI. He had to take more care of his life as a deva than he did when he was a mortal if he wanted to get stronger. There was nothing better at getting stronger than not dying. His own guild master was infamous for his merciless temper, but even he didn''t go around recklessly killing his own guild members. If his devas died, then the overall strength of his guild would go down as well. Even though he knew that the worst punishment for a deva was the death penalty, he wouldn''t just kill his guild members just like that. If devas were mortal, that was fine. But they weren''t and carried that penalty for the rest of time. As a result, the guild would carry all those penalties forever and become extremely weakened. Kim Jihan''s guild master strongly believed that a violent carrot-and-stick approach carried a strong message, but he was also very intelligent. It was how he managed to stay in Seoul and hold a secret relationship with the Sunbin Guild for so long. Right now, Kim Jihan had two options: stay loyal to the guild and die, or do what Lee Jiwon asked and live to see another day. The choice was rather obvious; it was better to live another day. That was why he had his followers leave the scene. Kim Jihan wasn''t about to foolishly throw his life away. If he was lucky, he could even convince Lee Jiwon to at least go meet the guild master. It''s not like he had to physically kidnap him just to bring him to the guild master. If he could persuade him, that was enough, right? The guild master always had his five Specialists around him. One of them just died, but there were still four left. And in three hours, that Specialist was going to respawn. Kim Jihan decided it was smarter to try to coax Lee Jiwon into coming with him, instead of by force. It didn''t matter if he failed; he had to protect his life at all cost! ------ I stood there, watching Kim Jihan. I thought that I was going to have to fight ten people at once, but he sent them packing. I was curious as to what he was planning, and decided to leave him be. After the lackeys left the alleyway, I spoke to Kim Jihan. "Can we talk now?" "Of¡­of course, Mr. Lee Jiwon." "Good. Who the Hell are you all?" I wanted to know who they were first. "I''ll tell you everything if you promise me one thing." "What is it?" "Just let me live. If you promise me that, I''ll tell you everything you want to know." "OK." I really wanted to know who they were. "Thank you. We''re part of a gangster guild known as the Hitman Guild." "Hitman Guild?" I had never heard of a guild like that before, not even in my past life. Hell, I used to work out of Seoul for a long time, but never knew that gangster guilds existed. "Yes. We''re the only gangster guild in Seoul." "I see. Perfect. Why were you guys following me?" "I don''t know why. I was just ordered by my guild master to kidnap you, sir." "Hmm¡­" I fell into deep thought at what Kim Jihan just told me. Of course, there was no way for me to know if he was lying or not. I looked over at my status UI. HP: 739,263/977,500 Fatigue: 9 I lost about 240,000 HP in my fight with the Specialist. My health was at least being quickly restored by 550 points per tick, thanks to my belt and Orb. I actually lost that much health in that fight. I did take some damage from Kim Jihan''s ice magic but even if I fought the Specialist one on one, I still would have lost around 200,000 points. I consistently checked my health when I fought the Specialist. The fight was definitely in my favor as we fought in a narrow alleyway, but I also didn''t lose in speed. If we had fought in an open area, I was confident that I could have won before losing 200,000 HP. That guild master has to be stronger than the Specialist, right? It''ll be dangerous if I have to go up against two or three more of them at once. I didn''t ask Kim Jihan what the overall strength of his guild was. Even if he did tell me, there was no way for me to know if he was telling the truth. But I knew I had to be careful if I had to go up against three people who were at least as strong as that Specialist. Fighting devas wasn''t simple. You had to take into account their stats, skills, and items. And sometimes, they didn''t fight alone. There''s nothing stronger than a mob, I thought to myself. I didn''t have the desire to show off my strength or even put up a fa?ade. But even though I wasn''t actually kidnapped, they conspired to and I wanted them to pay for it. But even I''m shocked at how strong I''ve become. I''m only level 60. I''m way below level 100 and yet, I can still increase my level by so much in a single day. I was improving myself day by day. I could clearly see that I was going to be stronger tomorrow than I was today, and even stronger the day after. Kim Jihan wasn''t actually going to die even though he was begging for his life. There were still worse people than him that deserved to incur the death penalty. No one in their right mind would actually reveal information about their guild just because they were threatened with death. Besides, I didn''t know much and no matter how much he told me, I wouldn''t be able to tell if he was telling the truth. Should I pay him back now or later? I was presented with two choices. "Heh." I laughed realizing that the choice was obvious. I should let him live for now. I had already put my revenge towards Lee Kangchan to the side for the moment. That guy did much worse than just kidnap me; he killed me one hundred and twenty-three times in a row! He left me in such a hopeless, worthless state, forcing me to jump into the Sea of Reset, and yet I was still biding my time. If I could hold off on that, then I could overlook this for now. Of course, I wasn''t about to completely let it go. I was still going to crush them, later on. Revenge is a dish best served cold. I mean, it would probably be a little warm, but still. I could wait a little longer if it meant it would all be satisfactory. Still, I shouldn''t be rash about this. I lived a long life back then; been through this, been through that. I knew it''d be stupid to just go storm the Hitman Guild right now. I might just give them what they wanted and let myself be captured! I looked back at the cowering Kim Jihan. "Where can I find your guild master?" "I know where he is. My guild master always stays in a hidden safe house. I know where that safe house is." "Really?" "Yes sir!" Kim Jihan replied strongly. "How strong is your guild master, if you compare him with that Specialist person?" "They''re about the same." "Hmm¡­ you were telling me where your guild master was?" "It''s difficult to explain. I could take you directly to him, if you wish." "Perfect!" Kim Jihan smiled at my reply and turned around, motioning for me to follow. "Gak!" I stabbed Kim Jihan in the back as soon as he turned around. The blade protruded from his chest. "Why¡­?" "Did you actually take me for a fool? Fool me once¡­" I did think there was at least a 0.0001% chance that he was telling the truth. "But¡­ you promised¡­ let me live?" "You know, I''ve lived a really long life. I''m not saying that I''m too old for my age or anything. It''s just that there''s something I learned throughout the years. It''s that it''s smart to leave no potential enemies." I pulled my sword back and stabbed his body multiple times. He must have had a pretty high VIT for an ice mage, it took a few more stabs than expected. "You¡­son of a bitch!" Kim Jihan entered the Groggy state from suddenly receiving a ton of damage, and couldn''t move. He could only move his mouth and swear. I smiled. I figured it was the best way to infuriate a furious person even more. "Have a nice trip!" "I''ll get you back for this!" "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. You do just that. I''ll be waiting." I lifted my sword and sliced down at his head. There was a yellow flash and his body was cut in half down the middle. Blood splattered everywhere, but I didn''t avoid it. His corpse soon vanished into smoke. "Looks like he had a Respawn Gem as well." I watched until the smoke dissipated, then left. If anyone peeked in, they would see that there was a lot of evidence that a fight had taken place here. Chapter 59: Chapter 58: Greed, Part I Chapter 59: Chapter 58: Greed, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I left the alleyway and headed for the motel nearby. My body was covered in blood, but the owner of the motel just warned me not to get it everywhere, as it was normal for devas to be covered in blood from monster hunts. I took a shower and opened up my luggage carrier that I had from four years ago. I took out a change of clothes, changed and sat down on the bed. "They may be pretty strong, but Seoul is under the control of the Sunbin Guild. I highly doubt that they''ll try to make a huge mess of things." That was the reason why I had never heard about gangster guilds in Seoul. Back then, the Sunbin Guild had carefully maintained Seoul. "I need to get stronger. I just need to get up to level 200. By then, I should have 2,800 stat points to play with, and have three more skill points to use." My priority was to get stronger. I could find out who wanted to kidnap me later. "If I can get strong enough, I can just go in there and ask for myself. I should hurry. I should start off at Anton''s Store and buy the things I need, like I initially planned. I should also buy enough bread and drinks to last me all the way to level 300." The Seorak Mountain dungeon was abandoned because of the griffon swarms and the twin-horned griffon boss, but at my ability, if I could avoid the griffon boss, then I could easily avoid the griffon swarm. There weren''t going to be other devas there, which would allow me to monopolize the dungeon monsters. If I can just get that item from the auction house, it''ll be the icing on the cake. It might take another two or three years for it to appear, but I feel like there should be one out by now. The Seorak Mountain dungeon was going to be the ideal hunting ground for me to properly power level. I got up from my bed and went outside. I threw my ripped and bloody clothes into the trash can. ------ I soon arrived in the vicinity of Store 72. I sprinted all the way from the motel, as the Store was pretty close by. It felt good seeing the Store again for the first time in four years. "There are a lot of people here." The busiest places around the world were now Store vicinities. Most devas set their respawn points at Stores, so there were constantly devas respawning at the first floor of every Store. There were also a lot of devas that came to the auction house to see if any cheap items were posted for sale. There were also crowds of devas around the equipment shops, smithies, skill shops, and quest boards. I wove around the massive crowd of devas and mortals and entered the Store. I walked over to the Bonfire of Life, as I hadn''t set my respawn point yet. There were quite a few others that did the same. If you weren''t part of a guild or party group, this was the best and safest method. If you died without setting a respawn point, you were going to respawn in the exact same spot you died in three hours earlier. Most likely, that spot was going to be dangerous. Because of that, most devas were taught to use a Store''s Bonfire first thing. I stood in front of the Bonfire and placed my hand over the hot, dancing flames. [Would you like to set your respawn point to Stores? If you die, you will respawn in the nearest Store after three hours. Yes/No] I selected Yes. [You have set your respawn point to Stores. You will now respawn at the nearest Store upon death. If you wish to set your respawn point elsewhere, use a Respawn Gem.] In the past, I was never around much danger, soI had put off setting my respawn point to much later, but right now, I didn''t know what was going to happen. Things could get much worse than today. "I knew I should have done this first." I had once made the mistake of not setting my point, and I ended up stuck deep in a monster''s territory for a year, dying and respawning over and over until I was saved by a passerby. I had to use the Sea of Reset once, but at least I was saved. It was a good thing that I didn''t have to go crazy being stuck in that hellish cycle. The Otadolon stage had turned Earth into a game-like world, but this was nothing like any game we knew about. There was no tutorial or any NPC that offered help or answered any question. It became closer to reality than reality itself. Everyone was out for themselves. ------ I walked away from the Bonfire and browsed through the shops on the first, second, and third floors. "Where should I start? I didn''t use my equipment much so I probably don''t have to repair them yet. Let''s start with the skill shop! Open skill menu!" [Skill Menu Unassigned points: 1 Passive skills: 1 Unrivaled Skill (First Unrivaled) Active skills: none] I had only earned one skill point in four years. Skills were important in fights; they were that powerful. It wasn''t to say that my current skill was useless, but it really was a waste to not have more skills. "What should I learn?" Most skills had a max level of 3, so I had to choose carefully so that I could properly gain experience for the skill, and max it out as soon as possible. "Should I learn a weapon mastery skill?" If I was going to go with a melee class, then it was basic to learn a mastery skill. It would be a skill that I would have to constantly rely on, making it very important. "But I don''t have a spear yet and I don''t want to keep using a greatsword. Should I buy a spear first? Let''s check out what''s there first." I did need to buy the proper weapon before learning the right weapon mastery skill, but most spears usually started at Rank 5 or 6 and weren''t cheap. They usually sold at around 1 million golden rings each. I didn''t have the funds for that. I thought that it was probably better to keep using my greatsword to kill some more monsters and save up some more. ------ I headed towards the skill shop on the third floor. The shop was full of devas looking to buy skills. Most devas, besides those that learned the Unrivaled skill as I had, had more skill points to use. They still had the ten points they started with. As a result, there were always plenty of devas looking to spend their skill points. The skill shop was the largest shop of Store 72, big enough to fit about 500-700 people at once with still enough room to spare. When I entered the shop, the counters were completely crowded by other devas, making it difficult for me to approach a counter. It didn''t matter, however; as long as I could enter the shop, I could access the shop''s wares. I stared at Sleng, the shop''s employee. Five seconds later, the skill shop menu appeared before me. [Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random Skill (1)] I noticed that this time, the Random Skill had a (1) icon next to it. I obviously wasn''t able to come by the skill shop again during this second life, but in the past, the skill shop was my second most visited shop in the Store, after the auction house. I think I came here at least a thousand times? As such, I had seen the skill shop menu appear a thousand times before. However, up until now, I had only seen the menu like this: [Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random Skill (not applicable)]. The Random Skill section was always not applicable to me. It had never changed for me, until now. This time, there was a (1) next to the Random Skill section. Random Skills were extremely rare and difficult to learn. They were so rare, in fact, that anyone with a Random Skill was basically like the Chosen One of the Otadolon stage. In fact, if you looked at everyone who had a Random Skill, you would see that they really were quite spectacular beings. The most famous were the Liberator Arman Lagus, also known as the Demon Lord, and the Mercenary Lord, Madun Yatekin. They started with nothing, but had learned Random Skills. Another Random Skill user was someone that was only known as the Bozkurt, the Turkish word for grey wolf. One of the Three Lions, this person was famous for being able to go toe to toe against deities despite not having the Unrivaled skill. I had never learned a Random Skill before, not even during my past life. It was actually a little weird not seeing the (not applicable) icon on the menu. Random Skills weren''t something you could see by constantly checking the skill shop day after day, month after month. Many devas tried to, but not a single one of them ever found one. Back then, even I nearly spent the whole day, every day, at the skill shop for two weeks. There once was a rumor that Random Skills could disappear after a while if you failed to check it, causing a huge ruckus in skill shops all around. Later, it was found that the rumor was a lie and the chaos quickly died down. No one knew what the criteria were to be able to learn a Random Skill. But everyone knew that whoever had a Random Skill was strong. Yet, all those Random Skill users pretty much said the same thing: "I became strong because of a Random Skill" or "I got a Random Skill because I was strong." Either way, there was no definitive answer. Still, there was no doubt that there was a correlation between power and Random Skills. People even removed some of their skills just so that they could learn a Random Skill. "Open Random Skills." I quietly selected the Random Skill section. [Lee Jiwon can learn a Random Skill. If this Random Skill isn''t learned within 24 hours after being revealed, the Skill will disappear. Time left to learn: 23 hours 58 minutes 22 seconds.] [Selfish Prick(1/1), (passive) This skill reflects the will of Shaman Ko, who was known for his greed for his stats points. Shaman Ko''s head became Intelligence, Shaman Kos chest became Vitality, Shaman Kos arms became Strength, Xia Manko''s legs became Agility, and Xia Manko''s stomach became Willpower. Xia Manko''s will that became the essence of stats remains starved of stats. Shaman Ko''s greed for stats remains unsatisfied. Xia Manko desires more STR, AGI, VIT, WIL, and INT. Can you satisfy Shaman Kos greed? Under that, I saw that there were three effects of the skill. [Option 1: A Normal Selfish Prick Gain one Stat Point a day upon learning the skill 100% chance to obtain one Stat Point Required Skill Points: 1 Required golden rings: 1 Option 2: A Cruel Selfish Prick A roulette wheel will appear once a day upon learning this skill. The roulette will spin automatically, and user will obtain an amount of Stat Points, depending on the number the wheel lands on. Chance to obtain 0 points: 60% Chance to obtain 1 point: 30% Chance to obtain 2 points: 10% Required Skill Points: 1 Required golden rings: 1 Option 3: A Stupid Selfish Prick A roulette wheel will appear once a day upon learning the skill. The roulette will spin automatically and user will obtain an amount of Stat Points, depending on the number the wheel lands on. Chance to lose 1 point: 30% Chance to obtain 0 points: 30% Chance to obtain 1 point: 25% Chance to obtain 2 points: 14% Chance to obtain 3 points: 1% Required Skill Points: 1 Required golden rings: 1 You may choose one of these three effects. If you do not choose an effect before the time limit, the Selfish Prick skill will disappear.] That was a long description for a skill, but there was also a lot to it. I don''t think I''d ever seen a skill description like this before. "I¡­ can get a skill like this?" I asked myself in a shaky voice. There were so few devas that ever learned a Random Skill, and I could never dream about ever being one of those spectacular few. (They had tried to hide the fact that they had Random Skills, but the Secret Hunter soon revealed them to everyone.) I never doubted that my Unrivaled skill would be able to take me the top. But now that I could learn a Random Skill on top of that¡­ I was just so emotional. Normal Selfish Prick, Cruel Selfish Prick, and Stupid Selfish Prick. I read the message screen once more, putting aside the feeling to celebrate for later. If I went with the percentage of the effects at first glance, I would probably go with the first effect. With that effect, I could get 100 Stat points in 100 days. If I went with the second effect, I could only get 50 points in 100 days. A primary school student could figure that out. I mean, sure I could get 2 points in a row for a few days, but how long would that last? I might also get 0 points in a row for a few days. There''s nothing much to say about the third effect. There''s a 30% chance that I could lose a point. The three point gain chance is only 1%. It really is a stupid effect. Statistically, I would average only getting 26 points in 100 days with the third effect. That was barely a quarter of the first effect, and barely half of the second. A normal person with no mental defects would obviously choose the first effect. But I have something else, don''t I? I had my Luck effect. It was extremely difficult to get all heads in ten coin tosses. The more tosses, the lower the chance of getting all heads. It was pretty darn close to impossible. But shouldn''t it be possible for me? I looked at the specials in my Stats Menu. Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Greed Part 2 Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Greed Part 2 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED [Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points] I stared at my Luck Boost effect. It was the effect I received from the Fastest to Become a Deva Event. It made me the luckiest person on Earth. The problem here is that it''s only supposed to refer to people on Earth. Would it affect the skill? The Selfish Prick skill description was really impressive. A skill created from the will of a man''s desire. That itself was really unique. Even if my Luck Boost didn''t affect the third option, and hypothetically I only received 26 points in 100 days, it was still a gain¡­ except that it fell far, far behind than the first option. I could get 100 points in 100 days. I would basically lose out on three-quarters of the points if I picked the third option. It wouldn''t just be for the 100 days; I''ll lose out constantly, every day of my life. It would just accumulate and accumulate, until I''ll just end up regretting it all. Do I risk it, or go the safe way? The more time passed, the bigger the difference in the effects of these options. It definitely wasn''t an easy choice. I won''t risk it. I won''t lose much from just getting a Stat point a day. It''s a good enough skill. It''s going to get harder to level up, and I''ll have to start focusing on buying items, which will get more and more expensive. It''s definitely not bad that I can get a Stat point a day without having to do much. I wasn''t about to make the mistake of eating my only golden goose. I could safely have my goose lay golden eggs consistently. I looked over to the first option, but my finger drifted towards the third option. [Are you sure you want to choose the third option of the Selfish Prick skill, the Stupid Selfish Prick? Yes/No] I closed my eyes shut as my finger drifted over the Yes button. If I didn''t have my Luck Boost effect, the smart thing to do was to choose the first option. But it was like my finger didn''t want to waste my ace in the hole. I had to see if my Luck effect would work here. I did get a lot from the effect already. My life right now was so much better than it was back then. I might know more things now, but everything was just going so well now. I woke up from my four-year sleep with 4,488 Stat points! I didn''t have to train to level or anything; I just got 4,488 Stat points! Even my Orb collected twice the points it was supposed to! I couldn''t attest that everything was due to my luck, but I knew that luck had to have something to do with it. I wasn''t a gambling man, but I wanted to risk it now. Maybe I could hit the Lotto. I also didn''t want to leave my curiosity go unsatisfied about this. I decided to eat my golden goose rather than stay forever curious. I could deal with my regret later but there was nothing I could do about an unsatisfied curiosity. My past experiences attested to it. I selected Yes. [You have chosen the third option of the Selfish Prick skill, the Stupid Selfish Prick.] [Day one. Shaman Ko''s Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now appear.] As soon as I made my selection, a roulette wheel with five numbers appeared before me. No one else could see it; it was only visible to me. "It''s so small." The wheel was divided into a hundred sections. Only one of them had the number 3 on it. It was there, surrounded by -1 sections. I had to look carefully just to find it, it was so damn small. I lifted my shaking hand and placed it over the wheel. [Shaman Ko''s Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette wheel will now turn.] The wheel began turning on its own. It spun so fast that the numbers were all a blur. After spinning for about thirty seconds, the wheel began to slow down. My luck effect could make the wheel stop on the 3. It was a 1% chance, but I really hoped it would. It would take another day to see if it really was the effect of my Luck Boost, but I really wanted it to stop on the 3. The wheel lost most of its speed and slowly spun around. The 3 was now five sections away. I became more and more anxious. The wheel seemed like it was just about to stop now. The -1''s continued to pass by until¡­ The wheel came to a stop as if it just lost all of its will to turn. A message appeared before me. [Day One. You will receive Shaman Ko''s Roulette gift. You have received three Stat points. Total points: 3 The next roulette wheel will appear in 24 hours.] "Yes!" The wheel stopped right on the 3. I couldn''t help but shout with joy when the message came up. I had no idea if it was because of my luck boost, or if it was just dumb luck that the wheel stopped on the one section, but I didn''t care. I was just happy that today was turning out so great. If I got the 3 again tomorrow and the day after, I''d chalk it up to the luck boost. If that really was the case, I just got something as strong as the Unrivaled skill. As I trembled in excitement, I suddenly heard Anton''s voice. It had been a while since I heard it. "Who was it? Who just got me that many points?" I heard that before, back when I was the first to find a dungeon and shopped at the Store. I left the skill shop and looked up at the fifth floor where Anton''s office was located. I met Anton''s eyes and noticed that Marie was standing behind him, as well. I used to feel intimidated whenever Marie looked at me. It was almost automatic. However, I didn''t feel that daunting feeling this time when I saw her. I smiled when I saw Anton and Marie. "You¡­ Lee Jiwon!" "Nice to see you again, Anton." I had a shit-eating grin as I looked over at Anton. ------------------------------- I went up to meet him in his office. I sat down in front of him, with cups of tea between us. "What have you been doing all this time?" "Sleeping." "What?" "Really. I was asleep for four years," I nonchalantly replied. Anton was obviously not satisfied with my answer and frowned, but I didn''t care. It wasn''t my problem if he believed me or not. "Fine. If you''ve been sleeping all this time, how''d I get all those points at once?" "What points?" "You just bought a skill at my Store, didn''t you?" "Yeah, just one skill." I replied as if it wasn''t a big deal, but even I noticed that my voice slightly trembled. I said it was just one skill, but it was a damn Random Skill. Besides, I know it wasn''t actually confirmed yet, but I might be gaining three Stat points a day! I really wanted it to be tomorrow, so that I could see if the wheel would land on a 3 again... "You were sleeping for four years, and yet you brought me this many points?" "I''m telling the truth." "Yeah, yeah, I know you''re telling the truth. Marie told me that you''re only level 60. The last time you were here, you were only level 32. There''s no way you could only gain 28 levels in four years. If you think about it¡­ actually, that''s quite a feat to gain so few levels." "Huh?" My eyes shot open in surprise. Stats were absolutely private information. They could be revealed to other devas, but only with permission. No one was allowed to see my information, just like the way no one could access my inventory. Not even the Secret Hunter was able to access such information! "Don''t worry. Marie can only check levels. It''s an ability that only she has. Anyway, let''s say that you did sleep for four years. Do you have any idea how many points you just gave my Store? You got me more points than when you beat that boss monster before anyone else. Did you seriously just sleep for four years?" I looked at Marie instead of answering. We locked eyes for an instant, but it was long enough for me to feel it. That intimidating feeling was no longer there. I wasn''t sure if Marie no longer made me feel that way, or if I was just strong enough to no longer feel it, but I really liked being able to look at her without feeling uncomfortable. Marie was over level 2000. I was kind of proud of myself that I could hold the gaze of someone as strong as her. "Master Lee Jiwon, as Master Anton said, I can only see the levels of others." "I''m honestly a little envious. I could at least somewhat gauge my opponents'' power with that ability." Knowing was half the battle. If I knew how strong my opponents were, I could at least avoid losing. "Do you know what I''ve learned from being able to see others'' levels?" "What is that?" "There''s only so much I can find out just from levels. The world is large. Levels are only a fraction of someone''s Stat Menu. Levels don''t mean everything, just like in your case, Master Lee Jiwon." "..." I didn''t say anything. "I believe you, Master Lee Jiwon. It seems that the four years you spent sleeping were to help prepare you to soar even higher. You''ve finally come out of your cocoon. Congratulations. The sky is your limit now. And thank you, you''ve proved to me that I was right about you." "No, you don''t have to¡­" I was a little embarrassed from all of her compliments. "Marie, do you truly believe so?" Anton asked Marie, as if surprised at her words. "I''ve seen countless people. There once was a time when I was confident that I was stronger than whoever I fought against, just because I could see their levels. That changed when I met someone. He was like you, Master Lee Jiwon. His power was so great that his level seemed about as useful as an empty shell. That man was very much like you now, Master Lee Jiwon." "Wow. Are you talking about the guy you lost to?" "Yes." "You''re saying that Lee Jiwon is on par with that guy?" "Yes, I am." "Whoa¡­" Anton looked at me doe-eyed. "You''re¡­ probably more awesome than I think you are." "I have no idea who you''re talking about." "That''s fine. I know who he is. Anyway, you bought a Random Skill, right?" "Uh huh." "Let me see¡­huh? The Selfish Prick?" "Mhm!" I nodded. Anton knew I learned the Unrivaled skill without asking, and knew what skill I learned today, as well. He obviously knew what I bought from the Store, so there was no point in trying to hide it. "Was there a Random Skill like this? Marie, do you know?" "I''ve never heard of that skill, either." "What kind of Random Skill is called this anyway? If you managed to learn a Random Skill, then you obviously have done enough to be recognized by the Otadolon stage. If I don''t know about it, I don''t think it''s that great a Random Skill." "I don''t mind." "I guess. I suppose it''s good enough that you learned a Random Skill. What''s next for you?" "My body''s a bit stiff for sleeping for so long. I was also attacked by some unknown guys. I need to quickly get stronger." "I see. You should run around some, I suppose. We''re still friends, right?" "We''re still friends." "And you''ll continue to shop at my Store? Even if there are closer Stores?" Anton asked as if he wanted me to promise him. It was kind of cute, to be honest. "I will." "Good. Then I wish you the best in your future efforts, my friend!" "I wish you the same, Master Lee Jiwon." "Thank you." I left the office after saying my farewells. ------------------------------------- Anton knew who bought what at his Store. All Store Managers had that ability. The ability was mostly meant to monitor devas that had VIP cards, so that they couldn''t abuse the discount. However, the ability only allowed Managers to know what was bought, nothing more. The Unrivaled skill was famous enough that Anton knew that it existed, but he never heard about the Selfish Prick skill. The skill''s name seemed insignificant enough that he decided to brush it off to the side. Lee Jiwon hadn''t mentioned that the name Xia Manko came up in the skill''s description, and Anton and Marie decided that the skill must have not been that important. ------------------------------------- As I left the manager''s office on the fifth floor, every single deva in the Store turned to look at me and whispered to one another. "Who is that?" "I heard the manager personally called for him." "That lazy-ass manager?" "Yeah! They seemed pretty friendly with each other." "Is he a VIP?" "He must be. If he''s a VIP of this Store, then he must be someone pretty famous, but I''ve never seen him before." "That''s what I was thinking. I thought the only VIP''s of this Store were part of the Sunbin Guild." I weaved in between the whispering devas and headed to the general store. The Store had strong guards to prevent devas from causing too much of a ruckus, and I had no issues getting to the shop. "Welcome again, Master Lee Jiwon," Sing greeted me as I approached him. "Hey there. I''d like to see your inventory boxes." "Right away." [Inventory (no rank) A virtual backpack used to carry golden rings and items. Limited to three per person. Items such as food, potions, and monster loot can be stacked up to 100 in one slot. Weapons, armor, and other equipment do not stack. 10 slot inventory: 100,000 golden rings 20 slot inventory: 1,000,000 golden rings 30 slot inventory: 10,000,000 golden rings 50 slot inventory: 200,000,000 golden rings 100 slot inventory: 1,000,000,000 golden rings] I wanted to buy the 20-slot if I could, but the damn thing cost a whole million golden rings. I decided to go with two 10-slots. "Two 10-slot inventories cost a total of 200,000 golden rings. With your 20% discount, your total comes out to 160,000 golden rings." I paid Sing the 160,000 golden rings. I felt a little easier now that I had 30 slots of inventory. I exited the inventories menu and searched for food items. I didn''t decide on how long exactly I was going to stay at the Seorak dungeon, but I didn''t want to leave before at least killing the dungeon boss. I wasn''t going to leave the dungeon at all before I did, and it was a good idea to make sure I had enough provisions to last me. "I''ll take 50 bread, 50 beverages, fifteen high-grade Health Potions, and three Shining Health Potions." "Of course. Everything together costs a total of 24,250 golden rings. With your 20% discount, your total comes out to 19,400 golden rings." "I''ll sell these as well." I took out 200 spider legs. I had collected a total of 300 by taking out my greatsword, but when I had to put my sword back in, I had to throw away 100 spider legs. "I see they''re normal giant spider legs. They sell at 11 golden rings each. Will you sell at a total of 2200 golden rings?" "I will." "Then you''re new total comes out to 17,200 golden rings." I took out the amount and paid Sing once more. I quickly left the general store and walked past the still whispering crowd of devas towards the auction house on the first floor. When I got there, I looked up the item I wanted to buy. "It''s not here, as I thought. I suppose I have to go out and find it." I thought for a moment. No. It''s going to take too long at my power. Besides, it''ll be another two or three years before it should appear. I should get to Seorak dungeon and power level first before making that decision. By then, I should be strong enough to go find it if I have to! I quickly left the auction and made a beeline towards my new destination. It was finally time to power level at Seorak Mountain! Chapter 61: Chapter 60: Onwards to Seorak Mountain Dungeon, Part I Chapter 61: Chapter 60: Onwards to Seorak Mountain Dungeon, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Its actual name was Low-Grade Dungeon Number 83, but people called it The Seorak Mountain Dungeon. It has also been abandoned. I stopped by the hotel before I began my trip to Gangwon Province. I had checked to see that there was a sort of a Maginot Line going through Hwachun, Chuncheon, Hongcheon, and Wonju. It seemed that people did not cross over that line. "Supposedly, griffons and the griffon boss have made the area between the Seorak Mountain and Odae Mountain their territory." I made my plan of attack while looking at a map of Gangwon Province. The normal griffons weren''t a problem, but that twin-horned griffon boss was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. "I won''t have problems with the twin-horned griffon if it sticks to the Odae Mountain. I''ll just have to hope I don''t run into it." I was confident that I could hide from it if I ran into it, but it would be nice if I didn''t run into it at all. "Perfect. I think I''m about ready to go now. I won''t leave until I''m at least level 200. Before that, open Skill Menu!" [Skill Menu Unassigned Skill Points: 0 Passive skills: 2 Unrivaled (1/1) (First Unrivaled) Selfish Prick (1/1) (Stupid Selfish Prick) Active skills: None] Back when I was a fire mage, I had at least ten skills. But even though I had only two skills now, it felt like I had more utility with these skills. These two skills almost made me seem more intimidating. "Just looking at my Skill Menu makes me feel stronger. I can still get stronger. If the Selfish Prick skill actually gives me three Stat points a day¡­" I shivered at the thought. I wanted to confirm it as soon as possible. If I just got lucky that one time and landed on a 1% chance, or if my Luck Boost made it possible to get it every single time. "It''s been a while since I looked forward to tomorrow." I got up from my seat. "I think I''ll take a cab to Namyangju, since the area around the city has been well-maintained. Then I''ll head to Gapyeong from there, then to Chuncheon. I''ll monitor the situation before slowly crossing the line." I took a cab and headed to Namyangju, which had been completely cleaned of monsters. I listened to the driver as he talked about how the Sunbin Guild recruited devas to repair the destroyed roads for 350 golden rings a head, and how he felt that the guild was best guild in the world. Level 0-50 monsters only dropped 1-2 golden rings each. 350 golden rings were a lot for beginner devas! The Sunbin Guild hadn''t done that in my past life¡­ I paid the driver 70 golden rings when we got to Namyangju. I had to walk from there. ------------------------------------------ "Hey, aren''t the monsters strong around here?" "It''s still a good place to hunt. We just need to stick together." "I want to train at a dungeon, though." "The Sunbin Guild isn''t allowing anyone over level 150 into the Bukhan dungeon. What else can we do?" "We could go to Oksunbong dungeon." "That place is even worse. There are more devas than monsters there. There isn''t a single corner that doesn''t have a deva. This place is way better than there." "There''s no way we can attempt Jeju''s mid-grade dungeon right now. Should I go to China? I heard that as long as you pay, they let you train in whatever dungeon you want. They always control the number of people that enter, so the dungeons shouldn''t be crowded." "I know someone that''s hunting in China right now." "Do you have enough money?" "Of course I do. Besides, I can just earn it all back there. I might even be able to find a nice item, while I''m there." "Your logic is as sound as thinking you can make money at a casino. You''re going to end up with nothing if you keep it up." "Tsk!" "I am looking for a party! I even learned Fire Lord!" "I know five healing skills. I can even do AOE healing. I''m willing to party if I can get ten percent more of the party''s even split of loot." "We''re currently a party of five and even have a tank! We''re looking for a ranged DPS. Archers, mages, and sorcerers can join!" "Buying items at Rank 4 and up at high prices here! Looking for all types; armor, weapons and accessories. Faster than the auction house!" "Repair your equipment here!" "Selling potions here! No need to go all the way to Stores! Just 2% more expensive! Save time and buy here!" "Buying wolf leather and claws. I''ll pay more than Stores for blue wolf leather and claws!" "Selling beef jerky here! Store bread and drink can''t be enough for you! Selling beef jerky here!" ..... Paju was quiet, but Namyanju was full of devas resting and chatting amongst themselves. There were others walking between them selling food and others off to the side bargaining with one another. I could also see Sunbin guild members going around, talking into their radios. "Was Namyangju always like this?" This place was an outpost. Devas followed the basic rule that there was strength in numbers. If they gathered like this they could prevent monsters from getting closer, and comfortably rest. But back then, I never knew of an outpost in Namyangju. "I was asleep for four years. I need to stop thinking that nothing has changed." I walked through the crowd and headed for a giant concrete wall with barbed wire on top. "Stop right there! I need to see if you''re a deva, please." There wasn''t a border wall when I left Seoul for Namyangju, so this one must have been put in place to control people coming in. I raised my left wrist for the guard to see. "Are you out here to hunt alone?" "Yes." "It''ll be hard to do it alone¡­ I recommend you go out with a party if you''re under level 450." "It''s fine. I''m over 450." "Understood. Oh, before you go, don''t go past Gapyeong. The griffon swarms have been inching closer to Gapyeong these days." "I see. Thank you." The guard was nice enough, so I replied politely. All devas wanted to get strong by training in fields or dungeons, but this guard seemed to take pride in his job and stood in the face of danger for others. It seemed he was proud to be a part of the Sunbin Guild! ----------------------------- I left Namyangju''s outer barricade and sprinted towards Gangwon Province. On my way there, I could see the occasional group of devas hunting. I also saw beast-like monsters, such as werewolves, brown wolves, and blue wolves. I even saw a few Tyros, massive monsters that are twice the size of elephants and extremely slow. Their slow speed made them easy hunts, their attacks were easy to avoid. They also yielded the highest experience out of all field monsters. It must be because of the Tyros that Namyangju became an outpost. --------------------------------- "Focus your fire on one monster. It''s dangerous if you keep switching targets. You know that Tyros can regenerate their already high health, right? We need to take down one after another." "Roger!" "Understood!" "Do you all see the Tyro at three o''clock? We''ll take him down first. Attack when I bind him with my attack. Earthy Swamp!" At the leader''s shout, the ground under the Tyro turned into a thick liquid, the Tyro sinking down to its knees. The other party members focused their attacks at once. "Water Ball!" "Storm Shot!" "Air Explosion!" "Spatial Thorns!" "Lightning Bolt!" "Fire Daemon''s Strike!" "Don''t stop! Attack once your cooldowns are up!" Fifteen party members that were grouped to one side continued their attacks. Ten seconds after the attacks connected, the Tyro managed to escape the Earthy Swamp, but it disappeared before it could move even seven meters. "Well done, everyone! That''s all we need to do! We''ll split the loot evenly. Make sure your MP doesn''t drop too low!" I saw myself among the fifteen party members. I had to hunt like them in the past. I did occasionally take some bread and drinks and after paying an entrance fee, spent about a month inside a dungeon, but I hunted with parties in the fields more. It was safer. "But that''s not me anymore." I continued along past the party that was hunting Tyros. --------------------------------- Not long after, I ran into a rather persistent smilodon. "You''re really annoying," I said, as I blocked its bite with the blade of my sword. There were far fewer devas out hunting the closer I got to Gapyeong. The monsters also got stronger. Twice as big and fast as normal tigers, smilodons were vicious monsters that were largely avoided. If you weren''t careful, you could get bitten by their 15 cm long fangs and take considerable damage. The smilodon shook its body, as if it was trying to rip through my sword. I placed my foot on its head and pushed. The smilodon spat out my blade and jumped back. I charged right back in and stabbed at it. The smilodon jumped to the side to avoid the attack, but I expected it would. I quickly changed the arc of my sword and swung to the right. The smilodon tried to kick away at the blade as it dodged, but ended up slicing its own paw. It started to bleed profusely. "Heh. I''m not like I used to be. I''ll get you back for doing me in back when I was a fire mage!" I had the misfortune to fall prey to a smilodon once in my past life. The smilodon roared ,as if enraged from cutting its own foot. "Pfft. You think I''ll be scared from your purring?" I''ll admit that roar would have scared me back then. But now? It was almost laughable. The smilodon circled around me at a fast pace. Its foot continued to bleed, but it kept its pace, looking for the right timing to attack, as if to tell me that an attack like that didn''t faze it. The pacing was part of an attack smilodons used when they went up against an opponent that was far stronger than them. I raised my sword in front of me and took a defensive position. The smilodon''s AGI was very high; it wasn''t a good idea to charge right in. I could easily take it down if it charged at me, but I wasn''t about to blindly chase it like an idiot. It was better to take some time to make sure I didn''t take any needless damage. I kept my sword raised in front of me and followed the smilodon''s movements, careful to not let it out of my sight. All of a sudden, it charged around to my backside like a bolt of lightning. However, I saw it coming and quickly turned around, raised my sword over my head, and sliced down. I spun around faster than the tiger could lunge, and before it could sink its fangs in me, my blade sliced into its head. The smilodon was thrown backwards three meters from the attack, and collapsed to the ground. I rushed in to finish it off. I jumped high into the air and brought my sword crashing down. The blade sliced through the tiger''s abdomen and deep into the dirt below. The beast''s stomach made a sound like air escaping a sliced balloon, and the beast roared out in pain. "I know it wasn''t you back then, but that was how I felt when I got bit in the stomach. Remember it well!" I wasn''t really trying to take revenge on the smilodon that punctured my stomach; it was just that slicing its stomach was the best way to kill it off. I left my blade impaled in it and started to stomp on its head. Every time I stomped down, the beast trembled and tried to get away, but couldn''t with the sword still in its gut. The deep cut on its head it received from my sword opened wider and wider, and after about three hard kicks, its head split in two, completely killing it off. [You have gained a level.] "Damn, smilodons give a lot of experience points!" If smilodons travelled in packs, they would be just about impossible to kill. It was a good thing that they were solitary creatures. I could probably take on ten at a time, but it would take way too long and it would be a really messy fight. "Oh. Isn''t that smilodon leather? Nice." Smilodons were formidable monsters and their fangs and leather sold at high prices. I picked up the leather and fangs and the 41 golden rings that had dropped. Seorak Mountain was still a ways off... Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Onwards to Seorak Mountain Dungeon, Part II Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Onwards to Seorak Mountain Dungeon, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Five people were gathered at the Han Dong building at Yeoiudo, leisurely watching a video. "Whoa! He''s pretty energetic. Did you see him split the thing''s skull in half just like that?" "It looks like he''s playing around with that smilodon." "Don''t you think he has to be almost as strong as the master to be that good?" "Hey, bitch! Don''t go around comparing him with the master like that!" the Gnosis Guild''s analyst, Lim Gina, yelled at Jay after quietly listening to everyone talk. "Oh, fine. You always get so mad whenever someone talks about the master." "That''s because everything you do insults the master!" The two women continued to hurl insults at one another. "That''s enough! You''re both too loud. What hole did this guy crawl out from? His AGI and STR have to be at least higher than a smilodon''s. It''s not easy to kill one with only normal attacks, and he didn''t use a single skill. Our melee specialist Han Yongsuk would have a hard time with one." The man called Alpha stopped the women''s bickering and addressed the group. "See? I told you it was a good idea to follow that guy," said Jay, the red-headed clairvoyant. "I get it. I apologize for disregarding your advice. I just thought that since your Clairvoyance skill had limited use, it was best to save it for someone else." "Hmph! I get to decide that! It''s my Random Skill, not yours. Tsk!" Jay replied to Alpha, still indignant, but no one else seemed to give her any more attention. "It seems he''s travelling somewhere, not hunting. It looks like he''s heading to Gangwon Province." "Yes, you''re right." The other four nodded in agreement at Alpha''s insight. "Do you think he''s heading towards the Seorak Mountain dungeon?" "He has to be, right?" "But the Yong Gong Guild is there at the dungeon right now to defeat the dungeon boss, aren''t they? The party had the Yong Gong Guild master''s son and five others, right?" "Yeah. They started with eight, but ran into the twin-horned griffon boss and a few elite griffons. That''s why only six are in the dungeon." "Can their raid even succeed?" "I don''t know¡­I''d say about 50/50? They might, if they''re lucky. They''ll all die if they''re not. Well, no. The odds they could actually succeed are about 60/40." "Where would they be by now?" "Six people in a four-floor dungeon¡­ I doubt they''ve made it to the fourth floor yet. I suspect they''re midway through the third floor." Lim Gina answered everyone''s questions as if she was watching the party''s every move. "Is he heading to the dungeon because he knows the guild is there?" "I don''t know. I can''t make assumptions based off what I don''t know. This is the first time I''ve ever seen that guy." Clairvoyance couldn''t be used to see what went on inside a dungeon. Everything she said was based on her own analysis, but no one questioned any of her assumptions. Alpha also nodded his agreement with Lim Gina''s claims. "Someone that strong appears just when the Yong Gong Guild carries out a secret raid on the Seorak Mountain dungeon¡­" "This''ll be fun." "Tsk! Fun, my ass. My head''s about to explode with all this crap going on." "Let''s make a decision now. Those in favor of increasing our surveillance on him?" The two who first encountered the man in the video, Han Yongsuk and Jay, raised their hands. Alpha, who just asked for the votes, raised his hand as well. "Good. The decision is made. We will increase our surveillance and find more about that person." "I can''t include him in my Clairvoyance. We need to take someone off the list." "Let''s take out Pan Gitaeg." Pan Gitaeg was the guild master of the Ojin Guild. "Are you sure? He''s still the guild master of one of Korea''s strongest guilds." "It''s fine. He''s the type to only look out for himself and those around him. He''s a frog in a well. Take him off the list; it''s not like we could get much information out of him, either." "Alright. If the master says so, then I guess I should." "Get more background information on him, first." "Damn it! Looks like we''re going to get busy just because some weird guy decided to make an appearance now. It''s such a pain to make a new file on someone." The Gnosis Guild gathered every single piece of information they could on anyone they came across, and had it all neatly filed away. They later sold that information to anyone that needed it at high prices. They also used that information for their benefit whenever they could. The guild made quite a lot of profit from it, and some of their highest paying customers included Song Daechul, Song Haein, and Song Haechang. The rest of the group left Lim Gina to her grumblings and all went their separate ways to get started on their duties. ----------------- I met more smilodons on the road to Gapyeong, but I was able to take them out pretty easily. When I completely crossed through smilodon territory, I no longer saw any other devas around. "I better be careful starting from here." I had finally entered the vicinity of Gapyeong, meaning that I had also entered griffon territory. Griffons did not travel alone. They moved together in flocks called crowns, and I had to be careful. I had to be extra careful that I did not run into a twin-horned griffon. That was one boss I couldn''t take on alone. It must have been because of what I knew about griffons, but my trip to Chuncheon seemed to be easier than the trip from Namyangju to Gapyeong. Maybe it was because there were no other monsters here besides griffons. Off in the distance, I heard a whoosh of wind cutting through air, as something flew in my direction at high speed. I quickly dropped down on my stomach and held my breath. Soon, I saw a crown of seventeen griffons fly over me. They must have not seen me, as they continued flying off into the distance. "Seventeen of them¡­it''s going to be tricky." Griffons aren''t as clever as harpies; griffons don''t run away even when they''re outmatched. They fight until they die. "It''s still better to avoid them. There''s no way I can deal with aerial monsters right now." The only way I could attack griffons was if they landed. I could wait for that timing to attack them, but that took way too long. I wouldn''t be able to pummel them like I wanted to. Once they disappeared from view, I got up and carefully continued on my way to Chuncheon. The sun had completely set by the time I arrived. I saw an abandoned building that seemed to be in decent shape, and went inside. "I''ll set camp here for the night and set out once more in the morning." Griffons were active both day and night. They were more dangerous at night, as they relied less on their vision and more on their other senses. "At least I have my experiences of my past life to help me get through this." I spent the night in the abandoned building in Chuncheon. It was uncomfortable and I didn''t have any blankets or anything, but there was nothing I could do. I took out a piece of bread and a drink to have a small dinner, and forced myself to sleep. ------ I woke up early the next morning. "Alright! Let''s make it to Inje by the end of the day." The total distance I had to cross was about forty-five kilometers. I could make it in thirty minutes if I sprinted at full speed all the way, but I had to take it slow to avoid the griffons. The Seorak Mountain dungeon would be right there, if I could just make it to Inje. If I could safely make it to Inje, that would make my whole trip about 80% complete. "It''s also the second day of the Selfish Prick skill." To be honest, I was more focused on the skill than the trip to the dungeon, all day yesterday. If the wheel landed on a 3 today as well, it meant that my Luck Boost really did work on skills. There was a very slim chance that I would get a 3 for a second time in a row otherwise... "I learned the skill yesterday at eleven in the morning, so I should have three hours left. Ugh¡­why am I so nervous?" I shivered once more before setting out for Inje. --- I consistently checked the sky to make sure there weren''t any swarms of griffons flying over me, but thanks to all of the abandoned buildings, I was able to safely move from cover to cover. I finally got out of Chuncheon and slowly continued on to Inje. The closer I got to Seorak Mountain, the more griffons I saw. I looked down at my watch. It was 10:55 AM. "It''s almost eleven. I should get to somewhere safe." I crawled under a giant outcropping to hide from the griffons overhead. "Open Skill Menu!" [Skill Menu Unassigned Skill Points: 0 Passive Skills: 2 Unrivaled (1/1) (First Unrivaled) Selfish Prick (1/1) (Stupid Selfish Prick) Active skills: None] I checked the cooltime counter on the Selfish Prick skill. Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel cooltime: 1 minute, 33 seconds remaining.] "Ugh¡­I''m so nervous." Three extra points a day. Three! That was 0.3 levels a day! "They''re going to add up to so much. Gah¡­" I shivered just thinking about it. [Day Two. Shaman Ko''s Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now appear.] The same roulette as yesterday suddenly appeared before me. There was only one section numbered 3. In all aspects, it was foolish to even expect the wheel to land on the 3. "Hooo¡­calm yourself. I haven''t eaten my golden goose yet. It might even be a diamond goose instead." I was more nervous now than I was yesterday. The more I told myself to calm down, the more I trembled. I raised my shaky hand and placed it over the roulette wheel. [Shaman Kos Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now turn.] The roulette wheel rapidly spun. I clasped my hands together and eagerly watched the wheel spin. "3! 3! 3! Please, 3!" I had never wanted anything in my life to happen more. Statistically, the average number of Stat points I could get in 100 days was 26 points. But if the wheel stopped on 3 every day, I could get 300 Stat points in those 100 days. A thousand days meant three thousand points. I could really become stupid, like the skill said. The wheel began to slow down. My back was dripping with cold sweat. "Please!" The 3 seemed farther away than it did when the roulette slowed down yesterday. "No! Give me the 3!" The wheel crawled to a snail''s pace, barely moving each section over, until¡­ "AH! Erk!" I quickly shut my mouth closed when I unconsciously shouted out. My eyes were even watery with tears. [Day Two. You will receive Shaman Ko''s Roulette gift. You have received three Stat points. Total points: 6 The next roulette wheel will appear in 24 hours.] I stared at the message screen that appeared before my eyes. I had a 1/100 chance to win, but I did it again. That was a 1/10,000 probability! Of course, there was also that chance that the Luck Boost had nothing to do with it, and I just got super lucky on my own. But somehow, I knew that it was because of the boost. I still had no definitive proof, but I felt that I was going to get three Stat points a day, every day. "I''m getting stronger by the day. Everyone else is going to be stuck grinding and grinding just to raise another level, but now, I don''t have to. I''m actually going to get stronger by doing nothing." I headed for the Seorak Mountain dungeon, feeling like I had the world at my fingertips. I felt that I couldn''t possibly have the misfortune of running into the twin-horned griffon... Chapter 63: Chapter 62: To the Fourth Floor, Part Chapter 63: Chapter 62: To the Fourth Floor, Part Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Had the wheel landed on a -1, 0, 1 or a 2, I definitely would have been all bummed out, but the wheel landed on a 3. I was sure that I was going to get a 3 every day from now on, and now everything made me happy. I even happily watched a nearby crown of griffons while lying on the ground for more than two hours. "Gahahaha." The occasional fit of laughter kept escaping from me, and I had to make sure that I didn''t make too much noise. The further I went in to Gangwon, the more I saw griffon crowns flying around. I had to be more careful. When the nearby crown flew off, I finally got up. "I should take my time." I kept my slow place, but I steadily made progress. Inje and Seorak Mountain weren''t far off now. ---------------------------- "Whew. I finally made it to Inje." I arrived in the center of the city of Inje around nine PM. There were a lot of crumbling and ruined buildings around the city. I found a somewhat clean building and went inside. I took out some more bread and another beverage. "I finally made it this far. I should be able to enter the dungeon tomorrow. It''d be nice if everything continued to go smoothly¡­" I laid down, staring up through a hole in the ceiling and watching the stars. As I wondered if I could safely enter the dungeon tomorrow, I fell fast asleep. ------------------------------- I woke up the next morning at six. I made my final preparations as I read my map. "I''ve got about twenty-five kilometers left." I just had to follow the mountain trail straight to Seorak Peak. Now that there wasn''t much distance left, my body tensed in anticipation. The only way to ease this tension was to enter the dungeon. I took extra precautions as I left Inje and practically crawled my way to the mountain peak. After about five hours, I stopped by a large tree and huddled under it. At eleven AM every morning, this was going to be part of my daily routine. I waited quietly. ---------------------------- [Day Three. Shaman Kos Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now appear.] I touched the roulette wheel without feeling any sense of burden. [Shaman Kos Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now turn.] This time, I didn''t watch the wheel spin. I closed my eyes and kept my composure. [Day Three. You will receive Shaman Kos Roulette gift. You have received three Stat points. Total points: 9 The next roulette wheel will appear in 24 hours.] I opened my eyes at the alert and stared at the message screen. I smirked. "Time to go." ------------------------------------- There was no longer a need to make a scene by laughing and crying. I would now gain 3 Stat points a day. I no longer needed to try to convince myself that it was normal. It was going to be as common as the sun rising and setting. It was going to be as natural as breathing. I came up from under the tree and continued my snail''s pace up the trail. "Huh?" Not long after, I noticed signs of a fight. There were broken tree trunks and craters in the earth. The signs were pretty recent. The dirt in the craters was a different color than the dirt on the trail. "What the Hell? Did someone else come up to the dungeon?" There was no other reason. They had to be beyond insane to try to hunt the twin-horned griffon and other griffons in griffon territory. Besides, if someone really did that here and not in the outer regions of Gangwon, then the sky would be black with griffon crowns fighting back. "It''s not a small party, either. It had to be at least fifty? No, there must have been at least a hundred people here fighting." The damage around the trail was extensive. "It can''t be a raiding party, can it? No. They would have to come here secretly, not bringing this many people. Why would they be here, this deep in the twin-horned griffon''s territory? They had to have been discovered pretty easily. The only reason that somewhat makes sense is if most of them were trying to hold the griffon boss back for a smaller group. But what sort of idiot or psycho would willingly incur the death penalty?" I couldn''t figure out what had really happened just by looking at the scene. I thought for a moment if I should continue or turn back. "Hmm¡­I should keep going. I got this far; it''d be a waste if I turned back now. And I''m curious as to what really happened here." For some reason, I felt that the persons responsible for this scene were at the Seorak dungeon. There couldn''t be another explanation. ----------------------------------- I carefully made my way through the craters that kept appearing farther up the trail, and headed straight for the dungeon without stopping. About five hours later, the entrance to the dungeon finally came into view. It felt good seeing the dungeon I had found four years ago again. "What the Hell happened here?" The entrance of the dungeon was surrounded with crushed boulders and fallen trees. This scene looked worse than I saw coming up here. It was an absolute mess. Thirty meters around the entrance, the ground was completely flipped over. The fight must have been pretty damn fierce. "Who did this? There can''t be that many guilds that would be willing to lose so much and go straight in to raid the dungeon boss." No matter how much I thought about it, the only guilds possible were the Sunbin, Ojin and Yung Gong Guilds. The other guilds were too weak to even think about trying something like this. "It''s not the Sunbin Guild. The Sunbin Guild isn''t stupid enough to take this much loss over a dungeon. Is it the Yung Gong Guild?" It seemed more plausible that it would be that guild than the Ojin Guild. "If it is the Yung Gong Guild¡­ I wonder if I can mess with them if they''re in the middle of the boss battle." The signs of battle I saw on my way up the trail were fresh. I began to envision what I could do to make sure I royally screwed the Yung Gong Guild over. I had quite the grudge against that guild. "I hope this guild did something like turn over a new leaf. I really wish I was able to get some information on them and Lee Kangchan from the Gnosis Guild." When I woke up after four years, I noticed that there was a lot of differences in the world than back then. The Sunbin Guild''s borders reached all the way up to Paju, and they had even set up an outpost in Namyangju. There was nothing like that in my previous life. "Screw it! I''ll get in their way first and figure it out later." It was going to be really worth it to mess with the Yung Gong Guild. There was only a 0.00000001% chance, but if they actually became one of the good guys¡­ "I know! I''ll cover my face with a bandana or something. I''ll even make my orc armor visible and pretend that I''m a newbie. I have to make sure they don''t ever find out it was me." I decided to conceal my identity in the very faint chance that the guild was actually a good guild. But I knew that there really was no chance that the guild had changed. How could it have, when it went through with its boss raid while so many people had to have taken death penalties coming here? There were no way the guys in the dungeon right now were good people if they allowed such a thing to happen. I''ll be their judge, jury, and executioner. If I don''t like them, then I''ll just beat the crap out of them. I''m strong enough to. I''m not the weak guy I was before! Still, I decided to cover my face before doing anything. Soon enough, people would know who I am. Time to go! I thought to myself, once I made my final preparations. I didn''t see any signs of griffons or the griffon boss nearby but I still carefully crept my way towards the dungeon entrance. I wasn''t about to have to run from them after I made it this far. I had to be careful until the very end. I crept closer to the entrance until I was about fifty meters away. Once I was close enough, I sprang up and practically dove inside. ---------------------------------------------- Back at the Han Dong building in Yeouido, three people were having a discussion on the third floor. They were analyst Lim Gina, the seer Jay, and Alpha of the Gnosis Guild. "What do we do now? He actually went inside the dungeon." "There''s nothing we can do. I can''t use Clairvoyance to see inside the dungeon," Jay replied as she turned off her Clairvoyance skill. "The Yung Gong Guild and Lee Jiwon are about to meet. What do you think will happen?" "I don''t have enough information, so I don''t know. I can''t even believe that this Lee Jiwon guy actually slept for four years straight under the care of the Sunbin Guild. He took down a smilodon easily by himself? After sleeping for four years? Hah! If that''s true, then I''ll sleep for eight years! Besides, beauties always need sleep, so eight years won''t be more than enough for me," Lim Gina snorted and retorted to Alpha. However, Alpha was looking at Jay, and not at Lim Gina. "Use your Clairvoyance on the Yung Gong Guild master, Shin Chang Il. The result of the raid will soon be revealed. See if Lee Jiwon had anything to do with the success or failure of the raid." "Ugh. Fine. I see you''re not going to give me time to rest." "Oi, you, hey. Are you listening to me?" Lim Gina asked while watching Alpha and Jay talk to one another. The Gnosis Guild was able to find out the identity of the man in one day. It was Lee Jiwon, the man who slept for four years straight under the care of the Sunbin Guild! The reason they could only presume it was him was because that the person they saw just couldn''t be the person they heard about. How could he easily kill a smilodon after sleeping for four years straight? It only took him a few hits! The Gnosis Guild couldn''t believe it, and continued to investigate, but they didn''t find anything else. Well, no; they did find something. They found more evidence proving that he actually slept for four years. The more they investigated, the more mysterious he was. He basically dropped out of the sky after not making a single sound since the beginning of the Otadolon stage. Lee Jiwon made the Gnosis Guild panic for their first time. ----------------------------------------------- During my previous life, I had managed to hunt a few times in the Seorak dungeon before all of Gangwon became infested with monsters. I really liked hunting here, as there were monsters that easily fell to magic. It was great for a fire mage like me. It really was a shame when I couldn''t hunt at the dungeon anymore. "Nice to see you again, golems." As soon as I entered the dungeon, I saw golems made of dirt called Clay Golems. It was kind of nice to see them again, so I called out to them. Clay Golems were difficult for melee fighters to kill, but were easy prey for mages. First, they were damn slow. Their movement speed was only at 50. Secondly, while their physical defense was high, their magic defense was just as low. These guys were my favorite monsters to hunt back when I was a fire mage. "I might be a melee fighter right now, but I''m not afraid of you. If I was afraid, I doubt I would have been able to make it here in the first place. Open Stats Menu!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 62 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 977,500/977,500 MP: 124,700/124,700 Strength: 3,734 Agility: 4,200 Vitality: 1,955 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Unassigned Stat Points: 40+9 Fatigue: 3 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 11,652 Physical Defense: 2,055 Magical Attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,376] My level went up by 2 when I killed the smilodons on the way here, which gave me 40 Stat points to use. The extra 9 points were from the Stupid Selfish Prick skill. However, for some reason, the 9 points weren''t completely added into my unassigned Stat points. I had no idea why... Chapter 64: Chapter 63: To the Fourth Floor, Part 2 Chapter 64: Chapter 63: To the Fourth Floor, Part 2 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Huh, the more I say Stupid Selfish Prick, the more it seems like I''m insulting myself." I put all 49 unassigned Stat points into my STR. I had more than enough AGI to go up against clay golems. I decided it was best to increase my STR, as I was going to spend some time here in the dungeon. [STR: 3774 +9] "It''s the same here." The 9 points from the Selfish Prick skill weren''t added into to my STR as well. But, since it did more or less add in to STR, I decided not to think about it too much. [Clay Golem Slave] [Clay Golem Worker] [Old Clay Golem Soldier] I saw three types of golems in front of me. The clay golem slaves were the weakest, the clay golem workers were slightly stronger than the slaves, and the old clay golem soldiers slightly stronger than the workers. But none of that really mattered to me. I was way stronger than all of them. "I should head straight to the fourth floor if I want to mess with the Yung Gong Guild''s raiding party." If I could, I wanted to stay and hunt some clay golems for the time being, but right now, I had to check, as there was a chance that the party had already started the raid. The Seorak Mountain dungeon consisted of four floors. Just like the Bukhan Mountain dungeon, that final fourth floor had the elite monster room and the boss room. There were different tiers of golems throughout the dungeon, but if I recalled correctly, while the first, second and third floors consisted of clay golems, the boss was a stone golem. This golem was made of very hard stone and was rumored to be a very difficult boss. "Still, it''s nothing compared to a level 700 iron golem." The clay golems finally discovered me standing there and slowly lumbered towards me, their heavy footsteps booming through the dungeon halls. I smiled as I watched them walk, as it reminded me of a small child still learning to walk. The clay golems on the first floor were barely two meters, just a little taller than me. They weren''t as massive as the golems on the second and third floors. "It is my first time since my return to the Seorak dungeon, so how about we see how I fare against you guys?" I raised my greatsword and charged at the slave golem. The slave golem reacted and raised its arm to attack, but it was so slow that it looked like it was yawning. Their high strength and low agility made clay golems low mid-grade. That was why they appeared in the Seorak dungeon. I swung my sword into the slave golem''s thigh. A significant amount of dirt flew out from the golem''s leg, and the golem staggered, unable to keep its body straight. I stabbed into the golem a few more times all around its body. It felt like taking a shovel to a pile of watery mud. The blade of my sword went through the golem''s body without much resistance, telling me that the damage of my attacks surpassed the golem''s defense. After about three or four attacks, the golem stopped moving and crumbled onto the floor in a pile of dust. "This is too easy." This way easier than fighting smilodons. I just had to attack their legs to slow them down even more, and avoiding their slow attacks was so easy I could do it with my eyes closed. I know that the clay golems on the first floor of the Seorak dungeon were pretty low-leveled, but this had to be my easiest hunt yet. I moved towards the golem workers and the old golem soldiers that were lumbering towards me. I did the same thing I did to the slave golem and charged at them, attacking their legs and shoulders. They were so slow that I was able to cut them exactly where I wanted to. Slowing them down made them the easiest targets. "Hahaha!" I was having fun hacking and slashing at the golems. It still took about three to four hits to kill them because of their high defense, but that wasn''t a problem for me. The golems crumbled into a pile of dust before they could get close to attacking me. "It''d be nice if they dropped a pair of Stone Gauntlets¡­" That was one of the most useful items that golems dropped. Items of the same name could have different ranks. For example, there could be a pair of Rank 4 Stone Gauntlets and a pair of Rank 2 Stone Gauntlets. It was too much to expect the clay golems on the first floor to drop Rank 4 Stone Gauntlets, but I would have been satisfied if they dropped a pair of Rank 2''s. "I could even sell those at the auction house for a fair price ,or even use them for a bit." I searched through the piles of dust the six golems left behind, but all they dropped were two low-grade Clay Golem Nuclei and a total of 49 golden rings. "I guess I''m expecting too much from the start." I picked up the items and put them in my inventory. I had 30 slots in all; it would be a while before I started running out of space. "Now that I had a small taste test, I should hurry on. I don''t want to be late and find out they''re already gone after beating the boss." The Seorak Mountain dungeon was big enough that 1500 devas could hunt it without having to run into one another. Each of its floors was slightly smaller than that of the Bukhan Mountain dungeon, but there was still another floor, allowing for much more room. I ignored the rest of the clay golems and rushed for the second floor. I wanted to play around a bit, but I didn''t stop. I arrived at the entrance to the second floor in about twenty minutes. "I don''t think they''re on the first floor." I kept any eye out for the party as I traversed through the first floor but found no sign of them. Then again, I could have missed them as the floor was pretty large. I ran down the stairs to the second floor. The clay golems here were about 30% bigger than the clay golems on the first floor. [Sturdy clay golem worker] [Soldier clay golem] [Sturdy clay golem soldier] There was one soldier golem, 2 sturdy golem workers, and one sturdy golem soldiers. They seemed more solid than the ones on the first floor. "Alright. Let''s see how strong you guys are." I charged at the group of four golems. When they saw me coming at them, they began lumbering at me. They moved a little faster than the golems on the first floor. I swung my sword at their knees and shoulder the same way I did to the other golems. Dirt flew out from the golems every time they were sliced by my blade. I stepped back to dodge every time they attacked, before stepping right back in to slice and dice at them more. I just stabbed and cut and stabbed and cut. There was no need for any kind of swordplay or techniques. The clay golems could do nothing but suffer my onslaught. Had my STR been much lower, my attacks would have bounced off their clay bodies, but that wasn''t the case. My sword cut through them just like a hot knife through butter. [You have gained a level.] "The second floor is easy, too. I wonder if they''re easier for melee fighters than for mages," I muttered to myself as I went around picking the drops. They dropped one Clay Golem Nucleus and 71 golden rings. "I''m skipping over the second floor as well." I sprinted towards the third floor. I didn''t see any signs of devas or parties on this floor either. "It doesn''t look like they''re on this floor either," I assumed when I got to the third floor entrance. I quickly went down to the third floor. [Clay golem regular soldier] [Armored clay golem soldier] [Armored clay golem commander] The third floor golems looked much different than the golems on the first and second floors. These were massive at three meters tall, much bigger than the other golems. "Like that makes much difference." I wasn''t being vain; I knew it for a fact. I lifted my greatsword over my shoulder and walked over to the golems. I wasn''t going to change anything in my attack patterns. It wasn''t like I had any active skills to use, or any passive skills to boost my attack power anyway. I had the Unrivaled skill but all it did was raise my stats by 1,000 points each. I didn''t have anything that could raise my attack power, speed or critical chance. I could only rely on my Stats and hope that they wouldn''t let me get pushed back by my enemies. This plan of attack hadn''t let me down yet, although it meant that I had to fight a little harder. "Chaa!" I put all of my weight on right foot and shot forward, closing the seven-meter gap between us like a race car. My target was the armored clay golem commander that only existed on the third floor. I swung my sword at the golem commander''s leg and at the same time, the golem commander brought its fist crashing down at my head, but missed by half a meter. The blade of my sword hit the golem commander with a clang, instead of slicing right through like it did with the golems on the first and second floor. That didn''t mean the golem commander managed to block all damage from the attack. The blade managed to cut through about ten centimeters into its thigh. The giant golem was not able to completely withstand the attack, and staggered back four paces before falling on its bottom. I charged at the fallen golem, climbing up its back and hacking at its head. I didn''t let up on my attacks and continued to strike at the golem''s head, just like the way I had been doing so far. The golem struggled to get out from under me, but I kept my foot on its elbows to keep it in place. "I will break through your damn armor!" I continued to hack at its head. It was all I could do. [You have gained a level.] I struck the armored golem commander with one more hit, and it finally crumbled into a pile of dirt and dust like the golems I had killed before it. The level up message alert came up as soon as the golem perished. "Looks like I can fell an armored golem just as easily." These third floor armored golems were the reason why melee-classed devas had abandoned this dungeon in the past. I bent down to pick up a mid-grade Clay Golem Nucleus and 27 golden rings that had dropped from the golem commander''s remains. "I should get to the fourth floor first and decide where I want to train." Now that I knew that I could take down the armored clay golems on the third floor, I had to see how I would fare against the dungeon boss. I headed straight for the fourth floor entrance. Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Kill Stealing Isn’t Bad Manners, Part 1 Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Kill Stealing Isn¡¯t Bad Manners, Part 1 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Around the time Lee Jiwon entered the Seorak Mountain dungeon, a dungeon party was resting in the dungeon''s safe room. "Shit! How the hell did we lose another one? How are we supposed to fight the boss now with only five members?" Shin Hyuk raged. The other four members kept their heads bowed. They didn''t want to needlessly make him any angrier. "Fuck!" Shin Hyuk angrily kicked a wall of the safe room. Everything had gone wrong since the beginning. He had thought that all eight members of the raid party would make it to the dungeon. He even had a thousand devas to act as bait to attract the attention of the twin-horned griffon and the griffon monsters. He also had a hundred of Yung Gong Guild''s elite devas to protect him and his designated healer. He thought that at minimum, six of the hundred elites could at least make it into the dungeon with the party. He had the confidence that they could do it. Yet, it all went wrong. Only six of them survived! Only six of the eight party members were able to make it to the dungeon. It was a miracle that he managed to get one of his two designated healers into the dungeon with him. "This is bullshit. Useless worms!" Shin Hyuk grew angrier when he thought about how the thousand devas couldn''t bait the griffons properly, and how a support mage ended up dying in the elite monster room. Chung Song Yi, the only healer of the party, wanted to speak up. Every time she looked away to try to heal someone else, Shin Hyuk scolded her, telling her to focus on him as he was the party''s tank. She couldn''t refuse, as he was the crown prince of the Yung Gong Guild. No one could disobey him. Tired from his tantrum, Shin Hyuk plopped down on a bench. "Only five members¡­" He was the party''s only tank and there was only one healer and three damage dealers left. If the dungeon''s recommended number of party members was four, they wouldn''t have a problem, but it wasn''t. It was eight. That was how strong the dungeon boss was. They really needed that supporter to buff them and debuff the boss. "Do we give up here?" Shin Hyuk was furious. He was absolutely seething, but he wasn''t about to charge into the boss room unprepared. A lot of lives were lost to get him here. He didn''t care about the thousand devas that were used as bait, but more than ninety of the Yung Gong Guild''s elite lost their lives. Including the support mage that just died, a total of ninety five Yung Gong Guild members had incurred a death penalty to get Shin Hyuk to the dungeon. As if the lives lost weren''t enough, the guild had to invest so many items and golden rings for this raid. If he decided to retreat now, the guild would stand to lose more than if the guild decided not to run the raid! "Captain Shin, please calm down for now." Shin Hyuk had been designated the party''s captain for the Seorak dungeon raid. "I know. I''m just frustrated," said Shin Hyuk, heaving a huge sigh. Even though he had just yelled at his four party members in rage, he wasn''t the idiot son of a tycoon, like the ones on TV and books. He knew that once he calmed down, he would be able to think clearly and come up with a solution. He knew who to get angry at, and who to take care of. He didn''t care about the thousand devas that died, but he knew that he had to rely on the four devas in front of him now and in the future. "It''s all the more reason for you to keep your composure. That way, you can keep your subordinates reassured that everything will be fine." "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Kang," Shin Hyuk thanked Kang Il Hwan, his family''s butler, for his advice. "No need to thank me, Captain Shin. I''m only doing my job." "What do you suggest we should do? We can''t stop here, but we also can''t just turn back now," Shin Hyuk asked Kang Il Hwan. Mr. Kang was the one man Shin Hyuk trusted. "If it were me, I would think that turning back for now would be for the best. If we were to challenge the Stone Golem boss with only six members, we would only have a 50-60% chance of success. But now, we only have five, dropping it down to 30%. However, you''re the captain and this is your raid. We have no choice, but to keep going." "We only have a 30% chance to succeed?" "Yes. Still, we must try. If you want to be strong enough to lead the company to further success, you must do things you might not want to do. Even if it means there is a chance you''ll lose a lot. Now is that time." Kang Il Hwan stopped talking to look at Shin Hyuk for a moment. "We''ve already lost a lot coming this far. You might be think we can''t afford to lose any more now, but this situation is different. You were the one who strongly advocated this raid and should you take the least amount of loss from this, those in the Yung Gong Guild will not like it and become restless. Furthermore¡­" "Shin Jisang!" Shin Hyuk roared out the man''s name. Shin Jisang was the son of a prostitute who only spread her legs at hostess bars. Normally, he would have led a quiet life while occasionally receiving money from the Shin family, but that changed with the world. Of course, Shin Jisang was nothing compared to him, who had the full support of his father. But the rest of the guild thought differently. Shin Jisang was still Shin Chang Il''s son. Soon, he would have his own following within the guild. The reason why Shin Hyuk had desperately wanted to raid the Seorak Mountain dungeon also had something to do with how quickly Shin Jisang''s position in the guild had begun to gain traction. He wanted to show that there was a huge difference in strength between the two by showing his might. He thought that it would warn Shin Jisang to keep his place. "It seems that I will face the same embarrassment as Song Haechang." "You''re wrong! Not on your life, young master!" Kang Il Hwan shouted. He called Shin Hyuk young master, like he did in the past, after calling him captain all this time. "You can''t compare yourself with Song Haechang. He''s a failure who couldn''t figure out how to properly utilize his Unrivaled skill. You''re different, young master. You learned the Unrivaled skill and have been using it properly all this time. To think you could compare yourself to him! He''s nothing compared to you!" "I''m still lagging behind Song Haein." "That''s¡­" Kang Il Hwan didn''t know how to reply. Song Haein''s abilities actually were unrivaled. There were two types of people in this world. Those that could make the most of what they had and become the strongest, surpassing everyone else; and those that would take those same resources and always fall short. Song Haein was the former, and Song Haechang was the latter. They had similar levels, similar stats, and similar skills and yet, their results were completely different. "Haa¡­I only said that out of frustration. What should we do now?" "We must film our boss fight. We must show the guild master and the other guild members that we tried; that Captain Shin tried his hardest, but there was nothing he could do; that it wasn''t Captain Shin''s fault and that we were just unprepared and that the timing wasn''t right. That is the best option we have." "I assume we''ll still incur a death penalty?" "Yes. Sometimes, there is justification in loss, and this is that time." "Fine, we''ll do as you suggest. Get things ready, Mr. Kang. We''ll take up the formations and fight the boss as planned." Shin Hyuk knew that he had to take the alternate route now that his main path was closed off to him now. He decided it was best to go with Kang Il Hwan''s advice. They needed to give the biggest performance of their lives. "I understand, Captain Shin. I know that we''ll get another chance if we wait. No matter how hard Shin Jisang tries to make a better name for himself, you will always be the heir to the Yung Gong Guild." "Thank you for at least saying that. OK. Let''s do it! Who knows? We could defeat the dungeon boss like heroes, even if we only have a 30% chance to do so!" ----- After spending two hours to fully rest up and go over their battle plans, the five party members simultaneously turned on the mini camcorders that were affixed to their shoulders. Once they were ready, they walked into the boss room to challenge the boss of the Seorak Mountain dungeon. Shing Hyuk had no idea that his words he said in empty would come true. He would be too busy trying to keep himself alive, and couldn''t have expected that a masked person would come in unexpectedly and take his prey from under his nose. -------- I sprinted past the clay golems on the third floor and made a beeline for the fourth floor entrance. After about twenty-five minutes, I finally arrived. "If there aren''t any elite monsters around, then that means the party either already killed the boss, or the raid is currently underway. If there are elite monsters, then that means that I''m alone in this dungeon." There was a chance that I had missed the party as I ran through the first three floors. I did keep a look out, but I didn''t look over every nook and cranny. "If that''s the case, then I could take my time going back up and see if there really is anyone else in the dungeon." I went down to the fourth floor and I saw that there indeed were no elite monsters in the elite monster room. "Damn it. Did they already defeat the boss?" I quickly crossed the elite room and stood in front of the door to the safe room. I had to see if there was anyone still there. I opened up my inventory and took out my suitcase. I took out a t-shirt and wrapped it around my face. There was a yellow duck printed on the shirt; it used to be a trend and people used to call it Duck Duck. "Set Orc Champion''s Armor to visible mode." The shabby-looking armor appeared over my body. I carefully opened the door to the safe room and walked in. There was no one inside, but I could hear sounds of fierce fighting from the boss room. I also heard the occasional shout. I briskly walked over to the boss room door and stuck my head through to see what was going on. That was when I saw him. -Isn''t that Shing Hyuk?- The crown prince of the Yung Gong Guild! There was no way I didn''t know about him! -It is the Yung Gong Guild, as I expected. It really is the only guild that could come up with something this crazy. Wait a second... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5? There are only five party members in this raid? Or did only five of them make it here? Or did a few of them die during the fight?- The battle wasn''t going well for the party, but the same could be said for the Stone Golem. The Stone Golem''s rocky form was cracked and full of dents. It had taken quite a bit of damage. Shin Hyuk''s party and the Stone Golem were both fighting viciously. No, it was safer to say that the party''s teamwork was dazzling. They were slowly overwhelming the Stone Golem. What should I do? Now that I knew it was the Yung Gong Guild, I had to interfere. It was what I decided I would do before I stepped foot into the dungeon. But when I saw the boss monster, I had second thoughts. Stepping in and killing the boss before they do is a pretty big insult¡­ and I won''t be able to go inside dungeons for another month. The dungeon blessing. I finally made it to the Seorak dungeon, and to wait another month was going to put a pretty big dent in my plans. Should I still do it? I won''t have many chances to screw the Yung Gong Guild over. This is an once-in-a-lifetime chance. Shin Hyuk is here, too. I can''t let this go. I hated the Yung Gong Guild just by looking at them. I never had the misfortune to become one of their victims, but I constantly heard about the shit they did and their victims'' stories almost every day for eleven years. I never heard anything good about them, and never saw them do any good during those eleven years. I couldn''t come up with a reason to think that the Yung Gong Guild had a drop of good within them. I thought worse of them when they joined forces with the Nayuta Guild. To me, everyone in the Yung Gong Guild was trash. Everyone else felt the same way towards them back then. Even now, I still held those negative feelings. I continued watching from the doorway, looking for the right timing. My first target was the party''s healer! Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Kill Stealing Isn’t Bad Manners, Part 2 Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Kill Stealing Isn¡¯t Bad Manners, Part 2 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Out of the way! I''ll block it!" "Heal! Get ready to heal! DPS, fall back!" Shin Hyuk charged in ahead of his teammates and brought his Rank 6 Giant''s Shield up close to his shoulder in front of the Stone Golem, bracing for the impact. The Stone Golem unleashed its Rockslide on top of Shin Hyuk. "Gahhh!" Boulders the size of a full-grown adult crashed down upon Shin Hyuk. His grunt of pain could be heard from beneath the boulders. "Chun Song Yi! Don''t stop healing! We must persevere!" Kang Il Hwan quickly took over command and shouted to Chung Song Yi. "Got it!" The Stone Golem''s Rockslide rained down boulders for seven seconds, and Shin Hyuk couldn''t be seen beneath it. Finally, the boulders shifted, and Shin Hyuk got up with his shield still raised. "I''m alright. Go! Attack now!" "Continue your attacks! Take up formation one!. Attack once and retreat. Don''t get greedy!" Once Kang Il Hwan noticed that Shin Hyuk was still up, he ordered the other two damage dealers to follow him and attack. Kang Il Hwan was an archer and used his wide view of the battlefield to give out the proper orders. He and Shin Hyuk had made that decision just prior to the raid. "The healer can''t help you. Look out for your health on your own and don''t be hasty!" Their only healer could only aid Shin Hyuk, who was taking the brunt of the Stone Golem''s attacks. The dealers were strong enough that they wouldn''t die from a hit or two, but it had already been three hours into the battle; they couldn''t afford to take any more hits. All they could do was to rely on potions and back off until the potion''s cooldown expired before they could use another one. Kang Il Hwan hadn''t expected Shin Hyuk to fight this hard. He did tell him to at least look the part, but he was doing much better than anticipated. The most important part of being a tank was being able to take a boss''s attack and remain standing. That was the main role of a tanker, but there was more to being the perfect tank. The perfect tanker could not only block a boss monster''s attacks, but also keep the boss monster''s attention on the tanker, and away from the other party members. This was known as aggro. A tank''s skill in combat was based on the tank''s ability to aggro monsters. The better the aggro, the safer the damage dealers were in battle. If the boss monster wasn''t focused on them, they could unleash more attacks and skills onto the boss. In other words, good aggro shortened the length of a boss raid! Shin Hyuk''s skill as a tanker was only C-grade. Compared to Song Haein''s B-grade, his skills definitely lagged behind. However, the dazzling skills and aggro retention Shin Hyuk was showing right now were that of a B-grade. Thanks to Shin Hyuk''s enthusiasm in the fight, the entire party saw a ray of hope that they could succeed. The damage dealers decided not to give up, and put more effort into their attacks. "Damn it! Chun Song Yi, how much more do we have left?" Shin Hyuk asked Chun Song Yi, who had the Detect Skill, after retreating from the Stone Golem''s attacks for a moment. "Its health is below 10% now." Shin Hyuk felt conflicted with what she just told him. They went into this battle, half-expecting to give up halfway through the fight, but sometime in the middle of the battle, they were giving it their all. Shin Hyuk had led many boss monster raids at the Eulsukdo dungeon. The Seorak dungeon was a low-grade dungeon like the one in Eulsukdo, but this boss was much stronger, so much stronger that it was recommended to have a minimum of eight party members. The Eulsukdo dungeon only needed six. The Eulsukdo dungeon was also in the middle of his guild''s territory, and he had raided it a few times to see what his abilities were like. He had never failed. Of course, he always went with a full party of six, and they were all elites of the Yung Gong Guild. He was able to consistently and easily fell the dungeon boss monster. This Seorak dungeon was very difficult for Shin Hyuk, even with all that experience. His party of eight had fallen to five total members. They had a 70% chance of failing. They didn''t expect to succeed when they first entered the boss room. They were severely unprepared for the battle. They were thinking about the best way to die during the raid. But this difficult and seemingly impossible boss raid seemed to have awakened something in Shin Hyuk. Shin Hyuk''s determination was like a weed that bloomed into flower amidst the struggle. "Out of the way!" When Shin Hyuk noticed that the Stone Golem shifted its focus to a greatsword-wielding warrior, he rushed in. He raised his shield in front of him and charged at the Stone Golem. "Provoke!" Shin Hyuk cried out as he crashed his shield into to the Stone Golem''s leg. The Golem turned around to face Shin Hyuk; he had successfully aggroed the boss once more! "I told you not to attack too many times in a row. Its HP is below 10% now. I''ll block all of its attacks, so retreat after attacking once. We''re done for if we lose one more!" The Stone Golem had a very high health regeneration rate. If they lost one more damage dealer, they wouldn''t be able to effectively lower the boss''s health, and would end up losing the battle. "Yes, sir! I''m sorry!" The Stone Golem turned its body to bring its fist crashing down once more on Shin Hyuk. Shin Hyuk was a typical tanker with low AGI. He didn''t think about dodging the attack and raised his shield once more to brace himself. The crash of impact was teeth-rattling! "Attack again and retreat!" "Double Power Shot!" "Mighty Blow!" "Heart Strike!" Once the Stone Golem attacked Shin Hyuk, the three damage dealers shot off their most powerful skills. When the Stone Golem turned to face them, Shin Hyuk raised his shield and intercepted the Golem again. "Shield Bash! Provoke!" He raised his shield above his head and slammed it down on the Golem''s foot. He used his Provoke skill to make the Stone Golem focus on him once more. -------------- -They''re doing pretty well, aren''t they?- The party''s teamwork was top notch. The three damage dealers attacked the Stone Golem at the exact moment Shin Hyuk held the Golem''s aggro. Shin Hyuk didn''t let himself be stopped by the Stone Golem''s attacks, either. Every time he was pushed back or fell, he got right back up and charged back in. It was simple, but a widely used technique, if the tank was good enough. "Heal, Flourishing Cure Incense!" The healer, Chun Song Yi, was healing Shin Hyuk every time he got damaged. She also used an AoE healing spell so that the damage dealers could restore at least a little bit of their health. "What percent is it at?" Shin Hyuk, asked as he retreated once more. "It''s a 3% now. If we keep this up, we can finish it within 5-10 minutes. We five can defeat an eight-man boss raid!" "Let me know when it''s at 1%. We''re going to change history today!" "Yes!" Chun Song Yi shouted in a shaky voice, as if what Shin Hyuk said got her all worked up. However, to me, it sounded as if she was inviting me to burst in. I slowly crept into the boss room. I had covered my face with a shirt and I made my armor visible. Now what? My clothes smelled a little off from being stuck in the suitcase for four years straight. The shirt I randomly pulled out had a large duck printed on it. I ripped holes in the duck''s eyes so that I could see through it and tightly tied the shirt around my head. "Is that all I need to do? Ah. Open Stats Menu!..." I gained two levels traveling through the Seorak dungeon. It was only 40 Stat points in all, but I wanted this to be perfect and put them all into my STR. "My first target is the healer. I''ll stealthily take her out, and then take out the archer. If I can take both of them out at once, it would be perfect." I tightened my hold on my trusty greatsword''s grip. "I''m ready." At the same time, I heard the healer speak out. "The Stone Golem''s health is at 2% now!" I moved as soon as she spoke. The healer kept herself at a far distance from the fight and stood the closest to the door to the safe room. She was in the perfect position to be my first target. I barely walked five steps and I was right behind her. Not a single one of them noticed me approach. I walked right up to her and stabbed her in the back with my greatsword. Because of her weak physical DEF, the blade easily went through and came out her front. "Haah!" Air escaped from the healer''s mouth like air escaping a balloon. I wasn''t here to revel in the sound and quickly covered her mouth with my hand. I wrapped my elbow around her neck. "Urgh¡­guh¡­" The healer gasped to try to breathe, but could only look at me with confused and indignant eyes. She could only see my eyes through the eyeholes I made. "You''re from the Yung Gong Guild, right? Nice to meet ya." The healer struggled to get away from me, but with the blade still impaling her through her back and my chokehold on her, it was all in vain. Soon, she lost all strength in her body and collapsed. She couldn''t last long with her low VIT. The archer was my next target. I approached carefully, as this was the guy who had taken command of the party in Shin Hyuk''s stead. The archer was so completely focused on the battle and the Stone Golem in front of him that he didn''t notice me behind him. I came up right behind him and quickly thrust my sword at him to stab him in the back. The blade managed to sink in but thanks to his high AGI, he rolled forward the moment he felt the blade enter him. He actually managed to avoid the brunt of the attack with his quick reaction, but the damage was already done. I walked towards him. "Gah! Who the hell are you?" Shin Hyuk and the other two damage dealers finally turned to look at me when they heard the archer''s scream. They just stood there, staring at me, confused as to what was going on. "Duck¡­Duck?" Dumbfounded, the archer looked up at me and asked, half to me and half to himself. Rather than reply, I charged at the archer to take him out first. The archer hadn''t gotten back up from rolling yet, and I tackled him with my shoulder and shoved him to the ground. I hit him in the face with the pommel of my sword. "Motherf...! What the fuck¡­get off!" The archer swore and brought his hands up to try to cover his face, but I was too strong for him to block any of my attacks. "Gek!" With one final blow, the archer''s head split open and the archer died, his body disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Shin Hyuk and the other two remained frozen on the spot. They just stared at me, eyes wide open. I turned to Shin Hyuk and spoke to him. "Hey. You''re going to get hit if you just stand there." "Oh, crap!" The Stone Golem swung kicked at Shin Hyuk and struck his side. Unable to properly defend against the attack, he flew across the room. "Ohh¡­you should be more careful. I told you that you were going to get hit," I said to Shin Hyuk in a low voice, as he was gasping in pain. "Who the fuck are you?" "What the !ell are you doing here?" The two damage dealers finally snapped out of their shock when Shin Hyuk was flung to the side, and shouted at me together. "Me?" I pointed to myself. "I''m¡­well¡­hmm¡­Duck Duck? Yeah, that''s right. I''m the Stone Golem''s friend, Duck Duck. You messed with my friend. For that, I''ll kill you all!" In that instant, I recalled what the archer called me and decided to introduce myself as the Stone Golem''s pal, Duck Duck! ============= Editor''s Note: Yes, we can hear you screaming out "GOOOOOOSE!" all the way over here. Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Kill Stealing Isn’t Bad Manners, Part III Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Kill Stealing Isn¡¯t Bad Manners, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Once I saw the Stone Golem approach Shin Hyuk, I charged at the damage dealers. I knew that they were exhausted after watching them fight. They were barely hanging on with potions. I rushed at the broadsword wielder to the right, raised my sword over my head, and swung down at his head. The warrior saw me coming and raised his own sword to block my incoming attack. The blades crashed into each other with a screech of metal. The warrior lost in the battle of strength, and dropped to one knee. He looked over and saw that my blade had managed to break through his defense and slice into his shoulder. "Fuck! How high is your STR?" "Who knows? It''s not like I''ll tell you, though." I raised my foot and kicked the warrior in this chest. He didn''t have a chance to block my attack and rolled back three meters. He must have still had HP leftover and got up right away. "Damn, this guy''s STR is crazy high," the broadsword warrior muttered to his comrade. "We''ll attack him together." "Right." The two melee fighters charged at me in tandem, but I wasn''t daunted. They were tired from the long battle, and I was still lively. I glanced at Shin Hyuk who was still blocking the Stone Golem''s attacks, and rushed forward to attack the melee fighters first. The broadsword warrior stabbed at my chest, while the greatsword warrior swung at my right shoulder. I was going to let the greatsword slice through my shoulder and focus on the broadsword warrior''s attack. It would be easier for me if I took out one of them first, rather than to try to take on both at the same time. "Mighty Blow!" "Heart Strike!" I saw that the Mighty Blow from the greatsword wielder dealt a total of 40,000 health points, but thanks to my already high health, my shoulder wasn''t hurt very much. I blocked the Heart Strike with the broad side of my greatsword. Because of the skill''s power, I still managed to lose another 10,000 health points and felt a strong repulsive force from the attack. "Fuck! His VIT is high, too." "My Heart Strike can''t find its mark." The two warriors must have fought together many times as their movements were in complete synch. But no amount of teamwork could ever work against a foe so much stronger than them. "My turn. Rahh!" I swung my sword at the broadsword warrior''s hip with full intent to cut him in half. "Look out!" "Shit!" Despite the greatsword warrior''s warning, the broadsword warrior couldn''t do anything but watch as the blade of my sword slice cleanly through his body. His body promptly vanished into a cloud of smoke. "And then there was one." "Shit! Who the fuck are you? Why are you doing this?" "Didn''t I just tell you? I''m the Stone Golem''s friend, Duck Duck. Don''t dismiss our friendship so easily." "You¡­" The greatsword warrior''s face turned bright red at my reply. I didn''t have all day to joke around, and rushed at him. "Berserker''s Roar! Raaahhh!" The warrior shouted as soon as I got close to him. The shout was so loud that it felt like my eardrums were going to pop. [You have been afflicted with Fear from Berserker''s Roar.] [Fear prevented by status immunity effect.] The skill managed to stop me dead in my tracks for a split second, but it only made me swing my sword faster at the warrior. "Gak!" The blade of my sword stabbed into the warrior''s chest. But this guy must have had higher defense than the others, as the blade didn''t pierce him. Instead, the force of the blow forced him to roll backwards. His chest wasn''t pierced, but it seemed that he still took significant damage when I noticed that his face looked drained. "Argh! Shit! How could my Berserker''s Roar not work? Does that mean you have the Unrivaled skill? If you do, then people should know who you are! Who are you?" "I''m not telling you. Why don''t you find out yourself?" I approached the collapsed warrior, raised my sword above my head and swung it straight down on him. This time, the sword pierced through. "Once I find¡­" Before he could finish, his body vanished into a cloud of smoke. It took me less than three minutes to wipe out the Yung Gong Guild members, excluding Shin Hyuk. I did ambush them and they were exhausted from fighting the Stone Golem, but I felt very satisfied that I took them all out easily. I turned around to face Shin Hyuk and the Stone Golem. Shin Hyuk had his gaze fixed at me all the while blocking the Stone Golem''s attacks. His eyes were filled with rage. If looks could kill, his glare would have inflicted at least 400,000 points of damage on me. "Who the fuck are you? Argh!" Shin Hyuk bitterly asked me while squeezing his body behind his shield to block the Stone Golem''s unceasing attacks. "I''m Duck Duck!" "You son of a bitch! Don''t fuck with me and tell me who you are! I know you''re not a normal deva; you know the Unrivaled skill! Do you have any idea how severe the consequences are of fucking with us? Are you not afraid of the Yung Gong Guild''s might!?" "I am afraid! That''s why I''m Duck Duck right now! Oh! Be careful. That attack looks pretty strong." As if angered by the previous fight, the Stone Golem used another skill on Shin Hyuk. Its Meteor Fist came crashing down on him. Squeezed behind his shield, Shin Hyuk''s body that was being crushed little by little. Shin Hyuk was slowly being buried in the ground. "I, no, the entire Yung Gong Guild, will find you! We know every single Unrivaled out there! We will find out who you are soon enough. Gah! A merciless vengeance will be waiting for you! Don''t think that you''ll get out of this easily!" Shin Hyuk spat at me through gritted teeth. "I know, right? I''ve come so far. To think that I''m talking to the great Shin Hyuk face to face. But it looks like this conversation is going to be cut short, doesn''t it?" Unable to heal or receive heals during the Stone Golem''s onslaught, Shin Hyuk was heavily weakened. It showed everywhere on him. "Well, have a nice trip. I''ll be sure to make good use of the dungeon treasure. Oh, that''s right. If I get something good from the random chest hmm¡­what can I do? I''ll make good use of that too. But did you know? For some reason, good items do come out in these situations." "You son of a bitch! Just you wait! I''ll find you and I''ll kill you!" Shin Hyuk roared at me so loud that his eyes became bloodshot and his voice became hoarse. I could tell he was really mad. "Someone once told me that the grass is tastier on the other side. That''s not right. Was it greener on the other side? Anyway, thanks for the loot! Oh, before you go, what do you think about someone turning over a new leaf? It''s hard, isn''t it? A leopard can''t change its spots." "Shut the fuck up! You piece of shit! Just you wait! I''ll find your parents, family, friends, and even your distant relatives and kill them all! I''ll make you live through Hell!" "Oh dear¡­looks like I need to be careful from now on. But let me say one thing, too. I''ll make sure the same happens to you, too." I brought my face closer to Shin Hyuk''s raging face and looked straight at him to tell him what I would do as coolly as possible. "I''ll get my reve¡­" Before Shin Hyuk could finish, the Stone Golem completely crushed his body, killing him. His body soon vanished in smoke, as well. "Did I come off too strong?" I asked myself as I watched the smoke dissipate. I knew that from the moment I decided to interfere with the raid, I would make myself an eternal enemy of the Yung Gong Guild. I made that decision proudly, and I would make it again if I could. "I guess I finally got to screw over the Yung Gong Guild, after dreaming about it for so long." I wasn''t sure what was in store for me now, but I didn''t regret what I did. My head was really getting to big for me. The Stone Golem and I were now the only ones left in the boss room. The Stone Golem looked up from Shin Hyuk''s vanished body and turned towards me. "From friend to foe, is it?" I said to myself as I looked at the Stone Golem. I tightened my hold on my sword''s grip. The Stone Golem charged at me. But, unfortunately for it, it was a boss monster whose health was at rock bottom now. I met the Golem''s charge and swung my sword in the air. The Stone Golem''s attack smashedinto me, but I ignored it and continued to attack. This raid was already 99% over. I had no reason to take my time. After my fifth attack, the Stone Golem stopped moving. Its body crumbled into a pile of rocks and collapsed to the floor. [You have leveled up.] [You have leveled up.] : : [You have leveled up.] Multiple level up alerts came up in front of me consecutively. There was no one else in the boss room, and all of the boss''s experience was transferred to me. "Damn! I just gained 22 levels at once!" I rummaged through the dead Stone Golem''s body as I watched the message alerts come up. "Sweet! 1,809,000 golden rings!" Among the million plus golden rings, I found a high-grade Stone Golem Nucleus and 29 Magic Stones. I would have been pissed off it that was all I found, but fortunately, there two more items that shone with blue light. They were rare items that could be Ranked anywhere from 4-6. One of them was a pair of gauntlets, and the other was a ring. I decided to check the gauntlets first, as I didn''t expect much from them. ---------------- [Stone Golem''s Sturdy Stone Gauntlets (Rank 4) A pair of gauntlets made from the magic stones from the body of a Stone Golem. The gauntlets boast high DEF and high penetration resistance thanks to its material. However, because it is made of stone, its weight decreases attack speed. Decrease attack speed by 4% Increase VIT by 60 Chance to avoid critical hits decreased by 37% Increase penetration resistance by 8 Durability: 675/1000 Increase DEF by 350, increase MDEF by 40] -------------------- "That''s more like it." It had decent effects for only being a Rank 4 gauntlet. My attention went elsewhere, however, as there was something a little better. Of all equipment types, the most sought after and useful were weapons. Weapons had the most valuable effects: critical rate, critical damage, and penetration. Having good weapons was also the best way to greatly boost ATT. One good weapon was the same as having multiple accessories and pieces of armor equipped. Armor and accessories were always secondary. Accessories themselves were rare. They were expensive, and their drop rates were extremely low. That was why some people sought more accessories than weapons. "I managed to find a Rank 6 belt at the weaker Bukhan Mountain dungeon. This dungeon is stronger." I was always happy to check items. My body tensed with anticipation. "Item check!" ------------------- [Stone Golem''s Sturdy Stone Ring (Rank 5) A ring made from a magic stone from the body of a Stone Golem. The ring boasts high DEF and MDEF thanks to its material. Increase STR by 50 Increase HP by 30,000, increase MP by 6,000 Critical chance increase by 1.2%, chance to avoid critical hits increased by 55% Decrease chance to avoid physical skills by 2.5% Increase penetration resistance by 5 Increase DEF by 195, increase MDEF by 5] ----------------------- "It''s Rank 5. That''s more than good enough! Finding that Rank 6 belt was just too much. Finding anything above Rank 7 there would be just too crazy." I was more than satisfied with what I just found. I would have been happy if it was a Rank 4! "I would have preferred VIT and WIL instead of health and mana, though." If it were my VIT and WIL that were increased, my HP, MP and DEF and MDEF would have gone up together. I could have knocked two birds with one stone ring. I slipped my hands into the gauntlets. [You have equipped Stone Golem''s Sturdy Stone Gauntlets (Rank 4). Do you wish to toggle on the gauntlets'' outer appearance?] "No." The gauntlets began to fade from view until they were completely invisible. I put on the stone ring right afterwards and set that one to invisible, as well¡­ Chapter 68: Chapter 67: Kill Stealing Isn’t Bad Manners, Part IV Chapter 68: Chapter 67: Kill Stealing Isn¡¯t Bad Manners, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED After I picked up the Stone Golem''s drops, I turned to face the remaining items. "Look at that; eight whole random chests!" I was still shivering in excitement after finding the Stone Ring. There were still more goodies to come! Eight chests appeared, as the recommended number of party members for the Seorak dungeon boss raid was eight. These eight beautiful chests were all mine! "Whew. I need to calm down. These are just bonuses like last time. I barely had to work for these chests; the Yung Gong Guild served them up for me on a silver platter. This is going to be good." I started from the rightmost chest this time, and opened it without hesitation. [Death Penalty Restoration (1) gem x3] To be honest, I was alright with it if the first chest was a dud. Last time, when I got three duds in a row, then I found a Rank 8 item. If I got seven duds in a row¡­I wondered what sort of item I would get. But this time, it wasn''t empty. "Not bad. I could definitely use these later on." They were better than not bad. They were great. It was very easy to flip them for golden rings as many people sought them, especially the wealthy. They were always frantically looking for ways to lower their death count. Since leveling and finding decent items became more and more difficult as time went on, an alternative method to becoming stronger was to lower one''s death count! "I''m off to a good start." I quickly put the three gems into my inventory and opened the next chest. There were golden rings inside. "Nice. 30,000 golden rings." I continued to open chests one after another. The third chest had 10,000 golden rings, the fourth had 30,000 golden rings, the fifth had 20,000 golden rings and the sixth had 20,000 golden rings. "This¡­isn''t good." I didn''t like the fact that the five chests all had golden rings inside them. There were so many other goodies out there; why was I only getting golden rings? "Not good. The flow isn''t good at all," I muttered to myself as I stared at the six chests I had just opened. This was worse than opening three duds in a row back at Bukhan Mountain. It was like gambling. Back then, I won big after losing three times in a row. But now, I didn''t lose anything; I made more than I did back then. I turned to look at the remaining two chests. I had two chances left... I heaved a deep sigh before opening the chest on the left. [Blank Warp Scroll x5] Thankfully, it wasn''t more golden rings! "This is good, too." The scrolls were consumable items, but they were very useful. They acted just like Teleport, and were worth much more than the penalty gems. I placed the five scrolls into my inventory as well. After they were all tucked away, I looked up and stared at the remaining chest. "All I got so far are golden rings and consumables. Please, give me a piece of equipment. I''ll take whatever I can at this point," I muttered to myself before opening the final chest. Fortunately, there weren''t any golden rings or consumables inside. The item was one that I had never gotten to use or even seen in my past life, but I frowned when I saw what it was. ------------------ I placed the 110,000 golden rings I got from five of the chests neatly into my inventory and took out the three items I received to check them. "Item check!" ------ [Death Penalty Restoration (1) Gem (Rank 3) Devas lose 2 points to their STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT when they die, for a total of 10 Stat points. One Death Penalty Restoration (1) Gem removes one death penalty from the user''s death count. The Gem returns 2 Stat points to the user''s STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT. One use only No time limit] --------- -------- [Blank Warp Scroll (Rank 3) Go to wherever place you wish; take out the scroll and state "Save current location" to record the location into the scroll. You can return to the recorded location from anywhere else in the world by ripping the scroll. You will be teleported to the recorded location. Consumed after recording a location Dungeons and event locations cannot be recorded Unable to be used during fights.] --------- Just as its description said, one Death Penalty Restoration Gem allowed you to recover from one death penalty. A Blank Warp scroll could record one location of your choosing as long as you commanded it to. You could teleport to that location from anywhere and at any time by ripping the recorded scroll. Each scroll could only record one location and disappeared after use. If there was an important location, people would buy multiple scrolls and record that location so that they could quickly return to it whenever they wanted to. Though similar in effect as Teleport, there were many that didn''t or couldn''t learn Teleportation magic and would use these scrolls as they were available for anyone to use. The scrolls couldn''t be used to escape dangerous battles, but they were still very useful. If you made a mistake deep into a mid-grade dungeon and were unable to go forward or retreat and found yourself stuck in the dungeon, you could use a scroll to get you back to safety. The scrolls were expensive, yes, but it was better than having to take on a death penalty. Of course, there were some instances where it was better to die than to use one... The gems and scrolls were Rank 3, but the value of them was higher than most Rank 4 items. They were even more sought after, as Stores didn''t sell them. "The problem, right now, is this thing." I placed the gems and scrolls back into my inventory and took out the last item I got. "From the Orb of Vitality to this thing¡­I don''t know about this. Item check!" -------- [Damage Link Totem (Rank 7) One of the Link Totems. As long as the Totem is the user''s possession, a portion of damage the user receives is transferred to the Totem. The Totem can absorb a maximum of 15% of damage received. Golden rings can be paid to raise the Totem''s damage absorption threshold. Only one type of Totem can be in possession. Current damage absorption threshold: 5% Golden rings required to increase threshold by 1%: 100,000 golden rings (this amount rises with each level the threshold increases.) Should the Totem be sold to other devas or sold at a Store''s auction house, the threshold is reset back to 5%.] ---------- I sighed as I looked at the Damage Link Totem in my hand. "There are so many items with immediate effects out there. I get something like this again. It was the same with the Orb!" Like the Orb of Vitality, the Totem wasn''t a bad item in the long run. Yet, the Orb collected one VIT point for free. I had to pay to make the Totem better. The Orb was so much better. It wasn''t a Rank 8 item for nothing. I had never seen an item quite like this in the past. It was obviously great for tanks. It was good for anyone; you could almost live the rest of your life without getting damaged by anyone. I was satisfied with what I had received so far, but I couldn''t help but feel that I was a little shafted. I had opened a total of 12 random chests, but didn''t get a single weapon, armor, or accessory from them. "Open Stats Menu! Open Equipment Menu!" ---------- [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 86 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 1,007,500/1,007,500 MP: 130,700/130,700 Strength: 3,924+9 Agility: 4,200 Vitality: 1,955 Willpower: 1,247 Intelligence: 1,247 Unassigned Stat Points: 440 Fatigue: 3 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune from all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 12,246 Physical Defense: 2,600 Magical Attack: 3,741 Magical Defense: 1,421] ---------------- ---------------- [Equipment Menu Weapon: Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Strong Greatsword (Rank 3) Armor: Orc Champion''s Armor (Rank 2) Stone Golem''s Sturdy Stone Gauntlets (Rank 4) Accessories: Red Orc Tribe''s Ruby Encrusted Belt (rank 6) Stone Golem''s Sturdy Stone Ring (Rank 5) Artifacts: Damage Link Totem (Rank 7)] ---------------- "I knew it was a good idea to not lose the boss monster. My Stats Menu and Equipment Menu get better every time." The gauntlets and ring raised my STR by a whopping 110. The ring also raised my health by 30,000, so my health finally surpassed 1,000,000. I was more than satisfied that I got to open the random chests for myself and got the Stone Golem''s drops all for myself. Thanks to my Unrivaled skill, I had gained 440 Stat points from leveling up 22 times. "I''ll set my VIT to 2100 and put the rest in STR." If I continued to rely on my Orb of Vitality, there was a chance that I was going to get so badly hurt that I wouldn''t be able to recover in time. I was going to use it one day, but that was in the far future. I had to make sure my VIT was high enough until then. "OK. I''m all set." I had quite a bit of golden rings saved up now, but it wasn''t enough for the Totem. I needed a million just to raise its threshold by 1%, and would need more golden rings to raise it even further. I gave one last smile at my Stats Menu and left the boss room to the safe room. ------------- [You have received a blessing for defeating the 83rd low-grade dungeon''s boss. Blessing effect: Granted skill ''Create Safety Crystal'' for 30 days. (After 30 days, this skill will be removed.) The ''Create Safety Crystal'' skill does not consume skill points. Hunt field monsters for 30 days and a Safety Crystal will amass experience points. On the 1st, 10th, and 30th day, the crystal will take form and you will be able to receive the Safety Crystal. You will be restricted from entering another dungeon for 30 days.] --------------- "I know already. I had to beat the boss knowing I''ll get it." I ignored the alert that came up when I left the boss room and sat down in the safe room. The gemstones in the middle of the room shone with a blue light and I could see that the counter was at 167. In 167 minutes, I would be teleported to the dungeon''s entrance. "Since I won''t be able to enter a dungeon for thirty days, where should I hunt for the time being?" I didn''t regret what I had to do, but now, I had to switch up my plans. "I was going to stick around here for a month and level until at least 200¡­" I still had to raise my level by at least another hundred, but that was easier said than done. The difference in experience needed from level 99 to 100 was far less than the experience needed from level 101 to 102. It was the same concept for level 100 to 200. In other words, I needed a lot of experience points. But, fortunately for me, I could easily cut down monsters with my specs. I knew that I could reach level 200 at a much faster pace than anyone else. If I could hunt in dungeons, I could do it even faster. "Should I hunt giant spiders?" I thought of Paju, which was completely infested with giant spiders, which were very easy prey for me. "OK. I''ll start off at Paju. If after a week, I''m leveling too slowly, I''ll come up with a different solution. I''ll go abroad if I have to." There were two entities that I had to avoid for the time being: the Hitman Guild, and the Yung Gong Guild. I wasn''t sure about the Hitman Guild, but I knew that the Yung Gong Guild didn''t know who I was. I had covered my face and they''d never expect that a low-leveled deva like me was able to learn the Unrivaled skill. The skill was crazy expensive and it just didn''t make sense that a no-name deva could ever be able to learn it. Not even Song Daechul and Song Haein knew that I had the Unrivaled skill! "It was a stroke of genius on their part that they were able to find out that I had the skill from the Berserker''s Roar. The biggest problem right now is the Hitman Guild." I was able to free myself from Kim Jihan''s Frostbite, but I doubted they knew or cared about the Unrivaled skill. I didn''t feel afraid or threatened by the Hitman Guild, but it would be annoying to run into them again. I needed time, enough time to get explosively stronger! If I headed straight to Paju, I would be able to avoid their eyes. "I should take my time and do everything in order. That''ll be more than enough." I finalized my plans and put my legs up in the safe room. I wasn''t able to go back up to the third floor anyway, since I defeated the boss. There was nothing else to do for three hours. Besides the location, my plans to power level didn''t change. Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Find the Duck Duck!, Part I Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Find the Duck Duck!, Part I Translated by HunterW Edited by RED Three hours later, Shin Hyuk respawned at the Yung Gong Guild headquarters. Unable to contain his fury, he began picking up and throwing things around him. "That son of a bitch! I''ll tear him apart! I''ll rip out his eyes and shove them down his throat!" He threw his chair across the room, flipped his desk over, and toppled over his fridge, but even though he completely trashed his room, his anger wouldn''t subside. Fifteen minutes earlier, Chun Song Yi had already respawned and given her report to the guild master. Shin Chang Il and a few others were in the room watching Shin Hyuk rampage, but no one moved to stop him. They all knew exactly how he felt. "Shin Hyuk, that''s enough now. We''ll have our revenge." "He''s right. He''ll pay for crossing the Yung Gong Guild. Calm yourself." Shin Chang Il and his brother, Shin Guhyuk finally stepped in. "Haah...Haah... Father, I swear I''ll¡­!" "I know. Follow me." Shin Hyuk followed his father out, still seething and panting. He knew that no matter how many things he broke, nothing could calm his anger. The only thing that could calm him was if he tore that bastard in half with his own hands! --- In a conference room on the 37th floor of the Yung Gong Guild headquarters, Shin Hyuk and that other party members that fought with him to the end were seated at one side of the table. Guild master Shin Chang Il, his brother Shin Guhyuk, the vice-master Lee Dukhu, and eleven other analysts were gathered in the room as well. They all focused on a video that was being projected. Crash! "Block it!" "Don''t get greedy." Boom! "Out of the way! Provoke!" The video showed a magnificent battle. The five-man party was heroically taking on an eight-man dungeon boss. Shin Hyuk''s battle skills were especially stunning. Shin Chang Il and the analysts occasionally glanced over at Shin Hyuk, as if they were astounded at this new man. No doubt they were impressed. Shin Hyuk had showed incredible tanking skills, despite being heavily outmatched and unprepared. They could feel his will to absolutely defeat the boss and to block all of its attacks. They watched him fight tenaciously for over an hour and a half. They could hear Chun Song Yi call out the boss''s health status now and then. Every time her voice came out, Shin Chang Il and the analysts clenched their fists harder and harder. A few minutes later, Chun Song Yi spoke out. "He should appear soon." Everyone in the room leaned forward in their chairs and concentrated on the video. The stranger had appeared at the worst opportune time for Shin Hyuk and his party. Just when Chun Song Yi called out that the boss''s health fell to 2%, a large sword blade appeared through her chest. There was no warning at all. The small one-centimeter button cam that was mounted on her shoulder could only capture the blade. A voice that only the five party members heard echoed through the room. "You''re from the Yung Gong Guild, right? Nice to meet ya." A shiver ran down everyone''s spines except for the party members. The stranger''s face or body wasn''t shown in the video. They could only see his arm wrap around Chun Song Yi''s neck. Perhaps that was why it was so creepy. No one could have expected him. He was like a ghost. "I couldn''t react with the blade of his sword impaling me completely and his arm squeezing my neck. His strength was too high for me," Chun Song Yi commented as she watched the video. They continued to watch the events unfold. They saw the archer, Kang Il Hwan roll forward from being stabbed in the back, but he had already taken enough damage. But thanks to his tumble, they were finally able to see what this stranger looked like. "Duck¡­Duck?" "Isn''t that Duck Duck?" Shin Chang Il and Shin Guhyuk already knew about the Duck Duck. But the analysts were dumbstruck to see the cute Duck Duck in such a place with its eyes ripped out. Everyone knew about Duck Duck. It used to be a popular character, back before the Otadolon stage began. ''I''m¡­well¡­hmm¡­Duck Duck? Yeah, that''s right. I''m the Stone Golem''s friend, Duck Duck. You messed with my friend! For that, I''ll kill you all!'' Shin Hyuk ground his teeth at the masked stranger''s sarcasm. He could feel his rage bubbling back up again. "Hmm¡­" "This is¡­" Everyone else in the room was visibly uncomfortable at Duck Duck''s mockery and awkwardly cleared their throats. The man was obviously not taking the party seriously. The five of them were considered the strongest in the guild, and they were made complete fools of. It was understandable that their egos were heavily wounded. They watched in silent anger as Duck Duck easily took down the two warriors and stood idly by while Shin Hyuk was crushed by the Stone Golem. To Lee Kitae, the supervisor of the analysis team, it looked like the stranger happily watched Shin Hyuk die, as if he was at a movie theater. All he needed was a bucket of popcorn. Lee Kitae ground his teeth in anger at the resemblance. The video ended with Duck Duck waving off Shin Hyuk''s threats as if they were a child''s tantrum. "..." "..." "..." No one said anything. Silence enveloped the conference room for several minutes. Shin Chang Il snapped from his stupor and quietly asked, "Are we¡­ able to find out who he is?"His question came out as a slight whisper, but everyone in the room clearly heard what he said. They felt his anger from his quiet voice. "The man who calls himself Duck Duck is an Unrivaled. Since the skill is expensive and there is the limit of 114 devas, we should be able to find out his identity," Shin Soogil, the Yung Gong Guild''s head of Intelligence, replied. "Find him no matter what. Make use of whatever resources we have. We will make him regret his decision to even think about crossing the Yung Gong Guild." "Yes, sir. Understood." Shin Chang Il was more furious that his guild was insulted in such a manner than failing the raid. He didn''t know who this Duck Duck person was, or what organization he belonged to, but he vowed to have his vengeance on him no matter the cost. No one in the room objected to his order. They were also part of the Yung Gong Guild. The Duck Duck person didn''t just attack the raid party; he attacked the Yung Gong Guild as a whole! ------------------------- After about three hours, the counter in the gemstones turned to 0, and I was warped out to the dungeon''s entrance. I quickly hid in the nearby woods in case the twin-horned griffon or a crown of griffons was nearby. "Good. They''re not here." I took out two Blank Warp Scrolls. "Save current location. Current location name: Seorak Mountain Dungeon entrance." ---------- [Would you like to record your current location to this Warp Scroll? Yes/No] --------- I pressed the Yes button. ---------- [Seorak Mountain Dungeon entrance has been recorded in this Warp Scroll.] ---------- The two scrolls shone from white to blue, indicating that they had turned into Rank 4 items. "Item check!" ---------- [Activated Warp Scrolls (Rank 4) This Warp Scroll has been activated. Ripping this Activated Warp Scroll will teleport you to its recorded location. Name of recorded location: Seorak Mountain Dungeon entrance Consumed after use Unable to use during fights] ---------------- "Perfect." I recorded two scrolls to make it easier to come back here. It took me more than two days to come here. If I could come back in an instant with one scroll, it was damn well worth it. "Besides, I doubt I''ll be lucky again if I make the trip." It was really lucky that I didn''t encounter the twin-horned griffon at least once. I was confident that I could avoid crowns of griffons, but I wasn''t too sure about the griffon boss. It was probably thanks to the Yung Gong Guild''s dumb charge all the way here that I didn''t get to see the griffon boss. Either way, I had decided to activate two scrolls to make my life much easier. I put the activated scrolls into my inventory. ------------------- I carefully descended the side of the mountain. A few crowns of griffons flew by me overhead, but I was able to hide between the trees and they flew past without noticing me. I was able to safely make it to Inje on the first day and to Chuncheon on the second. On the third day, I left Chuncheon and sprinted for Gapyeong. On the way to the dungeon, I had heard that the griffons were slowly encroaching on the area, but I saw no sign of them and sprinted at breakneck speeds. On the fourth day, I left Gapyeong and headed for Pocheon by crossing the Yeonin Mountain National Park. ------------------------ "Wow¡­ Pocheon is being used as a stronghold as well." I had planned to cross through Pocheon City and Dongducheon to get to Paju, but I hadn''t expected that Pocheon had become an outpost like Namyangju. I remembered that Gimpo and Ilsan were outposts in the past. The land to the north of the Han River wasn''t safe. The Sunbin Guild had poured all of its resources into securing the south side of the river. I didn''t expect the border to be this far north. "I wonder if it''s a testament to the Sunbin Guild''s new strength." I thought that it was nice that the guild was able to push the monsters this far back. I had been out for more than three days and decided to shack up for the night here at Pocheon. "Hold there!" As I got closer to the city, I noticed that there was a border barricade set up with guards posted. "Who goes there?" "I was out hunting and missed curfew." There were two guards posted at the gate, but only one of them came forward and scanned me with his eyes. "You may enter. It''s dangerous to go out alone at night. Leveling is good and all, but you''ll lose all your hard work if you die out there." "Yes, thank you." The guards let any deva in as long as they weren''t criminals and worked at clearing out the fields for them. It was 10 PM when I entered the city, but the streets were still full of people. Most of them were devas, but there mortals here and there. I also saw several groups of friends drinking and singing jovially. "I guess Pocheon is pretty safe, or there are a lot of strong devas around here." The outpost had to be more than safe to see such activities. I walked down the street until I came across several motels. I walked into the biggest one. "Welcome!" "I''d like a room for a day, please." "It''ll be 85 golden rings." I took out the golden rings to pay the man and went up to my room. I first took a shower, then left the motel to eat at the attached all-hours restaurant. After stuffing myself, I went back up to my room. "Eating real food is way better than eating Store bread." I had eaten Store bread and drinks for six days straight. They weren''t bad, but they also didn''t taste like anything. They were just enough to fill me for a day. I laid down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Paju isn''t a bad choice, but maybe I''ll check around the area here first. That way I can easily rest at night." I would have to stay out in the wilderness while hunting in Paju, but I had just done that for six days straight now. I didn''t want to go right back into it. Paju was also about forty kilometers away from Pocheon. It was only a thirty-minute run away, so I decided it wasn''t a bad idea to stay at Pocheon for a few days. I knew that the Hitman Guild couldn''t get to me here, so I was at least free of that worry. This outpost wasn''t that big, and the guild that ran the outpost seemed to be very hands on in dealing with any problems that arose. Had the guild been lax in its security, this outpost definitely wouldn''t have lasted this long. I decided to stay around Pocheon for a little longer to stay away from the bugs that were probably still after me. Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Find the Duck Duck! Part II Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Find the Duck Duck! Part II Back at the Han Dong building in Yeouido, the five Gnosis Guild members that were tasked to investigate were gathered once more at their small conference room. Alpha was leading the meeting once more. "What is Duck Duck supposed to be?" Jay asked. "It¡­ can''t be the Duck Duck I know, right? You know that cute Duck Duck character? I still have a plushy of it," Lim Gina replied apprehensively. "Unfortunately, it seems we missed our timing." Jay''s Clairvoyance didn''t make her omniscient. Currently, her Clairvoyance skill was only at level 1, and could only be used for up to two hours a day. She could increase the time limit by an hour after raising its level by one, but that was all the guild had to work with. Her Clairvoyance also didn''t show her everything. She couldn''t observe what happened in dungeons or shielded places. The Gnosis Guild was very guarded with their information, in case their subjects got suspicious. "That''s why I told you to return to the guild earlier, but you didn''t listen to me, Jay," Han Yongsuk said to Jay, after being quiet the whole time. "I was half a percent away from leveling up. How could I return early? I just needed another hour." "You still should have returned and kept watching the Yung Gong Guild." Clairvoyance didn''t reveal past events or the future; only the present. If Jay missed it, she missed it. "Tsk!" Jay pouted. "That''s enough. What''s done is done," Alpha broke in to bring the meeting back on topic. "What we know now is that the Yung Gong Guild failed to defeat the Seorak Mountain dungeon boss." Jay''s Clairvoyance only revealed the later part of the Yung Gong Guild''s meeting, but they saw enough. They were able to see Shin Chang Il, Shin Hyuk, and Lee Dukgyu discuss the failed raid with gloomy expressions. Jay''s Clairvoyance only showed what was happening with no sound. They had to read the atmosphere and the speakers'' lips. It was extremely difficult, as they had to do so for several people. There was a high chance that they could miss something important, but fortunately for the Gnosis Guild, they had the analyst, Lim Gina. She could see what no one else could. She could deduce even the slightest lip movements. "They talked about Duck Duck the most. It also seems that Shin Hyuk came close to defeating the boss, but someone got in the way. They want to find Duck Duck and take their revenge on him. They seem very angry. I think this is the most angry I''ve ever seen Shin Chang Il." She continued to report the final minutes of the meeting to her comrades. The Yung Gong Guild''s meeting was concluded and Jay spent thirty more minutes watching other parts of the guild to find anything else, but everyone seemed to talk about Duck Duck the most. "OK. Let''s wrap it up. Here''s what we know so far. First, Shin Hyuk came close to defeating the dungeon boss. Second, someone unexpectedly interfered and killed the entire party, causing the guild to fail the raid. Third, that someone is called Duck Duck," said Alpha to the other four members. "Then¡­" "Why beat around the bush? It''s obvious Duck Duck is Lee Jiwon," Lim Gina cut in. "See? I told you there was something about him," said Jay, shrugging her shoulders. She was the first to suggest they investigate Lee Jiwon, even before Han Yongsuk, who had encountered him first. "By my calculations, Shin Hyuk''s party should have made it to the safe room on the fourth floor or have already started the raid by the time Lee Jiwon entered the dungeon." "Obviously." "Lee Jiwon probably guessed for himself that there was someone else in the dungeon from all the signs of battle on the way to the mountain. However, there''s a big difference in whether or not he decides to confirm that. He passed by the first three floors because he was confident in his prediction. If he wasn''t, he wouldn''t have gone out of his way to confirm it." Lim Gina pieced together everything they knew and explained the chain of events, as if she were there to witness it all firsthand. "I bet he saw them in the boss room. He probably made the inference that the party was from the Yung Gong Guild and that the party was there, raiding. Once he confirmed that he was right, he butted in and completely screwed them over. How many are out there are strong enough to fuck with the Yung Gong Guild? How many of them have big enough balls to do that?" "..." "..." Her comrades silent listened to her judgement. "Let''s get back on the main subject. Lee Jiwon really did sleep for four years. That¡­much is true. Hell, I''m not even sure myself. I really can''t make sense of that part. Everything we have on him points to that. Everyone at the Sunbin Guild swears to that. His designated nurse, the janitors, they all say the same thing. X even attested to the fact that they weren''t lying." X, who was silent the whole time, nodded to what Lim Gina said. He didn''t need to say anything else. Lim Gina quietly looked around at her comrades before scowling. "Does that make sense to any of you? How does a deva get that strong from sleeping?" "..." "..." "..." No one replied. They couldn''t believe it either, but that unbelievable reality was right there in front of them. "We''re making Lee Jiwon our priority. Jay, spend ten minutes a day on Lee Jiwon. Keep note of what he''s doing and where and do not lose him." "Don''t worry. I''m pretty curious about this Lee Jiwon guy myself. He''s gets more interesting the more I get to know him. Men are so alluring when they have so many secrets." "Crazy bitch, there she goes again." --------- I got up at seven in the morning. I went down to the restaurant for some breakfast, then went back up to my room to wash up before I set out. The streets of Pocheon were still lively this early in the morning. I saw at least three hundred other devas getting ready to go hunting. "I''m looking to put together a party! Rangers, healers, buffer, I don''t discriminate! Let''s go hunting together!" "I need a healer for my party!" "Buying Gorgon Eyes! I''ll buy all you have. I''ll pay ten more than Store prices! I''m also buying Gorgon Hair Strands! I''ll buy all you have. I''ll pay fifty more than Store prices!" "Selling a Mirror Shield here! It can block Gorgons'' Petrification for up to fifty times!" "Selling Cure Petrification Scrolls here! You''ll need them if you''re going to go out and hunt Gorgons. Selling them cheap!" "Repair your equipment here!" There were devas looking to party up, and others looking to sell and buy items. I guessed there were a lot of Gorgons around here. I kept hearing about Gorgons as I wove through the crowd, heading towards the border barricade on the other side of town. When I got there, I walked up to a Sunbin Guild guard posted at the gate. "Could you tell me about the monsters in this area?" The gate guards knew the most about the monster life in the surrounding areas of Pocheon. "Is this your first time here?" "Yes." "It''s dangerous to go out alone in these parts. The whole area surrounding Pocheon, Dongducheon, and all the way to Cheorwon is infested with Gorgons. There have been many cases of people dying without being to fight back because of the Petrification effect. I recommend you go out with a party. There are a lot of people around that know how to deal with Petrification." "Are there any other monsters besides Gorgons?" "Griffons have taken over most of east Gangwon Province. To the north of Cheorwon, past the border into North Korea, there are lizardmen. There are mostly Medusas in the surrounding areas here. A few years ago, the lizardmen and Gorgons used to fight over territory from here to Cheorwon, but the Gorgons managed to chase the lizardmen all the way to the north. I believe their territory stretches all the way to the outskirts of Paju, where the giant spiders have nested," the guard explained patiently. "I see. Thank you very much!" "I still advise against going out alone¡­" "Heh, it''s alright. I made all the necessary preparations. I''m also not accustomed to with hunting in a party." "Then good hunting. I pray that you get back alive." "Thank you." I shook the guard''s hand in thanks and walked out the gate. Gorgons, Part I I saw several parties out hunting around me. There was not a single other deva that was out hunting alone like I was. It was dangerous to come out here alone because of the Petrification Curse of the Gorgons, as the guard had said. If there was no one else around to remove the curse, the only choice left was death. But when I heard that there were Gorgons around, I was secretly ecstatic. I had the Unrivaled skill to protect me. I was immune to all status effects, including Petrification. In the past, I had the chance to face Gorgons. Gorgons liked to Petrify their opponents, but that wasn''t their only method of attack. The best way to counter their Petrify attacks was to just avoid their eyes, or to use a Mirror Shield. Looking into their eyes would get you cursed with Petrification, but the time the curse took to completely consume you depended on your WIL and MDEF. The lower they were, the faster you were Petrified. You needed to use Cure Petrification Scrolls, or have a healer/buffer use the Remove Curse spell on you before you completely turned to stone to free yourself from the curse! "If I recall correctly, Gorgons use Lightning magic and magic snakes to attack, as well..." The primary method of attacking of Meduasae was to unleash a swarm of magic snakes to distract their foe, then close the distance between them and their enemies in order to rain down a torrent of Lightning spells. There was another type of Gorgons that attacked with Magic Arrows. These were higher leveled than normal Medusas, but back then, there weren''t many of them. It was safe to say that Petrify, magic snakes, and Lightning were the primary attacks of Gorgons. "Either way, I''ll be able to farm a lot of experience points from them thanks to my status immunity and their low HP." Gorgons were high level monsters. There were bound to be stronger Gorgons out there, since they were field monsters, but I wasn''t worried. "I suppose I''ll start somewhere nearby." I left Pocheon and headed north. --- I saw a few parties here and there fighting Gorgons. One party had an archer and a mystic aggro about four to five Gorgons at once, and a shield mage, a class of magic tanks, countered their spells. The shield mage used Iron Shield and Solid Earth Wall to protect the archer and mystic while they pummeled the Gorgons with arrows and spells. The shield mage occasionally retreated back when cursed by Petrify so that a mage could use Remove Curse on him. It was a pretty common method of fighting Gorgons, which I had also used in the past. Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Gorgons, Part II Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Gorgons, Part II Gorgons had low DEF for magical monsters and as such, there was no need for tanks to soak up damage for a party. A shield mage''s Reinforced Shield was enough. Shield mages also lasted longer in a gorgon battle than fighter tanks due to their high WIL and MDEF. All they had to do was be careful with their MP usage. Since Gorgons'' attacks were all magic-based, there wasn''t much need for melee fighters in a party. They would just end quickly losing their HP because of their low WIL and MDEF. Many of them would just become a hindrance. The best way to hunt Gorgons was to have a shield mage with the proper skills lead the hunt, with ranged attackers dealing damage from a distance. It was similar to hunting Tyros, except for needing a shield mage. This method also required more than a few party members, removing the need to worry about Petrification. It was also safer and cheaper to have a healer/mage with a Remove Curse spell, removing the need to buy Cure Petrification Scrolls. "I was envious that the nearest place with Gorgons was all the way in Japan, but to think that they''re in Korea now¡­" The magic snakes Gorgons spawned also yielded experience points. They had low HP and could be killed easily. Hunting Gorgons to level was easy with a decent party. The three best monsters I preferred to hunt in the past were Tyros, Golems, and Gorgons. I watched the party hunt a little more before continuing my way north. After a few more minutes, I lost sight of parties hunting Gorgons. "Good. This should be far enough." I took out my trusty greatsword from my inventory. "I really wanted a spear, but I guess I''m stuck with this for now." With the golden rings I had now, I could more than afford at least a Rank 4 or Rank 5 spear, but for some reason, I wanted to wait. I defeated the Bukhan dungeon boss on my own, and managed to snag the Seorak dungeon boss. Both bosses dropped some nice items and found a Rank 7 and a Rank 8 item from the twelve random chests. I could only dream about finding them during my past life. "I feel like I''ll find a nice spear, sooner or later." There was also the fact that I mowed through all of monsters I came across with just a Rank 3 greatsword! "But the time has come for me to switch to a better weapon." Armor and accessories were good and all, but weapons had better traits. I needed a better weapon than the greatsword to unleash my true power. There were weapons that increased STR alone by 300-400 points. Of course, they were mostly Rank 6 or higher weapons, but still. "I should still start off with hunting some Gorgons first. I need to become strong enough to easily take whatever the Hitman Guild tries to throw at me." There were coils of five to ten Gorgons roaming around. I headed to the nearest coil. They noticed me as I got closer and began hissing menacingly. I ignored them and charged in. My fighting style was going to be different than that of my past life, but I was confident that I could take them on easily right now. The closest Gorgon''s eyes flashed red. It was a sign that it was casting Petrify. Normally, I would have avoided its eyes once I noticed the red light because if I didn''t, my body would start turning to stone. That was the normal way to fight Gorgons, but I continued to charge straight in and stared back into its red eyes. "Petrifying Glare!" the Gorgon hissed. ------ [You have been attacked by Petrifying Glare. You are now afflicted by Petrification.] [Petrification prevented by status immunity effect.] -------- I smiled as the message alerts came up as I had expected. "Chaaa!" I jumped high right above the Gorgon that just cast Petrifying Glare and slashed at its face. The Gorgon''s head was left with a deep gash that seemed to nearly split its head open. Some of the Gorgon''s snake-hair fell to the ground dead, but the Gorgon was still alive. If I couldn''t kill it with one attack, then I would just attack it again, just like I''d done so far. I raised my sword and chopped at the Gorgon''s head like firewood. "Gaaak!" After two more chops, the Gorgon fell dead with a croak. It only took three hits! Gorgons had low DEF and low HP, but the fact that I could kill such high-level monsters in just three hits encouraged me. "Summon: Black Snakes!" "Summon: Blue Snakes!" "Summon: Giant Red Snake!" "Petrifying Glare!" The other Gorgons began to react when they saw their comrade fall after just three hits. They were still only normal monsters, however, using Petrifying Glare even after seeing that it didn''t work on me. The same message alerts appeared, notifying me that my status immunity prevented Petrification once more. This was way too overpowered! The most annoying part of hunting Gorgons was their Petrifying Glare. It was extremely difficult to avoid it in the middle of battle. This made it nearly impossible for melee fighters to deal with the attack, causing many of them to outright avoid Gorgons. However, this mattered little to me and to any other Unrivaled out there. I ignored the Gorgon that had just cast Petrifying Glare and focused on the summoned snakes. Besides their normal attacks, Black Snakes also had magic attacks that also sharply raised the fatigue of anyone they bit. Fatigue lowered on its own over time, so I doubted my status immunity would prevent the effect. Blue Snakes also had magic attacks that drained HP and MP from anyone they bit, and returned the points to the Gorgon that summoned them. Blue Snakes also had a Leech skill. Once they latched onto someone, they were practically impossible to get off. These attacks probably wouldn''t be prevented by my status immunity, either. Red Snakes only had physical attacks. However, while Red Snakes didn''t have magical attacks like their black and blue counterparts, their physical attack was much higher. I could see that the Gorgon that summoned the Red Snakes was much higher level than the other Gorgons. The Blue and Black Snakes were about as thick as a man''s arm and about a meter and a half long. The Red Snake, on the other hand, was as thick as an average woman''s thigh and at least four meters long. During my previous life, I had seen a few summoned Giant Snakes, but none of them were as big as the ones before me now. I remembered what the gate guard back at Pocheon told me. The area between Chuncheon and Pocheon had lizardmen and Gorgons fighting over territory until it ended with the Gorgons'' victory and the lizardmen being pushed back all the way north past the nation''s border. "How many lizardmen did this Gorgon kill?" This was one of the traits of field monsters. Killing devas or other field monsters granted them experience points, just like devas. Underestimating these field monsters ultimately resulted in death. The Summoned snakes slithered towards me. I raised my sword and stabbed into the faster Black Snakes. The Gorgon had fallen to only three attacks. All it took was one slice to cut the Black Snakes in half. Their dead bodies dissolved into a cloud of black smoke before disappearing. At that moment, the Blue Snakes surrounded me and began slithering up my ankles and bit into my calves. All I felt was a slight prick. My VIT was over 2100 and my total HP surpassed one million points. My VIT seemed low compared to my STR and AGI, but it was still worth at least 210 levels. A level 600 warrior couldn''t afford to have a VIT as high as mine. Of course, a tank with the right items could come close, but my innate VIT was definitely unrivaled. ------- [Blue Snake''s attack will drain HP by 115 points per second and MP by 9 points per second.] ------ The message that appeared before me confirmed my suspicions that my status immunity wasn''t going to help me here. In just one minute, I was going to lose 6900 HP and 540 MP. It was an iffy amount; not a lot and not a little amount of damage. "Raging Lightning Strike!" "Dispersing Lightning Strike!" Two of the Gorgons cast Lightning spells at my direction. Raging Lightning Strike was a Lightning spell that inflicted massive amounts of Lightning damage with one strike, while Dispersing Lightning Strike inflicted weak AoE Lightning damage over time. "I¡­don''t have any way to block them." I didn''t have a specific method to block the incoming spells; I would have to just take them head on, just like the way I''d been doing so far. It was the same fighting style I had against the Hitman Guild and all of the other dungeon monsters. I never imagined I would use this style back when I was a fire mage. It got worse after waking up to a bunch of Stat points. No matter how many times I got hit, I could endure all of it. Now, I thought that it was better to get one more attack in than to waste time dodging. I ignored the incoming Lightning spells and turned to focus on the giant anaconda-like Red Snake. The Red Snake reared back with its jaws open and lunged in to bite my side. At the same moment, the Lightning from the spells enveloped my body in electricity. The spells were weak enough that I was able to brush them off, and I stabbed my sword at the snake''s open jaws. I felt a slight jolt as the shock intensified, but I kept my eyes on the snake. Once my blade sank into the snake''s jaws, the snake wrapped itself around my waist. I quickly held my sword in my left hand and reached down with my right to try to stop the snake, but I was too late. The snake completely wrapped around me and began squeezing. I felt an enormous amount of constriction from the snake''s body. This was dangerous! "Ugh¡­what a drag." It was dangerous for other devas, not me. I could still breathe even with the increasing pressure. Had my STR and VIT been significantly lower, I would have received quite a bit of damage by now, but there was not even a single scratch on me. I let go of the sword the snake still had in its jaws and worked my right hand out so that my right forearm was in between two folds of the snake''s body. The snake continued to constrict, but I still had some room to move around. "Raah!" I grabbed my right wrist with my left hand and pulled towards me. I had the snake''s body in my elbow like a chokehold and squeezed. The snake''s body was slowly being crushed with sounds of bones grinding and cracking. The snake spat out my sword from its jaws and raised its head. "You wanted a contest of strength, right? Just to let you know, I haven''t lost yet. Let''s see who will yield first. Raah!" I felt the snake loosen its hold and begin to squirm under the pressure, but I squeezed even harder. Its skin began to tear. That part of the snake''s body was now about as thick as a textbook. After squeezing for about three more seconds, the Red Snake burst apart into a cloud of red smoke. "That''s what you get for trying to bite off more than you can chew!" I said into the red cloud. "By the way, how long are you guys going to hang around there?" I asked the Blue Snakes that were still biting into my calves. I grabbed both of them by the tail and pulled. They were really stuck onto my legs, thanks to their Leech skill, and I pulled hard, like I was pulling something off that had been Super Glued. With my STR, the snakes came right off. "Did you guys have fun leeching off of me like that? I suppose it''s time for you guys to pay up!" I gripped their tails tight and whipped their heads to the ground. Their heads exploded on impact, and they burst into clouds of blue smoke. "Petrifying Glare!" "Petrifying Glare!" The remaining Gorgons flashed their red eyes at me once more. "It won''t work on me; why do you keep trying?" I picked up my greatsword and charged the Gorgons. With no snake summons to slow me down and their Glares not working at all, they raised their claws to shoot more Lightning spells at me, but I was faster. With one swing, I sliced all four remaining Gorgons across the waist. Using my momentum, I spun around and slashed at the rightmost Gorgon. "Raging Light¡­" "Dispersing Light¡­" I slashed at the three lower leveled Gorgons three times consecutively, killing them before they could get their spells off. The Gorgon that summoned the Red Snake took two more slashes, but still fell. In three minutes, I killed seven Gorgons and one higher leveled Gorgon. The summoned snakes were just the icing on the cake. ------ [You have gained a level.] ------ "Nice. Going up one level from killing only eight Gorgons is more than enough." I happily picked up the dropped golden rings and as I was about to check the dropped items, I saw a message come up. ------ [You are currently under a dungeon blessing. (Time left: 27 days 11 hours 22 minutes) Granted skill ''Create Safety Crystal'' for 30 days. (After 30 days, this skill will be removed.) The ''Create Safety Crystal'' skill does not consume skill points. Hunt field monsters for 30 days and a Safety Crystal will amass experience points. On the 1st, 10th, and 30th day, the crystal will take form and you will be able to receive the Safety Crystal. You will be restricted from entering another dungeon for 30 days.] -------- "That''s right. I had that too. Open Create Safety Crystal Table!" -------- [Create Safety Crystal Table (Currently crafting Day One Crystal) Day 1 Safety Crystal: current EXP 0.47% In current possession: 0 Day 10 Safety Crystal: current EXP 0% In current possession: 0 Day 30 Safety Crystal: current EXP 0% In current possession: 0] ---------- I had received a blessing after defeating the Bukhan dungeon boss, but wasn''t able to create a Safety Crystal as no field monsters had spawned at that time. This was my first time seeing the Table! "So that''s what it looks like. Awesome! It''s always nice to have Safety Crystals." I became even more fired up at the thought. "Let''s go for round two." I held my sword in my right hand and headed towards the other Gorgon pits. I was itching for more! Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Gorgons Part III Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Gorgons Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED A meeting was underway at one of the Hitman Guild''s safe houses, located in Namsan, Seoul. "Where did this guy disappear to?" The guild master of the Hitman Guild, Oh Taeshik, asked while reading through the information packet he received from Song Haechang. "Song Haechang told us that he was asleep for four years; he''s not the type to lie about such things." Oh Taeshik was still brooding over the failed kidnapping that happened about two weeks ago. "That guy was unbelievably strong. His AGI was as high as mine. His STR had to be as high as his AGI, as well. By my judgement, he wasn''t taking the fight with me seriously. It was completely my loss. If you ask me to go up against him again¡­ I''m afraid to say that I can''t and won''t do that," said the specialist. "My magic didn''t affect him at all. Actually, it was more like he ignored everything I did and focused on the specialist," Kim Jihan added. No one else was there to see how he had begged for his life, and he kept that to himself. He just made sure to tell his guild master about how they did everything they could to bring Lee Jiwon in. -Besides the fact that he had high magic resistance, he also resisted Frostbite¡­he can''t have the Unrivaled skill, can he? No¡­there''s no way. That skill is so hard to learn. If he did, then the guild master had to have warned us about it. He''s just higher leveled with high MDEF.- Kim Jihan had witnessed Lee Jiwon''s strength firsthand. Lee Jiwon was the strongest deva he had ever seen. But no matter what he thought, Kim Jihan stayed in the corner and stayed quiet. He only spoke out when he needed to and nothing more. He had to avoid saying anything that would get him into even more trouble. He was going to take the fact that he was about to sell out his own guild to save his own hide to the grave. "So, if we go off of what you and the specialist just told me¡­he''s actually someone very powerful." Lee Jiwon was too strong for the specialist he sent to kidnap. At first, Oh Taeshik exploded in rage when he learned that his right-hand man failed, but if the specialist was this afraid¡­he would lose again. 100%. "He''s supposed to be only level 32 after sleeping for four years?" After Kim Jihan and the specialist respawned, they reported to their guild master and told him about how they died. Enraged, Oh Taeshik then called Song Haechang. This was beyond bad intel. Song Haechang might as well have told Oh Taeshik to go fuck himself. --------- "But¡­that''s impossible!" "Mr. Song, please. Did you really think that you could screw me over like this after everything I''ve done¡­?" Oh Taeshik said to Song Haechang in a cold, hard voice. "What reason would I have to do anything of the sort? I warned you about the search-and-destroy operation six months ago. Had I had any reason to kick you to the curb, I would have done so then." "..." Oh Taeshik didn''t reply. He knew Song Haechang was right. Had Song Haechang wanted to wipe out the Hitman Guild, he wouldn''t have done so in this manner. "Are you sure you had the right guy?" "It was the man that was in the report. Even he confirmed it himself." "That doesn''t make sense at all! He''s only level 32. All he did was sleep; I know that for a fact." "..." Oh Taeshik''s anger cooled and thought about their current situation with a clearer mind. Song Haechang could not and would not give him false information. "This¡­is getting interesting." "If anyone is shocked by this is, it''s me. At first I thought you were saying some very stupid things after failing your mission but I know that''s not you." "I understand. Then, I suppose it''s you who had the bad intel on Lee Jiwon from the start." "..." This time, it was Song Haechang to stay silent. Oh Taeshik had never failed any of his requests until now. He paid five times the normal rate for this mission as well. Just as there was no reason for Song Haechang to provide bad intel, there was no reason for Oh Taeshik to deliberately fail this mission. -Is there really something I''m missing? Could there have been an actual reason for the guild master and Song Haein to pay that much attention to him? But I know Lee Jiwon fell asleep not long after the Earth changed. I watched him with my own eyes.- Song Haechang racked his brains, but couldn''t find an answer. "Well, what''s done is done. I just need you to pay up for providing bad intel." "Don''t make me laugh. You failed. The five was only if you succeeded." Song Haechang wasn''t about to be pushed around by some gangster. "But we failed because you provided us with bad information." "That information was solid. Everything was to the best of the Sunbin Guild''s knowledge." "Mr. Song, don''t make this difficult. What do you think would happen should the kidnap request of Lee Jiwon reach the ears of Master Song Daechul?" "I''ll probably hear a few words. At the most, I''ll have to spend a few months digging pig shit at a pig farm. But what would happen to the Hitman Guild? Do you think you can survive outside of Seoul for long?" "Hehehe. You''ve become quite shrewd, Mr. Song." "Did you think you''re the only one?" "Very well, then. Do you still want Lee Jiwon kidnapped and imprisoned?" "Can you still do it?" "I want thirty!" "Thirty¡­" "Aren''t you curious as to how he got that strong even though he slept for four years straight? Don''t you think he has to be hiding something?" "Fine. We''ll do thirty. But, only if you succeed." "Deal." After hanging up, Oh Taeshik thought about the conversation he just had with Song Haechang. He then looked over to his subordinates who have been listening in on the call. "About that call¡­" "Yes sir." "Was he telling the truth?" "Based his reaction, tone and word speed, I''d say there is a 99% chance that he was telling the truth." "Just as I thought. Song Haechang is still a greenhorn. He''s a greenhorn whose pride has been wounded so he''s bound to act immature," Oh Taeshik said as he read over intel on Lee Jiwon once more. "Do we still not know where he is?" "We were able to find out that after killing Kim Jihan and the specialist, he headed to Store 72 before heading to Namyangju by taxi. We lost him when he left Namyangju and haven''t been able to pick up his trail again." "It''s already been two weeks." "I''m very sorry. We''re pooling all of the guild''s resources to try and find him but¡­ we haven''t found a single trace of him." The Hitman Guild was the only gangster guild in Seoul, but didn''t have much power as one might think because of the Sunbin Guild. However, it is also because of the Sunbin Guild that other gangster guilds couldn''t do business in Seoul. Without any other competition, the Hitman Guild didn''t need to be greedy over anything. They always had enough to work with. Seoul was safe as long as it was home to the Sunbin Guild. It was the perfect environment for wealthy mortals and devas with mortals in their families. The Hitman Guild made its profit by ''helping'' out these people out while setting up a few shops and real estate agencies as fronts, making more money than any other minor guilds out there. However, the Hitman Guild doesn''t blindly spend its profits and try to expand too much. It would become too difficult to maintain a large guild and would soon attract unwanted attention from the Sunbin Guild. That was why Oh Taeshik didn''t get mad that it was taking the guild this long to find Lee Jiwon. He knew that there was a limit to how fast his guild could work. "Start from the beginning. Start at Seoul." "Yes sir. Understood." He watched his underlings leave the room to get to work right away. "Do I need to put in a request to the Gnosis Guild?" he asked himself. "They hide too much and it''s always a pain to deal with them, though." Oh Taeshik fell into deep thought once more. -------- Fourteen days had passed since I started hunting Gorgons. "Petrifying Glare!" The remaining Gorgon frantically unleashed its skill. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." [You have been attacked by Petrifying Glare. You are now afflicted by Petrification.] [Petrification prevented by status immunity effect.] I shot a wink at the Gorgon''s red eyes before raising my sword and bringing it down on its head. The blade nearly sliced the head in half. I kicked at the Gorgon''s chest to finish it off. [You have gained an additional 9% EXP points.] I had lost count of how many Gorgons I''ve killed. Every morning I woke up, I have breakfast at the nearby restaurant, and I come up to hunt Gorgons. I hunt without rest until ten at night and return to Pocheon. I eat, shower, and sleep before going out again the next morning. I repeated this for two whole weeks. I could tell that the motel''s owner and the gate guards were sick and tired of seeing me every day, but the hunt was still fun. Every time I saw the message alerts that told me I had leveled up, I found the strength to keep going. I didn''t have time to be tired if I was going to consistently rewarded for my hard work like this. "Why wasn''t hunting this much fun in the past?" I tried very hard during the early years as a fire mage. However, it was all out of sense of duty, like I had no choice in the matter. Hunting and training was like working at the factory again, like I was doing it just to get through the day. I set out with parties more than I set out alone. I hunted in fields with other beginners or hung around a dungeon entrance all day and got to join up with a party to hunt in the dungeon. The more I partied up, the more I focused on attacking rather than defending. I had others defend for me. I needed as much attack power as possible. I even stopped putting stat points on VIT and more on INT. Some could say I became specialized in party play, while others would say that party play was all I knew. Of course, I could still take out monsters with low MDEF and monsters of similar level easily. I could burn them all away before they could get close to me. "It was fun when I hunted with the Han Hyun Party. I didn''t have to regret putting all of my Stat points into INT. It made everything so much easier. I wonder¡­ are they doing alright now?" I had once joined up with a hunting party in the past. However, after mutual consensus, we all ended up going our separate ways. "Anyway, it''s good enough that hunting right now is fun! I wish I could sleep less to hunt more." I picked up every single Gorgon Eye, Gorgon Hair, and golden rings dropped by the Gorgons I killed. I also managed to find a useful item this past week. "Item check!" [Medusa''s Cursed Earrings (Rank 5) Medusa''s soul is imprisoned in these earrings. Unable to ever escape from the earrings, Medusa''s soul burns itself inside, cursing the earrings themselves. Increase chance to cursed by Gorgon''s Petrify by 28% Increase rate of Gorgon''s Petrify by 35% Gain additional 9% EXP from killing Gorgons Increase chance of success of all Petrify related skills by 4.1% Increase INT by 50 Increase WIL by 150 Increase MDEF by 200] This was probably the worst item to have equipped when it came to hunting Gorgons. It increased the chance to be Petrified and increased the rate of Petrification. But that wasn''t the case of me. I liked it because it gave me an extra 9% EXP when killing Gorgons. While I didn''t really need them, I got some extra INT and WIL from the earrings. They also came with a Petrification skill boost as well. These would sell quick if I put them up for sale at the auction house. "Damn, it''s already eleven." It was already eleven in the morning again. I always looked forward to this hour every day. -------- [Day twenty. Shaman Ko''s Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now appear.] ------- It was already the twentieth day. I placed my hand over the wheel. ---------- [Shaman Ko''s Stupid Selfish Prick Roulette wheel will now turn.] [Day Twenty. You will receive Shaman Ko''s Roulette gift. You have received three Stat points. Total points: 60 The next roulette wheel will appear in 24 hours.] ---------- Not one day passed that I didn''t land on a 3. Now, it would be weird to me if the wheel didn''t land on a 3 again. "Now that that''s done, it''s time to start once more." I tightened my grip on my sword and sprinted towards a pit of Gorgons. It was a dance I''d danced before for two weeks. I stared back at the Gorgons'' eyes that turn red as they used their Petrify skills, and then I chopped at their heads. If they summon snakes, I stomp on those snakes. I stomp on them more if I have to. If they summon giant snakes, I cut them in half with my sword. I took all of their Lightning skills straight on. What else could I do? I lost about 10,000 HP from each spell and about 40,000 every time I was hit with a critical. However, I had more than a million HP now. I only lost 4% of my HP from critical hits. I charged in through their Lightning spells and sliced them up in two slashes to kill them. I start from Pocheon and went all the way to Sanjeong Lake, slicing and dicing Gorgons along the way. I hunted like a machine with the hours flying by each day. "I guess¡­ I need to look for another place now," I muttered to myself as I picked up the items the last Gorgon dropped. I wasn''t leveling as quickly now. After reaching level 189 yesterday, I had only leveled up six more times today. Leveling up six levels from level 189 in one day was extremely fast. I could never do that in the past. I had been forced to hunt with a party and use the same methods I saw that party use a couple weeks ago. Now, I could kill as many as I wanted to and take all the EXP for myself. On average, most devas reached level 500 in four years. They would use more efficient hunting methods, had more advanced skill trees, and found better equipment to make their progress faster. Some with demon-like focus could shorten that time to two years. Most of them belonged to large guilds or large clans. Those guys would take over a dungeon and clear that dungeon multiple times without rest. It was something no other devas could do. I could only sigh at how late and slow my growth was in the past. It had been exactly four years and four months since the Earth changed. The average deva right now was probably lower than 500 and closer to 400. The first devas four years ago didn''t know about dungeons and monsters and items and EXP. They needed time to adapt and it only made sense for them to start late. It was difficult to not regret becoming a deva after dying a few times and struggling to level up. Still, sooner or later, they would learn from their mistakes and from other devas, and steadily become stronger. "I should really forget about the past. I have to reach level 500 within the year." I had to become more of a demon and level up faster than the others. I had no help from others; I had to do everything on my own! "Open Stats Menu!" ------------------- [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 195 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 1,080,000 /1,080,000 MP: 142,700/142,700 Strength: 4,219+9 Agility: 4,200 Vitality: 2,100 Willpower: 1,367 Intelligence: 1,297 Unassigned Stat Points: 2180+51 Fatigue: 4 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 13,134 Physical Defense: 2,745 Magical Attack: 3,891 Magical Defense: 1,882] ---------- I gained 100 levels in the span of two weeks. I had no idea how many Gorgons I had killed to get this far. But now, it was going to be tough to gain more than five levels, even after hunting all day. I probably wouldn''t gain more than five tomorrow. Soon, it would be tough to gain one level in one day. I had to figure something out to avoid that. "I really need to go to a dungeon if I want to power level." It was definitely better to hunt in dungeons than find higher levelfield monsters. "There''s nothing I could do about it anyway¡­I''ll set my STR to 6,000 first. I have more than enough AGI. I''ll put the rest into VIT." -------- [Strength: 6,000+9 Agility: 4,200 Vitality: 2,499 Willpower: 1,367 Intelligence: 1,297] ----------- "Damn, that''s a lot..." I got so many bonus Stat points from here and there. A thousand each from the Unrivaled skill, 27 each from being the first to find several dungeons, and 4488 from sleeping four years. I also had the extra 10 points from leveling up thanks to the Unrivaled skill. Other devas got that from learning the skill at level 500, but I started at level 0. I still had 305 more levels to go! In other words, by the time I was around the same level as other devas, I would already be 3050 stat points ahead! "Man, I really want to reach level 500 already." Once I took care of my Stats, I wanted to quickly level up more. "I''ll get to level 200 by tomorrow for now. I''ll go back to Anton''s Store to buy a few skills and see if that item is on auction by now." When I checked the auction house before going to the Seorak dungeon, that item wasn''t there. I wasn''t over level 100 then, making it hard to go look for it myself, but I was strong enough now. The item was that valuable to me! Chapter 73: Chapter 72: The God of Lightning that isn’t the God of Lightning, Part I Chapter 73: Chapter 72: The God of Lightning that isn¡¯t the God of Lightning, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The blade of my sword crashed to the ground as I cut down the last Gorgon in front of me. ==[You have gained a level.]== "I''m finally level 200." I started my hunt at five in the morning today, and reached level 200 at eleven that night. It took me eighteen hours to gain just five levels. People would probably insult me and tell me off for being so nonchalant about taking eighteen hours to gain five levels. To most, that was an extremely fast time, but I was very unsatisfied. "I suppose it''s time to move to a different hunting ground. Now that I have reached level 200, it''ll probably take a whole day just to gain one level by killing Gorgons. It''s only going to get slower from now on." I walked the old Pocheon streets under the bright moonlight towards the city hall. I worried about how slow my leveling will be, but I was still happy. I reached level 200 faster than anyone could have dreamed of. "I think I''ll eat my fill tonight and take it easy tomorrow." It was around 11:20 at night when I entered the center of the city, but there were still many restaurants and bars still open. I went back to the motel room I had been using, took a long, hot shower, and came back out to really pig out. I had fried chicken, pork belly, meat stew and the like. I had always preferred meat over vegetables, but since waking up, I had been eating more and more meat. ---------- I slept in until late morning the next day. I decided to reward myself a little for hunting sixteen hours a day for nine days straight. At eleven, I watched the wheel spin and land on the 3 once more. "Time to go to Seoul. I have nothing to fear from the Hitman Guild now." I was 140 levels higher than I was when I first met them. I had better equipment, too. I had truly improved myself each day since I fought against the specialist and Kim Jihan. I was itching to spend some skill points. "I just have to keep going to push them all back." I wasn''t planning on staying in Korea forever. I knew of places with monsters stronger than Gorgons in Japan and in China. But right now, I knew what I had to get first. -If I can''t find that item at the auction house, I''ll head to Australia!- I left the motel and approached the open market full of devas buying and selling all sorts of items. "Buying Gorgon Eyes! I''ll buy all you have! I''ll pay ten more than Store prices! I''m also buying Gorgon Hair Strands! I''ll buy all you have! I''ll pay fifty more than Store prices!" I had a bunch of Gorgon Eyes and Gorgon Hair Strands from hunting Gorgons for two weeks straight. ¨CI only promised them not to go to other Stores; we didn''t say anything about trading with other devas.- This guy was buying at higher prices than Stores. It wasn''t a whole lot for me, but it was still higher. "Welcome!" "Hi. I''ve got Gorgon Eyes and Gorgon Hair Strands to sell." When I told the deva that I was selling my items, his eyes lit up. "I''ll buy all that you have." Gorgon Eyes and Gorgon Hair Strands were used as material to craft certain items. As such, they were always in demand. "I have more than a few; is that all right?" "Not to worry! I''ll buy everything you''ve got." I opened up my inventory and took out all the eyes and hair I had. "I''ve got 745 Eyes and 294 Hair Strands." "What..." The merchant stood there wide-eyed, gaping at all the items I took out. "It''s quite a bit, isn''t it?" I had spared no Gorgon I had met during the past couple of weeks. "Not at all. I''m just grateful that you would sell all of them to me at once. As you know, Stores buy Eyes at 70 apiece and Hair Strands at 320 apiece." I had no idea. However, I had overheard other devas make sales enough times that I supposed it was true. "Yes." "So I''ll buy the Eyes at 80 apiece and Hair Strands at 370 apiece. That sound good?" I nodded. "OK. Eyes come out to a total of 59,600 golden rings, and Hair Strands at 108,780. Altogether, that''s 168,380 golden rings. I''ll throw in another 17,000 rings for selling them to me in bulk." "Thank you." 185,000 golden rings for nine days'' work was not bad at all! Hell, that was more than enough. After closing the sale, I left Pocheon and headed for Seoul. -------------- Sprinting the fifty kilometers from Pocheon to Seoul, I arrived at Anton''s Store thirty minutes later. (TN: Dude can run 62 mph¡­!) I kept an eye out in case anyone from the Hitman Guild was onto me, but didn''t see anyone tailing me or anything. ¨CI''m not going to run from them, but I still don''t want to go out looking for them, either.- I was still in the middle of improving myself each day, and was still only 22 days in. It had been 22 days since I last came to Anton''s Store, and it was still full of devas. I wove through the crowd and went inside, heading for the general store first. I had just sold the Gorgon Eyes and Hair Strands, but I still had materials from the Seorak dungeon and from the smilodons to sell. "Open Inventory!" ------------ [-1,467,922 golden rings -High grade health potions x20 -Shining high grade potions x5 -Bread x93 -Beverage x93 -Orb of Vitality -Orc Champion''s Unexpectedly Durable Greatsword -Money case, ring case, notebook, pen -Luggage carrier -Death Penalty Restoration (1) gem x3 -Blank Warp Scroll x3 -Activated Warp Scrolls: Seorak Mountain Dungeon entrance x2 -Damage Link Totem -1-Day Safety Crystals x7 -Remaining slots x16] -------------- I spent a lot of golden rings buying two extra inventories the last time I came to the Store, but after the dungeon raid and selling the Gorgon items, I was back up to over a million golden rings. I refilled my bread and drinks back up to 100 each and left the general store. I went down to the smithy to drop off my equipment for repairs. I decided to spend the ten minutes it would take to fully repair my equipment at the auction house. My next destination depended if that item was there or not. I still had the notes I made when I came back in time. Most of the information I wrote down was now useless, as it was already been four years into the Otadolon stage, but there was still a few useful pieces of information left. Hell, if I could just get that item I wrote about then I''d be halfway done! There was no way I could have expected to come back to the past during my previous life. There probably wasn''t anyone else who ever imagined doing this. There was nothing I committed to memory, thinking that I was going to use it someday when I went back to the past. No, I brushed off almost all important information as I thought it was of no use to me. I was proud of myself for even remembering the location of the first Don Gate! Furthermore, items of Rank 8 and higher only spawned from random chests, so I didn''t know a whole lot about them. I didn''t know anything about what dropped from dungeon bosses and what spawned in which random chests. No one kept tabs on that¡­ or if they did, they didn''t talk about it. People only talked about what items appeared. They didn''t care about who got them or how. It wasn''t just my lack of items; I was weak overall. I never had the will to do anything spectacular on my own. I didn''t try to join up with a large guild like others did. I didn''t know about anything about what people had done, or what went on in the world around me. That lack of knowledge was what I regretted the most when I came back in time, and was why I was trying everything I could to become strong. -It could potentially become my biggest stepping stone.- I had already gained so much from becoming the first deva; the first to learn Unrivaled (and for free!), and learning the Selfish Random Skill. But there was still something far greater than all of that. I probably would have been pissed off if I slept longer than four years and missed this item! The item probably wouldn''t appear for another two or three years, but I could make it as long as I had the right materials! ------------- The auction house sold items that were listed from any and all Stores. An auction house in Korea sold items from Japan, America, India and all other countries. The auction houses were always full of devas buying and selling. The basement first floor that the auction house was located on was enchanted to increase in size the more devas there were. I saw a table with about ten other devas around it. That table could grow big enough to fit at least a hundred if needed. I walked over to a somewhat empty table and placed my hand on it. ==[Sell items, Buy Items, Calculate Prices]== Three categories popped up in front of me. I quickly selected the Buy Items category. ==[Weapons, Armor, Accessories, Scrolls, Materials, Artifacts]== I selected the Armor category. A menu showing headgear, chest armor, leg armor, gloves, boots and misc. appeared before me. There was a search bar at the bottom as well. I selected the misc. category and searched for the item. ----------- [Azazel''s Lightning Armor Set] Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set A1 Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set A7 Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set C5 Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set E9 : : Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set B10 Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set D3 : : ] ----------- There were a lot of the Armor Pieces up for sale. I selected the C5 piece. "Item check!" ==[Piece of Azazel''s Cracked Lightning Armor Set C5 (No Rank) A piece of armor that belonged to the fallen Angel of Lightning and Thunder, Azazel. Azazel fell from the heavens due to his rage and arrogance. His Armor split into pieces when he fell. Only a part of the full set of Azazel''s Armor, there is no way to tell which part this C5 piece belongs to. Collect all pieces to recreate Azazel''s Armor. Command any collected pieces to attempt to combine them. Failing to find the proper combination will cause the pieces to disappear. Price: 1,500 golden rings.]== There was a legendary set of armor called Azazel''s Lightning Armor. It consisted of a helmet, cuirass, greaves, boots, and gauntlets. Each armor piece was split into ten pieces, for a total of fifty pieces. Each piece was labeled A-E. Unlike normal jigsaw puzzles, each piece was the same color and shape. They could only be identified by their labels. It might seem easy to collect all fifty different pieces and combine them to create the armor set, but there was a catch. Each piece had to be combined in order. The chance of finding the right pieces for each category was 1 out of 8,145,601, but finding the right order was close to impossible. The chance was 1 out of 1,491,041,720,931,840,000! Chapter 74: Chapter 73: The God of Lightning that isn’t the God of Lightning, Part II Chapter 74: Chapter 73: The God of Lightning that isn¡¯t the God of Lightning, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I clearly remembered this because I remembered seeing the news report on the armor and the unbelievably low chance of completing the full armor set. "Freaking one in a quintillion chance¡­" It was like telling people not to even attempt at crafting the armor. Don''t make it; just dream about it. It was like it was designed to make people abandon their quest to craft the item. People even joked that the armor probably never even existed. When people first found out about the Armor Set, there were many who set out to craft the set. Monsters in Australia dropped Armor Shards, no matter what level they were, dungeon and field monsters alike. There was a surplus of Armor Shards because of how often they dropped and soon, the value of the Shards plummeted. Every time someone failed to create the armor, the value dropped even more. Some, like large guilds, would mass millions of pieces in an attempt to create the Armor Set. The result was complete and utter failure. Not a single one of them ever succeeded in making even one piece of armor. No one knew how to do it. There wasn''t any record of any sort that hinted about the combination. There were so many combinations that it became just about impossible. If someone at least knew what the starting piece was, there could have been some headway. But no one knew. It could have been A1 or D10. And yet, there was always someone that could make the impossible possible. Miracle workers. -There was that one guy, Lightning Shoe, Wakaba.- He wasn''t the God of Lightning, but the Lightning Shoe for crafting the Armor set''s Boots. -Still, that was some dumb luck.- It wasn''t easy being known just from equipment and items only, and only one at that. The reason devas with Rank 8 or higher equips were famous was because they were strong enough to wield them. Yet, Wakaba became famous just from the Boots. -This time, it''ll be me!- I searched through the list and bought the pieces I needed. There were still a few people out there that believed they could create a miracle, so the price of some of the pieces ranged from 1,000 to 9,000 golden rings, but I bought them all without hesitation. I bought E9, A7, B3, C5, C9, E3, A10, D4 and D1. "I just need the last shard now." I had confirmed that the nine pieces were there before I left for the Seorak dungeon, and that there were enough of them. However, I couldn''t find the final shard and had to give up on it. This final shard would take some time to appear as it was only dropped by harpies. Harpies were hard to kill and would fly away from battle if they were about to die. Only a few devas would set out to hunt them. "Please be here." I searched for B7 in the search bar. ===[Shard of a Cracked Azazel''s Lightning Phantasm B7]=== -Yes!- It was there. There was only one left! I quickly clicked on it. It cost 25,500 golden rings, but I quickly clicked the Buy button. I had every intention to fly to Australia to find one for myself if it wasn''t here, but now I didn''t need to! Harpies were high level and solitary monsters, making them pretty difficult to hunt, but I was confident that I could kill them easily by baiting them. It would take quite some time though, so it was good that there was one on sale! Each Shard took up its own slot in my inventory, but I didn''t care. -The effect of making just a single armor piece was immense, right? I should quickly go outside and craft it.- I wasn''t about to make it in the middle of a huge crowd and attract everyone''s attention. I was going to check out some skills and see if there were any decent spears to buy, but right now, I was focused on the Armor Shards. I went back up to the first floor to pick up my repaired equipment and quickly left the Store. "I should find some place secluded." There were too many mortals and devas around. I sprinted out of the plaza and headed for Gooryong Mountain. ------ Reaching the mountain, I looked around to make sure there was no one around me and opened my inventory to take out the ten Pieces. "Combine Azazel''s Lightning Armor Shards!" ==[You will now attempt to combine ten Azazel''s Lightning Armor Shards. Please put the shards in whatever order you wish.]== I placed the Shards in order, from E9 to B7. The second I placed down the B7 Shard, all of the Shards began to spark and floated up into the air. The sparks grew in intensity the higher the Shards floated. The sparks grew stronger and stronger until they burned as bright as lightning. A huge flash of lightning struck the Shards with a deafening roll of thunder. The air around me was charged with electricity. Multiple bolts of lightning struck the gathered Shards for five whole seconds until the gathered Shards unleashed their own bolt back into the sky. I watched the whole thing happen with my mouth wide open. I had never seen anything like this before. This is what they meant when they said the effect was immense. It really was a good idea to not do it at the Store. As soon as the lightning stopped, the electricity that charged the air around me dissipated, and in place of the Shards were a pair of blue boots, enveloped in a purple haze. Purple haze! The completed boots fell straight to the ground. I walked over to them and picked them up. "Item check!" ---------- [Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Boots (Rank 10) A pair of boots that belong to Azazel''s Lightning Armor set. All stats increased by 300 AGI increased by 200 Grants Blink skill (cooldown 300 seconds, MP cost: 1, no skill points required, range of 500 meters.) 1% chance to inflict Powerful Shock onto opponents. (Powerful Shock: inflicts 100,000 damage, decreases movement speed and attack speed, DEF and MDEF by 80% for 3 seconds) Decrease damage from Lightning-based attacks by 10% Chance to avoid critical hits decreased by 170% Movement speed increased by 10% Durability 1,155,000/1,155,000 DEF 3000, MDEF 3500] [Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Armor Set Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Helm: X Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Cuirass: X Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Greaves: X Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Gauntlets: X Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Boots: O One currently equipped. Equip at least one more to receive set bonus.] ------------ "!!!" My jaw dropped as I read through the Boots'' description. I did already know about the Boots Stats. Wakaba had gone around showing off his Boot, so everyone knew about them. But knowing about them and seeing them firsthand was very different. "So¡­this is one of the seven treasures." There were many famous items out there, but there were seven that came out above all the rest. Black Hole and Unbreakable Will were a couple of them. STR increased by 300 and AGI by 200; it also had a free Blink skill!... There were so many awesome effects! "But that Powerful Shock effect has to have made it one of the seven treasures." The effect lowered movement and attack speed, DEF and MDEF by 80%. It was only for three seconds, but that was enough time for any deva over the level of 1000. A deva that strong could shower, eat, and brush his teeth in three seconds. "Damn, whoever gets caught in the Powerful Shock effect pretty much becomes helpless for those three seconds." That was probably why there was only a 1% chance for the effect to activate. These boots were also why Wakaba completely switched up his fighting style. He began investing all of his Stat points into AGI and bought items and equipment to make up for his other Stats. He switched to an archer class and used arrows that had the longest range. He even purchased skills to increase his attack range and attack speed to be able to attack multiple enemies at one time. His plan was to increase the chance of activating the effect by putting out as many attacks as possible. The result... was a complete success! He would team up with his guild members, who would tank for him while he shot arrows until the effect activated. Three seconds was more than enough. To devas that didn''t have the Unrivaled skill, those three seconds were an eternity. Even deities feared Wakaba! A bolt of lightning struck you once you were caught in the effect. Once that happened, you practically stood in place, practically screaming to everyone around you to attack you! "It''s game over once that happens." Wakaba effectively became a reaper of death once he switched his fighting style. He didn''t care about damage, nor did he need to. His only role was to use his Powerful Shock to incapacitate the enemy tank. It was even better if the enemy tank had multiple healers and supporters as Wakaba could incapacitate all of them. Furthermore, the Powerful Shock effect didn''t require MP or have a cooldown like skills; he just needed to have the Boots equipped to use it. His teammates only needed to look out for the bolt of lightning that notified them that the effect took hold and focus their attacks on the poor victim. Wakaba''s guild, the Baobab Guild, became one of the world''s strongest guilds, and it was all thanks to Wakaba. "I doubt I''ll be able to utilize Powerful Shock as well as Wakaba." The only reason Azazel''s Boots became one of the seven treasures was because of how Wakaba switched his fight style and properly utilized it to its full potential. "But that still doesn''t mean I''m about to become an archer like Wakaba." None of that mattered to me. The Powerful Shock was helpful, yes, but I didn''t need it. Wakaba''s new fighting style also relied on teammates to keep the enemy away from him. There was no way he could be that successful if he fought alone. "Since Wakaba the Reaper is no more, doesn''t that mean it''s better for other devas and deities?" I looked down at the Boots as my thoughts wandered. I put the Boots on and set them to invisible. "Open Stats Menu!" --------- [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 200 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 1,429,500/1,429,500 MP: 172,700/172,700 Strength: 6,400 Agility: 4,700 Vitality: 2,799 Willpower: 1,667 Intelligence: 1,597 Unassigned Stat Points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 20,385 Physical Defense: 6,444 Magical Attack: 5,391 Magical Defense: 5,682] ---------- "I suppose¡­this is the power of one of the seven treasures!" It had only been one day since I reached level 200, but my Stats were so much stronger from equipping one Rank 10 item! "Ha¡­haha¡­hahahahaha!" How could I not laugh? "It''s part of a set, but I suppose I should end it with just the Boots." When Wakaba assembled the boots, the large guilds scrambled once more to collect the Shards as the total number required went down from 50 to 40. "The chance to assemble one piece was still a 1 in 90,000,000,000,000,000." Not a single other piece of Armor ever appeared again. "Even if I have high luck, I doubt that I''ll be able to assemble a piece on my own." I was more than satisfied with the Boots. "I suppose if I get bored¡­and I mean really bored... I''ll try my hand at it. Blink!" I used Blink to leave Gooryong Mountain and headed back for the Store. I still had more to buy! --------- At the same time Lee Jiwon''s Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Boots were assembled, the shards used to assemble the Boots were all removed from the auction houses. The shards crumbled into fine dust and blew off into the wind. -------- A party of five devas were out hunting giant scorpions in the great Australian Outback. One of the party members, Esther, was the party''s supporter and was occasionally casting Courage and Resist Poison on her party while debuffing the giant scorpions around them. She was her guild''s strongest support caster and had no problem casting buffs and debuffs simultaneously. Her level and items were decent, too. She would also occasionally pick up monster drops for her party, as well. She bent down to pick up an E3 Shard that a giant scorpion dropped when the shard vanished from her hand in a cloud of dust. "Wait, what the hell?" Her party members turned around at her surprised voice. "What? What is it?" "I just picked up an E3 Shard, but it just disappeared. No¡­ it was more like in turned to dust and blew away¡­" "What? What do you mean?" Her party members ceased their hunting and gathered around her. "What I mean is¡­ wait a second!" Esther quickly opened her inventory and saw that not only did that E3 Shard disappear, but so did her other Shards. They were all gone! "Guys, check your inventories now!" The others opened up their inventories and saw the same. "What the hell?" "My C5 Shard is gone!" "Mine too! My D1 Shards are gone, too! I had thirteen of them in here!" Their Shards were gone. "No way¡­it can''t be¡­" "Did someone assemble an Armor piece?" "Yeah, right! Do you have any idea how hard that is?" "How else can you explain this¡­?" "..." "..." No one could answer Esther''s question. They knew exactly how hard it was to assemble one piece of Armor. It was impossible! They knew that the chance of assembling the first piece was 1 out of 1,491,041,720,931,840,000. Australian devas laughed at those who tried to assemble the Armor, while taking their money. It wasn''t just Esther''s party; other Australian parties found that their E9, A7, B3, C5, C9, E3, A10, D4, D1, and B7 Shards disappeared. The same went for the Shards that were on sale at all the auction houses! Chapter 75: Chapter 74: To Egypt Part I Chapter 75: Chapter 74: To Egypt Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I went straight up to the third floor to the skill shop. ¨CI''ve got 3 skill points to use and my INT is over 1,500. I should learn that skill.- There was a skill that I wanted to learn before any others. ===[Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random Skill (not applicable)]=== I clicked the Physical tree and searched the skill I wanted to learn. ----------------- [Heel Kick (3/3), (Active) Kick at an opponent''s foot with the heel of your foot with all your might. In addition to damaging your opponent, your opponent loses movement speed, causing them to stop in their tracks. Requirements: INT over 1,350 Attack range: 1 meter Level 1: 360 second cooldown. Inflicts 100% more damage than current ATT and slows enemy down by 10% for 10 seconds. Level 2: 360 second cooldown. Inflicts 120% more damage than current ATT and slows enemy down by 15% for 15 seconds. Level 3: 360 second cooldown. Inflicts 150% more damage than current ATT and slows enemy down by 20% for 20 seconds. Skill points required: 1 Golden rings required: 305,200] ---------------- It was a physical skill that required INT, a hybrid skill. This skill was mainly learnable by mages but mages didn''t want this skill as its range was only one meter. The skill also relied on ATT, not MATT, for damage. -But, it''s perfect for me. I''ve got more than enough INT, and slowing my enemies down is always a plus.- This skill, combined with my increased movement speed the Boots gave me meant no one could escape my grasp. I could also use it to slow down monsters to make it easier for my party members to take them out. -Though I doubt I''ll ever end up partying up for bosses or monsters...- I moved the Heel Kick skill window to the side and looked up some other skills. All of my Stats were high. My STR was over 6,000 and my AGI was over 4,000. My AGI was higher than most archers. My ATT and ATT speed was already high enough. -I guess that just means I need something to improve my basic attacks rather than get a power skill. Power skill cooldowns are pretty high for active skills, too.- This time, I looked up a skill I knew to be of great use to melee fighters, known as Warrior''s Brave Spirit. ------------- [Warrior''s Brave Spirit (3/3), (Active) A brave warrior must not cower under pressure no matter what. A warrior must face look death coldly in the eyes, especially if escape is deemed impossible. A warrior who loses his brave spirit is a warrior no more. Never lose your bravery and charge forth! Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect. Level 2: 8 hour cooldown. For two hours, raise your ATT by 25%, CRIT chance by 2%, CRIT damage by 100%, movement speed by 10%, and ATT speed by 5%. For two hours, Determined Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Determined Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 12.5% and increases DEF and MDEF by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect. Level 3: 8 hour cooldown. For three hours, raise your ATT by 30%, CRIT chance by 3%, CRIT damage by 150%, movement speed by 15%, and ATT speed by 7.5%. For three hours, Heroic Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Heroic Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 15%, increases DEF and MDEF by 10%, STR, AGI, VIT by 500).(*Increased DEF includes increased STR.) Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect. Skill points required: 2 Golden rings required: 1,357,000] ------------ There were plenty of useful passive skills out there, but this skill was known to be the most important to improve basic melee attacks. Tanks and melee damage dealers all needed this skill. -I have just the right amount of skill points and golden rings to learn both skills.- I decided that those two skills were what I needed most right now. Buying both skills would cost me 1,662,200 golden rings. With the 20% discount, I would have just enough to buy them. -I suppose I''m still stuck with the greatsword....- I was going to only use the greatsword temporarily but somehow, I was still stuck with it and the orc armor. "I''ll buy Heel Kick and Warrior''s Brave Spirit." "With your VIP discount, your total comes out to 1,329,760 golden rings." They really were expensive, but they were also worth every golden ring. I paid the clerk and checked to see that I had 86,392 golden rings left. "Open Skill Menu!" ----------- [Skill Menu Unassigned Skill Points: 0 Passive Skills: 2 Unrivaled (1/1) (First Unrivaled) Selfish Prick (1/1) (Stupid Selfish Prick) Active Skills: 2 Heel Kick (1/3) Warrior''s Brave Spirit (1/3) Additional Skills: 1 Blink (Effect from Azazel''s Earth-shaking Lightning Boots)] ---------------------- I finally had five skills now. ¨CNice.- My two passive skills were already maxed out at level 1, while my two active skills needed two more levels each to max out. Blink didn''t have a level since it was an added effect from the Boots. I was really getting stronger by the day. Now that I didn''t have enough golden rings to spend, I left the Store. I wove through the crowd to enter a small caf¨¦ and ordered a coffee before sitting down. I took out my notebook and pen from my inventory, and circled the part I wrote about Azazel''s Boots. "If I couldn''t get this now, then my next stop was Australia. But now that I have the Boots, I don''t have to go anymore." I still wasn''t able to enter dungeons yet. I didn''t need to go all the way down under just to hunt some field monsters. There were plenty of places to hunt in China and Japan. "Check dungeon blessing." ==[You are currently under a dungeon blessing. (Time left: 11 days 9 hours 34 minutes)]== I still had eleven days left. "Should I go to China? I''m sure there are different monsters now, but there has to be some high level monsters in all that land." The bigger the land, the more monsters and monster types spawned. While I contemplated where to go next, a group of fifteen devas walked into the caf¨¦. I could tell that they were mages. From their equipment, they were all healers. They all had bracelets on that screamed ''Healers for the win!'' and even set their bracelets to be visible. There was only one reason they would do that, they were advertising to everyone that they were all healers. Healers and supporters were pretty rare. No one really wanted to become someone else''s supporting role just to get stronger. Healers and supporters were rarely ever the main cast. For them, just about everything was hard. It was rare to see healers without tanks or damage dealers, and I couldn''t help but watch them. I didn''t see any guild emblems or any semblance of uniform and presumed that they were an improvised party. ------ "Did you all bring your 200,000 golden rings?" Choi Sukho asked as he sat down in the middle of the group. "Yes." "I have mine." "Perfect. As you''ve all read on the party''s forums, we''ll be spending one month at a dungeon at Egypt''s Pyramid of Khufu." "Will we be alright without tanks or damage dealers?" a woman at the far end asked. "Have you just started your healer build?" "That''s¡­yes. I started off as an Earth-type mage, but I realized that it wasn''t for me. I tried out healing and it felt like it was right for me. But my leveling slowed down a lot as a Healer." "Ha¡­ I did say on the forums that beginners are welcome, but I see that you''re pretty fresh." "I¡­I''m sorry." "No, it''s alright. We''ve all been through it. I''ll explain everything in detail." "OK." "Thank you." Everyone in the group drew in to focus on Choi Sukho. "The monsters at the Khufu''s dungeon are all undead. In other words, they''re the perfect monsters for us Healers. We can use our heal spells on the monsters to damage them. You can just use the same heal skills you''ve used on your previous party members to kill the monsters." "Ah hah!" the woman exclaimed in realization. Everyone else nodded as if they already knew about it. "The heal spells you''ve used to aid your teammates inflict severe damage on undead monsters. Now, I know that there are a few here who know Mega Heal and Greater Heal, but is there anyone here who knows Master Heal?" Choi Sukho expected there to be none and only asked out of respect, but a woman who had been silent the whole time raised her hand. "Whoa!" "Wow!" Choi Sukho and the other party members exclaimed in admiration. "This is my fourth Healer party that I''ve led so far, but this is the first time I''ve met a Master Healer." "She must be pretty impressive if she''s a Master Healer¡­" a man whispered to the side. Everyone heard and knew what he meant. Healers leveled up very slowly compared to other classes, but it almost didn''t make sense for a Master Healer to move on her own. They were all wondering if she really was a Master Healer. "Open Master Heals Menu!" At their suspicious glances, the woman opened her Master Heals skill menu for all to see. "Whoa!" "Damn¡­" "She''s¡­for real!" Slightly embarrassed, the others could only quietly make comments of admiration. "I''m only here as this boy''s guardian. He''s only been a deva for three months now. I''ll admit it; he''s too low-leveled and won''t be able to carry his weight, but that''s why I''m going, too. Don''t you all think the two of us together won''t be able to carry our weight!" the woman spoke out as she laid a hand on her younger brother''s shoulder. The others could only nod in agreement. A Master Healer could do the work of three lesser Healers! The party had a 90% chance of success against a dungeon full of undead, but with a Master healer in their midst, it was now 99.9%! "I agree. I suppose all we have left to do now is get to know each other. We''ll be spending a month together, so we might as well. Please make sure to buy all the items that are listed on this piece of paper." "Yes." "We already got them!" the party members replied. "Perfect! Let''s show everyone that this healer party can power level like anyone else!" "Yeah!" Chapter 76: Chapter 75: To Egypt, Part II Chapter 76: Chapter 75: To Egypt, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The fifteen-man healer party was talking among themselves loudly enough that I could overhear everything they said. -Hunting undead is perfect for a healer-only party like them.- Undead monsters were largely avoided by most devas, but were also the best monsters to hunt for fire mages and healers. Healers especially loved hunting undead monsters; leveling was slow for healers when they hunted normal monsters with other classes, as they didn''t get as much EXP as everyone else. But when hunting undead monsters, healers could use their heal spells as attacks to get more EXP. I was about to let the part where the party mentioned Khufu''s dungeon go in one ear and out the other until I remembered something from the past. -Khufu''s hidden dungeon!- While there were normal dungeons like the Bukhan Mountain dungeon and the Mt. Fuji dungeon, there were also other dungeons known as hidden dungeons. Hidden dungeons had the same characteristics as normal dungeons: dungeon monsters yielded twice the EXP and drops as field monsters. Hidden dungeons, however, had two extra traits! First, while normal dungeons always remained open when they were found, hidden dungeons remained open for a limited amount of time. Once that time limit was up, the entrance to the hidden dungeon disappeared. Second, one could enter a hidden dungeon while under a dungeon blessing! Obviously, I had never entered a hidden dungeon during my past life. That was probably why I had completely forgotten about them. I always thought that I was fated to never come across one. -Damn¡­I really didn''t do much in the past, did I?- It wasn''t like I knew much about them, either. Everything I knew came from rumors. All I heard was that there was a hidden dungeon right next to the Pyramid of Khufu. That was all I knew. However, I did remember the hidden dungeon being discovered much later, so I was pretty confident that no one had found it yet. -Should I go?- I didn''t know the exact location of the entrance; just that it was right next to the Pyramid of Khufu. I wasn''t sure if I could find it if I actually made the trip. ------ "Now then, let''s go! It''s almost time for our flight to Cairo." "OK." "Did you all exchange contacts? If you do, we can all plan another expedition like this again in the future!" "Yes, we have." "Good. Then let''s go!" ------ While I was contemplating on whether or not I should search for the hidden dungeon, the healer party stood up and left the caf¨¦. I made my decision as they walked out. -I''ll go!- I wasn''t sure if I could find it, but I wanted to at least try. I wouldn''t lose out on much if I couldn''t find it after a few days. I followed the healer party out to the Incheon Airport. -I wonder if the Messenger Guild hasn''t been formed yet.- In the past, the Messenger Guild was one of the more successful guilds. Their business was teleportation. The guild would have one of their members in each large city around the world to set up teleport points in those cities. They would then teleport people to whichever city for a fee. The guild started off with points in eleven cities and before I jumped into the Sea of Reset, I remembered that the guild had expanded to have points in forty-seven cities! Other large guilds tried to get in on the action when they saw how much profit the Messenger Guild was making, but they failed. The Messenger Guild had already solidified their position by offering the safest and most reliable teleportation service. -They were pretty expensive, but using their services was always worth the price.- I got on the same plane to Cairo as the healer party, wishing the Messenger Guild was around right now. -------------- In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was a vessel of a god. The ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died, he began a journey to return to godhood. At that time, the only methods of transportation were horse-drawn chariots and ships that sailed the Nile. When the pharaoh was buried in his pyramid, he was buried with his chariots and ships. There was a chamber that stored the buried ships inside the Pyramid of Khufu. Inside that chamber was where the entrance to the hidden dungeon was located. Lee Jiwon did not know that. -------------- Back at the Sunbin Guild headquarters¡­ "You say he''s on his way to Egypt now?" "Yes sir. He just got a plane for Cairo." "Hmm¡­" Song Daechul had just received a report from Uno, an agent of his guild''s Intelligence Division. "Are Song Haechang and the Hitman Guild still after Lee Jiwon?" "Yes, sir. The Hitman Guild attempted to kidnap him, as per Song Haechang''s request, but failed. They are still looking for Lee Jiwon with the promise of being paid thirty times their usual fee." "Pathetic¡­" Song Haechang had no idea that Song Daechul already knew everything about his illicit affairs. Nothing escaped the eyes of the Sunbin Guild''s guild master. Song Daechul knew that his grandson was working with the gangster guild and occasionally passed on information, but allowed it to happen. There must be evil in the world so that the good could prove its purity above it. A large city such as Seoul had to have trash on the corners of its streets so that a cleanup crew could pick it up. That was why he allowed the Hitman Guild to exist. Song Daechul and his Intelligence Division knew that Oh Taeshik knew his place in the city. Oh Taeshik never made too much noise, and did his best to stay under the Sunbin Guild''s radar. That was why the Sunbin Guild left him alone. Of course, Oh Taeshik and Song Haechang had no idea of this. "Haa¡­I don''t know if this is the right decision to make." "..." Uno didn''t reply. "My grandson¡­ my only grandson." He knew about Song Haechang''s inferiority complex and the hatred he felt towards Lee Jiwon. He knew about Song Haechang kicking Lee Jiwon out of the building the second he woke up. He knew about Song Haechang''s order to have Lee Jiwon kidnapped and why. "Men are blind to their own causes." Song Daechul got up from his seat and looked out his window. The Sunbin Guild became even more powerful once the Otadolon stage kicked into full gear. There was no other entity that could ever come close to rival its power. The Sunbin Guild already had twenty thousand of its elites hunting in a mid-grade dungeon in China and one in Mongolia. Only Sunbin Guild members were allowed to hunt there. The guild had even set up safe zones and rest areas in each floor the two dungeons so that all guild members could focus on getting stronger. It had been five months since they began. The guild also had ten thousand guild members on rotation to clear out the fields surrounding Seoul and for the territory in Siberia it had received from Russia. Song Daechul knew that this was all thanks to the information Lee Jiwon provided when they first met. However, if he had to pick between his grandson and his benefactor, he believed that he would choose his family. "Tell me¡­ how did Lee Jiwon get so strong?" At first, Song Daechul and his Intelligence Division made the judgement call that it was the end for Lee Jiwon. It was why Song Daechul ordered him to be protected as a final favor to him. "That''s¡­" Uno had always been able to clearly answer every single one of his guild master''s questions, until now. Only Uno, the Intelligence Division, and Song Daechul knew about the fight between Lee Jiwon and the Hitman Guild''s specialist. Not a single one of them expected the fight to turn out the way it did. "It also doesn''t make sense that he slept for four years straight," Song Daechul didn''t rebuke Uno for being unable to answer. If Uno didn''t know, no one could know. He knew it wasn''t because Uno was slacking off. "Haein still doesn''t know he''s up, does she?" "No, she doesn''t." "When is she due back?" "She and the Shire Guild have completed the boss raid and are currently hunting at a hidden dungeon." "Then she should be back in a month or two at most." "Yes sir, it would seem so." "Good. Continue to collect as much information on Lee Jiwon as possible." "Yes sir." "You may go." "Yes sir. Oh, and should we continue to track him?" Song Daechul had the Myth Guild keep track of Lee Jiwon''s movements while keeping its distance. Uno asked if they should follow him all the way to Egypt. "..." Song Daechul quietly thought to himself for a while. "It''s¡­ about time to put an end to it and our old ties." "Understood. I''ll have the Myth Guild cease at once." Uno then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Song Daechul continued to look out his window and watched the city below him. "I''ve¡­ changed a lot as well. I didn''t die when my time came, and it seems I''ve become a monster¡­" Song Daechul walked out of the conference room, removing the ward that surrounded the room as he left. The ward was there to repel the prying eyes of the Gnosis Guild. ------------ The Gnosis Guild members were gathered once more at their Han Dong building in Yeouido. "He''s not trying to hide his ward from us now." "We did take a lot of information from him." X, the wielder of the Nearly All-Seeing Eye, spoke up for the first time. "Do we need to conceal ourselves now?" "We do. My Eye is telling me to not underestimate Song Daechul." "Really?" Alpha asked X. "The old man''s found some new desires after escaping death. Or maybe he''s found something new to latch on to. Either way, he''s gotten too strong and I''m sure he knows it, too. Soon, we won''t know what he''ll decide to do. One wrong move, and we''ll become his new target." "Damn." Alpha swore at what X just said and began to think. Soon, he came to a decision. "Cease all intel operations on the Sunbin Guild. Don''t even accept requests that have to do with the Sunbin Guild. Turn over all profit we made using the Sunbin Guild over to Song Daechul. We need to make ourselves as scarce as possible." No one said anything in objection. They all knew this decision was based on what X just told them. "But¡­ do we really need to turn over everything? It''s not like he knows exactly how much we made," said Lim Gina. "This meeting is adjourned." "I guess we''re huddling in for the storm." "Damn, it''s getting scary. Do you think I should leave Korea for a while?" No one paid attention to what Lim Gina said. "Hey. Hello? Excuse me? Can you guys hear me? Are you guys actually ignoring me again?" ---------- I arrived at Cairo International Airport in a record six hours, thanks to airline companies using wind magic to speed the planes up without having to make any mechanical improvements. The Healer party got on a bus right away, as if their itinerary was already planned out ahead of time. I didn''t set out to follow them to the Pyramid of Khufu right away, as it wasn''t my target destination. I left the airport and walked around Cairo to see what the general situation of the city was. I bought a map to see where the dungeon location was, but the map said it was only fifteen kilometers away from me. Hell, I didn''t even need a map; I could have just followed the crowd of devas that was heading towards the dungeon. -Damn, that''s a lot of devas.- There was not a single mortal in sight. Of course it did make sense, since it was pretty close to the dungeon, but the fact that there was not a single mortal around meant that the place was pretty dangerous. Cairo was not a safe place for mortals to live in. In other words, there was a high chance that Cairo was pretty lawless, and that whatever power resided here was too weak to properly maintain the city. I was alone in this unfamiliar place, but I wasn''t nervous or afraid. I looked around some more before heading to the Pyramid of Khufu. I did take my time, but thanks to my high movement speed, I arrived in no time. "It''s pretty big." The Pyramid of Khufu, also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza, was surrounded by smaller pyramids and was truly a sight to behold. However, the best part was the dungeon entrance. The dungeon entrance stood in the middle of the pyramids and there was a line of devas waiting outside, with another group of devas blocking the entrance. They were part of the guild that controlled the dungeon and were collecting entrance fees from devas in line. "That mark¡­" It was a normal sight to see members of the controlling guild collect entrance fees, but I noticed the insignia on their shoulders. "Isn''t that the Myth Guild?" It was one of the famous guilds I had heard about in the past. -If the Myth Guild is here, then is this place connected to the Blood Prince?- I didn''t know about the Myth Guild just because it was famous. Well, it was famous since it was Egypt''s number one guild, but it was famous because of the deity known as the Blood Prince. -That''s the guild that was obliterated by the Blood Prince.- Deities; 114 beings that were chosen by the Creator Himself. Seven of them were known as the Seven Monarchs. These seven were considered to be the strongest out of all the deities. The Blood Prince was one of them. The Blood Prince and ten of his followers completely annihilated the Myth Guild. That was why I remembered the guild. -Damn. The Blood Prince, huh¡­- I had never meet him in person. The Blood Prince never really came to Asia, especially South Korea. But everyone had heard of his evil reputation. Countless mortals and devas died by his hand. Everyone all the way to Seoul knew about how he killed without discrimination. -I suppose I don''t have to worry about that yet.- I didn''t put too much thought into it, as it was bound to happen to someone else, and not to me. Besides, if it did already happen, these Myth Guild members wouldn''t be here! Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Minor Contact? Part 1 Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Minor Contact? Part 1 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Over by the Babylon Fortress in Old Cairo, there were signs of a huge fight. "It''s time to go. The Myth Guild will be here soon to investigate." "Hah. Are you afraid of those insects? Insects are insects, no matter how many there are." "Yes, I know. You''ve told me many times before, but right now, your men are anxiously waiting for the return of their captain. They may be in this for the money, but they don''t enjoy carrying out dangerous missions." Um-nefer, one of the 114 deities turned away. Um-nefer had a different name he was known as: the Blood Prince! Those that knew him called him the Blood Prince, whether they were deities, devas, or mortals. "Must we contract devas?" the Blood Prince asked Ang-te, another deity. "Yes. We need them, regardless if they''re helpful or not. If we take on all the devas on our own, we will be evenly matched. But if we have devas on our side, we can pull ahead and they''ll be too busy fighting one another." "It''s exactly that kind of political thinking that''s preventing us from advancing. We don''t need to split them up when we have absolute power." "Only those as strong as you can think like that, captain. Besides, didn''t you get clocked real good not too long ago? I can still see you running away with your tail between your legs when you got caught in the Myth Guild''s trap." "I¡­" "Whatever. Let''s go back now. Hasn''t the countdown started anyway?" "Tsk! But I''m not fully warmed up yet to go back now. Is the Giza Pyramid still guarded by the Myth Guild?" "I suppose so. It is the Myth Guild''s biggest source of income. Why? Do you want to go there, too?" "I''m not warmed up yet. Besides, isn''t it better for all of us if I kill at least one more of them?" "Haa¡­fine. But be careful. The Myth Guild is most likely on full alert after getting hit that hard. I also don''t want to deal with Shin''s temper¡­" "I get it, I get it. You worry too much. Shin thinks about too many things to freely go anywhere. She''s probably in a middle of a hysterical fit right now," the Blood Prince interrupted Ang-te, annoyed. "I understand. I''ll take the men back to base." Ang-te gathered the 950 mercenaries and returned to the safe house to await the start of the Myth Guild Invasion. "Now then, I suppose I should make my way over there." The Blood Prince began to head towards the Pyramid of Khufu, the primary source of income of the Myth Guild, where Lee Jiwon was earnestly in the middle of searching for the hidden dungeon! -------- "Damn, this is tough." I had no trouble digging through the pyramid itself. There were devas everywhere and none of them paid any attention to me. No one else probably expected there to be another dungeon here when there already was one. "Is this the wrong way to look for it?" I was looking for the hidden dungeon the same way I found the dungeons in Korea. I kept punching at the air while going around. I rapped my knuckles here and there while taking care not to attract any attention towards me, but couldn''t find any sign of the dungeon. -If I remember correctly¡­ hidden dungeons were found through quests or scrolls found in random chests.- -I''ve got no information about the hidden dungeon''s entrance at all. Can it only be found if I fulfill certain requirements?- I continued to knock at the pyramid''s walls while thinking to myself. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crash echo through the pyramid. I turned my head towards the sound and heard a voice. It didn''t sound very far away. "Ahahaha! This place is about to come into my possession! Who said you can go around collecting golden rings like this?" A man right outside the pyramid entrance was holding one of the guards by the neck. "Gahk!" -The Blood Prince!- I had never seen him face to face, but had seen him on multiple news reports, so I knew it was him. On the way here, I had thought that there was no way that I would encounter him like this, but there he was, right in front of me. "You¡­mothe¡­" "You''re just another descendant of the loser, Ay!" "Attack him!" "Burning Black Dragonfire!" "Solid Sand Chain!" "Summon! Sand Warrior!" The Myth Guild guards began attacking the Blood Prince. "Ha! Good, good. Struggle as hard as you can. It''ll make crushing you that much more fun!" The Blood Prince took all of the attacks head on, but it didn''t look like he received any damage from them. He just stood there, smiling. "Hahahaha! It''s almost a crime to control Egypt when you''re all this weak. Blood Pool!" Blood began pouring out from the ground beneath the Blood Prince like a geyser of blood. Soon, the whole area around him was covered in blood. "Run away!" "Don''t get caught in the Blood Pool!" The guards quickly jumped away to get away from the pooling blood. "Where do you think you''re going? Steel Chains of Blood!" Chains covered in blood shot out from the pool of blood and wrapped around the ankles of guards that jumped away and pulled them down in the Blood Pool. "No¡­" "Shit!" "Cut them away! The Blood Prince can''t move away from the center of the Blood Pool. Just cut the chains away." "We just need to stay away from the Blood Pool. The Blood Prince will have to lift it sooner or later." The Myth Guild guards started to attack the chains that were dragging them deeper into the pool little by little. However, the Blood Prince remained where he was and the chains remained intact, no matter how hard they struck at them. Soon, the six guards were completely submerged in the pool of blood. And that was it; they never came back up. "Insects¡­" "Whoa! Hey, does that mean we can enter the pyramid for free?" "Maybe." "Come on, let''s go." "Let''s get inside before the Myth Guild gets here!" The normal devas that were waiting to enter the Khufu dungeon began to move towards the entrance. They seemed confident that the Blood Prince was only here for the Myth Guild and wasn''t going to attack them. "Blood Spear." "Gahk!" "What¡­" Spears of blood protruded from their chests. Most of them were Healers. The spears pierced through them without much resistance. "You insects are pretty bold to think you can just enter my dungeon without permission!" The Blood Prince didn''t hesitate to strike at the non-guild devas that tried to enter the dungeon. Seemingly unsatisfied with just the Blood Spears, the Blood Prince charged at the devas to attack them. "Gaahhh! Please! We''re not with the Myth Guild!" "He''s right! We just want train in the dungeon!" "We have nothing to do with the Myth Guild!" The devas didn''t attempt to stop or counter the Blood Prince''s attacks. Instead, they opted to beg for their lives. "Gahahaha! I don''t care. You''re all insignificant insects to me. You''re all insects trying to come inside my dungeon. Isn''t it obvious that the owner exterminate any insects invading his home? Struggle for your lives and make it interesting for me. It''s boring if you just go straight to begging. React a little like the Myth Guild." The Blood Prince cut down the devas while smiling. It was a complete massacre. -I need to get out of here.- I turned away after watching the Blood Prince. The devas that were around me were thinking the same and started to inch away from the Blood Prince. There were still a few staring at the Blood Prince in shock, frozen in place. I wasn''t about to fight with the Blood Prince. He saw devas as lower than insects; words were of no use to him. Challenging him was pointless. I haven''t made myself his enemy yet, and I didn''t want to step in to save any of these devas. It''s not like anyone would thank me if I did, and I had nothing to gain from fighting him. "Stop there!" The Blood Prince, however, thought otherwise. "I''m far from done yet. It looks like there are still more insects to exterminate. Hehehehe." "Run!" "Fuck this!" The other devas began to book it, and I was right there with them. I still had Blink from the Lightning Boots, but I decided not to use it yet. It did have a cooldown of five minutes, but I also didn''t want to needlessly attract his attention. The Blood Prince was looking around, deciding who would be his prey. "Good. Running away is the best you insects can do." The Blood Prince charged at one group of devas. Unfortunately, that group was right next to me. "Block him!" "We need to work together!" "We have a chance if we combine our power! We''ll all die if we abandon each other!" A few devas shouted out and took fighting stances when they saw the Blood Prince charging at them, but it was all in vain. Everyone else was more focused on staying alive. Once they saw the Blood Prince pounce on the group, they sped away. Others even ran in the opposite direction of the Blood Prince and into the dungeon. "Blood Wave!" The Blood Prince''s attack swept the group of devas away and continued straight for me. There were a lot of healers here in the Khufu dungeon. Healers could actually gain more EXP than any other class by killing undead. However, healers are mainly supposed to be on the back line supporting, not on the front line taking attacks head on. The group of devas next didn''t have anyone to protect them from the Blood Wave and were swept away without any resistance. But not me. I turned to face the incoming Blood Wave and swung my greatsword down in front of me in an arc. The attack split the wave in half and the blood washed away from me to the sides, soaking into the sand. -I did not mean to do that¡­- I only tried to block the attack because I didn''t want to just stand there like an idiot and take it to the face. I wasn''t afraid of the Blood Wave. I was an Unrivaled, a deva that could stand up to a deity, and the first one at that. But that still didn''t mean I wanted to be some sort of defender of justice for these guys. -I really don''t want to needlessly fight this guy...- "Well, well!" The other devas around me couldn''t avoid or block the Blood Wave and were swept away by it. Most of them died, and those that survived were either screaming on the floor in pain or running away. "You''re different." The Blood Prince stared me down, ignoring everyone else, and walked towards me. "I don''t want to fight you," I said, looking right back at him. "I don''t think you''re a deity¡­" "I''m a deva." "It''s been a while since I''ve felt such power from a deva." "I''ll say it once more. I don''t want to fight you, but I won''t run if you attack me." What''s done was done. I lost my chance to get out there with Blink. The Blood Prince would follow me wherever I went. The only chance I had was to fight back. "Is that right? But I don''t care about what you have to say!" The Blood Prince formed a sword out of blood and charged at me. Now I really had no choice! The blade of my sword met his with a clang. I felt the strongest force I''d felt from an attack so far, but it wasn''t enough to push me back. My HP did fall, however, even though I blocked his attack. ==[You have been afflicted by Blood Curse.]== ==[Blood Curse removed due to status immunity.]== ==[Damage received from deity reduced by 50%]== ==[You are the first Unrivaled. Attacks against deities increased by 25%]== "You...! You''re an Unrivaled?!" Chapter 78: Chapter 77: Minor Contact? Part II Chapter 78: Chapter 77: Minor Contact? Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED It seemed that the Blood Prince felt something when our attacks clashed. I could see his face change expression. "Chaa!" I gathered my strength to push the Blood Prince away with my sword. The Blood Prince stumbled backwards with a shocked look on his face. I took that timing to swing my sword at his head. The Blood Prince saw my attack coming, and quickly regained his footing, stepping back to avoid it. But my blade was faster. It wasn''t a perfect attack, but my blade did manage to cut him from his face to chest and left a huge gash. It was time to finish this! "Warrior''s Brave Spirit!" ------ [Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated. Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.] ----- My base AGI was already second to no one. It was also higher than that of any archer or assassin, thanks to my Lightning Boots and its 10% increase to movement speed. Now, with the Warrior''s Brave Spirit, my movement speed had to be the highest in the whole world. I charged in at the Blood Prince, who just stood there, seemingly unable to cope with the fact that he just got damaged. Sand and dust kicked up at my feet as I dashed in; it looked almost like a rocket''s trail. In a blink of any eye, I appeared before him and raised my heel over his foot. "Heel Kick!" I activated my skill while the Blood Prince stood there, shocked at my astounding speed. ==[You have activated Heel Kick. Opponent''s movement speed slowed down by 10% for five seconds.]== I used all two of my skills I could use. Now, all I could do is attack relentlessly. I slashed the Blood Prince who continued to stand there, dumbfounded that I managed to inflict multiple attacks on him in a matter of seconds. "What¡­ what is this? Erk!" The Blood Prince quickly regained his composure and moved back to try to get away from my flurry of slashes, but I stayed on him, not willing to let him go. I was much faster than him. Every time the Blood Prince moved to the side or tbackwards, I quickly closed the distance. "Gah! Shit! What is this damage output?!" I was the First Unrivaled. I took 50% less damage from all attacks inflicted by deities and inflicted 25% more against them. That was me! The Blood Prince swore when my blade slashed his thigh, but I ignored it and continued my attack. I was more satisfied that my attacks were working. My opponent right now was the Blood Prince; the most evil of demons and one of the most infamously dangerous people around. This demon was swearing while trying to escape my onslaught! "Sticky Blood Fog!" ==[Sticky Blood Fog is covering the surrounding area. Your body will be covered in blood, becoming overloaded. Body weight will increase by 200 grams per second, up to 60 kilograms.]== I quickly scanned the message alert. 200 grams per second meant 12 kilograms in one minute? "Kekeke! You''re not thinking you''re almighty just because you''re an Unrivaled, are you?" The Blood Prince smiled even after taking all those hits. If my body weight increased like that, then my attack and movement speed would start slowing down greatly. But I was still confident in my high STR, AGI, and VIT. "I guess we''ll just have to find out. Chaa!" Instead of getting out of the Fog, I charged in at the Blood Prince once more and slashed at him in a flurry. The blade of my sword deeply slashed his side. The Blood Prince tried to block my attacks with his sword made of blood, but the occasional attack went through and I could see drops of blood dripping from the blood sword. Soon, the blood sword became very thin. "Shit!" the Blood Prince swore. I could tell that the attack inflicted significant damage. I continued my attacks with more drive. After about five more hits, the blood sword broke in half and fell to the ground. At that moment, the blade of my sword sliced through the Blood Prince''s side once more. "Gak! How the hell¡­?" -Damn it¡­- The satisfaction I felt when my attack went through was replaced with a slight panic as I felt my body grow heavy. However, I kept my face straight. "Blood¡­Blood Pool!" The Blood Prince used the same skill he used against the Myth Guild at the entrance of the Khufu Pyramid. The skill required the Blood Prince to remain in the center of the pool. I thought for a second if I should charge in or retreat and decided it was best to make some distance between us. "Raaahh! You son of a bitch!" the Blood Prince roared at me from the center of the pool. I didn''t say anything, and just stared him down. Once the Blood Pool finished forming, it began to absorb the Blood Fog. ==[You have been released from the Fog of Blood. The blood that was stuck to your body is disappearing. Your increased weight will now decrease by 200 grams per second until your weight returns to normal.]== I glanced over the message and quickly closed it. I had better things to worry about. "You! You! I swear I''ll kill you! How dare an insect like you hurt me? How dare a lowly deva push me this far? Blood Powered Recovery. Savage Heart!" I knew that the Blood Prince was infamous in the past, but I never really took an interest in him. As a result knew nothing about his fighting style, or any of his skills. But I could obviously tell what Blood Powered Recovery did. All of his wounds began to close. -Shit!- I grew pissed as I saw him restore his HP in the middle of the pool. It felt like I just missed a really important time to really hurt him. I decided to trust in my Unrivaled skill and jumped over the pool of blood and brought my sword crashing down onto the Blood Prince. The Blood Prince formed another sword out of blood and raised it to block my attack. My attack was successful. The blade of my sword cracked the blood sword in half and continued towards the Blood Prince''s head. "Blood Chains!" The Blood Prince quickly called forth his Blood Chains while I was still in the air, wrapping them around my ankle. The chains pulled me back with great force and dragged me into the Blood Pool. In an effort to not go quietly, I swung my sword at the Blood Prince three more times in an instant. The Blood Prince blocked all three of my attacks, forming a new blood sword each time one broke. By that time, I was already waist deep in the pool and could do nothing to free myself. I thought for a second if I should use Blink to get out but I decided against it. I swung at the Blood Prince''s legs even as my head was submerged. The blade managed to cut his thigh. "Tsk! Tenacious bastard!" I couldn''t do anything more. It felt like the Blood Pool itself was dragging me deeper and deeper. ==[You are submerged in a Blood Pool. Your movements have become extremely restricted. The Blood Prince absorbs 1000 of your HP per second.]== "Gahaha! How do you like that?! It''s over once you''re in there! Gahahaha!" I could hear him laughing at me. ¨CShit! It''s hard to move.- It felt like my limbs were attached to a one ton weight. -Chaa!- I wasn''t going to just keel over like this. I gathered as much strength as I could and began to walk, one step at a time. "What¡­on Earth?" The pool wasn''t very deep or very large. The whole diameter had to be about only ten meters. If the Blood Prince was in the very center, then I just had to make it to five meters. "Blood Chains!" The Blood Prince summoned his chains once more to hold me by the ankles. He must really not want me getting out. I gathered my strength once more and pulled at the chains. ¨CDid you think I''ll just sit here and take it? Raaahh!- I could hear the chains stretching and groaning under the pressure. My body trembled as my muscles tensed like never before until I heard a few chain links give way. "What¡­the Hell¡­is this guy? Is he really a deva?" I could hear him stammer in confusion, but I didn''t care. I had to get out of this thing first. Just like the way he did with the Myth Guild, the Blood Prince had to stay in the middle of the Blood Pool and his only way to attack was to use his Blood Chains. The fact that he didn''t use any other attacks while I was still in this state solidified that theory. -Graah!- My head finally broke the surface. It took everything I had, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Each step was only about ten centimeters apart, but I didn''t give up. -Should I use Blink?- I thought to myself but at that instant, a message screen appeared before me. [Xia Manko''s Stats have begun to react to their user''s will. Xia Manko''s 66 Stat points that have been added to your STR will increase a hundredfold.] The chains that held me by the ankles completely broke off and with one step, I jumped forward three meters. I saw what the message just said, but I didn''t have time to figure out why it happened. I quickly took up a fighting stance and stood on the surface of the Blood Pool. The blood dripping from my face was pretty annoying, but I ignored it and stared the Blood Prince down. "How¡­ how did an insect like you free yourself from my Blood Chains? How!?" "How does it feel to be beaten by an insect?" "Grr! No one''s beaten yet! Blood Chains!" Two more chains shot out from the Blood Pool and headed straight for me, but there was no way I was going to fall for the same thing again. "Chaa!" I stabbed down at the chains with my greatsword in quick succession. The chains turned into puddles of blood at the impact. "Is that all you''ve got?" "Eeerk!" The Blood Prince ground his teeth and his face grew red in anger, but he didn''t make another move. We stood there, five meters apart, in a standoff, with the Blood Prince unwilling to leave his Blood Pool and me with no ranged skills to use. I would have used my Blink if I had the ability to take him out in one attack, but that wasn''t the case. We stood still, watching each other, for about thirty seconds. "What''s the matter? You don''t want to fight? Come out of your Blood Pool already." "You come in here." "Hah! What, are you scared to come out to squash a puny bug like me?" I called out to him from a good distance away from the pool. I only got out from the pool in the first place thanks to that unexpected effect from Xia Manko''s skill. I wasn''t about to put myself in a disadvantageous situation again. "Why would I be afraid of someone like you?! If only the Myth Guild weren''t¡­" Someone appeared next to him before the Blood Prince could finish talking, someone I had never seen before. "It seems like you were put in your place," the newcomer said to the Blood Prince. He must know the Blood Prince quite well to speak to him like that. "Shut up, Ang-te!" "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You can yell at me later," the Ang-te guy just nonchalantly replied to the Blood Prince''s yelling. "Grr¡­" "We can''t waste time any longer. The Myth Guild is swarming this place as we speak." "You''re telling me I have to retreat after all this?" "Yes. Invading the Myth Guild is more important that your pride. Don''t you think so as well, captain?" The Blood Prince didn''t say anything in reply and only ground his teeth in anger. Ang-te didn''t seem to care about an answer and turned to me instead. "I can tell you''re an Unrivaled deva. Hmm¡­ but I don''t think I''ve seen your face in our files." Ang-te looked me up and down as he spoke to me. "Well, putting that aside, you actually got out of the Blood Pool by sheer strength alone? And while chained up as well? Geez¡­ to think we''ve been looking down on devas when there were some like you¡­" "That''s only because I wasn''t taking this fight seriously! If I had, that insect would never stand a chance!" "Yes, yes, I''m sure the captain could have done so. But I''m sure he could easily kill the rest of us." It sounded like he was making fun of the Blood Prince. I could tell from the way he brushed off the Blood Prince''s shouting that they had history. "Anyway, why has someone we haven''t seen before getting in our way?" Ang-te asked me. That question just drained all the fight out of me. "Hah¡­ you''re making it sound like I started this. That guy started all of this, not me. I told him I didn''t want to fight him, but he still came at me." "Ah¡­ it seems I''ve asked quite a stupid question. Of course he did," Ang-te said, shaking his head. "Alright, then. I''ll apologize on his behalf. We do need to get going now." "..." I tried to think of what to say back. If I said I wanted to finish this fight, I would have to fight Ang-te as well. I didn''t have any reason whatsoever to put my life on the line right now. Besides, somehow I doubted that I could get some sort of compensation out of them if I asked. "I''ll take your silence that you accept our apology. It''s time we left, captain." "Damn it! Fine." Ang-te took hold of the Blood Prince''s shoulder and they began to fade from view. Once they were gone, the Blood Pool soon disappeared, as if it was absorbed by the sand. As they left, the Blood Prince glared at me in disgust, and I glared back at him. I was pissed off and felt wronged in a sense. I was truly annoyed at the fact that the asshole that started the fight got to just leave like that. Still, I was damn happy that I could go toe to toe with someone as strong as the Blood Prince! It was much different than when I fought against Shin Hyuk. Shin Hyuk was much weaker than the Blood Prince. -Well, I should give him some credit. He and his guild did get to join forces with the Nayuta Guild.- Soon, devas that had watched my fight against the Blood Prince while running away began to crowd around me. "Whoops¡­ I guess it''s time for me to go, too." I saw a large hole in the middle of the Giza Pyramid. I jumped all the way up to it and entered the pyramid. When I got inside, I saw a sign that said the chamber I was in contained the ships buried with Pharaoh Khufu. -I should save my Blink for real emergencies only. I''m sure no one will expect me to have it.- It felt like a waste to use it, and then attract unwanted attention towards myself. ------ A man was half buried on top of a sand dune not far from Lee Jiwon''s and the Blood Prince''s fight, his mouth hanging wide open. Edwifu had followed the Blood Prince from Old Cairo to scout his movements. Edwifu had watched the entire fight, amazed there was a fellow deva that could more or less match the strength of the Blood Prince. He could still clearly recall the whole fight in his mind. "A deva¡­ can be that strong, too!" Tears even welled up in his eyes as he watched. It was normal after all the Blood Prince and Ang-te put him and his comrades through. The whole existence of deities was a con. They gained ten more stat points per level than normal devas, basically twice as much as normal devas. Devas did have the option to learn the Unrivaled skill to try to catch up, but that option only presented itself at level 500 and was extremely expensive to learn. Edwifu had never seen another deva that could go toe to toe with the Blood Prince himself! "I don''t think I''ve ever seen him before¡­ he looked Oriental¡­ what am I doing? I need to report this right away!" Edwifu slapped himself in the face to wake himself from his stupor and began drawing something in the sand with his finger. About a minute later, a face with Lee Jiwon''s likeness was drawn in the sand. It was clearly drawn, as if it was drawn on a piece of paper and not on a sand dune. "Upload!" The drawing flashed in a ray of light and disappeared. It was sent to all of the scouts in Cairo''s vicinity. Edwifu took out a radio. "Did you all get the picture? Find him. We have to find him no matter what. Last known location is around the Khufu dungeon." He put away his radio without bothering to listen for a reply. "We don''t have much longer until the invasion of the Myth Guild begins. I wonder¡­ if that deva''s appearance is fated to save our guild from utter destruction." The Blood Prince was a prime example that there was not always strength in numbers. The more people that went up against the Blood Prince at once, the more people died. Nothing they could do could hurt him. Only someone as strong could take him on, and the Myth Guild was currently looking for such a person. Edwifu buried himself deeper in the sand. He had to get back to his guild and report to his guild master, Shin, as soon as possible! Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Hidden Dungeon, Part I Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Hidden Dungeon, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED As I stumbled into the pyramid, I kicked out at a wall inside to try to steady myself. A resounding boom echoed through the chamber as my foot collided with something hard and invisible. ==[You have satisfied the prerequisites.]== ==[You have discovered a hidden dungeon in the Pyramid of Khufu.]== "What?" I stared dumbly at the message that had just popped up in front of me. "The hidden dungeon was here all along?" I asked myself out of bewilderment. Once it sank in, I could only laugh out loud in amazement. "But what did it mean by prerequisites? What did I do?" ------------ [You may now decide if you wish to reveal Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon or keep it hidden. Reveal: Others may also enter the hidden dungeon. (Those under dungeon blessings are allowed.) Maximum of two months allowed in Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon. Conceal: Only the discoverer may enter the hidden dungeon. (Those under dungeon blessings are allowed.) Maximum of one month allowed in Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon. Discoverer is granted 20% more EXP, item drop rate and golden ring drop rate. Reveal/Conceal] --------- "Obviously I''ll keep it concealed!" I selected Conceal without hesitation. ==[Deva Lee Jiwon is allowed one month in Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon. The entrance will remain concealed.]== A dungeon entrance revealed itself in front of the wall before me. It was much smaller than all of the other dungeon entrances I''d seen. "I wonder if this is a reward for having to put up with the Blood Prince''s bullshit." I was still pissed off that I had to fight him. What did I have to gain from fighting him? If I lost, I died, and if I won, no one would know. "I suppose it''s time to go in." I took a step inside the dungeon entrance. ==[Five meters around the dungeon entrance is a safe zone.]== ==[Monsters will spawn in this dungeon according to Deva Lee Jiwon''s level. Caution is advised.]== I nodded to myself as I read through the messages that just appeared. I was getting a little nervous. I''ve been to many dungeons and knew what sort of monsters to expect and that there would be multiple floors. I didn''t need to be nervous, but I had never been to this dungeon. I didn''t really know what to expect. "I haven''t been to this dungeon before, but it shouldn''t be too hard, right?" I looked around the dungeon floor from the safe zone. [Undying spearman] [Undying soldier] [Undying archer] [Undying commander] "I really wish I had the Monster Detect skill right now." I had obviously never encountered these monsters before. I had no information about them at all. At least I had the message tell me that they were around my level. If I had the Monster Detect skill, I could know their levels and more, but it was too bad that I still didn''t have enough skill points. "I suppose I''ll find out once I fight them. There''s no way I can lose now." I sat down for now. I wanted to take a short break and think about the fight against the Blood Prince. "I couldn''t push him all the way back. If I could somehow deal with the Blood Pool¡­" I could have won that fight, but that Blood Pool was a real problem. "I know that he can''t move from the center of the pool¡­ does that mean I''ll need a ranged skill if I have go up against him again?" Still, I was pretty content with myself that I could match the Blood Prince blow for blow. It just meant that everything I''d done so far was right. "Ah¡­that''s right. There''s still the thing with Shaman Ko''s stats!" I received a huge STR boost from Shaman Ko''s stats when I was struggling in the Blood Pool. "It boosted my STR by 6600. I mean, it was only for three seconds, but that was more than enough for me. Was there a hidden effect to the skill?" It didn''t feel like I could use it any time I wanted to. "It''s not a good idea to rely on it. I''ll just chalk it up to pure luck." If I couldn''t use it whenever I wanted to, I might as well plan as if didn''t exist. I continued to rest for another thirty minutes as I thought about the fight. ---- "It''s time to start, I guess. After all I''ve been through to get here, I need to make the most out this month." It did take a lot of luck to get here, but still, I did try my hardest. I walked over to the group of undying spearmen first. "I better get a lot of EXP out of you guys. I should get a bunch with that double EXP boost." The three undying spearmen saw me approach and charged. They were undead monsters, faster than zombies, but slower than skeletons. They were bonier than I expected, but still seemed sturdy enough. They definitely didn''t look low-level. "Good for me." I swung my sword at the leading monster''s spear to deflect the attack. I was slightly pushed back, but was able to block the attack without taking damage. I raised my left foot and kicked the monster in its chest. The spearman rolled back three meters from the force. I let it roll around on the ground and turned to face the other two spearmen charging at me. The monster on the right stabbed me in the gut and I winced at the pain. My DEF was raised significantly thanks to my Lightning Boots, but the spearhead was at least five to six centimeters in. I looked over at my status UI and saw that I lost only about 28,000 HP. -Wait a second. My DEF more than doubled, so isn''t it a lot to lose almost 30,000 HP?- I had no time to worry as the monster on my left was getting closer. "Heel Kick!" [You have activated Heel Kick. Opponent''s movement speed slowed down by 10% for five seconds.] I had to use my skills as many times as I could once the cooldowns were gone. I needed to level my skills up so that they were of better use against monsters and other devas. Once the monster staggered from the Heel Kick, I slashed the undead spearman twice. In an attempt to not go down without a fight, the monster stabbed at me again ,but I managed to grab the spear by the shaft with my left hand. "Huh, I guess I can do that too, now." The undead spearman pulled back to free its spear from my grasp, but I held on tight. I raised my greatsword as if it were a one-handed broadsword and stabbed at it three times. The monster was still standing. I stabbed at it until it disappeared to into a cloud of black dust without spilling a single drop of blood. -Probably because it was undead-, I mused to myself. It took a total of seven stabs. I was much stronger than I was when I could kill Gorgons with three attacks, so that meant these undead spearmen were that much higher level. I liked that a lot. I turned around to the other spearman. It had already pulled its spear out of me and was about to attack again. It stabbed at me once more, but this time, I watched the spear come closer and turned my body at the last second. "I can see everything you do." I stabbed my sword into its stomach and was rewarded with a dry roar of pain from the monster. The blade didn''t penetrate completely, but did leave a large gash between its chest and stomach and pushed the monster back by about two meters. I jumped right on top of it and swung my sword down on its head. I placed a foot on each arm to hold it in place and chopped at its head relentlessly. On the fourth hit, the strike flashed yellow and the monster died from a critical hit. "I''m seeing a lot more critical hits this time." I brushed off some of the dust the monster left and turned to the spearman I had kicked away. "And then there was one," I whispered before charging at it. The monster thrust at me, but I deftly deflected it and began stabbing at it. I was much faster now. I dodged every time it tried to counter and slashed it twice for each time it tried to attack. After my seventh attack, the monster finally died, turning into a cloud of black dust. ==[You have gained a level.]== "Nice!" The level up alert was always a welcome sight. The undying spearmen left 158 golden rings and one cursed soul shard in their piles of dust. "If these monsters can drop at least 60 golden rings each, that''ll be more than enough. I can always sell these soul shards, as well." From my memory, hidden dungeons didn''t have boss monsters or multiple floors. The whole dungeon was on a single floor, but it was enormous. That was another difference between hidden dungeons and normal dungeons! "I am definitely not leaving here for a month. I''m going to make it to at least level 300." I raised my sword in front of me and charged at a large group of undead. Somewhere in the middle of the fight, a bolt of red lightning struck an undying commander. ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF is lowered by 80%.]== "Tsk. Where were you when I fought the Blood Prince?" It was the first time I saw Powerful Shock go off. I slashed at the now snail-like undying commander. It crumbled to a pile of dust with one hit. I kept going for three days straight, until my fatigue rose too high, and rested at the safe zone by the entrance. Soon, the desire to sleep washed over me and I took out a one-day Safe Crystal and promptly fell asleep on the floor. --------- A few hours after Lee Jiwon entered Khufu''s hidden dungeon at the Myth Guild''s headquarters in Old Cairo¡­ "Shit! Um-nefer, you son of a bitch! How dare a filthy descendant of Ay fuck me over like this?!" Shin, the guild master of the Myth Guild, slammed her fists on her desk. Her guild administrators and officials watched her, but didn''t stop her. Their last hope against the Blood Prince''s Myth Guild invasion just went up in flames at the very hands of the Blood Prince himself. "How incompetent do all of you have to be to let Old Cairo get destroyed like this? Huh? Tell me!" "We''re very sorry, ma''am." "We have no excuse, ma''am." Her administrators could only hang their heads in shame. The heir and direct descendant Horemheb, Shin was an absolute being of the Myth Guild. She wasn''t even thirty, and yet her administrators had never gone against her word. "Please calm down, ma''am." Ebonene, the vice-master, decided to step in to relieve the tension in the room. "But¡­" Shin''s administrators were loyal to her since before they became devas, but Ebonene was different. He served her father and was someone she trusted even after her father''s passing. She couldn''t get mad at the man who was always at her side. All of a sudden, someone burst into the conference room. It was the head of Intelligence. "What do you want?" "I apologize for the interruption, but there''s something you must know." He beckoned at the door and Edwifu entered, still covered in sand. "I highly doubt you''re here to report what happened to Old Cairo now. And if you''re here to report that the Blood Prince killed the guards at Khufu''s Pyramid, then you''re too late. I already know about it," one of Shin''s officials spoke in her stead. "No sir, it''s something else. I haven''t reported this to another administrator yet." "What? What is it?" "It''ll be faster if I showed you. Master Shin, may I have your permission to put on a video?" Edwifu truly believed that as a descendant of a pharaoh, Shin was truly a goddess of Egypt, as did many of the members of the Myth Guild. "Is it something that truly requires my attention?" "Yes, ma''am. Without a doubt," Edwifu replied confidently. "Very well." Shin was not in the best of moods with the destruction of Old Cairo, but knew better than anyone else to act professionally. She was taught to at the earliest of ages. Edwifu approached a projector at Shin''s permission. "Turn the light off, please." The lights in the room were turned off, and Edwifu turned on the projector. It wasn''t a long video; only about ten minutes long. "He''s an Unrivaled." "I don''t think I''ve seen him before." They could tell that the deva fighting against the Blood Prince was an Unrivaled right away. They had fought against the Blood Prince many times themselves, and could tell at a glance. Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Hidden Dungeon, Part II Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Hidden Dungeon, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED There was no way to escape the blood curse once inside the Blood Prince''s domain. The blood curse itself was severely detrimental. The video continued on. "What!" "A deva just¡­" "There''s a deva out there that can hold his own against the Blood Prince?" They couldn''t believe what they just saw. Even after the video ended, everyone in the conference sat in shocked silence. "At the last part when the Blood Prince refused to leave his Blood Pool, do you think it was because he was afraid of that deva?" "Yeah, right. It''s the Blood Prince, the worst of all deities." "Then what else could it be? He stood there for thirty seconds before Ang-te showed up. You know what kind of monster the Blood Prince is!" "That''s¡­" They were sure that Blood Prince couldn''t have been afraid, that he was always eager for a fight but they could see him not move a single muscle for the entire thirty seconds. The Myth Guild knew quite well how much the Blood Prince loved fights, the more vicious and bloody the better. This new sight was, for lack of a better word, strange to them. "I think¡­" After watching the video in complete silence, Ebonene spoke up. Everyone else in the room, including Shin, turned to look at him. Ebonene became a deva after the age of sixty, but had looked after Shin since she was a child. He was one of the pivotal members of the Myth Guild. He fought the most against the Blood Prince, and was even responsible for killing the Blood Prince once. "He''s contemplating whether or not to use Blood Rush." "What?!" "That''s just unbelievable. The Blood Prince wanted to use Blood Rush on one person?" It was totally unbelievable that the Blood Prince actually thought about using Blood Rush on a single deva. This was the Blood Prince they were talking about; the deity that terrorized the Myth Guild for a year and a half now! The Myth Guild was only able to properly retaliate once against him. The Myth Guild had incurred unspeakable losses to him. Three to four thousand devas had lost their lives at the hands of the Blood Prince. Most of them had even died multiple times to his savagery. The Blood Prince was a true monster to the Myth Guild. "I agree with the vice-master," said Benenti. Benenti was an Unrivaled of the Myth Guild, and was also the guild''s main tanker. Benenti was always there whenever the Myth Guild fought against the Blood Prince. Everyone else in the room fell silent when two experts on the Blood Prince agreed with one another. Denying what the two just said was pretty much blasphemy. "Are you sure?" "Yes. But did no one else notice anything strange?" "Huh?" "So you''ve noticed, too," Ebonene nodded. "The deva that fought against the Blood Prince is an Unrivaled." "Yes, we know that." "Didn''t that become obvious when the blood curse didn''t work on him?" "What''s so strange about that?" "The Unrivaled skill is¡­ currently best used by tanks. Right now, I''m level 617. I learned the skill at level 500, and used the two skill points I have received since towards tank skills. In other words, my ATT is rather low. My STR is above 1,000 thanks to the extra 10 Stat points I''ve been getting every time I leveled up, but it is still lower than the vice-master''s." It was then that the others understood what Benenti meant. "Let''s watch the video again. Notice anything about the Blood Prince''s expression? He''s feeling pain and getting annoyed. When have we seen him make such a face? It happened only once... when we managed to kill him!" "That¡­ did happen." "I see." "Unrivaled devas have the ability to receive 50% less damage from deities, making them the perfect shield against deities. But all that means is that Unrivaled devas can withstand attacks from deities better than normal devas. They don''t have the ability to inflict significant damage against them. If a deity and an Unrivaled deva fight to the death, the deity will win. That much is obvious." Benenti looked around the room as he spoke. "However, we just saw the deva in the video force the Blood Prince to use Blood Pool as defense, and not attack. A single deva did this. Furthermore, this deva doesn''t seem to have any other skills besides Unrivaled." Benenti''s words brought to light what they couldn''t see before. They could now see that this never-before seen deva was stronger than they initially thought. "He''s looks like an Oriental. Is he Chinese? Japanese? They all look the same to me, so I''m not too sure," Shin finally spoke up after listening quietly. (TL Note: Whoa, whoa, whoa lady. TF? Jk, you right.) "It''s true that they do look similar, but there are distinct differences if you look carefully. That man¡­ looks like he''s South Korean." No one said anything to contradict Ebonene. He had the most overseas experience out of everyone in the room. "I see. We don''t need every Tom, Dick, and Harry to take on the Blood Prince. As you all know, they just end up becoming Health Potions for him," said Shin. Everyone nodded in agreement. The wounds on their bodies attested to that. "The Blood Prince will once again call for our surrender. We''ve rejected him twice already, and if we reject him again¡­we''ll incur the Coward debuff. All Myth Guild members'' abilities will decrease by 15%." The first time the Blood Prince attacked the Myth Guild, he didn''t go through any formalities and instead attacked the guild members indiscriminately. However, the Myth Guild persevered, managing to turn the tables around and killed the Blood Prince once. That was when the Blood Prince decided to switch up his tactics and began to chip away at the guild. "What we need right now are champions, and powerful ones at that! We need them to fight the Blood Prince for us, so we can think about how to deal with future challenges." The Myth Guild believed that they just needed to defeat the Blood Prince once more. "The invasion of the Myth Guild is nigh. We must prevent it! No, we can stop it if we can defeat the Blood Prince once more in battle. Find him! Find anyone who can stand up to the Blood Prince. Promise them whatever is needed! You have the blessing of the only descendant of Horemheb!" "Yes ma''am! Understood!" "We will find them, no matter what." Ebonene and Shin''s administrators all knelt on one knee and bowed, shouting in unison. They all set out to find Lee Jiwon. ---- "Time for a break." After wiping out a small platoon of undying soldiers and commanders, I found a small, cave-like recess to hide in. I gathered some boulders around to block the opening. "The entrance''s safe zone is too far and it''s too wasteful to use another one-day Safety Crystal. I should have done this earlier." For a few days, I hunted around the dungeon''s entrance, but the monsters there just weren''t enough. I decided to venture deeper into the dungeon but soon, I ended up pretty far away from the entrance. It was short enough to go back and forth, but it seemed like a waste of time. "It''s been twenty days now, so I''ve got, what, ten days left? Hmm¡­I may or may not be able to reach level 300 at this rate. I need to try harder these next ten days." I could see myself getting stronger by the day. I wasn''t tired after hunting for twenty days straight. I even wanted to sleep less to make the most out of the thirty days, but I knew that the high fatigue would slow me down. I had to make sure to rest properly. ---- At the same time¡­ "Have you still not found him yet?" "..." "..." "Apologies, ma''am." The Myth Guild''s officials could only apologize to Shin with their heads bowed. "We found out twenty days ago from the flight logs that the man''s name is Lee Jiwon. So why haven''t you found him yet?" "Well¡­ we searched all of Cairo and the rest of Egypt, but there''s no sign of him anywhere." "We have more than 1,500 guild members searching through Khufu''s Pyramid dungeon, but he''s not there either." The man trying to destroy the Myth Guild was the Blood Prince. If the Myth Guild could stop the Blood Prince, they could stop their destruction. They needed a champion, someone who won''t become another potion for the Blood Prince and instead someone who could really give the Blood Prince a hard time. That was Lee Jiwon, and the Myth Guild really needed him. "There is a chance he used a Warp Scroll, so keep all options open. We have to find him!" The fate of the Myth Guild depended on whether or not they could find Lee Jiwon. Could they protect all of Egypt from the Blood Prince, or would they just disappear from history? "Haa¡­OK. The fate of the Myth Guild rests on our ability to stop the Blood Prince''s next attack. Please, do your best." The officials nodded. Egypt was the Myth Guild''s roots. If they lost Egypt, there was no way they could survive. ---- It had been 29 days since I started hunting in Khufu''s hidden dungeon. ==[You have 24 hours left in Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon. You will be automatically teleported out of Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon after 24 hours.]== "I know¡­" I closed the kind message telling me that I had one day left while I finished off the last undying soldier in front of me. "I''m level 298 now¡­I really want to get to level 300 before I leave." I was gaining an average of two levels a day now. It was only possible because it was a dungeon and because of the double EXP gains. "Huh? It''s that thing again." I picked up a bloody note that appeared in the mounds of dust left behind by the undying spearmen and soldiers. "Item check." ------- [Undead''s Note of Revenge (No Rank) A note written by an undying soldier, spearman, archer or commander. Cursed with undeath and endless time, these undead warriors dream of happier days. They have lost their loved ones, their once youthful skin is now in rags, and their bodies continue to rot. These warriors continue to pray for death, but death continues to escape them. Enraged, these warriors have vowed vengeance. They have stolen a treasure from the cursed treasure room and have hidden it away, writing its location on one of these notes. Collect 10 notes to attempt to assemble a complete page. Success reveals the location of the cursed treasure that the undying warriors have hidden away. Failing causes the notes to disappear.] ------ "I failed each time." I was really happy when I first found a note. I had a hope that I could actually find the treasure while I was here, but I failed each and every time. "I think I tried more than forty times already." These notes were hard to find, as well. I could only find maybe thirteen or, fourteen a day. It was nothing compared to the number of monsters I killed in one day. They were much rarer than Cursed Soul Shards. "I have ten notes right now; should I try it again?" I wasn''t expecting anything at all, at this point. Besides, I was out of here tomorrow, so there was no point in saving them, anyway. "Assemble Notes of Revenge!" [You have gathered 10 Undead''s Notes of Revenge. Beginning 1 assembly attempt.] The ten pieces of paper gathered together in the air and began spinning in a circle. "I bet it''s another dud like all the others," I muttered to myself as I watched the papers spin. [Congratulations. You have successfully assembled the Notes of Revenge into a treasure map. You can use the treasure map to navigate through the hidden dungeon to find the treasure.] "What..." The unexpected message took me by surprise. I wasn''t expecting it at all after forty fails, but I was all the more happy that it worked with just one day left. "Ehehehe! Nice!" It was exhausting on my mind and body hunting for a month straight without interacting with anyone. Finding the treasure map seemed to wash all of my fatigue away. "Activate treasure map!" Almost right away, a line pointing to one end of the dungeon appeared before me. "I guess I have to follow it." This was now more important than leveling up. I had to find it now if I was going to be flung out of Khufu''s hidden dungeon tomorrow. I quickly followed the line, ignoring the monsters around me. "Why''s it so far?" I still couldn''t see the end after two hours. I didn''t think I came this far while hunting during the past month. Hell, I didn''t even know that the dungeon went this deep! Soon, I came to a little crevice in the wall just enough to crawl through. It was impossible to find normally. I crawled through and continued on. Thirty minutes later, a very out-of-place indoor oasis appeared before me. There were flowers and trees all around. The inside of Khufu''s hidden dungeon was not hostile, with only grey boulders and no sign of vegetation anywhere. But there was a small stream of clear water running on one side and colorful flowers in full bloom everywhere. "This¡­is very not dead." The note clearly said that the treasure was supposed to be closely guarded by death, but there was nothing dead about this place. I continued farther in. Soon, I came upon a chest sitting in the middle of a field of flowers. "That must be it." It had to be what the map led to! I walked over to it and opened the chest. Inside, there was a single item. I had never seen the item before, but a smile grew on my face. Finally, an item worth finding! I had finally found a weapon after all this time! It was a spear glowing with a beautiful red light. I quickly picked it up. "Item check!" [Heart''s Blood Harrier (Rank 8) A spear crafted not for practical use, but for decoration. It is a beautifully and masterfully crafted weapon that exudes neither danger nor ambition, but protection. However, Death did not like this weapon when it came across it by chance. Death believed that all weapons were created to kill, and didn''t understand the existence of this weapon, and so Death placed a small amount of his power into this decorative spear. Successful attacks drain 1000 HP from enemies. Absorbed HP is used to restore wielder''s lost HP. (If no HP is lost, absorbed HP disappears.) Decrease ATT speed by 8% Increase Penetration by 167 Increase CRIT chance by 4.1%, increase CRIT damage by 255% Increase STR by 350 Increase VIT by 500 Increase HP by 200,000 Durability: 945,000/945,000 ATT: 6,780, MATT: 950] "Holy!" I had finally found a spear. I had been forced to constantly put aside getting a new weapon for other items. I was able to make do with the greatsword, but I always wanted a new one. "Each successful attack absorbs 1000 HP¡­that''s basically another 1000 points of damage." This was just amazing! It must have had to do with the spear''s name, but it increased VIT by 500 and HP by 200,000. Of course, the penetration, CRIT chance, and damage were just as high. "Props to me too, I guess. To think that I could have all these rank 8 and rank 10 equips. Time to go. I want to try out my new weapon." I was itching to see what this spear could do. I retraced my steps back to the main part of the dungeon. --- As soon as Lee Jiwon left, the area of green began to change. The blooming flowers and green trees began to disappear, and the hidden area once more looked like the rest of the dungeon. --- "Chaa!" I charged at an undying commander with my spear pointed in front of me. The spearhead easily stabbed through the commander''s body. [The Harrier is unable to absorb HP from undead monster types.] I quickly pulled my spear out and stabbed the monster again. I already knew about undead and absorbing HP, and just continued my attacks. After three strikes, the undying commander fell to a cloud of dust. "Hah! Is that all?" I shivered at the sight. "At this rate, I can do it!" If I could take out a commander in three hits, I could probably reach level 300 in five hours! "Hehehe!" I gripped the Harrier tightly in my hands and rushed at a new spawn of monsters. I didn''t need to hide my grin anymore. "Warrior''s Brave Spirit!" [Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated. - Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.] "Let''s go all out until the end!" I had eighteen hours left! Chapter 81: Chapter 80: Nip it in the Bud, Part I Chapter 81: Chapter 80: Nip it in the Bud, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[You have gained a level.]== "Whoa! ==[Your time in Khufu''s Hidden Dungeon has come to an end. You will now be flung back out into the outside world.]== As soon as I shouted out when the level up alert came up, I was forced out of Khufu''s hidden dungeon. I was literally thrown into the sand right outside the pyramid, but it didn''t feel bad at all. I just gained a whole lot in the span of a single month. I was so happy that if someone spat in my face right now, I would laugh and embrace that person. "But damn, am I tired." I did get to take short breaks now and then, but I didn''t get to fully rest. I felt more exhausted now that I was done. "I guess I can go to Cairo to rest up for now." I cared more about my well-deserved break than about the Blood Prince or the Myth Guild. I headed straight for Cairo. It was eerily quiet. All of the restaurants and storefronts were closed. "What''s going on? It wasn''t like this a month ago." I passed by more closed stores and motels until I ended up in Old Cairo. Here, there were devas walking around and motels and restaurants that were open. I headed to the biggest motel, booked a room and went up to take a shower before sleeping. --- Late the next morning, I woke up to Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel in front of me. It appeared at 11 AM without fail every day. If I didn''t spin it at 11 one day, it still appeared the next. I wanted to find out what would happen if I missed a day and purposely did so while I was in Khufu''s hidden dungeon. It allowed me to spin again the next day. I touched the wheel to let it spin and went to the bathroom to take a shower. A message appeared letting me know it landed on a 3, but I ignored it. After my shower, I came out and sat on the bed. "Haha¡­ shall I see the fruit of my labors? Open Stats!" [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 300 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 1,879,500/1,879,500 MP: 172,700/172,700 Strength: 6750+66 Agility: 4,700 Vitality: 3,799 Willpower: 1,667 Intelligence: 1,597 Unassigned Stat Points: 2000+93 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 22,215 Physical Defense: 6,944 Magical Attack: 6,341 Magical Defense: 5,682] I had about 2,100 stat points unused, including the ones I got from Shaman Ko. My ATT also went up by 7,000 just by switching weapons. I decided to put the 93 Stat points into STR. I put 1250 of the normal points into STR ,as well to make it an even 8,000, and put 300 into AGI to set it to 5,000. I put the remaining 350 into VIT. It might seem like a waste of points when I already had high enough HP and VIT, and the Orb still collecting points, but from my experience as a fire mage, it was always good to have more HP. Besides, I had enough points to spare! ==[Strength: 8000+159 Agility: 5,000 Vitality: 3,749 Willpower: 1,667 Intelligence: 1,597 Unassigned Stat Points: 0]== Happy with my new Stats Menu, I left the motel and headed to a restaurant. It was time to pig out once more! --- Back at the Myth Guild''s headquarters in Old Cairo¡­ "I...I¡­I found him!" Edwifu looked up from his desk and looked at the subordinate who just burst through his door. "What? Found what? Did you find Lee Jiwon?!" Edwifu angrily asked. The entire guild combed through all of Cairo and Egypt looking for Lee Jiwon for a month, and now had one day left until the invasion. Many of his fellow guild members gave up on looking for him, but Edwifu never gave up. He saw the extent of the man''s abilities firsthand, and knew that he couldn''t let him go. He had that much love and faith in his own guild. "Yes sir! Him! I found him!" "What? Really?" "Yes, really!" "Where?!" Edwifu shouted so loud that he almost tore his vocal chords. "He''s at Armin''s, eating." "Huh?" Edwifu wasn''t sure he heard correctly. "Armin''s? You mean, the same place I go to have lunch every day? The same place right outside our headquarters?" "Yes! He''s there right now!" Edwifu wondered for a second if his subordinate was playing a prank on him. He practically flipped Egypt upside down looking for Lee Jiwon, and to hear that he was eating just a few steps away¡­ "I''m serious. Go check for yourself. The invasion is tomorrow; do you really think I''m playing here?" The subordinate saw the look on Edwifu''s face. He had the same look when he saw Lee Jiwon earlier. "O¡­okay!" Edwifu quickly snapped to. He decided it was best to see for himself before reporting to the guild master. He rushed over to Armin''s, and there he was. He saw Lee Jiwon sitting at a table full of food, literally stuffing his face. Edwifu promptly returned to his office and called Shin to let her know Lee Jiwon''s whereabouts. She and Ebonene left together for the restaurant he was at. The Myth Guild really needed a cat''s paw to deal with the imminent attack from the Blood Prince. Some saw Lee Jiwon not as a cat''s paw, but as a tiger''s. They only had one day left now. They had to do everything they could to protect their home! --- "Man, I really miss Korean food," I said to myself, as I took bite after bite. I ordered taameya, kushri, fatta and other dishes, but they weren''t really to my taste. They were still much better than Store bread and drink, however "Huh?" There were plenty of people coming in and out of the restaurant, but all of a sudden, a group of uniformed people surrounded my table. I noticed the same insignia on their shoulders. They were from the Myth Guild. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee." Three of them stepped forward and one of them, a man in his thirties, spoke first. "Yes, hi. You got the right person." It was obvious they knew who I was, so I came clean. I was strong enough now that I wasn''t afraid of encountering the Blood Prince again. I knew that I might not win, but I wouldn''t lose, either. "We finally meet. It''s so nice to meet you. My name is Rameha, in charge of the Myth Guild''s foreign affairs. This is the Myth Guild''s guild master, Shin and the vice-master, Ebonene." "Ah¡­ I see." I nodded at the introductions. I supposed I didn''t need to do the same. Besides, it was obvious they wanted something from me. "Would it be alright if you spared us a little bit of your time?" "I am a bit busy¡­" I didn''t really want to get mixed in with the Myth Guild''s affairs. This guild was fated to be done away with by the Blood Prince. "Please, it''ll only take¡­" "That''s enough. I''ll talk to him," Ebonene, the vice-master, cut in. "Mr. Lee, a month ago, did you fight with someone in front of the Giza Pyramid dungeon?" "I''m not too sure." I decided to take an ambiguous approach. Of course, there were a lot of witnesses then and I couldn''t take proper measures to conceal my identity. "The man you fought against is known as the Blood Prince." Ebonene completely disregarded my reply. He knew it was me. "..." "Soon, that man will begin his invasion and destruction of our Myth Guild. Well, it''s much sooner. It''s tomorrow. That is why we have been looking for someone strong to join our forces." "I''m not a member of the Myth Guild, nor do I have anything to do with the Myth Guild." "You are absolutely right. I''m sure you don''t understand why we have come to you like this. You don''t have a reason to help us." Ebonene''s expression didn''t change one bit and agreed with me. "Mhmm¡­" "But that man is a deity. A being different than us devas since birth. Right now, his target is the Myth Guild, a guild that you have nothing to do with. But what do you think will happen when he gets even stronger than he is now?" "I can''t say for certain." "There is every chance he''ll target devas and deva-run guilds; devas and deva-run guilds that you do have a relationship with." I thought back to my past life. The Blood Prince didn''t discriminate. He was actually the worst and most vicious out of all deities. He killed devas and mortals if they so much as looked at him wrong. He was the reason deities were feared. Not all deities were like him, but from my memory, no deity ever wanted or tried to stop him. Why would they, when they became just as strong while he did all the work. "If we don''t stop him, there may come a time when all devas are oppressed and live as slaves to deities," said Rameha. "We are not asking for your help for free. We are more than ready to compensate you for your efforts. At least think about it," Ebonene added. He then took out a card from inside his jacket. "This card is a Myth Guild VIP card, usable anywhere in Cairo. Think of it as a free pass. Of course, should the Myth Guild fall, this card will become a useless piece of plastic." I didn''t reach out to take it just yet. "I''ll also leave you with this report we have on the Blood Prince. If you don''t need it, feel free to throw it away. There is exactly one day left before the Blood Prince invades the Myth Guild. If you decide to reject our offer, I advise you to leave not only Cairo, but Egypt itself. I predict there will be a bloody battle in the near future." "If you need to know more about the Blood Prince, come by any time. We''re¡­right here. You''ll be able to easily find us," Shin added. She turned around and left the restaurant with her guild members right behind her. "Geez¡­" I fell into deep thought as I watched them leave. If they acted a bit clingier or really pressured me, I definitely would have rejected them outright but now, I was getting curious. As I reached out to grab the report Ebonene left me, I noticed a familiar man sit down at the table next to me. The man looked over at me in surprise. "Master!" "Huh? You''re from..." --- "Are you sure we should just leave at that?" Shin asked Ebonene. "Yes. It seems that there''s something holding him back. If we come on too strong, we''ll only push him away. It''s better to have him make the choice on his own." "Very well. If that''s what you think, then I''ll go along with it. But the more important part here is... will he really choose to face the Blood Prince again?" "He will." "How are you so sure? It didn''t seem like he was that interested." "As I said, there''s something holding him back. He''s not fated to become a king, but he has the ambition. And he doesn''t seem like an idiot. He''ll make the right choice if we give him some time to think." "Think about what?" "That eventually, the Blood Prince will be standing in his way to greatness. That it would be better to get rid of him while he has the chance. I planted the seeds, so it won''t be long. Telling him any more will actually yield the opposite." "What?" Shin didn''t understand how Ebonene was so confident. They barely shared many words with each other back at the restaurant, but Ebonene was acting as if he knew Lee Jiwon since long ago. If it were anyone other than Ebonene, Shin would have had a hard time believing him. "Lee Jiwon will come find us soon. We just need show him our best hospitality. If he shows us more power than we expect¡­ than we also need to think about recruiting him." They arrived back at their headquarters while listening to Ebonene''s thoughts. It was only a minute away. They had looked tirelessly for Lee Jiwon for a month and yet, there he was, only a minute away. The Myth Guild needed to make their preparations. There was less than a day left! Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Nip it in the Bud, Part II Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Nip it in the Bud, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "You''re¡­" I had no idea what his name was. Well, maybe I did, but I didn''t care who he was when I first saw him. I also had no idea why he was calling me "master". "Do Sunghoon! My name is Do Sunghoon!" "Uh huh¡­right." "Do you remember me?" "Uh¡­ from Hyungjae Loans, right?" "Yes, that''s right! I was the one who got captured by Oh Hyungjae and was killed by him multiple times. If it weren''t for you, master, on that fateful day, who knows what would have happened to me¡­ umm, by the way, I never got your name." "It''s Lee Jiwon." "It''s very great meeting you again, Master Lee." "Likewise." I did not expect to meet him here in Cairo, of all places. I thought I would never see him again after that day. "What brings you all the way to Cairo, Master Lee?" "Master¡­why are you calling me master?" Why was he calling me master, when this was our first time talking? "That''s because I decided to take you as a teacher of life and strength since that day!" "Say what now?" "I''ll never forget what you did for me that day. I swore to myself that if I ever see you again, I''d make you my master and live as your apprentice!" I was taken aback by his enthusiasm. He began telling me about how hard he looked for me, how he tried to copy my appearance, and about how he hunted relentlessly to get stronger. It was like a child bragging to their parents. He kept looking at me like he wanted me to tousle his hair and tell him good job, but¡­ he looked older than me. There was no way I would do that to a middle-aged man with a beer belly. "I¡­I see. So that''s what happened..." "That''s right! That''s why Master Lee is forever my master. Forever! To the end of days!" "No¡­ you don''t have to go that far." "Please, there''s no need to be so formal. Why would a master be respectful towards his student?" "But our age¡­" "Age doesn''t matter between devas. All that matters is who is stronger!" "Still¡­" "Master, please! If you continue this way then I, Do Sunghoon, will not meet you ever again!" That''s want I wanted him to do. It was really weird to have someone be so forward with me. But it was nice to have someone to talk to after hunting on my own for a month, as weird as it was to have someone look at me like a dog to its owner. "O¡­okay..." "Thank you, master! "By the way, what brings you all the way to Cairo? Most Koreans don''t come all the way out here." Egypt was way too far from Korea just for simple training. There were better and closer hunting grounds in Japan and China. "Hmm¡­it is a secret, but I''ll tell you because you asked, master. I''m currently a member of a group known as Fate." "Fate?" I had never heard of a group like that before. "I doubt you''ve heard of it. Put simply, it''s a group formed to fight against deities. Of course, we don''t fight every single deity out there. We mainly target deities that bring harm to devas." "Then you''re here for the Blood Prince." "Yes. The Blood Prince is Fate''s greatest enemy. The number of devas and mortals he has killed just went over 20,000. He is also getting stronger at an alarming rate, much faster than anyone else. We believe that if we just let him be, there will come a time that we devas will have to live in fear under his shadow, and decided it was best to join forces with the Myth Guild. That was why I was dispatched here." "Do you think killing him once will make that much of a difference?" "As you already know, the existence of deities is a complete con. Yes, there are only a few deities out there that have special skills and abilities like the Blood Prince. The rest of them have to buy skills like devas. Those special deities, including the Blood Prince, are known as the Seven Monarchs." "Right." If all deities were as strong as the Blood Prince, all devas would become slaves to deities. That much was obvious. "Of course, most deities are stronger since they get twice as many stat points when they level up. That alone makes them that much stronger than devas." I already knew all of this. In the past, many devas hated the existence of deities, including me. What made them better than the rest of us? "However, they lose just as much upon death." "How so?" "First off, we devas have to wait three hours before we can respawn. Deities, on the other hand, have to wait 3,000 hours or 125 days. Second, devas lose 2 points to each Stat, a total of 10 points; basically we lose 1 level when we die. Deities lose 30 levels each time they die; they lose 120 Stat points to each Stat." Unrivaled devas had a similar death penalty; they lost the same amount of Stat points they gained from one level. "Deities also can''t use Penalty Recovery items like we can. They can''t get back the 600 Stat points they lose from dying once. Also, we devas can use the Sea of Reset to start over, but if a deity used it¡­" "What happens?" "They become devas." "What¡­" It was my first time hearing all of this. "You must not tell anyone this, but the leader of Fate is a deity." "!!!" I stared at Sunghoon in shock. "According to the boss, deities and devas aren''t supposed to be enemies, but there are a few deities that are misunderstanding the whole thing. The boss believes that we need to be working together to prepare for the future, but the Blood Prince is causing a lot of problems. That''s why the boss decided to step in, to prevent a war between deities and devas." I didn''t ask him about it, but Sunghoon kept telling me everything he knew. He was becoming more and more useful. "Oh, look at the time. It''s almost recruiting time so I''d best be going." "Oh, yeah. OK." "Oh, and take this too." Sunghoon took something out of his inventory and handed it to me. "Is¡­ this a Comm Link?" People still used radios and phones. Large guilds even had their own transmission towers. But those things couldn''t be used inside dungeons. The only way to communicate during long dungeon hunts was to use Comm Links. Comm Links allowed others to communicate with each other as long as their Comm Links were connected. They were also very expensive. "Yes. This Comm Link can connect to five other Comm Links. This one already has mine connected to it. It''s under #1." "It must have been expensive." Sunghoon gave a hearty laugh. "I finally got to meet you again, master; I can''t just let you go, now can I?" I almost didn''t want to take it, but Sunghoon did go through a lot to find me. "One more thing, master." Sunghoon''s face turned dark as he got up to leave. "Cairo is going to turn into a bloody battlefield tomorrow. The Myth Guild is going to fight to the last man against the Blood Prince. Neither side is going to yield. You must leave Cairo before then." "What about you?" "I must fight as a member of Fate. We must do everything we can to stop the Blood Prince from getting stronger." "Even if no one will recognize your efforts?" Sunghoon laughed again. "There are a few out there. We have a few large guilds that have been secretly supporting Fate. I''m sure it''s because they''re jealous of deities." "I''m sure." "Yes. I know there are some devas out there that work tirelessly to watch out for the future of devas, but¡­well, I do have the support of many." I nodded slightly at what Sunghoon just said. "Well then, master. I''ll contact you soon. Do get out of Cairo ASAP." Sunghoon left those final words before leaving the restaurant. There was still quite a bit of food left on my table, but I lost the will to eat more. -What should I do?- I had more to think about now. I left the restaurant and went back to the motel. --- "It''s not like it''s got anything to do with me, honestly." I did have my own encounter with the Blood Prince, and it was only a month ago. The bastard picked a fight with me for no reason while I was out looking for Khufu''s hidden dungeon. He had the same atrocious personality I had heard about in the past. He attacked anyone he wanted to, and saw all devas and mortals as insects to be exterminated. "The Blood Prince did completely eliminate the Myth Guild and took over all of Egypt. He ascended even higher in strength after that¡­" Even though the Blood Prince saw all devas as bugs, he did have devas that worked for him and stuck by him. They probably learned how to deal with him and his whims just so they could reap some of the rewards. "What is this? I just have to not run into him again and I can go on my way¡­" I had nothing to do with them or him. It was the same in the past, and that''s how it was now. I didn''t belong to any guild, nor did I have anyone I cared about in particular. I knew that I would be fine if I just avoided him for the rest of my life. "But there is something I learned in this new life. What was it I told Kim Jiwan? It''s smart to leave no potential enemies." That was the problem right now. In the past, the Blood Prince was an entity that was so far away from me. I was so insignificant compared to him that there was no chance of me ever running into him. But what about now, or in the future? Would it be the same? Was I really never going to run into him again? Those questions kept surfacing. I had a strong feeling that I would encounter him again sooner or later, and that he would be much stronger then. "What to do¡­?" If I were weak, I would have died in an instant back at the Giza Pyramid dungeon''s entrance, just like all the other devas. Revenge? There was no way I could ever dream about revenge. It was because I was strong that I fought back and that I could hurt him. "He''s going to end up getting in my way." Even if I keep getting stronger, the Blood Prince would do the same. Of course, I probably wouldn''t lose then but right now, I had a chance to nip him in the bud. That was the smartest choice to make. I laughed to myself. "Did I grow that much to think like this?" I wasn''t worried about the fate of other devas and mortals. I was just thinking about my future. It was selfish of me, but that was how I thought. But I was still happy that I could think this way now, as it was something I couldn''t afford to do in the past. I had to go with the flow of everything around me. I never had anyone that could get in my way. I picked up the report the Myth Guild gave me on the Blood Prince and thumbed through it. I didn''t believe everything in the report, but there were quite a few things in there that matched what I knew from the past. "Fine! I''ll do it." I made my decision. I would join the fight against the Blood Prince. It was for me and me only! Based on his temper, he was never going to see devas as his equals. He did the same in the past. If he wiped out the Myth Guild, he was only going to get stronger. "I need to defeat him while I can! I need to put some distance between while I still have the chance!" It wasn''t like I needed to do much to prepare for the fight. All I had to do was my own thing. The Myth Guild was even going to pay me! I decided to go to the Myth Guild''s headquarters the next morning and took the rest of the day off. I had to get ready for the fight of my life. --- Early next morning, I arrived in front of the Myth Guild''s building. "It''s so close." I could see it from the motel. The main building was less than thirty stories tall, but the campus was very large. There were also two other ten-story buildings that were being used by the guild. "Who goes there?" There was a guard in front of the main gate. "I have business with the Myth Guild. Oh, I can just show you this." I took out the VIP card Ebonene gave me. "Ah! A VIP card. What is your name, sir?" "Lee Jiwon." "Understood. Please wait here one moment." The guard entered the guardhouse and spoke to someone on his radio. Soon, I could see someone inside the building running towards me. "Welcome. Thank you for coming all this way. My name is Edwifu, and I''m the head of Recon here. I''ll take you in." "Yes, thank you." I followed Edwifu through the campus. "Since you''re here, is it safe to assume you''ve decided to join us in the fight against the Blood Prince?" "Yes." "Thank you. Thank you so much!" Edwifu''s face lightened up, and he thanked me vigorously. On the way to the main building, I saw a large group of devas gathered in the building to the right. They weren''t in uniform and didn''t seem to be part of the Myth Guild. It seemed the entire guild was busy as well. "They are mercenaries that work out of Egypt. We used golden rings and all of our connections to bring them here. There are some who might be able to make a difference, and others that are probably hopeless. But we had no choice as the Blood Prince has a massive army of his own." "Ah, I see." "It''s¡­ pretty busy here, isn''t it? We have about six hours left." Edwifu could tell what I was curious about just by looking at me. "We''re here. The guild master, vice-master and other officials are inside, formulating battle plans." I entered the large conference room Edwifu led me to. "Welcome. It''s good to see you this morning." Ebonene and Shin stood up and were the first to greet me. "Yes, thank you." "Thank you for coming." "Thank you for deciding to help us." We briefly said our hellos before moving to another room on the other side. "We have less than six hours left until the Blood Prince''s attack. Most of Cairo has already been evacuated." That was the situation I saw when I left Khufu''s hidden dungeon. "Of course, there are a few hidden spies from other guilds watching us." I remembered the battle between the Myth Guild and the Blood Prince was a huge issue back then. We began the meeting. Chapter 83: Chapter 82: Clash, Part I Chapter 83: Chapter 82: Clash, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED There were five others in the room with me: Shin, Ebonene, Rahema, Edwifu, and Naika, the head of Intelligence. They all took their seats. "We''re short on time, so I''ll go over the checklist one more time. I''d like to also thank Mr. Lee for joining our fight against the Blood Prince," Naika began. I gave her a small nod. We first began with the Blood Prince''s demands. He warned the Myth Guild that if they refused him a third time, he would cast Fear upon the entire guild, which would decrease all guild members'' abilities by 15% for a month. "He wants to fight to the death, and if he wins, he wants us to stay out of Egypt for the next five years." It was because of these demands that the Myth Guild had refused a full-on battle twice before. The Myth Guild already had all of Egypt under its control and had no reason to fight under such conditions. But now, the guild had lost much of its control due to the Blood Prince''s guerilla tactics. "We only have one shot at this to come out victorious. Our roots lie in Egypt. It''s where we were raised and where the bones of our ancestors are buried. The only way we lose it is through death!" Shin spoke to all of us in a quiet voice, but I could hear her desperation and determination clearly. "I, no, the entire Myth Guild have put all our faith on you, Mr. Lee." "Well¡­" "I''m not saying this to overburden you. You''re only enemy is the Blood Prince. You don''t have to win the fight. I just ask that you buy us enough time." "We will provide you with a healer and supporter. We can deal with the rest as long as you keep the Blood Prince focused on you. Can you do it?" asked Naika. "Umm¡­" I had to think for a second. A month ago, I was able to hold out for more than ten minutes against the Blood Prince. I was also sure that he hadn''t used all of his moves then. But a month ago, I was 100 levels lower and only had a Rank 3 weapon. I was level 300 now with a Rank 8 spear. I''d grown much stronger in a single month. Could the Blood Prince have gotten stronger as fast as I had? No! It was impossible. "I can do it." I was confident. I just had to hold out with a healer and supporter backing me up. "I knew it!" Edwifu, who was seated next to me, seemed the happiest. "Ah, we need to properly pay you back for helping us out, don''t we? Expecting you to put in all this work without properly compensating you would be rude and selfish on our part." Shin then gestured to Ebonene who took then took out something from his inventory. "First, we have seven Recovery Gems." Ebonene laughed. "I suppose it''s a way to tell you not to worry about anything and fight with your all." "Ah¡­ I see." I didn''t laugh at Ebonene''s dry humor. "Next, we''ll give you 10,000,000 golden rings. And take this as well." After handing me the 10,000,000 golden rings, Ebonene took out a third item and handed it very carefully. I took the red item with equal precaution. It was a Rank 8 item. "Item check." -------- [Bracelet of Eternal Fire (Rank 8) A bracelet holding the wick of an ever-burning candle. All that remains is the wick but the flame never goes out. Increase all stats by 100 points Increase VIT by 500 points When HP reaches 0, HP is restored back to 35%. (Eternal Fire''s Last Breath): Once activated, user must wait 30 days before being able to use effect again.] ------------ I stared at the bracelet in shock. I expected it to be powerful, but that was one hell of an effect. It was like having an extra life! It was difficult for normal devas to recover from death penalties. Wealthy devas didn''t care; they could just buy as many Recovery Gems as they wanted. Those Gems cost anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 golden rings each. Normal devas preferred to spend that money on skills to make up for their loss rather than buy a Gem. They could also buy items that could raise their stats by 100 or 200, and not worry about losing 10 stat points from dying once. Rich people probably didn''t need this bracelet even if it were a Rank 8 accessory. So what if they died? They had the funds to quickly recover. But then I remembered something from the past. -What happens if you die in the middle of a boss raid? What would happen if you had this during the greatest battle of your life?- Just dying was worse than the death penalty. It was pretty simple and easy to recover from at least one penalty, but it''d be such a pain to die during an important event. "A deity offered us 2.9 billion golden rings for it, including other investments and benefits." "Oh¡­" I recalled what Sunghoon told me yesterday. Deities had no easy way to recover from a single death penalty; dying was way worse for them. Deities would definitely do anything they could just to get their hands on the bracelet. "The price is only set to go up even more as well." "That''s¡­true." I didn''t know what else to say. I believed it. "If you can successfully hold off the Blood Prince for us, then we''ll give that bracelet to you. The Blood Prince wants a full-on death match; he won''t come out right at the beginning. All you need to do is bide your time until he shows himself. Just buy us some time for us to deal with the other seven deities that are with him. "Why don''t you take it for now?" "Excuse me?" I asked in surprise. The battle hadn''t even started yet! "I believe you understand what we''re all thinking and feeling right now. We do not accept defeat. As I''ve said before¡­ defeat means our death," said Shin. I didn''t say anything in return. They gave me so much; this was a lot of pressure. I came here ready to nip this in the bud, but now I knew this was nothing to scoff about. I had to put in everything into this fight. It wasn''t because I wanted to keep the Bracelet of Eternal Fire. I wasn''t in this for the 2.9 billion golden rings. I was in this to not only defeat my biggest rival so far, but to also prevent the destruction of a reputable guild. I definitely did not have any¡­ ulterior¡­ motives. I gripped the bracelet in my hand harder. ==[You have received a guild invite from the Myth Guild. Accept? Yes/No]== I selected Yes. ==[You are now a member of the Myth Guild. You will receive your guild benefits in 3 months.]== I never expected to join a guild that had disappeared from existence in the past. -I guess history is about to change.- --- Five hours later¡­ I still had 2 skill points from when I reached level 300, but decided to save them. It wasn''t because I wanted to be loyal to Anton or anything. There was a skill I wanted to learn that cost 3 skill points. I needed to save them for now since leveling up was getting to get even harder now. -It''s also not like having another skill is going to make much of a difference against the Blood Prince...- I was moving through Old Cairo with the main army. There were twenty thousand of the Myth Guild''s own members, forty-five hundred mercenaries and five hundred members of Fate. We were waiting in silence for the Blood Prince and his army to show up until¡­ "They''re coming!" "The Blood Prince is here!" I heard the scouts call out. The Myth Guild was stronger in numbers. The Blood Prince''s army consisted of mainly mercenary devas and the so-called traitor devas that joined for the sake of collecting scraps. That was how the Myth Guild managed to kill the Blood Prince once, and another deity three times. That was also why the Blood Prince sieged the Myth Guild with guerilla warfare and forcibly applied the Fear debuff. He was going to take advantage of the guild''s weakened state and attack head on. "Don''t be rash; wait. It''s going to be an all-out guild war anyway." We watched the Blood Prince and his army leisurely march towards us and waited for the right moment. All Hell was about to break loose. We needed to time our attacks perfectly. "It looks there are about seven or eight thousand of them." "They brought the bare minimum to this guild battle." You needed to match at least thirty percent of the enemy''s numbers in order to participate in a guild battle. The Myth Guild had around 25,000 soldiers. The Blood Prince needed a minimum of 7,500. "They''re all either mercenaries or some random devas they managed to drag into this mess," Ebonene said to Shin in a disdainful tone. The attackers challenged them to a guild battle because they were confident that they could win. They even got to set their own conditions and demands. That just pissed Ebonene off more. All the defenders were able to do was increase their numbers by twenty percent. The Blood Prince stopped his army a hundred meters away from the Myth Guild and stepped forward. "The time for my revenge has come! The true champion of Egypt stands before you!" "Cut the crap!" Shin yelled back. The Myth Guild''s soldiers stepped aside to make a path of Shin. It reminded me of the tale of the Red Sea. "Hah! That''s rich coming from a coward that rejected a guild battle twice." "Why the hell would I agree to a guild battle with such ridiculous conditions? You spent your entire life groveling as a street rat. I don''t care if you''re a deity; you have no true power and I don''t need to put up with your classless bullshit." The Blood Prince laughed. "Hah! Street rat? Classless? Have you been living under a rock? Have you any idea how many live in envy of deities?" he said, spreading his arms and looking around him. He stared into Shin''s eyes. "I was chosen unlike you. I was granted this special power as a deity. Power like this. Blood Explosion!" The Blood Prince suddenly launched an attack right at Shin. The ground at Shin''s feet began bursting with geysers of blood. "Blessed Descendants!" The sky flashed bright for a second. A giant, orange beam of light then shone straight down on Shin. The orange light healed the wounds on Shin''s leg and burned away all the blood that was pouring out from the ground. The ground soon returned to normal. "Cheap, cowardly bastard!" yelled Shin. "Zombie bitch!" the Blood Prince yelled back. Every time Shin stepped forward, the pillar followed. It looked like a spotlight following the main actor on stage. The Blood Prince didn''t attack her again. He knew that she wouldn''t take damage as long as she was in that ray of light. Shin stopped right in front of the Blood Prince. "Let''s finish this!" "I was thinking the same thing. I, Um-nefer, guild master of the Blood Federation hereby challenge Shin, guild master of the Myth Guild to a battle of guilds." "I, Shin, guild master of the Myth Guild hereby accept the challenge of Um-nefer, guild master of the Blood Federation to a battle of guilds!" Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Clash, Part II Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Clash, Part II [The Blood Federation and the Myth Guild have agreed to a Guild Battle. Battle type: Deathmatch Battle rewards: Losing guild must leave Egypt for five years. (Leaving the guild does not affect this.) Myth Guild''s conditions: 7,500 Blood Federation members vs. 9,000 Myth Guild members Yes/No] ------- "All you''ve got is numbers, don''t you?" "I''m just going along with the rules set before me. You started this battle, so why are you being afraid now?" "Hah! Afraid? Who, me? Fine. Let''s begin!" ------ [The Guild Battle between the Blood Federation and the Myth Guild is about to begin. The battle will take place at the Battlefield of Valor. The Battlefield will appear in 10 minutes. The Battlefield will then stay open for 20 minutes. The battle will begin after the time limit, regardless whether or not all participants have entered the Battlefield.] ------ "I''ll show you the same defeat your ancestors felt that day!" "I''ll take back the Egypt that rightfully belongs to me!" The two glared at each other in disgust before returning to their armies. "Naika." "Yes ma''am!" "I have extended our number as you suggested. Have the 9,000 members been selected as planned?" "Yes ma''am. They''re ready." "Good." "Don''t worry, ma''am. Victory is within our grasp." --- Ten minutes later, a huge roar echoed through the heavens. A giant island-like mass descended from the sky. -The Battlefield of Valor.- That mountain was where the battle was to take place. In the past, there weren''t that many guild battles. Why? Because strong guilds could just take what they wanted. There was no need to make a big deal out of things with guild battles. If the Blood Prince had more deities and devas under his command, he wouldn''t have gone through using a guild battle, either. "Myth Guild, listen up!" Shin walked over to the entrance of the Battlefield and called out to the guild. "Yes ma''am!" The guild''s soldiers snapped to attention. "Today, we face the biggest battle of our lives. Today, we fight to keep our traditions and the land of our ancestors! Trust in me and trust in the comrades standing next to you! Trust that we will win today. Today, victory is ours!" "Yaaahhhh!" "Revenge is ours!" "For our ancestors!" The soldiers replied to Shin with a huge war cry. "Forward!" Shin took the first step towards the Battlefield. "Selected members, enter the Battlefield in order." Naiko stood in front of the entrance, and had the selected soldiers begin entering. I followed Ebonene and the other commanding officers in. --- "It''s pretty spacious here." The Battlefield of Valor was extremely vast. But that was all it was. It was completely flat, with not a single hill or landmark anywhere. It could probably fit about thirty-some soccer fields. In less than fifteen minutes, both armies had gathered on their respective sides of the Battlefield. "Make sure you keep an eye on the Blood Prince. We start when he starts! Mr. Lee, once again, I thank you for doing this for us." "Yes. Let''s begin." ------ [Entry to the Battlefield is now restricted. This Guild Battle is a team deathmatch. This Battle will not end until there is only team left standing. However, should a guild master decide to surrender, both teams may leave the Battlefield.] ------ The entrances to the Battlefield closed, leaving the Blood Federation and the Myth Guild up on the floating island. From here on out, only one of us was getting out of here alive! The devas on the Blood Prince''s side began to gather at the center of the Battlefield. "The Blood Prince and the seven other deities haven''t moved from their side of the Battlefield." "The gathered devas are all mercenaries. There seem to be about six thousand of them." "Send out teams 2 and 3 and the mercenary force as well." Shin had team 1 and the Fate teams stay behind, and sent out the remaining seven thousand to gather in the center as well. The rumbling of thirteen thousand people all heading to the center of the Battlefield was so loud it made my blood boil. "Raaaahh!" "Kill them all!" "Kill all those who stand in front of the Myth Guild''s way!" "We''ll never hand Egypt over!" "Kill! Steal!" "Kill the Myth Guild and make Egypt ours!" The sound of their war cries nearly deafened me. Finally, the two forces met. It sounded like two freight trains crashing into each other at full speed. I could hear them screaming out skills and shouting spells at each other. From buffs and debuffs, to magic bolts and warrior skills. The air sparkled with magic. "This¡­is a guild battle." It was my first guild battle. I had never seen this many devas fight at once. All I did was hunt monsters in the past. My body shivered and my skin broke out in goosebumps as I watched them fight. I had seen highlights on the internet before, but watching the battle in person was way different. "Yaaaaah!" "Kill! Kill them all!" From what I could hear and see, the battle was chaotic. There was no grace to it; just screaming and clashing of swords with the occasional spurt of blood . It wouldn''t be weird for a first-timer to be frightened at the sight. "And yet¡­my blood is getting even more pumped," I muttered to myself. I wasn''t trembling in fear. The sight of battle was exciting me! I wanted to get in there and join the fray. I gripped the shaft of my spear. It wasn''t my time yet. I had to focus only on the Blood Prince! --- The battle continued on for another hour. "Hmm¡­" Ebonene frowned. He seemed to be worrying about something. "What is it?" "The battle seems to be in our favor. The soldiers and mercenaries on the Blood Prince''s side are unskilled and inexperienced." "He''s right. Watch how they fight. We''re controlling the flow of the battle," said one of the officers. "But that''s why I''m worried." "About what?" "It''s going too well." It was like Ebonene said; the battle was looking to be in favor of the Myth Guild. The Myth Guild''s soldiers were demonstrating commendable teamwork and skill. -Now that I think about it, this battle between devas was decided from the start. The Myth Guild has it in the bag.- Of course, the main event was yet to begin. The Blood Prince and the other deities hadn''t made a move yet. The same went for our side. I, Fate, the Myth Guild''s officers, and Assault Team 1 had yet to join the battle. The current battle was about to over. I could tell that the Myth Guild outnumbered the Blood Federation by 7:3 now. "Don''t you think it''s weird?" "Hmm¡­ quite," Naika replied, frowning. "It''s weird that he hasn''t ordered them to retreat, and is just letting them fight to the death like this. It''s even weirder to see Ang-te not step in by now. Look over at the Blood Prince; see the expression he has?" "He''s smiling." "He is. Since the beginning." I looked over at the Blood Prince too. "He''s actually smiling¡­" The Blood Prince had a very content look on his face. "Why?" "What is he thinking?" "He''s smiling, even though he''s losing? He does know this is a death match, right?" The officers began to panic a little. And yet, ten minutes later, none of us could get a grasp on what he was planning. The Myth Guild was continuing to push ahead. "Why isn''t he doing anything? He''s already lost so many men¡­" His numbers had fallen to about two thousand now and still he stood by. He didn''t reinforce his men with the remaining fifteen hundred, or order them to retreat. The Blood Prince was an aggressive and militant commander, but was by no means an idiot. He and his followers knew how to win battles, especially Ang-te. Another hour later, there were more uniformed devas remaining on the Battlefield. The Myth Guild had just about won, with more than three thousand left at the center of the Battlefield, and another three thousand waiting to fight. The Blood Prince was running out of soldiers. -Something''s not right.- No matter how I looked at it, the Myth Guild was winning. -And yet, the Blood Prince still won in the past...- Could a thousand archers kill the Blood Prince, if it was just him, and they all attacked at once? Maybe. But this was the Blood Prince we were talking about, and he had other deities on his side. But right now, it didn''t matter if the Blood Prince still had some people; the Myth Guild had more than enough people left to out damage the Prince and the seven deities! The Battlefield was a closed-off area; the Blood Prince didn''t have anywhere to hide from an onslaught of attacks. His previous guerilla tactics wouldn''t work here! ------ Once the Myth Guild''s first assault teams finished off the last enemy, the Blood Prince began to walk to the center of the Battlefield with his remaining forces. The Myth Guild''s first assault teams retreated to where the officers were, and Shin took Fate and the rest of her forces to the center. Five minutes later, Shin and the Blood Prince were standing face to face once more. "Was that all you''ve got?" Shin spoke first. "You speak as if the battle''s over." "I guess you finally lost it. Can''t you see that you''ve already lost?" "I don''t know about that. It looks to me that I still have the upper hand?" the Blood Prince replied, grinning. "What¡­ is that supposed to mean?" Shin knew that look on his face. He was plotting something, and it was going his way! "How long are you going to stay there? Your true master is over here!" the Blood Prince yelled at the Myth Guild. The Myth Guild''s soldiers looked around in confusion. "I, Rameha, faithful servant to the Um Clan, am at your command!" someone shouted from the Myth Guild''s ranks. "Assault Team 1, follow me!" "Sir!" Rameha, the head of foreign affairs, came forward with the entire assault team and walked over to the Blood Prince, before going down on one knee. "I, Rameha, faithful servant to the Um Clan, give our lives to Um-nefer, our true liege!" "We give our lives to our true liege!" the 1500 devas that followed Rameha shouted before kneeling as well. "You''ve all come through!" "No, your Majesty. We''ve only fulfilled our duties as servants of the Um Clan." The Blood Prince patted Rameha on the back before standing him up. "Rise!" "Yes, your Majesty!" The 1500 devas in Myth Guild uniforms stood up together. Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Clash, Part III Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Clash, Part III I was standing quite a distance from Shin, but I could see her tremble. The first time I saw Rameha was at the restaurant in Cairo. He was the first to speak to me, before Shin and Ebonene. He always there with the Myth Guild''s officers and the leader of the powerful Assault Team 1. "You treacherous bastard!" Edwifu swore. His face was red with anger. "You¡­you¡­how could you! Your grandfather swore his family''s service to Shin and her family! How could you do this to her, after all that she has done for you?!" Rameha turned around. "She and her family have done nothing for me. My family has always been in the service of the Um Clan. My grandfather joined her family to spy. Frankly, it was hellish serving under her detestable family. So you tell me, how could I not?" "You knave!" Ebonene roared. It was the loudest I''d heard him speak since the few times I met him. "Stop flapping that filthy mouth of yours, before I sew it shut!" "You were my biggest obstacle, to be honest. If it weren''t for you, we could have had our kingdom before the Otadolon stage," Rameha replied, without so much as batting an eye. The Blood Prince burst out laughing. "It''s quite amusing to see you lose all hope!" Shin was still trembling. I couldn''t see her face from back here, but I could imagine what sort of expression she had. Ebonene quickly went to her side. "Are you all right?" "I''m¡­I''m fine." She was obviously not fine at all. "Rameha! Was¡­was this the reason you joined?" "You''re too na?ve, Shin. Your forefathers were far more fearsome and competent than you. My father, his father, and his father''s father could never have hoped to bare their fangs against your family. But the chance came when you took over as head when the world changed. You made this all possible!" Rameha then turned to face his team. "Surrender yourselves to the Blood Federation! To Um-nefer!" The opposing sides of the guild battle were already determined. Team-killing and switching teams were not allowed. There was only way out of the battle; surrender. However, the opposing side''s guild master had to accept the surrender for it to work. "We surrender ourselves to the Blood Federation!" the 1500 soldiers cried out in unison. The Blood Prince cackled. "I gladly accept your surrender!" ------ [1,501 members of the Myth Guild have surrendered. Um-nefer, guild master of the Blood Federation has accepted the surrender. All those who have surrendered will be transported outside of the Battlefield in 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8¡­] ------ "You traitor!" "Burn in hell!" "Curse you!" Devas of the Myth Guild began swearing at the traitors, but the insults fell on deaf ears. When the countdown reached 3, Rameha turned to Shin. "I pray the spirit of Egypt stays with you. If you can¡­" He disappeared before he could finish. At that moment, a man stepped forward from the Myth Guild''s ranks. "I have something to ask of you?" "Aren''t you the vice-master of Fate?" "I am." The Blood Prince laughed. "Where''s your guild master, that the vice-master has to come to me instead?" "The guild master has decided not to participate." "Of course not! Tell your guild master that I''ll find out who they are and kill them multiple times." "Unfortunately, I don''t know who my guild master. I just know that the master is a deity." "Whatever! What do you want to ask?" "Would you accept my and Fate''s surrender?" "What?" The Blood Prince was taken aback by the question. "My guild master told me that something like this would happen and told me to surrender if it did, that you''d probably accept it." The Blood Prince cackled. "The name, Fate, is wasted on you!" "I care more about the lives of my men than a name. I''d rather not let them incur a death penalty than to stay in a losing battle." "Vice-master!" A few of Fate''s members cried out. "What are you saying? Our target is right in front of us!" "Quiet, all of you! Our goal is to protect devas and mortals from deities, but how can we help if we become too weak to protect ourselves? We must choose our battles wisely to save our strength. I can''t risk all 500 of you!" "That''s cowardly." "He''s right. We''re here to stop the Blood Prince. We can''t just turn back just because it doesn''t look like it''s in our favor anymore!" "We still outnumber them! We may still have a chance." "No, we don''t. All that are left are the ones that just fought. Do you actually think 3,000 exhausted soldiers have a chance against fresh soldiers and seven deities?" "..." "Everything went wrong since the beginning. We didn''t catch on to the Blood Prince''s plan and ended up stuck in his flytrap. Don''t say anymore. This comes from the guild master, not just me." He then turned back to the Blood Prince. "It''s up to you now. What do you say?" The Blood Prince cackled again. "Good, good! I just need to win the battle by any means necessary. I''ll let Fate go." "Thank you." The vice-master of Fate gave a small nod and turned to Shin. "I''m¡­" Fate''s vice-master hesitated. The Myth Guild had already been screwed over by Rameha and wasn''t sure if it was right to apologize. But he knew he had to. "I''m terribly sorry about this." "Is this all that Fate amounts to?! You''re an embarrassment to¡­!" Edwifu bellowed in rage, but was cut off by Shin. "Stop. That''s enough." She had stopped trembling now. I wasn''t sure if she calmed down, or if she gave up. "I understand completely. Of course you must save your strength to protect more devas and mortals. You have 500 lives relying on you. It''s wise to run." "I''m sorry." "No, it''s okay. I pray that Fate can become strong enough to protect devas and mortals from deities like the Blood Prince. Good luck." "..." Totally embarrassed, Fate''s vice-master didn''t say any more. It was true that Fate was fighting for the sake of protecting devas and mortals from deities. The Myth Guild was doing this to protect their legacy from the Blood Prince, which just so happened to include the protection of devas and mortals. The Myth Guild monopolized its dungeon and put its own members first, but did share its perks with other devas for a small price. It wasn''t the best, but it also wasn''t the worst. Whatever the case, it didn''t deserve this. He turned to his men. "Soldiers of Fate, listen up! We''re surrendering this battle!" "I''m afraid I can''t do that, sir." A few Fate members spoke out. "Neither can I, sir." "Those that refuse will be expelled from Fate!" "That''s fine with me, Marco." "If that''s the case, then I''ll leave Fate on my own!" "Fate was formed to protect devas and mortals from deities. If we''re going to run because we''re afraid of what will happen to us, how can we call ourselves Fate? Can you promise us that we won''t run a second time?" "How can we accomplish anything if we just stand at the sidelines without taking action? Who will trust us now?" Fate''s vice-master grew red in anger. "Fine! Stay if you wish, but know that it means you are no longer part of Fate." "Understood." "Fine by us." Not a lot of them decided to stay. But, I saw a familiar face among them. It was Sunghoon. He saw me and waved. I waved back. "I say this one more time. Fate will surrender this battle." "We surrender." "I accept your surrender!" the Blood Prince proclaimed, laughing. ------ [480 members of the Myth Guild have surrendered. Um-nefer, guild master of the Blood Federation, has accepted their surrender. All those who have surrendered will be transported outside of the Battlefield in 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8¡­] ------ Marco, Fate''s vice-master, and the rest of Fate had to temporarily join the Myth Guild in order to participate in the guild battle. The ones that decided to leave hung their heads in shame. Ten seconds later, they disappeared. I looked around to see who was left. The Blood Prince still had the seven deities and the fifteen hundred remaining soldiers. The Myth Guild still had three thousand left from the first fight, fifty officers and twenty of Fate''s former soldiers. We had twice the number, but were still lacking. Most of our soldiers were exhausted from the first fight, and their skills were still probably on cooldown. They had to have used a lot of potions, and there was a good chance their MP wasn''t fully restored. Furthermore, the Blood Prince''s remaining army looked to be elite devas. -So this was how they lost in the past...- I could finally see how they lost but I never knew it was this disastrous. I shook my head. "Master! How did you get yourself into the battle?" Sunghoon made his way over to me after his comrades left. "It just happened that way¡­ but why are you still here? You''re going to get expelled from Fate." "If you''re staying, then I''m staying!" Sunghoon replied, as if it were obvious. "Hah¡­" It was slightly amusing and shocking. "Here¡­ take this." I took out a Recovery Gem from my inventory and handed it to Sunghoon. "Huh? I have some, too." "I have ten of them. Do you have more than that?" "No, I only have two." "Then take them." "But¡­still¡­" It felt weird giving someone something. It was like acknowledging our relationship. I didn''t fully trust Sunghoon yet, but he was now more or less in this situation because of me. "Don''t be reckless just because I''m giving this to you. Try not to die." "What?" "We need to defeat the Blood Prince, right?" "Huh? Isn''t this battle already over? The Myth Guild has nothing left." "I''m still here," I said to Sunghoon, and walked over to Shin. --- "Please, forgive me! I have failed as the head of Intelligence¡­ and didn''t know that we had traitors in our midst," Naika said to Shin tearfully. She was practically bawling. "It''s my fault. I wasn''t a good enough leader to all of you." "This isn''t right! Those traitors¡­!" Hot tears streamed down Edwifu''s face. "I should have done more. I should have noticed as the guild master. I and my father should have done more for him and his family." "It''s not your fault, Shin." "He was planning this from the start!" Shin''s officers and her remaining soldiers gathered around her, telling her it was not her fault, to hang in there. It was pretty damn moving. "What a sight to behold!" The Blood Prince scoffed at them. "Hah! I love it. It''s so nice seeing all of you lose hope. But don''t worry; I''ll take good care of Egypt! Have a nice life wandering like gypsies! Bwahahaha!" No one could think of anything to say back and stood there watching, faces red in anger. "Aren''t you getting too ahead of yourself? The real fight had yet to begin," I said, spinning my spear in my hands. "I wonder if there''s anywhere in Egypt that has kimchi. It''s been so long that I might reward myself after the battle." "You¡­why are you here?" The Blood Prince pointed his finger at me in shock, but I ignored him. "We apologize for letting this happen. We didn''t wish to drag you into this terrible mess," Shin and Ebonene bowed as I came closer. "I don''t need your apology. I''ll get straight to the point. Will it be enough for you if I beat the Blood Prince on my own?" "Excuse me?" "On your own?" As it was, the twenty healers and supporters were part of Assault Team 1. Not a single one of them stayed behind. "What are you talking about? I know you''re strong and all, but there''s no way you can beat him on your own¡­" The Blood Prince, Shin and Ebonene looked at me as if I was crazy. "I have to pay you back for the item, don''t I?" I had the bracelet set to invisible. I didn''t need the Blood Prince to know my ace in the hole. "If that''s the case, just keep it. We''ve lost all hope in succeeding." "I don''t want to just¡­" I cut myself off. "I''ll gratefully take it, but I don''t like getting paid for no work." I wanted to hit myself for thinking about returning the bracelet. If they were that inclined to give it to me, then I''d gladly take it. The Blood Prince burst out laughing. "Don''t you think you''re in way over your head? Don''t think you''re strong just because you managed to survive a month ago!" "Survive? I remember it differently. All I remember is some childish man calling himself the Blood Princess or something while trembling in fear in the middle of his little red pool." The Blood Prince audibly ground his teeth in anger. "You damn insect, do you think you''re funny?" "I thought devas and deities were all pretty similar. We all ascended, right? If I''m an insect, what does that make you? A maggot? A cockroach?" "I see you''re not afraid to die!" "Of course not. I''m here to win!" The Blood Prince formed a blood sword in his hand. I took hold of my spear in a fighting stance and charged. The second battle began; a battle to change history! Chapter 86: Chapter 85: The Blood Prince, Part I Chapter 86: Chapter 85: The Blood Prince, Part I I charged in with my spear pointed at the Blood Prince''s chest. The Blood Prince formed a second blood sword and made an X in front of him to block the attack. "You¡­damn insect¡­" "You''re still the same. How disappointing." A month ago, it took four hits to break the Blood Prince''s swords. This time, my spear broke through one sword and was stopped by the other. The Blood Prince''s face hardened. He didn''t expect that to happen. ==[You have been afflicted by Blood Curse.]== ==[Blood Curse removed due to status immunity.]== ==[Damage received from deity reduced by 50%]== ==[You are the first Unrivaled. Attacks against deities increased by 25%]== I glanced over at the message. Blood Curse was a skill that the Myth Guild had a hard time dealing with and understanding. But its main effect was AoE HP absorb; just getting close to the Prince drained HP. "Damn insect¡­ Blood Explosion! Blood Explosion!" The Blood Prince set off bombs of blood around my feet. I jumped away to dodge them, but my leg got splattered by a wave of blood. "Ew!" I could feel the Unrivaled skill take effect and lessen the damage, but I could tell that my HP still dropped. I countered by stabbing at the Blood Prince again. The Blood Prince moved his body to the right to avoid the attack but couldn''t escape. The spearhead struck his shoulder. "You son of a bitch!" he cried out. "That''s my line!" ==[Heart''s Blood Harrier drains 1,000 HP from your opponent. Your HP is restored by 1,000 HP.]== "I am going to kill you as painfully as possible!" "Don''t get ahead of yourself. I have no intention of dying here." "Sticky Blood Fog!" ==[Sticky Blood Fog is covering the surrounding area. Your body will be covered in blood, becoming overloaded. Body weight will increase by 200 grams per second, up to 60 kilograms.]== The Blood Prince used a skill he knew that my status immunity would have no effect on. I didn''t care, however, and continued forward. I had to stay on him no matter what; that was my duty to the Myth Guild. "Heel Kick!" I slowed his movement speed by ten percent for five seconds and used that moment to stab him in the leg. "Gah! Get away from me, you insect!" The Blood Prince quickly formed two blood swords and tried to swat my spear away, but my STR was much higher now. The Blood Prince''s DEF was high enough that my spear couldn''t stab all the way through, but Imanaged to slice his outer thigh. My only other battle skill was the Warrior''s Brave Spirit, but I needed it to save it for the next time he used Blood Explosion. This fight was just beginning. --- "Gahhh! You bastard!" The Blood Prince grew angrier and angrier. He took more damage than he could give, and he was taking a lot of damage. He had gone up against six other Unrivaled devas before. They were nothing compared to the deva in front of him right now. All their 50% damage reduction was good for was to last a little longer as the his punching bags. This one was different. His movement speed, attack speed, and overall damage was just too high. This insect''s damage output was as high as dungeon boss monsters. -Since when could an Unrivaled deal this much damage?- Unrivaleds were better in parties. Most of them were tanks. There was no way a single Unrivaled deva could have this much power. He was still a worthless deva! "Get away from me! Blood Explosion!" He shot another blood bomb at the insect that kept attacking even while being slowed down by his Blood Fog. Up until now, the Blood Prince enjoyed fighting against fighter classes because of his Blood Curse. Those that were afflicted by the Blood Curse had their DEF and MDEF lowered and their HP constantly drained. The Blood Prince didn''t have to do anything to whittle away at his opponents. And now, because of this deva in front of him, the Blood Prince began to hate fighting against fighter classes. -This is bullshit! Where did this guy come from?- "Blood Wave!" The Blood Prince called up a tidal wave of blood to try and put some distance between them, but saw the deva ignore it altogether and aim for his heart again. "Blood Wall!" The Blood Prince knew by now that this deva''s STR was much, much higher than his own. He knew he couldn''t block another attack on his own and used a defensive skill that he hadn''t used in a while. It wounded his pride to have to use it now, when he didn''t have to use it even against boss monsters or other deities. He saw the deva''s attack flash yellow and collide with his Blood Wall. The rigid Blood Wall that could withstand heavy attacks from boss monsters cracked in a single strike before cascading to the ground. "He cracked it¡­ in one hit?" the Blood Prince said to himself in shock. Sure it was a critical hit, but to think that his Blood Wall could fall so easily was just unbelievable! The spear continued forward and stabbed into his chest while he stood there in complete shock. The spearhead flashed yellow as it buried itself deep into his chest. "Gahk!" the Blood Prince cried out in pain. It was the most pain he had ever felt since becoming a deity. He looked over to his HP bar and saw exactly why it hurt so much. "330,000 points?" He lost 330,000 HP in a single attack! It was a critical hit, sure, but he had never lost more than 300,000 HP from a single hit. A normal, non-skill attack knocked his HP down by 330,000 points! It was then that the Blood Prince finally acknowledged that he was wrong, that the deva in front of him was the real deal. This deva was stronger than all of the devas and deities he had gone up against all together. "Blood Rain!" --- I kept up a flurry of attacks on the Blood Prince, not giving him a chance to breathe. He used Blood Explosions and Blood Wave to try and keep some distance, but I didn''t retreat. -Damn¡­if it weren''t for my damage reduction, this battle wouldn''t go all that well for me.- I kept an eye on my slowly decreasing HP and kept a straight face. At least my spear helped keep me alive. -An opening!- Five minutes into the fight, I finally saw an opening as the Blood Prince made a mistake in anger. I thrust my spear at him with all my might. The Blood Prince quickly formed a rigid wall of blood in front of him, but I didn''t stop. I broke through the Blood Wall and got him in the chest! I raised my spear to attack him more before the Blood Prince activated another skill. "Blood Rain!" Blood rained down around us. The Area of Effect didn''t seem that big, and it rained a little harder than a drizzle. Each drop of blood inflicted minimal damage, but a torrent of them could actually kill me. The Myth Guild already told me about it and advised that I avoid it. I decided to heed their advice and quickly jumped out of the rain. "Shit! Shit! How does 330,000 points of damage make sense? A critical hit?! It was a freaking normal attack!" the Blood Prince roared in anger while being drenched in blood, but I didn''t care. The angrier he was, the better I was doing. "You. You''re the First Unrivaled, aren''t you?" "Who knows?" "Yes, I know you are. But¡­ that still doesn''t explain all this damage." "You haven''t thought that maybe it''s because you''re weak?" "Me? Weak? The Blood Prince is! Not! Weak!" His face stiffened. "Fine, I''ll acknowledge it. You are different than those other insects." "I don''t need you to acknowledge me." The Blood Prince laughed. "Go ahead, say whatever you want. Let''s see how long you keep up that act. Blood Pool!" The same Blood Pool formed around him, and the blood from the Blood Fog and the Blood Rain began to be absorbed into the pool. "To think I have to resort to use Blood Rush on a single person." I stiffened. "Feel the full extent of my rage. Blood Rush!" All of the blood in the pool shot straight up, forming a pillar ten meters tall. Then, all of a sudden, all of the blood came crashing back down on top of the Blood Prince. All of that blood was absorbed into his body. "Mmm¡­" I heard a lot about Blood Rush from the Myth Guild. They told me it was basically a cheat skill. According to the Myth Guild''s research, Blood Rush had a cooldown of thirty days and lasted for one hour. At a glance, it didn''t seem good of a skill. It was too short compared to its cooldown. "But¡­ that''s just how strong it is." Blood Rush had a total of four effects. First, Blood Rush doubled all stat points. Second, all Blood skills doubled in power. Third, Blood Curse doubled in power. Fourth, HP increased fourfold. "So what if it''s only for an hour¡­ it''s a damn cheat!" This was one of the reasons why the Myth Guild had a hard time defeating the Blood Prince. "He did use it sooner than I expected¡­ I guess I''ve got to last an hour from now." Blood Curse was still not a threat to me, but I had to say, I was a little afraid of the other effects. His Hit Points were probably at least 14,000,000 now, since the Myth Guild told me that he had 3,500,000 when they first defeated him. We had planned two stages in this fight against the Blood Prince. The second stage was supposed to start when he used Blood Rush. The first stage was supposed to be me fighting him with the twenty healers/supporters backing me up. During that time, the Myth Guild was expected to defeat the seven deities and the fifteen hundred remaining Blood Federation soldiers. It was my role to keep the Blood Prince completely away from anyone else. He and his allies could easily take advantage of the Blood Curse and attack opponents that gradually got weaker. I had perfectly completed the first stage in our plan. I managed to make him use his Blood Rush, and prevented the deities from joining in. Stage two had just begun. All that was left was to continue to focus on him and attack. We called this plan Operation Mousetrap. We believed that as long as the Blood Prince was kept away from the main battle, the Myth Guild could win even if they lost many lives. "But now¡­ that plan''s pretty much in shambles." I looked around. I wondered if it was because me or because of Rameha''s betrayal, but the Myth Guild was doing very well. They were holding their ground even though most of them were exhausted. "Ha¡­ that just means I need to do more." I sighed and looked at the Blood Prince who was absorbing just way too much blood into his body. "Gahahaha!" The Blood Prince cackled. A red haze formed around his body which also grew half a size more. He was way over twenty feet tall. "Do you still think you can win?" His voice sounded deeper. "Damn right. I haven''t thought otherwise since the start." "Good. I want you to last as long as you can! That way I can torture you for a long time!" The Blood Prince formed a large blood sword in his right hand and charged at me. Chapter 87: Chapter 86: The Blood Prince Part II Chapter 87: Chapter 86: The Blood Prince Part II The clanging of weapons echoed through the Battlefield. "Keep going! Don''t give up now!" "Our guild battle is far from over!" "Keep attacking. Don''t get pushed back! The Myth Guild is beyond fatigued!" "Remember the rewards you''ll get if the Blood Federation comes out victorious! Forward!" "Kill! Kill them all!" The Myth Guild and the Blood Federation were fighting a fierce battle around the center of the Battlefield. It was much fiercer than the first battle. The Blood Federation fought hard to push the Myth Guild back, and the Myth Guild fought even harder to hold their ground. "We''re all at our limits, but we''re still hanging in there!" Edwifu said to Shin as he struck a Federation deva to the ground. "It''s small, but I see a sliver of hope!" Naika agreed "It would seem so. We''re still here. But¡­ that man really is amazing," said Shin, glancing at the fight between the Blood Prince and Lee Jiwon. "Yes, he''s more than we expected." Edwifu and Naika knew what she meant, as they couldn''t help but watch the fight as well. Lee Jiwon was supposed to be fighting with twenty supporters by his side, but he was doing well enough without them. "I never expected a deva to be able to go one on one with the Blood Prince. He''s even managing to push him back." Shin was in absolute awe. The Blood Prince had truly put her and her guild through a hard time. Shin used to say that the Blood Prince was just another generic deity, but in truth, she wanted his power. She didn''t get how Um-nefer was able to become a deity, and a special one at that. She had cried and swore at the heavens for this unfairness many times. She believed that she would never defeat the Blood Prince on her own. She had come to that conclusion from fighting against the Blood Prince for a year and a half. The Myth Guild could do nothing to keep him at bay. --- "Shit! Get away from me!" "No. I just got here. You come back here." "Fucking insect!" "That makes you an insect too, dumbass!" "Fucking die! Blood Explosion!" "Heel Kick!" --- The fight between Lee Jiwon and the Blood Prince that was taking place in the middle of the Battlefield was the most important. If Lee Jiwon let the Blood Prince get away from him and the Blood Prince was able to join the other deities, the whole battle would be over. It was near impossible for normal devas to get away from the Blood Prince''s attacks. Once the Myth Guild soldiers get caught in the Blood Curse''s web, it would only be a matter of time before they fell, one by one. "It definitely is weird seeing the Blood Prince acting all angry¡­ he must really be pissed off." Shin could hear all of the Blood Prince''s swearing even way over there. The Myth Guild had managed to turn the tables on the Blood Prince a few times before, making him mad and forcing him to make a mistake. But in the end, everything they did turned out to be in vain. The Blood Prince was too strong for them for any of it to make a difference. The insults the Blood Prince and Lee Jiwon threw at each other came off more like playful banter. That was how Shin felt watching two powerful individuals face off. To be honest, she was jealous. She might be the guild master and the strongest of the Myth Guild, but she was still nothing compared to either of them. Watching the Blood Prince''s veins bulge in anger began to wash away all of Shin''s past indignities and own feeling of anger. "Do you think Lee Jiwon can hold out against Blood Rush?" "Hmm¡­I''m not too sure about that¡­" It was true that Lee Jiwon was giving the Blood Prince a hard time. He might not be doing enough to win, but that was already enough. But the Blood Prince was truly a monster. Lee Jiwon would be in danger for a whole hour! "It''ll be tough." "Blood Rush!" Shin soon heard the Blood Prince activate his skill. He used it against a single deva! She turned away from the duel and looked around at the other battle. The Myth Guild was winning. Each soldier was putting his or her all into the battle. Every single one of them were fighting literally with their lives on the line, intent on taking as many Federation soldiers with them if they died. That determination gave strength to one another and seeded fear into the hearts of their enemies. "Ebonene." "Yes ma''am!" "What do you think about our current situation?" "Our battle is going well, yes¡­ but everything rests on Lee Jiwon''s battle." "Yes, I thought as much. The Blood Prince is a big enough problem without Blood Rush¡­ If Lee Jiwon can''t hold him off now, we''re done for." "Yes. The fate of the battle and the Myth Guild rests in his hands." Ebonene nodded in agreement. Then, he remembered what Lee Jiwon had whispered to him before the second battle. -Once you see the Blood Prince get struck with a bolt of red lightning, focus all of your attacks on him. You have three seconds. Don''t forget.- It was unexpected, but Ebonene knew he had to heed the advice, especially since it came from someone who managed to last more than fifteen minutes against the Blood Prince. "Did you tell everyone?" "Yes, ma''am. All soldiers, including the officers, know." Ebonene had gone around, telling all of the guild''s soldiers while taking care that the Federation didn''t find out about it. "Good. Slowly start gathering everyone towards the middle. If something happens to Lee Jiwon¡­" Shin hesitated for a second before gathering herself together. "We must protect Lee Jiwon, even if means you or any of our soldiers have to lose their lives. I know that we won''t be able to rely on Benenti if Lee Jiwon falls here," Shin said to Ebonene, looking at him dead in the eyes. Ebonenen chuckled. "Of course, ma''am. We all know about the sacrifices we have to make here today. If we weren''t willing, then there would be no chance at all for us to come out victorious." After giving Shin a reassuring smile, Ebonene jumped back into the fray. Ebonene began gathering soldiers while fighting against the Federation''s deities. He needed healers and, to put it bluntly, meat shields who would take on the Blood Prince''s attacks if the need arose. Their original plan might be in shambles, but all it took was a little improvisation. They just needed to deal with everyone else first. The rat was still caught in the mousetrap. All they needed was Lee Jiwon to do his job. -But I wonder what he meant by red lightning? I''m getting curious. We''ll find out today if his luck rubs off on us.- Ebonene strongly believed that greatness required equal parts skill and equal parts luck. Not a single Myth Guild soldier rejected Ebonene''s orders. They all knew what was at stake. --- My spear clashed against the Blood Prince''s blood sword, and the force of the attacks pushed us a meter away from each other. The Blood Prince began to laugh. His attacks were no doubt stronger and faster now. "Go on, make fun of me again. I dare you." "Well, that''s just too easy. I don''t think you got that much stronger." The Blood Prince ground his teeth anger. "I''ll make you eat those words. Blood Explosion!" The blood bombs had doubled in size. It was probably because of the effects of the Blood Rush. If that was the case, then all of his blood skills were going to be twice as effective. "Warrior''s Brave Spirit!" [Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated. - Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.] Getting hit by all those blood bombs was painful, but I ignored them and activated my skill. I quickly took out a Shining Health Potion the Myth Guild gave me and quaffed it. I couldn''t use another one for five minutes and took one while I had the chance. I had used all of my skills now. Now, I had to stay on him and attack. I looked around at the fight around me to get a grasp of our current situation and noticed that the Myth Guild was still doing well. The fifty officers were managing against the other deities and the exhausted soldiers were still fighting with everything they had. There was still a chance. "You''re not actually thinking you can keep me away from everyone else, are you?" "I am." The Blood Prince cackled. "How amusing. Very well! Let''s see how well you fare. Blood Wave!" This time, the tidal wave was more than three meters tall. It came crashing right on top of me. I jumped high into the air to avoid it. I needed to start taking care of my HP now. As soon as I was clear of the wave, I pointed my spear at the Blood Prince and dropped right on top of him. "Tsk!" He really was much stronger now. My spear couldn''t break through his blood swords now. The force of my attack didn''t push him back like it did before. All he did was take a single step back. But at that size, it was still enough. It meant that my ATT was still high enough. I didn''t let myself lose heart and began to attack him in a flurry of swings and slashes. The Blood Prince met every single of my attacks with his blood swords, swatting my spear away. Every time I managed to cut him, he returned with a slash of his own. We kept trading blows like that for a little longer. "I really don''t get what you are." The Blood Prince seemed surprised that I could still keep up. "I know for a fact that you''re a deva. How is it that you got this strong?" "Maybe all of the devas you''ve met so far were just weak." I just needed to buy time. I answered with the first thing that came to my head. The Blood Prince laughed out loud. "You''re right. That has to be the answer! I guess that means I actually get to kill a strong deva for the first time. Blood Rain!" The rain this time was a torrent. It reminded me of the typhoon we had a few years back. The Area of Effect was larger as well. I quickly jumped back to get out of the rain. "Blood Rain! Blood Rain!" He must have not liked me retreating and activated the skill a couple times in a row. Thankfully, my high movement speed was faster now, thanks to Warrior''s Spirit, and I managed to get out. "If you keep running like that, I''ll give up on you and attack the Myth Guild. I know you''re trying to keep me away from them." "..." I got about ten meters away from him and the rain. If I screwed up and the Blood Prince turned his attention to the Myth Guild now, I would be failing my mission. It wasn''t like I could use my Blink right now, either. I felt it wasn''t going to work until the time came to kill him off. "You''re sharp, I''ll give you that." The Blood Prince laughed. "I''m just giving you options. You should be thankful, don''t you think?" Soon, the rain caught up and large drops of blood poured all around me. In less than a minute, the ground became slick with blood. I took a quick inventory of what I had. My Unrivaled skill decreased all incoming damage from deities by 50%, Warrior''s Brave Spirit decreased general damage by 10% and my Link Totem decreased another 5%. In total, my damage resistance was increased by 65%. -How much longer can I last? Thirty minutes? Forty?- I still had to face him inside this goddamned rain. -Ah!- I took out the Link Totem. ==[Damage Link Totem (Rank 7) One of the Link Totems. As long as the Totem is the user''s possession, a portion of damage the user receives is transferred to the Totem. The Totem can absorb a maximum of 15% of damage received. Golden rings can be paid to raise the Totem''s damage absorption threshold. Only one type of Totem can be in possession. Current damage absorption threshold: 5% Golden rings required to increase threshold by 1%: 100,000 golden rings (this amount rises with each level the threshold increases.) Should the Totem be sold to other devas or sold at a Store''s auction house, the threshold is reset back to 5%.]== I wasn''t able to spend any golden rings on it, as I had to buy skills first. I also didn''t really feel the need to back then. But now, I needed the extra damage resistance. Right now, I had a total of 10,060,000 golden rings. -I was going to spend them on three more skills, but this battle definitely takes priority.- I quickly upgraded the Link Totem. It cost 100,000 golden rings to increase the threshold from 5% to 6%. The cost increased by threefold after that. I spent a total of 4,000,000 golden rings to get it up to 9%. -That was a lot of golden rings, but what choice do I have?- I put my Link Totem back into my inventory. "Are you just going to keep standing there?" I sighed. "I was just gathering my thoughts." I really wanted to Blink behind him and shut him up. I wanted to stick my spear in his back, but¡­ it wasn''t going to end the battle. -I didn''t use it a month ago, and I''m not using it now. If this keeps up, I might end up not using it at all.- I brushed the thought off and charged back in at the still smiling Blood Prince. Chapter 88: Chapter 87: The Blood Prince Part III Chapter 88: Chapter 87: The Blood Prince Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I roared out a war cry as I charged into the rain. My feet splashed as I sprinted over the blood-drenched ground. Heavy drops of blood rained down on my head and shoulders. My damage resistance was high enough now that I didn''t feel any pain from the raindrops. "Blood Explosion! Blood Spear!" I jumped into the air as soon as a blood bomb exploded near me. As soon as I was airborne, a spear of blood flew right at me. I used my spear to deflect the incoming missile, but the force of the attack was so great that it knocked me back to the ground. I rolled backwards twice before getting back on my feet. "Shit!" Just ten minutes ago, I was able to shrug off the damage from the blood bombs, but now, they were really starting to hurt. I even took damage just from the force of the spear even though I blocked it. The Blood Prince cackled at the sight. "Tumbling around like that suits you much better!" I was completely drenched in blood now from rolling around on the ground. I probably looked like a rat caught in a storm drain. "Chaa!" Ignoring the Blood Prince''s taunt, I charged in again. My goal was to buy time, but that would be impossible to do in the middle of the Blood Rain. Time was on his side here. Thanks to that damned potion cooldown, I needed to rely on the Harrier''s HP Absorb ability and get at least a couple of successful attacks in. It was only 1,000 HP per hit, but I needed whatever I could get. "Bwahahaha! Yes, that''s it. Struggle more and more. That''s what I like to see. Blood Wave! Blood Wave!" "What the hell? Do you not have cooldowns on your skills?" I spouted in anger. It was so unfair that he could shoot out skills consecutively like that. Both waves came crashing down at me at once. I wasn''t going to be able to jump over them like I did with the one before. I stuck my spear at the base of the first wave. I felt a strong repulsive force, but managed to split in and the wave flowed away to the sides. However, the second one came down right on top of me. There was no getting out of this one. "Erk!" I cried out in pain as the wave struck me on the chest and crashed all around me. I grit my teeth and used my spear to stay standing. The Blood Prince took that chance and jumped into the air with his giant sword of blood raised above his head, with full intent to split my head like a melon. I had no time to dodge and raised my spear above me to block the attack. "Fuck!" The force of the attack brought me down to one knee. The Blood Prince''s blade stopped barely five centimeters away from my face. The Blood Prince then quickly followed up with a strong kick to my chest. I rolled back four times before getting back on my feet. "Fuck!" This was the angriest I had been since the beginning of my second life. This was so damn unfair! I had been on such a roll the past few weeks. I was able to overcome any obstacle that stood in my way with almost no effort. My confidence had been so high these days, especially after finding all those high-ranked items. "Huh¡­I''m impressed that you''re still standing after all that." The Blood Prince raised his left arm. It began to rain even harder. "To think that you could take a Blood Wave to the face while standing in the Blood Rain¡­that''s cheating." "You''re the cheat here, you piece of shit!" Talk about calling the kettle black! Pissed, I charged in again. I stabbed at the Blood Prince''s chest, only to have my attack deflected. "Argh, just let me hit you!" "Argh, just let me kill you!" We shouted at each other as we traded blows. He couldn''t do it before using Blood Rush, but now, he was deflecting almost all of my attacks. I attacked, he blocked. This continued for a few more minutes. Eventually, I managed to get a few attacks in. My body absorbed the 1000 HP from each attack like a barren wasteland drinking up the first rain after a long drought. Annoyed that he got hit, the Blood Prince set off more bombs at me. I jumped back to avoid the explosions and quickly charged back in. "Shit! Are you a zombie, or what?" We continued to trade blows after that. I was losing right now, that much was true. However, I had no choice. I needed to keep him occupied for as long as possible. My Harrier stabbed the Blood Prince in the leg and rather than pull it back out, I pushed forward and headbutted him in the chest with all my might. The Blood Prince countered by chopping at my head with his hand. It put me in a daze, but I pushed in harder. I had to get away from the torrent of blood, even for just a little bit. "Get off of me!" "Hell no!" In the back of my mind, I always had the feeling that the hero of this world was me. After all, I was the one who got to come back in time. Sure, it''s a common theme in fantasy novels, but that''s all this was; a fantasy! And this had happened to me in real life! I had to be the hero of this fantasy world; I had no doubt about it. That is, until I met the Blood Prince! "This is absurd. Everyone should be starting out the same; why the Hell do some become devas and others get to become deities?" I really didn''t like being a deva right now. Why didn''t the Don Gate make me a deity? I used it twice! The Blood Prince cackled. "That''s the difference between the chosen and the abandoned!" "Shut up!" I kept attacking as I swore at him. The Blood Prince did the same. There was no way I could win using normal attacks. His HP were just too high. We both quaffed Shining Health Potions every time our cooldowns were up. I just couldn''t make a dent in his HP. -All I''ve got is Powerful Shock.- I doubted I could last a whole hour if he kept using Blood Explosion left and right. Hell, lasting ten minutes was hard enough. If this kept up, I was going to lose. The only way I could win was if Powerful Shock activated. I already told Shin and Ebonene to look out for it as well. -Fuck¡­it doesn''t matter if I tell them beforehand. It needs to go off first and it should have by now!- The Powerful Shock that occasionally went off in the hidden dungeon was just not showing up now. I saw that I had less than 35% of my HP left. I did have the Bracelet of Eternal Fire to bring me back, but I was still feeling restless. "Blood Explosion! Blood Explosion!" I really didn''t like those bombs flying at my face, but I had nowhere to run to now. "Fine then! Let''s finish this here!" I charged straight in. I needed it to activate. My HP quickly fell to 15% as we fought. -Activate already! I know I''ve hit him a hundred times now! It should have gone off at least once by now!- I kept a straight face to not let the Blood Prince now that I was panicking on the inside. -I know I''m luckier than this! Turn on already!- The Blood Prince''s attack pushed me back four paces, but I kept up my attacks. I couldn''t stop now. My HP was below 5%. The Blood Prince cackled. "Gahahaha! What''s the rush?" "Shut the fuck up!" I swore at him and stabbed and hacked and slashed at him. My HP was now at 2%. If I got hit by one more bomb, my bracelet was going to activate. As soon as I turned away from my UI, I saw a red bolt of lightning strike the Blood Prince. ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF is lowered by 80%.]== I roared at the Myth Guild to attack, but was silenced by the guild''s soldiers own war cries and orders to attack. "Focus all attacks onto the Blood Prince! Fuck the Federation, kill the Blood Prince!" It was an instant. At least two thousand Myth Guild soldiers were still standing and every mage and archer shot their most powerful skills at the Blood Prince. "Melee fighters, keep the Federation away from the Blood Prince! Don''t come close to the Blood Prince! You''ll end up falling to the Blood Curse!" Hundreds of bolts and arrows struck the Blood Prince. Even I had to fall back from the increasing force of the attacks. The barrage of attacks lasted about thirty seconds. When it was over, both the Myth Guild and the Blood Federation stopped and looked at where the Blood Prince should have been. I was going to hate myself if the Blood Prince was still standing after all of that. "Shi¡­shit!" He was still there, but he wasn''t in good shape. He was on his knees, with large wounds all over his body and bleeding profusely. His entire left arm from the shoulder was missing. It was a miracle he was still alive. Everyone on the Battlefield stared at him, dumbstruck. I charged at him. It was time to finish this. "Blood¡­Wall¡­" He saw me coming and formed his shield around him. He was still under Blood Rush, so the Blood Wall would be tougher than before. I rushed in, hoping that I was lucky enough to get a critical hit off. "Stop¡­stop him!" "Save the Blood Prince!" "Attack!" "Return fire!" The Blood Federation and the Myth Guild snapped to as soon as I charged in. It was time to use it. "Blink!" I Blinked inside the Blood Wall, and came right next to the Blood Prince. He looked up at me in horror. I smirked as I stabbed my Harrier at the Blood Prince''s heart. "Die!" "Blood Showdown!" The Blood Prince shouted something as soon as the spear came down. I felt the Harrier collide with something hard. [Blood Showdown has been activated. The caster and the caster''s opponent''s HP have been fully restored. Furthermore, both participants are invincible until the Blood Showdown is over.] "What the hell is this?" This wasn''t in the Myth Guild''s report. I felt at a loss when I read that both our HP was fully restored. He was one shot. It was so close! The Blood Prince cackled. His size returned to normal. Blood Rush was over. All of his wounds closed and his arm grew back. "Why? An hour hasn''t passed yet." "Are you curious? Gahahaha. Blood Showdown cancels out Blood Rush." "What the hell is Blood Showdown?" "Just you wait. It''s about to start. That ace in the hole of yours¡­ that was unbelievable. Only 30,000 HP left¡­" Chapter 89: Chapter 88: The Blood Prince, Part IV Chapter 89: Chapter 88: The Blood Prince, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED If he only had 30,000 HP left, I really did need just one more hit. The Blood Prince was obviously complimenting me about my Blink skill, but losing that chance to kill him made it feel like he was mocking me. At that moment, something rose from the ground between me and the Blood Prince. "What¡­the hell is this?" It looked like a concert stage. It was more than twenty meters tall. A tall pillar stood on top of the stage. On top of the pillar was a giant, glass sphere. Two hose-like objects stretched out from the sphere. "As executioner of the Blood Showdown, I''m setting the rules. We''re going with 2:1 and with 40% as the max HP." === [Blood Showdown has been established. The victor will be decided by total HP. The executioner must win by 2:1. The executioner''s HP will start at 40% of total HP. The participant''s HP will start at 20% of total HP. -If the executioner wins: receives 20% of participant''s total HP. If the participant wins: receives 40% of executioner''s total HP.] === "What the fuck is this about?" I was flabbergasted at the Blood Showdown''s description. How could he have a skill this cheap? The hoses attached to the sphere snaked down to us and attached themselves at the crown of our heads. I tried to get away, but the hose honed in on me. ==[Blood Showdown is a forced skill. The skill will not shut down until a victor is decided. No one else is allowed to interfere until the Showdown is over.]== The Blood Prince cackled. "I''ll put 20% of your HP to good use!" He sounded as if he already won. "Oh and one more thing. Don''t switch out your equips. It''s a fight against our current HP. Don''t do anything that''ll lower your HP! Bwahahaha!" ==[Blood Showdown will now commence. The first to reach 1 HP will lose the Showdown.]== At that moment, my and the Blood Prince''s HP were being sucked into the glass ball. The ball began to display a number. 10,000. 50,000. 100,000. 200,000¡­the number quickly went up. The Blood Prince giggled like a child while standing on the other side. "How much HP do you have? It can''t be more than 1,500,000, right? No, it''s probably around 2 million. It has to be that much for you to have lasted that long." -Open Stats Menu!- ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 300 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 2,274,500/2,404,500 MP: 182,700/182,700 Strength: 8,100+159 Agility: 5,100 Vitality: 4,349]== My fully restored HP was being sucked out at a fast pace. My total HP was at 2.4 million thanks to the Bracelet of Eternal Fire, but the Blood Prince had more than 3.5 million HP. I was obviously going to lose! Like the Blood Prince said, if I tried to switch out my equips, I risked lowering my total HP. Unless¡­ The Blood Prince cackled like a maniac. "Open inventory." I reached in and took out an item. === [Orb of Vitality (Rank 8) The Orb of Vitality is one of the 5 Orbs in existence. Once this item comes into your possession, the Orb is bound to you. The Orb collects 1 VIT point a day, starting on the day you obtain the Orb. There is no limit to how much Vitality the Orb can collect. When you consume the Orb, the Vitality points the Orb collected will be added to your total VIT stat. - Bind on pickup. - The Orb of Vitality will dissolve once consumed. Once consumed, the collected Vitality is transferred to the consumer. - While the Orb is in your possession, Health regenerates by 500 per tick. - Current Vitality collected: 3,060] === -If I use it, 3,060 VIT points will bring my HP up to more than 3.9 million.- The Myth Guild estimated that the Blood Prince had 3.5 million HP, and that was only from when they first managed to beat him. He could have more right now. If I used my Orb now, there was still a chance that I could lose 780,000 HP instead of 480,000. That would only serve to make him stronger. -But¡­I don''t have a choice. I need to use it now.- I didn''t like this one bit. The Blood Prince continued to laugh while watching me. I wanted to shut him up. I wasn''t going to take this lying down. I brought the Orb up to my mouth and swallowed it. [You have consumed your Orb of Vitality. VIT points accumulated by the Orb will now add to your VIT. Current Vitality collected: 3,060 Your VIT is now increased by 3,060 points.] "Stupid boy. Potions won''t help you now." It must have looked like I drank a potion to him. [3,512,779/3,934,500] The hose was still sucking out my HP at a fast pace. I had already lost almost 400,000 HP. I did everything I could do. I could only wait and see now. "You''re too calm." "I''ve done everything I can now." "Hah. You''re giving up already? Well, I''m sure you''ve already heard from the Myth Guild how much HP I have." "Yep. They said it was around a million." "A million? Bwahahaha!" The Blood Prince burst out laughing. "By the way, I think you underestimated my HP." "I know it''s around two million." "It''s actually around five," I lied. "Bwahahaha! What nonsense!" "Do you really think so? I guess we''ll see soon enough." The number on the ball passed two million during our conversation. We had both lost a million HP each. "We''ve already lost a million each; it''s still going that fast?" I heard the Blood Prince whisper to himself. The battle around us had come to a halt. The soldiers had gathered around the stage and watched what was going on. The Federation was standing behind the Prince, and the Myth Guild was standing behind me. They all knew that the outcome of the battle now rested on the Showdown. Three minutes later, the number on the ball passed four million, and continued at the same pace as it had in the beginning. "Damn¡­insect¡­" The Blood Prince began to pale a little. "I told you. My HP are over five million. I thought yours was at a million. You''ve got more than I expected." I stuck with my lie. "Shut your trap!" Two minutes later, the number passed six million. The people around us began to murmur among themselves. --- "He has more than three million HP?" "The Blood Prince, sure, but¡­a deva?" "That''s not the important part here! He has that many HP and is still strong! Neither of them are tanks!" "That''s¡­ true." Both sides were murmuring in astonishment. Only a few of the deities knew about the Blood Showdown. When they first saw it being used, they had sighed in relief. They knew the Prince would win. But now, they thought different when they saw the number pass six million. "Is¡­ that even possible for a deva?" It wasn''t completely impossible. It just didn''t make sense to have that many HP and still go toe to toe with the Prince. --- Soon, the number passed seven million. He definitely had more than 3.5 million... "How¡­how does this make sense? How does an insect like you¡­?" "Enough with the insect bullshit! Is that all you can come up with?" I was getting nervous now. I got myself into this fight thinking that I was going to come out stronger, but now I was about to lose 780,000 of my total HP. "You fucking varmint!" "Right back at you, maggot!" "Grrr! You son of a bitch!" "Yeah, you too, you son of a bitch!" The Blood Prince was getting nervous as well. The display on the ball began to slow down. Who was going to remain standing? "Eeek! You fucking bug¡­" The Blood Prince began to panic. He didn''t expect this at all. "This can''t be happening! How can a fucking insect have this many HP?!" The number passed 7.6 million. Both of us stopped talking and stared at the ball. Everyone was focused on the display. Not a single peep could be heard. The display slowed down even more. ==[98,751/3,934,500]== I had less than 100,000 HP left now. My back was soaked in cold sweat. I tried my best to keep a poker face, but that was easier said than done. Our eyes locked. "..." "..." Neither of us said anything. We couldn''t. The HP that poured into the ball now dripped like a leaky faucet. I only had 40,000 left. Only the sound of the HP dripping into the ball could be heard. A message appeared as the last drop fell. ==[Blood Showdown has now ended. The executioner''s HP has reached 1 first. 40% of the executioner''s 3,900,500 HP will transfer to the participant''s total HP.]== The message appeared so that all could see. It didn''t stop there. ==[The Blood Prince''s Blood Showdown skill will be removed for losing the Showdown. The Blood Prince''s skill, Blood Pool, will lose 40% of its effectiveness and lose 40% of its Area of Effect as the Blood Prince has lost 40% of his total HP. (Increasing HP will not change anything.) All skills related to Blood Pool will lose 40% of their effectiveness.]== The Blood Prince fell to his knees. I had only 34,000 more HP than him. I won by a hair! The hoses detached themselves, and I could move again. I slowly walked over to the Prince, and placed myself right in front of him. The Prince slowly raised his head to look up at me. His eyes were full of fear now. All that confidence was gone. "..." He didn''t say anything. There was nothing about an insect or anything. He kept his mouth shut. I wanted to rub it in his face. I wanted to tell him ''Serves you right, you piece of shit!'' or something, but when I saw his eyes, I could tell what he was thinking. Then, his eyes suddenly flared and opened his mouth to say something. "I''ll¡­" He couldn''t finish. I socked him in the head. The Prince fell to the ground before turning into a pool of blood. "I''ll listen to whatever you have to say in 125 days." ==[Blood Showdown''s stage will now disappear. The participant will now receive 1,560,200 HP added to total HP.]== [5,494,700/5,494,700] That... was a lot of HP. Chapter 90: Chapter 89: The Invitation from Macau, Part I Chapter 90: Chapter 89: The Invitation from Macau, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED We made short work of the rest of the battle now that the Blood Prince was dead. The Federation''s morale plummeted while the Myth guild''s skyrocketed. There was nothing the seven deities could do. "We will have our revenge. We will be back with the Prince and take over Egypt. Bet on it!" Those were Ang-te''s last words. None of us were afraid. "Sure, sure. We''ll see you all again in five years. We''ll be more than ready for you by then." As per the battle''s conditions, the Blood Federation now could not set foot on Egypt for five years. During that time, the Myth Guild could freely use all of Egypt''s resources to become stronger. And with that, the guild battle had come to an end, with the Myth Guild as the victor. ==[The Blood Federation has no men standing. The Myth Guild has won the guild battle. As per agreement, Egypt is now off-limits to all Blood Federation members. (Leaving the Blood Federation will not change this.) All Blood Federation members must leave Egypt in one hour. Failure to do so will result in a forced removal outside the nearest borderline.]== "Yaaaa!" "We did it!" "We protected Egypt!" "Victory belongs to the Myth Guild!" The sound of the Myth Guild''s soldiers'' hurrah was almost deafening. I could see some embrace each other and others crying in happiness. "Shin! Shin! Shin!" "Jiwon! Jiwon! Jiwon!" They began chanting my and Shin''s name. I followed Ebonene out onto the center of the Battlefield. Shin was there as well, looking around her and addressing her soldiers. "Eveyone¡­thank you. We stand here victorious because of all of your strength and willpower. We protected Egypt, the land of our ancestors and our home. Thank you all." The soldiers roared out in response at Shin''s tearful message. Shin turned to me and gestured that I should say something as well. "Um¡­ I''m not a normal member of the Myth Guild like all of you, but I came to rely on all of you during my fight against the Blood Prince. I look forward to see how strong the Myth Guild will become." I decided to keep it short and simple. I was here for me, but they did do their best, that much was true. Another message soon appeared in the sky and the entrances we came through opened. ==[The Battlefield of Valor will disappear in thirty minutes. Please make your way outside within that time.]== "Let''s go!" "Hey, let''s have a party!" "Let''s get that traitor, Rameha, expelled!" The soldiers began marching out while shouting words of celebration. I followed Shin and the officers out as well. --- Rameha, the former head of foreign affairs of the Myth Guild, and the 1,500 members of the Assault team 1 did not expect the Blood Prince to lose at all. The same went for Fate. The 480 Fate members who left the Battlefield all left Cairo as soon as possible, afraid that the Blood Prince would turn his attention towards them after wiping out the Myth Guild. After leaving the Battlefield, Rameha and his team quickly met up with their friends and family to leave for Libya, ignoring the other Myth Guild members who were waiting outside the Battlefield. Rameha and his team were still members of the Myth Guild. If the Myth Guild lost, they would also be unable to stay in Egypt. Rather than be forcibly kicked out of the country, Rameha and his team quickly made their preparations and headed to Libya, where the Blood Federation had set up places for them to stay. They received the message while passing through the resort town of Marsa Matruh, near the Egyp-Libya border. "What?" Rameha received the report from one of his spies remaining in Cairo via Comm Link, but he just couldn''t believe it. "The Myth Guild¡­just left the Battlefield? How can that be?" Rameha came to a sudden stop. The fifty-five hundred people behind him stopped as well, confused. "What do you mean, Shin and Ebonene left the Battlefield? What about the battle? What happened to the Federation? Where''s the Prince?" ''There''s no sign of anyone from the Federation. The Myth Guild is¡­in high spirits. They are celebrating as if¡­as if they won the battle.'' "Hah¡­" The world around Rameha began to spin. He couldn''t believe it until he heard everyone around him receive the same message. They had their own spies as well. They couldn''t all be lying, could they? The Myth Guild actually won the guild battle! While most of the fugitives were originally from Um-nefer''s clan, the rest were actual defectors. They believed that there was no future for the Myth Guild, and defected to the Blood Federation. They took the news the hardest. A cold wind blew over the fugitives. They couldn''t go back now. They had to pay the price for their treachery. There was no way the Myth Guild would ever forgive them. "We¡­should keep moving," Rameha quietly said. The fugitives continued their journey to Libya. They had nowhere else to go. They soon came to an old tanker riddled with holes. The rickety ship somehow managed to hold all five thousand passengers, and sailed off for Libya. The fugitives stared at the sea, wondering what their future held for them. Rameha recalled what he told Shin before leaving the Battlefield. -I pray the spirit of Egypt stays with you. If you can¡­- The spirit of Egypt truly stood by Shin. He now had to pay the price... --- The Myth Guild was busy for a while after leaving the Battlefield. The whole guild went around telling everyone that they won, that they killed eight deities, including the Blood Prince. While they were busy bragging, I had nothing really to do. I hunted at the dungeon in Khufu''s Pyramid when I had the time. I was allowed to enter for free. I definitely got less EXP than I did in the hidden dungeon. Still, it was a mid-grade dungeon and I went along with any Myth Guild parties that asked me to come with. -There really are a lot of strong people out there. I wonder what would have happened if I didn''t have my Lightning Boots?- I shivered at the thought. I pretty much beat the Blood Prince with items alone. -Still, the Blood Prince had way too many overpowered skills. If he didn''t have Blood Rush, I definitely could have won on my own!- I was attacking a group of undead monsters while thinking back on the fight. -Still, things do seem easier after the fight.- "I suppose it''s about time to leave now." I had spent the past week hunting in the dungeon. I had received an invitation to a banquet via Comm Link earlier in the day, and decided it was time to leave if I wanted to make it on time. I left the dungeon and zoomed past Cairo, but ran into a few problems on the way. "Hey, is that him?" "Yeah, it is!" "Yeah! That''s the guy I saw on the video!" I became quite famous after the fight against the Blood Prince. More than ten thousand people participated in the guild battle. Quite a few of them managed to film the whole thing. The Myth Guild decided not to publicize their videos, but was unable to stop the Federation from doing so. The battle between the Myth Guild and the Blood Federation was what everyone talked about, so it was obvious the videos became viral. Many people were curious as to how the Myth Guild won the battle even after having traitors in their midst. I became a star quite literally overnight. I quickly passed by the devas who recognized me and entered the Myth Guild''s base in Old Cairo. "Ah, master! Did you just leave the dungeon?" "Yeah. I heard there was a banquet tonight." Sunghoon and the twenty other former Fate members who stayed behind were getting the VIP treatment. They even received VIP cards, allowing them to freely enter the dungeon and use other guild resources. "Hehe. I guess it is normal for you to come out quickly." "Well¡­ I was bored anyway. Let''s head in." We headed to our dorms. I washed up and dressed in the finest clothes the Myth Guild had provided for me. Once I was ready, I headed to where the banquet was taking place. --- Everyone who had a hand in the guild battle was invited to the banquet, but I was the man of honor that night. And yet, not a single member of the Myth Guild was opposed to it. In fact, they seemed proud that they got to fight alongside me. While the banquet was in full swing, I, Ebonene, Shin, Edwifu and Naika gathered in a small room by the banquet hall. "I''d like to convey my greatest thanks once more." "No, really. It''s quite alright. I think you''ve thanked me more than enough now." "We''ve begun to rebuild the Myth Guild to its former glory. Before it all begins, we would like to properly reward you for everything that you have done for us." "You''ve already given me the Bracelet of Eternal Fire. You really don''t¡­" My lips were saying no, but my heart was saying yes. "Please, that''s barely enough. If it weren''t for you¡­well, I shiver at the thought. You are the reason we''re still here today." Shin gestured at Ebonene. Ebonene produced fifty million golden rings and two items. I knew what one of the items was and picked it up. "Item check." ==[Stop Watching Me (Rank 7) All skills targeting the user cancel out. A master smith poured all of his energy into forging this miracle item. Effect activates as long as it remains in inventory. Crafted item.]== -Damn!- "This item isn''t sold in Stores or dropped by any monsters. It can only be crafted." "There''s only a 0.1% chance to successfully craft that item. We managed to make one after countless tries. I''d estimate its current worth at about thirty-five million golden rings." "I¡­I see." I knew that. All known guild masters had one. I remember one selling for two hundred fifty million golden rings once. "As you know, your popularity is growing, whether you want it to or not. We are shielding this room from prying eyes, but know that there will be many out there who want to know more about you." "Hmm¡­" I nodded. Everyone was watching me. From the streets to hidden rooftops and windows. I had noticed there were at least ten people secretly following me when I left the dungeon. My increased VIT helped me notice them easily. But the real problem wasn''t them, but those who were using skills to watch me. It was impossible to live in a shielded room forever. "I don''t know if I should¡­" "Take it, please. You are worthy to receive such an item. Don''t worry about it." I really wanted it, considering my current situation. It would be tough trying to go about my life when I knew there were people watching me through observation skills. To be honest, this item was more than enough, but my hand drifted towards the other item, and I picked it up to check it. [Make My Skills Work Longer (Rank 6) All skills duration are greatly increased. A master smith poured all of his energy into forging this miracle item. All skill durations increased by 20%. Debuff skills are not affected. Effect activates as long as it remains in inventory. Crafted item.] This was really nice too. "We noticed that you use Warrior''s Brave Spirit." "Yeah. It''s pretty useful for a fighter class like me." "Exactly. That''s why we prepared this for you. Even if you raise Brave Spirit to level 3, it still has a cooldown of three hours. As long as you have the item, you should be able to get more use out of your skills." "Thank you. It''ll be a great help." Both items were just amazing. Obtaining crafted items was extremely difficult and expensive. Raising crafting skills was something no one could do alone. There were so many materials required and they would need a lot of people gathering those materials. As a result, only some guilds managed to craft items and they sold them for insanely high prices. I tried to hide my smile as I placed the golden rings and the two items in my inventory. At that moment, Shin leaned in and spoke to me. "We would like the Myth Guild to maintain a close relationship with you, Mr. Lee." "Don''t we have one already?" "No. We''d like one even closer." "Come again?" "We don''t know what the end goal of the Otadolon stage is. We want to keep forging ahead, but in a direction that will make us the strongest." "Obviously." "We want you to be our companion in our endeavors. I''m not asking you to join as a full member. I just want to continue working together so that we can help each other grow." "Hmm¡­" This was something to think about. It would be nice to be on good terms with a large guild and take advantage of its perks. It was nice getting this treatment. This never would have happened in the past. -The Myth Guild should be enough, right? They''ve been treating me well so far.- Besides, I could basically have free reign in Egypt with the Blood Prince and the Federation gone for five years. It would be good for both of us. "I agree. Let''s do that." "Thank you." "You won''t regret it." "I''ll work hard so that you all don''t regret it, either." They told me that I could keep my VIP card, continue to freely use any dungeons in Egypt, and have my own little section within the Myth Guild''s base. "I¡­don''t have anything to give in return." "Please, don''t worry about it. It''ll be enough for us with you by our side. We gain so much more with someone as strong as you fighting for us." I was basically the guild''s own Blood Prince now; someone to take them to a greater level and to keep others away. No other deity could freely challenge me or the Myth Guild now. How could they, when I just demonstrated that a deva could kill a powerful deity? Deities had more to lose now! --- After that day, Lee Jiwon began to hunt at Khufu''s Pyramid dungeon while using the Myth Guild as his base. He wanted to reach level 350 in order to gain another skill point. He spent a week every time he went into the dungeon. All members of the Myth Guild greeted him as he was no longer a stranger. While not a true guild member, Lee Jiwon had become a friend to the whole guild, and that was what the Myth Guild advertised. Lee Jiwon was now on the Myth Guild''s side. --- Meanwhile at Macao, the capital of gambling and pleasure¡­ A man and a woman were conversing in a room full of treasures and gold while lazily lounging on a couch. They were considered royalty in Macao. "It''s impossible to observe him anymore." "We can observe Shin now. That means she gave her item to Lee Jiwon." "Wow, she''s going all in on him." "He beat the Blood Prince. I would have thrown myself at him if I could get him to stay." "Bwahaha! You''re too honest." The man burst out in laughter at what his companion said. "A deva strong enough to defeat the Blood Prince¡­his stats must be through the roof." "Yes. I managed to check, and his HP alone are over 5,500,000." The man gave a low whistle. "That''s crazy¡­ so crazy!" "He''s not even a tank. He''s got crazy high ATT, as well, so high that the Blood Prince cried out in pain." "The more I hear about him, the more delectable he sounds." The man licked his lips. "One of our hosts is coming close to his expiration date. We won''t be able to use him anymore. If we can get Lee Jiwon to take his place¡­" "He''d be a huge help to our business." "How do we get him to come to Macao?" "I asked the Gnosis Guild in South Korea, where Lee Jiwon is from, but they rejected me," the woman said, getting up from the couch. "That just means they have something on him." "Right. They have something¡­ but to think they actually rejected money¡­" "Hmm¡­" "We need to approach this carefully." "You''re right. He''s worth that much, isn''t he?" A dark shadow crossed the man''s eyes. Chapter 91: Chapter 90: The Invitation from Macao, Part II Chapter 91: Chapter 90: The Invitation from Macao, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Macao was controlled by two people. One of them was Toh, a man who had controlled the underground since before the world changed. The other was Wanhu, a woman who came forth to partner up with just when Toh made strong strides in Macao. Toh was also known as Emperor Wu, after the real Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, for his total conquest of Macao. Soon, the two rose to absolute power over the City of Sin. Toh and Wanhu controlled 70% of Macao''s hotels, casinos, and nightclubs together. The remaining 30% were split evenly between themselves. Toh had started out as a normal deva, but was able to kick out any competition in Macao for one reason; he had the random skill known as Swap. [Swap (1/1), (Active) Swap HP, MP and Stats between two targets. Caster can only swap up to 70% of targets'' HP, MP, and Stats. Caster can swap with up to seven people at a time. Target and Caster''s Stat points must have a 5:1 ratio. (If the target has total stat points of 500, caster must have at least 100 total stat points.) Both parties must agree for Swap to work. Unless the Caster releases Swap, Stats will remain swapped for one year. After one year, swapped Stats will return to original owner. Swap effect will cease upon Caster''s death. Caster will lose a swappable Stat every time the Caster dies. When Caster can no longer swap Stats, caster will lose Swap skill. Caster cannot swap own Stats.] Because of the 70% limit on the skill, Toh couldn''t do much to make himself stronger. He could, however, make seven of his men stronger. It didn''t seem like much, but it was enough to control Macao. Soon, a mainland guild caught wind of Toh''s special skill. That guild was Shanghai''s Heung Cao Guild. The Heung Cao Guild had a proposition for Toh; in exchange for allowing Toh to control Macao, Toh would have to swap Stats with the guild master and the guild master''s son. Toh agreed. Toh then had an idea; why not do the same with the other mainland guilds? In less than a year, Toh began swapping Stats with at least one person from each mainland guild. It was then that Toh became greedy. He had the idea of selling this service to large guilds. Toh could not profit from selling as the guilds would provide their own hosts, so Toh decided to profit from distribution rather than selling. There was one problem, however; it was difficult to find the right hosts. Since only 70% of host''s Stats could be swapped, low level hosts were worthless. Kidnapping high level hosts was pointless, as well, since they needed to agree to the swap for the skill to work. Toh tried bribing them with enormous amounts of golden rings, but those high leveled hosts already had enough money. No high leveled deva in the right mind would ever agree to such a thing. That was when Wanhu approached Toh. Wanhu also had a random skill called Buddy. [Buddy (1/1), (Active) This skill can force someone to become the Caster''s buddy. However, if the target has higher Stats than the Caster, the target can resist the skill. Force up to five people to become Caster''s buddies. Usable up to three times on one person. First lasts 1 year, second lasts 6 months, third lasts 3 months. After the time limit, target is no longer Caster''s buddy. Caster''s buddies cannot reject caster''s requests. However, Caster cannot request buddies to hand over items, to kill themselves, or to do anything that will bring harm to buddies. Every time a target resists the skill, the caster will lose one from max number of buddies. Caster loses all current buddies upon death. When Caster can no longer have buddies, Caster will lose skill.] Wanhu was a godsend to Toh. Their random skills seemed to have been made for each other. Toh would use his Swap to increase Wanhu''s Stats so that she could forcibly bring someone to their side. She would then ask her buddy to swap stats and borrow items for a time. They always agreed, as she asked rather than told them. Toh and Wanhu would have the buddies locked up in a room and not train so that when the buddies were released from the skill, they would be too weak to try anything. Toh and Wanhu had no trouble silencing their victims. Together they were able to maximize their profits by selling Stat points to large guilds. Buying from 2000 to 5000 Stat points without having to put in the work in appealed to any wealthy person. Soon, they had all of Macao in their palm, with no one able to contest them. --- Toh and Wanhu were still in the room full of jewels discussing what to do about Lee Jiwon. "Let''s send him an invitation." "Do you mean an invitation to the Hive auction house that we control?" asked Wanhu. "Yeah. Don''t you think that''s enough to lure him?" "Hmm¡­" Wanhu thought about what Toh said, and thought that it wasn''t a bad idea. These days, everyone wanted into the Hive auction house. The only way to enter was by invitation only, which served to increase its popularity. "Very well, let''s try it." And so, Toh and Wanhu sent out an invitation to Lee Jiwon, inviting him to the Hive auction house where only the most important of VIPs were allowed in. Neither of them doubted that Wanhu''s Buddy skill would work on Lee Jiwon. Wanhu''s level was at 663, and had base Stat points of over 13,000. She also had ''borrowed'' 8,890 Stat points from her buddies, bringing her total stat points to nearly 22,000 There was no way Lee Jiwon''s stat points were higher, even if he was an Unrivaled. --- Toh and Wanhu''s prediction wasn''t entirely wrong, if Lee Jiwon had learned Unrivaled the normal way at level 500. However, something was about to go very wrong for them, as badly as it went for the Blood Prince during his Showdown. --- "Forty levels in one month¡­" I finally crawled back outside after spending an entire month in Khufu''s dungeon. "It''s still going to take at least another ten days just to get up to 350." My current level was a 342. I would have stayed in the dungeon until I reached 350, but it was beginning to take a toll on my mental health. I really needed a proper night''s rest and a proper Korean meal. It might seem strange to expect Korean food in the middle of Cairo, but it was the Myth Guild that prepared my own personal chef. I quickly headed back to base, thinking about what today''s meal would be. Someone was there already, waiting for me. "Hello, Mr. Lee." A sharply dressed, mustached man in his forties greeted me as soon as he saw me. The man had a white crow emblem on his suit. He was a messenger, capable of delivering anything for the right price. I remembered that messengers were extremely strong and had extensive knowledge about almost anything. They were that reliable. "Yes, hello." "You''re a tough man to find, Mr. Lee." "I was training at the dungeon." "I know. I went inside to look for you, but you were so fast that I had to give up and decided to wait for you here." "Why me?" "Why else would a messenger come looking for you? I''m here to deliver something to you." The messenger then took out a letter from his inside pocket. "Here you are. The owner of the Hive auction house also wanted you to have this box." He produced a chest about as big as a small suitcase. "Now then, Mr. Lee, it''s time for me to say farewell. I have more deliveries to make." The messenger began to sprint out of the Myth Guild''s base before stopping and coming back. "I forgot to tell you something very important. We were both filmed to prove that I did in fact deliver the package to you. Goodbye, Mr. Lee." The messenger quickly disappeared off into the distance. "Hive auction house, huh?" I knew exactly what they were. "Whoever sent this is obviously a con artist." The Hive auction house was so famous that even I knew about it during my past life. The reason for its popularity? It sold random chests! Random chests could only be found after dungeon boss raids, and had to be opened then and there. They disappeared after a while even if they weren''t opened, and they couldn''t be placed into inventories. But somehow, the Hive auction house was able to take a random chest from a dungeon and sell it! No one believed it at first, until a Chinese guild bought one and obtained a Rank 9 item. The reaction was explosive. The Hive auction house even filmed them placing a random chest into an inventory and explained that it was due to a skill they had. "It''s somewhere in Macao, run by¡­who was it again? Gah! You idiot! How do you not remember that one thing?" It was later revealed that whole thing was a scam, and the names of the two people behind it all surfaced. Well, it did become obvious that they were behind it all along, but no one could really do anything about it. "Ah, now I remember. Toh and Wanhu." The trashiest of the trash. "They invited me?" There was no way they invited me out of the goodness of their hearts. A leopard couldn''t change its spots "This¡­ is definitely a trap." I had to find out more, and went to go pay a visit to Naika. The Myth Guild should have something on Toh by now... Chapter 92: Chapter 91: Bait the Baiters, Part I Chapter 92: Chapter 91: Bait the Baiters, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Toh and Wanhu?" Naika asked. "Yes." "Aren''t they the rulers of Macao?" "Yes, they are. Do you have any information on them?" "We do, but it''s not a lot. One second." Thankfully, the Myth Guild had something on them. "We really don''t have much, especially since we were too busy with the Blood Prince¡­" "No, this is perfect. Thank you." I returned to my quarters with the report in hand. --- "Swap, eh¡­?" Most of the intel was on Toh and focused on his random skill that pretty much gave him control of Macao. "That''s right, now I remember. He had that skill, but I do remember that Wanhu had a random skill as well¡­" I began to recall all the rumors I had heard about them in the past as I read through the report. I slapped my knee. I suddenly remembered Wanhu''s random skill. "Buddy!" Wanhu''s random skill was discovered much later, as Toh was the more active one. "They made anyone with lower Stats than them their buddy. It was one hell of a cheat skill." While random chests were the Hive''s signature product, the highlight of the auction was Toh''s Stat point swaps. "It was basically a modern-day slave market." Toh would gather the highest leveled devas, learn about their Stat points and begin auctioning them to the highest bidder. It definitely wasn''t normal for outside powers to not put an end to this, but it never happened. "That was thanks to Wanhu." No one ever stepped in to even so much as tell them it was bad. The reason being... most of those outside powers were clients! I noticed an intelligence officer had added an advisory comment at the end of the report. [Do not trust these two. If an interaction is required, only trust contracts pertaining to money and items.] "Yup, definitely can''t trust those two." Anyone who stepped foot onto Macao would end up getting robbed blind of their golden rings and items. It was normal there. Sometimes, there were a few who struck gold, and so people still gathered like moths to the flame, dreaming of making it big. "They invited me, did they?" The envelope held an invitation in gold lettering, inviting me to the 21st Hive auction as a VVIP. "I wonder what''s in the box." I opened the chest the messenger gave me. "Ha¡­" The chest was full of items. "Item check." ==[Hive Gold Coin (No Rank) Gold Coins usable only at the Hive auction house. One Coin is worth 10,000 golden rings. Crafted item.]== There were 10,000 of the coins in the chest. "That''s¡­100,000,000 golden rings¡­" The Coins were obviously worthless outside of the auction house, but right now, the auction house had to have some nice stuff. People hadn''t figured out that the whole random chests business was a scam, yet. In other words, I could buy some nice stuff at the auction house! "They spent 100,000,000 golden rings just to invite me?" I knew exactly who these people were and what they did. This was obviously a trap, and they used Gold Coins worth 100,000,000 golden rings as bait. "So it''s a question of ignoring the trap or springing it." From what I could tell from the invitation, they were confident that they could turn me into a host. But I was pretty confident too; that I could probably resist Wanhu''s Buddy skill. "I''ve got fifteen days to decide. I''ll make my decision after reaching 350." I didn''t head straight to the dungeon, however. I had just gotten out. I decided to have a nice Korean dinner with Shin and Ebonene before turning for the night. I purposely left out the part about the invitation during the dinner. --- I had originally planned to take a few more days off, but I headed straight for the dungeon the next morning. For the next thirteen days, I relentlessly slaughtered all monsters that were in my path until I finally reached my goal. "Open Stats Menu!" =========== [Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 350 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 5,494,700/5,494,700 MP: 182,700/182,700 Strength: 8100+159 Agility: 5,100 Vitality: 7,409 Willpower: 1,767 Intelligence: 1,697 Unassigned Stat Points: 1000+156 Fatigue: 11 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 32,544 Physical Defense: 11,054 Magical Attack: 6,641 Magical Defense: 5,782] ======= Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel still did not fail to give me 3 stat points a day. "I''ve got 1,156 unassigned points now¡­" Now that my HP were over 5 million, I didn''t know where to assign all of my points. "I''ll keep adding Shaman Ko''s points to STR. The rest¡­I''ll put into STR as well." My VIT and AGI were high enough, and I decided to get my STR closer to 10,000. ===[Level: 350 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 5,494,700/5,494,700 MP: 182,700/182,700 Strength: 8100+159 Agility: 5,100 Vitality: 7,409 Willpower: 1,767 Intelligence: 1,697]=== "..." My Stats were looking way overpowered for level 350. If I actually showed anyone my Stats, I probably would never hear the end of it. I giggled to myself. "I''ve got 25,388 Stat points altogether¡­" It should be enough to not fall to Wanhu''s Buddy skill. I was a little worried, sure, but I did have Shaman Ko''s Stats to rely on. Shaman Ko''s Stats got me out of hot water when I first faced off against the Blood Prince, and while I wasn''t absolutely sure they helped whenever I was in danger, they still provided a small sense of security. "Well, since they cast their line¡­I suppose it''s only fair to bite." I definitely was not going for the Gold Coins. I was going to teach them a lesson for foolishly trying to trap me. I definitely had enough money to¡­ignore¡­100,000,000¡­ "I should still spend it all at Hive!" I happily left the dungeon and returned to base. --- "Huh?" As I headed for the base, I noticed a building next to Cairo''s Store that was not there thirteen days ago. -That''s the Messenger Guild!- The building clearly had the emblem of the Messenger Guild and was standing there, fully built. -Was there one in Cairo?- I didn''t remember there being one. I continued past the building and entered the base. That night, I met with Shin and Ebonene for dinner and told them that I would be leaving. They wanted me stay a while longer, but I told them that I had to take care of some personal issues, and that I would return if I had the chance. "Then I would you to take this with you." Ebonene took something out from his inventory. "They are Warp Scrolls with our base location recorded." "You will always have a room with us. We''ll even keep your personal chef on duty here." "Thank you." I placed the five scrolls into my inventory. "By the way, I noticed that the Messenger Guild has constructed a Teleport building." "Yes. They requested permission to build one in Cairo not long after you left for the dungeon. We graciously allowed them, as it would be a benefit for us all." "Ah, I see." We stayed up a little longer that night, talking and drinking. ------ The next morning, I went over to the Teleport building. I had to head to the Hive tomorrow. I needed to complete all of my errands today before heading to Macao. -They should have Seoul, right?- I checked the locations the Messenger Guild had, and saw Seoul on the list. It was right next to Anton''s Store. Each trip cost 100,000 golden rings, but I now had more than enough money to spend. I paid the fee and stepped onto the platform. I was teleported to Seoul in an instant, and heard the hubbub of a large crowd. The sight of a huge crowd of busy mortals and devas filled my vision. "There''re way more people here than in Cairo." Cairo used to be a rural town, compared to Seoul. But now that it was safer, more and more mortals were beginning to gather in Cairo. It'' would soon become as busy as Seoul. I headed straight for Anton''s Store. I was a celebrity in Cairo, but no one here gave me a second glance. ------ I went up to the skill shop and walked over to Sleng. "Oh! Master Lee, it''s been a while!" "It has. Show me your skills." "Right away." ==[Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random skill (not applicable)]== I selected the Physical tree and searched up Mana Conversion. ------- [Mana Conversion (1/1), (Active) Converts Caster''s Mana into one of five Attributes. (Skills can still be used after conversion.) Caster must wait 24 hours before converting Mana into another Attribute. Fire Attribute (Activation consumes 3 MP per second) Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Fire-based attacks by 1000-5000 Ice Attribute (Activation consumes 3 MP per second) Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Ice-based attacks by 1000-5000 Lightning Attribute (Activation consumes 3 MP per second) Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Lightning-based attacks by 1000-5000 Wind Attribute (Activation consumes 3 MP per second) Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Wind-based attacks by 1000-5000 Earth Attribute (Activation consumes 3 MP per second) Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Earth-based attacks by 1000-5000 Required skill points: 3 Required golden rings: 35,000,000] --------- -This is one good skill,- I mused. At first glance, this skill didn''t seem to compare to Warrior''s Brave Spirit. It only raised ATT by 15% and consumed MP, but Warrior''s Brave Spirit had an 8 hour cooldown even at level 3, and could only be used for three hours. I did have the Myth Guild''s crafted item that increases the usage time, but still. -I could use Mana Conversion for as long as I have MP. The attribute damage buff is always a plus, too. Hmm¡­I guess Earth is best out of all of them.- While Ice magic decreased attack and movement speed, it was nothing compared to the Slow that Earth magic inflicted. But it would make my Heel Kick useless. -Eh, I''ll take it just in case. If both skills do end up overlapping too much, I''ll get rid of one of them and learn something else.- I selected Mana Conversion to buy. "The skill costs 35,000,000 golden rings. With your 20% VIP discount, your total comes out to 28,000,000 golden rings." ----- After buying the skill, I left the Store and headed for Incheon Airport. I had noticed in Cairo that Macao wasn''t on their teleporting list. As I got on the plane, I recalled back to when the Hitman Guild tried to kidnap me. I was much stronger now. -Maybe I''ll take care of the Hitman Guild after dealing with this Macao business...- Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Bait the Baiters, Part II Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Bait the Baiters, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED -So this is Macau.- I had arrived at Macau International Airport two hours later. It felt a little weird, as I was just in Cairo a few hours before. As I left the airport, I noticed that the airport and surrounding area were pretty well kept. The people shuffling in and out of the buildings were all dressed in expensive clothes. I could tell most of them were upper class. Before I left Cairo, I had cleaned out my suitcase of all my old, musty clothes and replaced them with the new, expensive clothes the Myth Guild had provided me. I still had the Duck Duck shirt and a few clothes tucked away in my room at the Myth Guild''s base. The suit I had on right now was a high-quality suit tailored just for me. I hailed a cab. "Take me to the Hive auction house." "Were you invited?" "Yes." "I¡­I see. I''ll get you there safely, sir." The driver''s face stiffened at my answer. --- About twenty minutes later, the cab stopped in front of a ritzy-looking building. "This is it. The building on the left is the auction house, and the building we''re in front of is the hotel." "I see. Thank you." I paid the driver and stepped out. There were quite a few guards around, patrolling the hotel''s grounds. I walked past them and entered the lobby. "Welcome. This hotel is for Hive auction participants only. Do you have an invitation?" "Yes, right here." I took out the invitation and handed it to the receptionist. "Ah, I see you are VVIP guest. I am the hotel''s manager." The hotel manager bowed so low that I was afraid his head would hit the floor. "Please, follow me, Mr. Lee. I''ll take you to the penthouse suite." I followed him all the way up to the penthouse suite. "The auction begins tomorrow at 8 PM. There is a banquet before the auction at 6. You can attend if you like, or rest if you''re tired." The manager explained more about room service and other amenities before bowing deeply and leaving. "That''s some hospitality." It honestly felt a little uncomfortable. I had never received such treatment before. "Well, I get to sleep at such a ritzy hotel and eat good food. Do I need to thank Toh and Wanhu for all this?" One entire wall of the suite was filled with drinks, liquor, and snacks. There was 24-hour room service as well. The best part of it all was that it was all free! "Well, since I''m here¡­I should take advantage of it all, right?" I picked up the room phone and ordered one of every single item on the menu. --- Meanwhile, at a large villa overlooking the Hive auction house¡­ "Lee Jiwon has just arrived at the hotel." "He''s finally here." "I thought he disappeared on us when he entered the dungeon after receiving the invitation, but it seems he timed his arrival perfectly." "What should we do now?" Toh asked Wanhu. "What else can we do? Just do the same we''ve always done." Wanhu replied as she picked up her tea. "Once the auction is over, we invite him to talk, and turn him into a buddy, then." "Very well, let''s do that. Then the prize for the 22nd auction is Lee Jiwon, who defeated the Blood Prince, one on one?" "I suppose so." "I expect the 22nd auction will be buzzing with excitement, eh?" --- I slept in until late morning the next day. I ordered more room service and lazed around some. It was a reward to myself for working so hard lately. "Damn it, it''s already six?" I lazily got up to shower, put my suit on and headed for the lobby. There, I followed the hotel''s employees'' directions to the banquet hall. As soon as I entered the hall, I saw that there was already quite a crowd gathered. There were some in normal clothes, but there were also others that had their equips set to visible. I also recognized a few famous faces from my past life. -That''s the guild master of Cheng Long Guild, the number 1 guild in China.- I didn''t remember the exact number, but I knew that the guild had over a million members. The guild definitely had the numbers, but also had powerful members to go with it. I remembered seeing the guild master on TV and in the papers many times. It was then that a man came up to me. He was in his early thirties, and wasn''t of European or East Asian descent. "Are you Lee Jiwon?" "I am." "Whoa! I wasn''t sure if it was you, but you really are him! It''s so good to meet you. I had no idea I would meet someone so famous here." "Uh¡­thanks." "Your battle against the Blood Prince was amazing!" "Um¡­who are you?" "Ohmigosh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akashwi Aman, of India''s Labi Guild. My father is the guild master, and I''m the captain of our Second Assault team." "I see. It''s nice to meet you, too." I knew just about all the strong guilds from my past life, but had never heard of the Labi Guild. It was probably just a normal guild. -Wait a second¡­Labi Guild? Akashwi Aman?- I suddenly remembered someone I had heard about from India. Lagus Aman, a Liberation soldier, known also as the Demon King! "Ah! The Labi Guild. I have heard about it a few times." I pretended I knew about the guild in case this person really was connected to Lagus Aman. Lagus Aman was a bit of a celebrity to me back then. He would battle large guilds to liberate the controlled dungeons so that weaker devas like me could use them without having to pay outrageous fees. He was that strong. "Have you really heard of us?" "Yes, only in passing though." "It''s an honor!" "I also heard that you have siblings?" "You heard that too?" "It came up briefly in a conversation¡­I grew up alone and was always envious of those with siblings." "I see. I have an older brother named Lagus, and a younger sister named Soneera." "!!!" -I always thought that Lagus was born with a wooden spoon¡­I guess not.- Very few rumors about Lagus circulated, and not much was known about him. -Still, there should have been something about the Lavi Guild if the guild master was his father¡­Lagus did have a lot of enemies. Maybe the Lavi Guild disappeared.- Akashwi and a few other devas were staring at me in interest. I smiled back, but I could tell they were all wealthy and powerful since before the Otadolon stage. "It''s so pathetic seeing all those other devas try to get stand at our level." "I know, right?" "It''s hilarious to watch them hunt monsters with just a few Rank 1-3 items. I laugh all the time." "It never ceases to amaze me how they think they can catch up to us with just effort alone." "Too right. Don''t you think so too, Mr. Lee?" "Yeah, sure." I definitely did not think so, but there was no point in raising their ire. I was no hero for the weak, I just needed to answer ''Yes'' and wait for it all to be over. The banquet ended exactly at 8 and everyone moved as one towards the auction house. Just then, Akashwi came up from behind me. "It would have been better if we all started at the same time." "Excuse me?" "They laugh at other devas'' hard work, while they were the ones who capitalized on Don Gates way before the Otadolon stage was in full swing." I didn''t say anything. I knew exactly what he was getting at. "I knew from the look on your face that you were different from them. Lagus, my older brother, always told me this:''Never try to have more than others. It''ll only slow you down.''" Akashwi left me with that and moved out in front of me. I quickly followed him into the auction house. --- I was one of the few VVIP in here, it seemed. I could see the entire auction from my assigned seat. Next to me was the guild master of Cheng Long Guild and a woman I had never seen before. Soon, the stage''s curtain rose, revealing a single man. "Welcome, all, to the 21st Hive auction. My name is Jinra, and I''ll be the auction master today." No one applauded at his self-introduction. "Let''s get this auction started." Prepared to spend the ''bait'', I leaned back in the comfortable chair and waited to see what items would be on display. I picked up a piece of chocolate from the bowl in front of me and peeled the wrapper. "This item is Rank 6¡­" "This item is Rank 5¡­" "This item is Rank 7¡­" Rank 7 was the highest rank so far. "This next item is a Rank 7 cuirass. I believe it to be the best equip for fighter classes. Once you all see it, you''ll understand why we didn''t sell it at Store and brought it here instead." I leaned in when he said that it was a cuirass. My chest armor was still only Rank 2. "I present the Fire Dragon Cuirass." ----------- [Fire Dragon Cuirass (Rank 7) A cuirass forged from ore found in a volcano where the Fire Dragon once resided. The armor is of high quality, even though it was forged by a journeyman smith. The armor is imbued with the fire of the Fire Dragon. Had a master smith forged the armor, the quality would truly be second to none. Increase STR by 200 Increase VIT by 100 Increase WIL by 50 Increase Penetration Resistance by 42 Increase Fire resistance by 20% Decrease incoming Fire Damage by 30% Decrease incoming Critical damage by 85% Durability: 575,000/575,000 DEF 1500, MDEF 1550] --------- "As you can see, it is the perfect armor for fighter classes. It boasts high DEF and MDEF." My standards were high now that I had Rank 10 boots, and a Rank 8 weapon and bracelet, but that armor was pretty damn appealing. "We''ll begin the bid at 50,000,000 golden rings." "51 million!" "52!" It was the perfect armor against fire mages and fire-based monsters, especially since there were a lot of fire mages. -I kind of want it¡­- Soon, the bid had gone up to sixty-five million. If I tried to buy it now, I wouldn''t be able to bid for the item that I did want. "83 million." "We have 83 million. Do we have 84?" No one spoke out. "Sold at 83 million!" I watched the cuirass go with longing eyes. "This next item has quite a lot of effects. I present to you... the Necklace of Fallen Royalty!" --------- [Necklace of Fallen Royalty (Rank 7) A powerful royal family could not withstand the tides of time. Powerful kingdoms will always rise and fall and their thousand-year old history will never truly save them from the dangers ahead. This necklace holds the wish of a royal family that it will one day return to its former glory. Increase Movement Speed by 5% Increase ATT Speed by 5% Increase all stats by 100 points each Increase CRIT chance by 2.4%, increase CRIT damage by 80% Increase EXP gained from monsters by 5% Increase golden rings gained from monsters by 5% Restore HP by 100 for each monster slain DEF 400, MDEF 400] ---------- "We''ll begin the bid at 50,000,000 golden rings." "51." "52." "54." "100." If this necklace wasn''t already on the pamphlet, I would have bid on the cuirass instead. This necklace was more than worth the free 100,000,000 golden rings I got for coming to this place. I really should thank Toh and Wanhu later. "100,000,000 golden rings! The man in back bids 100,000,000 golden rings!" I was leaning back in my chair with my legs crossed and held a calm expression, but I was freaking out on the inside. I prayed that no one else would bid. "It seems like a nice item to have," the guild master beside me quietly said. "However, it would be very rude to steal it away from an up-and-comer such as yourself, wouldn''t it?" "Thank you." "You''re quite welcome," the guild master nodded. "Sold at 100,000,000 golden rings!" I sighed in relief. An employee carefully brought the necklace over and I handed her all of my Gold Coins. I put it on as soon as it was in my hands. After that, they brought out ten random chests, and each sold for at least 10,000,000 golden rings. -They''re all scams though¡­- I knew they were all fakes, but kept quiet. I didn''t want to get kicked out or anything quite yet. Besides, the people who bought them could more than afford to. If I could screw all of them over, I would. That is, except for Akashwi. "Now then, we have saved the best for last! Master Toh will personally begin the bid on this final item." At that moment, Toh walked onto the stage, followed by an expressionless man. He was a host. "Hello, everyone. My name is Toh." I stared at Toh and our eyes soon met. I smiled slightly. The bait he cast was pretty damn tasty. Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Bait the Baiters Part III Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Bait the Baiters Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "I would like to thank the Hive for giving me the opportunity to sell at your auction house again. But, don''t you think it''s time I got a discounted sales fee, since I am one of your regular customers?" It sounded to me that he was trying to tell everyone that he was not affiliated with Hive. "You always take 5% from me!" A few laughed at his joke. "I''ll get straight to the point! We all want to be strong. Why? Because that is how we judge and how we are judged in our current era. Yes, we all have our reasons to go kill more monsters, to find better hunting grounds, to find more items and golden rings but in the end, it boils down to strength! "Isn''t that what we all strive for? To find better items and to buy better skills? But there is a limit to it all. No matter how much money we have, we can''t buy items higher than Rank 8 and there''s a limit to how many skills and skill points we can have. I am here to help you in that aspect." Toh pointed to the man standing next to him. "My friend, here, is the answer. Show them your Stats, would you?" "Open Public Stats Menu." [Level: 642 Death count: 35 HP: 710,000/710,000 MP: 39,800/39,800 STR: 3,055 AGI: 1,277 VIT: 1,420 WIL: 398 INT: 20] "My friend here is level 642. The stats you see here are not affected by items. His total stat points should be 6,520, but since he has died 35 times, his total right now is at 6170." Toh shouted the next part of his speech. "For one year! I will lend 70% of my friend''s stat points. That''s 4319 stat points in all! My friend, do I have your consent?" "You do." "There, do you see? You will have 4,319 stat points for one year this instant. That''s 432 levels! Any hunting ground you want is yours! You can kill anyone who laughed and scoffed at you for being weak! This is your chance!" The atmosphere of the auction floor changed in an instant. It was one hell of an offer. It wasn''t just a thousand or two points, it was more than four thousand. -So, if a host has more Stat points, the better.- I could see why Toh and Wanhu really wanted me to come here. "I know many of you are skeptical about the yearlong time limit, but do not worry as it will be worth every golden ring. 70% of my friend''s HP and MP will also be transferred, but since he doesn''t have too much of either, I will give them to you for free." As soon as Toh finished his explanation, the auction master came forward. "Have you all understood what''s going on? We''re selling 4,319 Stat points. No Rank 8, 9 or 10 item can raise your Stats by that much." No one denied it. "Then let''s begin the highlight of the 21st Hive auction! We''ll start the bid at 100,000,000 golden rings." The bids started to come in fast. When the bid passed 300 million, the woman next to me, who had said nothing the entire time, bid 500. "5...We have a bid of 500! Anyone else?" Some discussed among themselves, but no one made another bid. "Sold at 500 million!" The woman then raised her hand. "What happens if it doesn''t last for the entire year?" "Umm¡­" the auction master turned to Toh who replied instead. "I will reimburse you 10 times the amount, if it expires even an hour too early." "That''s a splendid policy you have." "Thank you." "I hope you will keep your promise." "Would I lie to you, Luana, queen of South America?" -Luana??- I looked at her in surprise. The queen of South America! The Iron Maiden! I didn''t recognize her, as she wasn''t covered in blood today. She turned to me. "It was a pleasure meeting such a promising deva." "Huh? Oh, thank you." "If you ever find yourself in Brazil, look for me at the Laura Guild." She then stood up to meet Toh outside. "Thank you all for coming to the 21st Hive auction. Please look forward to better merchandise at the next auction. Have a wonderful evening." I followed the crowd out of the auction hall. It felt like I had a taste of upper class life ,and it was actually pretty fun taking part in a Hive auction. --- I returned to my suite and plopped down on the sofa. -It should be time for them to contact me now.- I still had Warp Scrolls for Seorak dungeon and the Myth Guild. I could just take their bait and run, and they had no way to stop me. I technically didn''t have any reason to meet with them, as I was invited by Hive, not them. "Hmm¡­what to do? If I don''t hear from them by the count of ten, I''m leaving. That''s another way of screwing them over." I smiled to myself. "One." At that moment, I heard a knock at the door. "Hah¡­what timing." I calmly walked over to the door and opened it. "Apologies for bothering you at this late hour, Mr. Lee." It was the manager. "No, it''s alright." "Do you have some time to spare?" "What for?" "Master Toh would like to meet you personally." "Toh wants to meet me?" I feigned surprise. "Yes. Master Toh would like to form a relationship with you. I believe he would be of much help to you, as he is Macau''s ruler." "I see. Very well." I suppose it was time to thank him for the necklace. I followed the manager out to a building next to the hotel. "He''s waiting inside." The manager left, leaving me in front of a huge door. I went inside. The room I entered was filled to the brim with jewels and gold. A man and a woman were sitting on a large couch on one side of the room. The man was Toh, and the woman I recognized as Wanhu. "Welcome." Toh greeted me first. "Hello. It''s nice to meet you." I smiled and shook Toh''s hand. "Please, have a seat." "It''s nice to meet you as well, Ms. Wanhu." "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Lee." It was weird feeling to have Toh and Wanhu sitting in front of me. I''d been meeting quite a few famous people now, people who were makers of history during my past life. I was now one of them. "Did you enjoy Hive''s auction?" "Yes. I really must thank Hive for sending me the invitation and the Gold Coins. I got to spend them all wisely, I believe." Their smiles suddenly vanished and they began talking to each other as if I wasn''t there. "Ha¡­.I know I was the one to suggest sending him the Gold Coins, but I really didn''t expect him to spend them all like that." "It''s fine. What else can we do since we can''t take his items from him? We can just squeeze as much as we can from him while we have him." "I suppose you''re right. We''ll just sell him three times for seven months and sell him again in bulk for a year." "He''s going to be tied down for almost three years. Isn''t that too cruel?" "Hah! It was your idea to begin with." "Do you think so?" I suddenly burst out laughing. It was too funny to see Toh and Wanhu truly think they could bewitch me. "Does¡­ he not understand what''s going on?" They frowned in confusion. "I do understand. That''s why I''m laughing." "Hah? Has he gone mad?" "He''s lost it!" Toh and Wanhu had lured all of their hosts into the room they were in, in the exact same why they did with Lee Jiwon. They soon developed a habit of watching their victims become confused at their situation. However, Lee Jiwon was reacting differently. It did not sit well with them. "You really don''t understand what''s going on, do you? You fell into our trap. We''re the ones who sent you the invitation. "You''re done for. We''re going to hold you for two years and nine months. My skill will turn you into our host, and we''re going to sell your Stat points, just like you saw at the auction." "I know." I found them trying to explain to me what was going on even funnier. "To be honest, I don''t really hate you guys or anything. I do thank you for giving me 100 million golden rings. I got to buy a nice necklace with the money." Toh and Wanhu were floored at my calm reaction. "No, what I''m saying is¡­" "I said I already know! I know that the two of you are the real owners of Hive''s auctions. I know you sent me the invitation and the Coins to lure me all the way to Macau. I know about your Buddy skill, Wanhu, and I know that you guys steal Stat points from people to sell at the auctions." Their faces paled. "Anyway, I don''t particularly want to be your enemy. I actually like that you''re conning all those rich brats. I wish I could. You guys are probably raking in the dough. Of course, what doesn''t sit well with me is that you also target normal people. But I''m not really about stand up for them or anything." I picked up the cup of tea in front of me and took a sip. I placed the cup back down and stared them in the eyes. "I won''t attack if you don''t attack. Do what you''ve been doing. I don''t like that you''re basically kidnapping innocent people and taking away all of their hard work, but I''m no hero of justice or whatever. I''m not going to step in for people who have nothing to do with me." I said all that, but I was still a normal person at heart. What they were doing really pissed me off. And yet, I was still just one man. I couldn''t save everyone, even though the thought gnawed at me from the back of my mind. I was still a person, but I just couldn''t bring myself to make the sacrifice. I decided I would spend that time to become stronger instead, and help everyone once I became the greatest. "We haven''t done this for that long, but I guess we finally met someone off his rocks." "I know, right?" They were the ones who didn''t understand the situation they were in. "Just do it." "Might as well¡­become my Buddy!" ==[Buddy has been requested. You have more Sat points than the other person. You will not be forced to be a Buddy. You may accept or reject. Accept/Reject]== I selected Reject. --- Wanhu did not even think that he could reject her Buddy request. She was confident that her 22,000 Stat points were high enough. She had many items raising her Stats and had received another 5,000 from Toh. She truly believed there was no way she could fail. However, she saw a message that never appeared before when she used her skill on Lee Jiwon. ==[Waiting for the other person to accept Buddy request.]== Her skill didn''t wait for permission; it forced them to become her buddy. ==[The other person has rejected your Buddy request. The maximum number of people Buddy can now work on has been decreased to 4. When the number reaches 0, you will lose this skill.]== Wanhu stood straight up. "What¡­what the hell is this bastard?" "What''s wrong?" "He¡­he rejected me!" "What?" "Him! He rejected me! He has¡­he has more Stat points than me!" "That can''t be right¡­" Wanhu wanted to scream that she knew that it couldn''t be right, but she couldn''t deny the truth in front of her. "Fuck! It went down to 4!" They just lost one of their hosts. "Why are you so surprised? You''re making a mess; sit back down." Wanhu glared at Lee Jiwon, who was now bossing her around as if he owned the place. She wanted to kill him for making her lose a host. "Wang Choong!" A large man opened the door and walked inside. "What are your orders, Mistress?" "Lock the whole place down and bring everyone here, ready for battle. Now!" Wanhu forgot in her anger that Lee Jiwon had enough Stat points to reject her skill. She just wanted to tear that smug look from his face. "Wanhu, calm down!" "How can you expect me to calm down?! We need to deal with him first!" Toh realized he wouldn''t be able to calm her down, and would have to deal with Lee Jiwon first before figuring out what to do. Things were about to go sideways... Chapter 95: Chapter 94: Failed Negotiations Part I Chapter 95: Chapter 94: Failed Negotiations Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Soon, twenty guys poured into the room. They were all armed to the teeth. "I just lost a host because of you. Do you have any idea how much that''s going to set me back?" "How the hell would I know?" "You bastard! I''m going to imprison you here for the rest of your sorry life. I will make sure you never see the light of day and regret ever crossing me!" "I had no choice, but to reject you. You just said in front of me that you were going to make me a host for more than two years. You can''t possibly be expecting me to accept it after that, can you? Or¡­" I took my Harrier out of my inventory and slammed the tip to the ground. I stared into Wanhu''s eyes."Are you looking down on me?" I was not afraid of the twenty guards surrounding me. I was powerful now. That was why I came to Macau alone. "You bastard¡­" "I see you''re pretty confident in yourself." Toh remained calm while Wanhu was sputtering in rage. "I told you before; I''m not about to let myself be done in by you guys. I might not like what you''re doing, but I''m no hero of justice." I looked around before continuing. "If you decide to drop this now, I won''t attack you. I''ll just leave. But if you attack¡­well, let''s just say I won''t just sit there and take it." "Hmm¡­" --- Wanhu was always the calmer one of the two. When Wanhu could no longer think straight in anger, Toh knew he had to control her and the situation. He had to try to stay calm. -He came here knowing everything, even about Wanhu''s skill.- This was the problem. He knew about both of their skills and still let himself come this close to the enemy. -He came in here, confident that he could reject Wanhu''s skill. He knew that no matter what we do, he wouldn''t lose to stat points.- Toh knew that Lee Jiwon worked alone. That was why he and Wanhu wanted him as a host even more. If they tried to make the Cheng Long guild master or Luana a host, they would risk turning Macau into a warzone. A strong, lone deva like Lee Jiwon was perfect for a host. -It wasn''t through luck that he beat the Blood Prince one on one.- Right now, Lee Jiwon was stuck in this room with Toh, Wanhu, and twenty guards. He was stuck like a rat in a mousetrap, but he wasn''t reacting the way a trapped man should. -Do we need to give up here?- He did say that he didn''t want to fight but¡­there was too much at stake here. "He already knows too much about us. If people find out about the random chests, shit''s going to hit the fan for us. He knows about the hosts as well. What do you think will happen if we just let him go?" "Hmm." "How do we know he''ll keep everything a secret? We need to tie him up and throw him in a cell until we know for sure he won''t leak anything." Before he became a deva, Toh used to be Macau''s underworld crime boss. He knew exactly what Wanhu meant and had been worrying about the same thing. "All of you, attack Lee Jiwon. Do not let him escape!" Toh made his decision. He knew it was his only decision, but seeing Lee Jiwon smile confidently filled Toh with uneasiness. --- All twenty three of them fired off ranged skills at me. "Wang Choong, use Bind on him once you have the chance!" "Yes ma''am!" Bind was a skill that required three skill points and could only be used when the target had less than 5% HP remaining. Its success rate wasn''t that high, either. I remained in my spot while they hurled their attacks at me. I activated two skills that were going to help me. "Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning Attribute. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." [Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning Attribute has been activated. Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% chance of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Lightning-based attacks by 1000-5000 You must wait 24 hours before converting your Mana to a different attribute.] [Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated. Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.] At that moment, I was struck by the wave of attacks. I really was strong now. I didn''t even try to block any of them, and didn''t receive any significant damage. "So that''s your choice," I said to Toh as I stood up from the sofa. "I know that you''re strong; that much is obvious. But surely you''re not thinking that we don''t have more men, are you?" "We have three hundred men guarding this villa alone. All of Macau is under our guild''s control. There''s no hole you can crawl into!" "Really? Well, then I can just dig myself one, if that''s the case." "We''ll see how long you keep talking. Giga Lightning!" Pissed at my reaction, Wanhu shot a bolt of lightning at me. I ignored it and charged at Toh. He was currently the weaker of the two from swapping Stat points all this time. -He said that he''ll pay ten times more if he fails the contract, didn''t he?- If he died, all swapped Stat points were going to cancel. He was going to have to pay up ten times the money to everyone he sold to. It seemed a fair punishment to these con artists. "Gah!" Wanhu''s Giga Lightning struck me in the back. I had lost about 120,000 HP from the spell, even with my increased Lightning resistance. It wasn''t even a critical hit. ==[You have been struck by Giga Lightning. You have been afflicted by Staggering Shock. Staggering Shock prevented by status immunity.]== "Don''t get all high and mighty just because you''re an Unrivaled! I''m one of the rulers of Macau and the boss of Hive. I have items that can make me stronger than you. I have even defeated a deity!" "I''m not being arrogant. You''re just making me jealous with all this item talk." Wanhu''s damage was higher than I expected. Her Lightning spell could definitely kill a normal deva with just a few hits. -But in the end, none of it matters to me.- I continued to ignore her and focused on Toh. "Heel Kick." I kicked at Toh and stabbed with my spear. "Substitute!" Toh summoned a dummy of his likeness in front of him to take the hits for him. The dummy burst like a balloon with one hit. "What¡­what is up with that damage?" Toh stood still in shock. I raised my spear and stabbed at him again. "Subst¡­Gah!" My attack was faster. My spear stabbed through his chest and out his back. "Shit! His damage is¡­" I pulled my spear out to attack him again. "Stop him!" "Protect Master Toh at all cost!" "Heal!" "Mega Heal!" "Lightning Wall!" A wall of lightning appeared between me and Toh and pushed me back. "Protect Toh! We must not let him die!" "Yes ma''am!" "Tsk." It was the perfect chance to finish him off. "You bastard!" "Don''t get so angry. I really wanted to finish off there, you know." "Lightning Storm!" Several bolts of blue lightning broke through the ceiling and headed straight for me. I quickly jumped back to avoid the lightning bolts. "Release!" At Wanhu''s command, the vertical lightning bolts changed direction in an instant, cascading the entire room with hot electricity. "Gah!" I cried out in pain as the lightning burned through my body. "Attack!" "Yes ma''am!" The twenty guards attacked me again. Then, Toh and Wanhu''s guild members began pouring in from the ceiling. "Fine then! Let''s finish this!" I was getting angry at this point. I charged in at Wanhu, who was smiling as if she won. "Stop him." "Stay away from Mistress Wanhu." I stabbed at the two guards who stepped in front of me. The spearhead flashed in yellow light as it stabbed through their hearts. They turned into a cloud of smoke while screaming in pain. "Just one hit¡­?" "A critical hit can''t just¡­" Wanhu stared in shock as her two guards disappeared before her. However, there were still twelve guards in front of her. -Should I try it?- For some reason, I was feeling more confident than usual. I was going to save Blink to get myself out of a hairy situation, but I doubted I was in real trouble. "Be¡­be careful!" "Melee fighters, focus on defense. Ranged fighters, focus on attacking from a distance." "Lightning Storm!" "Ice Ring!" "Flaming Whip!" Half the guards set up a shield wall in front of Wanhu and the mages shot their spells at me. As soon as the spells came close enough, I used it. "Blink!" I teleported right next to Wanhu and stabbed my spear into her back. The spear came out through her chest. At that moment, a bolt of red lightning struck her on the head. ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF is lowered by 80%.]== Wanhu was a lightning mage. Her DEF and VIT were low. It didn''t matter if she had good items; she could only compensate for so much. I wanted to hit her with a critical hit to wipe that smug grin off her face. But instead of yellow light, I was rewarded with red lightning. I quickly pulled my spear out and began impaling her multiple times. I wasn''t going to lose this chance. "You¡­son of a bitch!" Wanhu couldn''t even lift a finger to try to stop my attacks. "He''s behind us!" "He''s behind Mistress Wanhu!" Her guards finally noticed and cast heal spells to save her, but it was too late. "You fucker! Just you wait. I know about your Blink now. Next time, you won''t escape my lightning!" "Is that right? I think my lightning is better than yours." I stabbed her one last time and she disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Failed Negotiations Part II Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Failed Negotiations Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "How could Mistress Wanhu fall to a single guy?" The now fifty-plus guards stood in shock amid all the rubble they had created from their spells. They couldn''t stop one man from killing their mistress. Wanhu was the strongest of the guild. Whatever Stat points Toh received from hosts went to Wanhu, while Toh''s remained low. She had the best Rank 7 items that money could buy and even had a Rank 8 item. She boasted high Stats and strong skills that wereeven able to beat a deity. No, it was more like she toyed with him. Wanhu wasn''t alone against Lee Jiwon. She had more than fifty guards protecting her, and yet she still died. It just didn''t make sense. "All of you focus!" Toh shouted. "He''s still alone in this fight. Tanks and melee fighters, make sure to seal any of his escape routes. Ranged fighters, focus on attacks!" "Yes sir!" "Supporters, fall back. He''s an Unrivaled; debuffs won''t work on him. Focus on buffing and healing the tanks instead. Do not let them fall!" "Yes sir." Toh wasn''t the type to fight in battles himself; he had too much to lose if he died. However, that didn''t make him a weakness to the guild. He was an established commander; he was Macau''s crime lord for thirty-five years and spent two years after the Great Change fighting for control over Macau. "Watch out for his Blink and watch your backs. Don''t let your guard down for a second." "Yes, sir!" The fifty guards were moving like a well-oiled machine at Toh''s orders. Soon, more and more guild members began filing into the room, positioning themselves at his orders. There were now about two hundred of them in the room. "We still have three hundred guards patrolling the area, and more are on their way here. Take turns attacking him; don''t fight him all at once. Don''t be afraid of dying here. I''ll compensate you all with a Recovery Gem, and will reward the best fighter here with a Rank 7 item." "Yes sir!" "Triple Shot!" "Freezing Blade!" "Winter''s Grasp!" "Iron Body!" They pelted me with endless spells. I was planning on getting out of there once I killed Wanhu, but now I changed my mind. I would kill Toh as well. But before that, I had to get rid of these pests out of the way first. I spun my spear around me and struck two guards. Blue lightning coursed through one of the devas'' body. [Your opponent has been afflicted by Shock. Your opponent receives an additional 20,000 points of damage. For three seconds, your opponent will lose 5% of movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF.] Shock went off as a result of my Lightning Mana. It wasn''t much compared to the Powerful Shock my Lightning Boots had, but it did enough to hurt my opponents. "If you get hit, retreat! Don''t take him head on. He''s definitely strong. Act as if you''re going up against a dungeon boss!" "Yes sir!" Every time I killed one, another took his place. I looked over at Toh. ¨CTsk.- There were at least thirty guards surrounding Toh, all of them ready to give their lives for one man. He was constantly giving out orders while being surrounded by his guards, and he didn''t seem out of place at all. "Time is on our side." "Mistress Wanhu will resurrect in three hours. We just need to hold him until then." I may have ended up underestimating their abilities. Wanhu and Toh had higher ATT power than I expected, and the entire guild''s cohesion was better than any other I had seen. However, they also underestimated me. They thought they could make me theirs. I was going to make them pay dearly for that mistake. "Let''s see if you''re right. Cha!" I charged in at a group of seven guards and targeted a deva wielding a broadsword. The deva didn''t have a shield, meaning the deva wasn''t a tank and wouldn''t have high VIT. In other words, the weakest of the group. The deva raised his sword above his shoulder to block my attack but was forced back from the force. I took that chance and struck him twice. The second hit flashed yellow, killing him. "Don''t!" a tank yelled out as he watched his comrade die. "Don''t what?" I calmly replied as I jumped out of the hole in the ceiling. "Release the destroyed first barrier and set up a second one. If seven of you can''t handle him, then increase your numbers. Don''t let him escape! We''re not fighting in a boss room; there''s no limit here." "Yes¡­yes sir!" As soon as I got onto the roof, fourteen guards surrounded me. I charged in without hesitation and targeted another broadsword wielder. They may be moving like a well-oiled machine with Toh''s perfect commanding, but they still had one problem: the machine''s gears weren''t that strong. "Shit! How is he this strong?" The deva saw my spear head straight for his chest and swung his sword to deflect the attack. My spear, however, did not move even an inch and pierced his chest. "Save him. We can''t let him die!" "Heal!" "Mega Heal!" The healers began healing the wounded deva at Toh''s command. It would be stupid of me to just let them do that. "Let''s see which is faster, my attacks or your heals." I raised my spear once more and stabbed at the deva. "Ranged fighters, don''t cease your attacks. He has over five million HP! Don''t think you can stop him in one attack and pelt him!" "Yes sir!" "Freezing Blade!" "Power Shot! "Razor Wind!" A flurry of spells came at me from behind as I charged in at the warrior, but I ignored them. They were just trying to slow me down. I needed to get out of here even if it meant taking significant damage. "Shit¡­Shit!" I kept attacking him even as he was being healed by his comrades. "Don''t just stand there like an idiot! Switch with a tank!" "He''s too fast for us. Even if we switch, he''ll keep focusing on one person." "Gahh!" Blue lightning coursed through the warrior''s body. His wounds were being closed as soon as I opened them, but his fatigue was still rising. The higher it raised the more damage he received. I could see blood streaming from his eyes and nose. He could barely stand now. He was half-dead. I stabbed him one last time. "Fuck¡­!" He swore one last time before he collapsed. His body burst into a cloud of smoke. "Increase your¡­Fuck!" Toh swore. The more guards fought Lee Jiwon, the more died. Without an actual tank, they were going to be decimated. "When are the others getting here?" "Two hundred should get here within ten minutes. After thirty, another seven hundred should arrive." "Shit! Can''t you see what''s going on? We can''t last another five minutes. Tell them to get rid of anything in their path and get here now! I''ll deal with the repercussions!" "Yes sir." Toh watched the battle in anger. Lee Jiwon was fighting like a hungry tiger, looking to get out of its cage. "Arrgh!" "His¡­his damage is too high¡­" "His critical hits are too dangerous!" "Heal! Heal me!" "Dancing Fire!" "Razor Wind!" "Fuck! Tank, get up there and block him. He''s focusing on us who have lower VIT!" "I''m trying! He''s too fast for me." "Use Provoke if you have to. We have to stop him somehow!" "Provoke!" "Taunt!" "You idiots! He''s Unrivaled! He''s immune to Provoke!" The two hundred guards were plunged into chaos. Nothing they did was helping. Lee Jiwon was prancing on one after other, like a wolf in an unguarded flock of sheep. "Boss raid¡­I''m the idiot here." Lee Jiwon was not as simple as a dungeon boss. Lee Jiwon was hunting down the weak links like a skilled predator. "Was Unrivaled¡­ that overpowered?" Toh and Wanhu had made two devas Unrivaled, using the profit they made from dungeon raids and from auctions. However, neither of them was as strong as Lee Jiwon. "No. Unrivaled isn''t the problem here¡­it''s Lee Jiwon himself." His guild members were sporadically reinforcing the battle, but he could see now what it would take to end this battle. "Tell the reinforcements to stop for now." "Sir?" "Stop the reinforcements and tell the ones fighting to retreat." It was over. They failed. None of his tactics were working; they had just served his guild members to Lee Jiwon on a silver platter. Over a hundred of them had died already. "We''ll make a new plan." "Yes sir." Toh looked around at the battle before walking the other way. -Have I severely underestimated him?- Lee Jiwon looked to be an easy prey, which was why Toh invited him to his home. Now, it was like Toh had just let a tiger loose in his own backyard. "Tell the rest to run away as soon as I''m gone." "Yes, sir." -He said he doesn''t want to be enemies¡­- Toh recalled what Lee Jiwon said during the meeting. -But the water has already been spilled. There''s no turning back now.- There was no point in regretting his decision. He just had to keep his head low, low enough that Lee Jiwon wouldn''t take notice. Chapter 97: Chapter 96: Guerilla Warfare, Part I Chapter 97: Chapter 96: Guerilla Warfare, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Retreat!" "Spread out and get out of here!" I had already taken notice that Toh was being escorted away by his thirty guards. I was already looking for the timing to make my own retreat and didn''t give chase. As soon as he disappeared, the order came for the rest to retreat. They seemed to know that Toh had gone as well, so they scattered as soon as the order came. I wasn''t about to chase after all of them, but decided to clean up whoever was still in front of me. "Why me¡­?" I plunged my spear into the closest deva. "Because you''re right there. I''m sorry, but you''re just unlucky," I said to the fire mage, staring at her deadpanned. I sighed. I had the choice to completely avoid fighting, but since I did have a small desire to fight them, I left the choice to Toh and Wanhu. They were more likely to choose to fight. "Well, I might as well finish what I started." I wasn''t going to just leave Macau the way it was. I planned to make their lives hell in their own home, just like the way the Blood Prince did. "I''ll show you how much damage a single worm can do." I fled the area to where I was sure no one could find me. --- After roaming around Macau for about thirty minutes, I found an abandoned building and headed inside. "Good¡­not a soul." I felt no trace of anyone trying to follow me. "It''s a good thing I have Stop Watching Me." It would have been difficult to escape anyone observing me. "I should still set up a failsafe before I begin my guerilla warfare." I took out two Blank Warp Scrolls and recorded my location. Then I took out a Warp Scroll Ebonene gave me and ripped it. I felt my body lift up into the air and in an instant I saw the Myth Guild headquarters. "Oh! Mr. Lee, is that you?" "Hi, Mr. Edwifu. It''s good to see you again." "I was beginning to miss you when you left two days ago, but it''s good to see you again as well." "I''m only back to take care of something. I need to get going again soon." "Well, since you''re here, you might as well have dinner with us. I''m sure the guild master and vice-master will like to see you again." "Sure, that sounds great." I came back to Cairo to set up a Respawn Point here. There was every chance that something could go wrong. The Blood Prince still managed to die at hands of the Myth Guild, even though he used guerilla tactics. I went up to Shin''s office to greet her and Ebonene. Not long after I entered, Naika burst into the room. "Guild master! Lee Jiwon just fought against the San Tuan Guild in Ma¡­huh?" Cairo was eight thousand kilometers away from Macau. In less than an hour, news of the battle had already reached here. "Mr. Lee!" Naika looked at me as if she saw a ghost. "Hi, Ms. Naika." "The information I just received about you and Toh and Wanhu¡­" "It''s all true." "What''s going on here?" asked Shin. "Several days ago, I received an invitation from Toh and Wanhu. It was a bait to lure me into their trap, to use their Swap skill and steal my Stat points. I caught on and went to spring their trap in their faces." "So, that was the reason you asked about them?" "Yes. I needed to know more before going in." "Why did you take on such a risk on your own?" "I was confident. I knew I could foil whatever their plans were. And their bait was¡­pretty alluring." "If we know by now, then the rest of the world will know about your battle against them." "But I didn''t¡­" "Mr. Lee, you defeated the Blood Prince and seven deities on your own. You are now a rising star with no affiliation to any guild or group. I would expect all eyes to be on you." "She''s right. Your name carries weight now. Had you had fought against a normal deva, the news wouldn''t spread like wildfire like this." "I¡­I see." I began to think I may have gone overboard. "We already revealed to the rest of the world that the Myth Guild is your ally. If you wish to take the fight to all of the San Tuan Guild, then you have our full support." The others nodded in agreement with Shin. "No, that''s alright. I''m thankful for the thought, but I can handle it." "Then will you cease this dispute with the San Tuan Guild?" "From my intel, their pretty livid and don''t seem ready to give in just yet." I smiled at what Naika just said. "I''m not ready to stop yet, either. It won''t end until either of us readily gives in." "But the San Tuan Guild put Macau on the map. They may not have as many members as other guilds, but they are still a formidable opponent. You''ll be alone¡­" Naika stopped and looked at me dead in the eyes. "You''re not thinking¡­" "I am. You''ve dealt with it before, right? A single man caused you quite a bit of grief. Ah, of course, I don''t mean I''ll do that to you." "We''re not worried about that. We know full well how much damage that man caused us. The Blood Prince''s guerilla tactics were¡­nothing to scoff at," Shin said, smiling. "Then, are you really planning to employ guerilla warfare in Macau?" "Yes. As you said, I may be in good faith with the Myth Guild, but I am still a loner. I am their only target. It''s game over for them if they can''t stop me. They also have a lot to lose, don''t you think?" "True." "Besides, I learned a lot about the Blood Prince''s tactics in that report you gave me. I might as well put it all to good use." Ebonene then spoke up after listening to the conversation. "You remind me of a child who found a fun toy to play with." "Who, me?" I was surprised at what he said. Ebonene didn''t say anything else, however, and stood to the side, smiling. There was truth to what he said, though; a truth I never thought was possible. -In the past¡­I was so weak¡­but now I''m having fun toying with Toh and Wanhu, who were legends back then?- Ebonene had to say it for me to finally realize it. I saw Toh and Wanhu the same way a tiger saw a rabbit. I wanted to prove to everyone how strong I was. "I''m starting to pity the San Tuan Guild." "I see you don''t like leaving things undone." Shin and Ebonene spoke as if the outcome was obvious. "But, the Blood Prince did so well against large numbers thanks to his Blood Curse. If it''s Mr. Lee, I don''t think¡­" "No." Ebonene cut Naika off. "I''m sure Mr. Lee will make Toh, Wanhu, and the entire San Tuan Guild learn just who exactly they messed with. I expect that the whole thing won''t take longer than a month. All we have to do is kick back and watch a large guild fall. Don''t you think so, Mr. Lee?" "..." I couldn''t reply right away. Ebonene had a knack for making it seem like he could read people''s minds. "Yes. I should finish¡­ what I started," I finally replied, confidently. It felt good having him on my side. "That is why I came back after only two days. I wanted to set up a Respawn Point here, in case thing go south." "I understand. We''ll help you in any way we can. We''re all in this together now." After that, we all left for dinner. I returned my quarters that night and took a well-deserved rest. I was going to be very busy from now on. --- The next morning, I set up a Respawn Point at the Myth Guild''s headquarters. Shin was there as well, to see me off. I took out a Warp Scroll I made yesterday and used it. "Do you think it''s possible?" Rumors about what happened in Macau were buzzing all around Cairo. "I do. He truly did become stronger after defeating the Blood Prince. I told you, didn''t I; that I believe he had something holding him back all this time?" "You said that when we first met Lee Jiwon, didn''t you?" "Yes, that''s right. Whatever it is, it''s slowly breaking. I''m curious as to who will be the one to completely break those chains for him," said Ebonene. "We must have been extremely lucky, then, to share a common enemy." "We must have, yes." Soon, they all returned to their headquarters. Today, the Myth Guild was going to busy once again, if it wanted to become stronger as well. --- Back at the abandoned building in Macau, I looked around the surrounding area. "Good, there''s no one here." It was time to put my plan into action. It was simple. I just had to hit them where it hurt. I had marked the locations of all of Toh and Wanhu''s casinos, hotels and nightclubs; their three cash cows. I was going to hit all of them and hit them hard. I waited in the building until night came. At around 10 PM, I left the building and leisurely headed for Macau''s inner city. My first target was the San Tuan Guild''s largest casino, the Tihwa Casino. Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Guerilla Warfare Part II Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Guerilla Warfare Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Fortaleza do Monte, San Tuan Guild''s headquarters in Macau¡­ A day had passed since the fight against Lee Jiwon at Hive''s auction house. Toh, Wanhu, and the San Tuan Guild''s officers were gathered. "Fine, I''ll admit it. I¡­got too worked up," said Wanhu, dejected. She had rampaged all around the conference room, swearing that she would have her revenge against Lee Jiwon, but as time passed, she finally cooled down. She realized she had jumped the gun in the beginning. "I never experienced such failure before. I was just so shocked at losing a host." "It''s fine. What''s done is done. We just need to focus on what to do next," said Toh. Toh knew that they were in this together since the beginning and didn''t press the issue. "Qing, what''s our current situation?" Toh asked the guild''s chief of staff. "Well, first off, Mistress Wanhu has lost all five hosts." Upon Wanhu''s death, her Buddy skill released its hold on her five current hosts. Once they regained their free will, they took back the items Wanhu took from them and escaped Macau. "The good news is that since Master Toh didn''t die during the fight, your Swap skill hasn''t lost its effect." The hosts still had their Stats swapped. They could only wait until the time limit was up. "On top of that, we lost 127 members to Lee Jiwon, and the auction house is in ruins. However, the biggest problem here is¡­" Qing hesitated before continuing, "...that there were still VIPs staying at the hotel." Toh, Wanhu and the officers frowned. They knew what she was getting at. "There were still quite a few VIPs still at the hotel thirty minutes before the fight, and the villa was just too close to the hotel. They saw the whole fight and how we got our butts handed to us." "Shit." "Hmm¡­" Even if it was late at night, the auction house, hotel and villa were just too close to each other, so it was obvious they saw everything. They couldn''t silence all of them. They were all VIPs, yes, but among them was also the guild master of Cheng Long Guild and Luana, the ruler of South America. "Everyone knows that the San Tuan Guild lost to Lee Jiwon, and there are quite a few who are happy with that." No one liked the San Tuan Guild very much. They all blamed the guild for taking away their money, enticing them with casinos, hotels, and nightclubs. "Gamblers have only one thing they care about. It doesn''t matter. Let them talk all they want; they''ll be back to lose all their money again sooner or later," Toh said, brushing it off. "I agree with you on that, but things seem more serious than we expected." "What is it?" "The So Gyu Mo Guild is pushing back its payments." "What?" "Hmph, they''re getting too bold now." "They aren''t the only ones. Many other organizations are beginning to undermine our authority over Macau just because we lost to one man." "Shit!" "What do you suggest we do?" "We have to capture Lee Jiwon. No, we don''t even have to actually catch him. We just need to at least go through the motions. We need to show everyone that Lee Jiwon is now too afraid of us to set foot on Macau ever again. It would be great if he really does never show up again. It''ll make it easier for us to sell the story." Qing looked over at Toh and Wanhu before continuing. "We cannot let ourselves look weak after losing to Lee Jiwon." "Good, that''s all good and all, but there''s one thing," Toh said while staring into Qing''s eyes. "It''ll work if he really doesn''t come back, but what if he does? Do you know how much we''ll lose if we do end up having to capture him and fail?" "I do, sir. That is why I have planned out the perfect trap for him," Qing replied confidently. "Very well. Put it in action as soon as you can." "As you all know, our guild''s honor is on the line. Lee Jiwon is on his own. If we lose to him, we risk losing everything to those damn hyenas. The whole guild is to be on high alert for the time being. If he ever comes back to Macau, capture him at all cost." "Yes, sir!" And so the San Tuan began their preparations to capture Lee Jiwon. However, they never expected him to employ guerilla tactics, and didn''t realize he was already back in Macau... --- I soon arrived in front of the Tihwa Casino. "It''s the middle of the night, but it''s still busy." The surrounding area was light up with so many lights that I couldn''t tell if it was day or night. I noticed there were flyers posted all around as well. They all had my face on them. ==[Wanted Name: Lee Jiwon Wanted for antagonizing the San Tuan Guild and killing multiple guild members. Any information on Lee Jiwon''s whereabouts or that would aid in his capture will be rewarded with 100,000,000 golden rings. Call this number with any information regarding Lee Jiwon: XXX-XXX-XXXX.]== "Damn, 100,000,000 golden rings¡­that''s too low. I can''t be worth that little, can I?" I never expected to see a wanted poster of myself. Then again, this place wasn''t exactly saintly. "If this is their decision, then I need to move quickly." I saw a few San Tuan guild members guarding the casino, but I wasn''t worried about them. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." I switched to fire this time to create more chaos here. ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Attribute has been activated. Increase ATT by 15% Successful attacks have 10% of inflicting additional damage Increase damage of all Fire-based attacks by 1000-5000 You must wait 24 hours before converting your Mana to a different attribute.] [Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated. Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%, CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.] == Ten minutes. My plan was to create enough chaos for ten minutes. I had other places to hit, and it would take at least that long for reinforcements to arrive. "Let''s begin." I sprinted towards the casino. "Huh?" "Wait¡­ you''re¡­!" A guard noticed me coming and pointed his finger at me, but couldn''t finish his sentence. My Harrier pierced his chest and he rolled back three times from the force of the blow. I then jumped to get over to him and stabbed him three more times. I needed to be quick. I needed to cause enough damage here within ten minutes. "Call headq¡­Gahk!" "Flaming Whip!" "Razor Wind! "You idiots! Not even Mistress Wanhu could kill him! The ten of us can''t do anything. Hurry up and notify base!" the guard shouted to his comrades with my spear still in his chest. I have to say it was commendable, but there was no time to show mercy. "Heel Kick." I pulled my spear out and struck him two more times. "Shit¡­why are you here¡­?" "This place just seemed better." I stabbed him one last time, killing him. "Run away!" "Get out of here and contact headquarters! We can''t stop him with the guards here." I watched the guards run as their captain died, but didn''t give chase. My target was the casino, not them. I sprinted for the casino and rammed through its outer wall. My momentum torpedoed me all the way through three walls. "What was that?" "Is war breaking out or something?" "What was that sound?" Everyone in the casino began gathering where I had entered the building. Gamblers, dealers and waiters on all three floors stared at me standing in the middle of rubble. "Wait!" "Isn''t he that guy?" "That''s Lee Jiwon!" "The hundred million bounty!" "What? Really?" "Good evening, everyone. As you all know, I am Lee Jiwon with the hundred million golden ring bounty on my head." More than a thousand people were watching me, but I confidently addressed all of them. "The San Tuan Guild has decided to make me their enemy. Unfortunately for them, I am a very deadly enemy. Don''t you all agree that I should act accordingly?" The spectators tilted their heads in confusion. No one understood what I meant. "From now on for nine minutes, I will destroy the Tihwa Casino. After that, I will target all businesses owned by the San Tuan Guild." I raised my spear and swung it to the side, destroying five slot machines. "Just like that. I know many of you are here to have fun and play some games. Still, what I''m about to do here will get in the way of your enjoyment. I humbly ask for your understanding." "Pwahahahaha!" I heard someone laugh loudly from somewhere on the third floor. "How commendable. Really. You''ve been marked as the San Tuan Guild''s number one enemy and yet here you are¡­I, Weiban, captain of Cheng Long Guild''s Assault Team One and son of Cheng Long Guild''s master, acknowledge Lee Jiwon and his endeavors. The Cheng Long Guild will not interfere. Is that clear?" "Yes sir!" "Leave Tihwa Casino at once and do not enter any of San Tuan''s casinos until Lee Jiwon is finished here." "Yes sir!" A huge number of devas replied at Weiban''s orders. About a hundred people began to leave the casino. "I look forward to seeing how far you can go, Lee Jiwon," Weiban said to me as he left. I nodded in thanks. "Let''s go, too!" "Yeah. I have lost so much money to the San Tuan Guild these past years; screw these guys!" "We''ve all been scammed one way or another by them, haven''t we?" "True. Besides, there''s nothing more fun than watching a fight." I smiled as everyone else began to follow Weiban''s lead and filed out of the casino. Even the casino''s employees mixed in with the crowd and departed, but I didn''t care about them. In about two minutes, the whole casino was just about empty. I noticed there were still a few hiding, trying their best to conceal their existence from me. "I''ll assume whoever is still here, hiding, is part of the San Tuan Guild and are therefore my enemies. I won''t show any of you mercy." I wasn''t about to leave after smashing a few slot machines and tables. I wanted to bring the whole building down. I raised my spear and began smashing the casino''s pillars. This casino was built specifically for the San Tuan Guild''s VIPs and cost quite a bit of money. "Stop, you fucker!" A guild member finally caught on to what I was doing, and leapt out from behind a wall and attacked me. Unfortunately for him, I already knew exactly where he was. I turned around and stabbed him with my spear. "Ahk!" "This casino will fall, no matter what you do. It''s a warning for Toh and Wanhu. I''ll show them what it means to piss me off." I pulled my spear back out and stabbed him again. This attack flashed yellow, killing him instantly. I turned around and continued to destroy the building''s pillars. Soon, I began to hear the building crumble and groan. The sounds grew louder after every pillar I broke. "I wish I had an AoE skill right about now. If I did, I wouldn''t have to break every single one of these." "Stop right there! If you keep it up, you''ll get buried in the rubble as well." There were still a few more guards left. "Who, me? Do you really think that''ll happen?" At that moment, a huge chunk of the ceiling came crashing down. The building began to shake. "Shit! It''s coming down. Get out of here!" I watched as they made a break for it. I whispered a single word as the building came down around me. "Blink!" Chapter 99: Chapter 98: Guerilla Warfare Part III Chapter 99: Chapter 98: Guerilla Warfare Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED At the site where the Tihwa Casino once stood, five minutes after Lee Jiwon Blinked away¡­ "Ha¡­" "This is¡­ where our Tihwa Casino is supposed to be?" As soon as they got the call, Toh and Wanhu gathered a thousand of their most elite soldiers and rushed over to the casino. It took them less than ten minutes to get there, but when they arrived, Lee Jiwon was nowhere to be seen. The biggest problem here was¡­ neither was their casino! Their biggest moneymaker in Macau was gone. "Lee Jiwon, you bastard!" "This has to be¡­" Wanhu suddenly recalled where Lee Jiwon was before he came to Macau; Cairo, Egypt. She remembered the Blood Prince and what he used to fight against the Myth Guild. "Guerilla tactics?" "What?" "This¡­ has to be guerilla warfare. Think about the fight between the Blood Prince and the Myth Guild." "Ah!" Toh finally understood what Wanhu was saying. "Lee Jiwon has no intention of fighting us head on. He''s instead targeting our important facilities, just like the Blood Prince did!" "Ugh, that worm!" All that work they put in setting up a new trap for Lee Jiwon was now all for naught. "Master Toh, Mistress Wanhu!" "What is it?!" Toh answered curtly. "We found the ten guards who were here when Lee Jiwon attacked. Shall I bring them over?" "Bring them here now!" Soon, the ten guards were standing in front of Toh. "If we tell you what happened, will you really give us golden rings?" asked one of the guards. "That''s right. If you tell me everything what happened, I''ll give each of you 100,000 golden rings," Qing quickly answered. "Alright, thank you ma''am. Well, what happened was¡­" The guards explained everything. They explained how Lee Jiwon got through the first guards and broke into the casino, and how he proclaimed to everyone what his intentions were. They also explained how Weiban applauded Lee Jiwon''s efforts, and how everyone else followed the Cheng Long Guild out of the casino. "I tried to contact headquarters as soon as I saw him, but I couldn''t find the timeto while trying to avoid the Cheng Long Guild." "The same happened to me. As soon as I left, I called, but all I got was a dial tone." "Cheng Long! Fuck!" Toh was even more enraged at the fact that Weiban allowed this to happen. Weiban was one of their frequent clients for swapped Stats. He was also a frequent gambler even before the Otadolon Stage. Weiban probably held more casino chips than he did Hong Kong dollars. "Fucking backstabbing Cheng Long motherfuckers!" While Toh began shouting insults at the Cheng Long Guild, Wanhu glanced at Qing. Qing opened her inventory, paid the guards, and sent them away. "Calm down, Toh." "Fuck!" Toh swore one last time. He was still seething. "Qing, come up with a new plan to combat Lee Jiwon''s guerilla tactics." "Yes ma''am!" They began their return back to the Fort, leaving behind their treasured Tihwa Casino. --- After Blinking away from the Tihwa Casino, I quickly wove through Macau''s buildings before coming to an abandoned one. I kept an ear out to make sure no one was following me, but it didn''t seem like there was anyone. I sat down on the floor with a sigh. "Well, at least I''m off to a good start." I was in no rush. I was going to take my time knocking out the San Tuan Guild''s foundations. I spent the entire day in the building and left at ten the next night for Macau. I put on a hat to cover my face from all the light illuminating the streets. I could also hear what the talk of the town clearly was. "Did you see the Tihwan Casino get totally destroyed last night?" "Of course I did." "The entire San Tuan Guild is livid now." "As they should be. It was the Tihwan Casino, of all places." "Man, that Lee Jiwon guy is no joke." "He''s the guy who defeated the invincible Blood Prince." "That''s true¡­" "But what''s going to happen now? My friend who was there last night told me that Lee Jiwon was planning on hitting other places as well." "Yeah, I heard that too." "Damn! One man can plunge a single guild into chaos, huh?" "I know, right? The San Tuan Guild can''t do anything about it. They''re pretty hush-hush about it, but Lee Jiwon did kill Wanhu." "Isn''t that a just a rumor? This is Wanhu we''re talking about. Besides, there are always at least a hundred guards roaming around." "I don''t know either, but there are a few saying the same story." "Damn¡­Macau is about to be flipped upside down by one man." "Hahaha. To be honest, it''s all fun to me. It''s funny watching them get taken down a notch." "Hey, be quiet! They''re on high alert these days." "It''s fine. It''s the truth, anyway!" "Still, be careful. It''s your loss if you get unlucky." From what people were saying, Toh and Wanhu really took a huge hit from last night. -Should I go there today, then?- I had already decided to pay a visit to an underground casino. I took my time and walked through the streets of Macau. Not a single person gave me a second glance. --- I stood on a thirteen story building and looked down at the building that was my target. The building didn''t have any signs on the outside, but had a emblem with three gold bars; the emblem of the San Tuan Guild. -Would you look at that?- The casino from last night only had ten guards. This one had at least thirty patrolling the grounds. -So, you all think you''re prepared, do you? I''m sorry to say, but thirty is not even close to enough.- I took out my Harrier from my inventory. "Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." "Time to make another mess today. Cha!" I jumped down from the thirteen-story building and landed on the shoulders of a deva who seemed to be the leader of the guards. "Gahh!" The force of the fall pushed the deva thirty centimeters into the ground and the deva screamed out in pain. However, it wasn''t enough to kill him. "What the¡­you!" "Me." I raised my spear and stabbed him in the head twice. As he had already taken significant damage when I landed on him, he quickly disappeared into a cloud of smoke. "The captain¡­in one hit¡­" "Shit! Why the hell are you here of all places?" "We¡­we need to do as planned. We¡­uh¡­" "Hurry up and notify base! The rest of you, surround him! We need to hold out a few more minutes and help will get here!" The guards quickly came to and surrounded me. I soon heard people shouting from within the underground casino. "Lee Jiwon is here!" "He is?" "Where? Where?" "This was his next target?" A crowd of devas came out of the building. As I watched them, I noticed that they were very curious about what was going on. I turned back to the guards and saw that their faces were full of fear. "Shit! Why did he pick this place?" "Shut up! Don''t say that in front of the enemy." I already won the battle of wills. There was nothing more to see, soI charged in. "Stop him!" "Thick Earth Wall!" "Power Shot!" I slashed at the wall coming up from the ground with my spear. The wall turned to mud and fell to the ground with two hits. "Shit! Two hits? How high is his fucking damage?!" "Stop complaining and attack him!" I needed to be as quick about this as I was with the Tihwan Casino. I needed to destroy this place before reinforcements got here. I dodged the arrows coming at me and slashed at the guards. "He''s a monster!" "Fuck! He has over 5,000,000 HP! What the fuck are we supposed to do here?" --- It was one versus twenty-nine, but to the devas watching the fight, it was like a wolf in the middle of a flock of sheep. Not a single guard stood a chance. "What a mess." "To think the San Tuan Guild could fall this easily¡­" The San Tuan Guild was smaller compared to other guilds, with only about five thousand total members, but had more golden rings in its treasury. With all that money, the San Tuan Guild was known to be one of the strongest guilds in the world. "Hey, whoever said it would be a good idea to pursue the bounty, step forward so I can hit you." "Don''t¡­don''t look at me!" "Hey, I didn''t say that!" The gamblers soon became silent and could only watch the guards in pity. --- It took me less than three minutes to kill all of the guards. "Fuck¡­!" The last guard swore at me before turning into a cloud of smoke. I didn''t bother to watch as I pulled out my spear and turned towards the gamblers. They visibly flinched. "My name is Lee Jiwon and the San Tuan Guild has made me their enemy. I am here to exact my revenge and wish to raze this underground casino in front of me. Is that all right with you all?" "Do it!" "Yeah! Shove it to them good!" These gamblers were really okay with this, even though they were supposed to be the San Tuan Guild''s regular customers. "Thank you." I sprinted inside the building. It was smaller than the Tihwan Casino, and I made short work of it. Once I confirmed that the underground casino was razed, I used Blink to get out of the area. --- Over at the San Tuan Guild''s command room in Fortaleza do Monte¡­ It had been twenty-five days since Lee Jiwon began his guerilla warfare in Macau. A group of guild members entered the command room. Waiting for them were Toh and Wanhu, their faces red with anger. One of the members carefully opened his mouth to address his bosses. "Master Toh, Mistress Wanhu. I''m sorry to inform you that the Tsang Xi Casino was¡­" Toh and Wanhu slammed down on the table in front of them hard. "That¡­son of a bitch!" "I swear I''m going to tear him apart!" The only reason Toh and Wanhu remained the rulers of Macau was their complementary relationship. If one got angry, the other remained calm and made rational decisions. This made them a force to be reckoned with, and no one could ever challenge their authority. That all changed when Lee Jiwon appeared. This time, they were both angry. "It doesn''t make sense that we''re losing like this to one man!" No one said anything. Everyone was hurting from Lee Jiwon''s guerilla tactics. "Our death toll is now in the thousands. We''ve also lost too many of our facilities. He destroyed ten casinos, seven underground casinos, and three other businesses." "Apologies, ma''am," said Qing. They even set up traps that were designed to deal with his guerilla tactics, but they all failed. He was so perceptive that every time he felt threatened, he always retreated and stayed away from those areas. It had already been twenty-five days, and the San Tuan Guild was stopped dead in its tracks. Not a single member could hunt in a dungeon, and all of the guild''s businesses were closed. "That bastard is leaving the Hive auction house alone." "That just proves he''s smart. He''s not attacking it even though he knows it belongs to us, because he only wants to fight the guild." "If this goes on, we stand to lose everything. He may be alone, but there are thousands of us. He''s keeping us trapped here. We can''t even go dungeon diving!" "We won''t be able to capture him if we keep fighting him in small numbers." "We need to finish this. Qing!" "Yes, sir!" "Have you made the appointment with the Cheng Long guild master and Luana?" "Yes sir. It''s at 1 PM." "Do you really think they''ll help us?" "They are definitely vultures waiting to feed on my corpse, which is why they haven''t returned to their home countries yet. But we don''t have a choice. We need their help," Toh answered, still red with anger. Chapter 100: Chapter 99: Bow Down to the Champ! Part I Chapter 100: Chapter 99: Bow Down to the Champ! Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Toh, Wanhu and Qing arrived at Hive''s hotel at 12:30 PM and headed straight for the lounge caf¨¦. "I never expected that I would have to wait for someone in Macau." "It''s not like we have a choice." The three entered the caf¨¦, sat in the best spot, and waited in silence. The clock ticked and ticked and they waited. However, thirty minutes later, Luana and the Cheng Long guild master, Wai Chung still hadn''t arrived. Toh grinded his teeth, annoyed. "You said one o''clock, right?" "Yes sir," Qing quickly replied. Another thirty minutes later, they still had yet to arrive. Toh sighed. He was more at a loss than angry now. He had never had anyone treat him with such disrespect ever since coming into full control of Macau. "They''re obviously testing us. They must think we''re real pushovers." Wanhu could tell what they were up to. They wanted to make Wanhu and Toh more and more agitated so that the meeting could go their way instead. However, it was obvious to Toh and Wanhu. They finally arrived at two. "I''m terribly sorry about this." "I''d like to apologize, too. I received a sudden call from Brazil about a problem." Luana and Wai Chung walked into the caf¨¦, without a single air of urgency. "We just met outside the hotel." "I see." Toh and Wanhu just smiled at the obvious lies. They were in no position to call them out. Qing stood up from her seat and gave her bosses room to talk to the latecomers. "So, why have you called us here? Aren''t the two of you a bit too busy these days?" A vein on Toh''s forehead pulsed. Wanhu placed her hand on his arm and answered instead. "I know you''re both very busy people, so I''ll get straight to the point. As you both know, there is a worm muddying the waters of Macau. As the caretakers of Macau, we wish to capture this worm, but have been unsuccessful so far. There''s only so much the San Tuan Guild can do. We asked to meet you here to ask a little bit of your help. Of course, we are prepared to fully compensate your efforts if we can catch this worm." Wanhu didn''t explicitly mention who she was referring to, but Wai Chang and Luana knew exactly who that was. "Hmm¡­a worm, you say. I''m not so sure if it really is a worm." "I have to agree with you on that. Don''t you think he''s a little too big to be a worm? He definitely has some bite, too. Isn''t that why the two of you are trying to gather more strength?" Toh and Wanhu couldn''t say anything back. They were right. If he really was just a worm, they wouldn''t need help. However, Wai Chang and Luana had both received swapped Stat points. Wai Chung received his four months ago and Luana got hers a month ago. Of course, it wasn''t for free, but Toh and Wanhu believed that that was reason enough for them to help. Besides, if it weren''t for Wai Chung''s son, Weiban, things could have turned out differently. "I, Toh, am one of the rulers of Macau. The two of you have swapped Stat points from me." "As far as I know, we fairly paid for them. What about it?" "I paid you 500,000,000 golden rings last month. You''re not saying it''s not enough now, are you?" At that moment, Toh and Wanhu finally understood; neither of them had any intention to help the San Tuan Guild. "Do you mean to say that you will make an enemy out of me and the San Tuan Guild?!" Toh roared. Wai Chang and Luana''s expressions darkened. A strong killing intent oozed from both of them. "That''s what I would like to say, Toh. Do you wish to cut all ties off with the Cheng Long Guild?" "Erk¡­" It was true that Toh and Wanhu were the absolute rulers of Macau. Thanks to their random skills, they had also established many relationships with larger guilds. However, they were still nothing compared to the Cheng Long Guild or the Laura Guild. Toh could say nothing in return. One wrong move and it would be them who would burn Macau to the ground, not Lee Jiwon. However, that also didn''t mean Toh should bow his head to them. It was the last of his pride. "Don''t you think you''re overreacting over to something that isn''t that big of a deal, masters?" Wanhu stepped in. "Hmph. I don''t think your friend thinks it''s not a big deal." "That''s not true. We''ve always had a good relationship with the Cheng Long Guild and the Laura Guild, haven''t we?" The atmosphere finally cooled down a little, but did not return to normal. They continued to talk for another two minutes, but the worm never came up again. There was no point if Wai Chung and Luana had already made their decision before coming here. And so, not five minutes after the meeting began, Wanhu and Toh left the hotel, their faces red with anger. --- Back at the caf¨¦, Wai Chung and Luana continued a conversation of their own. "Are you going to stick to your decision between Lee Jiwon and the San Tuan Guild?" Wai Chung asked after taking a sip of his coffee. "Yes. I plan to ally myself with Lee Jiwon," Luana answered as if it were obvious. "Hmm¡­" "I see you haven''t made yours yet." Wai Chung chuckled. "It would be a shame to lose either of them. However, I did manage to help him once, and would like that worm to become something greater." "Yes, I feel the same way. One side has already reached its peak, while the other is still growing. Don''t you think the choice is obvious?" Toh and Wanhu would always be the rulers of Macau; nothing more and nothing less. And yet, Lee Jiwon''s potential was still a mystery. He became famous after defeating the Blood Prince, and while there was a small chance that it could stop there, Luana knew that he was getting stronger. He had to be if he could keep knocking down the San Tuan Guild like this. And so, Wai Chung and Luana had their guild members begin spreading the rumors; that Lee Jiwon had the full support of the Cheng Long Guild and the Laura Guild, and they had did not wish to aid the San Tuan Guild in the capture of Lee Jiwon. --- As soon as Wanhu and Toh returned to their guild''s command room, Toh began breaking and throwing everything in sight. No one stopped him. "Those bastards!" "Calm down, Toh." "They insulted us, Wanhu! Here, in our own home!" "I know, but we still can''t make them our enemies." "But¡­!" "I''m furious, too but being angry isn''t going to solve anything. We need to calm down first." Toh sighed and sat down on a chair. "This is all definitely our fault," Wanhu said. "We pretty much placed him on a pedestal. Lee Jiwon was already famous enough for defeating the Blood Prince, and now too many people have watched him walk all over us." "Fuck!" "Wai Chung and Luana have probably already decided between the San Tuan Guild and Lee Jiwon." "But how could they choose a loner over us, the rulers of Macau?!" "Maybe he was more to their taste." "Should we hire mercenaries¡­no. Those greedy bastards are next to useless." At that moment, Qing came in to the command room. "I just received a report¡­" "What is it?" "Well¡­the Cheng Long Guild and the Laura Guild have decided to side with Lee Jiwon¡­" "Those traitorous fucks!" "So that''s their decision." An hour hadn''t even passed since they left the caf¨¦. Toh and Wanhu felt more at a loss. Toh sighed. "It would have been better to not meet them at all." Toh''s voice sounded hoarse. --- Thirty days had passed since I started my attacks against the San Tuan Guild. "Man¡­ I really broke a lot." My map of Macau was filled with red Xs. Each of them marked the San Tuan Guild''s businesses that I had razed. "But I''m beginning to notice that there haven''t been that many traps lately." I no longer saw any guild members ready to kill me guarding the businesses. It was if the whole guild had given up. To be honest, I was getting stir-crazy the past month. I haven''t been able to do anything for me the whole time. Sure, I had fun easily wiping out the San Tuan Guild''s members, but now it felt like I was wasting time. I could have at least gained 20-30 levels in a month. "Still, I should finish what I started, especially since there are more of them than there are of me." It would have been better if the San Tuan Guild had more members. If I couldn''t level up, then neither could they. But, I was still far from satisfied. I wanted to level up and I was beginning to think that I had done enough damage by now. "But why did the Cheng Long Guild and Laura Guild decide to support me?" This was the biggest reason I hadn''t stopped yet. Two powerful guilds had declared their support for me. "Hmm¡­ I only met them once, though..." I also heard that the Cheng Long Guild had outright denied the San Tuan Guild''s request for assistance. "Well, fine then. The end is close, anyway." It wasn''t long until one side would have to bow down to the other. "I might as well finish with a boom!" I stood up and headed for an underground casino I had marked on my map. --- Back at Fortaleza do Monte¡­ "Contact the Myth Guild." Toh and Wanhu made their decision to put an end to this battle. Chapter 101: Chapter 100: Bow Down to the Champ! Part II Chapter 101: Chapter 100: Bow Down to the Champ! Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Cairo, Egypt. Myth Guild Headquarters¡­ "What? Who called?" asked Shin, dumbfounded. "Toh, from Macau, ma''am." "Why would he call?" "He didn''t go into detail, but he did say he wanted us to mediate." "Mediate? Is he talking about Lee Jiwon?" "I would assume so, ma''am," Ebonene replied. "I would advise you to accept the call. They''ve been pretty hush-hush about what''s been going on, but enough rumors have been circulating. We might as well hear him out." "Very well. Put him through." Soon, Toh''s face came on the large monitor. "Hello. I''ve only ever heard rumors about you, and it is an honor to finally meet you. My name is Toh and this is my partner, Wanhu. We are the co-masters of the San Tuan Guild." "It''s nice to meet you, too. My name is Shin and this is my vice-master, Ebonene. May I ask your reason for calling us?" The Myth Guild never really had anything to do with the San Tuan Guild before... that is, until Lee Jiwon came around. It would make sense that the San Tuan Guild knew about the relationship between the Myth Guild and Lee Jiwon. "Of course. I''ll get straight to the point. We, the San Tuan Guild, have gotten off the wrong foot with Lee Jiwon." "The wrong foot?" "Yes. This battle seems to have been started over a small misunderstanding. Don''t you think it''s a waste of lives to continue this battle? We all stand to lose everything the longer this battle goes on." "A small misunderstanding¡­" Shin, Ebonene and the Myth Guild''s officers had already heard from Lee Jiwon about how this battle really started. And yet, Toh was standing there, shamelessly lying to them. Shin almost laughed when Toh said that both sides were the victims. A three year-old could see who the real victim was here. "Why are you telling us this? Can''t you just tell Lee Jiwon yourselves?" "Yes, we can. However, we wish to meet with him secretly." "Secretly?" "Yes. It''s embarrassing to say, but we lost the battle. We completely surrender to Lee Jiwon''s guerilla warfare." Shin locked eyes with her officers, who could think of nothing to say and just looked back at here, eyes wide open. He actually did it! "However, we cannot afford to lose face over this. We can''t publicly announce our loss. I''m sure a large guild such as you understand what I mean." "That''s¡­ true." "That is why we would like to announce a ceasefire instead. We would like to announce to the rest of the world that this battle was started over a misunderstanding and that both sides have agreed to a ceasefire to prevent more loss. Of course, we will provide Lee Jiwon a Rank 8 item called Lush Greenery of the Great Forest if he accepts our surrender under those conditions." "..." Shin was shocked once more. Yes, Lee Jiwon was the clear winner here, and wasn''t a victim like Toh was saying, but as a fellow guild master, Shin understood why Toh would say that. Protecting the guild''s reputation was more important than physical goods. "We currently don''t have another way to contact Lee Jiwon. If we try to seek him out or try to compromise with him openly, then we risk being discovered by something else. That is why we come to you, so that you can contact him for us instead. "We ask you to at least contact Lee Jiwon for now. It''s not good for either of us to keep this battle up any longer," Wanhu said. "Okay, I understand. I''ll pass on the message to Lee Jiwon." "We''ll send over a Comm Link that is connected to us. If he agrees, then please give him the Comm Link so that he can contact us directly." "I will." After a few more words, the call came to an end. "All that boasting actually came true." Shin recalled what Lee Jiwon had told her a month ago, that he was so confident in his abilities that he could deal with it on his own. She was still shocked. "He''s even going to receive a Rank 8 item for his troubles," muttered Ebonene. "A Rank 8 item in a month¡­ he really knows how to make the best out of everything." Shin found another reason to be amazed at this man''s ability. --- "Will this work?" The pitiful expression Wanhu had during the video call was gone and was replaced by a cold one. "It''s our best option. If this doesn''t work, we have no choice but to give up on Lee Jiwon completely. If we keep this up, we stand to lose everything. Qing." "Yes sir." "If Lee Jiwon sets foot here, will the trap work?" "Yes, sir! I designed the trap to hold at least three hundred people at once." "Good. Wang Choong." "Yes sir." "How many have learned Bind now?" "Two hundred fifty of our members know the skill now, sir." "Good." Toh nodded. He looked around at the members gathered in the room before speaking. "This plan requires us to use the Myth Guild. If we succeed in capturing Lee Jiwon, we will be able to withstand the Myth Guild''s attacks in the future. However, if we fail, we will have both Lee Jiwon and the Myth Guild to deal with. In other words, we cannot afford to fail!" "Yes, sir!" "But there''s a weakness to this plan. The Flytrap can only hold up to three hundred people. If Lee Jiwon shows up with more, then it''s over. We can''t make a bigger one," Wanhu said in a quiet voice. "I know, but we need the Flytrap in order to capture a strong Unrivaled deva like Lee Jiwon." Toh turned back to the gathered members. "The outcome of this plan depends on whether or not we can capture Lee Jiwon with the Flytrap. If he really does come to the prearranged location with more than three hundred reinforcements, then it''s our loss. We will have to do what we promised the Myth Guild. But if he comes with less than three hundred, then we must spring the Flytrap, no matter what! We can deal with the Myth Guild after." "Sir, Lee Jiwon has been moving on his own all this time. Chances are low that he would come with a group of more than three hundred." The San Tuan Guild had spent an unbelievable amount of golden rings building the Flytrap. If it didn''t work, the San Tuan Guild would cease to exist from the loss of profits alone. "Good. We''ve done everything we can now. We just need to wait for him to contact us now. Be ready to move out at anytime." --- I was resting at an abandoned building on the outskirts of Macau when I received a message. [You have received a call from the Myth Guild. Pick up?] "The Myth Guild?" I had called them occasionally with reports and picked up every time they called, but I had just talked to them yesterday. Something was up. I quickly picked up. "This is Jiwon." "Hello, Mr. Lee. It''s Shin." "Yes, hello. We just talked yesterday; is something the matter?" "Well, the thing is¡­the San Tuan Guild contacted us." "Excuse me?" I asked in confusion. "The San Tuan Guild?" "Yes." "Why?" "They want to¡­" Shin and Naika explained everything about the call they received. "A Rank 8 item?" That part stuck out the most. "Yes. They agreed to hand over a Rank 8 item if you accepted their surrender under those terms. Are you okay with that?" "Yeah, I am! I''m more than okay with that," I replied instantly. I just had to say that it was a fair fight. I had nothing to lose. -If they''re that willing, I might as well. It''s not like I need to show everyone my skills right now. I can do that later.- I still couldn''t fully believe that I could have a Rank 8 item by just saying a few words. The Rank 8 item probably was more worth than what the San Tuan Guild had lost until now. -This isn''t a trap, is it?- Toh and Wanhu were known to others for having an exceptional sense for business and as the charismatic rulers of Macau, but I knew who they really were. I knew how scummy they really were. "We believe that it wouldn''t hurt to accept their offer." "Even though they''re this willing to give up a Rank 8 item for a few words?" "Sometimes a guild''s name is worth much more than that." I suddenly recalled who gave me the Bracelet of Eternal Fire; Shin and the Myth Guild gave it to me. To the Myth Guild, giving up the Bracelet just to defeat the Blood Prince was obvious. Toh and Wanhu were probably in a similar situation. "I understand. I''ll head over to the Myth Guild as soon as possible." I was tired of doing this for a month now, as well. I couldn''t even invest in myself the whole time, either. Whether or not Toh and Wanhu had an ulterior motive, there was a Rank 8 item on the line. I took out a Warp Scroll and ripped it. --- I went up to the Myth Guild''s command room. I quickly greeted Shin and the other officers and contacted the San Tuan Guild using the Comm Link they sent. "This is the San Tuan Guild. Who''s calling?" "This is Lee Jiwon." "Wha¡­! One¡­one moment, please!" The person on the other line sounded surprised. Ten minutes later, someone else picked up. "Is this Lee Jiwon?" "Yeah, it is. It''s been awhile, Toh." "Hmph, indeed it has, Lee Jiwon." "I heard from the Myth Guild. Is that what you really want?" "That''s right. We surrender to you. Your abilities are more than we can handle. However, we can''t just give up. Our names have too much weight." "Is that why you want me to say that the battle was tough on both of us?" "It is. We''ll even hand over a Rank 8 item for your troubles. That''s a proper reward for the victor, don''t you think?" "Hmm¡­" The offer sounded more attractive hearing it in person. "As you know, this offer must remain a secret." "But the Myth Guild already knows." "There was no way around it. We couldn''t exactly reach out to you on our own. There are too many eyes watching us. Besides, I trust the Myth Guild to be honorable on your behalf." "Well¡­" "Anyway, that''s our situation. Let''s end this now. I just wish we don''t continue as enemies if we can''t continue as comrades." For some reason, I began to think the same. It seemed to be a dumb idea to reject him. "Fine. Where do we go from here?" "We have arranged a place in Macau where many people will watch. It should be the perfect place where we can smile and shake hands for everyone to see." "Is that it?" "That''s it. We want to get this battle over with as soon as possible. We want to return Macau to its former glory. I can''t say that we don''t want to exact revenge on you, but we do know that''s impossible." "Fine. I accept your offer." We continued to talk for another half hour. We decided to meet in one week at Macau Tower, the prearranged place. "It seems all your work this past month hasn''t been for nothing." "Mmm¡­it''s not what I expected, but it would seem so," I said to Ebonene, smiling. "But, are you thinking of going on your own again?" "Excuse me?" "I mean to Macau Tower next week." "Yes, that''s what I''m thinking." "I would advise you go with the Myth Guild this time." "It''ll be¡­" I then remembered that I was dealing with some real scummy people. I hadn''t been wary of Toh during the entire thirty minutes we spent talking. The Rank 8 item distracted me too much. -Ha¡­to think I believed him when I should have remained suspicious of him¡­- "I would be forever thankful if you would." "Very well. Then I would say¡­three hundred members should go." Ebonene said to Shin. "Make it so." --- With Shin''s permission, three hundred elite members were prepared to leave for Macau with Lee Jiwon in one week. However, one of them would end up having to stay behind as the member was 0.1% away from leveling up. Two hundred ninety-nine would leave with Lee Jiwon instead. Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Bow Down to the Champ! Part III Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Bow Down to the Champ! Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The promised day to meet Toh had finally arrived. That morning, I received a level up message. "Nice." I hadn''t returned to Macau after accepting Toh''s offer. Instead, I spent the week training in Khufu''s Pyramid dungeon and even managed to raise my level by five. "It sure was smart to buy that item." The Fallen Royalty Necklace was really helping. It only boosted my EXP gain by 5%, but it added up the more monsters I hunted. "Open Stats Menu." ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 355 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 5,544,700/5,544,700 MP: 192,700/192,700 Strength: 9,200 + 315 Agility: 5,200 Vitality: 7,509 Willpower: 1,867 Intelligence: 1,797 Unassigned Stat Points: 100 + 114 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 36,312 Physical Defense: 11,154 Magical Attack: 6,941 Magical Defense: 5,882]== Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel was still giving me 3 stat points a day. "Well, I should put all of my unassigned points into STR." Still intent on getting my STR over 10,000, I transferred all 214 points into STR. As I looked over my Stats Menu, I received a call from the Myth Guild. "Mr. Lee." "Yes." "The plane to Macau is set to leave in one hour. We should start getting ready." "Understood. I''ll be right there." I and three hundred guild members were going to go to Macau. It was too much for the Messenger Guild to teleport us all at once, so we decided to rent a plane instead. "I shouldn''t keep them all waiting." I quickly left the dungeon and headed back to base. I washed up and got ready. ------- Myth Guild''s command center¡­ "0.1%, you say?" "Yes sir. He said he could reach level 600 within the hour." "Hmm¡­" Ebonene was chosen to go with Lee Jiwon as the captain of the accompanying guild members. "Very well. Let him stay behind, and we''ll go with the remaining 299 guards." "Yes sir. I''ll let everyone else know." At first, Ebonene thought to replace the guard with someone else, but decided against it. It would just be a waste of more manpower and it wasn''t like a single guard could make that much of a difference. -No one in their right mind would make Lee Jiwon and the Myth Guild their enemies at the same time. Besides, there are way too many eyes on Lee Jiwon. It would be foolish to try anything now.- The Cheng Long Guild and the Laura Guild were already threatening the San Tuan Guild''s authority. Ebonene believed it wouldn''t hurt to accept Toh''s offer, but he did have his suspicions and advised Lee Jiwon to take guards with him. It should be fine if one guard didn''t go. -Well, we do have reinforcements at the ready, so it should be fine.- And so, exactly three hundred people got on the plane for Macau. Five hours later, they crossed the Sai Van Bridge and arrived at Macau Tower. ------ "How many of them are here?" The San Tuan Guild was busy. When Toh and Wanhu first heard that Lee Jiwon was not coming alone and with Myth Guild guards, they believed that they had lost all hope. However, when they heard reports that the number of guards was supposed to be small, they had their Intelligence Division check in every hour to find out the exact number. "Three hundred, sir! There are exactly three hundred!" "What?" "Are you sure about that?" Toh and Wanhu shouted at the same time. "Yes. The headcount of the people that just got off the plane from Cairo is exactly three hundred, including Lee Jiwon. We checked again when they crossed the Sai Van Bridge," said Qing. Their Flytrap could only work on a maximum of three hundred people. If Lee Jiwon had brought another person, their trap wasn''t going to activate. It was an issue the San Tuan Guild could not fix. "Ha¡­have the heavens not forsaken us yet?" "The Goddess of Victory is with us!" Toh and Wanhu were ecstatic. This was the best news they heard in a whole month. "Qing!" "Yes, sir?" "The Goddess of Victory smiles upon us today. Make sure all preparations are in order. We have only one chance at this!" "Yes, sir." "Wang Choong!" "Yes sir." "Have your men properly spread out so they can use Bind effectively. We must not lose him again." "Yes, sir." "Good. Let''s go! Our chance for revenge is finally here. Once we Bind him, do not let him go. We''ll make him pay dearly for his mistakes against us for a long, long time!" "Yes, sir!" ------ The whole atmosphere of Macau had changed after a week. "The San Tuan Guild had been going around saying for the past week that everything between you guys was all a misunderstanding and that there would be no more fighting." "I see." I nodded at what Ebonene just told me. I had stayed in the dungeon for the whole week and had no idea that had happened. We quickly crossed the Sai Van Bridge for Macau Tower. -Do they really wish to have a truce and fork over a Rank 8 item?- I still could not trust Toh and Wanhu completely. I turned to Ebonene. "Can I ask you something?" "What is it?" "If this really does turn out to be a trap¡­" Ebonene chuckled. "That''s why we brought elite guards with us. Oh, but do keep this a secret. We have about 500 mercenaries from a company we''ve trusted in the past and 200 other Myth Guild guards hiding in the Macau Tower''s vicinity. If the San Tuan Guild really does have an ulterior motive, then they make an enemy of the Myth Guild, as well." "Damn!" I was amazed at this man''s foresight. "Thank you." "You are the Myth Guild''s most precious ally. It''s the least we can do," Ebonene said, smiling. We continued to talk some more and soon arrived in front of the Macau Tower. Toh, Wanhu, and guards from the San Tuan Guild were standing in front of the tower''s entrance. I also noticed that, to our left and right, members of the Cheng Long Guild and other devas had gathered and were leisurely watching us. "I see Wai Chung, the guild master of the Cheng Long Guild, is here as well." At Ebonene''s remark, I looked over and I saw the man from the Hive auction over at end to the right. At that moment, Toh and Wanhu began walking towards us. "I, Toh, co-guild master of the San Tuan Guild, have arranged this meeting to put an end to this pointless fighting that started over a small misunderstanding. Do you, Lee Jiwon, agree to prevent further bloodshed from both sides?" We had already discussed how to act a week ago. I stepped forward as well. "I do. I also wish to prevent further losses to both sides over a simple misunderstanding." That was all I had to say. "Perfect. Then let it be known that from this day forth, the San Tuan Guild and Lee Jiwon are no longer enemies!" The San Tuan Guild''s members behind Toh cheered. --- The day before the meet, Wai Chung had visited Toh and Wanhu. "If we do manage to capture Lee Jiwon, will you and your guild interfere?" Toh asked. Wai Chung thought for a second before answering. "No, I won''t." "Can I trust you on that?" "You can." Wai Chung studied Toh and Wanhu''s faces before continuing in a low voice. "I know I said I would support Lee Jiwon, but that is because he is obviously the stronger one. If you guys are able to stunt his growth, then what reason would I have to step in? The more strong people there are the more of a pain in the ass it''ll be to deal with. If you can stop him, stop him." Wai Chung gave a slight smile to Toh and Wanhu when he finished talking. After a few seconds, Toh and Wanhu smiled back. --- Together with the Myth Guild guards, I and Ebonene walked closer to the Macau Tower. At that moment, I heard someone running towards us from behind. I turned around to see who it was. "Huh?" I recognized him immediately. "Master!" Sunghoon was running towards me, waving his hand. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to spend two months in the dungeon." Sunghoon laughed. "I''m your apprentice, master. I should be here with you as you take your place as the victor." The San Tuan Guild wanted everyone to know that we were ending this war to prevent losses on both sides. However, the Myth Guild knew the truth; I was the true victor. "That''s why?" "Yup! Surprise! I wanted to surprise you as your first apprentice." Sunghoon then covered his mouth and whispered, "I was going to bring a wreath of flowers, but I thought that this wasn''t really the right place to." "That''s¡­a relief." If he had, it would have created a pretty awkward situation. "Is it alright if I join you guys?" "Of course you may," Ebonene said. "You know we can''t deny you." Sunghoon chuckled. "Thank you, vice-master." And so, our group of three hundred and one continued our way to the tower. -What''s with him?- Toh''s smile was replaced with a scowl and he was glaring at Sunghoon. --- -Ha¡­what the hell is this?- Toh, Wanhu and the San Tuan Guild members were all scowling. Their frowns deepened the closer Lee Jiwon and his group came to the tower. Up until that point, they thought that victory was in their hands. Even Qing had to hold herself still the closer Lee Jiwon got to her Flytrap... until that one man joined them. At that moment, they all hated that man the most, even more than they hated Lee Jiwon. As much as they tried to keep a straight face, they could not help but glower at the man. --- "Um¡­master¡­what''s¡­" "Do you feel it too?" "Well¡­yeah." "Did¡­ you hit the jackpot at one of their casinos and run or something?" "No! I don''t even gamble, and this is my first time in Macau!" "Well, you must have done something. They look ready to pounce on you. You should check if your HP are still at full." "Master, please don''t kid like that!" They were all glaring at one person, including Toh and Wanhu. Not at me, at Sunghoon. They looked ready to kill him. "It looks like today''s main event is Mr. Do," Ebonene said to Sunghoon, jokingly. "Please don''t say that. They''re freaking me out enough as it is!" "We should quickly shake hands with Toh, take the item and get out of Macau as soon as possible. If not, we might actually be able to see someone killed with looks alone. To think they have someone to hate more than Mr. Lee and his month-long guerilla warfare; Mr. Do must really be a scary person." Ebonene said, laughing. "That can''t be right, Master Ebonene. This really is my first time in Macau. I''ve never met anyone from the San Tuan Guild before. I must be going crazy. Why are they looking at me like that?" "Nothing really comes to mind? From their looks, you could even be their parents'' enemy." "I''m serious¡­I have no idea," Sunghoon said, confused at the situation. --- "It''s¡­good to see you again." "What''s wrong with you all of a sudden?" "I''m¡­I''m just happy you''re here." I could tell something was up. Toh and Wanhu were acting like dogs that needed to go out. I also noticed them shoot glances at Sunghoon. The same went with the other San Tuan Guild members. "Why are you looking at my friend like that?" I was really curious. It made more sense if they were glaring at me like that. I was the one who hurt them. I just could not understand why they would glare at Sunghoon as if they wanted to kill him. Toh laughed awkwardly. "Oh, it''s nothing." Well, whatever. If he says it''s nothing, it must be nothing. I then shook Toh''s and Wanhu''s hands. "Woohoo!" "Good for you!" The devas gathered around the tower shouted, congratulating us while the San Tuan Guild members remained silent. "Hey, are you okay? Are you sick? Why are you hands so sweaty?" Even Wanhu''s hand was clammy with sweat. "We''re just happy it''s over." "Well, anyway. Did you bring the item?" I asked Toh. I cared more about that than their awkward demeanor. I noticed Toh''s expression slightly change, but he quickly nodded at took out the item for his inventory. I checked it as soon as he handed it over to check that it really was a Rank 8 item. -It''s not a trap? This is for real?- I couldn''t help but think to myself. I came all the way here, suspecting that they would try something, but they just handed it right over. "You guys¡­aren''t that bad after all. I''m sorry I ever doubted you." I shook their hands once more. "I really misjudged you two. You guys are great friends to have." I even hugged them. "Well, it''s time for me to go. Go easy with taking money from gamblers and try not to steal Stat points from pitiful fellows, okay?" I then turned around and quickly left the stage. "Master, can we go now?! I feel like there''s a hole in the back of my head now. I don''t know about my HP, but I can feel my fatigue going up!" I laughed. "That''s why you shouldn''t go around doing bad things. You have too much bad karma." "Oh, come on! I said I''ve never been here before!" And like that, we all left the tower in one piece; all three hundred and one of us. "Mr. Do shouldn''t even look in Macau''s direction more," Ebonene joked, laughing as we flew away from Macau. I had spent a whole month in Macau, but now, it didn''t seem like a waste anymore. I managed to get two high-ranked items. "I''m paying for drinks once we get back to Cairo." "Hey, hey! Are we having some fun tonight, master?" "Yeah! We''re partying the night away!" ------ "Dumbass¡­" Wai Chung said to himself as he watched Toh and Wanhu look at each other in despair. He came here expecting something great from what they told him yesterday, but nothing happened. It was obvious that the San Tuan Guild had a trick up their sleeve, but something happened and they couldn''t use it. "Weiban." "Yes, guild master." "Lower the San Tuan Guild''s rank by one." "Yes sir." Wai Chung turned around and began walk away. There was nothing else to see here. He disappeared after seven steps. Weiban watched his father disappear before turning to look at Toh and Wanhu. "It''s obvious that worm was too strong to catch; it could happen. But you should have targeted his weak points instead, like the Myth Guild or his home country. Or, if you couldn''t handle all of your guild members dying, you shouldn''t have bothered him in first place." He turned around to walk away, but stopped himself. "Actually¡­ Korea might be too hard. The Sunbin Guild is there." At that instant, Weiban disappeared as well. Chapter 103: Chapter 102: The Next Phase Part I Chapter 103: Chapter 102: The Next Phase Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Ha¡­" As soon as we returned to Cairo, I threw a party to thank the Myth Guild for helping me during the past month. The party lasted five days and cost me 10,000,000 golden rings. The Myth Guild really was a large guild. Once the party gained traction, it didn''t take long for all of the members to attend. At end of the fifth day, Shin and Ebonene offered to pay for the party instead, but I had turned them down. I wanted to accept, but I threw the party and I had promised to pay for it all. Besides, I could afford that much now. "Meh, it was all put to good use. I received much more from them; it''s the least I could do," I said to myself, half-convincingly. My first stop after the five-day party was none other than Khufu''s Pyramid dungeon. I had no time to rest if I wanted to make up a month''s worth of EXP. "Well, that month definitely wasn''t a waste. Item check." =========== [Lush Greenery of the Great Forest (Rank 8) There once existed a great forest known as Cagil Forest. The trees of this forest were so tall that they touched the sky. A master craftsman spent his entire life in Cagil Forest and crafted a cuirass filled with the powers of the forest. The cuirass was forged from the lumber from the forest''s trees and the fires stoked from the coals of the forest''s trees. The cuirass truly holds the essence of the Cagil Forest. This essence of the forest exudes an aura of reverence and domination. Increase all stats by 100 points Increase VIT by 400 Increase Penetration Resistance by 88 Decrease incoming CRIT damage by 125% Increase Earth Attribute effectiveness by 40% Once equipped, every time HP is lowered by 10%, DEF and MDEF are doubled for 10 seconds. Once equipped, regenerate HP by 1000 per second Durability: 785,000/785,000 DEF 2850, MDEF 1950] ======= It seemed a bit of a waste that it had high VIT, but at least it raised something. "Well, VIT is important to a fighter class like me." Happy with everything I had, I continued to hunt monsters nonstop. I was lucky to be able to hunt in Egypt''s dungeons, if I took the number of dungeons in Egypt and their ranks. They were way better than Korea''s four low-grades and one mid-grade. Egypt even had a high-grade dungeon in Alexandria, which was also controlled by the Myth Guild. The Myth Guild gave me its permission to hunt there, but my level was only at 355. My abilities were much higher compared to my level, but it was still too low. The average level to train in a mid-grade dungeon was 700, whether it was solo or with a small party. Only then and with decent equips and items would most people begin to hunt at high-grade dungeons, and even then usually with parties, small or large. That was the difference between high and mid-grade dungeons. "It''s not like I can''t hunt in a high-grade, but I can still easily gain a few levels in a mid-grade dungeon. I may as well go as far as I can here before moving on." The EXP I was gaining right now definitely wasn''t slow. Switching my Mana Conversion to Fire also made killing the undead monsters much easier now. They all fell before me after just two hits. I was still getting stronger by the day. Sunghoon and a hundred members of Assault team 1 had come along to hunt as well. They wanted to prove themselves, it seemed. Not even an hour in, Sunghoon kept telling me that he always knew I was a monster, but could never get over it, no matter how times he saw me fight. The assault team members began to apologize to me, saying that they had insulted me behind my back out of jealousy because their guild master was paying too much attention to me, and begged me for my forgiveness. At first, I didn''t want to take them with me, but relented at Ebonene''s request. He told me that they were the pillars of the Myth Guild, and just didn''t know how to judge people properly. He asked me to open their eyes for them, and so I showed them. I showed them how I normally hunted. An hour later, we ended up going our separate ways. It was impossible for them to gain enough EXP with me cutting and slashing my way through the monsters in a couple of hits. I could easily clear a horde of monsters, and there would be none left for them. They also couldn''t catch up whenever I moved on to another horde. "We''ll just¡­ hunt over there." "I''m going¡­ to go with them, master." I might have put in too much effort, thanks to what Ebonene told me. It was fun, too. In the past, these monsters wouldn''t have even flinched at my attacks, but now, I was mopping the floor with them. As I watched them walk away with slumped shoulders, I wondered to myself if I had gone overboard, but shrugged it off and went back to hunting. I just wanted to kill as many monsters as I could. I hacked and slashed my way through the entire floor, cutting down hordes and hordes of monsters in my way. I spent almost the entire day doing that and when I finally felt a little tired, I went to a safe zone set up by the Myth Guild to rest. I met the assault team as they made their way out. They seemed a bit friendlier towards me now, to the point it was almost uncomfortable. And so, I spent the next two months hunting and didn''t even come up to the surface once during the whole time. "Open Stats Menu!" ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 426 Death count: 0 : :]== "Ha¡­426, eh?" My level went up by more than 70 in two months. To anyone else, that was an insanely quick, but it was still quite a ways from my goal. "I''m going to need to work harder for another month." My goal was to reach 450. I promised myself that I wouldn''t leave the dungeon until then. It was to learn a skill that required 3 skill points! I didn''t fall behind at all when I fought against Toh and Wanhu, but during the whole time I was in Macau, I really wanted a one-shot skill and an AoE skill. But since I could only learn one for now, I decided to learn a one-shot skill. "If I had one, I could have killed Toh in an instant!" My skills were nothing to laugh at, but they were too few and Heel Kick was my only active skill. The rest were passives. It was my intention to have more passives than actives, but it just made me want a strong, one shot skill more. "I should delete Heel Kick." My spear increased my attack range, rendering my Heel Kick almost useless. I could use the skill point I got back from deleting it and the 2 skill points I would have from reaching level 450 and learn Judge''s Gavel. As far as I knew, it was the strongest melee skill that was always a critical hit and boosted critical damage. "Now that I think about it, all of the useful skills all cost 2 to 3 skill points. To think that the Shaman Ko skill cost only 1¡­" Besides my Unrivaled skill, all of the skills I learned were pretty expensive. Because my normal attack damage was high, I had no use for minor skills. My normal attacks probably inflicted more damage than normal devas'' skills. It just made me want a powerful skill that could kill any opponent in front of me in one hit. I wanted something more reliable than Powerful Shock, and it didn''t matter if the cooldown was long. I could deal with that. "Alright. My goal for now is 450. I''ll reach it within the month! Then, I''ll go back to Korea and get some pork belly with some garlic and¡­mmm¡­" I was really getting tired of Bread and Drink now. "Naahh!! EXP! Give me more EXP!" I once again charged at the hordes of undead, while shouting about EXP. Members of the Myth Guild who were hunting nearby looked at me weirdly and inched away from me. These days, many of them were getting tired of my enthusiasm towards hunting. ------- A month later¡­ I finally received the message I was waiting for. ==[You have gained a level.]== I finally reached level 450. "Yeeeeees!!!" I was so happy that I found myself on my knees with my arms stretched out, shouting at the dungeon''s ceiling. It took three long months. I had to push down my desires to eat, sleep, and play all I wanted to and focused on gaining 95 levels for three whole months. "Ah¡­finally. It was fun, though. Open Stats Menu!" If I didn''t find this fun, there was no way I could last this long in the dungeon. ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 450 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 5,794,700/5,794,700 MP: 202,700/202,700 Strength: 9,400 + 429 Agility: 5,300 Vitality: 8,009 Willpower: 1,967 Intelligence: 1,897 Unassigned Stat Points: 1,900 + 276 Fatigue: 27 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points Physical Attack: 37,254 Physical Defense: 14,504 Magical Attack: 7,241 Magical Defense: 7,832]== I giggled when I saw the fruits of my labor. "I''ll put Shaman Ko''s stats to STR and set it to 11,000, and put the leftover 300 points into AGI." My STR was now together 11,705 altogether, and my AGI was now at 5,600. "Time to go!" This was only the beginning. Once I got to Seoul, I was going to take care of my skills and then go to the Gnosis Guild and finally find out about Lee Kang Chan. I could use the information guild in Egypt, but it was probably easier to use the Gnosis Guild to find a fellow Korean. They could also find out about him without his knowledge. "But there''s one thing more important than all of that!" I left the dungeon with a spring in my step and a sparkle in my eyes. "BBQ, kimchi stew, egg rolls, spicy chicken stew, sweet and sour pork¡­mmmm! Wait for me, Korea!" I ran for the dungeon entrance, ignoring the hordes of undead. Chapter 104: Chapter 103: The Next Phase Part 2 Chapter 104: Chapter 103: The Next Phase Part 2 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED As soon as I left the dungeon, I headed straight for the Myth Guild''s headquarters. I could have gone straight for the Messenger Guild''s Teleport center instead, but thought that I should at least say goodbye to Shin and the others. I went straight up to the command center, where Shin greeted me as I entered the room. "I''ll have to leave Cairo again for a while. I wanted to say goodbye to everyone before I left." "I understand. Cairo and all of Egypt will always welcome you back with open arms. Please, come back any time!" "Why not just make Egypt your home?" Ebonene asked jokingly. I laughed it off. "There is another thing¡­" I had another reason for coming all the way here. "Would it be alright if I go to the high-grade dungeon in Alexandria?" "By all means, Mr. Lee. As I said before, all of Egypt''s dungeons are open to you." "You don''t have to worry about anything. Anything you need is yours." "Thank you. Then it''s about time I go." "Very well. I hope we see you again soon." I shook hands with Shin and Ebonene and left the building. --- After Lee Jiwon left, Shin turned to Ebonene and Edwifu, who was also in the room. "You said he didn''t leave the dungeon for three months?" "Yes ma''am. Every day for three months, he hunted for twenty-four hours straight before resting for five hours and going back to hunting for another twenty-four hours," Ebonene replied. "Is that even possible?" "Normally, it isn''t. I also don''t see how shouting ''Give me more EXP!'' while slaying monsters is normal, either." "I heard that rumor, as well," said Edwifu. "Hmm¡­ don''t let our members stay in a dungeon for any longer than a month." "Yes, ma''am." "That sounds like a good idea." The decision was made to prevent Myth Guild''s members from staying in a dungeon for longer than a month. While Shin saw Lee Jiwon as a friend, she had to admit that his behavior was bizarre. --- I paid the 100,000 golden ring fee and teleported to Seoul, heading straight for the nearby Store 72, weaving through the huge crowd of devas and mortals. -Hmm¡­I might have jumped the gun here.- Before I stepped onto the Teleporter in Cairo, I put on a hat and sunglasses in case people would recognize me in Seoul. But that wasn''t the case at all. No one even gave me a second glance. I entered the Store and headed straight for the skill shop. "Welcome. Oh!" Sleng greeted me in surprise. "It''s been a while. I want to delete a skill." "Very well." ==[Current Skills Unrivaled: 20 skill points Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick: 1 skill point Heel Kick: 1 skill point Warrior''s Brave Spirit: 2 skill points Mana Conversion: 3 skill points]== I selected Heel Kick. ==[Deleting a skill will not return the golden rings spent to learn the skill. You will also lose all EXP the skill has gained. Are you sure you want to delete Heel Kick? Yes/No]== I clicked Yes and went to the skill shop''s menu. I selected the Physical tree and searched up Judge''s Gavel. ==[Judge''s Gavel (3/3), (Active) A skill that belonged to a Judge who controlled the world around him. The Judge''s Gavel is a command from the Heavens and the hand of death from the depths of Hell that punishes any who stray from the Judge''s teachings and laws. The first attack after using Judge''s Gavel will always be a critical hit. Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increases by 5,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increases by 300% and CRIT damage increases by 500%. Level 2: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increases by 7,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increases by 400% and CRIT damage increases by 700%. Level 3: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increases by 10,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increases by 500% and CRIT damage increases by 1000%. Required skill points: 3 Required golden rings: 1]== "What the f¡­?!" My mouth dropped as I read through the skill''s description. It was so overpowered! As soon as I saw how many golden rings it cost, I quickly bought it. At that moment, an unexpected message appeared before me. ==[The system will now check to see if the buyer has the proper requirements to learn Judge''s Gavel. If the buyer fails to meet the requirements, the buyer will not be able to learn Judge''s Gave.]== "This is a thing?" All of the skills I had learned were all skills that I had seen for myself or were famous enough skills that I knew what they did. I knew that the Warrior''s Brave Spirit was one of the best skills for fighter classes, and that Mana Conversion was a well-rounded skill that everyone knew. That was why I learned them all as soon as I had enough skill points. However, the most I knew about Judge''s Gave was from a rumor I heard that said it was a one-shot skill. I did have a backup skill to learn in case I couldn''t learn it, but now, I wanted it more after seeing the price. -I have no idea what the requirements are but please, please let me learn it!- I clasped my hands together and prayed. Soon, another message appeared. My eyes went wide as I read it. ==[You have the proper requirements to learn Judge''s Gavel. You may now learn the skill.]== -Yes!- I covered my mouth as to not draw any unwanted attraction. "I''ll buy Judge''s Gavel." "Judge''s Gavel costs 1 golden ring. With your 20% VIP discount¡­" Sleng trailed off, unsure what to do. There was no way to give him an eighth of a golden ring. I took a single golden ring out and handed it over. "Keep the change." ==[You have learned Judge''s Gavel.]== As soon as the message appeared, I heard a door slam open off into the distance and could hear someone run down all the way from the fifth floor. "Lee¡­Ji¡­won." I turned around to see an astonished Anton staring at me, and waved at him. I was used to it by now. --- "Did you really just learn Judge''s Gavel?" "Mhm," I said, as I sipped my tea. Anton had dragged me all the way up to his office on the fifth floor to interrogate me. "Really?" "Really really," I calmly replied to his question he asked for the umpteenth time. "Wow¡­I really can''t believe you. I couldn''t ever since you learned the Unrivaled skill. How are you able to find all these good things? You really are a selfish prick." -Was I ever this greedy?- I wasn''t like this during my past life. I had learned the hard way as an orphan that wanting too many things and being greedy was very bad for one''s health. I never complained when I couldn''t get another promotion, and never complained when my coworkers pushed their work on to me at the factory. I always lived the simple life, even after the Great Change. But now? I wanted everything. "Yeah, I guess I am," I said, nodding. "Anyway, thanks for being the first to learn Judge''s Gavel from my Store," Anton said, cackling. "Master Anton, I think it''s a good idea to give Master Lee that item now," said Marie. "Okay. Here, it''s a reward for being the first to learn Judge''s Gavel. Choose one from the list." I read through the piece of paper Anton handed me. =[Increase STR by 1,000 Increase AGI by 1,000 Increase VIT by 1,000 Increase WIL by 1,000 Increase INT by 1,000]= "You''ll give me whatever I choose from here?" "Yup. We''ll, it''s not from me. It''s the actual reward I''m supposed to give to whoever learns Judge''s Gavel first." I smiled widely at what Anton just said. What a bonus! "Can only one person learn Judge''s Gavel?" "No, but it can only be learned by someone who is qualified." "What qualifications?" "That I don''t know, either." I decided to stop my questions. I wasn''t that curious, seeing as how I had managed to learn it. "Then I''ll choose STR." "Okay." Anton looked over at Marie, who left the office for a moment and returned with something in her hand. "Here you are." "It''s a pill." "That''s right. It may look like that, but it''s really precious, you know?" Obviously, if it could raise my STR by 1,000 points. I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed. ==[Will of the Judge ¨C You have absorbed the Weak Essence of STR. Your STR is now increased by 1,000 points.]== "Whoa!" I couldn''t help but shout in amazement as I saw my STR jump by that much. The message didn''t stop there. ==[Your base STR has surpassed 10,000 points. Your total STR points: 12,705 Your base STR points: 10,740 STR points increased by items: 1,260 STR points increased by skills: 705 (Shaman Ko''s Stat points)] [You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 10,000 points in STR before anyone else. STR will be increased by 1,000 points. This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.] I was floored. I wanted to get up from my chair and do a little jiggle. I was that happy. "Yeah, yeah. I suppose you''re happy. You got free STR points just for being the first to learn a skill. What''s not to love?" Anton thought I was happy just from the pill, but I just got another extra 1,000 points! I burst out laughing. I just couldn''t hold it back anymore. "Are you that happy?" I stayed a little longer for some small talk before finally leaving his office. As soon as I left, there was a huge crowd waiting outside, staring at me. "See? See?!" "Whoa! It really is Lee Jiwon." "I knew it was him when Anton burst out of his office." "Lee Jiwon is in the upper ranks now, isn''t he?" "Yeah. The only two Koreans in the top 50 were Song Myungsoo and Song Haein, but now he''s up there with them. Someone finally pushed the Japanese out." "Song Myungsoo and Song Haein have the Sunbin Guild supporting them, but isn''t Lee Jiwon on his own?" "Yup. That''s what makes him that much greater. You saw the video from Egypt, right?" "There was that fiasco in Macau with the San Tuan Guild, too." "Aren''t people saying the battle was close?" "They''re only saying that because they were paid to. The San Tuan Guild was nearly destroyed and surrendered because they couldn''t handle it anymore." "That''s right. That''s what my friend in Macau told me." I could hear what they were saying to each other as they watched me. I was half-relieved when no one noticed me when I arrived earlier that day, but having all of them stare at me like this was almost suffocating. -Is this what it''s like to be a celebrity?- I quickly weaved through the crowd and left the Store. As soon as I exited the Store, I used Blink to get the hell out of there. "Well, I suppose it''s time to start!" I put my hat and sunglasses back on and left for the nearest restaurant. --- Two organizations became busy once Lee Jiwon returned to Seoul; the Sunbin Guild and the Gnosis Guild! Both organizations had abandoned Lee Jiwon before, in a sense. Song Haechang had tossed him to the curb, while Song Daechul let it happen, and Han Yong Suk had turned him away when he came knocking. Chapter 105: Chapter 104: The Next Phase Part 3 Chapter 105: Chapter 104: The Next Phase Part 3 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I was going to pig out on some pork belly, but I wanted to treat myself after what I just got from the Store. I roamed around looking for a good place to eat, until I came to a five-story steakhouse where the parking guards and the entrance guards were all devas. The entire building was so high-end and clean that it almost screamed ''Don''t come here if you don''t have the money.'' It seemed decent enough. I confidently walked towards it. The guard standing outside quickly scanned my clothes and let me through. Thank you, Myth Guild. The clothes they gifted me really were expensive and well-made. I walked in and ordered the most steaks that I had ever had in my entire life. --- Meanwhile, at the Han Dong building in Yeouido, the five Gnosis Guild members were gathered once more. "Have you all heard the report from Store 72?" "Of course we have." "Damn¡­ talk about national pride. He barely made any strides in his own country, leaves for less than a year, and comes back this strong," Jay said sarcastically. "Crazy bitch," scoffed Lim Gina. No one commented on the two''s everyday banter. "It''s obvious that he''s the talk of the town these days." "Damn right. I received so many reports on him these past three months, way more than the great Sunbin Guild. Hell, there are more people talking about him than about any other country." "He''s a star, I tell you, a star!" Jay said jokingly, but no one minded her. "We haven''t been able to observe him directly ever since he received Stop Watching Me from the Myth Guild, but we were still able to learn more about him than anyone else. We can confirm that he also has an item that is at least Rank 8." "I''m telling you, it''s definitely Rank 10." "I think so too." "Look. Even X thinks so and he can see almost everything. The chance to successfully assemble Azazel''s Shards is 1/1,491,041,720,931,840,000, so it has to be a Rank 10. There was also that huge phenomenon. It has to be a Rank 10." "Fine. Let''s say it''s Rank 10." Alpha finally caved at Lim Gina''s ranting. It was better than letting her go on. "Anyway, now that he''s back in Seoul, we need to know if he''ll come back to put in a request. He won''t be suspicious of us if we let him come to us first. Han Yong Suk, what do you think? You''re the only one here who got to talk to him." Everyone else turned to look at Han Yong Suk, who was quiet the whole time. "I believe¡­ he''ll be back soon. When I turned him down, he seemed a little dejected." "Perfect. We''ll keep track of his movements for now. And, if, worse comes to worse, he comes back into contact with the Sunbin Guild¡­ we''ll have to move." This was the Gnosis Guild''s biggest worry these days; the mysterious relationship between the Sunbin Guild and Lee Jiwon. The Sunbin Guild had protected Lee Jiwon for four years while he slept. The Sunbin Guild wouldn''t do that to someone they had no relation with. However, when they discovered that the Hitman Guild was tasked to kidnap Lee Jiwon, they also discovered that it was Song Haechang who had given the order. By their inference, there was no way Song Daechul did not know about this, but nothing happened to Song Haechang or the Hitman Guild. From that, the Gnosis Guild could assume that Lee Jiwon was no longer a part of the Sunbin Guild, but they still couldn''t know for sure. "Anyway, if he comes here, find out the extent of his abilities and strength." "Very well." The Gnosis Guild began their preparations to meet with Lee Jiwon, but did not know it would happen sooner than they expected. --- I happily put the last piece of steak into my mouth and rubbed my stuffed belly. "There''s nothing better than Grade A Korean beef." It was way better than the beef I had in Egypt. "Now that I have stuffed myself, I better make my way to the Gnosis Guild." Today, I was going to find out as much as I could about Lee Kangchan from the Gnosis Guild. "It took longer than I expected, but that doesn''t mean you''re lucky. It just gave me more time to get stronger," I said to myself as I reached for the check. I froze when I looked over it. "160,000 golden rings?" A piece of Bread from the Store cost 100 golden rings and could get me through a single day. I could buy 800 Bread and Drink with that money. "Is something wrong?" a waiter asked when he noticed that I was just standing there. "No¡­it''s nothing." For a second there, I thought about using Blink to get out of there. The waiter was a mortal and the guards outside didn''t seem to know who I was. "Ugh. What''s wrong with me? I''m not one to tremble at a measly 160,000 golden rings now." I walked over to the counter to pay the bill and left. I used Blink to get to the roof of a nearby building and ran the rooftops towards the Gnosis Guild. --- "He''s¡­he''s coming!" "Say what now?" The Gnosis Guild had grown bigger over the months and had guards posted in a ten kilometer radius around the Han Dong building. "Lee Jiwon! He''s heading for the headquarters¡­Ah! He just flew past over me. He''ll¡­he''ll arrive in less than one minute!" "Gah! Got it!" Lee Jiwon was the Gnosis Guild''s top priority, right after Song Daechul. Even the lowest guild member knew what he looked like. The Gnosis Guild began to busy itself. --- ''Was that a Gnosis Guild member?- I noticed a deva hiding himself as I jumped over a rooftop. The way he was positioned told me he was part of the Gnosis Guild. -Well, I suppose I should expect that much from them.- The Han Dong building soon came into view. I jumped high from the last building and gracefully landed a hundred meters away from the entrance. There were five people waiting outside. A man standing in the middle stepped forward and introduced himself. "Welcome, Mr. Lee. I am the leader of the Gnosis Guild, Alpha." They obviously knew who I was and were waiting for me, but I wasn''t really put off by it. I would expect that much from the famous Gnosis Guild. "It''s a pleasure." I also saw the man who told me to come a week later, and the woman who had watched from the window. "I would like to apologize for when you first came eight months ago. We had a priority request back then, and were unable to accept any other jobs." "That''s quite all right. We all have busy times. Can you accept my request now?" It seemed that all five leaders of the Gnosis Guild had come out to greet me. They wouldn''t do that if they weren''t going to accept my request. "Of course we can, especially if it comes from someone as famous as you. Please, come inside." I didn''t comment on Alpha''s true intentions and followed them inside. --- X, the wielder of the Near-Seeing Eye, stared at Lee Jiwon''s back. At that moment, a scar on his forehead began to open, revealing what seemed to be a human''s eye. However, this eye was completely black. X''s Near-Seeing Eye revealed only a portion of the truth, but it could also reveal a few things, like how much stronger the other person was than him. His Eye helped his guild decide who was worthy enough to spy on and who was insignificant enough to ignore. X''s Eye formed an apparition in X''s likeness and the apparition charged at Lee Jiwon from the back. -One¡­one hit!- X''s apparition died from a single blow from Lee Jiwon''s attack. The apparition could barely make a move and Lee Jiwon''s spear was impaled in its chest in an instant. At that moment, the Eye closed about 20% of the way. X formed another apparition and had it attack Lee Jiwon. -A single hit.- The second attempt yielded the same results. X began to tremble. He had used this method on Song Haein and Song Myungsoo, but neither of them could kill his apparition in a single blow. "X, are you all right?" "You''re shaking!" "I''m¡­I''m fine." X remained focused on Lee Jiwon even with Han Yong Suk and Jay''s concern. Unable to accept the results, X repeatedly formed apparitions and had them attack Lee Jiwon. He tried seven times before his Eye fully closed, leaving his forehead scar-free. -They¡­all died in one blow!- He had no choice but to accept the reality. "Hey, what are you doing? You know you can''t use it consecutively like that. You''re going to hurt yourself. How much longer do you have to wait now before you can use it again?" Han Yong Suk asked the still-trembling X. "I used it seven times, and they all died in a single hit. This guy¡­is the real deal." "What?" "That¡­can''t be right." X, Han Yong Suk, Jay, and Lim Gina all stared at Lee Jiwon as he continued to walk away beside Alpha. "But, he slept for four years¡­" "That''s not the important part. He''s this strong AFTER sleeping that long. If he didn''t, then¡­" Lim Gina trailed off. It scared her just to think about it! Chapter 106: Chapter 105: The Next Phase Part IV Chapter 106: Chapter 105: The Next Phase Part IV Alpha and his comrades led me to a large meeting room, where we sat around an equally large table. -Why¡­are they all staring at me like that?- I could tell that they were wary of me the moment I entered the building. It wasn''t that strange since it is the first time I''d met them and it was normal for them to be on their guard, but this was overdoing it. One of the women, who introduced herself as Lim Gina, flinched when my eyes met hers and quickly looked away. She was acting like a teen caught stealing. "Now then, what brings you all the way here, Mr. Lee?" asked Alpha. "I want to find someone discreetly." "Then you''ve come to the right place. Finding people is our specialty." Obviously. That was why I came here! "Do you know anything specific about the person you''re looking for?" "The man''s name is Lee Kangchan. He was around his late 20s or early 30s before he became a deva. His height should be around 180 cm. I don''t think he''s part of any large guilds, but he does have some authority. That''s all I have on him. Is that enough?" I should have found out more about him before I jumped into the Sea of Reset, but the thought had never crossed my mind. I was too focused on trying to get out of that shitty situation. "That is more than enough. All we need now is some time." "As long as you find him, I don''t mind how long it''ll take." "Not to worry. We''ll get started right away." "How much will it cost?" "We usually take half first as a deposit and receive the rest after we finish, but since you''re quite the figure, we''ll be more than happy to take the payment after we find your man. Of course, we have no intention to shaft you. We do not wish to do anything stupid like that to you." "Thank you." After a few more words, I left the building. --- After Lee Jiwon left, the five heads of the Gnosis Guild conversed about what to do. "Lee Kangchang¡­ he has to be talking about those guys, right?" "Yeah. It adds up with his description." They all knew who Lee Kangchan was, but acted as if they did not in front of Lee Jiwon. "He definitely has it out for him, doesn''t he?" "Yeah. Lee Jiwon definitely does not like Lee Kangchan. That''s probably why he wanted to find him discreetly." "Did you see his eyes when he said his name? Man, he was scary." "Lee Jiwon and Lee Kangchan, eh¡­?" Alpha said to himself quietly. "We already have the information on Lee Kangchan ,but it''s not like we can just hand it over right now. How long should we wait?" Lim Gina asked. The others nodded in agreement. "All right. Find more about Lee Kangchan and his associates. Find out about his cousins and in-laws if you have to. Collect anything you find that connects the two." "Sounds good." "Looks like we''re going to be busy again." "As X found out, Lee Jiwon is powerful. We won''t be able to blackmail him with what happened with Duck Duck and the Yung Gong Guild." "He destroyed the San Tuan Guild; what can the Yung Gong Guild do, anyway?" "True, that. He''ll probably brush it off and laugh at us." "It''s all the more reason to do our best with this job, enough so that we''ll at least remain in his good graces. And, as I''m sure you are all aware, we must not let him know that we''re purposefully withholding information from him right now." "That''s obvious enough." "Hey, we''re not amateurs here." "I''m just saying to be careful out there. Make sure our members all know this as well." The rest nodded at Alpha''s final words and left the meeting room. ------ I put my hat and sunglasses back on as I left the building and slowly walked down the street. -The Sunbin Guild, huh¡­?- As I walked, I noticed that almost everyone was talking about something concerning the Sunbin Guild. I could also see the 97-story tall building that was the guild''s headquarters. I couldn''t help but think about them even, though I had pushed them far out of my mind. I should have turned down their offer, but I didn''t and ended helping them. That wasn''t going to change. I had already shown them the light while they were stuck in that dark, dark tunnel, and with my help they became one of the strongest guilds out there. The reason why I also didn''t go to them after waking up after four years was simple; I was weak. I may have had one hell of a head start from learning Unrivaled at level 0 ,but that didn''t matter; I was behind everyone else. They had already done so much for me by taking care of me for four years straight. It was why I never went back after I was kicked out. But the important part here was that the Sunbin Guild hadn''t looked for me, either. Honestly, they had every reason to since I disappeared all of a sudden. And yet, no one came looking for me. It wasn''t like they couldn''t; a guild as powerful as them had the resources to find me in an instant. It just meant that they were purposefully not looking for me. They probably felt that they had done enough after looking after me for four years. I wasn''t really sad about it. They had every reason to think that way. -Honestly, that just makes it more awkward. At least say bye or something.- If they didn''t hate me, then we could have at least remained friends or allies. If they did hate, then¡­ well, it''s like we had to be enemies. But our relationship just ended without closure. -But¡­I don''t really have a reason to go meet them like a jilted lover.- "Meh. Let''s not complicate things. What''s done is done. It''s not like we owe each other anything more, anyway. I should just keep focusing on myself." ------ "Hmm¡­" Song Daechul was seated as his desk, deep in thought. On the other side of his desk, stood Uno of the Intelligence Division. "Ha¡­" Uno didn''t say anything while his guild master sat there for an hour, thinking. His sole role was to answer any of Song Daechul''s questions, not speak his opinion. "Did I make the wrong decision? No, I definitely did. I should own up to my mistakes, shouldn''t I?" "It''s my fault, sir. Our intel was insufficient." "No, no. You all did your jobs properly. I had forgotten about Lee Jiwon''s abilities. It just proves that my mind is aging while my body stays the same. It was a stupid decision." The Sunbin Guild had become powerful while Lee Jiwon slept. That was probably why Song Daechul had forgotten that it was Lee Jiwon who made it all possible. "Lee Jiwon seemed¡­ as if he was prepared for everything. He did not tremble in fear of the unknown, like us. Everything he did oozed with confidence. I felt like I could depend on that young man." "..." Uno didn''t say anything. He knew what his guild master meant. "I became too conceited. I was blinded by all of our success. I had my chance, even before he left for Egypt. I should have gone to him." Song Daechul stood from his seat and walked over to the large window. "I was an idiot. He displayed so much power after waking up and still, I ignored him. I really was an idiot." "That''s not true, sir," Uno said. Song Daechul didn''t reply and continued to look out his window. After awhile, he spoke again. "Is it pointless to contact him now, even though we ignored him all this time? Lee Jiwon must know by now that we purposefully didn''t look for him. But to come to him now, after he had made a name for himself? If that wasn''t the case, then it would be fine, but now¡­I wouldn''t hate him if he insulted me to my face." Song Daechul was full of regret. He should have done better. "Is Haein doing well in Siberia?" "Ye,s sir." The Sunbin Guild had control of a high-grade dungeon in Siberia, but constantly needed to maintain the surrounding areas that were infested with ice trolls. "Has the boss ice troll still not been defeated yet?" "No sir. It''s quite powerful, and never comes out on its own." "Tsk." Song Daechul had wanted to pair Lee Jiwon with his granddaughter at first. The young man was that dependable. But as the years passed, he had changed his mind. He stopped paying attention to Lee Jiwon for the sake of his guild. ''Grandfather, why aren''t we looking for Jiwon oppa? You know he''s the reason we''ve come this far.'' ''He''s in Egypt! I''ll go if I have to! I''ll go see him and bring him back!'' ''We can help oppa if it''s only the San Tuan Guild!'' Every time Song Haein brought up Lee Jiwon, Song Daechul always shut her down and sent her off to Siberia. "You know, these days, I have no idea what I''m doing. I sent my only granddaughter away and ignored the one man who helped me." He had believed that he had to be cruel for the sake of his guild, but as his guild grew stronger, that belief disappeared and was replaced with regret. "I was afraid; afraid that I would lose control of this beast that was growing in my hands." "Sir, you know that''s not true." "No, I understand now." He believed that he had to create a monster to get ahead of everyone else. He got his wish, and was now paying for it. "Bring Haein back, as naturally as possible." "What should I do about Siberia?" "Send General Han in her stead." "Yes, sir." As Uno disappeared from the office, Song Daechul continued to stare out the window. Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part I Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The next morning, at the Kaltz Hotel¡­ "Hmm¡­it was definitely around this time," I said to myself, as I thumbed through my notebook. I had spent three months straight in Khufu''s dungeon to get another skill point, but the biggest reason was that I was waiting for the King-Emperor''s Treasure quest to start. "I''m positive the quest started around this time¡­" I didn''t remember the exact date, as I wasn''t strong enough to participate back then. I could only spectate how it all played out, but now I was glad that I did. "I can participate with a huge advantage." Yesterday at the Store, I did not see it posted on the quest board, so it had to mean that it hadn''t started yet. Well, even if I did start the quest later than anyone else, I still wouldn''t be at a disadvantage. With my abilities, I could easily catch up. "But if I let my guard down and miss it completely¡­oof, I don''t even want to think about it." I remembered the quest reward was a Rank 9 item, but that wasn''t what I wanted. There was something else I really wanted from the quest, something so secret that only I knew. "I''ll need to be one of the first seven to reach the first gateway if I want a chance at it. If I can get it, it''ll be more than worth it to give up hunting for a few months." From what I could remember, the quest would start within the next week or two. "Alright then. I need to focus solely on the King-Emperor''s Treasure quest. I won''t train for the time being, in case I miss my timing. I''ll stay close to the Store and keep a look out for the quest post. If I have to, I''ll go to Paju to let off some steam." ------ And so, for the next week, I stayed at the Kaltz Hotel and stopped by the Store every day, occasionally training in the fields. The quest hadn''t come up yet, but I wasn''t in a hurry yet. There was still some time. Then, one day, I remembered about Azazel''s Lightning Armor set. -Hmm¡­can I do it?- Every time I went to the Store, I also went to the basement auction house, trying to make the best out of each visit. As I perused the listed items today, I also looked up Azazel''s Shards. If I could assemble one more armor piece, then I could get the two-piece set bonus. Back then, no one was able to assemble another armor piece after the Boots, and so no one knew what the set bonus entailed, but everyone believed that it had to be good. -Hmm. Seeing how there are still 40 types of shards, it seems no one has assembled another part. But still¡­there''s still a one in nine quadrillion chance. How will my Luck affect this if it can get me three Stat points a day from Shaman Ko''s Wheel?- There was no way my Luck could be high enough to attempt to assemble another armor part on my own. Besides, trying to assemble cost so much, and I didn''t even like how much it cost just to buy the Shards of the Boots. -But, I have quite a bit of money now and my Luck should be high¡­enough¡­right?- My confidence waned when I thought about the one in nine quadrillion probability, but I steeled myself and began to buy Shards. When I assembled the Boots, the cheapest Shard cost 1,000 golden rings, and the priciest one cost 10,000. Now, the cheapest cost 3,500 and many cost more than 35,000. -Looks like there are quite a few people who started trying to assemble after I made the Boots.- I bought five of each of the forty types of Shards. The two hundred Shards cost me nearly 3,000,000 golden rings. Well, I guess it was worth it to see how far my Luck would take me. Once I had my Shards, I left the Store and went to the same place I had assembled the Boots at. "Haa! It''s ok if I don''t succeed here. Don''t be nervous. It''s just for fun. Don''t be nervous." I took out the two hundred Shards and laid them out neatly before me. I scanned the identical Shards. "Damn¡­I have no idea where to start." I stared at them, completely lost at what to do. "Ah, screw it!" I grabbed ten of the Shards and pieced them together. "Whoa!" The Shards began to spark with electricity, like when I assembled the Boots. I shouted, thinking I succeeded on my first try, but I was quickly disappointed when the Shards popped like balloons. ==[You have failed to assemble the selected Shards of Azazel''s Armor. The Shards have been destroyed.]== "That''s¡­okay. It''s only the first try. I''ve got a few more tries left." After that, I started to assemble the Shards consecutively and each time, the same message that I failed appeared. I tried picking them randomly while closing my eyes, and even threw some into the air and used the ones that fell to the ground first, but each time the same damn message kept appearing. After the nineteenth attempt, I picked up the last ten Shards with shaking hands and pieced them together. ==[You have failed to assemble the selected Shards of Azazel''s Armor. The Shards have been destroyed.]== "Ha¡­." I felt empty when the final message appeared. "I guess I really can''t do anything against these odds." I did start this just for fun and tried to not expect anything, but I guess I was getting greedy. I was hoping something would happen since I was the luckiest person in the world. But man, I really couldn''t do anything against those odds! "Damn¡­ how the hell did Wakaba even succeed?" I had nothing but respect for the man. "Ugh¡­I guess I''ll give up for now." I just blew away 3,000,000 golden rings in less than three minutes. Furthermore, I had no guarantee I would succeed if I kept going. It was enough to learn how lucky I really was. "Well, it''s not the end. I can always try later since my luck will always grow. There''s no need to get ahead of myself now." I brushed off my hands and got up. --- The next morning at Store 72, the crowd seemed louder than usual as I wove my way through it. There could only be one reason. -The quest started!- I quickly made my way into the Store and headed straight for the quest board. The quest board that was empty the entire past week had a shining ! mark floating above it. "The King-Emperor''s Treasure?" "Whoa! If the treasure is at least Rank 8, then doesn''t that mean it''s at least a Rank 8 item?" "It has to. There''s a chance it could be Rank 9 or Rank 10." "Damn, Rank 10? That''s freaking crazy." "What''s the quest location?" "Hmm¡­it''s not on here. We have to find it on our own, but it says that the treasure is located in the King-Emperor''s Tomb?" "Then something had to have changed its form. It could also be a dungeon that just appeared, as well." A huge crowd of devas was gathered around the quest board and were chattering among themselves. The quest wasn''t a normal one that was usually granted to a single deva; it was available for everyone and gave a reward of a Rank 8 item or higher. Obviously, it attracted a lot of attention. I looked at the quest board from a distance. ====== [Find the King-Emperor''s Treasure. (No Rank) There once existed an invincible King-Emperor. This young ruler commanded such power that a single slash of his blade could cut anything in half. With that power, he had the world at his fingertips. All bowed to his force and his name, but the young ruler could not resist the power of time. As he grew weaker and weaker through the years, he grew angrier and angrier. Unable to bear the shame, the ruler dug himself into the ground, taking all of his wealth with him. Find the treasure the King-Emperor buried himself with. Time Limit: Until whoever finds the treasure first. Location: The King-Emperor''s Tomb. Reward: Random chest containing an item of at least Rank 8 Accept/Reject] ====== It was the same quest I knew about. I selected Accept without hesitation. ==[Find the King-Emperor''s Treasure. (No Rank) You have accepted the quest.]== --- After accepting the quest, I left the Store. I had no time to lose if I wanted to be one of the first seven to complete the quest. -It was a day, right?- From my memory, the tomb was discovered in less than a day after the quest was created, and it was the Cheng Long Guild that came upon in coincidentally. It was thanks to that coincidence that Wai Chung had a Rank 9 item from the quest. -Let him have it. My goal is something else.- I quickly entered the Messenger Guild''s Teleport building next to the Store. My destination was Beijing! "Take me to Beijing, please." "That''ll be 70,000 golden rings." I paid the clerk and stepped onto the platform. --- As soon as I was in Beijing, I headed for Beijing Capital Airport to get to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. "It would have been nice if the Messenger Guild had a teleporter there, as well." Mongolia didn''t have a teleporter during my past life either. There wasn''t a Store there, so it did make sense, and also meant that there weren''t many devas in Mongolia. There were many flights heading to Mongolia, and I got on the earliest flight. "First Egypt, then Macao. Now it''s Mongolia?" I was satisfied with myself for being this busy. It beat having to do the same thing over and over again... I knew the exact location of the tomb. In the past, I had accepted the quest, thinking it wouldn''t be a problem since there wasn''t a real time limit. However, I could not keep up with everyone else with my abilities and only managed to hear things that happened pertaining to the quest. ------- As soon as I landed at Ulaanbaatar Airport, I quickly headed north. Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Khan Khentii and could see Burkhan Khaldun Mountain off in the distance. That was where the King-Emperor''s treasure was buried. I quickened my pace as I came closer, and as soon as I entered the Burkhan Khaldun area, a message appeared. ==[You are the first to discover the tomb of King-Emperor as part of the Find the King-Emperor''s Treasure quest. As a reward, all Stats will be increased by 100 points.]== "What!" This I had no idea about. Sure, I had quite a bit of Stat points right now, but 100 points to all of my Stats was like gaining 50 levels! Hell, better me than anyone else! As I stood there in surprise, the ground rumbled as the side of the mountain opened to reveal the dungeon that held the tomb of the King-Emperor! Chapter 108: Chapter 107: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part II Chapter 108: Chapter 107: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED As the side of the Burkhan Mountain split open, it revealed the largest dungeon entrance I''d ever seen. It had to be at least three times bigger than the entrance of a high-grade dungeon. But as I stood there, happy that I just got extra 500 Stat points, another message appeared; a message regarding something I had completely forgotten about all this time. ==[Otadolon Earth has been notified that a quest dungeon has been found. You will be specially granted 4 points for locating a quest dungeon. You will be granted a bonus after 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Restricted dungeon: 4 points (quest dungeons included)]== ==[You have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You now have 10 points to Dungeon Seeker. You may choose the reward below or choose to save your points for later. 10 point reward: Rank 7 Random Chest 20 point reward: Rank 7-8 Random Chest 30 point reward: Rank 7-8-9 Random Chest 50 point reward: Rank 8-9-10 Random Chest Obtaining the Rank 7 Random Chest will reset your points to 0. Should you choose to save your points instead, you will be unable to purchase the Rank 7 Random Chest. You must wait until you reach 20 points in order to purchase a Random Chest. Use points/ Save points]== "Holy shit!" I had pretty much given up on my Dungeon Seeker after all this time. Four years had passed, and almost all the dungeons should have been found by then. Furthermore, I didn''t really need the extra Stat points that came with being the first to discover a dungeon anymore. It would be better to just train rather than spend months trying to find a dungeon no one had discovered yet. Sure, getting Stats for free would help a lot in the long run, especially for someone like me. Leveling was only going to get slower now, and it was going to be tough to find the right items and equips that would help boost my Stats. But since I already had higher Stats than anyone around my level, it didn''t really make much of a difference. Besides, all of the dungeons that I knew of were already discovered, save for the ones in the Amazon and in Central and South Africa. "But this changes everything!" I always thought that people who put their lives on the line and spent months to discover dungeons for a measly 10 Stat points were foolish. "Damn, if it meant getting an item of at least Rank 7, I''d risk my life too! If I''m lucky enough, I could even get a Rank 10 item as well!" I mean, with my luck, it would be way easier to get a Rank 10 item from here than to assemble an Azazel Armor Piece. A Rank 7 item wasn''t bad at all. At the least, one could sell for several hundred million golden rings, but I didn''t want to spend all of my points in one go. It took me this long to get them. I wanted to raise my points to 20 and try for the Rank 8 Random Chest. Still, I had no idea how long that would take. If I were unlucky, it could take me at least a few years. "Still, I should save them! I can''t be satisfied with just a Rank 7 item. But why did this dungeon grant me points and not the hidden dungeon?" A hidden dungeon was still a dungeon. The clue was in the name. "What''s the difference between the two?" I read the message again. "Oh. Is that it?" After reading it over a few more times, I noticed a difference between this message and the message from the hidden dungeon. "Is it because I kept it hidden?" I had kept the hidden dungeon from others so that I could use it by myself, but the five dungeons and the quest dungeon were all automatically revealed to the rest of the world. It wasn''t like everyone received a message explaining exactly where the dungeons were. It''s just that a huge dungeon entrance appeared for anyone to see. "Then if I revealed a hidden dungeon, could I get the points?" It started to seem that way. "Screw it then. We''ll see how it goes." I selected Save points. ==[You have chosen to save your points. You will no longer be able to access the 10 point reward. You may try again after reaching 20 points.]== "I guess I''m going to have to seriously reconsider finding dungeons now." I wanted to get 50 points so I could get the Rank 8-9-10 Random Chest, if I could. "Anyway, the extra Stat points are great and all, but this quest is way more important." If I did everything right, I could get a Rank 10 item on top of the quest reward! "Time to go." I stepped through the giant dungeon entrance. ==[You have entered the quest dungeon, The King-Emperor''s Tomb. Once the quest is completed, the King-Emperor''s Tomb will disappear and anyone inside will be forcibly thrown out of the dungeon.]== I glanced over the message that appeared as soon as I entered and quickly closed it. I looked around me. [Moleman Lookout] [Moleman Cadet Spearman] [Moleman Cadet Archer] [Moleman Cadet Shieldman] "Well, it''s good to finally meet you all, after only seeing you on videos." The Tomb was made up of eleven floors and the boss, the King-Emperor, was on the top floor. The boss was level 1200, and the dungeon monsters were around level 800. The Tomb was on par with a high-grade dungeon. Obviously, devas would only get stronger in the future, but right now, this dungeon was difficult. But that just made my expectations grow. This was my first high-grade dungeon! "Well then, I suppose I should get as close to the Fallen King-Emperor as I can, and go from there." In the past, I had watched a video that laid out the path all the way to the 10th floor, but I couldn''t remember it right now. This dungeon would disappear once it was cleared; remembering the path was impossible and I hadn''t paid much attention to the video. But, I didn''t stress it. I''m sure it would come up as I made my way through. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." I activated my two skills to prepare for the long fight ahead. "Alright. Let''s do this. Judge''s Gavel!" It was my first time using the skill. I looked forward to seeing what it could do. ==[You have activated Judge''s Gavel. Your next attack will be a critical hit Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increased by 5,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increased by 300% and CRIT damage increased by 500%.]== I charged at a Moleman Shieldman off in the distance and brought my Harrier down on its head. My spear broke through its iron shield like it was glass and stabbed the Moleman in its chest. The attack flashed yellow. [Gwek!] As the Moleman roared in pain, a huge, red hammer fell from the ceiling and crashed down on its head. The force of the hammer was so strong that the Moleman''s body was crushed like a soda can. The shieldman vanished before me. "Damn¡­" This skill was on par with Powerful Shock. I smiled. This skill was mine! "Heh. Let''s play." It took the Cheng Long Guild less than a day to discover the Tomb after the quest was announced. It would now take Wai Chung even less time now that the massive entrance was in plain view. But I didn''t really think it mattered. It would take the Cheng Long Guild at least a few days to close it off and prepare a raid party. I just needed to get to the tenth floor by then. [Power Shot!] Two Moleman Archers shot their power arrows at me once they saw their comrade fall. "Huh. I guess you can use skills too, since you''re all pretty high-leveled." The arrows flew at me at high speeds. I wasn''t going to be able to dodge them, but I wasn''t afraid. I had my new cuirass to help me tank the attacks. I ignored the oncoming arrows and charged at the Archers. The arrows struck me in the chest and thigh, and I felt a strong repulsive force and pain from the blows. It was quite a bit of damage, but not enough to slow me down. I jumped from three meters away and the Archers drew their bows back to attack again. Before they could let loose their arrows, I struck the Archer on the left. As the first Archer cried out in pain and was forced back from the blow, the other Archer came at me from behind with the arrow in its hand. "You''re not the elf from that movie, what are you doing?" The moleman reminded me of that archer elf from that one movie. (TN: he means Legolas.) The moleman was huge for an archer, over two meters tall. I reached out with my left hand to block its attack. The moleman growled and pushed with all of its might, but couldn''t move from my grasp. "Is that all you''ve got?" The moleman growled in anger. "I''m busy so I''ll have to end this here." I kept him in my left hand and stabbed him three times with my spear. The moleman fell to its knees after the third attack, before vanishing. I turned from the spot and jumped right on top of the first Archer. I kept my feet on its chest and stabbed it with my spear, killing it. "If I could do this much here¡­I guess that means other high-grade dungeons shouldn''t be too hard, either." They may have been archer classes with low DEF and HP, but they were still high leveled dungeon monsters of a high-grade dungeon. The EXP I just gained was higher than any of the other monsters I''d hunted. "Heh. Awesome." I raised my Harrier and rushed into a larger horde of monsters. --- Twelve hours after Lee Jiwon entered the King-Emperor''s Tomb¡­ Mongolia''s Burkhan Mountain was a sacred mountain that held the tomb of Genghis Khan and was believed to be the warlord''s birthplace. While Mongolia had a smaller population than most countries, many still do visit the mountain. For the entrance to the Tomb to be discovered in twelve hours was actually quite late. However, once it was discovered, news of it travelled quickly, and soon reached the ears of many guilds. As the guilds around the world mobilized teams to investigate, they quickly stopped once they heard which guilds already were involved, guilds no one wished to antagonize. Wai Chung had his son, Weiban, and a thousand of the Cheng Long Guild''s elites secure the Tomb. Song Myungsoo also had his daughter, who had just returned from Siberia, go with 4,500 of the Sunbin Guild''s elites to Mongolia. Japan''s Nayuta Guild also joined in, not willing to be outdone by the other Asian giants, and sent 6,000 elites, all led by its guild master. Lee Jiwon had no idea that three powerful guilds were moving in on him, all with the goal to secure the Rank 10 reward! Chapter 109: Chapter 108: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part III Chapter 109: Chapter 108: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED After three hits, the Moleman''s shield fell to pieces with a clang. Once the shieldman lost its shield, I stabbed its chest twice, killing it. "Phew. These Shieldmen are getting annoying now." I had finally arrived at the third floor after about twelve hours. The toughest part wasn''t killing the monsters, but actually finding the floor entrances. The EXP was so good that if it weren''t for the Cheng Long Guild that was supposed to arrive soon, I would have stayed on the first two floors and hunted a little more. On the third floor, the monsters no longer had Cadet in their names, and they moved much more tactically than the monsters on the first and second floors. The Shieldmen would take their places on the front lines with the Spearmen and Archers in the back. It made it difficult to attack the weaker Archers first, like I did on the previous floors, as the Shieldmen would actively defend the Archers and Scouts. Well, it wasn''t impossible; it just made it more annoying to deal with. "I need to keep going. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Judge''s Gavel." =[You have activated Warrior''s Brave Spirit.]== ==[You have activated Judge''s Gavel. Your next attack will be a critical hit Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increased by 5,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increased by 300% and CRIT damage increased by 500%.]== I activated both skills as soon as their cooldowns expired to get them to level 2 as soon as possible. I charged at the horde of regular Molemen and attacked a Shieldman head on. My attack flashed yellow and obliterated its shield in an instant ,and another red hammer slammed down on the monster''s head, killing it. "Damn. That skill really is no joke." It was the tenth time I had used it now, but I just couldn''t get over how overpowered it was. [Power Shot!] [Double Shot!] Two arrows hit my side and thigh. Each hit dealt about 30,000 points of damage. That amount of damage would be dangerous to a normal fighter class, but thankfully, I wasn''t a normal fighter. With my current abilities, I was definitely stronger than most tank builds. I quickly dashed at the Archers to pay them back. At that moment, another Shieldman raised its shield to block me, but it was hopeless. I jumped onto the monster''s shield and used it as a trampoline to propel myself further towards the Archers. I flipped myself in midair and stabbed down at one of the Archers. [Gwek!] My spear flashed yellow at the contact and impaled the monster at least thirty cm deep. The Archer cried out in pain before dying. Using my momentum, I kicked out at the other Archer and side-kicked it in the abdomen. I pulled my spear out of the ground and dashed over to it while it stumbled on the ground, stabbing it. I stabbed it once more as it writhed on the ground in pain, killing it. Once it disappeared, the three Spearmen turned towards me and raised their spears in a fighting stance. I stood there and beckoned at them to come at me. The Spearmen stabbed their spears at me at once, but I didn''t move to dodge or deflect the attacks. I felt too lazy to deal with their attacks. [Piercing Blow!] Their spears struck me square in the chest, but didn''t pierce through. Their damage definitely was higher than the undead monsters'' at Khufu''s dungeon. "It''s still not enough." I pushed the spears aside and held them under my arm. I gathered my strength and pulled. "What''ll you do now?" I pulled to get the spears out of their hands but I guess doing that to three monsters at once was a little too difficult. "Fine then; take this." I flipped my spear in my right hand and began stabbing at their heads consecutively. ==[Your opponents have been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been afflicted. For three seconds, your opponents'' movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]== "Whoa. I hope this goes off when I fight against the boss monster." It took me less than 2 seconds to clear the Spearmen out. "And then there was one." After a few more hits, the remaining Shieldman fell. ==[You have gained a level.]== I laughed to myself. Hunting was fun. I was getting quickly getting stronger, faster than I had anticipated after I came back to the past. "Alright! Time to push on!" I quickly made my way to the 4th floor entrance, ignoring the monsters I could. --- The usually empty Chinggis Khaan International Airport was receiving several flights that day. The flights weren''t from airliners, they were all private planes. "Looks quite a few have gathered here," Wai Chung said. "The quest reward is pretty nice. There''s a chance to get a Rank 10 item out of it," Xia Fang, the Cheng Long Guild''s chief of staff, replied. "Like moths to the flame¡­" "They seem a little too strong to be measly moths, sir." "Where are they coming from again?" "From Korea, the Sunbin Guild¡­ah, there they are now." Wai Chung turned to where Xia Fang pointed and saw them; members of the Sunbin Guild. The Sunbin Guild had quite a few mysterious elements to it, Wai Chung thought. For one, the Sunbin Guild had quite a lot of power for hailing from a small country of less than fifty million people. The Sunbin Guild also almost never failed a dungeon raid, even if many teams had failed that raid before them. What was even more shocking was the conflict between the Sunbin Guild and the Hulan Guild of Heilongjiang. The Hulan Guild was almost five times bigger than the Sunbin Guild, and yet the Hulan Guild''s headquarters in Harbin had grown quiet these days. No one really knew what the conflict was about, but it seemed that the Sunbin Guild had come out as the victor. Many believed the Hulan Guild foolish to not accept aid in its fight against the Sunbin Guild and also called them cowards when the Hulan Guild had surrendered, until a few videos surfaced. It became quite obvious why the Hulan Guild had to give up. While the Hulan Guild definitely had the numbers, it could not break through the Sunbin Guild''s defenses. Each Hulan Guild soldier fell like leaves at the Sunbin Guild''s counterattacks. It was almost pitiful. "It''s interesting, very interesting. The Sunbin Guild and that guy, Lee Jiwon¡­ there''s something about the Dongyi, isn''t there?" (TN: Dongyi here is a general term that many Chinese texts use to refer the Koreans who lived on the Korean Peninsula. I don''t think it''s derogatory, but to explain it would require a full-on history lesson about they said, we said. It''s a mess.) (EN: They are a collective name for the tribes in that area, one of the Four Barbarian tribes. It''s kind of like saying ''them Korean barbarians''.) "The Sunbin Guild has been an issue from the start. They were the first to clear the fields of monsters while the rest of us scrambled in confusion. They even came to control many dungeons before any of us. As for Lee Jiwon¡­ well, he came out of nowhere. I don''t know what to think of him." "We need to take them down a notch¡­" "I''m sure we''ll have our chance one day." "You''re right. Our day will come. China must be the strongest in the world, not those Dongyi bastards!" (TN: China #1! Sorry, couldn''t help myself.) Contrary to what he had just said, Wai Chung bowed slightly when he saw Song Myungsoo among the Songbin guild members. Song Myungsoo gave a small bow back. "It''s been a while, Master Wai Chung." "Yes, it''s good to see you again. Is your father doing well?" "Yes. He''s still kicking." "That''s good to hear. But I see you''re here yourself." "Well, I had to be, considering the reward. Isn''t that why you''re here as well?" Wai Chung chuckled. "Yes, well, I suppose I gave in to my greed. This young woman must be the rumored Song Haein." Song Haein came up next to her father and bowed. "How do you do? I''m Song Haein." "I see your beauty rivals your strength." At that moment, Weiban came up from behind Wai Chung. "You''ve met him already, haven''t you? But I believe Haein hasn''t met him yet. I''m not trying to brag about my own child, but I do depend on him a lot." "It''s been a while, Master Song. And it''s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Song. I''ve heard many tales of your feats all the way in China," Weiban said to Song Myungsoo and Song Haein sincerely. "Thank you. I always hear about the Cheng Long Guild as well," Song Haein replied Weiban''s brow furrowed, however. While he knew he was strong, Song Haein was strong as well, possibly stronger than all of the Cheng Long Guild. That meant Song Haein was stronger than he was. He could also tell from her tone that she didn''t really care for him. "Haha. I see." Weiban knew this wasn''t the place to make a scene and gave an empty laugh. After a few more words, the two guilds left for the King-Emperor''s Tomb together. The entire time, both sides dreamt of ways to get rid of the other, but knew they couldn''t fight. There were too many organizations out there that would prefer that to happen. As they continued on their way to the tomb, hoping to make the reward theirs, they saw them. The Nayuta Guild parachuted out of their plane instead of landing at the airport. A delectable prey had just landed in front of two apex predators; a prey that neither guild liked very much... Chapter 110: Chapter 109: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part IV Chapter 110: Chapter 109: The Quest I Was Waiting For, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Japan''s Nayuta Guild knew that they were the weakest out the three guilds. That truth was especially hard to swallow for all of Japan. The Nayuta Guild had to take this chance to come out on top no matter what. The guild had decided to fly straight for the mountain and parachute out instead of landing at the airport. "Those sons of bitches!" It had seemed that the Nayuta Guild''s dungeon hijacking would succeed. They spent more golden rings than the other guilds to get here and brought 6,000 elite members... but ran into a problem once they arrived at the entrance. A problem that consisted of two teams of fifty devas. "I am Yan Shou, captain of the Cheng Long Guild''s Recon team 4. By orders of our guild master, we are here to prevent entry to the Tomb. You''ll have to go through us if you wish to enter." "I am Jung Inhyuk, captain of the Sunbin Guild''s Vanguard team. By orders of our vice-master, we are also here to prevent entry to the Tomb. You''ll have to go through us as well if you wish to enter." Okamoto, the guild master of the Nayuta Guild, looked at the hundred devas that stood in his way and swore. Sure, there were only a hundred of them. His six thousand elite soldiers could mow through them. "Get these damned hyenas out of¡­.Shit!" Okamoto slammed his Blade of Conviction to the ground and swore. He couldn''t give the order to get rid of the hundred devas in front of him. The two teams were blocking the entrance to the tomb seemed damn friendly. There was no way he could antagonize both guilds. If it were only one team from one guild standing in front of him, he would have given the order and dealt with whatever repercussions that came after. But that was impossible if he did that to both guilds. "Since when did they get so friendly?!" "It seems¡­someone may have leaked our plans to the Cheng Long and the Sunbin Guilds," Taise, the Nayuta head of Intelligence, replied. Okamoto ground his teeth in anger. If that was the case, then it was his own fault and his own shortcomings that allowed the intel to be leaked. "Ha¡­fine! How do we deal with this then?" "Well¡­" "If the both guilds are going to ally themselves like that, it won''t be wise to do anything that''ll¡­" "Fuck! I know that much. I''m asking how to go around them! I''m not acting this way because I''m afraid of those punks; I care more about what''s behind them!" This whole thing had become one huge headache. ------- All they could do now was wait. Six hours passed before the main forces of the Cheng Long and the Sunbin Guild appeared. "Well, well, would you look at that? The infamously lazy Okamoto actually crawled out of his hole and made an appearance. He must really want that Rank 10 Random Chest." "I''m sure anyone would act that way for a Rank 10." Wai Chung and Song Myungsoo came up to Okamoto, teasing him as they did. "Haha. Well, that stings. We only found out a bit later than everyone else and decided that this was the fastest way to get here," Okamoto said with a beaming smile. Not that long ago, he was spitting insults at them that would put sailors to shame. "Besides, I''ve heard that the Tomb is quite difficult. Don''t you think it would be a fine idea to team up and clear the quest together? We can''t have a non-Asian guild clear it when the dungeon was discovered in Asia." "I don''t know. It does sound like a good idea, but is there really a need to team up? What do you think, Myungsoo?" "The treasure is right there; is there really such a need to include another hand in this?" "Hahahaha. You''re completely right. There''s barely enough for us, so why would we want to split it even more; especially with a guild that is this weak?" "Are you seriously insulting me and my guild here?" Okamoto asked in a low voice as his smile quickly disappeared. "Well, at least you''re quick on the draw." "I''m still the guild master of a powerful guild. I need to at least have that." However, Okamoto''s threat fell on empty ears. Wai Chung and Song Myungsoo talked down at him, just like they had in the past. The Nayuta Guild members grew furious as they watched their guild master stand there, taking the insults. One man drew his weapon and shouted at the two foreign guild masters in anger. "Do you two wish to see blood today?" "Blood? Bwahaha. I wonder who will be the first to spill blood. Cheng Long Guild, hear me!" "Sir!" "Prepare for battle! Your targets are the Nayuta Guild in front of you!" "Yes sir!" "Sunbin Guild, hear me!" "Sir!" "Prepare for battle as well. Your targets are the Nayuta Guild!" "Yes sir!" The Nayuta Guild was the ones that were insulted and were rightfully furious, but as soon as the other guilds drew their weapons, that anger vanished. There was no way they could win this fight. The Nayuta guild members who had drawn their weapons sheepishly put them away. "Must you do this to us?" "Of course I must. A Rank 10 item is at stake here. That''s why you scampered all the way here." Song Myungsoo quietly watched as Okamoto and Wai Chung conversed. The obvious victor here was Wai Chung. Song Myungsoo hadn''t completely allied himself with the Cheng Long Guild, but also had no intention of allying with the Nayuta Guild. It would be easier to get the quest reward if he let the two fight each other first. "I''ll ask you one more time. What will you do now?" Okamoto ground his teeth in anger. "Is the Sunbin Guild truly going to trust the Cheng Long Guild? Are you actually going to trust Wai Chung?" "The only thing we believe in is our skill." Okamoto truly felt lost at Song Myungsoo''s reply. In the end, the both guilds treated him this way because he was weak. "There will be a day of reckoning; just you wait." "That''s quite the dream you have there." Left with no other choice, Okamoto led his guild off the mountain. "Don''t ever forget this insult we received today. It''s because we are weak that we can only let this happen. We will get strong, so strong that no one will be able to insult us like this!" "Yes sir." And so, the Nayuta Guild that was first to arrive at the Tomb was also the first to leave. -Just you wait! I''ll pay you back for this disgrace tenfold!- ------ Seventeen hours had passed since I entered the Tomb and I had finally arrived at the end of the tenth floor. "Hmm¡­they should be at the eighth or ninth floor by now." I was taking a break in a safe zone that was set up right in front of the entrance to the eleventh floor. It must have been because it was a quest dungeon, but the final floor didn''t just have a safe room or an elite monster room, but also had plenty of safe zones set up on the occasional floor. The safe zones even had the pool of water that was usually found in safe rooms. "I think they arrived at the boss room twenty days after they entered the Tomb in the past. They should get here by the day after tomorrow." It took me fifteen days to get to the tenth floor and I decided to spend a couple days to fully rest up before entering the boss room. "Alright then. I''ve really got no time to lose now." This dungeon was set to disappear soon and there was no way I could come back to it. I picked up my spear and charged in at a horde of Molemen nearby. These monsters were much stronger than the ones on the previous floors and I took care not to overdo it. I couldn''t get too hurt before I challenged the King-Emperor. "But, the Cheng Long Guild will be here, right?" I asked myself. I never really gave too much thought to Wai Chung when I first met him. We lived in completely different worlds, after all. But ever since he and Luana announced their support for me, I''d been thinking about what he was like in the past as I made my way through the Tomb. "God, that man was the essence of ambition." Wai Chung never hesitated about anything if he could get anything out of it. His guild members were nothing different than his tools, tools that existed to fulfill his ambition and greed. Of course, he never publicly showed that side of him, but I knew who he really was. His own friends probably didn''t even trust him. "No, yeah. The Cheng Long Guild will definitely be here." I wondered if they would be accompanied by someone else. This new timeline wasn''t exactly like the past. Hell, I was the first to discover the Tomb, not them. And so, I spent the next three days hunting, to keep my body limber, in case I would have to fight someone or something before the dungeon boss. --- On the twentieth day after I entered the Tomb, I took a bath in the pool and changed into clean clothes, to prepare to meet the ones who were about to arrive. "Open Stats Menu." ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 470 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 5,844,700/5,844,700 MP: 212,700/212,700 Strength: 13,100 + 705 Agility: 5,700 Vitality: 8,109 Willpower: 2,067 Intelligence: 1,997 Unassigned Stat Points: 400 + 60 Fatigue: 27 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 10 points Physical Attack: 49,182 Physical Defense: 14,604 Magical Attack: 7,541 Magical Defense: 7,932]== It took me a day to gain one level. "Hmm¡­what to do here?" These days, I had been contemplating on whether or not to get my VIT over 10,000. "I definitely don''t need INT or WIT. AGI is still pretty high enough. Do I really need more VIT?" My base VIT was only at around 6,400. It would take at least 3,600 more points to get it past 10,000. "Higher VIT is definitely better for a fighter class like me, but I feel like I could get something else when I get my STR over 20,000. 3,600 points is also not a small amount." That was my issue here. There was a pretty good chance I could get a reward if my STR reached 20k. Doing both would be awesome, but it would take way too long. "I guess I''ll save the points for now. It''s only a little more than 400 anyway." I decided to keep the natural points alone and put Shaman Ko''s stats in to STR, like I always had. As I checked through my Stats Menu and skill cooldowns, I noticed someone coming from the distance. -They''re here!- When I first discovered the eleventh entrance, I peeked in to see what was in store. The King-Emperor was damn intimidating. He was over four meters tall and held a two-meter long sword. In the past, the Cheng Long Guild had not released the raid video on the Fallen King-Emperor. I had no idea what the extent of his abilities was. -He''s still a high-grade dungeon boss monster. I can''t just charge in like a dumb bull. I need to stick to my plan. That was the whole reason I got before anyone else.- It would go easier if I could party up with whoever would get here and I could show off my abilities. If they rejected me, then I could just do away with them. If I had brought the Myth Guild with me, I would have created some unnecessary tension between them and the Cheng Long Guild, and the Myth Guild would only get in the way of my true goal. "Huh?" I saw Wai Chung at the front of the group as they grew closer, but also noticed a few familiar faces. "What the?" "There''s someone here?" "Who is that?" "There''s actually someone who got here before us? And he''s¡­alone?" They saw me as soon as I saw them, and they were equally as shocked. However, one of the voices shouted louder than the rest. "Jiwon oppa!" "Haein?" Chapter 111: Chapter 110: I Am Lee Jiwon! Part I Chapter 111: Chapter 110: I Am Lee Jiwon! Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED It was true that I was half-expecting the Cheng Long Guild to come here with another guild and wanted to see which guild it was. But I did not expect that guild to be the Sunbin Guild. Actually, now that I thought about it, there was a pretty high chance for it to be the Sunbin Guild, especially if I took into account the Sunbin Guild''s current strength. -Is that how it works?- For some reason, I had completely excluded the Sunbin Guild, even after I had tried to brush myself off of them. "Jiwon oppa!" Haein had not changed at all. She looked exactly as I had last seen her. That same Haein was running at me full speed with tears welling in her eyes. I did not expect her to act this way at all. She came to a stop in front of me and looked at me, tears falling down her cheeks. "Jiwon¡­oppa¡­" "Uh¡­.hi." It was awkward. Almost five years in all had passed since I last saw her. "I''m sorry. I''m so sorry." "Huh?" "I should have looked for you earlier¡­I owed you so much¡­I''m so sorry." "Uh¡­no, it''s okay¡­" I didn''t what to say or do as she stood there, crying. I raised my right hand and patted her head. I didn''t know why; I just did. --- -How is he here all by himself?- -Did he actually get here from the first floor faster than us?- -How did he get through all of those monsters on his own? Is that even possible?- The officers of the Sunbin Guild and the Cheng Long Guild had many questions, but all wondered the same thing. -Just who in the world is that man?- They all knew who he was; Lee Jiwon was pretty famous now. The whole world knew his name from the battle against the Blood Prince and the San Tuan Guild. His power ranking had gone up quite a bit, and many people looked forward to what he would become in the future. However, none of them could believe that he made his way from the first to the tenth floor on his own. They knew exactly how powerful the dungeon monsters were on each floor. It took this huge group twenty days to get to the tenth floor. They even lost a few on the way. "Did he come here with the Myth Guild?" "Maybe they all died and he''s the only one left standing." "But look at him. He''s too clean. He doesn''t look like he struggled through the floors." "If he truly came with a group, we would have seen signs of large battles throughout the floors. Did you see any? Because I didn''t." The officers continued to whisper among themselves, but could notcome up with an answer. --- Before Song Myungsoo had set out for Mongolia, he had met with his father. They talked about many things as father and son for the first time in a while, and the topic of Song Haein and Lee Jiwon had come up. "I have to apologize. She''s your daughter and my granddaughter, but I was too greedy." "No, father, it''s all right." ''I was blinded by all of our success and growth.'' "Father, please. You''ve done nothing wrong. Look at the guild you''ve led all these years. We''ve become so strong that no one can ever challenge us." "That''s true, but sometimes I think that we grew too quickly. We could have taken it slow, but we didn''t even stop to smell the roses." "That speed got us this far, father." "You''re not wrong, but I also think about everyone we kicked away to make it possible." "We had no choice¡­" ''Yes, we can tell ourselves that we had no choice as many times as we want. But know that your own son is one of them.'' "..." Song Myungsoo could not retort. It was a deep wound that will never close. His son, Song Haechang, had never disappointed him before the Great Change. Song Haechang was full of pride and ambition as the third generation heir to the company, but studied and worked very hard to protect his pride and ambition. He also knew when to bend his pride. "Try to look for Jiwon as discreetly as possible." "Lee Jiwon? Why him?" "These days¡­the memories of when we first met him aren''t leaving me. I''m beginning to see his specialness again." "But to look for him now¡­" "Just go with the flow. Just find him for now." "Understood, father." --- Song Myungsoo carefully scanned Lee Jiwon with his eyes. When Song Myungsoo first met Lee Jiwon, it had left such a powerful impression, so much so that he could never forget that day. -He still¡­shines brightly.- Right now, Lee Jiwon was patting Song Haein''s head, unsure of what to do, but Song Myungsoo had seen how confidently he stood when they arrived. "I see you have quite the history with Lee Jiwon," Wai Chung said, after quietly observing the situation. "That''s correct, a very deep history." That wasn''t completely true. In all honesty, their relationship wasn''t all that great after the Sunbin Guild had let him go. But Song Myungsoo had developed an instinct throughout the years. It wasn''t good enough for politics, but enough for business, and that instinct told him it would be stupid to answer Wai Chung honestly. "The Sunbin Guild and Lee Jiwon, eh? That''s quite the fearsome pair." "I''ll take that as a compliment." --- "You¡­you don''t have to cry." I never had a grown woman cry in front of me before. Actually, I don''t think any woman or girl had cried in front of me before, begging for my forgiveness. "O¡­okay." Haein wiped away at her tears, sniffling. "I heard so many rumors about you. I should have looked for you then¡­but it became difficult to. I should have been there; we shouldn''t have sent you away like that. I''m so sorry." She began crying again. "Hey, that''s enough now. It''s all right." I''ll admit, it wasn''t all right back then, but now it was fine. It didn''t matter. I wasn''t weak, or needed to expect anything from anyone. "It''s been a while, Jiwon." Song Myungsoo came up with his hand extended. I took it and shook his hand. "Well, this is very heartwarming." I smiled at Wai Chung''s sarcastic comment. "This day is only getting better. You seem quite well, Vice-master Song." "It''s all thanks to you." "That''s good to hear, sir." "I know this isn''t the right place to catch up. Would you be opposed to meeting up on a later date?" "Umm¡­" Several thoughts surfaced at what he just said. Was he only inviting me after all this time because I made a name for myself, or was I just overreacting? But there wasn''t much of a reason to avoid him. I was strong now and I was only going to get stronger, faster than anyone else. I stood up straight and looked Song Myungsoo square in the eyes. "Not at all." --- After that, both guilds sat down in the safe zone to take a break. In the middle of the zone, the officers of the guilds gathered to plan out the King-Emperor raid. As the first person to arrive at the Tomb, I was part of the planning as well. "The limit is set to 25 members." "The boss type is a humanoid at 4 meters tall and since it uses a sword, it''s a fighter class." "We may have gone up against several fighter class bosses, but this is a high-grade dungeon. We must go at this with the utmost caution." The Cheng Long Guild laid out all of their information. "How do you suggest we fight it?" "We believe that mages should be the DPS dealers in the raid. Their magic will be the most effective against a fighter class." "We''ll need a few tanks and healers/supporters to go with them and have the rest as mages." No one rejected the idea. "Perfect. We''ll go with that, then. As for the 25 members¡­" Wai Chung contemplated for a few seconds. "I believe 13 from the Cheng Long Guild and 12 from the Sunbin Guild will be perfect. What do you think?" he asked Song Myungsoo. I had thought that we would go with 12 from each guild and me since I was the one who got here first. I got up to say something to this bastard, but I felt someone place on my right arm and I looked to see who stopped me. It was Haein, who hadn''t left my side since. She shook her head. "That sounds good." "Perfect. We''ll need at least two tanks each; choose your healers and mages accordingly." "Yes sir!" "Understood." "You all have ten hours to rest and take care of your equipment. After that, meet up at the eleventh floor entrance. We don''t have time to set up tactics with either guild, so we''ll go in with two separate parties. We''ll just have to make sure to not harm the other party. Does that sound all right?" "Yes, that''s sounds fine." "Good. I''ll see you all in ten hours." --- I found myself amongst the Sunbin Guild''s ranks, thanks to Wai Chung''s attempt to keep me in check. That didn''t really matter to me; what bothered me more was Haein''s small smile. "Sukchul." "Yes, Vice-master." "Set up a party of 12. But, be sure to include Jiwon as well." "Yes sir." "Jiwon," Song Myungsoo turned to address me." "Yes sir." "I believe you came here first to participate in the raid, am I right?" "That''s right." "Good. You will be a free role. Do as you see fit during the raid. We won''t interfere." "¡­Thank you." --- Ten hours later... All 25 raid participants had gathered in front of the 11th floor entrance. Wai Chung, Song Haein and Song Myungsoo were there as well. Wai Chung turned to Song Myungsoo. "Shall we distribute the rewards according to the raid contribution?" "That sounds fair." Song Myungsoo simply accepted Wai Chung''s obvious request. If he was going to be this brazen, there was no convincing him otherwise. At first, I didn''t really want to do much against the King-Emperor. I just needed to do as much as everyone else so that I could be among the first seven to complete the quest. But now, I wanted to smash that smile off of Wai Chung''s face and show the Sunbin Guild the full extent of my abilities. I wanted to show them all who I really was. I wanted to show them all who they were fucking dealing with. -It''d be nice if Shaman Ko''s Stat points activate here, like it did against the Blood Prince.- I tightened my grip on my Harrier. Chapter 112: Chapter 111: My Name is Lee Jiwon! Part II Chapter 112: Chapter 111: My Name is Lee Jiwon! Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The raid party entered the eleventh floor boss room, confident that we were not going to fail the quest. ==[You have entered the King-Emperor''s Tomb boss room: The Fallen King-Emperor. This raid is recommended for parties of at least 25 participants. There is a maximum of 50 participants, and for every participant over 25, the boss''s Stats will increase by 25%.]== "I''ll lead the Cheng Long Guild and attack from our three o''clock. You take your team and attack from nine o''clock. Make sure that your team doesn''t get caught in the crossfire." "Very well." "Also make sure to use Monster Detect and that you''re filming the battle properly. We''ll use them to check who contributed how much to the battle, so that there aren''t any misunderstandings later." "I''ll make sure to do so." "Good. Cheng Long, to me!" "Sir!" Wai Chung led his team around the boss. "Let''s go." Song Myungsoo then led us to our positions. "We''ll go with what we planned. Remember; don''t expect any help from the Cheng Long Guild." "Yes, sir." "Jiwon, as I told you before, you''re free to do whatever you wish. Don''t worry about them or us. I''ll trust that you know what to do." "Thank you." We quickly took up our positions opposite of the Cheng Long Guild. The air became tense as we waited to see who would make the first move. "Okay. Get ready." At Song Myungsoo''s command the main supporter and main healer began casting their buffs onto the team. "Earth Armor, Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage." "Fatal Blows." =[You have received the effects of Earth Armor. Penetration resistance increased by 30 points. DEF increases by 15%, MDEF increases by 12%.]= =[You have received the effects of Brilliant Blessing. All stats increased by 500 points.]= =[You have received the effects of Roar of Rage. ATT and MATT increased by 7.5%.]= =[You have received the effects of Fatal Blows. CRIT chance increased by 4.4%, CRIT damage increased by 166%.]= "Oh, I don''t¡­" "There''s no harm in having a few buffs," Song Myungsoo said, as if he knew what I was going to say. I didn''t say anything else. I didn''t want to turn things sour by rejecting his kind offer. "Haein, Dogun; get in the front lines and block his attacks. Haein, you''re the main tank and Dogun, you back her up." "Yes, sir." Our team composition consisted of two tanks, one main supporter, one main healer, one sub-healer and six ranged damage dealers. Both tanks were Unrivaled devas. I already knew about Haein, but I never heard about this Dogun person. -Well, I suppose anything''s possible for the Sunbin Guild.- At that moment, Wai Chung raised his hand from the other side of the room. It was the signal to attack in five minutes. "Damagers, prepare to attack in five minutes with your most powerful skills." "Yes, sir!" The most important part of a boss raid was the first strike. There was no way for the first strikes to be blocked and they had the highest chance to inflict the most damage against the boss monster. "Show them the strength of the Sunbin Guild. Show those arrogant Cheng Long bastards who is truly worth the Fallen King-Emperor''s attention!" "Yes, sir!" As the time to attack came closer and closer, the tension rose and rose, until¡­ "Hell Chain!" "Powerful Flame of the Demon Lord!" "Burying Landslide!" As soon as the five minutes were up, both sides pummeled the King-Emperor with spells and skills. "Don''t just stand there! Damagers, prepare your next attacks! Haein, Dogun, move up to the front!" "Sir!" The mages quickly charged up their next spells, and Haein and Dogun quickly made their way in front of the mages. ==[Grahhh! You damned flies; you dare fearlessly disturb my slumber? I will punish you all for this insolence.]== Contrary to the Sunbin Guild''s wishes, the King-Emperor had turned to the Cheng Long Guild when he was attacked. The Sunbin Guild may have been the strongest in South Korea and one of the strongest in the world, but it still fell behind the Cheng Long Guild. It also didn''t help that the Cheng Long Guild had more members. ==[You have fallen under the Fallen King-Emperor''s Disdainful Glare. Your status effect immunity prevents the effects of Disdainful Glare.]== "Shit! It''s a debuff that lowers all attributes by 20%!" "Damn it! ATT and MDEF are affected, too!" Besides me, Haein and Dogun, the rest of the Sunbin Guild was affected by the King-Emperor''s Disdainful Glare and I could hear them shout at each other, annoyed. "It doesn''t matter. We''re already fighting the boss blind; don''t get tripped up over his abilities." "Yes, sir!" "Good. Slowly make your way towards the King-Emperor. Do not break formation." Song Myungoo led the Sunbin team towards the boss monster, with Haein and Dogun in front. And so, the real battle began. --- "Soaring Fire Pillar!" "Razor Wind!" "Iron Wall!" "Breath of Destruction!" "Unbreakable Will!" "Starting casting debuffs on him!" "Yes sir. I engrave onto your soul. Sloth!" "Sticky Earth!" ==[Insolent fools! I''ll punish you for that. King-Emperor''s Slash!]== "Gwah!" "Healers, keep your attention on the tanks!" "Yes sir. Flourishing Incense of Cure!" "Mega Heal!" "Tanks, keep your focus! If you fall, it''s all over!" The power from the mages'' spells broke the floor and walls of the room, and each of the boss''s attacks pushed the tanks back. The healers cast their spells onto the tanks and the supporters switched back and forth between buffs and debuffs. "Damn¡­" I watched as this continued for some time. It was my first time watching and participating in a full on raid battle in person. I had watched countless raid videos on the internet in the past, but they didn''t compare to the raw tension and adrenaline rush I felt now. I shivered as I gripped my Harrier tight in my right hand. Was I scared or nervous? No, I wasn''t shaking for those reasons. I was trembling from the excitement I was feeling just from watching the battle. I had no intention to join in yet, however, nor was I looking for the right timing. Thirty minutes had already passed since the battle started. Had I joined in from the beginning, I would have been too fatigued in an hour. I just needed to wait for them to tire themselves out. --- One hour into the boss raid¡­ As expected of the Sunbin and Cheng Long Guild, neither sides had lost a member yet. "How much left?" "He''s still at 72%." "Still?" "Yes, sir!" "Shit! Just how high is his HP¡­?" "His debuff isn''t helping either." "His MDEF seems to be as high as his DEF." Song Myungsoo and Wai Chung frowned. If they could only knock out less than 30% of the boss''s HP in an hour, then this battle was only going to get more difficult. ==[King-Emperor''s Breath!]== "Block it!" Another problem was that the King-Emperor continued to focus his skill on the mages, which forced the tanks to busily jump around to protect them. Each blow inflicted significant damage. Had the tanks on either side not been Unrivaled, they would have fallen much sooner. All the while, both sides kept glancing over at Lee Jiwon, who was still standing at the side and not doing anything. The Cheng Long Guild had been happy with that at first, but now they were getting more and more annoyed. "Did all those buffs turn him into a statue or something?" Wai Chung asked Song Myungsoo in a low voice. --- I clearly heard what Wai Chung told Song Myungsoo. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." I quietly activated my skills. ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire has been activated.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== "Judge''s Gavel." ==[You have activated Judge''s Gavel. Your next attack will be a critical hit Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increased by 5,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increased by 300% and CRIT damage increased by 500%.]== I still had the buffs that were cast on me earlier. In other words, I was at my strongest point right now. I slowly made my around the room until I came face to face with the King-Emperor. I raised my head and shouted at the devas who were fighting. "Out of my way!" Of course, no one from either guild heeded me, but that didn''t matter. At least I warned them. I leaned forward and sprinted towards the King-Emperor. As soon as I was five meters away from him, I jumped high into the air and aimed my spear at the boss monster''s head. -Come on, I need you to work with me here, Shaman Ko! It''s about time you did something!- I wanted both the Sunbin Guild and Wai Chung to remember my name. However, nothing was happening the closer I got to the King-Emperor, until¡­ ==[Shaman Ko''s Stats have begun to react to their user''s will. Shaman Ko''s 765 Stat points that have been added to your STR will increase a hundredfold.]== -Yes!- The message appeared just when I was about to lose hope. 76,500! That was a whole lotta STR! ==[Gah!]== My Harrier pierced through the King-Emperor''s temple. The Judge''s Gavel that then appeared was nothing like the previous times. The massive, red hammer thundered down onto the monster''s skull. The force from the hammer knocked the four-meter tall King-Emperor off his feet, and he fell towards the Cheng Long Guild. I didn''t have time to care about them, however. Shaman Ko''s Stats lasted three seconds. I needed to make the most of them. I held onto the King-Emperor''s head and stabbed at him as many times as I could. ==[Gaaahh!]== ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage have been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]== A bolt of red lightning followed the red hammer. I got super lucky there, but I didn''t have time to be happy about it. I turned around and began attacking his chest. I didn''t even think to tell the others to start attacking him. I was too busy trying to damage him as much as I could. "Raaah!" I gritted my teeth and attacked him as fast as I could, faster than I ever had. ==[Shaman Ko''s Will reacts to its user''s powerful desire. Shaman Ko''s Stats will remain in effect for 1 second longer per 10 Fatigue. (To a maximum of 90 Fatigue.)]== As soon as I saw the message, I increased the time limit as much as I could without hesitation. ==[Graaah!]== I kept my feet on the King-Emperor to keep him still. My STR was over 90,000 now; I could easily keep him from getting away. I then began stabbing him with my spear like a machine. Each attack pushed him into the ground from the force of the blow. My Fatigue kept rising and rising. My VIT was over 8,000. Even if I would hunt all day, my Fatigue would never go over 30. But as my Fatigue sharply rose to 50, my body began to feel sluggish. It was enough to make me lose my balance and the King-Emperor took that chance to get back up. The King-Emperor was a mess, as well. There was a deep gash in his temple and his chest armor had already fallen to pieces. Blood was pouring from his wounds. ==[How dare you! I''ll crush you, you insolent fly! Raaah!]== -I''ve got 1 second left.- I rushed back at him and quickly grabbed onto his right ankle. ==[Get off of me!]== The King-Emperor shook his foot to try to shake me off, but I held on, keeping his foot still. I was going nowhere with 90,000 STR. I pulled, raising his foot into the air and began spinning him around. ==[Let¡­let me go!]== He was dragged along the floor at first, thanks to his weight and height, but soon, I gained enough speed that he was completely off the ground. I spun him around and around until¡­ ==[Shaman Ko''s Will has now been deactivated.]== I felt an enormous weight in my hands and unconsciously let go. As soon as I did, the King-Emperor went flying off to where Wai Chung and the Cheng Long Guild were watching, wide-eyed in shock. "Run¡­run away¡­" "Holy shit! The Cheng Long Guild couldn''t all get away and the King-Emperor''s body collided into them. It definitely wasn''t on purpose. It was funny to see, but it was not what I intended. "Ha..haha¡­I told you¡­to get away." I stumbled back to my original spot. Sharply increasing my Fatigue took a lot out of me. I could also overhear what a supporter just said. "It took both guilds one hour to knock off 30% of the boss''s HP¡­he lowered it 50% in less than a minute?" "A minute¡­it took him a few seconds¡­" The Sunbin Guild could not take their eyes off me as they watched me return to my spot. Chapter 113: Chapter 112: My Name is Lee Jiwon! Part III Chapter 113: Chapter 112: My Name is Lee Jiwon! Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED No one made a move or reacted in any way as they stared at Lee Jiwon as he walked back to his original post after flinging the Fallen King-Emperor across the room. They were all elites of their respective guilds. They all belonged to first-class guilds and were the most top-tier devas in their guilds. They were strong enough to boast that they belonged in the top 1% of the world, putting in blood, sweat and tears to make sure they held their ranks. And yet, here was a single man who nearly toppled a dungeon boss monster in a matter of seconds, while it took them more than an hour to even make a dent. No normal deva was capable of such a feat. It was a boss monster, for crying out loud, not some level 10 orc warrior! It needed careful planning and tactics to be defeated, and Lee Jiwon made short work of it, as if it were some toy. "How is this even possible?" "A boss monster just¡­" "This is supposed to be a high-grade dungeon, god damn it!" It was hard to believe, but no one here was stupid enough to deny what they just saw. But, perhaps that caused the most confusion out of everyone; that it was an impossible reality. But there was something else that caused more panic within the ranks. It came from the few supporters and healers who had the Monster Detect skill. "He knocked off 50% of the boss''s HP." "What?" "It took us an hour to deplete his HP by 30%, but it took Lee Jiwon a few seconds to deal almost twice the damage!" After all that, it was obvious the boss had to have lost a significant amount of HP, but no one expected it to lose 50% of its total HP. That just didn''t make sense. But of course, for a man to play with a high-grade dungeon boss monster didn''t make sense, either. In other words, common sense didn''t apply here from the start, so much so that dealing that much damage in a few seconds wasn''t at all weird. ==[Graah! Damn¡­damn you!]== But they couldn''t just stand there dumbfounded forever. The Fallen King-Emperor had gotten back up. The raid wasn''t over yet. --- "Phew!" I plopped down on my original spot. -50%? I did that on my own?- I mean, I did do my best so that they would remember my name and make them regret ever crossing me. I smiled. I didn''t avoid the glances the Sunbin Guild and Cheng Long Guild were giving me. Instead, I enjoyed their awkwardness and watched the battlefield. The King-Emperor wasn''t dead yet. "All of you get it together! The battle''s still on!" "The Fallen King-Emperor is down to¡­to its final 20%! We''re almost there. Focus!" "Uh¡­yes, sir!" The veteran commanders, Song Myungsoo and Wai Chung, shouted at once. The Sunbin Guild broke from their stupor and the Cheng Long Guild quickly got back up. Even though they were just run over by the King-Emperor''s massive body, no one had died yet. ==[You cursed wretches! How dare you! How dare you! I''ll kill you all! King-Emperor''s Rage!]== The wounded King-Emperor''s body was soon engulfed in a red haze. "Tanks, get up there!" The King-Emperor quickly slashed his blade at the charging tanks from the Cheng Long Guild. "Shit! He''s¡­much faster now. He''s dealing a lot more damage now, as well," shouted a tank who was thrown back three meters from the force of the blow. "Healers, keep the tanks alive!" "Dealers, don''t just stand there; attack! He''s on his last legs." "Torrenting Storm!" "Powerful Flame of the Demon Lord!" "Flame Burst!" They were all veterans here. They could deal with Lee Jiwon''s madness later; right now they had a boss monster to deal with. ==[Grahhh! Die!]== Even though the King-Emperor''s ATT and movement speed had increased sharply, the raid was going quite well now as the King-Emperor, engulfed in rage, focused on the tanks. "Don''t take on his attacks alone. There are four of you; take turns! Don''t be an idiot and go up against him alone when he''s obviously stronger!" "Healers, focus on the tanks for now! Everyone else, use your potions if you have to!" At first, both guilds hadn''t been working together, even though an hour had passed into the raid. But now, they were all working together as a team, as they should be. It didn''t matter if this was their first time fighting together; they were all veterans of their trade. "Razor Wind!" "Soaring Fire Pillar!" "Biting Cold!" ==[Die!]== The battle became fierce as both guilds could now see the end. "15% remaining." "10% remaining." --- "5% remaining." I got up when the supporter declared that the King-Emperor was down to its final dregs. My Fatigue had gone below 30 after resting for only an hour. "Judge''s Gavel." [You have activated Judge''s Gavel.] I definitely done enough here, more than enough that no one could complain. But I still needed to do more if I wanted to get more out of the raid. If the cooldown for Judge''s Gavel was any longer, I would have decided to keep resting since both guilds knew the full extent of my strength now. That was why they kept stealing glances in my direction. Everything I did was bothering them. "Well, I might as well get the final blow here." "2% left." I picked up my Harrier and sprinted towards the boss. "Out of my way!" "He¡­he said move!" "Move over. Make a path!" This time, they didn''t ignore me and moved over. A few of them even pushed into their comrades to get out of my way. I jumped up and impaled the King-Emperor''s head again. ==[Grahh! You¡­son of a¡­!]== The King-Emperor swore at me as he saw me coming, but couldn''t finish his sentence. My attack brought forth the red Judge''s hammer, crushing the monster''s head like a melon. The dead King-Emperor''s body fell backwards with a thundering crash. The quest dungeon was cleared. "It''s¡­it''s over!" "We did it." Many were ecstatic and cheered, save for a few. Wai Chung, Weiban, and Xia Fang weren''t exactly that happy, as they were the ones to propose splitting the loot according to the battle contribution. Thanks to me, they didn''t get to do much. Soon, the King-Emperor''s body disappeared and was replaced by a large, red number. A message appeared before us. ==[Congratulations. You have cleared the quest dungeon, the Fallen King-Emperor''s Tomb. As a reward, the Fallen King-Emperor''s STR will be distributed according to the battle contribution. Fallen King-Emperor''s STR: 5000 Stat points All 25 participants will receive Stat points according to battle contribution Acquired Stat points may be invested into any Stats desired.] [Calculating the 25 participants'' damage...]== "What the¡­?!" "This is a thing?" "But¡­" "That just means¡­" Everyone else turned to look at me. I had no idea about this, either. Hell, I didn''t like this either. Had I known about it, I would have gotten back into the fight earlier! ==[Calculation complete. 25th place ¨C Ching Ryang: 9 points 24th place ¨C Lee Yung Mok: 17 points 23rd place ¨C Chen Yuwen: 21 points : : 5th place ¨C Weiban: 204 points 4th place ¨C Song Haein: 249 points]== Everyone stared at the ranking. After 4th place, I, Song Myungsoo, and Wai Chung were the only ones left. 3rd place ¨C Song Myungsoo: 308 points 2nd place ¨C Wai Chung: 342 points 1st place ¨C Lee Jiwon: 2,774 points.]== Once the message closed, red bubbles began swarming around us. One person in particular was completely engulfed in them. A huge number of bubbles covered every inch of my body, but it didn''t feel uncomfortable at all. Every time each bubble was absorbed into my body, a message appeared. [You have received 3 points from the Fallen King-Emperor.] [You have received 11 points from the Fallen King-Emperor.] : : [You have received 7 points from the Fallen King-Emperor.] For three whole minutes, the messages kept popping up one after the other. "Open Stats Menu." I had 3,174 unassigned Stat points! I smiled. This was better than finding a Rank 8 item! "2,774 points for himself?" "He got more than half to himself¡­" Obviously no one liked it, but I had no intention of sharing this. They could call me greedy and selfish all they wanted, I didn''t care. Then, amid the awkward atmosphere, another message appeared. ==[The death of the Fallen King-Emperor has opened a hidden treasure room. Only 7 are allowed to enter.]== As soon as the message closed, a small door opened on the other end of the room. -There it is!- That was my original target! Chapter 114: Chapter 113: The Real Treasure of the King Emperor, Part I Chapter 114: Chapter 113: The Real Treasure of the King Emperor, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Everyone turned to look at the small door that had just appeared. "That''s right¡­we''re supposed to get a reward of Rank 8 or higher." The shock of the 5,000 Stat points made people forget about the quest reward for a moment, but the message quickly reminded them of why they were here in the first place. However, there were a few who weren''t happy about that, either, especially from the Cheng Long Guild side. "Didn''t someone already just get a reward that''s basically a Rank 8 item?" "Yeah. Hell, it''s about as good as a Rank 9 item." "Wouldn''t he be overdoing it if he''s one of the seven?" They were talking loudly enough for me to hear, that much was obvious, but I wasn''t going to just stand there and take it. I had no reason to. I stuck my spear into the ground. I didn''t really slam it, but the spear tip was buried completely into the ground and the sound of it echoed across the room, silencing everyone. They all turned to look at me. I ignored their stares and walked over to the Cheng Long Guild and Wai Chung. I came up to him and opened my mouth to speak. "Don''t you think I''ve done enough against the Fallen King-Emperor to be one of the seven to enter the treasure room?" "..." Wai Chung didn''t say anything and glared at me, but I held his gaze. For a few minutes, we stood there, glaring at each other. The Cheng Long Guild stayed silent during the whole time. "I believe Jiwon should be one of the seven." Song Myungsoo finally broke the silence. "He did the most damage against the dungeon boss on his own. If we refuse him, then won''t we be breaking our initial promise? It was your offer to begin with, wasn''t it? To split the reward according to battle contributions?" Wai Chung still held his glare, though. Another ten seconds passed before a huge smile formed on his face. "Hahaha. Why are you saying something so obvious? Of course Lee Jiwon should be one of the seven; he''s more than deserved it. Don''t you all think so?" "Yes, sir!" The Cheng Long Guild that had been whining a few minutes ago all shouted in unison. "Very well." Wai Chung and the Cheng Long Guild didn''t need a word of thanks from me. One spot already belonged to me in the first place and I wasn''t going to let anyone else have it. I did give Song Myungsoo a small nod for interfering. If he hadn''t, I might have had to resort to drastic measures. The other six to enter the treasure room were chosen quickly. Song Myungsoo, Haein, and Dogun were chosen from the Sunbin Guild and Wai Chung, Weiban and Xia Fang were chosen from the Cheng Long Guild. We left the remaining 18 devas and headed for the small door. [You have entered the King-Emperor''s Hidden Treasure Room.] The treasure room was simpler than I had expected. In the center of the room was a small set of stairs that led to a stage-like structure. Up on the stage were six random chests that were emitting a light alternating between orange, red, and purple. The message clearly said seven people but there were only six chests. "What is this?" "Why are there only six?" Everyone else was confused at the situation, but I knew why there were only six. In the past, the Cheng Long Guild had prevented any information about the boss room from leaking but somehow, rumors about the treasure managed to get out. The reason I had to get into the treasure room was because of an item I heard about in my past life, an item called the King-Emperor''s Commitment. This item was obtained by one of the Cheng Long Guild''s healers who followed Wai Chung into the treasure room after they defeated the King-Emperor. -Those were some¡­unbelievable effects.- Most items could only have certain effects on them. For example, Penetration is an effect that could only show up on weapons. Armor and accessories could have Penetration Resistance, but not Penetration. The bracelet the healer had revealed didn''t have Penetration, but the effects it had were unbelievable. -What were the effects again¡­increase Heal magic effectiveness, raise Mega Heal by one level, and Heal spell cooldown reduction?- The bracelet didn''t have the normal stat boosts or even CRIT boosts and only boosted Heal magic-related spells. It was basically an accessory made for healers. According to the rumors, the healer was given offer by the treasure room since she hadn''t chosen a chest. Of course, she couldn''t, as Wai Chung had ordered her to be excluded, but that was a blessing in disguise. She was given the chance to create the King-Emperor''s Commitment with whatever effects she desired. She did have to fulfill certain requirements before she could add on whatever effect she wanted and each time she failed, she would lose an effect. She had failed four times and could only add on three effects. Still, the bracelet she created was Rank 10. It was the ultimate accessory for a healer! Now, it was mine to make. I knew exactly what effects to put on to create the most overpowered piece of equipment ever! --- "Hmm, I can''t seem to get over this middle part," Xia Fang said as she tried to go up the set of stairs, but was stopped by some invisible force. "Mm¡­it''s not some sort of breakable shield, either." Wai Chung said as he knocked on the invisible wall with his fist. "It seems so," replied Song Myungsoo. At that moment, a message appeared for all to see. =[In order to access the six random chests, one person must be offered as a sacrifice. Once one person has been chosen as the sacrifice, the wall blocking the way to the chests will be removed. The King-Emperor''s Hidden Treasure Room has now become the Fallen King-Emperor''s Room of Conflict. Entrance to this room has now been cordoned off. Time limit: ten minutes (should no one open the random chests in ten minutes, the quest Find the King-Emperor''s Treasure will end.) A safe zone will be formed for ten minutes to prevent team-kill. Offering: The person chosen as the offering will take on 70 irreversible death penalties. (10 death penalties for everyone in the room, including the offering.) The offering must stand on the pedestal and must willingly choose to be the offering.]== ===[Time left: 09:57]=== Soon, the door connecting the hidden room and the boss room was covered in mud. The timer began to tick down per second. "Huh?" "An offering?" "They make us come all the way here and now we''ve got to sacrifice someone?" "What the hell is up with the irreversible 70 death penalties?" "Whoever it is will lose 700 stat points." It really became the Room of Conflict, figuring out who to sacrifice. Had all of us been part of a single team, it would be easier to choose. We would probably just choose whoever was the weakest, or whoever was the strongest. Whoever was chosen would walk up to the pedestal, crying all the way, just like the healer from the Cheng Long Guild. However, this wasn''t the case now. Technically, there were three different teams in the room; three people from the Sunbin Guild, three from the Cheng Long Guild, and me. A fierce battle of wits had already started. No one, besides me, was willing to give up on a potential Rank 10 item that easily. I was definitely going to be the sacrifice ,but I couldn''t just step in like an idiot right now. It was such a huge penalty; the sacrifice stood to lose 70 whole levels, just like that. Furthermore, everyone in this room stood in the top 0.1% of the world. They all knew what was at stake, and if I just stepped up and said that I would take the penalty for them? Ugh, I shivered at the thought. If they were stupid, they would be happy if I would do that for them, but they were not. They were all leaders of powerful guilds. They could easily catch on that I knew something about the sacrifice that they didn''t. I had to be careful if this was going to work. -Besides, only I know that the penalty is a fake.- The so-called ''penalty'' was only there to cause conflict between everyone in the room. It was pretty much the Fallen King-Emperor''s last chance at revenge towards whoever defeated him. Suddenly, Wai Chung burst out laughing. "Should we be grateful that there isn''t a deity among us? What a show this would become were that the case." That came out of nowhere. To be honest, I half-expected Wai Chung to be the first to show his dark side and try to force me, who was alone. "Now then! We''ve still have time; there''s no need to have our hackles raised, is there?" "That''s quite true." "I suppose you''re right. We still have a chance to discuss among ourselves first, don''t we?" the three from the Sunbin Guild replied with steel in their voices. I had to give them props. They had some nerves to be able to keep their cool in this situation. "Look at those random chests. If at least one of them has the chance to be higher than Rank 8¡­then that means there''s a chance that two could be Rank 10." The others looked over at the chests and swallowed. However, Haein was looking at me instead. I turned to look back. -Hm? Is she worried?- Haein probably knew by now, too. I had no affiliation with either guild in this room. If anyone were to be chosen as the sacrifice, it would be me. It''s what I wanted, but I did feel grateful. At least one person was looking out for me. There was no way Haein didn''t want to open a chest. There was no way she would be chosen by her guild, either. I know she didn''t mean to, but her true feelings were showing. "No one here is willing to give it up, is there? If only¡­someone would make the noble sacrifice." All I could hear, though, was Wai Chung talking some bullshit about sacrifice. Chapter 115: Chapter 114: The Real King-Emperor’s Treasure, Part II Chapter 115: Chapter 114: The Real King-Emperor¡¯s Treasure, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I laughed to myself at the part where Wai Chung brought up ''noble sacrifice.'' I could clearly see what his true intentions were, and his attempt to hide them was laughable. "Don''t we know someone who has already received quite the reward before coming in here?" Wai Chung said. Everyone else turned to look at me. "What do you think, Jiwon?" "Hmm? I don''t know who you''re talking about," I said to Wai Chung with a straight face. "Hahaha. You just received 2,774 Stat points; don''t you think it''s only fair for you to be the sacrifice instead? You''re the only one here who could stand to lose 700 Stat points." "Oh, you''re talking about me? I had no idea. But I don''t know why that has to be me." "Obviously, it''s because we need someone to step up to be the sacrifice here. We can''t possibly just sit here twiddling our thumbs and leave the treasure in front of us alone." I made a frown at Wai Chung''s obvious intent to make me the sacrifice for all to see. "I don''t see that as a good enough reason for me to be the sacrifice," I said, even though I was secretly happy that things were going smoothly. "Then do you suggest we all give up on the six random chests over there? There''s a chance one of us could get a Rank 10 item." I did expect Wai Chung to be a conniving little shit, but the way he was trying to shift all of the responsibility to me was getting annoying. "Had I been the one to receive the 2,774 stat points, I would have immediately offered myself up as the sacrifice," Weiban said to me. "The same goes for me!" added Xia Fang. "I''m not asking you to do this out of the goodness of your heart. I will make sure you are well-compensated." "I still don''t want to." "Come now, at least hear me out." "It doesn''t matter what you say; I won''t do it. I don''t want to take on seventy irreversible death penalties, and I want my random chest." It was still too early to say yes. "Then what does the Sunbin Guild say? Will you all give up on your random chests?" "..." The three Sunbin Guild members had been quiet all this time. I completely understood their dilemma. They couldn''t just give up on the treasure that was right in front of them, nor could they ask someone else to be the sacrifice instead. "Or¡­ will you offer yourselves up?" "That is impossible, I''m afraid." "You can''t give up on the treasure and nor can you offer up a sacrifice¡­ how duplicitous." --- Song Myungsoo was frustrated, as well. The treasure was right in front of them, but he just couldn''t bring himself to force his daughter or Oh Dogun to be the sacrifice. For devas of their power, 70 irreversible death penalties was a huge blow. Of course, a Rank 8 item could be enough to make up for the loss, but seeing the occasional light from the chests didn''t make Song Myungsoo that confident. There was a chance a Rank 7 could come out; in other words, a dud. If they were unlucky, only one of the items could be Rank 8 and the other five might all be Rank 7. Still, they couldn''t just give up here. --- [Time left: 05:11] They only had five minutes left now. The tension in the room continued to rise. "Ha¡­fine. We only have five minutes now. All of you start coming up with ideas." Song Myungsoo and Wai Chung were the leaders of their respective guilds; the other four would have to follow their orders regardless. -Just five minutes left.- I needed to stall as long as possible. There was a chance I could squeeze out a favor from both guilds if I played this right. I carefully watched Song Myungsoo and Wai Chung. "We can''t give up on the random chests here. Do all of you agree?" "We do." "In the end, they are the reason we''re here in the first place." "Good. Then all we need to do is figure out who will stand on the pedestal." In the end, we came back to square one. "That''s right." "Then think about it; think about what happened before we came into this room. Only one out of the 25 people obtained 2,774 Stat points." Once again, they turned to look at me. Their stares were saying that I should obviously be the one to take the loss for them; everyone, except for Haein. "That has nothing to do with why I have to be the sacrifice. That just means that none of you here want to be the sacrifice either, doesn''t it?" "You''re still the better choice out of all of us. You already benefited from the 2,774 Stat points earlier." "You keep saying that, but there''s a big difference between benefits and sacrifice. I have no intention of taking on 70 irreversible deaths or giving up on a Random Chest." "Your greed will prevent all of us from tasting the fruit of our labors." "Why is that my fault? There are six others in this room, including someone who keeps crying about noble sacrifice or whatever. If you''re that much in a hurry, why don''t you have that person step up?" Wai Chung''s eyes flashed in anger, and I held his glare. Just then, I heard the words that I didn''t wish to hear. "I''ll offer myself." It was Haein. Her sudden decision took me off guard. It had to be me! "No!" "Father, no. Vice-master, please!"'' "I''ll never allow it." I sighed in relief as Song Myungsoo quickly stepped in to stop her. "Wait! She''s offering herself willingly, so why are you stopping her?" "It''s a misunderstanding." "How would you know it''s a misunderstanding?" "I''m her father and her vice-master. How can I not know?" Song Myungoo almost roared. [Time left: 02:45] I looked over at the timer. I''ve waited long enough. I should step in, now that Haein had really made things tenser. "Fine," I loudly cut in. "I''ll be the sacrifice. But, I won''t do it out of the kindness of my heart. I thought about it and well, there''s a chance I can''t get much out of the chests. There are three of the Sunbin Guild and three of the Cheng Long Guild. You all stand to get more out of the chests than I do even if I get to open one. So, in return for being the sacrifice, I expect some compensation." "That''s good thinking. We''ll each pay you 25,000,000 golden rings¡­" "I want 200,000,000. Each." I cut in. I didn''t mean each guild. I meant from each of the six devas. "..." Everyone stared at me, dumbfounded. "You all can''t possibly think that 1.2 billion is enough to compensate for 70 irreversible deaths?" I said, looking at each person. "That''s pretty greedy of you." "You call me greedy for not being willing to be the sacrifice and you still call me greedy when I ask for compensation if I do become the sacrifice. How far backwards to I have to bend over for you?" An actual Rank 8 item cost more than a Random Chest that had the possibility to hold an item of Rank 8 or higher. There was no way I could ask for another Rank 8 item or higher in return. Hell, even I would think that was dumb. That was why I asked for 200 million each in return. If it were that much, they wouldn''t think that I had some sort of ulterior motive. "That''s my offer to you all. It''s up to you if you want to take it or not. I just wish you won''t take long to decide before I change my mind. Oh, and if you don''t have enough golden rings, I will take an item instead," I said before heading for the stairs. I stood myself at the first step and turned around. -Haein''s not thinking about jumping in again, is she?- "Do you seriously think that amount is reasonable?" "You said so yourself before, didn''t you? You said that there was a chance a Rank 10 item is in one of these chests. I think 200 million is more than fair," I replied bluntly. [Time left: 02:01] "The price is now 200 million one thousand golden rings." "What are you talking about now?" "Why did you raise it by a thousand?" "Because we have less than two minutes left now. I''m sacrificing myself so that the rest of you don''t and frankly, it''s insulting that you all don''t seem to care. I want some compensation for that now." This threat wouldn''t have worked on normal devas, but no one in this room was normal. They were powerful devas who were afraid of becoming weaker. I was in control right now. "I don''t know when I''ll raise it again. We''re already here; I''ve got nothing to lose now. I''ll take you all down with me if I have to." "The Sunbin Guild will pay you 600 million three thousand!" Song Myungsoo shouted. Just what I wanted to hear. "Fine. We''ll pay the same." Wai Chung quickly said, while gritting his teeth. "Nope, too late. I want 200 million two thousand now." "Do you think this is a game?" "200 million three thousand." "..." "Four thousand because I don''t like your silence," I said to Wai Chung, looking straight in his eyes. I hadn''t wanted to go this far at first. The Cheng Long Guild was powerful and it wasn''t really wise to make an enemy out of them, but I really didn''t like how Wai Chung was treating me this whole time. I wanted to knock him off his high horse real good. We stared at each other for some time. [Time left: 00:59] "We have less than a minute now. Five thousand." Wai Chung opened his mouth to say something but I quickly cut in. "If you''re not going to say what I want to hear, don''t bother. I''m going to raise the price again if you do." "Fine¡­okay." Wai Chung gave in. His face was red in anger. "Thank you very much." I received six hundred million three thousand from Song Myungsoo and seven hundred million five thousand from Wai Chung with twenty seconds left on the clock. I walked up the stairs. =[You have been selected to be the sacrifice for the Fallen King-Emperor''s Room of Conflict. Do you willingly accept? Yes/no]= "I accept." =[The wall protecting the six random chests will now be lifted.]= I looked back and met Haein''s eyes. I waved at her with a small smile and she gave a small wave back. She seemed a bit relieved now. Haein was the only person here who was sincerely worried for me. I wanted to leave her something in thanks. -It was the fifth one, right?- In the past, a Rank 9 item was in the fifth random chest, although I wasn''t completely sure. I couldn''t tell Haein that directly. If I was wrong, I would have just been butting in needlessly. That was why I waved at her with my fingers completely spread out. But I wasn''t sure if she got the message when she waved back at me. That had to be enough. Soon, my body was engulfed in a red haze. I kept waving at her until it completely covered my body. -I hope it really is the fifth one.- I wished I knew for sure. --- After Lee Jiwon disappeared into a fog of red smoke, the remaining six devas walked over to the chests. Song Haein still had her fingers spread out and Wai Chung had noticed. "I see someone already laid claim to the fifth chest." "Excuse me?" Haein asked, surprised. "You''re choosing the fifth chest, aren''t you?" "Ah¡­" Song Haein finally noticed her hand. "Yes, that''s right. I pick number five." No one thought it strange. It was a lottery anyway. All of the chests looked exactly the same. And so, Wai Chung chose number 1, Weiban chose number 2, Song Myungoo chose number 3, Oh Dogun chose number 4, Song Haein chose number 5, and Xia Fang chose number 6. They all opened their chests at the same time. Only two chests were shining red when they were opened; number 4 and number 5. Oh Dogun''s chest had a Rank 8 item, and Song Haein''s chest had a Rank 9 item. No one had gotten a Rank 10, but the Sunbin Guild had gotten the highest ranked items. "Fuck¡­fuck all of this¡­" Wai Chung swore as he looked inside his chest. Chapter 116: Chapter 115: The Real King-Emperor’s Treasure, Part III Chapter 116: Chapter 115: The Real King-Emperor¡¯s Treasure, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED As the red haze dissipated, I noticed that I was now in a room similar to the Room of Conflict. [You have entered the True King-Emperor''s Treasure Room. Congratulations. You have passed the King-Emperor''s Final Test. You will now have a chance at a real reward for sacrificing yourself for your comrades. By the King-Emperor''s Order, you will not receive the 70 irreversible death penalties.] I laughed to myself as I read through the message. "That''s exactly right. I made the noble sacrifice for my comrades! It''s not like I swindled them out of 1.3 billion golden rings." My plan went off without a hitch. It couldn''t have gone better. ==[You may choose which Real Treasure to receive. Necklace Belt Earrings Bracelet Ring Choosing one of the above will create the King-Emperor''s Commitment.]== "Would a bracelet be best?" I had no idea about this part. "I already have a necklace and belt equipped, so not those." I checked through the accessories I already had. I already had the Bracelet of Eternal Fire, so if I picked another bracelet here, I wouldn''t be able to equip a better one in the future. "No, I''ll go with earrings instead." There were enough rings on the market, so I decided to craft earrings. ==[Earrings of the King-Emperor''s Commitment have been created. The holder of the King-Emperor''s Commitment may choose its effects. However, failing the missions required for each effect will cause the effects to disappear along with each effect slot. The missions'' difficulty will get higher according to the importance, power and strength of the effects. Effects that are above your level will immediately fail. Please choose carefully. You may have a maximum of 7 effects.]== ==[Please create your first effect.]== When I chose Earrings, a really common-looking pair of Rank 1 earrings appeared before me. "I know exactly what to do for the first one. Increase Unrivaled skill level!" I thought about what effects to create so many times. After thinking so much that my head was about to burst, I thought about my Unrivaled skill. Its max skill level was one, but what would happen if I increased it to 2? ==[There is no effect to raise the skill level of the Unrivaled skill. Please create another effect.]== "What!" The message caught me off guard. "Why? I can''t just create whatever effect I want?" I didn''t expect that it wouldn''t work. "You said it''s whatever effect the holder wants. I want to increase my Unrivaled skill level!" I shouted at the message screen in front of me, but nothing changed. "Fine then. Increase skill level of Judge''s Gavel and increase the skill level of Selfish Prick." ==[There is no effect to raise the skill levels of Judge''s Gavel and Selfish Prick. Please create another effect.]== "Oh, come on!" Well, I was off to a bad start. "Then these won''t work either? Generate All Weapon Mastery skill, generate Telekinesis skill, and generate Summon Phoenix skill." I spouted all the random skills I knew about and wanted. ==[You may not create a new skill. Please create another effect.]== I fell to my knees. "I can''t do anything¡­" Nothing was going as I had planned. "Someone or something has to be fucking with me. Who''s getting in my way?!" ==[You have three seconds left to create an effect.]== The message appeared as I was sighing to myself, unsure what to do but when I noticed, my eyes shot open. "Increase all stats!" ==[Effect: Increase all Stats will be created. Difficulty: 5 ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Clear all monsters in one hour Stats will be increased according to mission success to a maximum of 300 Stat points Defeat at least 70% of the monsters in order to have the effect.]== Soon, a red haze covered my body and took me to a room I had never seen before. It was completely flat and barren, without a single tree or rock in sight. ==[Monsters will now spawn. You have 1 hour.]== As soon as the message appeared, monsters began to spawn in the room. They were the Moleman Soldiers that appeared on the first two floors of the King-Emperor''s Tomb. "Hmm¡­looks to be about 5-600 of them." It was fair amount for a normal deva, but for me? "Piece of cake. Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire has been activated.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit has been activated.]== I didn''t feel the need to use Judge''s Gavel here. I charged in at the horde of monsters and began swinging my Harrier at them, still unhappy about earlier. "Why can''t I raise those three skills? Is it that bad to want more out of them?" I took out my anger out on the Molemen and made quick work out of them. It took me less than half an hour to clear them all out. ==[You have cleared all of the monsters on the field. Mission cleared: 100% Time taken: 29:30 For completing the mission well under the mission time, you will receive 50% more to your effect.]== As the message appeared, I was taken back to the treasure room. The plain earring in front of me was then engulfed in a cloud of gold-yellow smoke. When the smoke disappeared, the earring was now a shiny gold color. However, there was something else on my mind. "If I complete the mission faster than normal, I can get more out of the effect?" I felt a little dejected for a second, thinking I should have cleared the monsters faster but it quickly left my mind. Even if I had used Judge''s Gavel, it would only have made a few seconds difference. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (No Rank) The King-Emperor''s true treasure. All stats increased by 450 points. ...]== ==[Please create your second effect.]== "Alright, fine. Let''s say the three skills are too special. That''s why they don''t work here. But I swear to God, if this doesn''t work either¡­Increase Mana Conversion skill level!" That healer got to raise her skill level. That I knew for sure. ==[Effect: Increase Mana Conversion skill level. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Withstand an immortal monster''s attacks for 30 minutes. You must 100% complete this mission in order to have the effect.]== "Yes! It worked!" I raised my hands in a hurrah and I was immediately transported to another place. This room was pretty narrow. "I guess I can''t get more out of the effect since there''s no way to complete it any faster. Are all skill level missions only pass or fail?" ==[The immortal monster will now spawn. Stay alive for 30 minutes.]== "Bring it on." I had almost 6,000,000 HP with a VIT of over 8000. I feared no monster. "Oh¡­it''s not only one." The monsters were also from the Tomb. There were over a hundred regular Moleman Shieldmen. "Kill him!" "Kill!" The hundred monsters roared and charged at me. "Kill? Me? Hah!" I countered every time they attacked but they really were immortal. My attacks didn''t work at all. They may as well have been completely immune to physical attacks. "Tsk. Like that matters." I put my spear into my inventory and grabbed the monsters by their heads and threw them. Sometimes I threw them into a group, knocking them over like bowling pins. Their attacks whittled away at my HP but it was only for half an hour. It didn''t matter. ==[You have survived for 30 minutes. Mission: 100% complete.]== "Nice." I was engulfed in red smoke again and brought back to the treasure room. The earring was now shining even brighter in gold light. I could even make out an outline of a lion on it. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (No Rank) The King-Emperor''s true treasure. All stats increased by 450 points Increase Mana Conversion skill level by 1 ...]== ==[Please create your third effect.]== "Should I go with Warrior''s Brave Spirit?" I only thought about skills before I got here. If I could actually create whatever effect I wanted, I could make such an overpowered item that could increase all of my skill levels and even create new skills, like the Blink on Azazel''s Boots. "Well, it''s not like I can now." I wasn''t planning on boosting my Spirit skill when there were better skills out there, even if it was one of the best skills for fighter classes. But, with the way things have turned out, it wasn''t a bad idea to raise its skill level. "I did initially plan on Blink¡­" There were people in the past that had the same skill they learned on an item. What would happen? They were able to use both separately. They basically had two of the same skills with their own cooldowns. "If I have Azazel''s Blink and put Blink on the Commitment¡­ damn. That would really be the best." Azazel''s Blink had a five minute cooldown. As useful as it was, it took too long to be used properly in battle. But if I had another one, I could zip around the battlefield in an instant. But there was nothing I could do since I couldn''t create a skill. "Increase Warrior''s¡­hold the phone." I caught myself before I finished my sentence. Something was bugging me in the back of my mind. "There shouldn''t be any problem¡­right?" I knew I couldn''t create a new skill and I technically hadn''t learned Blink either. "I wonder¡­if I can do anything with Azazel''s Blink." Either way, I did have the skill. "Fine. Create Blink skill." ==[You may not create a new skill. Please create another effect.]== "I knew it. It doesn''t work. Ah¡­increase Blink skill level!" The idea came to me all of a sudden. ==[Effect: Increase Blink skill level. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Withstand an immortal monster''s attacks for 30 minutes. You must 100% complete this mission in order to have the effect.]== ==[Your current Blink skill is a fixed skill. It is unable to increase its level. Increase Blink skill level effect will now become Create Blink skill effect.]== "Whoa! It worked!" I had not expected that. I just tried it before I did it on the Spirit skill. I was transported back to the narrow room. The mission was about the same as the Mana Conversion mission; it was just at a higher difficulty. There were more immortals this time. "Bring it on!" This would have been impossible for a normal deva. I grabbed the nearest Shieldman by the head and threw it at the horde. "Strike!" I was definitely taking more damage than before. I took out a Health Potion and quaffed it every time my HP dipped down to a certain amount. ==[You have survived for 30 minutes. Mission: 100% complete.]== Soon, the message appeared and the monsters disappeared. I was transported back to the treasure room. The earring was shining even brighter still. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (No Rank) The King-Emperor''s true treasure. All stats increased by 450 points Increase Mana Conversion skill level by 1 Add Blink Skill ...]== Chapter 117: Chapter 116: The Real King-Emperor’s Treasure, Part IV Chapter 117: Chapter 116: The Real King-Emperor¡¯s Treasure, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED I just now created three effects. They were all pretty overpowered already, but I still had four more to go. "Still, it kind of sucks that I can''t create any more skill-related effects." ==[Please create your fourth effect.]== "If I can''t create skill effects, then I''ve got to go with this. Increase CRIT rate!" ==[Effect: Increase CRIT rate. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Inflict the most damage within 10 blows. Based on mission completion, you will receive a maximum of 8% increase. You must go over 4% in order to keep the effect.]== "10 stars?" I wondered if this would the toughest mission here, as the red fog enveloped me again and took me to a new place. In front of me were now five practice dummies. ==[The five dummies in front of you randomly have five different CRIT rate increase variables 0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% Attacking these dummies will yield a random variable You have ten tries to add these variables to get the highest rate.]== ==[Please make your first attack. Attack one of the five dummies]== "Hah¡­this is all luck based." The other missions were all based on skill, but this was completely luck based. "Well, that''s perfect for me!" I may have failed to assemble another Azazel Armor part, and blew away three million golden rings, but I was still had the luckiest man on Earth. If I could get 3 Stat points every single day from Shaman Ko, I had to be! I held my spear in my right hand and walked over to the dummies. I scanned them over in case there was some sort of hint on them, but found nothing. They all looked exactly alike. "Damn¡­this is harder than 10 stars." I had my Luck Boost to rely on, but this was nearly impossible in a normal situation. 0.4% had to come out each time to just barely pass! "If 0% or 0.2% come out¡­.ugh." I shivered at the thought before backing up a few paces and sticking my spear into the ground. I raised my left hand, hacked and spit into my hand. I then used my right thumb to fling the spit at the dummies. The force flung the spitball towards the second dummy. "I choose you." I pulled the spear out of the ground and stabbed the second dummy. The dummy collapsed to the ground and a message appeared. ==[First attack: You have received 0.8% CRIT rate increase.]== "Whoa!" ==[Please make your second attack. Attack one of the five dummies.]== I spit in my hand once more. If it worked once, it would work again, right? I flung the spitball at the dummies, and attacked the one it landed on. ==[2nd attack: You have received 0.8% CRIT rate increase.]== ==[3rd attack: You have received 0.8% CRIT rate increase.]== ... ... ==[10th attack: You have received 0.8% CRIT rate increase.]== "Gahahahaha!" That Luck Boost was amazing! ==[You have completed your 10 attacks. Your total CRIT rate increase is 8%. Mission success: 100% completion. Your CRIT rate will be increased by 1% for getting over 4%]== I was taken to the previous room. The earring was shining even brighter now. [Please create your fifth effect.] I knew what would go well with CRIT rate. "Increase CRIT damage!" I hoped the mission would be the same as the one before, just as all the skill-related missions were the same. ==[Effect: Increase CRIT damage. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Inflict the most damage within 10 blows. Based on mission completion, you will receive a maximum of 400% increase. You must go over 200% in order to keep the effect.]== "It is the same!" ==[The five dummies in front of you randomly have five different CRIT damage increase variables. 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% Attacking these dummies will yield a random variable You have ten tries to add these variables to get the highest rate.]== ==[Please make your first attack. Attack one of the five dummies]== I took out a piece of Bread and a bottle of Drink from my inventory. "I should keep up with the same, scientifically proven method," I said to myself as I munched on the Bread. I washed it down with the Drink before spitting in my hand again. ==[1st attack: You have received 40% CRIT damage increase.]== ==[1st attack: You have received 40% CRIT damage increase.]== ... ... ==[10th attack: You have received 40% CRIT damage increase.]= ==[You have completed your 10 attacks. Your total CRIT damage increase is 400%. Mission success: 100% completion. Your CRIT rate will be increased by 100% for getting over 200%]== I was returned to the previous room, and I checked the golden earring. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (No Rank) The King-Emperor''s true treasure. All stats increased by 450 points Increase Mana Conversion skill level by 1 Add Blink Skill Increase CRIT rate by 9% Increase CRIT damage by 500% ...]== This earring had twice the CRIT rate and CRIT damage as my spear. "Who or whatever I kill now will be killed by the earrings, not my spear." ==[Please create your sixth effect.]== I smiled. Even if I started over again, I probably wouldn''t be able to make anything better than this. "I''ve got 2 left now." I thought for a moment about what to make. "I guess I''ve got to go with Penetration." ==[Effect: Penetration. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Defeat all high-armored monsters within 30 minutes. Depending on mission completion, you may receive a maximum of 200 Penetration. Clear at least 50% of the monsters in order to keep the effect.]== I wasn''t too worried, as it was only at 8 stars. Since there was a time limit on this mission, I could easily get a bonus to the effect as well. I was soon taken to another room. I drew out my spear to get ready. "Judge''s Gavel." ==[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]== ==[Monsters will now spawn. You have 30 minutes.]== "Bring it on." I was ready for whatever monsters that were going to spawn. The ground rumbled. "Hah. I should have expected it to be these guys when it said high-armored monsters." I had expected more Moleman monsters to come out like before, but this time was different. They were Iron Golems. As much as I wanted to, I didn''t have time to admire them, and I rushed in. I slammed my spear onto the very front golem. The golem perished when the Judge''s hammer slammed down on it. I quickly moved on to the others and began attacking them relentlessly. These guys could really take a beating, but I didn''t let up one bit and pummeled them. I didn''t even try to dodge any of their attacks, I used that time to get one more attack in. I attacked them again and again like the fabled Berserker until I came out victorious. ==[You have cleared all the monsters on the field. Mission success: 100% completion. Time taken: 23:42 For completing the mission well under the mission time, you will receive 20% more to your effect.]== "Damn, only 20%..." I didn''t feel too happy about it, but at least it was something. Those golems really put up a fight. I was engulfed in another cloud of red smoke and taken back to the treasure room. ==[Please create your seventh effect.]== "It''s finally the last one." The healer from the past could only get three effects, but I already had six. I was going to leave with all seven, no matter what. "Should I go with EXP?" It wasn''t a battle-related effect, but it was a beneficial effect, nonetheless. Leveling up was only going to get harder now, so it would definitely help. "Yeah, I''ll go with EXP boost." [Effect: EXP boost. Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Mission: Defeat as many monsters with 1-1000 EXP as possible within 30 minutes. Depending on mission completion, you will receive a maximum of 10% EXP boost. Obtain at least 50,000 EXP in order to keep this effect.] This was the lowest difficulty by far. "I''ll aim for at least 100,000." The red smoke transported me once more. "Uh¡­" I saw that the monsters had already spawned, and they were all low-leveled monsters at that. ==[Defeat Mini Chameleons to obtain EXP. The Mini Chameleons will change color on their own and the EXP gained will depend on the color they were when killed. Brown: 1 EXP Blue: 10 EXP Red: 100 EXP Purple: 1000 EXP You have 30 minutes.]== So many of the chameleons were brown; I could barely distinguish one from the other. I saw a few specks of blue, red and purple here and there but they quickly turned back to brown. "Fuck¡­it''ll be impossible to break 50,000 even if I kill the brown one for days. This would be easy for an archer." An archer or mage would find this easy. However, my AGI was nothing to scoff at, either. "I''ll ignore the brown and blue ones. I''ve got to focus only on red and purple!" I charged into the horde of chameleons. ==[You have killed a Red Mini Chameleon: You have obtained 100 EXP.]== ==[You have killed a Purple Mini Chameleon. You have obtained 1000 EXP.]== I tried not to rush myself. I concentrated as hard as I could as I weaved through the lizards and stabbed every time I saw red or purple. ==[Your 30 minutes is up.]== "What, already?" It felt like ten minutes had barely passed. ==[You have obtained a total of 101,472 EXP. Mission success: 100% completion. Your EXP boost will be increased by 50% for getting over 50,000 EXP.]== Once I was returned to the treasure room, the earring had lost its golden light and I could clearly see the engraving of a lion. It almost looked like it could come to life. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment is now complete.]== The earring that I couldn''t touch before was moved into my hand, shining with a bright, purple light. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10) The King-Emperor''s true treasure. All Stats increased by 450 points Increase Mana Conversion skill level by 1 Add Blink Skill Increase CRIT rate by 9% Increase CRIT damage by 500% Increase Penetration by 240 points Increase EXP gain from monsters by 15% DEF 1000, MDEF 1000]== ==[You have two of the same skills. Blink on the Azazel''s Lightning Boots is now Blink 1.]== "I¡­I did it!" I created the item, but even I was dumbstruck at its effects. It was so overpowered that it shouldn''t exist¡­ but I didn''t care. It was mine! ==[You will be removed from the King-Emperor''s True Treasure Room in five minutes.]== Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Bringing up the Past, Part I Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Bringing up the Past, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[You have received a blessing for clearing the quest dungeon, the King-Emperor''s Tomb. Blessing effect: Granted skill ''Create Safety Crystal'' for 30 days. (After 30 days, this skill will be removed.) The ''Create Safety Crystal'' skill does not consume skill points. Hunt field monsters for 30 days and a Safety Crystal will amass experience points. On the 1st, 10th, and 30th day, the crystal will take form and you will be able to receive the Safety Crystal. You will be restricted from entering another dungeon for 30 days.]== I was removed from the treasure room after five minutes. As I was admiring my new earrings, the dungeon blessing message had appeared. "Tsk. It''s not a normal dungeon; do you really have to do that?" I had even declined the Myth Guild''s offer to raid the Khufu''s dungeon boss since I didn''t want to lose out on a month''s worth of dungeon EXP. But soon, my smile returned as I looked at my new earrings. "I got 2,774 extra Stat points, more than 1.3 billion golden rings, and a Rank 10 item. Dude, this is awesome! Open Stats Menu!" ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 470 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 6,069,700/6,069,700 MP: 257,700/257,700 Strength: 13,550 + 765 Agility: 6,150 Vitality: 8,559 Willpower: 2,517 Intelligence: 2,447 Unassigned Stat Points: 3,174 + 6 Fatigue: 27 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 10 points Physical Attack: 50,712 Physical Defense: 16,054 Magical Attack: 8,891 Magical Defense: 9,382]== "Hmm, what should I do here?" I was beginning to have second thoughts about getting my VIT past 10,000. I still needed 3,591 points to do that and my VIT was technically already high enough. I wanted to put those points towards STR instead and get it past 20,000. "But, if I come to regret it¡­okay. I''ll wait until I have 3,591 points and make my decision then." I closed my Stats menu and opened my inventory to take out a Warp Scroll that had Seoul''s Store recorded. Song Myungsoo had given it to me when he paid me, while leaving a few quick words. --- "Jiwon, can we still meet later on?" "Yes." "Good. Then I''d like you to have this. It''s a Warp Scroll with Seoul''s Store location recorded. I assume you have a Comm Link as well?" "I do." "Then connect it with this one. It''s the Sunbin Guild''s priority hotline. Use it whenever you need." "I will; thank you." --- "Well, I can''t enter a dungeon for a month now. I might as well meet with him if he wants to that badly." I didn''t have a reason to avoid them, anyway. There was another thing to check out with them, as well. "I should pay the Hitman Guild a visit as well, shouldn''t I?" I had avoided them all this time, but now I was strong enough to get some answers out of them. I put my hat and sunglasses on, and ripped the Warp Scroll. --- I was warped to the outside of Store 72 in an instant. As always, there was a huge crowd outside. I could hear many of them talking about one thing. "Did you hear it was cleared?" "What was?" "The King-Emperor''s Treasure quest." "Oh, that. It was cleared already?" "It just came up, though." "Really? What happened? There was so much talk that there was 100% chance that an item of Rank 8 or higher would come out." "I only heard that the Nayuta Guild was chased away when the Sunbin Guild and the Cheng Long Guild teamed up for this quest." "Yup. Both guilds teamed up and defeated the dungeon boss together and got six random chests. Three went to Sunbin and three went to Cheng Long¡­" "And then?" "Hah! Only one Rank 8 and one Rank 9 came out, and it was Sunbin who got them." "Seriously?" "Yup. Both sides put in all that work ,and only one of them got everything." "That''s some shit luck." "Well, that''s good. It''s better if it goes to Korea and not China! Hehehe!" "But that''s not the important part." "Huh? What else happened?" "I only heard this from a rumor of a rumor, but apparently the guilds had a huge fight over the items." "What? Why?" "Random chests are a lottery. Why would they get mad over that?" "You''re completely right, but apparently the Cheng Long Guild wanted one of them for fighting alongside Sunbin but Sunbin turned them down." "Then what happened?" "What do you think happened? Wai Chung threw some insults, swore that it wasn''t over, and left. The whole atmosphere turned sour after that." "Che. If they were the ones who got the two items, they would have done the same. What the hell is that about?" "I know, right? They probably just prodded the Sunbin Guild because they know they''re stronger." "Do you really think both guilds are going to fight it out?" "I don''t know but if they do¡­it''s not going to be a simple fight. It''ll be an all-out war." I left the Store''s vicinity as I overheard the conversations. -The Cheng Long Guild versus the Sunbin Guild?- Wai Chung did have enough reason to be that mad, even if it was towards the powerful Sunbin Guild. He''d be even more pissed off since he saw Korea and Japan as barbarians. -Damn. If they really do fight¡­the battle between the Blood Prince and the Myth Guild will pale in comparison.- I was slightly worried as a Korean. China had many powerful guilds that could replace the Cheng Long Guild. Hell, all of them were probably waiting for a chance like this so that they could take its place. But Korea only had the Sunbin Guild. If the Sunbin Guild fell, Korea was done for. The Ojin and the Yung Gong Guilds were nothing compared to the Sunbin Guild. -Well, I''m sure they know that there are more entities out there that will benefit from their fight than either of them.- I brushed it off as there was probably a low chance of it happening. I took out my Comm Link from my inventory and dialed 3 to call the Sunbin Guild''s hotline. "This is the Sunbin Guild." "This is Lee Jiwon." ''Oh! Hello. I was told to expect a call from you. Just tell me where you are and I''ll send someone over to pick you up.'' "No, I was curious about something and I was wondering if you could help me out." ''I see. I''ll be more than happy to help you out.'' "Do you know anything about the Hitman Guild?" ''The¡­ Hitman Guild?" "Yes." I purposely left out the part that they were mobsters in Seoul. I didn''t want to wound their pride yet. The other person on the line was silent for a moment. About a minute later, the person spoke again. "Yes, we know about the Hitman Guild." "Could you tell me where they are located?" ''Their headquarters are¡­ at the Luna Hotel in Gangnam.'' "Excuse me?" I was surprised that they were so close to here. If they were in Gangnam, then they were smack dab in the middle of the Sunbin Guild''s territory. "Well, thank you for your help. I''ll call back." The Sunbin Guild wasn''t that high up in the skies to be blind to what was going on beneath them. I decided not to think about it too much. I''d see for myself what was going on. "Blink 1, Blink 2!" I zoomed over the rooftops towards the Luna Hotel. --- Kim Jihan was sitting with his feet up at the Luna Hotel''s lounge. "Damn¡­ Lee Jiwon really gets around." Kim Jihan was reading through a popular leaflet as he sipped on his coffee. The leaflet had an article about the recent King-Emperor''s quest, and Lee Jiwon''s name had come up. There was no way that no one could keep quiet about such a powerful deva. "He got to be one of the 25 to raid the boss, and he got to be one of the seven to enter the final room. I guess even Wai Chung and Song Myungsoo have to acknowledge him now. And they wanted the Specialist and few guys to kidnap him? Tsk tsk tsk..." After failing to kidnap Lee Jiwon, Kim Jihan was ordered by his guild master to find him. He did try, turning over every single rock in Seoul, but could find no trace of him anywhere. Then, just when they were about to give up, reports came in that shook the Hitman Guild in its boots. They learned about Lee Jiwon''s victory over the legendary Blood Prince and the infamous San Tuan Guild. The Hitman Guild quickly realized that trying to find Lee Jiwon was suicidal, and ceased all actions related to him. "He should have forgotten about us by now, right? He''s so famous, I doubt he has time to care about a distant¡­" Crash! Kim Jihan put down the leaflet he was reading and looked out the hotel''s window. He couldn''t finish his sentence, like he had seen a ghost. He was so shocked that he let go of his coffee cup, which broke as it hit the floor. He began to tremble in his chair. --- "Huh?" Just as I was about to jump onto the roof of the Luna Hotel, I saw a familiar man sitting in the hotel''s lounge through the window. It took me a second to remember who he was. "Kim Jihan?" He was the guy who was with the Specialist person. I changed my destination to him. "Blink 1." I passed through the window in an instant and came up next to the chair Kim Jihan was sitting in. I plopped down on the chair opposite him and smiled at him as if he were an old friend. "It''s been a while. How long has it been? 8 months?" "..." "What? We''ve met before; at least act friendly. I''m sorry I couldn''t come with you back when you invited me to your home. I was too busy, but that''s why I''m here now." Even at my reassuring words, Kim Jihan''s face was still completely frozen. Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Bringing up the Past, Part II Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Bringing up the Past, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED -Why is he here? Is it because of that day? What do I do? Do I report that he''s here on his own after we looked everywhere for him? He can''t be here to kill me, right? I didn''t even get to restore my penalty from that day. Should I smile back? If I do, maybe he won''t stick that spear into my head.- Kim Jihan''s mind was racing in panic, but he quickly realized Lee Jiwon was just sitting there, staring at him, and he forced out a smile. "He¡­Hello!" Kim Jihan replied in a trembling voice. "Yeah, it''s good to see you, too. But I''m not sure I''ve come too late." "Ah¡­ha¡­ha. What do you mean by that?" "Hm? You offered to take me to your guild master last time." Realization struck Kim Jihan hard. He remembered that he had told Lee Jiwon about the Hitman Guild, and about the order to kidnap him, just to avoid taking on a death penalty. Failing a mission and completely spilling his guts to the enemy were completely different, which was why Kim Jihan hadn''t mentioned that part to his guild master. But now that Lee Jiwon was here¡­ -I''m so screwed!- Kim Jihan''s face paled. Thanks to his big mouth, the Reaper himself had come knocking at the Hitman Guild''s door. If his guild master found out¡­Kim Jihan broke out into a cold sweat just thinking about it! "Take me to your guild master. He wanted to see me so badly that he tried to kidnap me, right? Is he in?" I said to the pale Kim Jihan. "I¡­um¡­" I could see how terrified he was as he trembled and struggled to get his words out. "What, do I have to find him myself?" I stood up and slammed the tip of my spear into the floor. Kim Jihan fell to the floor on his knees and started begging. "I''ll¡­I''ll do anything. Just please, please keep what I told you eight months ago a secret from my guild master. If you do this for me, I''ll do whatever you ask!" "What is this? Are you more afraid of your guild master than you are of me?" "That''s¡­not it at all! Of course I fear your power more! But if my guild master finds out that I sold the guild out, then I won''t ever see the light of day for the rest of my life! Please, if you don''t tell him, I''ll serve you as my new master forever!" "Forever?" "Yes! I''ll be your loyal servant for the rest of my life!" I couldn''t see any signs that he was lying. While I wasn''t fully ready to believe him, it would also be nice to have an inside man in a guild, even if that guild wasn''t too large. "Fine, I''ll hold you to that. Now then, where is your guild master?" "He''s in the basement. The command room is in the basement third sub-floor. It''s where he always receives his reports. He should be there right now." "Hmm¡­okay. I''ll go meet him first, and then I''ll decide what to do with you." "Thank¡­thank you. Oh, there should also be three more of the Specialists that you met last time protecting the command room and the guild master." "That doesn''t matter to me." I stood up to leave. "Oh, that''s right. Do you have a Comm Link?" "Yes, I do." "Give it here." "Here you go¡­" I grabbed his Comm Link and connected it with mine, putting it under number 4. "Pick up when I call. If you don''t¡­you know what''ll happen, right?" "Yes, I understand! I''ll keep it in my ear even when I sleep!" I left Kim Jihan at the lobby and headed for the elevators. A voice in the back of my head warned me that he could run away, but I didn''t care. If he did, then I could just tell his guild master that he had sold his guild out eight months ago, and they''d take care of the rest. "It only goes down to B2¡­" It was probably a security measure. These guys were pretty paranoid. I pushed the B2 button and the elevator quickly took me down. "Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning Level 2 has been activated. Increase ATT by 30%. Successful attacks have a 20% chance of inflicting Shock. Increase damage of all Lightning-based attacks by 5,000-25,000. This skill has no cooldown.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== Raising Mana Conversion''s max level from 1 to 2 changed its effects drastically. The skill''s damage output and chance to inflict Shock more than doubled, and it lost its cooldown completely. I could now switch Attributes whenever the need arose. The elevator quickly arrived at B2. As soon as the doors opened, I saw a large group of devas right outside. They were all part of the Hitman Guild. "Who the fuck are you?" "You''re not supposed to be here!" They all frowned and moved as one. I smiled as I replied, "I''m here to meet your guild master. I don''t care if you get in my way, but know that you''ll all die if you do." There was no need to be courteous or merciful here. They were all just underlings, and I didn''t have the capacity to care about them. "Who the fuck does this guy think he is?" "Take him out! He hasn''t received permission to be here. Deal with him as the manual states!" "Watery Earth!" "Powerful Strike!" "Raging Boar Charge!" "Fire Arrow!" About ten-something devas fired off their spells and skills at me. They seemed to be well-trained, as they were careful to not catch one another in the crossfire. "Judge''s¡­actually, no." These guys weren''t worth the one-hour cooldown. I raised my spear and struck the shield warrior charging in. My spear flashed yellow as it clanged against the shield, and it disappeared. I pushed my spear straight into the warrior''s chest. "Gak! My¡­my shield¡­" The warrior couldn''t finish his sentence, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. "He just broke through his shield in a single hit!" "If the shield disappeared like that, then it must have reached its limit from one hit¡­" The once-confident guards stopped in their tracks. I, on the other hand, had no intention of standing there and charged in between them. I began swinging my spear and slashed at them like a hurricane, the tip of my spear flashing yellow almost every time. -Is this the effect of the 9% increase?- I had plenty of equips that raised my CRIT chance significantly before I got the King-Emperor''s Commitment, but if my attacks were going off this often, then the 9% must have nearly maxed out my CRIT chance. "Stop¡­stop him!" "Attack! His attack power is high! That just means his HP and DEF have to be low!" "This is our home turf! Just hold out until Jiwon gets here!" However, the guards began to panic as their comrades all fell in one hit. Even if the enemy were strong, no deva should fall that easily. Then, amid the confusion, someone called out, "Lee¡­Lee Jiwon?" "What?" "It''s¡­it''s him! It''s Lee Jiwon! Look carefully! Fuck! It''s actually him!" The Hitman guild members who had been in the guild longer than a year knew exactly who Lee Jiwon was. They had been ordered by their guild master to flip Seoul over to find him. The remaining five guards quickly threw down their weapons when they realized it was me. "What? You''re giving up already?" "We can''t¡­not with you¡­" Soon, the other guards on the basement second floor came running to find out what the commotion was about. "What''s going on here?" "Who has the balls to invade us?" However, once they realized it was me, they hesitated to take another step. I turned to look at the newcomers and told them the same thing I told the others. "I''m here to meet your guild master. I don''t care if you try to get in my way. Just be prepared to pay the consequences." I turned back around and began walking forward for the stairs leading to the basement third floor. There were more guards as I passed through, but no one stopped me. Over a hundred of them watched as I walked down the stairs. The third floor was completely different than the second floor. The room I entered looked like the lobby of a ritzy hotel. The floor was covered in fancy decorations, and I could see expensive sofas and tables here and there. On one of sofas a man was seated with his back to me. "Did you take care of the intruder?" he asked without turning around. I didn''t reply and instead walked up to him. "Huh?" Feeling something was off, the man quickly turned around. We recognized each other in an instant. "It''s been a while, Mr. Specialist." I greeted him with a smile. "Lee¡­Ji¡­Won¡­" I raised my spear and stabbed down at his chest. The Specialist quickly raised his daggers to block the attack, but my spear broke through them and impaled him. "Gahh!" The force of the attack threw him over the sofa and he rolled a few feet on the floor. He quickly got back up, however, and called out, "Gah¡­Help!" A door opened at his cry for help, and a man and a woman came out. "What''s going on here?" "Shit! Lee Jiwon?" They must have been the other Specialists Kim Jihan had mentioned. Just then, someone else opened a pair of large doors in the middle of the opposite wall, and yet another man walked out. "You''re¡­?" "I take it you''re the guild master." I could tell he was in charge of this place. "Get¡­get him!" At the guild master''s orders, the other Specialists charged at me. "Earth Armor, Earth''s Touch!" "Razor Wind Storm!" "Judge''s Gavel," I said in a low voice as they shouted out their skills. I charged in at the man who encased himself in an armor of stone and slammed my spear down on him. The spearhead sliced completely through the rocky armor, crumbling it to pebbles. The man stopped dead in his tracks and vanished. I raised my arm to protect my eyes from the huge gust of wind that blew at me. Once it passed, I charged at the lone woman. She stumbled back as I came closer. "He''s a fucking monster! Raging Razor Wind Storm!" She formed multiple cyclones of sharp wind that came right at me, but I wasn''t going to stand there like an idiot and get hit. "Blink 1." I zoomed past the cyclones and was suddenly behind the woman. "He''s behind you! Look out!" the fallen Specialist yelled out, but it was too late. I raised my spear and stabbed her through the back. "Guhk!" ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]== Powerful Shock went off when I didn''t need it to, but at least it did. I pulled my spear back out and stabbed her once more. She fell to her knees before vanishing. I ignored the guild master who had his mouth open in shock and walked over to the Specialist on the floor. "Ha¡­you were already a monster when I first met you, but I see you''ve become much more!" "Is that supposed to be compliment?" "Yeah, it is. The highest of all compliments." "Thanks. I''ll send you off painlessly as possible in return." I stabbed my spear down, the tip of my spear flashing yellow as it impaled him. "Gah!" the Specialist shouted in pain before disappearing. The large lobby was now eerily quiet. "Now we have a chance to talk without any interruptions." "So¡­you¡­" The guild master struggled to find his words. "Calm down. We have plenty of time." I walked over to him, put my arm around his shoulders and led him inside his office. I sat down on the sofa inside and propped my feet up on the table. "Let''s talk," the guild master said as he remained standing, trembling in place. Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Bringing Up the Past, Part III Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Bringing Up the Past, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Oh Taeshik, the guild master of the Hitman Guild, the only crime guild in Seoul, was panicking. -How is he this powerful?- What he saw happen outside of his office was the most shocking thing in his entire lifetime. The tank Specialist with the Earth Armor skill wasn''t an Unrivaled deva, but he still had the highest DEF in the entire guild. Yet he was killed with a single attack. -Shit! I was careless. I knew that he was powerful, and yet I still ordered them to attack. I sent them to their deaths! I''m such an idiot!- Lee Jiwon had been a constant source of worry for Oh Taeshik. That worry grew the more Lee Jiwon became famous, but Oh Taeshik thought that he would be safe as long as Lee Jiwon didn''t know that the Hitman Guild was behind the kidnapping attempt. He even had his underlings keep their mouths shut so that they would never run into Lee Jiwon ever again. That order to kill Lee Jiwon earlier was more out of shock than anything. There was no way he could beg for forgiveness, even if he bowed in prostration. Oh Taeshik just could not think of how Lee Jiwon knew where to come knocking. Did someone in his guild leak that information, or did Song Haechang screw up and leak it himself? -Whatever the case, I need to survive this first.- It wouldn''t be a problem if Lee Jiwon killed Oh Taeshik here and Oh Taeshik just took on a death penalty. The real problem here was if Lee Jiwon made the entire Hitman Guild his target and subsequently destroyed it, or decided to take over instead. If either of those were the case, Oh Taeshik stood to lose everything. -I can''t lose it; not my guild!- Oh Taeshik made his decision. He would hand over to Lee Jiwon all of the information he had on Song Haechang. That man has been too quiet these days. Oh Taeshik was afraid of the Sunbin Guild, yes, but right now, he was more afraid of this monster in front of him. --- "Is your name Oh Taeshik?" I asked when I saw the expensive name plate on his desk. "Yes sir! My name is Oh Taeshik. I''m currently the guild master of the Hitman Guild." "Then do you know why I''m here?" "I do." I nodded in satisfaction at Oh Taeshik''s quick and straightforward answers. "Good. Tell me what you know." "Yes, sir. So, the reason why the Hitman Guild wanted to bring you here was¡­" "Hold up. I know that you guys wanted to kidnap me, so don''t sugarcoat the details. Tell me straight up." Oh Taeshik''s forehead was dripping with cold sweat. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Yes, sir, my apologies. The reason we wanted to kidnap you was that the Sunbin Guild¡­" "The Sunbin Guild?" "Yes, sir. Song Haechang of the Sunbin Guild gave us the order to kidnap you after giving us all of the intel he had on you. Of course, that intel was complete garbage. He also wanted us to force a Respawn Point on you, and imprison you after we killed you." From what I could tell, Oh Taeshik wasn''t lying, but nothing he said made any sense. "Song Haechang, huh¡­?" "Yes sir. Song Haechang was the first member of the Sunbin Guild to learn the Unrivaled skill and was heavily supported by the guild, but all of his efforts ended in complete failure." "Hmm." I hadn''t realized it then, but I knew who that was now. Song Haechang was the first person I encountered after waking up after four years. The reason I didn''t recognize him then was because he was so different from the Song Haechang I had heard about in the past. In my past life, Song Haechang wasn''t as famous as his younger sister, Haein, but he had never let down his title of the Crown Prince of South Korea once. Whenever the Yung Gong Guild would mess with Seoul and the Sunbin Guild, he would always call for action and paid them back in full. His good lucks, charismatic leadership, and skills as a deva commanded respect from those around him. There was not a single man out there who wasn''t envious of Song Haechang''s life. -That Song Haechang has it out for me?- To be honest, I was suspicious that it was him. It was almost as if he was waiting for me when I woke up, and only someone who knew I that I had just woken up could give the order to kidnap me. In other words, the culprit was the person who kicked me out as soon as I had woken up, calling me trash and a loser all the way to the door. It had to be Song Haechang. -But why? What reason would he have to do that?- I had no connection with the man. I had never even met him before. "I¡­I have proof." Oh Taeshik spoke up, noticing my confused expression. "What, really? Bring it here." "Yes, sir!" He quickly took a painting off the wall and revealed a hidden safe. He opened it and took out a folder after digging through a pile of documents. "Here it is. I also have a recording of when Song Haechang called to give us the order. Should I put it on?" "Yeah, go ahead," I told him as I flipped through the report. The report had quite the amount of information about me. The biggest piece of evidence that the order came from within the Sunbin Guild was my level. Only they knew what my level was when I showed Song Daechul and the others my level 32 Stats Menu. After that, I had fallen asleep! The video showed Song Haechang''s call to Oh Taeshik and how Song Haechang gave the intel to the eagle. "Hmm." "He may be the black sheep of the family now, but he is of the Sunbin Guild. We had no choice but to carry out his order." I didn''t pay attention to Oh Taeshik''s excuses. All I could think about was if all of the Sunbin Guild knew about this. -If it''s to this extent, there''s no way they don''t know about this.- They had to know if Song Haechang was behind this and yet, they let it be. They even let the Hitman Guild exist. They had to know that I would eventually find the Hitman Guild myself. I put the report and the USB in my inventory for now. "Okay. I''ll figure out what to do with this later. Now we have to take care of this thing between us." "Huh?" Oh Taeshik didn''t seem to understand what I was saying. "What? You thought this was it? I took on quite a few injuries then, and I''m still traumatized about that incident. You''ve got to properly compensate me for that, don''t you?" "That''s¡­right. Of course I have to," Oh Taeshik replied. He was dumbfounded, but I ignored him. I did come here to get my revenge, but it wasn''t my only goal here. It wasn''t like I actually got hurt enough to exact my revenge or anything. I just wanted to extort them as much as possible. They weren''t good people, and they crossed the wrong person. Soon, Oh Taeshik opened his inventory and took out 47,000,000 golden rings. "This includes all of the Hitman Guild''s current profits. It''s I have." It was definitely a lot, but I had more than a billion. "You don''t have a Rank 8 item on you, do you?" "A Rank 8? We can''t afford such a thing¡­" I guess that was too much to ask from a smaller guild. "Okay. This is good for now." "For now?" "I''m just saying. Don''t mind it too much." I was starting to act like a loan shark or something. ------ I left the dejected Oh Taeshik in his office and left the Luna Hotel. My original objective was the entire Hitman Guild for trying to kidnap me, and even threaten Kim Jihan to act as my double agent, but now I knew Song Haechang was behind it all. I also wanted to know why Song Daechul had left the Hitman Guild in his backyard all this time. My next destination was the 97-story Sunbin Guild building. I headed there without using Blink, in case things went south. --- Song Daechul, Song Myungsoo, and a few others were holding a meeting in the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters. "Guild master, we had plenty of chances to deal with the Hitman Guild; why have we let them exist all this time?" "He''s right, father. This might come back to bite us, sooner or later." "That''s enough. There''s no point if we can''t get rid of them completely." "..." Song Myungsoo fell silent at his father''s answer. He knew what he meant. He might act confident and prideful on the outside, he was actually sick with worry on the inside. It was because of his only son, Song Haechang. Unable to deal with his younger sister''s overwhelming success and the pressure from his grandfather, Song Haechang now had a serious inferiority complex. He was also unable to forgive himself for his actions, thanks to his pride, and became even more crooked. It was enough to attempt to kidnap Lee Jiwon, the man his grandfather and his younger sister cared so much about. After the attempt failed, rumors and tales about Lee Jiwon only grew, causing Song Haechang to fall in a spiral of madness. ''How did that piece of trash become so strong?'' ''He''s so strong after sleeping for four years straight¡­what does that make me?! Me! Me!!!'' ''Gahahaha. I know he''ll come to kill me soon. He''ll come to have his revenge and I''ll be begging at his toes to spare me. Gahahaha!'' ''Fuck them all. Fuck them all to Hell!'' No one could try to comfort and ease him anymore. He was already way off the deep end now. His inferiority complex only grew worse the more famous Lee Jiwon became. Song Haechang would constantly compare himself with Lee Jiwon. Even if Song Daechul could deal with the Hitman Guild completely, he couldn''t help Song Haechang. That was why he left the guild alone. At that moment, a secretary entered the conference room. "Guild master, Lee Jiwon had just left the Hitman Guild and is quickly making his way here." "I understand." The secretary left, leaving the room in complete silence. After a few minutes, Song Haein spoke up. "What do you plan to do now, grandfather?" "We''ll just have to deal with it as is," Song Daechul said, as he sat back on the sofa. "By the way, how are things with the Cheng Long Guild?" "Wai Chung is quite furious still, but it doesn''t seem like there will be much of an issue. He knows that neither of us have anything to gain," Park Manho replied. "Keep an eye on them. He won''t cool off any time soon." "Yes, sir." "Did you prepare what I asked?" Song Daechul asked Song Haein. "I did, grandfather. I have the Rank 8 item we found in the King-Emperor''s Tomb." "Good. That''s for Jiwon." All of the board members had reviewed the King-Emperor''s raid many times. Once again, they saw Lee Jiwon''s unbelievable power. They had also reviewed the last part of the video many times as well; if Lee Jiwon was really waving his hand as an indication to choose the fifth chest. To Song Daechul''s eye, however, it was obvious. Lee Jiwon was telling Song Haein to choose the fifth chest, and that was why he had prepared the Rank 8 item. Handing over the Rank 9 item was impossible, but he still wanted to thank Lee Jiwon. A few were against it initially, but quickly gave in when they realized that Lee Jiwon''s abilities and power were real. It would be better to keep him as an ally than as an enemy! --- I soon arrived at the front of the Sunbin Guild''s building. "Let''s finish this." I wanted to find out where we stood once and for all. Were we enemies, or were we allies? Or were we now just complete strangers? I slowly but confidently walked to the front entrance. Chapter 121: Chapter 120: Bringing Up the Past, Part IV Chapter 121: Chapter 120: Bringing Up the Past, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Jiwon oppa, you''re here." Haein was waiting in the first floor lobby, as if she knew I was coming. "Yeah. I heard about what you found at the King-Emperor''s Tomb. Congratulations." "It was all thanks to you, anyway." I couldn''t tell if she was just saying that or if she figured out my hint that day. "They''re waiting for you upstairs." "Okay, let''s go." I followed Haein to the elevators. As we headed for the 96th floor, Haein spoke up. "Did everything go well¡­ with the Hitman Guild?" she asked in a slightly trembling voice. So, she knew about them as well. "Yeah. They just caused me some grief in the past. I just went to get some compensation out of them." I didn''t say any more on the matter. Haein didn''t ask any more questions either and we rode the rest of the way in silence. When we arrived at the 96th floor, Haein led me to the chairman''s office, just like five years ago. --- Song Daechul once again felt that same feeling he had five years ago when Lee Jiwon entered his office the second time. Even when everyone around him said that looking after the sleeping Lee Jiwon was a waste of time, Song Daechul had thought differently. He couldn''t forget that confident aura Lee Jiwon had when he first walked into this office. He couldn''t abandon him when he fell asleep, and looked after him for three years, especially when Lee Jiwon looked as if he would wake up at any moment. -Unfortunately, after those three years, even I had changed.- In those three years, Song Daechul had forgotten the importance of Lee Jiwon, and didn''t look for him when he woke. Song Daechul didn''t take action even when his grandson had tried to hurt Lee Jiwon. Song Daechul had believed that Lee Jiwon no longer had any use to him anymore, but he was completely proven wrong. In less than a year, Lee Jiwon had become a force to be reckoned with! --- "Welcome again, Jiwon." "Hello, Chairman Song." Even after I had left the country, I always heard about the Sunbin Guild, and especially about the man who led the guild to greatness. "Please, have a seat here." I sat down next to Song Myungsoo at his invitation. "I heard about your skills at the King-Emperor''s Tomb." "It wasn''t much." Song Daechul chuckled. "Really now? You did more than both guilds in less time. Are you sure it wasn''t much?" "I was just lucky." "Well, if you say so, then it must be true," Song Daechul said with a smile. "Ah, that''s right. Haein, go ahead and give him that." "Yes, grandfather." Haein took something out of her inventory. "This is the Rank 8 item that came out of one of the random chests when you offered yourself as the sacrifice." I gave a wary look to Song Daechul as he placed the Rank 8 item on top of the table. I doubted that he was trying to show off. "I''ll be blunt. I''m confident that your final gesture to Haein was a hint to open the fifth chest. It was from there that Haein obtained a Rank 9 item." "..." I didn''t say anything. "I''m sure you know that I can''t hand that over. If I do when we''re not in good graces with the Cheng Long Guild¡­ it won''t look good for us," Song Daechul said as he pushed the item towards me. "However, I would be more than happy to give you this one. Think of it as compensation for taking on the irreversible 70 death penalties." I didn''t take on those death penalties, but I wasn''t about to correct him. I already received 1.3 billion golden rings to keep that a secret. I could also keep pretending that I didn''t gain anything from the raid, and keep them distracted that I had lost so much of my progress because of them. However, while I did really want to, my real goal here was to find out why Song Haechang wanted me kidnapped. It probably wouldn''t do me any good if I were to take it. "I believe you did the right thing by taking the golden rings from us. It''s more than reasonable since you had to take on that many penalties," he continued while nodding. "However, while this is to thank you for helping us get the Rank 9 item¡­it is also to ask for forgiveness as Song Haechang''s grandfather. I would like you to accept it." With that, I lost all traces of suspicion I had toward the older man. I did come here almost sure that he had some hand in it; it was different hearing it directly from him. "If you already knew about what happened and about the existence of the Hitman Guild, why have you done nothing about it?" I was more curious about that then why Song Haechang gave the order. "I suppose there''s no such thing as an eternal secret, is there? Even if I could deal with the Hitman Guild, I can''t do anything about Haechang. He is my grandson, after all." I nodded. Song Daechul was still human in the end. "I understand. Then I''ll just¡­" "I would like you to meet with Haechang, as well." "Excuse me?" Whatever reason he had, I wanted to end it here. I already extorted the Hitman Guild, and he had just handed over a Rank 8 item. That was enough for me to bury the hatchet, and I didn''t want to argue what was right or wrong with him. I had no desire to have my revenge and beat Song Haechang black and blue for what he did to me. It wasn''t like he actually hurt me or anything. I didn''t get why he wanted me to meet him. "I''m sure Song Haechang hates my guts right now. Why do you want me to meet him?" "I know that very well, but I still want you to at least see him. You can do whatever you like when you do. You can kill him a few times if you wish, or you can just leave after seeing him. Can you do that for me?" I stared at him for making such a strange request. "Okay, I''ll do that." "Thank you." I was getting a little curious now. I wanted to see for myself how he could become that messed up. I placed the item on the table into my inventory and followed Haein out to where Song Haechang was. --- A few had stayed behind in Song Daechul''s office when Lee Jiwon left. "Father, why are you letting him meet Haechang?" asked Song Myungsoo. "I believe that it is the best way to save Haechang." "What?" "I was too conceited to realize Lee Jiwon''s uniqueness. But I''m sure you remember as well when we first met Jiwon." Song Myungsoo nodded in agreement at his father''s words. "He was so confident even after the world had changed, while we couldn''t make heads or tails of what was going on. We owe everything we have to him." It was all thanks to Lee Jiwon''s information and advice that the Sunbin Guild could take advantage of the eight months before the Otadolon stage was in full swing. Lee Jiwon was no doubt the Sunbin Guild''s greatest benefactor. "When we had all given up on him, Jiwon proved himself and made his name known throughout the world in less than a year." "I know that as well, but he''s¡­" "Yes, he did it all alone. There are still many out there who look down on him for that, but he proved to everyone that he could become powerful on his own. He did it in Egypt, in Macau, and he did it again at the Tomb." Song Daechul took a sip of his tea before continuing, "It took him less than a year. He has the potential to be more in the near future. He has many rivals to overcome soon, so let''s watch over him." "Yes, father." --- I followed Haein down to the third sub-floor of the building, where she led me to a large, metal door. "My brother is inside, the same brother who wanted you kidnapped," Haein said with a sad smile. "I also don''t expect you to do anything for him, but just know this before you go in. The reason he hates you so much is because of his inferiority complex towards me and his inability to be acknowledged by our grandfather. He also let down many people; I believe that is what started it all." "But why me?" That was the million dollar question. I had nothing to do with him! "He was taking it out on the one person who I and my grandfather cared so much about. He believed that he was still better than you since you just slept. He saw you as some sort of rival, but when you awoke and became so much stronger, it just threw him into a downward spiral." "Ha¡­" I didn''t expect a reason like that. I opened the door as Haein turned around to leave. I saw a disheveled and bleary-eyed Song Haechang inside. "Are you here to kill me? I bet you''re here to have your revenge!" he exclaimed with a cackle. His powerful, menacing voice didn''t match his unfocused, fearful eyes. "Go ahead, kill me! Just know that the entire Sunbin Guild is my family. It doesn''t matter how many times you kill me; I will always recover!" I walked towards him and the closer I got, I could see that his eyes were twitching and his body was trembling. I stopped at an arm''s distance from him. "No, I won''t kill you. You''re not worth it." His eyes twitched even more. One thing I noticed after returning to the past was that only the monsters and their spawn locations had changed. The people were more or less the same. The conflict between the Blood Prince and the Myth Guild still existed, and the San Tuan Guild was still ripping people off. Wai Chung and his guild had also been one of the first to reach the Tomb. Only Song Haechang had been different. Only he had hit rock bottom. In the past, Song Haechang had been powerful. He wasn''t the best protector of weaker devas, but he still did his best. "Are you looking down on me as well?!" His eyes were filled with anger now. "Yeah, I am. What else did you expect?" "You son of a bitch!" He pulled out a sword and stabbed at my chest, but the attack was in vain. His Fatigue was obviously extremely high. I kicked his chest faster than he could attack. He couldn''t dodge or block it, and rolled back three times. "How is it that only you became like this?" He lay there on the ground, unable to get back up, and coughed. I just couldn''t fathom how he reached this state. He was so much better off than anyone else. He had so many resources at his disposal; there was no reason he could be like this. "Me? Me?!" "Yes, you. Who do you think I''m talking about? Look at yourself." I just couldn''t get it that the powerful ice mage was swinging around a sword. "Fuck you! What do you think you are to patronize me?" "I''m not patronizing you. I didn''t even want to see you. I''m just here because your grandfather asked me to." "What?" "It''s just as I said. I don''t want to waste my time dealing with you. I could be using this time training, and yet here I am." His eyes flashed with an anger that I was familiar with. They no longer had a trace of fear. It reminded me of the Song Haechang of the past. "I was going to just check, see how you''re doing. It''s actually better for me if you go and self-destruct. It''s one less ''rival'' to worry about. Don''t you think so?" "Shut your trap!" "You realize it too, don''t you? You can''t possibly expect the entire Sunbin Guild to keep worrying about you and hope that you''ll come back to your senses, do you? That won''t happen. What you''re doing right now is only better for those that want to take your place." "Fuck you! I said shut up!" He picked up his sword again and rushed me. But just because he was angry didn''t make him stronger. I kicked him in the chest again. At first I was going to just leave right away. I had no reason to help him or deal with him in any way. But now that I saw what he was like, I started to change my mind. Was it remorse or pity? I began to think that it was also partly my fault. That was why I began to goad him. It wasn''t a sure way to help him regain his sense of self, but it was all I could do. If he saw me as his rival, it could actually work. I walked over to him. "Fuck off! Get the fuck away from me!" "I don''t know why you''re so nervous, or why you feel so victimized. You hate that you''re so weak? You hate that your sister is better than you? You hate that you let down so many people?" "Shut up and get the fuck out of my face!" I kicked him again when he tried to tackle me. I began to understand him a little now. He began to remind me of myself of the past. "If nothing works, then change what you''re doing, you dumbass. If you can''t be a tank, then be something else! If you can''t be a warrior, then be something else! You have so many paths to take and unlimited resources to help you. Why do you keep going down the wrong path?" I shouted. "Fuck you! Don''t go flapping that trap of yours!" "Judge''s Gavel." ==[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]== I kicked at him again when he charged at me and the red hammer slammed down on his head. He died from the blow. I didn''t regret killing him as the Sunbin Guild could help him even if I did kill him a few more times. I watched as his body vanished into smoke and turned around to sit down. I waited as I was told that his Respawn Point was set up in this room. "What am I even doing here?" --- Three hours later, Song Haechang had resurrected and we locked eyes. His eyes were full of malice now. "What would an orphan like you know what I''m going through?" He didn''t charge in this time. "Hah! So what if I''m an orphan? Do you think there''s anyone who looks down on me for being an orphan? Do you think there''s anyone who spits in my face for being an orphan? Do you think your grandfather and your father do anything like that to me?" Song Haechang ground his teeth in anger. "Stop acting like a child. Do you want to give up? Go ahead. But do you think everything will get easier if you do? Do you think you''ll be able to adapt when everyone else is forging on ahead?" Everything I just said was the same thing I told myself in the past. "Do you think this a fucking tantrum?!" "If it isn''t a tantrum, then you really are an idiot." "I did everything I could! I poured my heart and soul; I shed blood and tears, but nothing worked!" "Then change, you moron. No one else has that choice, but you do! If it doesn''t work, fucking do something about it!" "..." I walked over to Song Haechang who was still shooting me death glares. "If it were me¡­I would be an Ice Mage instead." "???" "Well, that''s my opinion. Judge''s Gavel!" ==[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]== "This is so that you come to your senses as soon as possible. And for trying to kidnap me." I stabbed the dumbstruck Song Haechang with my spear one last time. "Ha¡­I wonder if I overstepped my boundaries." I wasn''t planning on going that far, but seeing him pissed me off. I just couldn''t let him be. -Think of this as thanks for helping me and everyone else in the past.- I wasn''t sure if he would actually take my advice and become an Ice Mage, but I did everything I could now. It was enough to clear my conscience if I really was the reason he became like that. If he got any worse, it wasn''t on me. I left the room, feeling a huge weight lifted off my chest. Chapter 122: Chapter 121: India? Part I Chapter 122: Chapter 121: India? Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED After leaving Song Haechang''s room, I headed up to the first floor lobby. I didn''t feel the need to go back up to the 96th floor to say my farewells to Song Daechul. When I got off at the first floor, I saw Haein waiting for me by the front entrance. "You took longer than I had expected." "Yeah, it kind of turned out that way." It really did turn out that way, especially since I had to wait three hours for Song Haechang to resurrect. "My grandfather forgot to give this to you." "What is it?" I took the note Haein handed to me. "You received the dungeon blessing as well, didn''t you?" "I did, yeah." "That note has the location of a hidden dungeon that is in our custody." "What?" Hidden dungeons were extremely valuable, especially for those under dungeon blessings. They even add 4 points to Dungeon Seeker! "You have points in your Dungeon Seeker too, right?" "Yeah." "If you reveal it, you can obtain its 4 points. Also, it''s not a high-grade, but we believe it to be one of the stronger mid-grade dungeons, so it''ll be good enough for your skills." "Don''t you guys need it, too?" "We''ll be fine. We have fields to clear out anyway, and we were going to expand our territory as well." "Well, if that''s the case¡­thanks." At least I knew where to go train for the next few months. "Also¡­" "Hmm?" "We''re not enemies, right?" "¡­Of course we''re not." "Then can I call every now and then?" "Yeah, that''s fine." Haein finally smiled after having a stony expression all day. "This is my Comm Link. It''ll be better if we call each other through this than through the hotline." "Good idea." I took her Comm Link and connected it with mine. "Then¡­until we meet again, oppa." "Yeah, see you." Haein then headed for the elevators. Before she got on, she gave me a small wave and I waved back. I left as I watched the elevator doors close. The sky was already darkening. "Ha¡­ I''m going to take the rest of the day off." All I did today was mostly talk with the Hitman Guild and the Sunbin Guild, but I felt extremely exhausted for some reason. Dealing with Song Haechang had also left me drained. I headed for the same Kaltz Hotel I stayed at whenever I was in Seoul. Once I got to my room, I fell asleep without even checking the Rank 8 item and the note I got from Haein. --- I woke up late next morning. After taking a shower, I placed the Rank 8 item on a table. "Item check." I already knew what the Rank 9 item was. It was the same item Wai Chung had obtained in the past, but I did not know what this one was. ====== [The King-Emperor''s Helm (Rank 8) The King-Emperor, God of his world, wore this Helm whenever he went to war. This lion-shaped Helm was originally golden, but after countless bloody battles, the Helm shines red with the blood of its enemies. Just looking at it brings fears to its enemies'' hearts. Increase all Stats by 100 points Increase STR by 300 points Increase Penetration Resistance by 42 points Decrease incoming CRIT damage by 94% Grants King-Emperor''s Weak Dignity upon equip. (King-Emperor''s Weak Dignity: All enemies within a 10-meter radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF by 3 %.) Durability: 814,500/815,000 DEF 2,500, MDEF 2,100] ====== "Sweet, an AoE debuff!" An AoE debuff from just equipping an armor piece and not learning it through a skill was always a plus, even if it was only 3%! "Still, it''s better than nothing." I put the helm on. ==[You have equipped The King-Emperor''s Helm (Rank 8). Would you like to make it visible?]== "No." It''d definitely be weird if I walked around town with a big, red helmet. Happy about the item, I then took out the note that Haein had given me but before I could open it, a message appeared. ==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10) and the King-Emperor''s Helm (Rank 8) coalesces. The King Emperor''s Weak Dignity is now The King-Emperor''s Prominent Dignity. The King Emperor''s Commitment coalesces with any items that belong to the King-Emperor that are lower than Rank 10. (If you have more than two, then the King-Emperor''s Commitment will coalesce with highest ranked item.)== ==[The King Emperor''s Prominent Dignity All enemies within a 10 meter radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF by 6%. All enemies within a 10 meter radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT by 6%. Raises user''s Stats by 200 points.]== "Holy shit!" I had not expected anything like this. Then, as I stood there in shock, I thought of another item. "The Rank 9 King-Emperor''s Mantle!" The Rank 8 King-Emperor''s Helm had basically just become a Rank 9 item with the synergy effect from the King-Emperor''s Commitment. A Rank 9 could become a Rank 10! "But then again, it''s not like I can go back and ask to exchange a Rank 8 for a Rank 9¡­" That would just make things very awkward and difficult to explain, even if the Sunbin Guild did agree. "Tsk. I''ll leave it here for now. I''m sure I''ll a chance later on to get it from them somehow." I calmed myself and opened Haein''s note. "Huh?" I didn''t expect this to be location. "India? That India?" I didn''t expect it to be in Korea, but I thought that it would be in China or in Japan. I never thought that it would be in India. "But I guess it would be obvious for a hidden dungeon..." ==[Inside the Waterfalls in Koliwada district of Mumbai, India.] == (TLN: Author calls the waterfalls "Oosari" but I could not find any waterfalls in Koliwada.) The Sunbin Guild was powerful, but I was still amazed that their influence reached all the way to India. "Hmm¡­India, huh?" I was going to go to whatever place was written on the note, if it meant getting four points to my Dungeon Seeker, but I really did not expect it to be India. I had never been there in my past life, and if I remembered correctly, people over there usually did not like outsiders very much and kept to themselves. "I only know of Arman Lagus from there..." There was also his younger brother I had met in Macau. "Should I go?" I thought for a moment. It would have been difficult for me in the past to go to a foreign country on my own and risk encountering the guild in control there, but that wasn''t a problem for me anymore. "Of course I should go! I want those four points!" I stood up and quickly left the hotel. As I entered the lobby, I came to an abrupt stop. "I''ll be gone for at least a month; I should eat before I go." I turned for the restaurant inside the Kaltz Hotel and stuffed myself as if it were my last supper. --- After lunch, I headed for Store 72. The teleporter was around there anyway, so I decided to do a little shopping before I left. "I don''t have any skill points to use. I guess I''ll switch out my lower ranked items for Rank 7 items." I had 1.4 billion golden rings to spend. It was the most amount of money I''d ever had. It would be difficult to buy a Rank 8 item, but Stores didn''t sell Rank 8 items anyway. I headed for the general store to restock on food and potions for now. I also decided to increase my inventory slots. I wanted to buy some 50 or 100-slots, but they still cost way too much for me, and I decided to buy three 30-slots instead. I sold all of the materials I had picked up and headed for the auction house. -I should get a better Comm Link for now and sell my 10-slot inventories.- I sat down on an empty chair and searched for Comm Links. ==[Comm Link (5 connections) Call any connected Comm Link from anywhere, including dungeons. Price: 750,000 golden rings.]== The basic Comm Link could hold up to five connections, and was the most common on the list. -Hmm¡­I should get twenty connections just in case.- ==[Comm Link (20 connections) Call any connected Comm Link from anywhere, including dungeons. Price: 4,517,000 golden rings.]== The price difference was 3,700,000 golden rings for only a difference of 15 connections, but I bought it without hesitation as I knew I would need that many one day. I transferred over all of my connections on my older Comm Link to my new one and put the older one up for a lower price than its counterparts. I had just about finished up my shopping, except for one part. -Should I get better items or not?- I had more than enough golden rings now. Even if I couldn''t buy Rank 8''s, I could still get some Rank 7''s. -I suppose it won''t hurt to look around.- I searched through the auction house for equips that I didn''t have yet. --- Three hours later, I had spent a little over 100 million golden rings and bought two items, a pair of greaves and a cape. -Well, I guess these are good enough.- The accessories that were on sale were just way too expensive for their effects. That was just how rare they were. It would be a waste of money to buy one. Happy that I had a full, decent set of armor now, I left the Store and headed for the Teleporter. "India, here I come!" I was half-nervous and half-excited to set foot in a country I had never been to before. I walked up to an employee of the Messenger Guild. "Where would you like to go?" he asked. "I want to go to India. Where do you have stations there?" "We have one in New Delhi and one in Mumbai." That was a very small amount for a country of that size. "Take me to Mumbai, please." "Very well. That''ll be 150,000 golden rings." I paid the man and stepped onto the platform. Soon, my body felt like it was being lifted. -I''m going to spend an entire month just hunting. I have to get to level 500 as soon as possible.- Chapter 123: Chapter 122: India? Part II Chapter 123: Chapter 122: India? Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The busiest city I''d ever been to, in my past life and current, was Seoul. While Macau was full of people and tourists coming to try their luck at gambling and pleasure, it didn''t compare to Seoul. However, that changed when I set foot in Mumbai. "We have 100 Shudra (TN: worker caste; lowest of the four Hindu castes) caste devas available! We have luggage porters, servants and menial labor workers!" "We have many tank, supporter, and healer-role Shudra devas available for hire! Choose whatever role you need at a very low cost!" "We are recruiting gatherers for our workshop! It''ll only be a five-year contract and we''ll train you to be professional material gatherers! After five years, we will offer a freelance contract!" "By mandate of the Behi-Kinant Guild, the Puni-am Guild is recreating mercenaries to protect the Sanjay Gandhi area from monsters! You must be over level 400, regardless of role! We are also recruiting devas of the Shudra caste! You will provided a steady salary and be paid bonuses according to your abilities!" I couldn''t get over the amount of mortals and devas shouting here and there as soon as I stepped off the teleporter. India hadn''t garnered that much more interest than Africa; I had no idea it would be like this. "Blink 1. Blink 2." I quickly Blinked to the roof of a far off building to get away from the crowd. I needed to find the hidden dungeon as fast as possible. "Wait, I may be in Mumbai now, but I have no idea where Koliwada is. I guess I should grab a taxi." It would be faster if I headed on foot, but I had no idea where to start. I jumped off the roof to the ground and made my to the outskirts of Mumbai. I walked further along to get away from the bustling crowd and hailed a cab. "Welcome!" "Hey there. Do you know where Koliwada is?" "Of course I do. Get in; it''s only twenty km from here." That wasn''t that far. I got in the cab. "Bombai is, ah, excuse me. The locals call Mumbai Bombai. Anyway, Bombai is so small and yet there are so many people." "I can see that." "Bombai is controlled by the Behi-Kinant Guild, which is made entirely up of Kshatriyas (TLN: the ruling and military caste). But here¡­" The driver kept chattering along even though I kept silent. I think he was talking about castes that I had learned a little about in school, but I didn''t really understand what he was saying. "And so, the Sahtashwi, Behi-Kinant, and the Lavi Guilds are the three guilds that control India." "The Lavi Guild?" He mentioned the one guild I knew about. "That''s right. That guild is the Vaishyas caste guild (TLN: merchant caste)." "I see." I was taken aback when he said that the Lavi Guild was one of the strongest guilds in India. In the past, the Lavi Guild had disappeared, and Lagus Arman had resurfaced as the commander of the Liberation Army. As I listened to the driver chatter on, we soon arrived close to a large river. "This is Marve Village, and the river is the Manori Creek. You''ll have to take the ferry to cross it. There have been several devas that attempted to cross the four kilometer-wide river, but the current is very strong. It''s safer to just take the ferry." "I see. Thank you." I followed the driver''s advice and entered the ferry terminal, but came right back out. "How does it make sense for a ferry to run once a day?" When the employee inside said that the ferry had already left, I just took a map and left. "Hmm¡­here it is." The Oosara(?) Waterfalls were northwest of Koliwada. Koliwada wasn''t an island, but I would have to go all the way around the Manori Creek to get to the district. I walked down the riverbed and scanned the other side of the river. "Can I do it?" It would take more than ten hours to go around the river. I didn''t want to waste my time doing that. I could easily make the swim, but I noticed a boulder and several buoys floating in the middle of the river. "Let''s try it." I walked a few steps back and sprinted. At the very last second, I jumped thirty meters into the air before landing hard on the first buoy. The buoy broke at the impact but I quickly jumped again before it sank. I jumped from buoy to buoy but they weren''t in good condition and I came very close to falling into the water. "Blink 1." I quickly Blinked over to the boulder sticking out of the river. I gathered my strength before leaping off of it and jumped over to another buoy. I crossed another two kilometers, bounding from buoy to buoy. With about 500 m left, I Blinked one last time. It brought me over to Koliwada without a single drop of water on my shoes. "Heh." I turned around and looked at the four-kilometer wide river I had just crossed. If I hadn''t had two Blinks, I would have fallen in. "Ah¡­Agility. If it were over 10,000 ,I could have ran across the water." I wanted more Stat points now. "I should work even harder." I turned around and sprinted for the waterfall. --- As soon as Lee Jiwon disappeared into the wind, the grass and plants near Marve Village swayed, even though the village was five kilometers away from the river. Two men whispered to each other after they witnessed what had just happened. "Damn¡­ is that even possible?" "We already know how strong Lee Jiwon is, but that''s not the problem here?" "Huh?" "You idiot, you didn''t notice anything strange?" "What''s so strange about him jumping from buoy to buoy to cross the river?" "Ugh. He''s a fighter class." "Doesn''t everyone already know that?" "He used Blink as well." "Yeah. It''s already assumed that he has an equip that has the Blink skill. That''s why he can use it as a fighter class. It''s probably a Rank 8 or 9 item." "Exactly. How many times did he just use it?" asked the captain of the Second Recon team of the Sahtashwi Guild. "He used it¡­once and then¡­oh shit!" The other man''s eyes widened in shock. "Twice?" "Yes, he used it twice. I doubt that he was hiding the second Blink." "Then that means he either learned the skill, or got another item that gave him the skill?" "That''s right. But Lee Jiwon is definitely a fighter class. He has never used a magic skill before. It has to be an item effect." "He has two Blink items? Just him? Isn''t he a loner?" The Blink skill was invaluable in battle. If an item that had the Blink skill as an effect showed up in the marketplace, it would be bought up in an instant. "That''s why it doesn''t make sense." "What should we do? Should we chase after him?" "No. We can''t get within five kilometers of him." "Then we''re going to lose him. He has that item that prevents us from surveilling him." "We lost him once he crossed the river." The captain decided to leave it at that. It wasn''t worth it if they got careless and were discovered. "We''re turning back." "Yes, sir." The two men carefully got up from their spots and started to leave. The captain turned back to look where Lee Jiwon had disappeared before leaving. -Lee Jiwon is a tahj. He can''t be a Godkiller, or even try to become one. Why is he here? I doubt he''s here as a tourist.- However, all he could do now was to report what he saw and quickly leave the scene. (Editor''s Note: If anyone knows what a tahj is, we''d like to know, too!) --- "Huh. They left. I thought they would follow me." I didn''t notice them when I arrived at Mumbai, but I realized I had a tail when I got in the cab. I didn''t confront them, however, as all they were doing was following me. I didn''t want to make a scene in a different country, either. "I''ll be out of your hair in a month or two. Don''t get your panties in a twist just because I''m here." --- "Wow¡­" I arrived at the Oosara Waterfall about twenty-five minutes later. It wasn''t big or strong, but the surrounding area was pretty enough. (TN: Probably why I couldn''t find it on Google¡­) "So this is it!" I was shaking in excitement. I wanted to hurry up and find the hidden dungeon so I could get the four points. The surrounding area was monster territory, and there were no other mortals or devas in sight. I quickly made my way under the small fall and started knocking around on the rock wall. ==[You have satisfied the prerequisites.]== ==[You have discovered the hidden dungeon under the Oosara Falls.]== "Yes!" ==[You may now decide if you wish to reveal the Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon or keep it hidden. Reveal: Others may also enter the hidden dungeon. (Those under dungeon blessings are allowed.) Maximum of two months allowed in Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon. Conceal: Only the discoverer may enter the hidden dungeon. (Those under dungeon blessings are allowed.) Maximum of one month allowed in Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon. Discoverer is granted 20% more EXP, item drop rate and golden ring drop rate. Reveal/Conceal]== "Reveal!" ==[The entrance to the Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon will be revealed for two months.]== ==[Otadolon Earth has been notified that a quest dungeon has been found. You will be specially granted 4 points for locating a quest dungeon. You will be granted a bonus after 10 points. Low-grade dungeon: 1 point Mid-grade dungeon: 2 points High-grade dungeon: 3 points Restricted dungeon: 4 points (quest dungeons included)]== ==[You currently have the special, Dungeon Seeker. You currently have 14 points to Dungeon Seeker. You may receive a bonus after obtaining 20 points.]== I scanned the messages that appeared with a happy heart. I gripped my spear in my right hand and headed inside. Chapter 124: Chapter 123: India? Part III Chapter 124: Chapter 123: India? Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED [A safe zone has been established for five meters around the entrance.] I glanced at the same type of message that appeared at Khufu''s hidden dungeon and looked around me. "Huh¡­" The entire dungeon was covered in blobs that were crawling around the whole place. Slimes were monsters that were supposed to even weaker than the weakest orc grunt but these slimes were different than the slimes I knew about. =[Giant Golden Slime]= =[Giant Silver Slime]= =[Giant Ash Slime]= "Why the hell are they so big?" Normal slimes were small monsters. The biggest slime would only come up to a man''s knee at most and would only be half a meter wide. But these slimes in front of me were as tall as my chest and were around 3-4 meters wide. Sure, their names made it obvious they weren''t normal slimes but they were just too big. Then, as I stood there, staring at them in amazement, another message popped up. =[The Giant Slimes of Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon have been born from a single body. The only way to obtain the most EXP and items is to eliminate the Golden, Silver and Ash Slimes in order. You must eliminate all Golden Slimes before attacking Silver Slimes. (Should you attack a Silver Slime before eliminating all Golden Slimes, all of the Slimes in the hidden dungeon will become immune to all attacks.) First Target Giant Golden Slimes: Immune to all physical skill damage Second Target Giant Silver Slimes: Immune to all physical and magic skill damage. Also has extremely high DEF Third Target Giant Ash Slimes: Immune to all magic skill damage] "What is this now?" I was getting all excited to see how these monsters would fare against my power and how much EXP they would yield but this message just completely blew me away. I had never seen such a strange hunting method before. "If the Golden Slimes are immune to physical skill damage, then only magic skills will work and if Silver Slimes are immune to both physical and magic skill damage, then only normal attacks will work." Only physical skill damage would work on the Ash Slimes, as well. It basically meant that this dungeon required a well-rounded team or someone skilled enough to have physical and magic skills and high ATT to take out the Silver Slimes. "This is quite funny," I said to myself, smiling. The weird hunting method did take me aback but that was all. Anyone else would probably swear at the message but it wasn''t a problem for me. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." [Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.] [Warrior''s Brave Spirit has been activated.] I had Mana Conversion with me and at Level 2 at that. "Fire for slimes." Slimes had weak fire resistance so I would be able to inflict max damage against them. "Alright. Let''s see how you guys do against this!" I headed for a horde of Golden Slimes and swung my spear. I smiled as my spear sliced through one easily. "Gwek!" "What the! You guys can speak too?" [The Giant Golden Slime is immune to your physical damage. Your Level 2 Mana Conversion ¨C Fire inflicts 5000-25,000 points of fire damage.] "I guess that''ll do for now." The Golden Slime hopped over to me, croaking all the way but was so damn slow. I took a step back before stabbing out with my spear. "Are they not sentient at all?" There were Silver and Ash Slimes around but they didn''t react as their golden counterparts died around them. "Well, that''s better for me." I took about five more steps back, stabbing at the Golden Slime as it came closer and once I killed it, its jelly-like body lost its solidness and melted into the ground. It didn''t dropan item or yielded a single EXP point. "So these are set monsters." I turned to the Silver Slimes and attacked one. "Would you look at that?" The body of the Silver Slime provided much more resistance than that of the Golden Slime. However, my spear could still pierce through its body. "Gwek!" [The Giant Silver Slime is immune to your physical and magic skill damage. The effects of Mana Conversion Level 2 do not work against Giant Silver Slimes. The effects of Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 do not work against Giant Silver Slimes.] A different message appeared when I engaged the Silver Slime but this was much better for me. My entire fight style revolved around using powerful normal attacks. Most of my skills served to boost my normal attacks, anyway. I slashed at the Silver Slime as it wriggled towards me. I actually managed to deal with it faster than I did with the Golden Slime. "And then there was one." I turned to an Ash Slime and attacked. My spear slashed through it as easily as it did with the Golden Slime. "Gwek!" "Can''t you guys make another sound?" [The Giant Ash Slime is immune to all magic skill damage. Only the 30% ATT damage boost of the Level 2 Mana Conversion skill works against the Giant Ash Slimes. All other effects do not work.] Warrior''s Brave Spirit worked as it wasn''t a magic-class skill. "The 30% ATT boost is more than enough!" The Ash Slime was even easier to deal with than the Silver Slime. I was able to clear up the rest of them fairly quickly. [You have eliminated a Golden Slime, a Silver Slime and an Ash Slime in order. Congratulations! You will receive 7x the EXP earned.] [You have gained a level.] "Huh?" The reward wasn''t normal, either. My jaw dropped at how much EXP I just earned. "Awesome!" I was worried that I wouldn''t get that much EXP since the Slimes and the hunting method were pretty easy to deal with. "If it''s like this, then I''m going to stay here for all two months!" I turned to the other slimes and I quickly cleaned them up in order. [You have eliminated a Golden Slime, a Silver Slime and an Ash Slime in order. Congratulations! You will receive 1 extra stat point.] "What is this?" I had expected more EXP but I didn''t expect this good of a reward this time. "This is one strange dungeon¡­" I said to myself before I pushed the thoughts away for later and rushed in at the Slimes. If I was going to get the most out of the next two months, I needed to move quickly. [You have eliminated a Golden Slime, a Silver Slime and an Ash Slime in order. Congratulations! You will receive 1 extra stat point.] [Congratulations! You will receive 4x the EXP earned.] : : [Congratulations! You will receive 12x the golden rings earned.] [Congratulations! You have received a Giant Slime Nucleus.] The rewards I would get after I would clear the dungeon of Slimes were completely random. "Gah! I don''t need golden rings; give me stat points!" I shouted at the message that came up when I killed the last Ash Slime but I quickly turned around and headed for a Golden Slime. "Gwek!" --- While Lee Jiwon was busy training in the Oosara Fall''s hidden dungeon, the three top guilds of India were meeting at a hotel in New Delhi. These guilds were the guilds that represented the top three castes of India. The Sahtashwi Guild represented the Brahmins, highest caste. (Priests and scholars) The Behi-Kinant Guild represented the Kshatriyas, the second highest caste. (Politicians, generals, etc) The Lavi Guild represented the Vaishyas, the caste of the average and middle-class people. (Merchants, famers, artisans) There was once a guild made up of the Shudra caste and that guild had grown quite large, with the intent to completely overturn the caste system and create an equal society. However, the Sunil Guild was quickly shut down by the three upper guilds through relentless harassing attacks, especially from the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds. People, in general, were the same. No matter how strong the person, lifting a one-ton boulder was impossible for anyone. As a result, people were divided by a person''s intellect, wisdom, and other invisible traits. But, what would happen if the lower masses had the equal opportunity to learn and better themselves? They would be on equal grounds with the upper classes. That was why the castes were established; to form a solid hierarchy that would not jeopardize the standings of the upper classes. As the world became more modern, the caste system had lost its justification as more and more people became educated, and there had been a few places that stopped doing it altogether. However, that changed when the world changed. There were now people who could form fireballs in their hands and throw lightning from their fingertips. The top two castes had capitalized on this and drawn the line clearly once more and brought themselves even higher, closer to the gods. Regardless of their past, the reason the three guilds had gathered here was simple: to discuss what to do with the random skill, Descendant of the God of Destruction, granted to a deva ''untouchable'', and to kill the deva known as the Descendant of Shiva; to kill a god! Chapter 125: Chapter 124: Lagus Aman, Part 1 Chapter 125: Chapter 124: Lagus Aman, Part 1 Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Six people, two from each guild, were gathered around an expensive round table. "First off, I would like to thank everyone for coming," said Rahul, the guild master of the Sahtashwi Guild, as he stood up from his seat. "It''s not a problem. If it means the future of India, I wouldn''t mind meeting like this every day," said the guild master of the Behi-Kinant Guild. "I would have to agree with you," the guild master of the Ravi Guild added. "Good. I''m sure you are all busy, so I''ll get straight to the point. I''m sure you have all heard the rumor floating around recently?" "Yes, about the descendant of the god of destruction¡­" "I heard that as well, but it seems more people are calling her the Descendant of Shiva. There''s also the rumor that she is a Dalit [TLN: the untouchable caste]. " "That''s right. The problem is that all of those rumors are true. A Dalit deva obtained the random skill known as The Descendant of the God of Destruction." "But that random skill''s effects haven''t been revealed yet, have they?" "He''s right. There''s a chance that it isn''t anything much ,and the masses are in a frenzy over nothing." Rahul laughed at what the Kshatriya guild master just said. "Do you¡­ really think that''s it?" He turned to his chief of staff, who then stood up and handed out a document to each person at the table. "Take a look at the report." The other four picked up the report they were handed. ==[Descendant of the God of Destruction (1/1), (Passive) ¨C Activating (71%) Obtain the Power of Destruction.]== The skill''s description was very simple. "We had to pay each of the informants a hundred million golden rings for that information. I can attest that it''s all correct." "But is this all?" "That''s the entire skill description. However, the skill''s effects¡­ well, turn to the next page and see for yourself." ==[Upon successfully activating Descendant of the God of Destruction: First activation ¨C Successful attacks have a 1% chance to activate Absolute Destruction. (Absolute Destruction: inflicts instant death upon enemies.) Inflicting at least one point of damage has a chance to activate Absolute Destruction. Absolute Destruction will kill off current opponent regardless of HP remaining. Second activation ¨C Killing enemies have a 10% chance to activate Source Destruction. (Source Destruction: Incurs a permanent death penalty.) Death Penalty Restoration gems do not work against this effect. Incurred death penalties cannot be restored whatsoever. Third activation ¨C Killing enemies have a 100% chance to activate Normal Destruction. (Normal Destruction: Killing an enemy will remove 1-5 Stat points from one of the enemy''s five stats.) Lost Stat points cannot be restored.]== "Is this¡­all true?" "This is for real?" "It''s all true. We have double-checked and triple-checked. I could barely believe it myself and personally checked with each informant." The other two guild masters could not hide their shocked expressions. "Don''t think that''s all there is to it. Those effects only deal with the user''s enemies. The descendant has abilities of her own." They turned another page in the report. ==[Upon successfully activating Descendant of the God of Destruction: All Stats increased by 2000 points. Obtain double Stat points upon leveling up. When receiving damage from attacks, inflict 10x the damage back to the enemy. All buffs, debuffs, and heal spells do not work on user.]== "Ten times the inflicted damage¡­?" That part was more shocking than the Stat points part of the skill. "Even if debuffs don''t work, heal spells and buff spells won''t work either¡­ well, it''s still not that bad." "I think so, too. If you ask me to choose between debuff immunity and heal immunity, I would obviously choose the former." "This is¡­ way too overpowered." Those from the other guilds turned to look at Rahul in disbelief, everyone expect for Lagus. "It is overpowered. It''s obviously overpowered. That''s why all of the Shudras are practically worshipping her right now," Rahul said, nodding. "Now that you all know what we''re dealing with, can you still sit by and leave this so-called Shiva''s Descendant alone? Can you accept that a Dalit has this skill? That barbarian?" "..." "..." No one said anything to reply. They could only stare at the report in front of them. They knew what Rahul meant, anyway, about the danger Shiva brought to them. The Hindu trinity of deities consisted of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Vishnu was the deity worshipped by the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas, and Shiva was the deity worshipped by the Vaishyas and the Shudras. The lower castes believed that Shiva would return and undo the caste system. "They believe that this descendant of Shiva is their Messiah who will bring about a new social system in India. Will you truly sit by and let that happen when it is painfully obvious that they will challenge our new formed order?" Rahul''s words hung heavily in the air. "Then what do you suggest we do, Rahul?" Lagus asked after listening quietly the whole time. No one chastised him for butting in at an inopportune time. They all acknowledged his strength. The only reason the Vaishya caste guild was at the meeting was because of Lagus. "Obviously¡­we must rip the problem from the roots." "Even though she is called the Descendant of Shiva?" "That''s the more reason we must take action. We must quell this rebellion before it starts." No one dared to interrupt Rahul and Lagus. The subject was Shiva''s Descendant, the herald to a new beginning. "You can''t possibly believe that she is actually the Descendant of Shiva, do you?" Rahul asked Lagus skeptically. "That isn''t¡­" "He''s right. There''s no way she is¡­" The others tried to, but couldn''t fully deny it, except for Lagus. "I believe differently." "¡­And what''s that?" asked Rahul, frowning. He felt that Lagus wasn''t in this from the start. "I don''t believe that whether or not she is actually Shiva''s Descendant is important. But, since many already believe that, shouldn''t we watch what happens first? As fellow Indians, of course." "You''re actually saying that when we''re faced against an absolute skill? It''s absurd to think that she is." "That''s why I''m saying we should wait and see. We should give it some time and see if they truly accept her as Shiva''s Descendant. If we get rid of her now, we could expect to see some severe retaliation." "Must we go through all that work? Once she fully activates her skill, we won''t be able to stop her. I don''t want to see that happen." "It seems to me that you believe that she is Shiva''s Descendant more than anyone here." "..." Rahul didn''t say anything back, but his face was angry. --- Back at Oosara Falls'' hidden dungeon¡­ [You have eliminated a Golden Slime, a Silver Slime and an Ash Slime in order. Congratulations! You will receive 1 extra Stat point.] "Yes! That''s the thirtieth one now." I killed the 100th Ash Slime and plopped down. I had thought that the rewards were completely random, but I confirmed the truth after hunting for a month straight. The extra Stat point reward came out thirty times a day. The other rewards came out randomly in between. "Thirty a day is still great!" Thirty a day meant nine hundred in a month! "In two months, that''s 1,800 free Stat points, not including the Stat points I get from leveling up." I was so happy on the first day that I had completely forgotten about the Sunbin Guild. Before I knew it, I had already spent a month in the hidden dungeon. But as the days went on, I did wonder if I should be telling the Sunbin Guild about this. I watched as the slimes slithered past. There were so many in here that quite a few people could easily hunt together. "I''m such a greedy prick¡­" I said to myself. I knew I couldn''t clear the dungeon completely, and yet I didn''t want to share it with anyone else. I knew that there was a limit to the extra Stat points I could get in one day, but I still didn''t want to share. I wanted to get stronger faster than anyone else. "If I''m going to be greedy from the start, I''m going to be greedy until the end." I stood back up. I had rested long enough. --- "So that''s your decision?" "Yes." "Does the entire Ravi Guild agree?" asked Rahul. "We have already once made the mistake of trying to suppress the Sunil Guild before. They have decided to join forces with the Dalits to fight one last time, and we have all decided to not get in their way," Sandip Aman, master of the Ravi Guild, replied calmly. "Tsk tsk tsk. Is this the best the Vaishyas have to offer?" Rahul said, clicking his tongue. "I''m sure you know that if you continue down this path, you make enemies out of us." "We know quite well." "Very well. I''ll remember your decision." The Behi-Kinant Guild followed the Sahtashwi Guild out, leaving the Ravi Guild on its own. "I''m sorry, father." "Don''t be. If we believe this is the right path, then we must walk it honorably." "India''s going to get noisy soon." Akashwi said, as he walked up to his father and brother. Chapter 126: Chapter 125: Lagus Aman Part II Chapter 126: Chapter 125: Lagus Aman Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[You have 1 hour left in the Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon. You will be forcibly removed from the hidden dungeon in 1 hour.]== I closed the message in front of me as I stood there panting, beads of sweat dripping down my forehead. I glanced over at my UI and sighed. "87¡­it''s been a while since I''ve seen my Fatigue get up that high." I hadn''t slept for four days now. I did take a few naps in between to keep myself sane, but they weren''t for very long, and I hadn''t taken a single break since the day before. I was running out of time. I dragged my exhausted body to another Golden Slime and attacked. I could rest for as long as I wanted after the hour was up. "Kwek!" As tired as I was, I kept moving from Slime to Slime. --- ==[You have eliminated a Golden Slime, a Silver Slime and an Ash Slime in order. Congratulations! You will receive 11x the EXP earned.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== "Nice!" ==[Your time in the Oosara Falls'' Hidden Dungeon has come to an end. You will now be flung back out into the outside world.]== I was then moved to the entrance against my will and thrown outside. I laughed even as I landed hard on my behind. I never took training easy before, as there was nothing better to get stronger than training, but I had really gone all out this time. I couldn''t help but laugh at how I had pushed my body to its limit and squeezed out as much as I could from the hidden dungeon. I lay there in the soft dirt, giggling, before I slowly got up. "I should go rest up at a nearby village for now." I looked at where the dungeon entrance once was, and turned and dragged my tired body to the nearest village. When I got there, I booked a room at the cleanest inn. I dragged myself up to my room, where I took a long, hot shower before throwing myself onto the bed. The village bustled loudly outside the motel, but I was too tired to care. --- "Huh? Damn, I slept for two days straight." My Fatigue was over 90 the last time I checked, but I didn''t realize it would make me sleep for that long. My stomach grumbled as I got out of bed. "Hungry¡­ I need food!" I went over to the inn''s restaurant and ordered as much food as I could. There were only lamb and chicken instead of beef, but anything was better than Bread and Drink. As I wolfed down the dishes that came out, I could start hearing what people around me were saying. -Now that I think about it, the entire village was pretty noisy two days ago.- "I heard that the Labi Guild cut off its alliance with the Sahtashwi and the Beni-Kinant Guilds over at Ahmedabad." "Yeah. The Labi Guild tried to keep them at bay, but the two guilds broke through and pushed the Labi Guild back to Anand." "Anand isn''t that far from here, though." "That''s right." "I thought the three guilds had an agreement to divide up India amongst themselves. Why did the Labi Guild end the alliance?" "I heard that the Labi Guild decided to join hands with the Shudras and the Dalits." "Yeah, I heard that too." "Tsk tsk tsk. It hasn''t been that long since they destroyed the Sunil Guild; what''s the point of doing that now?" "Don''t go making sarcastic remarks like that. In the end, they''re fighting for us Shudras." "What¡­ I''m just saying." "Anyway, it looks like things are going to get rough around here, so be careful out there." "Yeah. I heard that the Sahtashwi and the Beni-Kinant Guilds have eyes and ears all around now. Be careful of what you say." "Those sons of bitches. They''re so greedy even though they have everything they want." "Shush! What did I just say? It''s your life if they hear you." "Alright¡­ fine. I''m just frustrated, is all." I listened carefully to the conversation going on next to me as I scooped up mouthfuls of lamb curry. -The Labi Guild? The cab driver from before told me that those three guilds controlled India; why are they fighting each other now?- I was slightly curious as to what had happened in the last two months, but nothing more. I already got what I came for, and I had no intention of butting in needlessly. I finished my meal and went back to my room. "Open Stats Menu!" ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 538 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 6,319,700/6,319,700 MP: 307,700/307,700 Strength: 14,650 + 765 Agility: 6,750 Vitality: 9,059 Willpower: 3,017 Intelligence: 2,747 Unassigned Stat Points: 6,334 + 192 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 points Physical Attack: 54,012 Physical Defense: 21,654 Magical Attack: 9,791 Magical Defense: 14,082]== "Damn!" The Rank 7 Guardian Greaves and the Rank 7 General''s Majestic Mantle boosted my Stats quite a bit, but the best part here was my Stat points. In two months, I had gained more than three thousand extra Stat points. "Geez¡­what should I do?" I invested the 192 Shaman Ko stat points into STR for now, but didn''t know what to do with 6,334 points. I could easily get both my base AGI and VIT past 10,000 each with that many points. If I did, then I could get 1,000 more points to both AGI and VIT. That sounded so enticing! "Should I do it?" I was probably the only one in the world who had the possibility to get my STR to past 20,000. I still had time. "Yeah, I''ll do it!" I began to increase VIT as it was closer to 10,000. As I kept increasing it by one point, the message I was waiting for appeared. ==[Your base VIT has surpassed 10,000 points.] Your total VIT points: 12,650 Your base VIT points: 10,000 VIT points increased by items: 2,450 VIT points increased by skills: 200 (The King-Emperor''s Prominent Dignity)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 10,000 points in VIT before anyone else. VIT will be increased by 1,000 points. This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]== It took me 3,591 points to get my VIT to 10,000. "It took more than I expected, but it''s definitely not a waste of points. But damn, my VIT is actually at 13,650." At that moment, another message appeared. ==[You have obtained a Great Achievement.] You have reached 10,000 points in two Stats (STR, VIT) before anyone else. You will be awarded a bonus of 1,000 extra Stat points. This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]== "Holy shit!" I did not see that one coming. I did not know about that, like I did not know about the reward for reaching 10,000 points. For a second, a shiver ran down my body. "I''ve been getting a lot of extra Stat points these days." It happened back at the King-Emperor''s Tomb, and recently at the hidden dungeon. Had I decided not to meet with Song Haechang, there was a chance Haein wouldn''t have handed me that note before I left. "Well, if that''s my fate, then so be it!" There was no way I would turn any of this down. -By the way¡­- If I got my AGI up to 10,000 as well, then I could get another 1,000 points to it, and get another bonus from the Great Achievement. -I have 3,743 Stat points left over after investing 6,334 into VIT and getting an extra 1000 points. It won''t take long to get my AGI up to 10,000...- I invested the rest of my unassigned Stat points into AGI. There was no reason not to since I knew about this huge secret. "Open Stats Menu." ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 538 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 8,615,200/8,615,200 MP: 307,700/307,700 Strength: 14,650 + 957 Agility: 10,493 Vitality: 13,650 Willpower: 3,017 Intelligence: 2,747]== "It really was a good idea to come here." I had first hesitated coming here when I opened the note, as I had no idea what to expect in this country. It was only because my excitement for the dungeon was stronger that I had chosen to come here. "Well, my next goal is to get my base AGI to 10,000." I got up from my seat and left the inn. I decided to head over to Alexandria, Egypt, where there was a high-grade dungeon I could use whenever I wanted to. "With my abilities, a high-grade dungeon should be a piece of cake!" I said to myself as I started walking for Mumbai, where the Messenger Guild was located. Soon I arrived at the Manori Creek. "Heh." One reason I decided to use the teleporter in Mumbai and not simply use a Warp Scroll was that I wanted to see if I could run on water with my higher AGI. I took a running start before jumping high over the river. My right foot came down right onto the surface of the water with a small splash. I half expected my foot to sink completely in and drag me into the water, but it felt as if the sole of my foot met some sort of repulsive force in the water. The force allowed me to jump two more times. "Blink 1." As my momentum slowed down, I felt my feet sink deeper into the water and used Blink to speed me up. I landed on a boulder at the middle of the river and jumped again. I jumped two more times, which got me closer to the other bank, and used my second Blink to land on the other side of the river. "Wow¡­that actually worked." It wasn''t perfect, but I had just run across a four-kilometer wide river. "Huh?" I then felt a large number of people heading towards the Manori Creek. "What''s going on? This¡­ feels like there are at least a hundred of them." It didn''t take long for the group to show up in the distance. "That''s¡­ Lagus Aman?" I saw the famous protector of the weak at the front of the group. Then, as the group got closer to the river, one of them recognized me and sprinted over. "Mr. Lee!" It was Akashwi Aman, who I had met at the Hive auction in Macau. Chapter 127: Chapter 126: Lagus Aman Part III Chapter 127: Chapter 126: Lagus Aman Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "It''s good to see you again, Mr. Lee!" "Yes, it''s good to see you, too." It was difficult to ignore Akashwi as he drew closer. -Why did we have to run into each other here, of all places?- I should have known something like this would have happened when I overheard the villagers talk about the Ravi Guild. "What brings you all the way here to India?" "I had some errands to run. I just finished and was on my way back," I replied simply. I didn''t want to get tied up with them, especially when they were in the middle of a conflict. "I see." Akashwi noticed the distance I was putting between us and made a slightly dejected expression. At that moment, I heard someone walking towards us. It was Lagus Aman. In the past, he was the leader of the Liberation Army and was known as the Demon Lord. He was a powerful deva who would attempt to free controlled dungeons from the clutches of large guilds through battle, and he almost always came out the victor. I was always happy to hear whenever Lagus would crush all those rich and powerful bastards under his foot. I always thought they had it coming when they laughed and ridiculed the weak for crawling in the dirt, struggling to find a reason to live. "Hello. I''ve heard quite a bit about you. I''m Lagus Aman." "It''s a nice to meet you. I''m Lee Jiwon. I''ve heard many things about you as well." I shook his hand. "It''s rare for us to meet like this. Could you spare a bit of your time for some tea?" "Umm¡­" It was hard to reject his humble offer. Hell, he was one of my biggest heroes in the past; I couldn''t just pass up this opportunity. "Very well." I followed Lagus and Akashwi to a hastily-pitched tent. Inside the tent, I met the Ravi Guild master, Sandip, and Lagus''s younger sister, Sonura. "And this is¡­" "I am Muskan Ip," a woman introduced herself. She was of darker skin than the Amans and didn''t seem to be a part of their family. "Yes¡­ hello. My name is Lee Jiwon." I found it strange that a woman who was not of the Aman family was here as well, but I brushed it off. It wasn''t my business. The six of us took our seats. "The news of your battle against the Blood Prince made quite the waves here in India." "Thank you." "I didn''t expect you to declare war against the San Tuan Guild, as well." "Things just happened like that¡­" We made some more small talk after that, and talked a little about what happened in the King-Emperor''s Tomb. I knew for a fact that things weren''t looking well for the Ravi Guild, but purposely didn''t bring it up. About five minutes later, however, Lagus put on a serious expression and called out to me. "Mr. Lee." "Yes?" "I don''t know if you have heard, but the Ravi Guild is in dire straits. We are currently being pushed back heavily by the number one and two guilds of India. It''s shameless of us to ask this of you, and I''m terribly sorry about this. It''s just that we have nowhere else to turn¡­would you lend us your strength?" "..." I remained silent. "This war isn''t over territory or resources. It''s a struggle to break us free of an unjust custom of our lands. There isn''t much time left until that struggle is over." Lagus explained about why they were fighting, but his words fell on deaf ears. I already knew how the war ended. No, that wasn''t right. I could guess what the outcome was based on the past and current situations. If the Ravi Guild were to win the war, then Lagus would not have a reason to form the Liberation Army and travel around the world. In other words, Lagus and the Ravi Guild would have to lose the war. -Why is it always the losing team that sticks it hands out to me?- I was slightly annoyed at how the losers of the past all came to me for help. It happened in Egypt, and it was happening here. -Then again, I guess it''s obvious they would. The victors wouldn''t need help.- "If you help us, we''ll properly compensate you for your efforts. I know it''s a difficult decision, but we won''t ever forget it if you do decide to help us," Sandip added. That seemed fair. It would be nice to have someone as powerful as Lagus Aman owe me a favor. "Please, help us. The Descendant of the God of Destruction is 92% complete. It won''t be long until it is ready," the woman, Muskan, said after being silent the whole time. "Descendant of what?" I asked Muskan. Whatever it was, it sounded formidable... "Yes, it''s a random skill called the Descendant of the God of Destruction¡­" "That''s enough." Sandip stopped Muskan from speaking more. That just made me more curious. "You ask for my help, but you''re keeping secrets. That doesn''t sit well¡­" "There are no secrets. Descendant of the God of Destruction: Reveal," Muskan quickly said. ==[Descendant of the God of Destruction (1/1), (Passive) ¨C Activating (92%) Obtain the Power of Destruction. Upon successfully activating Descendant of the God of Destruction: First activation ¨C Successful attacks have a 1% chance to activate Absolute Destruction. (Absolute Destruction: inflicts instant death upon enemies.) : : Dying before the skill''s activation will delete the skill.]== I was completely floored at the skill''s effects. I definitely knew more about this world than anyone else. Sure, I existed at the bottom of the food chain, but I heard plenty of rumors and learned about pretty much everything that went on in the rest of the world. There was no way I couldn''t have known about such an overpowered skill such as this. No one would have kept quiet about this random skill. Anyone would have gone around, bragging that they got a skill this overpowered. Whoever owned this skill would probably join in on whatever large conflict or battle that occurred and soon, everyone would know about the skill. -But I don''t remember there being this sort of random skill.- I racked my brain, but found no memory of anything like that. Even if the devas in India kept to themselves, there was no way they could keep quiet about this skill. Soon, the pieces fell together. -If it got out that a low-caste deva obtained such a powerful skill, they were probably shitting themselves scared and dealt with it before it became a problem.- "Please, help us. The end is close." I ignored Muskan and turned to Sandip. "I don''t think I can help you," I said as respectfully as possible. I still respected Lagus for what he did or would do, and I understood why they were fighting, but I put my foot down. "..." "..." "Why not?" Lagus and Sandip seemed to understand why I turned them down and didn''t say anything, but Muskan didn''t seem to get it. At first, I was inclined to help Lagus, but when she showed me her skill, I changed my mind completely. That skill shouldn''t exist, especially if it wasn''t mine. I didn''t see Muskan as my enemy, of course, but it would be stupid to let such a weapon like that exist when I didn''t know when it could be fired at the back of my head. If someone else held a weapon of such caliber, I was going to lose. It didn''t matter if that person was an enemy or an ally; my own future was at stake! I stared at the shocked Muskan. There were others who would deal with her soon, but if there weren''t, I would have dealt with her myself. I would kill her, even if it meant making Lagus my enemy. I stood up from my chair. There was nothing more to say. A good relationship with Lagus Aman? Hah! That all ended as soon as she revealed her fucking skill. "I am needed elsewhere, so I''ll be taking my leave now," I said as bluntly as possible, so that no one would get any ideas. They must have gotten the clue, and didn''t say anything. As soon as I headed to the tent flap, a shocking message appeared before me. ==[You have been chosen to be a Comrade of the Slumbering Descendant of the God of Destruction (2/2). Protect your comrade who has yet to be awoken. Up to two comrades can be recruited. If the Descendant of the God of Destruction successfully awakes, you will receive a huge reward. If the Descendant of the God of Destruction fails to awaken, you will receive a huge punishment.]== I felt a rage bubble inside me as I read through the message. I had just clearly turned them down. I pulled my spear out of my inventory and turned around, my eyes full of disgust and anger. "What¡­ is the meaning of this?" I asked, my voice cold with rage. For a second, I noticed that the Amans were looking at me in confusion. They didn''t know what had just transpired. However, Lagus quickly figured it out and turned to Muskan. "You didn''t¡­?" "I did. I chose Mr. Lee as my second comrade, just as I made Lagus my first. Mr. Lee is powerful. If we have the aid of someone as¡­" "Shut your fucking mouth!" I didn''t want to hear what she had to say. I walked over to Muskan who jumped at my shouting, my right hand holding my spear menacingly. "Undo what you just did! Now!" "You must help us! At least help those trampled by the bastards of the upper caste. I can use the power of the God of Destruction to save my people! Please, lend me your strength!" Muskan begged me, but her words fell on deaf ears. I didn''t care if it would end world hunger; I wasn''t going to help if it didn''t profit me. I was not going to help someone who had the potential of screwing me over. I grabbed Muskan by her collar. ==[You have been chosen to be a Comrade of the Descendant of the God of Destruction. Until the Descendant of the God of Destruction successfully awakens or fails to awaken, both the Descendant and the Comrades are unable to harm one another.]== "Ha¡­ I can''t undo it once I make you a comrade." I ground my teeth in anger at what Muskan said and at what the message just now entailed. I shifted my anger towards the Amans. Sure, I accepted their invitation; that was my own fault. But they should have told me about this first! Sandip even tried to silence Muskan about the skill. In other words, they were going to keep it hidden from me while they asked for my help. They should have stopped Muskan when I turned them down. It was because of them that I was in this shit! "Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning, Warrior''s Brave Spirit." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning Level 2 has been activated. Increase ATT by 30%. Successful attacks have a 20% chance of inflicting Shock. Increase damage of all Lightning-based attacks by 5000-25000. This skill has no cooldown.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== I didn''t try to hide my anger and annoyance. I bared my teeth like an enraged beast. I didn''t care if my opponent was the powerful and famous Lagus Aman! The guards posted outside noticed my bloodlust and entered the tent, weapons drawn. The other twenty thousand guild members gathered around the tent, as well! One versus twenty thousand! Chapter 128: Chapter 127: Lagus Aman, Part IV Chapter 128: Chapter 127: Lagus Aman, Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED There were a huge number of Ravi Guild members surrounding me, but I barely noticed them. I just glared at the Aman family with my spear held tightly in my right hand. At that moment, Lagus fell to his knees in front of me and bowed his head. "I''m terribly sorry about this. I was the one who invited you¡­ this is entirely my fault." "Ah¡­" Muskan dropped to her knees as well. "I apologize as well. I just¡­wanted you to help me free my friends and family from oppression¡­" she said, tears streaming down her face. Watching them beg for my forgiveness somehow cooled down the anger that was boiling up to my eyes. The two people who pissed me off the most just threw themselves at my feet; it''d be wrong if I stayed angry and started killing everybody. The glass had already been spilt; what else could I do? "Ha¡­." I sighed as I returned my spear into my inventory. At Akashwi''s signal the guards left the tent and closed the flap. It wouldn''t be right to show the entire guild Lagus on his knees. I sat back down on my chair. "Please forgive me. I was only thinking about myself. I just¡­" A thought crossed my mind as I watched Muskan cry. How did someone like her obtain the Descendant of the God of Destruction? As far as I knew, random skills could only be received by devas who had fulfilled certain requirements. Random skills were something of a badge to prove to others just how strong someone was. A random skill as powerful as the Descendant of the God of Destruction must have had some crazy requirements that only a powerful deva could fulfill, but I couldn''t see any sign of that powerful deva in the crying Muskan. She looked more pitiful than anything else. Muskan''s will to better the lives of the Shudras and the Dilats was unchanging. I wasn''t scorning that will; I just disregarded it, as I was thinking only about myself. I put myself first, even though I had no idea what would happen to millions of people. "Can you really not undo it?" "No¡­ I can''t." "Why didn''t you make a guild master of either the Sahtashwi Guild or the Beni-Kinant Guild a comrade?" "They would have to be within three meters away from me¡­ they would have also had someone else kill me, even if it meant they would incur a significant punishment. I am that much of a threat to them!" I sighed heavily. "Then what''s this about a punishment." "I don''t know about that, either." A vein pulsed on my temple. "Then do you know about the reward?" "I don''t¡­" This woman was dead weight. Hell, she was useless from the start when she couldn''t keep quiet about her skill. She could have kept quiet about this whole thing and lived on a mountain in solitude until the skill was completely activated, and she would have been fine. "I know what you''re worrying about, but I can assure you that everything will be taken care of." "You know what I''m worrying about?" "Yes." I doubted she even understood why I turned her down in the first place. "I won''t be able to do anything to you even after the skill is completely activated." "..." "The same goes for Master Lagus here." "Because of the Comrade effect?" "Yes. It is because of the Comrade effect and¡­ anyway, it''s the truth. I won''t lie to you." I could see in her eyes a resolution I didn''t see before in her. It was pretty overwhelming. "Mr. Lee, I trust Muskan with my life. If it turns out she is lying, then I will serve you for the rest of my life as your slave." "What are you saying, my son?!" Sandip shouted in shock. "Brother, no!" Akaswhi stood up too, incredulous at what his older brother just uttered. I was taken aback, as well. I knew the kind of man Lagus Aman was in the past. He would never go back on his word. It was only with that honor that Lagus could create and lead the Liberation Army to such greatness. It was that honor that made Lagus the Alpha and Omega of the Liberation Army. "Our plan is to use the Manori Creek as the final line of our defense. We have nowhere else to go if we get pushed back farther than this point. We will hold out here until Muskan''s skill activates completely. It would be best if you leave this place now, Mr. Lee." Lagus took a sip from his tea before continuing, "Should we lose, we will compensate you for whatever loss you incur from the Comrade effect. Should we win¡­ well, you''ll get your reward either way." Lagus''s calm words made me feel a bit sheepish for getting that angry. However, I didn''t fully trust either of them yet. Muskan made a mess out of something so simple when she couldn''t protect her precious secret. Her head was too high in the clouds for something so serious. However¡­for some reason, I was beginning to believe in her. That resolution in her eyes was strong. After a few more words, I spoke up, "I''ll stay and observe the situation for now. I''m not¡­ entirely convinced yet." I wasn''t sure what I would do yet, but I didn''t want to miss history in the making. "By the way, there''s something I''ve been curious about. Wouldn''t it be better to leave India and go into hiding? I''m sure you have a Warp Scroll you can use." "No! That is impossible. If I do, then¡­ the skill will fail," Muskan quickly replied. ------ At the Manori Creek riverbank¡­ "All Ice Mages freeze the river." "Yes, sir!" "Frozen Earth!" A good chunk of the 20,000 soldiers were made up of Ice Mages. They gathered together and formed a solid bridge of ice across the four-kilometer river. I crossed with the Amans and Muskan. Once we crossed, the soldiers made quick work of the ice bridge and destroyed it. Unsure of what else to do, I ended up joining in on the Ravi Guild''s battle preparations. "The Manori Creek is a strong river, but it won''t be enough to slow the enemy''s advances." "I know. They are definitely stronger than us; they won''t have much trouble crossing the river. But, should they form an ice bridge like we did, we can have our Fire Mages force them to lose a good chunk of their forces in the river. If we''re lucky, we can stop them for some time." "Agreed. It is the best option we have to hurt them, but if we want to stop both guilds completely we will need to deal with the two¡­" "Hmm¡­" "Ugh¡­" I listened in as it seemed that there was a ray of hope for the Ravi Guild, but when they started talking about the two, whoever they were, the officers frowned and spat in annoyance. I kept listening in, but I had no idea who they were talking about. In the past, the only famous person I had heard about n India, other than Gandhi, was Lagus Aman. I never heard about anyone else, even if they were part of the most powerful guild in India. "It''ll be tough for Master Lagus to deal with both at the same time." "That Kiran bastard will be the more annoying of the two." "Damn that pest!" The officers spat at Kiran''s name, but I noticed that they occasionally stole glances my way. "Who is this other person, other than Kiran?" I was getting curious as to who these guys were now. Who were they that they could actually give Lagus a hard time? "Kiran is from the Sahtaswhi Guild and Madadu is from the Behi-Kinant Guild." "Kiran is a deity who has the Equality skill." "Equality?" "Yes. Equality is a skill that forces its target''s Stat points to be equally distributed across all five Stats. It can only be used on one person at a time." "It''s annoying skill for anyone, but it''s especially dangerous against mages. Fighter classes will lose out on precious attack power, but mages will completely lose their magic power if their INT and WIL are too low." -A skill like that actually exists?- "There is a side effect to the skill. The user''s Stats all go to 1, rendering the user useless in a battle, but they''ll use it to take out our strongest player." That spelled trouble for the Ravi Guild. Lagus wouldn''t be able to use his Psychokinesis Random Skill to its full potential, and would become next to useless in the upcoming battle. "Madadu is a summoner known as the Blade of Gluttony. He summons a giant, three-meter long sword, and knows how to use it, even though he''s a Summoner." "If Mr. Lee decides to join in, he will have to face Kiran. His Stats will be high enough to take that loss." "If you can take Kiran out, then the battle will be ours." "..." I didn''t say anything back as they fervently replied, as if they were waiting for my questions. I then locked eyes with Muskan, who was sitting off in the corner. Her eyes had no trace of nervousness or fear in them. They weren''t filled with malice, either. Her confidence¡­ almost provided comfort for the upcoming battle. "I''ll face Kiran," I said to the officers. I had no idea what the outcome of my decision would be. I did not know if I would come to regret this later, but a voice in the back of my head said that I had to fight. I had to help the Ravi Guild. No, I had to help Muskan, if I didn''t want to regret anything later on. Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Shaman Ko’s Selfishness, Part I Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Shaman Ko¡¯s Selfishness, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Thank you!" "You will be a great help to us all. Thank you." The Ravi Guild''s officers shouted their thanks to me when I decided that I would enter the battle. "However! I will fight only to the extent of my abilities. If it seems that either the Ravi Guild or I will lose, I will leave the battle." I left my one condition. None of knew what the outcome would be and the Ravi Guild was obviously at a disadvantage. I was going to give it my all in the upcoming battle but something could happen that will change my mind and I needed an escape route. "That is more than fair. It is true that you don''t have a real stake in this battle, so you may leave whenever you feel the need to. We won''t hold it against you," Lagus agreed. No one else said anything, either. They all knew that I had nothing to do with both parties and that I was forced to become a Comrade. "Now then, we know that Mr. Lee specializes in smaller bouts and in PVP. This is from rumors about Mr. Lee and what we have gathered from your previous fights," one of the intel officers said. I nodded in agreement. I had no AoE skills. I had the debuff effect from the King-Emperor''s Dignity, but no combat-style Aoe skills. That didn''t mean that I was horrible at larger fights, but I wasn''t going to step in and say that I could do much more. That would place too much weight on my shoulders. "Then, as we initially discussed, Mr. Lee will face Madudu alone and take on Kiran''s debuff, while Master Lagus will focus on the larger battle." "I agree. Let''s do that," I said. That was truly the best tactic we had. "Mr. Lee will have to show Kiran that he is the most dangerous person on the battlefield¡­" I understood what he meant. "Then, will it be enough if I take out Madadu right away at the start of the battle?" The officers stared at me in shock. I had said it so simply, as if killing Madadu would be as easy as breathing. "If you can, that will be great. If one of their strongest soldiers dies that early, Kiran will have no choice but to show himself," Lagus said. He seemed the least fazed out of everyone here, as if he believed that it was obvious that I could do that. From there, we finalized our battle prep. Hell, there was nothing else to discuss. We had our backs against the wall. This was the Ravi Guild''s last stand. "Alright, this is it! Four days! We have four days until the Descendant awakens," Sandip said strongly as he looked around at his officers. "They fear the advent of Shiva''s Descendant, but once she awakens, Muskan will become the source of strength for the Vaishyas, the Shudras, and the Dilats. Those high-class bastards will tremble at our combined force!" "That''s right!" "They won''t be able to rely on their shitty caste system any longer!" "Exactly. It''s enough that we can seed fear into their hearts. That''s why we must hold out here for four more days. Are you all ready? Are you all ready for glory?!" "Yes, sir!" "The only way we leave here is through death!" the officers roared in reply. When we received the report that the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds were less than thirteen hours away, we ended the meeting. The rest of the Ravi Guild was ordered to rest for the next ten hours to lower their Fatigue, and I headed to my private tent to rest as well. --- Ten hours later¡­ "Have all of our tanks on the front lines. If they''re not enough, reinforce them with fighter classes with high HP." "The Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds will have to freeze the Manori Creek to cross over. Fire Mages will be important here. Instead of having them spread out, have them grouped together to inflict the maximum AoE damage." "Archers will focus on anyone one with flight capabilities. It doesn''t matter if you kill them or not. Just make sure they don''t make it across the river!" The Ravi Guild was busy making its preparations, with its guild members spread out over the entire riverbank. It was a sign that it wouldn''t be long until the battle started, and I started to tremble in anticipation. At that moment, Akashwi came up next to me, "This is where you were!" "Yes." "They''ll be here soon. We''ve also come to the decision that since you are our ace in the hole, it would be best for you to stay hidden and jump in when no one expects it." "I understand. I''ll make it happen." "I''ll take you to your position." I followed Akashwi to a secluded and covered section of the riverbank where the top elite devas of the Ravi Guild were gathered. My position was right next to Lagus''s. "Thank you again for doing this." "It''s not a problem." "Whatever the outcome, I''ll make sure to pay you back." I didn''t say anything and laughed it off. I had my own variables in play here, even one that the Ravi Guild would not like at all. "I''m starting to see them now." After a while, we began to see a few figures off in the distance, whose numbers continued to grow. "Will they attack right away?" "There''s a pretty high chance they will, as they''re pressed for time as well. They should know by now that they have less than four days until the skill matures." "Ah¡­" The other side would be anxious as well. This battle was going to take at least a few days, with one side trying to protect Muskan, and the other trying to kill her. I kept watching the other side of the river. I could now see a huge army heading our way, kicking up a cloud of dust from beneath their feet. "There has to be¡­ at least 40,000 of them." We could also see now who was leading the army at the front. "It''s Rahul, the guild master of the Sahtashwi Guild. It seems they''re in a hurry, if he''s here this early." "I see," Lagus said, before standing with the other elite soldiers. "Well then¡­ I leave the rest to you." "Yeah. I''ll do my best." I would definitely take out Madadu once I had the chance. --- "Muskan and the Ravi Guild, come out here!" Rahul''s voice could be heard all the way across the river. At that moment, Sandip walked out. "You called?" "Don''t you think it''s wise to end this here and now? We''ve lost enough men by now." "That''s what we wish as well, but I''m sure you have other thoughts." "Just hand over Muskan then I''ll promise you that I''ll abolish the caste system. I''ll make sure all Indians are treated equally and fairly." "Then why do you want Muskan that badly if you''re already prepared for such humanitarian actions? Wouldn''t it be enough to just leave her and us alone?" "She possesses a weapon that she cannot hope to control. She also doesn''t have the capacity to wield it! It would be better to take that weapon away from her. Do you intend to leave a sharp dagger in the hands of a child?" "I don''t know about that." "We must prevent any accidents that may happen in the future. Don''t you know the consequences of carelessly using such power?" At a glimpse, there was merit to Rahul''s words, but the problem here was that only the higher castes saw that merit. The Ravi Guild, the lower two castes, and the Dalits didn''t believe a single word of what Rahul said. They all knew what the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds had done in the past. Everyone here knew that if Muskan fell into their hands or died before her skill was activated, Rahul and the higher castes would do everything in their power to make sure everything went back to the way it was before. "What you say sounds very convincing, but shouldn''t we negotiate on equal footing here? And¡­I''ll need a sort of safeguard, so that I know the terms will last." "So you plan to keep this up until the end, is that it?" "I doubt we''ll come across a chance like this ever again." "There''s a chance that you will never set foot in India ever again! That goes for whoever supports you." "We''ve all come here prepared for whatever comes our way." "I''ll make you regret that decision." "We''ll also show you the extent of our willpower." Rahul turned around to face his army. "Listen up!" "Yes, sir!" "We will cross the river in one hour. Spare no one! Show them the error of their ways!" "Yes ,sir!" Sandip turned to the Ravi Guild as well. "Listen up!" "Sir!" The Ravi Guild''s army shouted in response, louder than the 40,000 soldiers on the other side. "We are here to fight desperately against injustice and absurdity and whatever the outcome, know that what we do here is right! We fight for justice! Let it be clear that noble blood does not exist, and we all share the inherent limitations of life!" The Ravi Guild roared deafeningly in response. I thought I could see the river''s water ripple from the sound. --- "It must have been like this in the past." I made sure not to miss a thing from my solitary position. "The world truly is big." I knew that the Ravi Guild had lost here, meaning that the Descendant of the God of Destruction failed to awaken. But I had no idea this huge battle had occurred. The air around the battlefield was electrified with intensity from the two men''s speeches. "So that''s Madadu." I had carefully viewed the montage of the man the Ravi Guild had given me. They told me that even though he was a summoner, he was always in the heat of the battle. He was that arrogant, that confident in his abilities, and trusted his comrades to protect him. That just made it easier for me to target him. I stood up and took out my spear. I could feel the tension all the way over here; I couldn''t stay sitting any longer. As Rahul said, they waited an hour before making their move. The first wave charged towards the river. "Frozen Earth!" "Spirit of Water, I command thee to bend to my will!" "Thick Shield!" "Mega Shield!" Once the enemy made its move, the Ravi Guild quickly reacted. "Get ready! Follow the plan and we can win!" "Fire Field!" "Fire Pillar!" "Fireball!" The Ravi Guild''s mages fired off their most powerful spells but could not do much against the sheer number of the enemy''s army. Despite their efforts, a solid bridge of ice was beginning to form. "I should start getting ready." It wouldn''t be long until Madadu would make his move as well. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire level 2 has been activated.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit level 1 has been activated.]== "Judge''s Gavel." ==[You have activated Judge''s Gavel. Your next attack will be a critical hit Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increased by 5,000. The damage of the User''s next attack increased by 300% and CRIT damage increased by 500%.]== My preparations were done. I watched the battle as carefully as possible to not miss my time to attack Madadu. Chapter 130: Chapter 129: Shaman Ko’s Selfishness, Part II Chapter 130: Chapter 129: Shaman Ko¡¯s Selfishness, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Hang in there!" "Show these idiots that a little creek like this won''t stop us!" "Yes sir!" "Frozen Earth!" The many Ice Mages of the higher caste guilds froze another section of the river in an instant. The Ravi Guild''s soldiers scrunched their faces in annoyance as their enemy continued to forge ahead. "They can try to rebel as much as they want; the result is already set." Shan Devi, the guild master of the Behi-Kinant Guild, declared as he came up next to Rahul. "Too true. A bug can struggle for its life as much as it wants. It doesn''t change the fact that it''s still a bug," Rahul agreed without turning to Shan Devi. "As I said on the way here, I have no intention of dragging this battle out any longer than necessary. The longer this takes the closer to when that Dalit bitch''s skill activates, and it''ll just provide them with more useless hope." "I agree. As much as I want to crush their hopes as slowly as possible, there''s no point in making this easy path difficult; like a certain dumb bitch, am I right?" Rahul chuckled. "Still, it''s good for us that the dumb woman decided to make things difficult for herself and her allies. If she hadn''t, we wouldn''t have this chance in the first place." Shan laughed back. "I suppose you''re right." The two guild masters watched the tense battle at ease. They had never lost a battle before, and they finally had their elusive prey in their grasp. "Once they make full contact, carry on with the same plan we always used." "Yes. As long as we deal with Lagus Aman, the rest of the battle will be easily taken care of." "By the way, I noticed that fellow, Madadu, seeks out danger too often." Shan chuckled. "He''s just hot-headed, is all. He''s at that age, too. He has his own protection detail with him at all times, so you don''t have to worry too much." "Very well, I''m sure you know best." By then, the ice bridge had been completed. The Ravi Guild''s Fire Mages tried their best and managed to slow the army down, but every time the ice melted or broke, it was quickly replaced. "Good. Let''s begin." "Yes. It''s time we put them in their place." Rahul calmly walked up to the front of the ice bridge and shouted to his men, "Kill them all! Show them no mercy!" "Raaah!!!" "Let''s show them why the heavens set forth the castes!" Rahul''s army roared and charged over the ice bridge. One of them was a Summoner who had no particular reason to be in the middle of a battle, but enjoyed listening screams of battle and reveled in the chaos. --- "Stop them. Don''t let them set foot on this side so easily." "Raging Fire of the Flame Demon!" "Tormenting Storm!" "Fireball!" "Piercing Power Shot!" "Triple Shot!" "Chain Lightning!" "Exploding Flame!" The Ravi Guild''s army rained down spells on the invading soldiers, but there was an obvious difference in power and skill. Even Lagus wasn''t participating in the battle yet. Soon, Rahul''s army had crossed the bridge and made contact with the Labu Guild''s tanks and warriors. --- "So that''s Madadu." Any seasoned veteran would have taken a full-scale battle seriously and fought with tension, but I saw a single man who seemed to revel in the violence among the soldiers that started to cross the bridge. He was also surrounded by seven devas. "Seven guards won''t be a problem." I confirmed my target and slowly came out. I kept Madadu in my sights like a wolf stalking a rabbit. The time to catch him by the throat was once he summoned his Blade of Gluttony. That way I could attract Kiran''s attention, so that he would leave Lagus alone. --- The metallic clanging as blades crashed into each other rang throughout the air. "Kill them!" "Sit back down, you filthy animals!" "Fuck you!" "Gahahaha! Good. This is why I can''t leave a battle." A man happily watched as the soldiers slashed and hacked while throwing insults at each other. "Master Madadu, Lagus Aman hasn''t shown himself yet." "That''s all right. We have someone waiting for him to appear, anyway," Madadu said as he tilted his head towards a direction. He had pointed to where Kiran of the Sahtashwi Guild was. "Heh. Shall I start the game now? Summon: Blade of Gluttony!" The air in front of Madadu warped at his command and the shape of a large sword began to take form. It was the Blade of Gluttony. Madadu pulled it out of the air and began swinging the giant blade with ease. "Summon: Double Blade of Gluttony!" "Master Madadu, summoning three Blades isn''t¡­" "It''s fine. We need to show them the true power of the Behi-Kinant Guild, that way we can shut them up for good!" Madadu began attacking the Ravi Guild with his three Blades, cutting down the soldiers in front of him with ease. "Gahahaha!" --- I crept closer and closer to Madadu. The Ravi Guild had told me that he knew a Blink skill and that his seven guards all had their Overwatch skills focused on Madadu. That Blink skill and his seven guards were probably the source of his arrogance. He always had an escape route in case things got dicey, but today was different. I was going to make sure he knew that as well. As soon as I came within 500 meters from him, the max distance of my Blink skill, I put my plan into action. "Blink 1." I warped myself right in front of Madadu and stabbed at him with my spear. "Intruder detected!" "Block him! He''s aiming for Madadu!" "Mega Shield!" I had moved in a blink of an eye, but the guards were just as fast. Four of them attacked me while the other three placed barriers over Madadu, in an attempt to protect him from my attack. However, they were still slower than my attack. My spear cleanly broke through two of the barriers. "What the fuck!" "The¡­the shields broke!" Madadu had watched with ease as my spear stopped inches away from his chest, but his confident expression disappeared as soon as he looked up and saw who had attacked him. "Shit! Lee¡­Lee Jiwon!" "Yup! Hiya!" I smiled and waved before swinging my spear at him again. "Blink!" He quickly Blinked away and my spear cut through empty air. That made little difference to me. I already knew he had Blink. I stood at my spot and searched the area in front of me. He wouldn''t have used Blink to get behind me and end up at the front line. He would have used it instinctively to retreat further back to get away from my attack. "Don''t just stand there! Attack him!" "Powerful Shackles!" "Heart Strike!" I stood there and let them attack me. As soon as their attacks struck me, I located Madadu. He was breathing a sigh of relief. "Blink 2." "What the fuck!" Madadu shouted in shock when he saw me in front of him again. I stabbed him again instead of making fun of his expression. There were more important things to do. "Guhuk!" As soon as my spear impaled Madadu''s chest, the large hammer of justice slammed down on his head. There was no way a Summoner could withstand a skill that most tanks had a hard time against. And so, as I had promised the Ravi Guild, I killed Madadu in a single blow. He stared at me in disbelief on his knees before he and his three Blades disappeared into smoke. --- "Madadu¡­fell in one hit?" Everyone was shocked at how Madadu was killed in a single blow. Madadu was powerful; there was no doubt about it. A single man, and a Summoner at that, had given a whole guild a hard time. It even seemed as if he could win the battle on his own. "Lee Jiwon?" Rahul noticed him as he watched the battle unfold. Everyone knew about him, yes, and Rahul had even learned that he had arrived in India two months ago. He had Lee Jiwon tailed for a short while, but that was it. Rahul was too busy worrying about Muskan. "Why¡­is he here?" Rahul didn''t know why Lee Jiwon was in India in the first place, but could not for the life of him understand why he was on the Ravi Guild''s side. But he would have to worry about that later. He needed to take care of this new enemy first. Rahul turned to Kiran, who was already looking at Rahul, waiting for his orders. Once they locked eyes, Kiran nodded and turned to Lee Jiwon. He was four kilometers away, but he just needed to remain in sight. "Equality ¨C Equal Stats!" Lee Jiwon was now a bigger threat than Lagus Aman. They needed to deal with him first. --- I dealt with the Ravi Guild''s biggest problem, but I started attacking Rahul''s army to make sure I had Kiran''s attention. "Block his attacks!" "Earth Shield!" "Thick Barrier!" "Gah! Shit! He broke through both barriers in an¡­" The Behi-Kinant soldier couldn''t finish his sentence as he died by my second attack. "Fuck! What''s with this debuff?" "It''s lowering our ATT and MATT, and our Stats as well!" The King-Emperor''s Prominent Dignity was working much better than I had anticipated. Then, as I was mid-attack, a message appeared before me. ==[You have been affected by Equality ¨C Equal Stats. All of your Stat points will be combined and redistributed equally across all of your Stats. This effect lasts 24 hours. Your base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. Calculating all Stat points¡­]== -Ah hah. So this is it.- The reason I decided to be Kiran''s Equality target was that I was confident my Stats could take the blow. My Stats were much, much higher than anyone else in the world, and even if they were redistributed equally, they would still be higher than anyone else. "Yes! Master Kiran used his Equality skill!" "He won''t be as strong as he was before now." "Don''t be hasty. Wait for it to finish." The higher caste alliance was getting confident again as a red smoke enveloped my body, but that was all according to plan. Now that I had dealt with both Madadu and Kiran, I just needed to tap in Lagus and let him clean up here. I waited as the message calculated my Stat points, but it was taking quite a while. I wasn''t the only one who noticed either. "Why is it taking so long?" "It took Lagus Aman only five seconds." "How many seconds have passed? Thirty?" ==[ Calculating all Sat points¡­]== : : ==[ Calculating all Stat points¡­]== -I wonder if it''s because my Stat points are too high.- Was it actually taking this long for the system to calculate everything because of that reason? ==[Equality ¨C Equal Stats is unable to combine the 957 Stat points from Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick.]== "Huh?" When that message appeared, the red smoke quickly moved from me to someone in the higher caste alliance and enveloped that person. "So you''re Kiran." We locked eyes for an instant. I could see that Kiran was dumbfounded. Something had happened that he did not expect... Chapter 131: Chapter 130: Shaman Ko’s Selfishness, Part III Chapter 131: Chapter 130: Shaman Ko¡¯s Selfishness, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[As the Equality ¨C Equal Stats skill was unable to combine Shaman Ko''s Stat points, 975 to 97,500 Shaman Ko Stat points will be offered instead to the Equality skill user. A maximum of 97,500 Shaman Ko Stat points will be offered instead. If the Equality skill user''s Stat points do not add up to 97,500 Stat points, the Equality skill user''s Stat points will be taken instead. If the Equality skill user''s Stat points do add up to 97,500 points or more, the user will take Shaman Ko''s Stat points instead. Calculating the Equality skill user''s Stat points¡­] -97,500?- That meant Shaman Ko''s Will just activated. It increased my 975 Shaman Ko points by a hundredfold, even if it was only for three seconds. However, there was something much more important here. My Shaman Ko points were offered to be taken instead, and if Kiran''s points didn''t add up to them, I got to take his Stat points. Kiran was a deity. He gained 20 extra Stat points each time he leveled up. If he''s around level 600, he should have a total of 12,000 Stat points. Actually, that wasn''t right. He should have gotten 20 Stat points to each of his Stats when he became a deity; he should have 12,100. -Holy shit! That means I can get at least 12,100 Stat points.- Was this a blessing in disguise? No, it was much more. 12,100 Stat points. That was 605 levels! What a steal! "Hehehe." I laughed to myself. I had no idea there was this sort of side effect. I could also see Kiran''s confused expression through the red smoke that was surrounding him. I almost felt sorry for him, but I didn''t care. Then, as I stood there, smiling to myself, the message telling me that it finished calculating his skills appeared. ==[The Equality skill user''s Stat points do not add up to 97,500 Stat points. The skill user''s Stat points will now be transferred to you. Current maximum STR 1, AGI 1, VIT 1, WIL 1, INT 1 are provided instead of Shaman Ko''s Stat points. The provided Stat points are not recoverable.]== "Huh?" One person was completely confused at what just happened. "Hah!" The other person was joyous after experiencing something he never expected to happen. Unfortunately, I was the former. "Fuck!" Seeing Kiran smile only served to piss me off even more. At that moment, I remembered what the Ravi Guild told me. Kiran''s Stats all went down to 1 when he used his Equality skill. I got too ahead of myself. "Shit! Isn''t it supposed to down to 1 afterwards? His skill didn''t even work properly!" Had I not even expected anything in the first place, I wouldn''t feel so damn embarrassed. Seeing Kiran smiling down on me made me want to hide in a hole and die. His expression was telling me that he was more than happy to yield his 5 Stat points. I gave a heavy sigh. I tried to calm myself but it was hard. I felt as if I had partied the night before, thinking I had won the lottery when, in reality, I lost. -At least I didn''t lose anything.- My Shaman Ko''s Stat points protected me from Kiran''s Equality skill and I got to keep my current distribution of Stat points. As I turned to leave the battlefield, I noticed that the red smoke around me and Kiran was still there. -What''s going on? Is there something more?- Another message popped up. ==[Shaman Ko''s Will activates once more. Shaman Ko is not satisfied with the obtained Stat points. Shaman Ko''s Powerful Will begins to materialize his greed.]== The smoke that connected me and Kiran began to gather more on Kiran, leaving a small cloud at my feet. Then, I saw Kiran make an expression as if he was shouting out in pain, but he was too far away for me to hear. But the way he was waving his arms and bounding around told me that something went wrong for him. If something wasn''t going right for him, that was good for me! The red smoke then pulled itself away from Kiran, as if it were peeling itself off his skin, and gathered back to me. My body began absorbing the smoke, as if my body were its original source. Another message appeared. ==[You have acquired the skill Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats. Created from Shaman Ko''s Greed, this skill does not require skill points to learn.]== ==[Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats (1/1), (Active) This skill once was the exclusive skill of Kiran the deity. Combine the Stat points of one opponent of your choosing and distribute them equally. Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. You will receive severe restrictions from using Altered Equality. (All Stat points received from Kiran will be set to 0.) Cooldown: 24 hours.]== "Huh?" I looked over at Kiran after reading through the message. Kiran was on his hands and knees, staring at me in horror. To be honest, I was shocked as well. I never heard about anything that could steal another person''s skill. Maybe something did exist, but Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick skill didn''t say anything about this. "On top of that, it doesn''t use my skill¡­it sacrifices Kiran''s skills instead?" Had I received a carbon copy of Kiran''s Equality skill, it would have been completely useless to me. If I had all of my Stats set to 1 for a whole day, hell, I would have been pissed. But it wasn''t a carbon copy. It instead used the 5 stat points I got from Kiran earlier to activate. What a steal! I did want his 12,100 Stat points at first, but this skill was even better. It was a dangerous weapon that could throw my enemies into chaos. I laughed to myself at the rollercoaster of emotions. --- "What''s going on here?" "Why did the red smoke get absorbed by Lee Jiwon?" "That''s what I''m saying. It''s as if¡­he has Master Kiran''s Equality skill..." "Don''t talk nonsense!" "Equality is Master Kiran''s exclusive skill. There''s no way someone can steal skills like that!" "He''s right. It''s impossible to steal skills. If it was, then we wouldn''t be fighting like this to get to that Dalit bitch!" "I know. I know all that as well. But you saw what happened, too! The red smoke wasn''t absorbed by Master Kiran." "..." No one could say anything in response. They all witnessed it as well. --- I ignored the conversations around me and retreated to use the Altered Equality skill. The skill''s description said that it would take the stat points I got from Kiran and not use up my Shaman Ko''s Stat points. The worst thing that could happen from using Altered Equality would be that my Stats get set to 1, and I decided to retreat for now. There was no harm in being careful. No one from the upper caste alliance attacked me as I made my retreat. Once I left the battlefield, I turned to a soldier of the Sahtashwi Guild. "Altered Equality." I used the skill on him to see what would happen. A cloud of red smoke exuded from my body and enveloped the soldier. ==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent. Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. Calculating all Stat points¡­]== "Ah! What the fuck is going on?!" the soldier shouted in fear. "Why does Lee Jiwon¡­?" The enemy''s army shouted in confusion, but I disregarded them. My entire focus was on the skill to see if it really used Kiran''s Stat points. I smiled as I checked my Stats Menu. ==[Strength: 14,651(-1) + 957 Agility: 10,494(-1) Vitality: 13,651(-1) Willpower: 3,018(-1) Intelligence: 2,748(-1)]== My Stats had each increased by 1, but also had -1 next to all of them, meaning that nothing had really changed. "Fuck! My Strength¡­my 6,700 STR is now at 2,000!" "How does Lee Jiwon have Equality?" The Sahtawshi Guild began to panic. A deva just stole a deity''s skill! This was no normal deva; this was a monster! Still, there was still at least one person who held onto his sanity. "You idiots! It doesn''t matter what''s happened; kill Lee Jiwon! He just used Equality, so his Stats are at 1 now!" "Ah!" "He''s right. Kill Lee Jiwon!" They all thought that I had the same Equality skill as Kiran, and charged at me. Unfortunately for them, that wasn''t the case. I lost nothing from the new Equality skill. "Stop¡­ stop them! Protect Master Lee!" "Stop them at all cost!" "Don''t let them lay a finger on Master Lee!" The Ravi Guild quickly stepped in the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds'' way. "Hah!" I was planning on stopping here, but I was too happy with my newfound treasure. I gripped my spear and charged back into the battle! Chapter 132: Chapter 131: God of Destruction’s Descendant, Part I Chapter 132: Chapter 131: God of Destruction¡¯s Descendant, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Shit!" "Are you sure he used Equality?" "I''m sure. My STR just dropped to 2,000 and my WIL and INT went up to 2,000!" "Then why is he so strong?! All of his Stats should be at 1." "How the fuck should I know? You saw the red smoke too!" "All of you cut the chatter! Lee Jiwon isn''t supposed to be using Equality in the first place. Something''s¡­not right here!" The Sahtawshi Guild was furious. They were losing the battle that had been in their favor this whole time. That Lee Jiwon bastard killed Madadu of the allied guild and robbed Kiran of his exclusive skill. It also didn''t seem that he had taken on any penalties from using Equality. They could only watch in anger as Lee Jiwon cut down their fellow soldiers with ease, laughing the whole way. --- Rahul ground his teeth in anger as he watched the battle before him. "How is this even possible¡­?" Kiran didn''t reply to Rahul''s question. He couldn''t. Kiran was the angriest and most confused person here. He was the real victim. His exclusive skill granted by the gods was gone. It didn''t just disappear, either; he was robbed of it by Lee Jiwon! -This doesn''t make any sense. What the hell does Shaman Ko''s Greed mean? Why did it steal away my skill?!- Kiran was seething on the inside. "Master Rahul! We just received a report that Lee Jiwon used Equality." "¡­Are you sure?" "Yes sir, I''m sure! Our men witnessed a red smoke rise from Lee Jiwon and engulf one of our soldiers. That soldier confirmed that all of his Stats had been set to 2,000." "Ha¡­" Rahul sighed in disbelief. He never heard of anybody being able to steal someone else''s skill. If there was a skill like that, he would have done everything in his power to acquire it to steal away Muskan''s Random Skill. "Um¡­ there is another thing." "What is it?" asked Rahul''s chief of staff. "Well, Lee Jiwon did use Equality, but¡­" "Spit it out, man!" "Uh, yes, sir! He used Equality but unlike Master Kiran, he''s still fighting," the scout said, pointing his finger at the battlefield, where Lee Jiwon was swinging his spear like a madman, cutting down his enemies before him. "Just like that." Rahul and Kiran stared in shock. They were so busy worrying about what just happened that they completely forgot about what sort of skill Equality was, even though it was Kiran''s. Equality was an efficient skill. It had the potential to cut down a powerful boss monster''s abilities to a quarter normal. That potential came with its own restrictions for balance purposes; it lowered its user''s Stats to 1. However, this stolen skill didn''t seem to have those restrictions. "We''ve been cheated! How¡­how¡­why is this even possible!?" Kiran cried out, but no one could answer him. "Sound the retreat." Both sides were fighting neck and neck now. Lee Jiwon and Lagus Aman were strong, but the alliance between the Sahtaswhi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds was still much more powerful than the rest of the Labi Guild. The alliance didn''t just have Kiran and Madadu; they had four of their own Unrivaled devas and numerous elite veteran soldiers in their ranks. In other words, with Kiran and Madadu now out of the battle, the fact that the Labi Guild was now fighting toe to toe against the alliance with the help of Lee Jiwon and Lagus Aman did not sit well with Rahul. It was one of the reasons he gave the order to retreat. -If¡­.if there''s a chance he can pass on skills he stole¡­- Rahul knew there wasn''t a good chance of that happening, but if there was even a sliver of hope, he had to see for himself. The Descendant of the God of Destruction was worth that much, even if it meant giving Lee Jiwon everything he had. -But if Lee Jiwon does manage to take away the skill, everything we''ve planned so far will go down the drain.- But that was still better than letting Muskan keep the Descendant of the God of Destruction skill. Lee Jiwon wasn''t an Indian like Muskan, he wouldn''t have a reason to help the lower castes and there was no way he would be called Shiva''s Descendant. If Rahul couldn''t have the skill, no one could! --- "Yeaaah!" "We won!" "They''re turning back!" The Labi Guild roared out a hurrah as the upper caste alliance began its retreat. I was damn happy about it, too. I just got a powerful skill for free! At that moment, Lagus and the Labi Guild''s chief of staff quickly came up to me. "Thank you, Mr. Lee. There is no way we could ever repay you for what you showed all of us today," Lagus said, as he vigorously shook my hand. "It was nothing. It was the least I could do after joining the battle," I replied sheepishly. "But¡­" the officer carefully cut in, "I heard that you somehow stole Kiran''s exclusive Equality skill¡­" "That''s right." There was no point in hiding it. Plenty of people saw what happened today, and I doubted that the Sahtashwi Guild would be quiet about this. "But how?" asked the officer. "That''s¡­ a secret," I replied with a small smile. I wasn''t about to tell anyone what happened, but honestly, I wasn''t sure how I managed to steal it either. All I knew was that Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick skill was one hell of a skill, and there was a chance something like this could happen again. I knew that they were afraid and nervous about what happened; they were right to be. They wondered if I would steal Muskan''s skill away from them, and if I knew I could, I would. It didn''t matter if I made Lagus, the Labi Guild, and all of India my enemy. That skill was that valuable. I wouldn''t, however, as much as I wanted to. While I didn''t care what they would think of me if I did, that unknown punishment hung over my head menacingly and I didn''t want to needlessly take it, in case it was something really annoying. The crying Muskan, who begged at my feet to help her, also got to me, and I had vowed to myself over and over not to interfere. "Watch your tongue! Mr. Lee aided us at our request and defeated our enemies for us. Mind your manners." "Oh! My apologies." "It''s all right." The air tensed for a second when Lagus reprimanded his subordinate ,but the Labi Guild''s soldiers were too happy to care. It was something for the higher-ups to deal with, anyway. "Please, follow me." "Okay." I followed Lagus. "Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!" "Lagus! Aman! Lagus! Aman!" The soldiers chanted our names as we passed through them. --- The Labi Guild''s soldiers were ordered to rest, but the officers were busy. They had to find out who died and make sure they knew to return here while avoiding the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds on the way. At that moment, Sandip and Muskan walked over to me, beaming. "You put on quite a show for us today." "Thank you, but it wasn''t much." "It wasn''t much? I finally learned today why the rest of the world holds you in such high regard. In my opinion, the rest of the world has much to learn about you." "I feel the same way," said Muskan. It was weird. It would be more normal for them to be wary after witnessing how I stole another person''s skill, especially since Muskan was the person who brought the lower castes and the Dinats together as Shiva''s Descendant. I would have expected Muskan to not think that far ahead, and I was sure the guild''s officers had to have been a little worried but I saw no sign of that. -I was going to leave right away, but I guess I''ll have to stay a little while longer.- "Mr. Lee, is it safe to assume that we don''t have to worry about Kiran and his Equality skill now?" one officer asked as innocently as possible, but I could tell what he really meant. "Yes, it is." I didn''t copy the skill, I stole it completely. That was what Kiran''s expression told me. "Hah! That''s one thorn out of our side! Things are looking up for us!" After that, we talked about a few more things, but no one brought up how I managed to steal Kiran''s skill. They must have already discussed among themselves beforehand, but that was perfectly fine with me. We quickly finished our preparations for the next day and went our separate ways to rest. The battle wasn''t over yet. As I stood to leave for my private tent, I noticed Muskan, who was sitting off to the side, and our eyes met. She smiled widely, flashing her bright, white teeth that contrasted against her dark skin. From all of her actions today, I was still looking down on her. I knew that I shouldn''t, but the thought was still there in the back of my mind, bugging me, that there was a chance she could stab me in the back. But for some reason, I smiled back. I didn''t know why she felt so trustworthy. --- When I got to my tent, I plopped down on a chair with a heavy sigh. I tilted my head towards the ceiling of the tent and quietly called out, "Come out. I don''t think you''re on our side." At that moment, a small form showed itself from a corner on the right side of the tent. It had on a mask that only showed its eyes. Chapter 133: Chapter 132: God of Destruction’s Descendant Part II Chapter 133: Chapter 132: God of Destruction¡¯s Descendant Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Hmph, as expected of Master Lee. You noticed me right away." "Don''t bother with the niceties. You''re from either the Sahtaswhi or the Behi-Kinant Guild, aren''t you?" "I am. I''m here on orders from my guild master, Rahul." The thing was human in shape with arms and legs, and I could make out a nose and mouth beneath its mask, but it was only twenty centimeters tall. Honestly, I was surprised when it came out. I had never seen anything like it before in the past, but it wasn''t really enough to faze me. I leaned back in my chair and calmly asked, "So why is someone of the Sahtashwi Guild here?" "Master Rahul would like to know why you have allied yourself with a low-tier guild." "Hah!" I scoffed at the masked figure. "If they are low-tier, does that make you high-tier?" "Isn''t that obvious? They don''t have deities or Unrivaled devas in their ranks, and only rely on Lagus Aman. If the Ravi Guild isn''t low-tier, what else can they be?" "Didn''t you guys just lose to that low-tier guild today? I can still see you all running across the Manori Creek with your tails tucked between your legs." "Wasn''t that because of Master Lee?" the masked figure asked, chuckling. "Well, be that as it may, this low-tier guild isn''t all that bad. Now then, I won''t turn away a guest, even if that guest is my enemy, so speak. Tell me why you''re here." "You''re most generous." There was no doubt the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds were my enemies. I hurt them too much to be otherwise. Also, at this rate, it wouldn''t be long until Lagus would be strong enough to deal with them on his own. Considering the situation, it seemed a waste to chase the masked figure out, and I was curious as to why he was here. -Too bad for you, I''m not ready to jump ship just yet.- I recalled Muskan''s and Lagus''s beaming faces. While I was okay with leaving without a word, I had no intention of getting in the way of their liberation. I might think about it if I was offered something great in return. "By any chance¡­ are you able to steal another person''s skill?" "Hmm¡­I don''t know¡­" I expected the masked figure to ask that. I would too, if I had someone like Shiva''s Descendant threatening my way of life. The masked figure swallowed at my ambiguous reply and observed me as if searching for a hidden message. I held his gaze leisurely. "Then¡­ are you able to steal a skill and pass over that skill to another person?" I burst out laughing. "I see the great Rahul wants the Destruction God''s Descendant skill for himself, does he? Even though he said only plebians would believe in the existence of Shiva''s Descendant¡­ doesn''t he believe in Brahma or Vishnu?" The masked figure didn''t answer at first, but soon laughed as if I hadn''t just scoffed at him and his guild master. "Isn''t that how it is? There''s no such thing as disgrace or honor in front of greed. There are only those who desire, and those who can fulfill those desires. That is why Master Lee is important to us." "What do I get in return?" "We''ll give you a Rank 10 item if you steal away Muskan''s skill and hand it over to us." "A Rank 10, you say?" "Yes." "Am I the only one who sees the Destruction God''s Descendant as more valuable than any Rank 10 item out there?" "It isn''t just any Rank 10 item; it''s this one." The masked figure dropped a piece of paper at my feet. The piece of paper had the Rank 10 item''s name and its effects. They were willing to give me the Wailing Echo. I almost laughed out loud, but held it in. -Ha¡­it''s always the wealthy that try to pull these sorts of scams.- I knew exactly what the Wailing Echo was, and that it wasn''t supposed to appear yet. It wasn''t an item that I could aim for, either. The only way to acquire that item was if it appeared in one''s dreams. I had no idea why the Sahtashwi Guild knew about this item, but I knew the original owner wasn''t Indian and acquired it much later. "Its effects are nice and all, but I still think Muskan''s skill is more valuable." "Isn''t that why we negotiate?" "Negotiate¡­ fine, I''ll think about it. I can''t steal skills any time I want to, anyway. The Destruction God''s Descendant is a powerful skill, so it''ll take some time." "I understand, but as you know, we can''t wait long." "I know that much." "I shall return tomorrow." "Fine." The twenty-centimeter tall figure bowed at my reply and headed for the tent flap. After looking around, it sprinted outside. I waited about ten minutes after the figure left. "Hmm¡­ did I get found out?" I took great care to not give anything away from my tone of voice and my expressions. All I did was feign interest in the Wailing Echo, but I was sure I did everything I could to avoid suspicion. However, I didn''t see the tension the figure had when it first appeared as it left my tent. It was as if it had lost interest in me. --- Sahtashwi Guild''s headquarters¡­ "So¡­ you''re saying it''s impossible?" "Yes. Lee Jiwon does not have the ability to steal someone else''s skills." "Then how did that happen to Kiran?" "I could not find that out. All I could tell was that it had happened without Lee Jiwon''s intent." "Hmm¡­" Rahul thought about what Rajan just told him. He believed Rajan''s every word. The man was one of the few Rahul trusted. It just seemed such a waste to let it go now. He was hopeful that he could somehow acquire the skill, but it seemed impossible now. "Tsk¡­ there''s nothing we can do about it now. But how were you made?" "Lee Jiwon knew about the Wailing Echo." "What? How? How does he know what that is?" Rajan, the man who could Feel Thoughts, shook his head. "I don''t know, sir, but as soon as he read the paper, I felt an overwhelming force that told me he was lying. The entire time I talked with him didn''t feel right." "Tsk. In the end, we can''t sail on the same ship." "No, sir, we can''t." "Oh well, if we can''t, then we''ll get rid of him. Good work." "Thank you, sir." The small man left the office, leaving Rahul alone. Rahul tapped his desk with his finger as he immersed himself in his thoughts before calling for his chief of staff. "How can I help you, sir?" "Gather our forces. We''re carrying out our second plan. Contact Shan Diva and tell him to gather his army, as well." "Yes, sir." "Oh, and one more thing; carry out the third plan as well." "Sir? But that''s¡­" "Do it. Now," Rahul said strongly. "Yes sir. I''ll have everything prepared right away," Rahul''s chief of staff said and left. "I don''t want to go to this extent either, but we don''t have a choice," Rahul said quietly as he watched his officer leave. At Rahul''s orders, the Sahtaswhi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds began gathering the leftover forces that hadn''t participated in the first battle, along with their main forces. Without anyone knowing, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Dilats began gathering as well; mortals and devas alike. Mortals, who could not resurrect as devas could, who would never be seen again once they died, began to gather. Among them were men, women, and children. Their numbers soon surpassed 500,000. --- The next morning¡­ "Hmm¡­ I guess I was made." The sun may have just risen, but those guys had to be pressed for time. They couldn''t waste a single second right now, so the masked figure should have come back by now. "I''m sure I was being careful¡­ I don''t know when he figured me out." I was going to drag out as much time as possible, as it would benefit me more than it would them. If I could also cheat them, I would. I did feel a little bit sorry for them, but what''s done was done. After breakfast, the Ravi Guild had called for me and I headed for the main tent. When I arrived, I noticed that the officers were in panic. "They''re bringing forty thousand more soldiers?" "Yes, sir. Both guilds have just left New Delhi and Kolkata with twenty thousand soldiers each, and are quickly heading this way." "We''ll be fighting them 4 to 1 today." "Ha¡­" "When will they get here?" "They won''t be able to transport that huge of a force via Warp Scrolls or Teleporters, but I estimate they''ll arrive by late afternoon today." "Then they''ll test us today, and launch their attack tomorrow." "Yes sir, it would seem so." Sandip glanced at Muskan. "We have three days left." We all knew what he meant. "We lasted two months; if we fall with three days to go, I might just become a restless spirit." "The same goes for us." "This won''t end as long as there''s at least one of us still standing." "All we need to do is do what we can. We don''t need to do more nor can we do more. We just need to stop them from crossing the Manori Creek!" "Yes, sir!" the officers shouted and separated to fulfill their own duties. "I leave it to you once more, Mr. Lee. Again, if you feel you are in danger, you may leave at any time, and no one will hate you for it. We are already thankful for everything you''ve done for us so far." "I understand." I left the main tent with Lagus and headed for somewhere the enemy could see us. If they saw us waiting for them, it could deal a huge blow to their morale. After a few hours, we began to see the outlines of the upper caste alliance coming once more. There was a lot more of them this time. The battle between the Myth Guild and the Blood Prince would seem like a neighborhood brawl compared to today''s battle. "Damn¡­" I was starting to get nervous. I had never fought in a war of this scale. -I never expected I would get thrown into this mess by coming to India.- I had gone to Egypt to get into its hidden dungeon, but ended up fighting against the Blood Prince. I came to India looking for a hidden dungeon as well, only to have the same thing happen. I wondered what would happen the next time I went looking for a hidden dungeon. -It''s too late to turn back now. I need to see this through to the end.- --- That day, Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds did not make a single move. They were like the calm before the storm, but the Ravi Guild knew what they were like and were afraid for tomorrow. There were only two days left now. Everything would be decided the next day. Chapter 134: Chapter 133: God of Destruction’s Descendant Part III Chapter 134: Chapter 133: God of Destruction¡¯s Descendant Part III "They''re everywhere¡­" There were so many of them that I couldn''t see all of them in the distance. "Yeah, there really are a lot of them," Muskan agreed as she walked up next to me. She calmly watched as the enemy approached. I didn''t know what she was thinking nor going through, as I wasn''t her, but being the whole reason for this war should at least make her nervous. A hundred thousand soldiers were going to fight soon. I turned to look at her. She must have noticed me staring, and turned to face me with a smile. "It''s because I believe. I have to believe. Don''t you think so?" she said. I hadn''t said anything to her, but she spoke as if she knew what I was thinking. She didn''t wait for a reply, turning around and leaving. I let her go and turned back to the front. -I don''t know which is the real her.- I''ve met many people when I had joined this war. I met Lagus Aman, who was famous even in my past life, and met the guild masters of the guilds of the upper castes. I met people I could never have dreamt about meeting in my past life, but the weirdest person I''d met so far had to be Muskan. She was stupid and had her head in the clouds. She also had poor situational judgment; everything she had done so far attested to those facts. Would she be able to use her God of Destruction''s Descendant skill once it completed? Would she be able to bring about a new social hierarchy system? Would she be able to become everything that people believed her to be? I found myself asking those questions. I wondered if she and all of these soldiers were fighting for no reason. It would have been better if I had the skill instead. I could put it to better to use than she ever could, but in the end, people still believed in her. That included Lagus, the Ravi Guild, and all of the lower castes. I laughed to myself. I believed that I had been somewhat reasonable after I came back in time. I had helped the Sunbin Guild in the hope that I could have them owe me a favor; I defeated the Blood Prince solely because I saw him as an obstacle in my path to greatness; I only defeated the San Tuan Guild because I knew I could. This time was different. Nothing was reasonable about my being here. It didn''t make sense for someone with my ambition and greed to stay here. I should be getting out of here and hope that the enemy would kill her since I couldn''t do it myself, even if she was fighting for her oppressed people. Of course, that part had concerned me at first, and while I thought she had a skill that made me think favorably towards her, I was an Unrivaled deva; that didn''t work on me. And I didn''t think of her favorably; I thought she was an idiot. She was just lucky to find an overpowered skill. Nothing about her made sense. "Well, there''s not that much time left anyway. I might as well do what I can." I made my decision even though I knew I knew it wasn''t reasonable for someone of my standing. Something just told me that I had to. I just had that feeling, and that feeling hasn''t let me down yet. "So this is where you were." Lagus came up from behind me. "Yeah." "They''ll make their move in less than an hour now." "Then we should start getting ready, as well." Their alliance had made its announcement two hours prior that it wouldn''t hurt anyone who decided to surrender and turn away now. Whoever remained would be obliterated. However, not a single Ravi Guild member or any of the devas who had come to help the Ravi Guild had left. "Then I''ll be relying on you once again and¡­ thank you and I''m sorry about everything. Thanks to you, we''ve managed to survive another day and found our will to keep fighting. I will definitely repay your kindness." "Don''t worry about it. It''s natural to do the best I can, as I said I''d help." "Thank you. I''ll be relying on you until the end." "Okay." The Ravi Guild had only me and Lagus to rely on in this upcoming battle. We were the key that would ultimately decide on the flow of the battle, which was why we were each assigned 200 guards of our own. They were healers and supporters who would focus on keeping us alive rather than fighting in the battle. I headed right and Lagus headed left to our pre-assigned positions. Our side lost in numbers, we could not afford to get ourselves surrounded, and had no choice but to plan to attack separately. That also meant we would have to cover a larger area on our own. "The enemy approaches!" "Hold your positions! Don''t waste your energy yet!" The Ravi Guild could barely slow 40,000 soldiers from crossing the Manori Creek during the first fight; it would be impossible to stop 80,000 soldiers. It would be better to reserve their strength for the fight ahead than to waste it on trying to break the ice bridge. At that moment, Sandip''s voice echoed across the battlefield. "We can lose! We can fail! We can die because we''ll have done our best and showed that we won''t back down! That''s how I feel! Am I alone in this?" "No, sir!" "Then let''s show them. Let''s show them all how we''ll change our world!" "Yahhh!" Every time I watched Sandip or Rahul act, I always thought that guild masters were amazing. I doubted that I could ever raise a guild''s morale or spirits with words alone if I ever had to lead a guild. "But if words don''t work, then actions will have to do. Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." I just had to do what I could. ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== This time, I didn''t have time to test the waters. I would have to jump in as soon as the battle started. "Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage." "Fatal Blows, Earth Armor." ==[You have received the effects of Brilliant Blessing. All Stats will be raised by 400 points each while the buff remains in effect.]== ==[You have received the effects of Roar of Rage. ATT and MATT increased by 6% while the buff remains in effect.]== ==[You have received the effects of Fatal Blows. CRIT chance increased by 3.8% and CRIT damage increased by 187% while the buff remains in effect.]== ==[You have received the effects of Earth Armor. Penetration Resistance increased by 35 points. DEF and MDEF increased by 11% while the buff remains in effect.]= "We''ve got your back." "I''ll keep you Shielded," my guards said as they began to cast their buffs. Their eyes said that they would keep me alive by whatever means necessary. "Thanks. Just to let you know, I''ll be all over the place down there, so it would be best for all of you to remain on the back lines." "But¡­" "I understand. We''ll do as you say. We''re your supporters, after all." A few of the guards tried to say otherwise, but the captain of the guards cut in. "Thanks," I said and looked forward. "They''re really giving it their all." During the first battle, only a section of the river was frozen. This time, however, the mages were casting as if they were trying to freeze the entire river solid. "Charge! Cut them all down. Punish them all for rising up. Punish them for not knowing their places!" "Yes, sir!" "Kill them all!" "Raaah!" There was a movie I had watched a long time ago that played on TV as a special. I didn''t really remember what it was about, but I did remember one scene. It was the final battle and an army of human soldiers had gathered to fight against a massive horde of orcs. I remembered this scene very clearly, as it was that thrilling. The battle that had just started in front of me reminded me of that scene. The pressure I felt from watching close to 60,000 soldiers charge in like that was intense compared to the movie. My whole body shivered in anticipation and I started to think that I was way in over my head being here. I looked around me to find a hole to crawl into, but when I turned around, my eyes met my guards''. They were just like me, shaking in fear, but couldn''t take their eyes off the battle. I quickly came to my senses; I couldn''t run away now. If I died here, I would only take on a single death penalty and could easily recover from it. But these soldiers here fighting with everything they had on the line for their future. -I can''t let them show me up.- I calmed my shaking heart. Once the alliance was about two-thirds of the way across, I began my attack. "Burning Fire Pillar." "Razor Wind!" "Breath of Destruction!" "Raging Flame of the Fire Demon!" "Shit!" "Block it! Mega Shield!" "Keep going! Don''t stop at their feeble attacks!" "Break through their defenses!" Both sides were fighting this final battle with their all and refused to give any leeway. Unfortunately, despite the Ravi Guild''s constant barrage of spells, the alliance was pushing forward. The alliance was taking losses, it had to, but it just had so many soldiers charging in that it seemed that it wasn''t taking any losses. It was time for me to step in. I pulled out my spear and charged at the invading force. The alliance could not afford to ignore me. In other words, the alliance would have to have teams keeping an eye out for me at all times. If I could start distracting a good chunk of the alliance''s army, the Ravi Guild had a chance. I stabbed then slashed at the front tank, killing him in two attacks as my spearhead flashed yellow. "It''s¡­.It''s Lee Jiwon!" "Fuck! Where is he?" "I''m right here." After that, I began attacking without rest. I kept cutting down my foes as efficiently as possible, each attack more fatal than the one before. "Shit. How is he getting off so many criticals constantly?" "What is this King-Emperor''s Dignity? Isn''t that the boss from the quest that showed up in East Asia?" "It is! There was a rumor that he was part of the party that cleared it!" "Shit! How do we deal with this?" The army on the entire right side of the bridge came to halt thanks to me. The other side kept going, but I had slowed them down considerably. I continued my attacks as I shouted, "I don''t know what you guys are thinking, but you''ll need all of your elites to take me on!" Chapter 135: Chapter 134: God of Destruction’s Descendant, Part IV Chapter 135: Chapter 134: God of Destruction¡¯s Descendant, Part IV "Die! I''ll put you back in your places, fools!" "Fuck off!" "The time of social classes is long gone. Shouldn''t you all be embarrassed of yourselves for trying to create a new social system?" "Embarrassed? We''re fighting for our lives! Razor Whirlwind!" "Shit!" --- I swung my spear around me, killing countless alliance soldiers while paying attention to the situation around me. -It''s not looking good. It really doesn''t look good.- The Ravi Guild was heavily outnumbered, yes, but the alliance wasn''t able to send out its entire army at once. The Ravi Guild had managed to withstand the first couple of waves, but the real problem here was the difference in skill. The Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant were entities that had controlled more than 80% of India before the Otatadolon stage. At the advent of devas and deities, they had used their influence to stay a step ahead of everyone else in India. "Hang in there! Stop him!" "Take this! Thick Earth Wall!" "Don''t think that a puny wall will be able to stop me." "Exploding Flame!" The Vaishya, Shudra, and Dalit devas were fighting with their all, as well. They fought, unafraid of death, even though they knew they were lacking in skill. If they were going to die, they would at least take another down with them. However, that will was not going to be enough to win them the battle. -We''re going to lose! We can''t win.- I tried to see if there was even a sliver of hope, but we didn''t even have a one percent chance of winning this. I had never faced such a hopeless situation before. --- "Good." Rahul smiled as he watched the battle from the other side of the river. "I have to give it to them for even lasting this long." "That''s true," Rahul agreed. Victory was at their fingertips. "Ignore Lee Jiwon and Lagus Aman. They can''t keep up with our sheer number. Our priority target is Muskan. They may be fighting with their lives on the line, but once Muskan dies, they will lose all will to continue fighting." "Yes sir. I''ll pass on your orders." At first, the alliance officers recommended focusing on Lee Jiwon and Lagus Aman at the beginning of the battle; they believed they had the numbers to make it possible. However, Rahul had rejected the idea completely and his words were law. A new battle plan was formed; to completely ignore the two. Rahul had said that no matter how hard they tried, Lee Jiwon and Lagus would never be able to cover the entire battlefield, and now it seemed that Rahul''s words rang true. Lee Jiwon aside, they could see Lagus panic as he was steadily being overrun. "It''s good that we didn''t have to use our third plan." "Yes, if we had to¡­" Currently, there were half a million mortals of the Vaishya, Shudra, and Dalit castes gathered twenty kilometers away from the battlefield. As ruthless as Rahul was, he knew that killing all those mortals would create chaos. There were devas of the Vaishya and Shudra caste within the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds, too, after all... It was their last resort. Of course, if killing half a million mortals allowed Rahul to kill Muskan, he would be more than willing to give the order. He didn''t care if all of India rose up against him; he could still sleep peacefully after the fact. --- "Shit!" I scowled and swore. No matter how many alliance soldiers I killed, there didn''t seem to be an end to them. Up until now, I had worked alone. I preferred it that way as I could take all of the loot for myself and didn''t need to worry about anyone else. This time, however, I was beginning to feel the limitations of being alone. Sure, I could always ask for help from the Myth and the Sunbin Guilds, but they didn''t belong to me. They weren''t part of my strength. I couldn''t ask them to take part in a foreign civil war when it had nothing to do with them. -If I do make them help me, I would just end up owing them favors.- "Get away from Lee Jiwon!" "Ignore him. Ignore him and push forward!" "He''s alone; he doesn''t matter!" I chased after the soldiers as they started to run away from like slippery eels. It was all I could do in this bleak situation. -I can''t stop them anymore.- I had changed history when I dealt with the Blood Prince and the King-Emperor''s Tomb with my strength alone. I had thought I could do the same here, but I was wrong. I was too arrogant this time. But then again, this was an impossible fight from the start. Still, I swung my spear as my comrades were still fighting, not afraid of death. Besides, if things started to really look bad, I had my high AGI and two Blinks to get me out of here in an instant. And so, I accepted the fact that we might lose and continued to fight as best as I could until I felt something hot on my back. There was no fire magic being used around me so that wasn''t the source of the heat. It was almost as if¡­ something big was on its way. -Is it an enemy?- I thought, but thinking again, I realized it wasn''t from the alliance as they could still win even if they hit a wall. I doubted they would bring something powerful out now. -Then who is it?- Even after a few more minutes, I couldn''t tell where this feeling was coming from. It wasn''t the Ravi Guild either. However, I still had countless more enemies in front of me and I ignored the feeling as best I could and focused on the battle. Soon, that something was going to show itself, something that I knew quite well. --- The Sunbin Guild headquarters¡­ "Would Jiwon be okay with this? It''s not like this is a personal matter for Jiwon. From the reports, it sounds like he''s more of a mercenary right now." "It doesn''t matter. We should use this chance to stay on good terms with him. He''s not the type of person to ask for help, no matter how much he needs it. It''s best if we step in on our own." Song Daechul took a sip of his tea before continuing, "It''s also the perfect situation to thank him for what he did for Haechang." Song Daechul and Song Myungsoo were in high spirits these days. The entire Song family was happy, thanks to Song Haechang. He still had quite a ways to go, but he was doing his best to deal with his inferiority complex and change. No matter what anyone said, Song Haechang was a member of the Song family. There was no way they couldn''t be happy. "Get ten thousand elite soldiers ready, but I don''t want you or Haein to go. I don''t want Jiwon to be overburdened." "I understand." Song Daechul decided to entrust the task to his most trusted general, Han Kyungchul. Song Daechul left one last order before Han Kyungchul left. "Monitor the situation first. I trust you to make the right decision to help or not." "Yes sir." "If you decide to help, contact Jiwon first. Do whatever he believes is best." "What if he sends us on a suicide mission?" Song Daechul chuckled. "He''s no idiot. He won''t do anything that''ll hurt the Sunbin Guild." "I understand, sir." And so, ten thousand elite Sunbin Guild soldiers secretly headed for India! --- The Myth Guild''s headquarters in Old Cairo, Egypt¡­ "Should we go?" Shin asked Ebonene. "Hmm¡­" Ebonene couldn''t reply right away and sighed. Aiding someone who hadn''t asked for help could be waste of time and a discourtesy. They could end up opening a can of worms if they needlessly stepped in. However, Ebonene knew Lee Jiwon''s personality. He knew Lee Jiwon wouldn''t ask for help, even if things would get dangerous for him. Lee Jiwon would try to solve his problems on his own, no matter what. "It''d be best if we sent help. Of course, it''ll be fine if we don''t join in when we get there. It''ll be better to at least make the effort than to outright ignore him. We could assess the situation once we get there." "Okay, let''s do that." And so, with Shin''s orders, another ten thousand elite soldiers of the Myth Guild secretly headed for India, led by the Myth Guild''s sole Unrivaled deva, Benenti. --- The battle came to a brief halt when word that a large force had made an unexpected appearance. "The Sunbin Guild and the Myth Guild?" The large force that just appeared seemed to be made up of at least a hundred thousand soldiers, many of them Indian. Soldiers of the Sunbin and the Myth Guilds could be clearly seen as well. "That''s the Arabin Guild!" "The Fadip Guild is here as well!" From the Ravi Guild''s cheers, I could tell that they were our allies. A few stepped out from the new crowd and shouted towards the battlefield. "As the guild master of the Arabin Guild, I can''t speak for all Vaishyas, but as a friend to plenty of Vaishyas, I say this to the Sahtaswhi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds: you are all outdated fools still relying on an ancient caste system that should have died out centuries ago! Open your eyes, you blind old man. You don''t even know where the new world is heading for!" "Yeaaaah!" "As the guild master of the Fadip Guild, I also can''t speak for all Shudras, but as a friend to plenty of Shudras, I agree with the Arabin Guild. How much more must you take from us until you are satisfied, you greedy pigs?!" Even a representative of the Dilats stepped forward to throw some insults and Rahul. A huge cheer roared out in reply before the battlefield fell silent again. The tables had completely turned. "All I hear is the braying of filthy animals! Let us show what we do to noisy, filthy peasants!" "Raaah!" "Let''s show them our drive!" The ground rumbled and shook as the newcomers charged in towards the battlefield. One side of the battlefield was now filled with newfound confidence, and the other side was now on edge. Just then, a small group split off and headed for me. "Hello, Mr. Lee. I am Han Kyungchul, the captain of the Sunbin Guild''s Third Assault team. I brought ten thousand of our most elite soldiers with me." "It''s been a while, Mr. Lee. I have to ask, why didn''t you ask the Myth Guild for help when you seem to have been in quite the pickle?" "..." I had no idea these guys would actually come. They actually joined in without my asking them, just for me. "I have been ordered by Master Song to do whatever Mr. Lee asks of me. We are to do as you say, no matter how perilous the task. Shall we cut the enemy down?" "The Myth Guild is here to do the same. We don''t leave a friend in need out to dry." "Let''s¡­ deal with the enemy for now." I lamented myself for having nothing better to say. I wanted to at least show them my thanks, or look cool or something, but the words didn''t come out of my mouth. "Understood!" "Hah! We''ll make them pay for messing with our friend." If the words didn''t work, I would show them with my actions. I left the Sunbin and the Myth teams behind me and charged right back in to the battle. The flow of the battle had completely changed directions. --- "Those sons of bitches. How dare those lowly beasts¡­!" Rahul roared in anger. Victory was within his grasp. He just needed thirty, no ten more minutes until he had his fingers around Muskan''s throat. "Why are they in India?!" The Sunbin and the Myth Guilds had proudly showed their emblems on their uniforms, as if they had no intention of hiding their presence. Rahul could not forgive them for acting this way in India, of all places! "Drag them here!" "Sir?" "Drag the mortals out to the front, now!" "Yes sir!" the chief of staff replied straight away, afraid of his guild master''s anger. Saying anything else could end up with a hand around his throat. "Fine. Let''s go all the way if that''s what you all want. I''ll burn this country to the ground to get what I want!" The Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds could not stop now. Stopping now meant a total surrender as the time for negotiations had long passed. It was all or nothing now. This war would only end with only one side left standing. "Curse you to hell, Lee Jiwon!" If it weren''t for Lee Jiwon, the war would have ended in an instant. The lower castes were fighting with a newfound fire in their hearts, thanks to the appearance of the Sunbin and the Myth Guilds. Insects were insects, but the two guilds were different. "Hurry up!" "Yes, sir." And so, at Rahul''s order, the five hundred thousand mortals began to quickly move for the battlefield, shaking in fear the entire way. Chapter 136: Chapter 135: God of Destruction’s Descendant, Part V Chapter 136: Chapter 135: God of Destruction¡¯s Descendant, Part V Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Thirty minutes had passed since Rahul gave his order. "Are they still not here yet?" "It''s difficult to move five hundred mortals at once. It''ll take some time, sir." "I don''t care if you have to drag them on their asses or whip them; get them here now!" "Yes, sir!" "Fuck!" Rahul swore. He knew that getting angry wasn''t going to solve his current predicament, but he couldn''t help himself. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. "Please, calm down. The battle isn''t over yet. Thanks to your insight, we still have one last¡­" "We should have ended this while we were still ahead! At this rate, those insects are going to take over!" Rahul interrupted Shan Diva, annoyed. Rahul didn''t like that he was forced to use his last resort. Furthermore, this last resort would only serve to get a rise out of the enemy. Those half million mortals would be begging for their lives; no doubt the enemy would hesitate to attack, and if using that chance could bring Rahul victory, he would take it. --- "Huh?" Something was beginning to bother me at the back of my mind even though the battle had turned in our favor. I automatically turned around and saw Muskan smiling at me. ''I told you before; I can''t harm you, Mr. Lee.'' Muskan''s lips were closed, but I could hear her voice clearly in my head¡­ but that wasn''t important here. The battle was in our favor, but her words did not fit in with our situation. "What the hell are you talking about now?" I asked. I was too far away for her to hear my voice, but somehow I knew that she would know what I was saying. ''Thank you for helping me. I was able to finish up here perfectly. I just hope that my small gift to you will be of great help to you.'' "I''m asking why you''re bringing this up now." Her smile was calm and sad. There shouldn''t be any reason for her to make an expression like that. It wouldn''t be long until her skill awakened, so she should be happy, not sad. Her words didn''t make any sense, either. Muskan turned away from me and turned her attention to the other side of the river. Several thoughts ran through my head. I couldn''t grasp what she was trying to tell me. We were winning the battle; it wouldn''t make too much of a difference if I stopped fighting, and so I headed for Muskan, to ask her what she meant. However, at that moment, I felt a disgusting feeling from the other side of the river. I quickly turned back around and noticed the source of that disgusting feeling and the wailings that came with it. I clenched my teeth in anger. "Rahul, you crossed a line!" After the world changed, many places kept our social laws of the past to make sure at least most could live as proper human beings, but there were still places where power was the law of order. India was obviously the latter; that was why this war had started in the first place. Everyone stopped fighting when they appeared. There were just way too many of them. Everyone realized in an instant that they were all mortals, mortals who really would get wounded and die for good from fatal attacks. They also realized that the mortals were all Vaishyas, Shudras, and Dalits. --- Rahul came forth. "All forces retreat!" He turned around and gave a signal. A fire mage then fired off a fire spell right at the mortals. "Gahh!" "Save me!" The humans screamed for their lives, but could do nothing against the fireball that exploded right in their midst. Thousands died in an instant. Rahul turned back to the battleground and shouted once more, "I''ll admit it; you bastards managed to push me into a corner! I have no qualms about killing all of the half million mortals I have brought here. Do you all need more confirmation?" The entire battlefield had fallen completely silent. Not a single soldier made a peep. All that could be heard was the wind in the trees. After a moment, people started shouting out at once. "You son of a bitch; you''re not even human!" "Piece of shit!" "This is best that the ''great Rahul'' could come up with?!" Thousands threw insults at Rahul, but Rahul didn''t even blink. Soon, the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant soldiers began to retreat from the battlefield, with their heads hung in shame. The fact that they had to resort using hostages to win the war made them feel as if they were the bad guys. It didn''t take long for the devas to clear the river. --- "To go to this extent just because it doesn''t look good for him is¡­just too much. This is the worst possible situation," Han Kyungchul said, as he walked up to me. Ebonene was close behind him. "No matter what we decide to do, it''ll be difficult to prevent any huge losses." The other Sunbin and Myth Guild soldiers took their positions behind us and guarded our rear. "What will you do?" "Let''s wait and see for now." At that moment, Rahul spoke again. "I will trade these half million mortals for Muskan!" "What sort of nonsense are you spewing?!" "Cut the crap, asshole!" "Why is it nonsense? Muskan is a deva. She gets to live again, but these mortals don''t have that luxury. What''s a single death penalty compared to half a million lives?" I had to say, he was probably the most thick-skinned person I''d ever encountered. "Son of a bitch! Don''t go flapping that hole you have for a mouth!" Several people starting shouting insults at Rahul again. "What do you say, Muskan?" Rahul, however, ignored the insults and asked Muskan. I followed Rahul''s gaze and turned to Muskan. She had to turn him down. Sure, half a million lives were nothing to scoff at and I could clearly see them huddling together in fear but there were still millions and millions of Indians who were waiting for the advent of Shiva''s Descendant. Her followers would only grow exponentially after that. She shouldn''t turn back now that she finally had the upper hand. She had to sacrifice them for the greater good. Of course, if I was one of those mortals, I wouldn''t like it one bit but¡­there was no choice here. She had to turn him down, especially with her skill almost awakened. I could also see the Ravi Guild''s trying to convince her to not do it. They understood more than about what was at stake. They probably even had family among the mortals, but they knew that they would have to make the sacrifice. --- "We''ve come so far; we can''t give in to his threats." "He''s right." Muksan gave a small smile and looked around at the people staring at her with pleading eyes. "Thank you for everything." "You can''t!" "We came here believing in you! You can''t just¡­!" "I must. I have to. If you try to stop me, I''ll delete the skill myself. I can as long it isn''t activated yet," Muskan said, ending the conversation and pushing past the group. No one tried to stop her. --- "What the hell are you doing?" I noticed her pushing past the soldiers as she headed down to the river and I quickly ran over to her and asked, with Lagus right behind me. "Thank you both for everything that you''ve done so far. If it weren''t for the two of you, I wouldn''t have been able to make this decision." "I knew you were an idiot this whole time, but are you seriously to be this irresponsible to the end?" "How is saving the lives of 500,000 people irresponsible?" I couldn''t think of anything to say back. Half a million was a lot of lives at stake. A lot. But they still weren''t worth the hundreds of millions of lives in India. "Muskan, please! You don''t have to do this. It''s almost complete. You don''t have to sacrifice yourself for this!" Lagus seemed to have shared my thoughts. "No, this is the best option we have. Don''t try to stop me." Muskan continued past us to the river and neither of us tried to stop her. Honestly, I had wanted this to happen in the back of my mind. I was so greedy and jealous that I hadn''t wanted to let her skill to ever see the light of day but as I stood there, watching everything unfold, my chest was stuffy with frustration. Could I do the same if I were in her position? I started to think many things about Muskan. She was too nice and her will was too weak. She couldn''t see the bigger picture. I was still looking down on her, but it just didn''t sit well with me. "Still¡­this is stupid." I watched as Muskan crossed the river and walked up to Rahul. Then, at that moment, I remembered what she had told me. -Gift? And what did she mean about finishing up?- If she died before her skill awakened, I was going to take on a huge punishment. That''s what the message and Muskan told me. There was no way I could get the reward, but she said that she finished. -I just don''t get it. I don''t get it at all.- I couldn''t help but shake my head. --- "It''s good to finally meet you." "I feel the same way." "I wasn''t sure if this method would actually work. Actually, I thought it wouldn''t work. But you''re right. It''s my scathing and ruthless last stand." "That''s good. I''m glad you know yourself." "Hmph, of course I should know, that way I won''t ever make the same mistake again." "It''s a shame that I had to have you as an enemy." "I feel the same way. If only you weren''t a Dalit¡­if only you were born a Brahmin." "I don''t know about that. If I was, would I have been able to learn the skill?" "Is that how that works?" Rahul laughed as if it really were a shame. "You''ve done well all this time. Go peacefully now. Oh, and I''ll spare the mortals for your bravery." "You can''t kill them all anyway." Rahul didn''t say anything and only laughed before turning around. At that moment, a shower of fire, ice and lightning spells rained down on Muskan who just stood there and didn''t even try to block the attacks. --- I felt at a loss as I watched Muskan die. I wondered why I was dragged here. Why was this war even started in the first place if the hero couldn''t defeat the villain? I understood why she had to do it; there were half a million lives at stake, but so was the livelihood of her people. It was a war; there were bound to be sacrifices to be made. They had to win the war first, and the time for regret would come later. "It''s time to leave this place! The Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds are to restrict foreign activities and focus on recovery!" Rahul shouted for all to hear. At that moment, a message popped up in front of me. ==[The Destruction God''s Descendant has completely awakened. The end of destruction means destroying yourself and returning to perfection. Muskan, the user of Destruction God''s Descendant, had completed the skill to 99% and, upon her death, has provided the final 1% for skill completion. Her two Comrades will now be rewarded. The First Comrade may receive 2 out of 7 options. The Second Comrade may receive 1 out of 5 options.]== ==[Option 1: Absolute Destruction (1% chance to inflict instant death upon enemies.) Option 2: Source Destruction (10% chance to incur a permanent death penalty.) Option 3: Normal Destruction (After killing an enemy, there is a 100% chance to randomly decrease one of enemy''s Stats by 1-5 points.) Option 4: Increase all Stats by 2000 points Option 5: Obtain double Stat points upon leveling up. Option 6: Inflict 10x attack-based damage on enemies. Option 7: All effects, including buffs, debuffs and heals will not work.]== Lagus and I looked at each other in shock. Neither of us knew about this. "What is this about?" "I don''t know either, I''m afraid." According to the message, it seemed that Muskan could not become the Descendant and the skills effects were to be passed to whoever she chose to be her comrades, and that it could only work upon her destruction. A shiver ran down my spine. Muskan knew that she would have to die since the beginning. She must have known that she wouldn''t be able to resurrect. Lagus seemed to have come to that realization as well. ==[A Roulette Wheel will now spawn for the First Comrade, Lagus Aman, to choose his two of seven rewards.]== Soon, a huge roulette wheel appeared before us. It seemed that only the two of us could see it. It began to spin on its own before coming to a stop. ==[Congratulations. You have received Option 4. Your Stats will be increased by 2000 points each.]== ==[The second wheel will now spin.]== A new wheel appeared with only six of the seven options on it. ==[Congratulations. You have received Option 2. You now have Source Destruction (10% chance to incur a permanent death penalty.)]== ==[A Roulette Wheel will now spawn for the Second Comrade, Lee Jiwon, to choose his one of five rewards.]== The messages appeared one right after another. We barely had time to blink before the wheel spun for me. ==[Congratulations. You have received Option 1. You now have Absolute Destruction (1% chance to inflict instant death upon enemies.)]== The messages that didn''t seem to care about our reactions disappeared once I received my reward. I remembered what she told me, that she couldn''t hurt me and how she thanked me for my help. I had never met Muskan before in my life. I hadn''t even heard of her in my past life. It made sense for her to do this for Lagus, but she had no reason to grant someone she had never met before a reward of this caliber. It was almost as if¡­ Muskan knew that this would happen before it all began. It wasn''t that she was an idiot; it was that she knew what would happen that her actions seemed stupid. "Just what¡­did she expect from me to go this far?" I asked myself, but there was no way to get the answer now. Muskan was gone for good. Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Muskan, Part I Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Muskan, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED A little after two years since the world changed¡­ "Sis¡­ I''m tired." Muskan was carrying her twelve-year old sister on her back while climbing up a mountain trail in a rainstorm that had been pouring down for two days straight now. It didn''t look like it would stop anytime soon. "Please, hang in there¡­we''re almost to the next village. I''ll get you something to eat there," Muskan said, panting. "But I''m not hungry anymore." "No. Please¡­please." Muskan was starting to panic when her sister said she wasn''t hungry anymore. That wasn''t a good sign. Muskan kept climbing in the rain, tears streaming down her face. "Sis¡­" Muskan''s sister cried out weakly. Muskan knew it would be better to find a place to rest before moving on, but she couldn''t. Beasts had been stalking them since they left. --- Muskan''s family was of the Dalit caste. While the caste system has long been outlawed, the treatment of the Dalits remained the same. During the long history of India, Dalits were considered to be lower than beasts. However, as time went on, treatment towards the lower castes had gotten much better. By the time Muskan was born, she and the other Dalits were allowed to go to school and pursue an education. At least, until the world changed. The Great Change had flipped the whole world upside down. India was affected as well. A new type of power was introduced; a type of power that only existed in fantasy movies and novels. That power had provided some people a new start in life and ruined the life of others. The Great Change was the start of a life of hardship for Muskan and her family. The weak chains holding society together quickly broke and the strong began to oppress and rob from the weak with no one around to stop them. In an attempt to protect one another, people began to gather to create smaller societies. Societies that grew larger began to absorb other, smaller groups, or just plain plundered them. It may seem obvious at this point, but Dalits were not included in these groups. Why would anyone want to group with Dalits? They had nothing to begin with, and couldn''t secure any don gates for themselves. They had nothing to trade, either. There were no such thing as a safe haven for the weak and no one would ever willingly lend a hand to the Dalits. And so, after a year since the world changed, members of Muskan''s family began to die one by one for minor reasons; very minor reasons. Her father''s head was severed when a deva fired off a skill as a joke, and her mother, who worked at a pig farm for eighteen hours a day, died in the rain, collapsing from overwork. Muskan became responsible for the remainder of her family at age nineteen. Only her fourteen-year old brother and her eleven-year old sister were left. But one day, her brother left, leaving only a letter saying that he would go find a don gate and sell it for money to bring back home. However, not a few days later, news was brought that he was eaten by monsters. His friends that went with him had brought back a tattered shoe. It was all that was left of him. In less than a year, Muskan had lost almost her entire family, but this wasn''t only her fate. Many other families had died or disappeared in a matter of days. Muskan now had to live to protect her younger sister, but fate wasn''t very forgiving to Muskan. Muskan had the dark, dark complexion of most Dalits and while she was never called a beauty, she wasn''t called ugly, either. She was completely average. That was the start of it all. At first, she said no, but when she turned down a powerful man, she was fired from the farm she worked at for a piece of bread a day. Muskan didn''t know what else to do to keep her sister fed. The man persisted and in the end, Muskan sold her body, crying till the end and continued to do so for a year. She lost count of the men who used her, but Muskan held on. Every day she wondered if she had to live like this and cried, but she continued on for her now twelve-year old sister, who only had Muskan left. Giving up on herself meant giving up on her sister. Muskan would hold on and keep holding on, until those beasts shifted their attention to her sister. --- "Please¡­you have to hang on¡­we''re almost there." "Hehe. Sis, you''re so warm." Muskan tightly held on to her small, underfed sister. -Come on! That village should be around here somewhere¡­but why isn''t it here?- She had checked and double-checked the rumors that this village was at least a little better to live in, and had checked on a map before leaving that hellhole. She should have discovered it by late afternoon today, but night had already fallen. She kept going, however. Those beasts that feasted on her body for the entire past year wouldn''t give up on her so easily. Muskan kept running, ignoring the cuts and blisters that were forming on her feet. It was then that she found it; the don gate that all of her friends and family had given up trying to find, the gate that her brother had died for. Muskan knew its worth and how countless people searched everywhere for don gates. She knew there were plenty of people who would pay fortunes for the gate, but she walked towards it, dragging her sister with her. A deva was granted eternal life; it was her best shot at saving her sister''s life. ==[Only adults over the age of 18 may use a don gate.]== Muskan knew this but she had to try anyway, in case there was a chance she was wrong and it could work. "Sis¡­it''s the¡­gate that our brother was looking for." "Yeah, Rimha, it is." "Hehe. Is Sis gonna be a deva now? Are you gonna throw fire from your hands and fly around in the sky now?" "Mhmm, I will. I''ll become a deva and start making lots of money and buy you tasty food and get you a nice, big house, so I''m going to need you to hang in there." "Okay. I want chicken. I want the chicken that Mama used to make." "Okay! I''ll definitely make it for you. Just wait a little bit more." Muskan picked up her sister and looked around for a place to get out of the rain. She saw a large tree and laid her sister down at the base of the tree trunk. "I''ll be right back. Wait here, okay?" "Okay. Hurry back. It''s cold without you." "Yeah, I will. I won''t be long." She heard that the transformation didn''t take long. At most, it would take a few minutes. Muskan quickly headed over to the don gate and reached out with her left hand. --- A few minutes later¡­ As soon as Muskan was flung out from the don gate, she quickly got back up without so much as checking her surroundings, picked up her clothes and sprinted for her sister, only to find herself in the worst possible situation. "Where have you been all this time in the rain without your clothes?" "Hold up. That bitch doesn''t have her token on her wrist." "What?" "Shit! This Dalit bitch used a don gate?! Do you have any idea how much it''s worth?" The men were furious. Even though the gate wasn''t theirs, they were furious that Muskan had used the gate without telling them, as if she had just robbed them. At that moment, one of the men kicked out and stomped right on Rimha''s head. "No!" Muskan tossed away the clothes in her hands and ran to Rimha. She covered her sister with her bare body at an attempt to shield her from harm. When she touched Rimha''s cold body, however, Muskan felt a shiver run down her back. "No¡­please¡­no. Don''t do this, please," Muskan cried out, tears streaming from her eyes as she stroked her baby sister''s face. It was cold, too cold. "Tsk tsk. All that work for nothing¡­" "I know, right? Hey, she was already dead when we found her." "You bastards! You hurt my¡­" Muskan was cut off by a hard kick to the stomach. "It''s your fault, bitch. Who the fuck do you think you are to be glaring at us like that?" "You just took away an expensive don gate from us, you filthy Dalit whore." "It pisses me just thinking about it. Why would a filthy bitch like you get to use it?" The men began to relentlessly kick and stop on Muskan, but Muskan didn''t let her sister from her embrace. She hated the world she lived in. She hated that she was born into a shit life to begin with and just when things were looking up, she was thrown back into hell once again. "Hey, that''s enough. If she dies, we''ll have to wait around here for three hours." "Don''t worry about it. She''s a deva now. She won''t die from that." "Whatever. It''s late now. Let''s go." Now that the men had let out their anger enough, they grabbed Muskan by her arms and picked her up. "No. I can''t leave her here. Let me go!" Muskan didn''t care about the punches and kicks from the men. The pain didn''t compare to her shattered heart. She couldn''t leave her sister out here to become fodder for monsters. She had to take her with her. "She''s already dead. Leave her!" One man pulled Muskan''s hand away from Rimha''s ankle. He then picked up Rimha''s body and tossed it over to the nearby brush. "Burn it." "Alright. Fire Ball!" Muskan wailed as she watched her sister''s body burn. For a moment, she was thankful. Her sister wouldn''t be fed upon by monsters now, but she also hated herself for having to think that. --- Muskan was forced back to her old life as soon as she was dragged to the village she ran away from. Muskan hated that she was a deva now. She couldn''t die even if she wanted to. She couldn''t end her own life now. It wasn''t until six months later that Muskan finally saw a ray of hope. The men she worked for had stupidly crossed a large guild. The village was eradicated soon, and Muskan took that chance to escape with a few golden rings in her possession. Muskan headed straight for Mumbai where she visited a Store for the first time in her life, where she bought her first random skill. ==[Rainy Night (1/1), (Passive) I don''t know if it''s tears or rain drops falling down my face. Obtain a strong familiarity with water. Power of all Water-based skills increased by 20% All abilities increase by twofold during rainy days All abilities increase by fourfold during rainy nights Skill points required: 0 Golden rings required: 0]== Muskan had heard things about skills and how rare random skills were but never heard about a skill costing 0 points and golden rings. Muskan learned Rainy Night and spent all of her skill points on Water and Ice magic spells. Muskan found her calling as a Water/Ice Mage and found Rainy Night to be quite helpful. She also managed to learn the Rainstorm skill later on to increase her potency in battle. She could now hunt in fields that people usually stayed away from and grew stronger at a faster pace than anyone else. When she was strong enough, she searched them out. She wanted her revenge. She wanted them to beg for forgiveness and to beg for their lives. She forced them to jump into the Sea of Reset, but it wasn''t enough to piece her broken heart back together. Vengeance couldn''t cure her of her depression and loneliness. After that, Muskan had learned her second random skill. ==[Proper Conversation (1/1), (Active) Hold a truthful conversation with a target, without the target''s knowledge. Skill points required: 0 Golden rings required: 0]== Muskan knew enough now to know that there was no one else in the world who knew two random skills. She knew that it was weird for skills to cost 0 points or golden rings. Still, Muskan learned the skill, even though it didn''t seem that useful in battle. However, it wasn''t long until she figured out that it was one hell of a skill. ==[You have activated Proper Conversation. You may now hold a truthful conversation without your target knowing.]== Muskan could target anyone she wanted as long as she could see that person. She could then have her target spill the beans about anything she wanted to know about. She began using it on many exalted individuals, and it would form a mirror image of her targets. "Do you truly help the poor and pitiful because you wish to?" "No. Why would I?" "Then why do you help them?" "I have to boost my reputation. I don''t care who it is, as long as they praise me, I gain strength. There isn''t a better way to boost my reputation." "Still, I like that you have ended up helping many people, regardless of your intentions." "Hah! Thank you." Once the conversation was over, the mirror image would disappear. Muskan began holding truthful conversations with anyone who was well known and it wasn''t long until she realized that the world wasn''t pretty. There was no way to survive in this world with only one mask. She realized that one would need many masks in order to gain true power. After that, Muskan stopped using Proper Conversation. She didn''t want to learn anymore. She continued to train using her Rainy Night skill, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t find any consolation in her strength. It wasn''t long after that when her third random skill found her. Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Muskan Part II Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Muskan Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[Descendant of the Destruction God (1/1), (Passive) Obtain the Power of Destruction, however, you are not allowed to have the Power. This Power can only be completed upon your destruction. In other words, it marks the end of Destruction. 3 of the 7 options below can be awarded to your Comrades. Only one Comrade: that comrade can have all 3 rewards. Two Comrades: the First Comrade can have 2 of the rewards; the Second can have 1 reward.]== ==[Once Descendant of the Destruction God is completed: Option 1: Absolute Destruction (1% chance to inflict instant death upon enemies.) : : All actions related to Destruction will increase the rate of completion. At 99% completion, the remaining 1% will come from the user''s Destruction. Skill points required: 0 Golden rings required: 0] Muskan couldn''t find the words to describe how she felt as she read through the third random skill''s description. This skill benefited others upon her death, her destruction. She knew she was different from others when she could learn three random skills while everyone else could only learn one. This third skill was just weird. There was more to the skill description. ==[Additional benefits can be gained by acquiring a chance to learn skills regardless of Ranks.]== ==[Should you decide not to learn Descendant of the Destruction God: All Stats increased by 1000 points. Increase all ATT-based damage by twofold against enemies.]== Even turning down the skill would give her one hell of a boost. On one hand, Muskan was ecstatic. She finally had a chance to end her eternal life after becoming a deva. On the other hand, she was sad. She had no one to become her comrades and to grant them those seven options. Over the past couple of years, Muskan had met several masters of large guilds and leaders of powerful organizations, and conversed with them. Many of them were known as the embodiment of charity and she had seen them act as such. However¡­she knew the truth after she conversed with every single one of them. Their true selves were so much different from the personas they had for others to see. Muskan could see that the seven options were powerful, so powerful that she couldn''t let just anyone have them. That would be the most irresponsible thing for her to do. Even though Muskan had her own fair share of hardships in the past, the reason she didn''t step up to help others was that she knew it was difficult. All of the conversations she had with others confirmed that fact as well. She didn''t have the ability to gather like-minded people, and it wasn''t worth it if there was a chance someone could come along and destroy all that hard work. If she couldn''t do it properly, it wasn''t right to do it at all. "Accept." ==[You have accepted Descendant of the Destruction God.]== In the end, Muskan accepted her fate to be destroyed. ==[The Destruction God will now begin to awaken. All actions related to Destruction will increase the rate of completion.]== "I''ll have to look for them." She couldn''t just make anyone her Comrade. Muskan couldn''t let this second chance go to waste now. She switched her goal from getting stronger to ending it all. She no longer hunted monsters anymore. She went around, hoping to find someone powerful, someone worthy enough to be her Comrade, and conversed with countless people. However, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn''t find anyone who stood out. Muskan only wanted one thing; if they could work together with her. Muskan only wanted someone who would at least turn back to those who struggled in this hellish life, to at least to think about helping them, but it seemed that no one like that existed. Muskan grew tired of it after searching through countless places. She spent several months and was about to lose all hope until she met him. Lagus Aman! "Why are you frowning like that?" "There are so many people who need help. Because my guild destroyed the Shudra''s Sunil Guild. Because we crushed their hopes and dreams." "But you weren''t part of it." "That doesn''t matter. What matters is that I was powerless to stop it. I''m also the eldest son of the Ravi Guild. I won''t ever be able to escape that guilt, and it would be wrong for me to try.". "Then what will you do now?" "I will¡­I will make the best place for all devas and mortals to live together in peace." "Will that be possible?" "I have to try. We may all live in hell, but we all dream about the heavens." It was the first time Muskan had laughed since she started Conversing. She finally met someone sincere. There was no way to tell if he would forever remain that sincere, but it didn''t seem that he would change any time soon. That was enough for Muskan. He was enough to leave the future of her people in his hands. ''I believe¡­ you are destined to be a demon king. It won''t do to be overly clean in an unclean world. You will not be a righteous king or a superior king, but a king of demons. And that¡­is why I like you,'' Muskan thought to herself as she watched Lagus walk away with a frown on his face. For the first time since becoming a deva, Muskan smiled. ------ After meeting Lagus, Muskan began to make her greatest plan. From what she learned from Conversing, she knew to an extent what she had to do. That was why she purposely spread the rumor about the Descendant of the Destruction God. She first fed the fuel to the Shudras and the recently destroyed Sunil Guild that was still reeling from the attacks of the higher castes. The rumor spread like wildfire. Soon, the Ravi Guild came to Muskan''s side. It was all going exactly as she planned. However, a problem had surfaced. The Arabin and the Fadip Guilds hadn''t joined her yet. It was then when she met Lee Jiwon. She had heard a few rumors about him, but didn''t think much about it when she decided to Converse with him. It would probably be like all the other Conversations she had. "Hello. My name is Muskan." "Hi¡­I''m Lee Jiwon¡­" There were two types of powerful people Muskan had Conversed with: those who exuded confidence and arrogance and those, like Lagus Aman, who respected those around them and tried to be as humble as possible. Lee Jiwon was different, however. He had the confidence of a real champion, but also had a sense of fear and doubt. He didn''t seem to be someone of power at all. "You are strong, are you not?" "I¡­have the confidence to say I am the strongest in the world. It''s not arrogance¡­it''s the truth." "Then why are you so nervous?" "Because I know." "Excuse me?" The Conversation was getting weirder. Lee Jiwon couldn''t lie, and only Muskan was able to tell. "What is it that you know?" "Me and the future." "The¡­future?" "Yeah, the future. I know what will happen tomorrow. I know what will happen to me and what I will have to do." "But¡­how?" Muskan didn''t notice that Lee Jiwon wasn''t stuttering, and was speaking casually. "I came from the future. I came from a future where I lived like trash." He came back to the past¡­ Muskan didn''t think that was possible but she quickly acknowledged it. Anything was possible in this new world. "How envious. What''s the future like?" "It''s a mess." "Then have you changed many bad things about the future?" "I have. A lot." "I really do envy you. A chance at a new beginning¡­" Muskan was really envious to the point that she didn''t realize she was crying. "What will you do now?" "I''m going to get stronger. No one will be able to ignore me, and no one will be able to step on me." "Is that all?" "I''m going to see the end of it all." "I wish¡­you to get to the end." Muskan ended their Conversation. She knew all she needed to know. He was going to see it all the way to the end. That was enough for her. Muskan stared at Lee Jiwon, who was standing there on the other side of the Manori Creek. Muskan wasn''t confident that she would make it to the end. She already met her end, but she wanted to watch someone make it there. She wanted someone to try their hardest to get to the end and not just end up there coincidentally. She wanted to see someone face the end of the world with confidence. "It''ll be nice if that person can make it there with at least a little of my help." Muskan decided to make Lee Jiwon her Second Comrade, even if Lee Jiwon didn''t want to. ------ A few days later¡­ The battle of the Manori Creek was drawing to a close. ==[The Descendant of the Destruction God is now 99% awakened. The skill user''s destruction is required to completely awaken. You still have a chance to delete this skill now and still receive the benefit.] Muskan crossed the river without hesitation. Muskan knew from Conversing with Rahul that he wouldn''t kill all of the mortals. It was all a bluff, but there was no better chance to end it all. Her seeds of a better future were already planted in the Ravi, Arabin, and Fadip Guilds, and the other Dalits. They would fight in her name. Lagus and Lee Jiwon would also be the vanguard of the new future. Muskan watched as the spells rained down on her. It was as if her deceased family was showering her with fireworks from the heavens. She was happy. She could finally escape the cursed label of Dalit. Tears began to stream down her face, but she didn''t wipe them away. She wasn''t crying because she was afraid of dying; she was crying because she could finally see them all again. She was crying because she had hated being alone all this time. She was crying because she was tired. Ever since she became the Descendant of the Destruction God, she had never cried. She needed to keep a clear head until it was all over, but now she could. It was all ending. "I¡­I did it. I didn''t hate anyone and I wasn''t tired. Mom, Dad, Vakun, Ramiya¡­I''m home." Muskan let her tears drip off of her chin and just when the spells were about to hit, she whispered, "I Destroy myself." --- "You idiot. You''re still an idiot." Lee Jiwon didn''t approve of Muskan until the very end. Gift? Promise not to harm him? "I didn''t need this to get stronger." The skies thundered as black clouds formed overhead. It began to rain heavily in an instant, almost as if the heavens themselves were trying to erase what had happened. Lee Jiwon was engulfed in the torrenting rain. Chapter 139: Chapter 138: Time Attack, Part I Chapter 139: Chapter 138: Time Attack, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED No one on the Ravi Guild''s side of the river moved a muscle. They all stood there as the heavy rain washed down over them. Soon, someone finally broke the silence in a booming voice. "I, Lagus Aman, make my vow here! I will not rest until the caste system of the new world is ended! I don''t care if no one follows me, but I vow to destroy the caste system and create a place worth living for people!" Lagus had been waiting for his father to step up and say something similar, but when Sandip didn''t, Lagus made his decision. He would no longer sit back on the sidelines and take charge on his own. "I¡­I will follow Master Lagus!" "I''m with you!" Many had been waiting for Lagus to step up. Those that knew him the longest knew about his strength and his personality. That was the start... except this time, it started in India --- "Mr. Lee," Lagus turned to me. We decided to keep what had happened as a secret between us for now. One way or another, people would find out later on, anyway. There was no way to keep our newfound abilities hidden from the public for long. "Thank you for everything. We wouldn''t have made it here if it wasn''t for you." "I only did what I had to." "I will repay you¡­" "Please, you don''t have to. In the end, we failed, anyway." That wasn''t right, probably. Everything that had happened the past few days went just as Muskan had planned. "We already got enough out of this, anyway." "Thank you. I, Lagus Aman, swear to run to your side in your time of need." Just earlier today, Lagus''s eyes were always shining, but now, they were filled with a deadliness and an unforgiving light. "I''m also glad that we got to meet this way. It was an honor to fight at your side." We shook hands, saying to each other that it wasn''t a final goodbye. We would see each other again, one day. As Lagus turned around and left, he didn''t ask for more of my help. If I did, then he could reach his goal faster, but neither of us was willing. -Am I finally done here in India?- These were by far the toughest few days of my life. "What''ll you do now, Mr. Lee?" "This battle is not about to end any time soon." Han Kyungchul and Ebonene walked up to me. "It''s time to go. Let''s go¡­" I was about to say that I wanted to go home now, but I stopped myself. I didn''t really have a home to back to. All I had in my name was that rooftop room that was probably destroyed now. All I had in Seoul was the hotel I stayed at every now and then. I didn''t have home to go to in Korea. "Ahem. We should go back now." It didn''t matter too much, anyway. I didn''t need an actual home to go back to right now. I was busy and would be kept busy for the years to come. "Where will you go, Mr. Lee?" Han Kyungchul asked. "I''m¡­thinking of going back to Egypt." I turned to Ebonene before continuing, "I still do want to go to Alexandria." The high-grade dungeon there was my original destination after the hidden dungeon in India. "You are always more than welcome. We still have your room prepared over at the Myth Guild''s headquarters. Your personal chef is still there, as well. He''s always asking when you''ll return," Ebonene said, chuckling. "Thank you." I turned around to thank Han Kyungchul and the Sunbin Guild''s soldiers for their help, and that I would pay them back for their kindness today. I followed the Myth Guild out of the battlefield. ------ Han Kyungchul watched as Lee Jiwon and the Myth Guild leave. "Home¡­" Han Kyungchul didn''t like that Lee Jiwon chose the Myth Guild over the Sunbin Guild. It wasn''t that he didn''t like Lee Jiwon for making that decision; it was that he didn''t like that Lee Jiwon didn''t have a home to return to in Korea. Lee Jiwon''s home should be in Seoul. Han Kyungchul had come to India knowing that Lee Jiwon was powerful. Han Kyungchul had watched videos of Lee Jiwon''s boss battles countless times and seen for himself today the extent of the man''s strength. What Han Kyungchul saw today was almost unbelievable. At first, he thought that Lee Jiwon was using skills, but he quickly realized that Lee Jiwon was only using normal attacks. Lee Jiwon could easily fell a tank in only four or five hits. Nothing could stand in that man''s way. And to let him go? "It''s stupid. It''s the worst thing that could happen." Lee Jiwon was a Korean from the start. It didn''t make sense to let him go. "We might not be able to do anything about it now, but we can''t let him go again in the future. We have to make it so that he''ll choose the Sunbin Guild over the Myth Guild! A home¡­ we need to give him a home first. We need to give him a home he can come back to anytime, and it has to be in Seoul. The closer the better!" ------ The Myth Guild''s headquarters in Old Cairo, Egypt... "It''s good to see you again, Mr. Lee!" "It''s good to see you, too," I greeted Shin. The Myth Guild was still the same. It was nice to have a place to come back to. "Master! I heard about what you did in India. I see you''ve made the whole world your playground!" It was even better to see Sunghoon again. "Hehe. It''s the least a man should do, ain''t it?" I joked. I turned back to Shin and continued, "You''ve all really helped me out a lot this time. Thank you." Both guilds were a big help today. I didn''t even ask for their help, and yet they were more than willing to step in. It was thanks to them that I could obtain Absolute Destruction. "It was nothing. We''re friends. We can''t just sit idly by when a friend needs help. Isn''t it the same with you, Mr. Lee?" "Haha. I suppose so." It made sense. Even if their reasons were solely political, it was still wise to help to maintain our relationship. We had to help each other out now and then if we wanted to remain allies until the end. "Anyway, I came back because I wanted to get to Alexandria''s dungeon now." "Of course. I said it before; all of Egypt''s dungeons are open to you. But, I have to say, tackling a high-grade dungeon on your own is¡­" "I know. I wanted to at least see what I would go up against." Obviously, I had never been to a high-grade dungeon before in my past life. I couldn''t afford the fee, nor was I strong enough. But now, it could be different. My body ached in anticipation. I stayed as humble as possible, but I was actually pumping with confidence. "You truly are amazing. But I''m sure you have time for dinner and to talk before you go, right?" "Of course I do." Together, we left to enjoy ourselves at dinner, Sunghoon included. I also decided to rest for the next couple of days. Everything that happened in India really took a toll on me. ------ A few days later, I was on Alexandria''s Pharos Island. I was standing in front of the Qaitbay Citadel that stands where the Pharos Lighthouse once stood. The dungeon here was known as Pharos'' Dungeon. "If only Korea had its own high-grade dungeon." Any large guild needed at least one high-grade dungeon in its possession. It''s actually quite impressive that, in the past, the Sunbin Guild actually managed to get that large without its own high-grade dungeon. "Let''s see what it''s got!" I took a step forward to enter the dungeon. "Mr. Lee, hold on a moment!" I heard someone call out for me from behind. I turned around, and saw members of the Myth Guild running towards me. "That''s a relief. We decided to come here first before calling you on your Comm Link!" "What''s going on?" "About five minutes ago, a quest dropped at the Stores, and we wanted to show you. Have a look at this!" I took the paper the guild member handed me. ==[Time Attack (No Rank) ''Set the best record!'' Set a higher record than anyone else and receive an astounding reward. Two types of dungeons will be revealed: 1-person dungeon: enter alone and get to the top dungeon. 16-person dungeon: enter with a guild or party of 16 people and get to the top 50. Rules: You can enter two dungeons a day, regardless of dungeon type. Even if you give up on one dungeon, that dungeon counts as one for the day. Your record will be evaluated compared to the current highest record. Time Attack starts now and ends in 30 days. That''s 60 dungeons a day. The reward will be based on the highest record. The reward could either be: A Rank 8 random chest, a skill random chest, golden rings random chest, a skill point random chest or a stat point random chest.]== I couldn''t believe what I just read. I remembered it happening in the past. I clearly remembered hearing about it, but I didn''t give it too much thought. It took place in a country too far away for me. There was also no way for me to ever reach the top ranks. "People are going crazy over this right now." "They have every right to¡­" Those 16-man dungeons were going to be the most sought after, especially by guilds wanting to get to the top ranks. It was the best way to show off their skills. There was a chance a large guild could fail to get to the top 50 and a smaller guild could rank even higher than any other guild. This was the perfect chance for me, especially since my new ability could really turn the tides. I swallowed as I thought about what was in store for me. Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Time Attack, Part II Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Time Attack, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "It''s a pain, but what can I do?" I said to myself outside of Store 72. The Time Attack quest was much more important than normal dungeon hunting, and I wanted to get first place by a mile. I quickly made my way to Cairo''s Store, but when I got there, I had no choice, but to leave right away. The only way to participate in the quest was to buy an entry pass to either a one-man or a sixteen-man dungeon. I had to keep my promise to Anton and Marie to keep buying from Store 72. It was a bit of a pain, but they did help me out quite a bit. Besides, it took less than a minute to get from Cairo to Seoul now. I already had the cash to use. I left Seoul''s Teleporter Zone and headed for Store 72''s general store. --- "Hey! Are you actually going to do it?" "Of course I will! You saw the rewards; there''s no way I can pass it up." "Dude¡­if all we needed was motivation, then everyone would do it. But look at the rewards yourself. Do you think it''ll be that easy? You''re going to get ripped apart by the monsters." "Oi. Are you telling me to pass it up?" "No, do it. Knock yourself out. The entry passes are 1 golden ring each, anyway. Just don''t expect anything. You should look in a mirror. You actually look like you''ll get first place! Puhahaha!" "Tsk. You¡­you never know! I might not get first place, but I could at least rank high! I may not look it, but I''m the ace of my team!" "Ha¡­sure, whatever. The rankings are going to come out after today so good luck with whatever you''re going to do." ------ Everyone was talking about the Time Attack quest. -Yeah, it always gets noisy when these types of quests appear.- These quests were perfect for people to compare themselves and find out who was really stronger, even for average devas. In the past, I didn''t have anyone to do that with, but now, at least I had a few people I could show off to. I quickly headed up to the general store and bought 60 one-man entry passes and 60 sixteen-man entry passes. I knew I could only enter 60 dungeons in the next month, but I bought 120 passes just in case. "Entry passes aren''t resellable and will expire in thirty days." "Okay, got it." As I browsed through some other items, I heard a loud bang that sounded every time I came to this Store. I left the general store and looked up to see Anton. "It''s you again, Lee Jiwon?" I decided that it would be best to visit his office first next time. He was attracting way too much attention. --- I found myself back in Anton''s office, sipping on tea and talking with Anton and Marie. "Ha¡­ you always give me a fright every time you come to my Store." "I can see that. I''ll make sure to visit your office first. It''s getting old." "I know, right? Please do that from now on," Anton said, taking my joke seriously. "Anyway, what did you do this time? There aren''t that many things that could give me these many points." It could only be Absolute Destruction. I doubted that Altered Equality could make Anton this excited. "Hehehe." It was always nice being able to surprise someone like this. "Why are you laughing? Well, whatever the reason, it''s good for me too. If my best customer''s happy, then I''m happy too." Anton started laughing too. "It''s nice to see you''ve been doing well, Master Lee." "Thanks, Marie." --- After a few more words, I left Anton''s office. "Hey, that''s him, isn''t it?" "Yeah, it''s Lee Jiwon." "Is he here for Time Attack?" "I guess so. But wouldn''t he be super helpful in a sixteen-man dungeon?" "Of course he will. Even if half of his rumors are true, having him on your team would be one hell of an advantage. Someone of his caliber could easily make short work of the quest." "Then, since he''s not part of any guild or anything, there''s going to be some fierce competition to get him on a team." "Who knows? It''s only the first day, and there''s still plenty of time left. All we can do is wait and see." "Damn¡­all those guys who had been saying that they''re the top players must be freaking out. Everyone''s going to see the results right away." "Hah! You''re right. It''s going to be fun to watch." Again, people were staring at me and talking to themselves. I quickly wove through the crowd and left the Store. "Blink 1. Blink 2." I Blinked away to get as far away from the Store''s vicinity as possible. "Looks like there aren''t any records out yet." Next to both Cairo''s Store and Anton''s Store were two large thirty-meter tall display boards. One was for the one-man dungeons and the other was for the sixteen-man dungeons. "Then again, the quest did just drop." Only an hour had passed since I first heard about the quest in Alexandria. "The highest record back then was¡­huh, I don''t know." I racked my brain but it didn''t come to me. I didn''t really care about the quest back then, so it was obvious that I didn''t know. "Oh, but I do remember that all of the deities monopolized the one-man dungeons." The memory came to me as I looked back at the display boards from atop a building overlooking the Store. The sixteen-man dungeons were mostly completed by parties, but the one-man dungeons required a player to tank and deal damage on his own. In other words, healers and supporters couldn''t enter one-man dungeons on their own, it was impossible for them. Tanks were in similar situations, as well. Only high-damage dealers and all-rounders stood a chance in one-man dungeons, but even mages, archers, or assassins were at risk, as they couldn''t withstand high amounts of damage. "That''s right. People were going off that the one-man dungeons were made specifically for deities." They really were the perfect dungeons for deities, who could attack and defend easily. "But now¡­heh." Things would be different now. I was going to get so far ahead of everyone else that people would start thinking that my ranking was a bug. Then again, if I did that, I could cause quite a stir... "Well¡­ it doesn''t matter now. I can''t hide my strength anymore." I took out a one-man dungeon entry pass from my inventory. "Enter one-man dungeon." ==[You have used a one-man dungeon entry pass. You will now be moved to a one-man dungeon. Dying in the dungeon will incur the same death penalty as always. However, you can always give up the dungeon and will be moved back outside. Monsters in this dungeon do not drop items, golden rings or EXP. You will be timed until you defeat the dungeon''s boss monster.]== I was soon transferred from the rooftop to another place, inside a dungeon I had never seen before. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]== This was only my first attempt. I still had plenty more chances, and decided to use Mana Conversion to test the waters here. "Let''s do this." There was a wall behind me and the only way was forward. I stepped forth, filled with anticipation and excitement. Soon, I could see hordes of orcs blocking the way. "Nice. It''s been awhile since I''ve seen you guys." Monsters had to be orcs. However, these orcs weren''t normal. They all looked as strong as the Legendary Orc Champion, the first dungeon boss monster I''d ever faced. But still, they weren''t boss monsters, and I had grown much, much stronger since then. I charged in at the horde without hesitation, and pummeled them with my spear. "Gwek!" an orc cried out as my spear stabbed through his chest. "Skree! It''s a human!" "Kill him!" The orcs charged in at me as well, but it was exactly what I wanted them to do. -One, two, three, four¡­.- I swung my spear at the orcs without rest and counted each time I attacked. I wanted to see Absolute Destruction go off. There was only a 1% chance it would work. In other words, it should go off in about 100 attacks. But going off once every 100 attacks was basically worthless. It had to at least go off once every 50 attacks. "Kwek!" -Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine¡­- I started to get nervous the closer I got to 50. I was lucky enough to have Shaman Ko give me 3 Stat points a day when that itself only had a 1% chance of working. Powerful Shock went off a few times, too; although it only did it just when I was about to forget about it. -This isn''t looking good¡­- If Absolute Destruction activates as often as Powerful Shock, then it would really suck. It would have been better to get another effect. "Kwek!" Of course, I didn''t really need either of them to activate against these orcs that fell easily against my attacks. It would be better if they activated against the boss monster later on. "But if they don''t go off here, how can I expect them to go off in the boss room?" I struck down the final orc in front of me. In less than seven minutes, I had cleared the surrounding area of elite orcs. "Ha¡­that was 317 attacks, and still no sign of Absolute Destruction." Neither effect had activated against at least a hundred orcs. "No¡­it''s too early to give up!" I quickly headed forward. There were undead monsters for balance purposes and a few spike traps and rock traps here and there. There was also an iron door that required constant damage to break but none of these were enough to slow me down. I crushed anything in my way and sprinted ahead. I wasn''t worried about any of that. "Shit. What is¡­going on here?" Absolute Destruction''s probability was very weird. It did end up going off; on my 453rd attack. A black bolt of lightning struck an undead monster''s head. ==[Absolute Destruction has been activated. Your opponent dies regardless of how much HP it has.]== : : ==[Absolute Destruction has been activated. Your opponent dies regardless of how much HP it has.]== It went off until my 463rd attack. It went off eleven times in a row! "Huh¡­how am I supposed to react to this?" I was glad that it went off consecutively like that, but it was completely random. There was nothing that could tell me it would go off soon. "Geez. It''s not like I can''t alter it in any way, either." There wasn''t much I could do, so I decided to leave it at that. At least it activated and I saw its power. I just had to hope it would go off against the boss monster. I just kept charging forward, cutting down the monsters in front of me. ==[Boss Room]== "That took about an hour and twenty minutes." I did take my time going through the dungeon as I checked this and that. "If I go as fast as I can, I could cut down my time by twenty to thirty minutes. That leaves me about an hour to clear the dungeon." In the end, it had to activate on the boss monster. If it did, then I could set the fastest record. It''d even be better if it went off on the first attack! I stepped closer to the boss room. Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Time Attack, Part III Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Time Attack, Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The boss monster in the boss room was one I had heard plenty about in the past, but had never seen before. It was the Steel Staff-Wielding Ogre Champion. "Graaah! Only death awaits your bravery!" The Ogre exuded danger as it stood over four meters tall and its muscles rippled with strength. The Ogre Champion boasted a high ATT and DEF, and was one tough opponent to face alone. However, it was the perfect opponent for me. This first dungeon was an experiment, to gauge how difficult it was and how long it would take. I didn''t bother to activate Judge''s Gavel, and charged straight in. "Raaah! Die!" The Ogre swung its giant metal staff right at me, but my spear was faster. The spearhead pierced straight into the Ogre''s abdomen and at that moment, I saw it. A bolt of black lightning struck the Ogre''s head. ==[Absolute Destruction has been activated. Your opponent dies regardless of how much HP it has.]== The Ogre cried out before slumping to the ground, dead. "Huh?" It actually went off on the first hit. I was so shocked that it actually happened. "No! This was supposed to be a test¡­" I had even purposefully taken my time getting to the boss room and didn''t use Judge''s Gavel to save the cooldown. ==[You have defeated the Ogre Champion, boss of a one-man dungeon. Time take: 01:26:37 You can choose to register your record or save it. Register: Register your record which will be shown on the display boards if it is one of top 50 fastest records. Any time a faster record is registered, your record will be lowered each time. Save: Save up to 5 records. Saved records can be held for up to 15 days and will be deleted after 15 days.]== "Hmm¡­Save." =[one-man dungeon: 01:26:37 ¨C this record has been saved under 1. Not registering this record in 15 days will delete this record.]== I decided to save my record for now. If I wasn''t careful, I could attract too much attention too early. ==[You will be forcibly removed from this one-man dungeon in 1 minute: 60, 59, 58¡­]== Soon, I was moved back to the rooftop overlooking the Store. "They still aren''t up yet." As soon as I returned, I turned to look at the display boards and found that they were still empty of records. "I guess they''re all saving their records in a battle of wits." It was either that, or that no one had cleared a dungeon yet. That seemed more likely, actually. There probably wasn''t anyone else out there that could defeat a boss monster in a single blow. "Meh, it doesn''t matter." I could afford to take it easy now. I learned from the little experiment that these one-man dungeons were easy enough for me. All of those monsters and traps could do nothing to slow me down. I was confident that I could set an even faster record each time I went in. There was still one obstacle that I wasn''t sure about; the boss monsters. "It won''t be a problem if Absolute Destruction goes off each time like it did just a little while ago." Of course, I could still rely on my higher STR and AGI to defeat the Ogre Champion without having to block or dodge any of his attacks, and still manage to clear it in a decent time. "Still, the more I think about it, the more I realize how overpowered Absolute Destruction is." It was my strongest ace in the hole and I broke out in cold sweat every time I thought about what would happen if Lagus had been the one to obtain it, not me. If he combined it with his Psychokinesis abilities¡­I shivered at the thought. Still, now that I had Absolute Destruction, I could now show everyone that I could defeat a boss monster faster than I had the Fallen King-Emperor. That time, I had several buffs on me, used Judge''s Gavel, and had the boosted STR from Shaman Ko which took a serious toll on my Fatigue. There was no way I could ever reproduce any of that. "I''ll just get that item first and call it a day. I don''t need to clear any more dungeons if they''re not going to net some rewards." From today''s experiment, I realized that I didn''t need to rely on Absolute Destruction or Powerful Shock against the normal monsters. My normal attacks were enough against them. I only needed Absolute Destruction against the boss monsters, and I just needed to get at least one point of damage on them to increase the chances of it going off. In other words, rather than CRIT rate or damage, I needed another effect. I put on my hat and sunglasses and headed straight for the Store''s auction house. There, I bought the item I was looking for. It was cheap, as it was a low ranked item and pretty common. --- One week later, in the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­ The display boards at the Store could be seen from the ninety-seventh floor of the Sunbin Guild''s building. Song Daechul stared at the sixteen-man display board from the window of his conference room. ==[16-Man Dungeon Rankings S Rank: 06:49:27 ¨C Cheng Long Guild S- Rank: 06:54:48 ¨C Black Wyrm Guild S- Rank: 06:56:03 ¨C House of Windsor Guards S- Rank: 06:57:44 ¨C D. Nerv S- Rank: 06:58:21 ¨C Sunbin Guild : 27. C Rank: 07:35:56 ¨C Nayuta Guild : 44. D- Rank: 08:01:17 ¨C Myth Guild : ]== "We''re in fifth place¡­we''re all over the place," Song Daechul said quietly, but no one else in the room could say anything back. They did know that he wasn''t saying it out of spite and more as a matter-of-fact. The Sunbin Guild had five records saved. One of those records was faster than the Cheng Long Guild''s registered record; they just hadn''t revealed it yet." "Yes sir. It seems we''re all playing the same game." "It also seems as if this battle of wits will last until the final day and it''ll be an all-out psychological warfare on that day." "I suppose so." Song Daechul nodded at what his vice-master said. "Currently, our R&R department is poring over our 14th raid, trying to come up with ways to decrease our time. It''ll be possible for us to get a faster record." "Yes, I know you''re all working very hard at this but our biggest problem is the boss monster, isn''t it?" "Yes, sir." The sixteen-man dungeon boss monster had a special trait. It possessed two shields; one red and one blue. The blue shield was completely immune to all physical attacks, and the red shield was completely immune to all magic attacks. This boss monster would even switch those shields around every now and then. Another problem was that if the blue shield was hit by any physical attacks, the blue shield would deal counter damage anywhere from 2x to 10x the damage it received. The same went for the red shield. It was easy to work around as the boss monster would telegraph each time it switched its shields, but nonetheless, it was very annoying to deal with. All those shields did was waste more time. "I believe that all of the other guilds are in the same position, and are stressing over the shields." Song Daechul nodded at what his officers reported. It wasn''t just their problem. At that moment, Song Myungsoo carefully brought up a subject to his guild master. "Father, if we could ask Jiwon for help¡­" "I also believe that we could really cut down our time if we could have Mr. Lee help us, sir. If we can have him focus on physical attacks, we can gather more mages and increase our magic damage output. If we do that, then we can definitely defeat the boss monster faster," Han Kyungchul added. "No. Leave him be." "Father, Jiwon will absolutely be of great help to us." "He''s right, sir. Besides, he can''t turn us down after India. It''s not even a difficult request, either." "Hohoho. I know that, as well but¡­" Song Daechul took a sip of his tea and sat back in his armchair before continuing, "Wouldn''t it be better if we wait for him to extend his hand first?" "Sir?" "What do you mean?" The officers looked to Song Daechul in confusion. Song Haein, who had been quiet the whole time, turned her head as well. "The best help is when a strong person offers it to a weak person. Jiwon is that strong person now. Just wait. Jiwon will contact us himself and offer us his help." No one could say anything as Song Daechul sat there, smiling to himself. --- The Myth Guild''s headquarters in Old Cairo, Egypt¡­ "We just need to wait." "Are you sure that''s all we have to do? I never realized we had this much of a difference with the rest of the world. There was that business with the Blood Prince and I thought we all did as much as we could¡­" "There''s no need to fret. You''re doing more than fine as our guild master. Everyone in the Myth Guild is doing great. The race isn''t over yet, nor can we see the finish line. We can catch up to everyone else as long as we don''t ever stop," Ebonene said strongly to encourage Shin. "Master Ebonene is right." "We must keep going and we''ll soon close the gap." "Thank you, all of you." Shin could smile again at her officers'' encouraging words. "Then, as you said, all we need to do is wait for him?" "Yes. Lee Jiwon is no fool. He isn''t aware of it himself, but his sense of balance is strong. He''ll contact us soon and all we need to do is thank him for his kindness." "I understand. Then that is what we''ll do." --- Fifteen days later¡­ I was once again at the starting point of a one-man dungeon. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]== ==[Warior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== I activated the two skills and charged in at the horde of orcs. "Skree! It''s a human!" "Yeah, that''s right. I''m a human," I replied to the same words I heard countless time already, and began swinging my spear at the monsters like a machine. I obliterated this horde in four minutes; three minutes faster than when I had first started. I didn''t stop to pat myself on the back and headed for the next horde. I Blinked twice down the one-kilometer long hall of traps. "Judge''s Gavel." ==[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]== I used Judge''s Gavel to smash the giant boulder blocking my way. I didn''t need to save it for the boss monster; I had something better to use against it. I made quick work of the undead monsters and the harpies flying around like gnats. Once I cleared them all, I arrived at the boss room. "It''s been¡­exactly fifty minutes." Before I entered the boss room, I put my Harrier into my inventory and took out my new weapon. It was a type of spear. This new spear felt almost alien in my hands after using the Harrier for so long. "Item Check!" ==[Triple Hitting Spear (Rank 4) It is a typical spear, except that it was enchanted with Triple Hit by an apprentice mage practicing his magic. However, the enchantment isn''t very strong. Each successful attack will attack three more times. The 1st attack inflicts 10x the base damage, 2nd attack inflicts 5x base damage and the 3rd attack inflicts 1x base damage. Decrease ATT speed by 9% Increase Penetration by 31 points Increase CRIT chance by 1.4%, increase CRIT damage by 77% Increase STR by 50 points Durability: 1,450/1,450 ATT: 550] It was a worthless spear; even more so compared to my Harrier, but I only bought it for its one special effect. The spear attacked three more times for each successful attack. That was four attacks every time I swung it. It was all to increase my chances of activating Absolute Destruction. "Perfect." I quickly entered the boss room, ignored whatever the Ogre was trying to say and attacked. The first attack didn''t activate it, but it didn''t matter. I could already attest to Absolute Destruction''s weird probability. I didn''t bother to dodge the Ogre Champion''s attack and kept attacking. ==[Absolute Destruction has been activated. Your opponent dies regardless of how much HP it has.]== ==[You have defeated the Ogre Champion, boss of a one-man dungeon. Time taken: 00:52:17 : ]== "It''s tough getting less than 50 minutes." I had another record saved from the second day, and it was on its last day. =[One-man dungeon: 00:49:32 ¨C this record has been saved under 1. Not registering this record in 15 days will delete this record.]== "Register." ==[Lee Jiwon''s one-man dungeon record of 00:49:32 will now be registered on the display board.]== That was it. It was the fastest I could do, and I didn''t want to do another dungeon again. I believed that it was just impossible for me to get anything faster. "Hmm¡­I guess it''s time to pay back those favors." If it meant that I would have to sacrifice a lot of my time and energy, I wouldn''t have even thought about it, but it was easy for me. "Yeah, I might as well." It would be best to help them since I would probably have to keep relying on them in the future. I decided to call the Sunbin Guild and the Myth Guild. --- Around the time Lee Jiwon made his decision, the Stores around the world were thrown into a tizzy, all because of a single record that showed up on the display boards. This new SSS Rank record pushed all of the other records below it down to F- from the severe difference in time. People panicked even more, as it was a deva who was responsible for pushing second place and below down to Rank F-. Just before, only deities had held the first thru tenth places! And the man responsible was ignorant of the fact, naturally... Chapter 142: Chapter 141: This Has Got To Be A Bug! Part I Chapter 142: Chapter 141: This Has Got To Be A Bug! Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED The Gnosis Guild''s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul¡­ "Have you gathered all of the intel, as per Lee Jiwon''s request?" "We finished that a while ago." "Lee Jiwon and Lee Kangchan, eh¡­something definitely happened between them." "I mean, if you think about how Lee Jiwon looked just saying his name¡­ besides, it''s been going on for so long now," Lim Gina said confidently. "Why, did you want to hand the intel over now?" Jay asked. "No. Everyone''s too busy right now because of Time Attack, but we should once it''s over. And we will need to keep tabs on both of them even after we hand the intel over." "I guess so. Ah¡­ I''m so busy because of this damn Time Attack crap." The Time Attack was the perfect chance for the Gnosis Guild to get its name out to the rest of the world. They weren''t participating. Even though they had their own powerful members, their specialty wasn''t in team battles, and they could not hope to match up against the other large guilds. The Gnosis Guild was an information guild; it would spread its name by investigating. They could sell all sorts of information about the Time Attack dungeons, like what would be the best way to avoid the traps, what formation would be best to fight the monsters, what would be the roles to fight the boss monster, or what the boss monsters'' attacks patterns or weaknesses were. Already, the Gnosis Guild had several clients lined up to purchase this sort of information. Sure those powerful clients would have their own investigation done, but they were all prepared to pay top coin to find out if there was anything they had missed. That was how much they, the large guilds and organizations, were prepared to invest into the Time Attack; not just for the rewards, but to get their names out there and to hold their rankings. "We''ve got less than a week left, so hang in there. We just got an order from a guild in Saudi Arabia yesterday." "Tch. That''s easy for you to say, when you sit behind a desk all day. Some of us have to go in and out of sixteen-man dungeons every day." "Be glad no one''s asked us to check out the one-man dungeons." "That much is obvious, you dolt. Look at the display boards. First to tenth place are all deities. Why would any of them ask for intel? The only deva is placed eighteenth¡­ huh?" Jay was pointing to a TV screen that was showing the display boards that they had been monitoring 24/7, in case anything changed. When Jay noticed the change, she couldn''t bring herself to finish her sentence. Alpha and Lim Gina followed her finger and stared at the screen, dumbstruck at what they saw. No one spoke for a while until all three of them broke the silence together. "What the fuck? It''s got to be a bug." ------ Outside Store 72¡­ "Holy shit! Look!" "What?" "That! Look at the one-man display!" "Huh? Lee Jiwon?" "I''m not crazy, right? Lee Jiwon''s in first place, right?" "Yeah¡­ I see his name, too." "I''m not dreaming, am I? Is this for real?" "First place aside, look at the difference between it and second place¡­how does that make any sense?" A huge crowd gathered around the display boards. "It has to be a bug!" "Impossible! How can a deva set a record like that?" All display boards around the world were surrounded by devas all saying the same thing. Many cried that the records had to be bugged. ==[One man dungeon rankings SSS Rank: 00:49:38 ¨C Lee Jiwon (Deva) F- Rank: 02:49:38 ¨C Mellow (Deity) F- Rank: 02:52:21 ¨C Rai Lin (Deity) F- Rank: 02:52:55 ¨C Yoana Momon (Deity) F- Rank: 02:57:06 ¨C Martys (Deity) : 19. F- Rank: 03:23:56 ¨C Gar Gran (Deva) : ]== A single person''s ranking flipped the rest of the world on its backside, all the while Lee Jiwon was busy calling the Sunbin and the Myth Guilds. ------- "Very well, I''ll head over there tonight." I called up both the Sunbin and Myth Guilds and would have dinner over at the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters. "Ha¡­ I did expect it to be like this, but things are really going crazy now." I was flipping through the channels on the hotel''s TV, and most of them were about the one-man dungeon display board. "This has to be a bug." "That''s right. There is no way a record like that could ever exist. It just doesn''t make sense. There are several videos out that show just how long it should take to clear a one-man dungeon." "Then are you saying that the display boards are lying?" "That''s¡­" "There has to be something wrong with the system or¡­" "That''s quite the bullshit coming out of all of you. Do you think that the Otadolon Stage is some sort of game? Why the hell would there be bugs or malfunctions?" "You can''t say that on¡­" "Watch your language! You''re on national television!" "Whatever. If you''re all going to act like this, why don''t you try looking for the Creator? He has to be somewhere, right? Oh, maybe there''s even a customer support center somewhere! If you do find them, do pass on their email, would you? I''ve got some things to ask, as well." "Then are you saying that you believe it?" "At least I''m no fool who can''t bring himself to believe what his own two eyes see!" ------ That night¡­ I put my hat and sunglasses on and left the hotel. I headed straight for the Sunbin building, Blinking all the way, and arrived soon afterwards. "Jiwon oppa!" Haein was right outside the entrance, waiting. She waved as soon as she saw me approach. "Hey." "Why didn''t you pick up your Comm Link back then?" "Oh¡­ right." I remembered that I had gotten a call while I was at Oosara Falls'' hidden dungeon, but I didn''t pick up. I felt too guilty. It was the Sunbin Guild''s in the first place, and it really was a real treasure. It was also big enough for the two of us to share, but I got greedy. It didn''t feel right to have a normal conversation with Haein while I was stuffing myself full and I was a little ashamed to do so. "I got a little busy." "Hmph, sure sure. Anyway, let''s hurry up and head in. You haven''t eaten yet, right?" "Nope. I''m starving." "Good. Oh, and the Myth Guild is already here, waiting." "That was quick." --- It was no banquet hall, but still, we all had dinner together in high spirits. Once dinner was over, I noticed that Shin and Song Daechul were staring at me like baby birds waiting to be fed by their mother. I could tell why and opened my mouth to speak. "I registered my one-man dungeon record today, and don''t plan to enter any more one-man dungeons." "I saw that. I could hardly believe my own eyes." "Same here." "I knew you were strong, but that record is just¡­" "Yes well, it was only possible due to a special ability I have." People were going to learn of it sooner or later. Actually, it was safe to say that I already revealed its existence when I registered my record, and Lagus should be making strides, as well. I decided to reveal it to these people first to show them how much I trusted them. Besides, if I end up going to a sixteen-man dungeon with them tomorrow, they would find out then, anyway. "Open Public Specials Menu." ==[Splinter of the Destruction God.] Successful attacks have a 1% chance to inflict Absolute Destruction. (Absolute Destruction: Inflicts Instant Death on enemies.) This effect can activate as long as at least 1 point of damage is dealt. When this effect successfully activates, the enemy will die, regardless of HP remaining.]== "!!!" "That¡­that''s!" Amid the shock, a few actually recognized it. It was probably because of me. They must have done their homework before joining the battle, especially if it involved the so-called Descendant of Shiva. "Yes, it is. It''s the gift I received from Muskan." "Hah¡­" "How did you¡­" "So that''s it. It would be more than possible if you had that all along." "No, even with that, it would still be difficult to get under 50 minutes with considerable abilities. But only with considerable abilities¡­" Song Daechul cut in. A few others stared at me, curious as how I had actually obtained Splinter of the Destruction God, but I ignored them. I didn''t need to explain that far. "Be that as it may, it was thanks to this that I set my record. And the reason I wanted to gather everyone tonight was to lend my help to you all. I want to repay all of you for everything you''ve done for me so far." "Thanks." "Thank you." "You''ll be a great help to us all." The Sunbin Guild and the Myth Guild were all smiles at my offer. We quickly went over the following conversations. Since there were only five days left with two dungeons per day, we decided that I would help them five times each. "Jiwon, I swear you will be rewarded handsomely for your help." "Don''t worry about it. I''ve received so much¡­" Before I could finish or turn him down, Song Daechul took out an item. It was the Rank 9 King-Emperor''s Mantle. It was the last piece of the King-Emperor''s set. If I had that, then I could get a set bonus effect comparable to a Rank 10 item. "We can discuss what to do about that later." I couldn''t take it now, especially since the Myth Guild was getting antsy as soon as Song Daechul produced the Mantle. I wanted it. I really wanted it, but I wasn''t dumb enough to jeopardize my good standings with either guild. I realized it in India that even though I was strong, I couldn''t deal with everything. I needed help from others time to time. I decided that it would be best to talk about rewards after the quest, since there was still the quest reward to consider. And so, we decided that I would go with the Sunbin Guild in the morning and go with the Myth Guild in the afternoon, and then we finished dinner. The Sunbin Guild also graciously allowed us to stay at its VIP rooms, and together with the Myth Guild, I headed up to sleep. ------ The next morning, I and fifteen other members of the Sunbin Guild gathered in the basement training room. Among them were Song Myungsoo, Haein, and Han Kyungchul. They were all the top elites. "We leave it to you, Jiwon." "Got it." All sixteen of us formed a party and used our passes. This sixteen-man dungeon was going to be tough, especially from what I heard about the boss monster. But I was confident! Chapter 143: Chapter 142: This Has To Be A Bug! Part II Chapter 143: Chapter 142: This Has To Be A Bug! Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Haein and General Han, I leave the front lines to you," Song Myungsoo ordered. "Got it!" "Understood." "As you all know, we''ve entered the sixteen-man dungeon over thirty times now, so we should all know what to expect. I''ll take command when things change, but I leave the rest to your judgment." "Yes, sir!" "Our goal is to reach the boss room faster than before! That''s all we need to do. Let''s go!" At Song Myungsoo''s orders, Haein and Han Kyungchul spearheaded the party at a fast pace. I studied the sixteen-man dungeon beforehand. -In the end, it''s not much different from the one-man dungeon.- The dungeon was just at a bigger scale; the monsters and traps were all the same. All we needed to do was charge forward. "I''ll block the attack!" "Bellowing Fire Pillar!" "Razor Wind!" "Kwek!" The party fought like a well-oiled machine. It had been a while, but I did fight in parties in the past, as well. I''d had no choice, as a Fire Mage, and I could tell that they were all very experienced veterans. -As expected of the Sunbin Guild.- They were fighting so well that I didn''t feel the need to step in yet. "We put more mages in this party than fighters since you''re here, Jiwon. We are benefiting from the increased burst damage from magic attacks." "Yes, I agree." We were making quick work of the monsters at first, but it wasn''t long until we started to slow down. There were plenty of stronger monsters here to balance with the sixteen-man party. That was my cue. While my main role was to deal with the boss, I also didn''t want to stand off to the side while everyone else was giving their all. I was itching to have a go, as well. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]== I decided to save Warrior''s Brave Spirit for the Myth Guild as its cooldown was too long. The Sunbin Guild wouldn''t need the extra boost. I pulled out my spear and sprinted past Haein and Han Kyungchul, who were busy holding off an Enchanted Stone Golem. Once I was behind the Golem, I flipped around and stabbed it in the abdomen. My spear didn''t pierce through its rocky armor, but it did manage to crack it in places. The force of the blow caused the Golem to stumble backwards where it crashed into the other Golems. "Focus support on Jiwon." "Yes, sir! Fatal Blows!" "Earth Armor, Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage." I ignored the messages telling me that buffs had been placed and shifted my attention to the other monsters. At that moment, Haein and General Han came up next to me. "I''ll block all of their attacks. Attack them and herd them into a corner." "We leave it to you, Jiwon." "Got it." I was much stronger than either of them, but I didn''t turn down their help. I could also tell what Haein was planning. I left one side of the horde to Haein and General Han, and started attacking from the other. Soon, we managed to gather them all together as we pushed them back. "Exploding Flame Shot!" "Chain Lightning!" "Multi Stone Shot!" Once they were all gathered, the mages fired off AoE spells. The splash damage from the spells and my constant pummeling of attacks soon felled all of the golems. "Wow! To think Enchanted Stone Golems could be herded and destroyed like that¡­" "How high is his STR?" "His ATT speed is crazy fast, too. Did you see how all of the Golems were cracked from the force of his blows?" In less than eight minutes, we had cleared the entire area of Golems. "Damn¡­that was record speed. It always took us more than fifteen minutes to clear this area and the R&R team was sure that it was impossible to do it even faster¡­" "To think it only took a single addition to the party¡­" I could hear the Sunbin Guild members talk to each other in amazement, but it was getting a little too burdensome. "Ahem! Vice-master Song, we''re done here so¡­ should we get going?" I asked Song Myungsoo who was also standing there in bewilderment. "Ah! Uh¡­ move out!" He quickly snapped to and gave the order. We continued to forge ahead. The other monsters didn''t have high DEF like the Golems, but we fought them using the same positions and methods. I attacked from the front while Haein and General Han guarded from the sides. Each time the high-leveled monsters fell after a few of my attacks, I noticed the others grow ever more confident and at ease. The monsters that had given them so much trouble the past couple of weeks were being easily toppled now. We continued to charge forward, quickly destroying the traps that got in our way. ==[Boss Room]== "It took us 2 hours and 11 minutes!" "The fastest we ever got here still took us three hours¡­" "It''s because we got rid of the monsters faster than before." "Lee Jiwon saved us a lot of time by destroying that boulder quickly, as well." "We''re not done yet! Stay focused until the end!" "Yes sir!" The gossiping party members quickly snapped to attention at Song Myungsoo''s order. "We leave it to you." "Yes sir." I put my Harrier into my inventory and pulled out the enchanted spear. The real show was starting now. From what I learned, when the boss''s HP falls to 10%, it starts using its red and blue shields, switching them to block whatever type of attack was strongest. That was why the Sunbin Guild had so much trouble with it. They had to make sure the party was well-balanced with mages and fighters. However, I was planning to defeat it before it could start using its shields. -They also said that it has high MATT and accuracy, right? I should use that then.- Haein and General Han had offered to tank the damage for me, but I had declined. I couldn''t be bothered to deal with it and they would only end up getting in my way. I confidently took the lead and entered the boss room. I could see the Lich suspended in midair, shrouded by a dark haze. ==[The Dark Lich''s Cursed Aura seeps all around the room.]== ==[Cursed Aura prevented by status immunity effect.]== "Altered Equality," I uttered quietly and a red smoke oozed from my body and headed straight for the Lich. The red smoke covered the Lich in an instant. ==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent. Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. Calculating all Stat points¡­]== ==[Your opponents Stats have been redistributed. The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else. Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]== With this, the Lich''s HP should have increased sharply, but that didn''t matter to me. If everything went as planned, HP wouldn''t mean much at all. It was better to lower its ATT speed and MATT. As soon as I confirmed that Altered Equality worked, I charged in, while the people behind me started talking again. --- "Why does it seem like the Cursed Aura''s effectiveness dropped?" "I know, right? Its range has been lowered, too." "Huh? It used to lower DEF and MDEF by 15% but now it''s only at 9%!" "You''re right!" "It must be because of that." "Yes sir. It seems the rumors we heard while in India were right. He stole his enemy''s skill." "Was it called Equality?" "Yes, sir. His opponent was a deity, and it was a deity-exclusive skill. It combines a target''s Stat points together and distributes them equally. I heard that it was most effective against magic-oriented boss monsters. It makes raids much safer for parties." "Ha¡­ geez." Song Myungsoo could only watch Lee Jiwon in amazement. That man was special, that much he had to acknowledge. For that reason, Song Myungsoo tried his best to not undervalue Lee Jiwon but now, he couldn''t help himself. It wasn''t because of Song Myungsoo himself, but because Lee Jiwon was just getting stronger too quickly. If he was ten steps ahead for one second, the next second, he would be fifteen steps ahead. It was almost as if the universe wanted Lee Jiwon to get stronger faster, and was pouring all of its luck into him... ------ The damage I was dealing now was nothing compared to what I could do with my Harrier, but I could tell that the Lich''s HP was going down. [HP Drain!] "Yeah, yeah. Take as much as you want." No matter how much HP it drained from me, it wasn''t enough to hurt me significantly. [Shadow Touch.] The Lich counterattacked with spells as much as it could, but it was all in vain. Altered Equality lowered its MATT so much that I didn''t even need to block or dodge its attacks. Furthermore, the healers and supporters topped me off every time my HP dropped to a certain point. I had attacked it more than forty times already, but Absolute Destruction hadn''t activated yet. If I took the weapon enchant into account, I should have attacked it at least a hundred and sixty times now.... -Go off, already.- I was fully aware that it was completely random and I had no control over it whatsoever, but I really wanted it to activate already, as there were fifteen other people watching from behind. Thankfully, it did right when I was about to cry out in frustration. The bolt of black lightning struck the Lich''s head. ==[Absolute Destruction has been activated. Your opponent dies regardless of how much HP it has.]== [Gahh!] And just like that, the Lich screamed out in pain with its tongue out like a frog before bursting into a cloud of black smoke. ==[You have defeated the Dark Lich, the Boss of the sixteen-man dungeon. Time taken: 02:15:57 You can choose to register your record or save it. Register: Register your record which will be shown on the display boards if it is one of top 50 fastest records. Any time a faster record is registered, your record will be lowered each time. Save: Save up to 5 records. Saved records can be held for up to 15 days and will be deleted after 15 days.]== I confirmed the message that appeared and turned to Song Myungsoo. "Sa¡­save." =[Sixteen-man dungeon: 02:15:57 ¨C this record has been saved under 1. Not registering this record in 15 days will delete this record.]== "Holy shit¡­ I can''t believe it." "Did¡­ did I miss something? The Lich was still fighting¡­ where did it go?" "We couldn''t reach the three-hour mark, no matter what we did." "The Lich didn''t even use its shields. It died before it lost 90% of its HP¡­" "I know we heard that this might happen¡­but this is just¡­" I could hear the other members sputter in shock behind the dumbstruck Song Myungsoo, but I just replied by standing even straighter. I also knew how overpowered it was. It would go off eventually, as long as I attacked enough times. I actually drew reference from Wakaba, the original owner of Azazel''s Boots. ==[You will be forcibly removed from this sixteen-man dungeon in one minute: 60, 59, 58¡­]== Chapter 144: Chapter 143: This Has To Be A Bug! Part III Chapter 144: Chapter 143: This Has To Be A Bug! Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Huh?" Two Sunbin Guild members were standing guard in the underground training room, waiting for the return of the sixteen-man party. They would need to report once the party returned, as both the Sunbin and Myth Guilds were completely focused on this raid. The guards had been leisurely waiting when the party had emerged after two hours and twenty minutes. The guards had thought that the party had given up, as they were told to expect the raid to take at least three and a half hours. "See, I told you. It''s not possible. I knew that would happen." "You punk. You were just saying that they were going to set a crazy record." "That¡­that was just¡­" "Whatever. Just hurry up and report that they''ve returned." "Tsk, fine." The guard picked up his Comm Link and contacted the command center. When he finished, the other guard spoke up. "By the way, if we take Lee Jiwon''s abilities into account¡­ finishing in just over two hours isn''t that far-fetched." "Yeah, right. I know he''s strong but he can''t do that with a sixteen-man dungeon. If he actually did, I''ll give you the 35,000,000 golden rings I''ve been saving up for items." "You''re serious, right?" "Damn right, I am. If I''m right, though, drinks are on you tonight." "Deal!" At that moment, Song Daechul, Shin and the other officers burst into the training room. "They''re already here?" "They didn''t give up, did they?" "Something could have gone wrong." Even they felt that the party had returned to quickly. Song Myungsoo stepped forward to the officers and spoke. "Open Saved Records." ==[You have 5 records saved. 16-man dungeon: 02:15:57 ¨C Sunbin Guild 16-man dungeon: 06:19:37 ¨C Sunbin Guild : 5. 16-man dungeon: 06:31:21 ¨C Sunbin Guild]== "What¡­" "Two hours¡­" "Unbelievable¡­" --- The Sunbin Guild''s conference room¡­ ''Leave the flanks to me, oppa!'' ''Got it.'' ''You do whatever you think is best, Jiwon. We''ve got your back'' ''Understood.'' The guilds'' officers were going over the video of the recent raid while Lee Jiwon took a breather before heading out with the Myth Guild. "That''s quite the wall three Unrivaled devas make." "Agreed. That wall has perfect defense and attack capabilities." A few were watching in amazement and made a few comments at how quickly the party was able to trek through the dungeon. Then, as they watched the party arrive at the boss room and how the Lich died before it could use its trademark dual shields, the entire room fell silent. They couldn''t find the words to describe how they felt as they watched the Lich that usually took a few hours to kill die from a single skill. -This has got to be a cheat!- -None of this makes sense!- -This has got to be a bug of some kind. There''s no other rational explanation for this.- Those that just watched the video were all thinking the same thing. They had all encountered numerous devas and deities, and not a single one of them ever came close to having anything as overpowered as Absolute Destruction. -Can we really leave Lee Jiwon alone like this?- -Will Lee Jiwon''s solo play end up hurting us in the future?- -There''s a limit to how strong someone can be. But this¡­ this is just insane. He keeps growing and growing.- -Can we really just let him grow like this? Don''t we need to stop him somehow?- Everyone had the same thoughts, but no one could bring themselves to voice their opinion. Should it seem that they were being jealous of their best ally, they could end up losing that relationship over to the other side. -We just need to make sure he sticks with the Sunbin Guild.- -We just need to make sure he sticks with the Myth Guild.- --- After that, my job was the same. I would help the Sunbin Guild and the Myth Guild in rotation and help them obtain records of different times. "Mr. Lee, I think we can stop here and rest for a couple of hours." "I understand. Let''s do that." We came to a stop right in front of the boss room. Our goal for this raid was to get four hours and ten minutes. Each guild could only register one record in its name at a time. The plan was to record times of varying speeds and to register the best record at the last second on the last day. Since I already agreed to help them five times each, I agreed to help them with this plan as well. It wasn''t going to be that difficult, anyway. --- Meanwhile, at Komosomolets Island, Russia¡­ There was a red mansion in the middle of the snow-covered island that didn''t look like it belonged there. "Hmm¡­Lee Jiwon is it¡­" Dorofei Krutikov, the owner of the mansion, sighed as he looked over a picture of Lee Jiwon. Dorofei was known as The Information Hunter and the owner of the Troll Market. His fame wasn''t enough that he was known by mortals, but plenty of powerful people knew who he was and that he wasn''t one to be trifled with. Dorofei had the ability to gather unobtainable information and items that were normally hard to come by. "I knew for a fact that Lee Jiwon''s potential power was at level 19. I even checked myself three times by going to Korea and Egypt." Dorofei also had the ability to see someone''s potential power. He didn''t need consent to see it, but regardless, he could see the person''s potential to grow. Level 19 was too low to even care about. On average, the potential of powerful people he met was at level 50. Anything lower could be considered trash and he had seen a lot of trash among devas who couldn''t adapt to their new power and couldn''t make headway, no matter how hard they tried. "But Lee Jiwon is completely different. No, he''s beyond different." At first, Dorofei thought it was all a coincidence, like a worthless person was getting so lucky almost all the time, but it shouldn''t have mattered. No matter how much treasure a worthless person had, he should still remain trash. Dorofei thought that was the case with Lee Jiwon, but he was wrong. Every time he started to forget Lee Jiwon''s name, there would always be some huge issue involving him. Luck could no longer explain his success, especially after what had happened in India. "Muskan''s potential was level 147, Lagus'' was at level 112, and Lee Jiwon''s was still at level 19. But how did the Destruction God''s strongest ability go to Lee Jiwon? He was only the Second Comrade, not the First!" Dorofei scoffed. He just couldn''t believe it. Dorofei picked up the report on the Time Attack display boards that was given to him less than a minute ago. "The Sunbin and the Myth Guilds'' records have to be because of Lee Jiwon." It wasn''t really awkward for the Sunbin Guild to be in top five rankings, but that didn''t go for the Myth Guild. Furthermore, their records were too similar and were both two hours ahead of third place. It had to be because of Lee Jiwon; there was no other explanation. Lee Jiwon was special to both guilds; it wasn''t weird for them to help each other out. Someone knocked on his door. "What is it?" "I have news from Europe, master." "Come in." The large door opened, and a butler entered. "So, how are things over there?" "The Predator Duke and the Werewolf Clan are still fighting to the death, but it seems the Duke is gaining ground. Here''s the full report." The butler handed Dorofei a folder. "That fat, greedy pig¡­" Dorofei accepted the folder while insulting the Predator Duke and read through the report. Dorofei''s eyes opened wide. "Lee Jiwon?" "Yes sir. The Werewolf Clan has asked Lee Jiwon for aid. Lee Jiwon was the one to defeat the Blood Prince, one of the Seven Monarchs, after all." "That isn''t all, is it?" "No sir. The Duke seems to know about the Werewolf Clan''s request, but isn''t doing anything to stop them." "The pig''s getting hungry." "Yes sir. It would seem that he wishes to eat not only the Werewolf Clan, but Lee Jiwon as well." "Gahaha. That fat pig wanted Muskan, as well. He actually wanted to eat the God of Destruction. But do you know what happened instead? He couldn''t make a single move. He was too scared of her power." Dorofei laughed out loud as he recalled the Duke''s confused expression. Then, Dorofei quickly put on a serious face. "But Lee Jiwon won''t be able to do anything against the Duke. He has the Destruction God''s strongest ability, and yet he''s still at level 19." "Are you going to leave them be?" "Hmm¡­" Dorofei closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair. After about an hour, Dorofei opened his eyes again and looked over at his butler. "Leave them. Lee Jiwon still managed to take down one of the Seven Monarchs. I''m sure he can do it again, even though he has less than 0.1% chance of succeeding. Something¡­ unexpected could happen." "Yes, master. I understand." The butler bowed before leaving the room. --- The Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­ "Thank you, Jiwon." "I''m extremely grateful as well, Mr. Lee. If it weren''t for you, the Myth Guild could never have hoped to make it to the top ranks." "It was nothing. I just wanted to thank you for all the help you''ve given me." "The,n what will you do now?" There were still ten days left until the end of the Time Attack quest. We would have to wait until the quest ended in order to get the rewards. (TN: I know that more time should have passed, according to the previous chapters. I''ll check the raws and let you know.) "I was planning to do some easy hunting until the quest ended." Since I didn''t get to hunt at Pharos''s dungeon, I was planning to take it easy for the next ten days and wait for the reward to come out. "Then why don''t you stay with the Sunbin Guild for the time being? If you ever want to go to any dungeons, we set up our own Teleport Zone. You can use it as much as you like," Song Myungsoo said as soon as I finished. "Thank you." That was a fine offer that I decided to accept, even though the Myth Guild seemed a little bummed out. And so, I decided to wait out the Time Attack quest with the Sunbin Guild. Chapter 145: Chapter 144: This Has To Be A Bug! Part IV Chapter 145: Chapter 144: This Has To Be A Bug! Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Nine days later¡­ "Tomorrow''s the last day, Jiwon oppa." "Yeah, time sure flew, didn''t it?" "Thanks, oppa. You got us to first place." "Don''t worry about it. You guys helped me out a lot, too." "And¡­" Haein trailed off. I turned to face her. "Thanks for getting my brother back on his feet." "Oh¡­ that." Haein softly laughed. "Did you know? After three years of not paying attention to him, my brother went up to his only son and apologized while crying. Do you know how I felt when I saw that?" Haein''s eyes were beginning to well up with tears. I could tell she wasn''t sad, though. She was grinning from cheek to cheek. I could sort of tell what she meant. "Oh, that''s right. You probably don''t know this, but when you called a fortnight ago, my brother ran off." "He did that?" Now that I thought about it, the whole time I was with the Sunbin Guild, I hadn''t seen any sign of Song Haechang anywhere. "Yup. He said that he was going to focus on training during the meantime and went off to the mid-grade dungeon in Mongolia. But I''m sure he was just embarrassed." "Is he still using a broadsword?" "Nope. He jumped into the Sea of Reset and for some reason, decided to become an Ice Mage." "Really? That''s a relief." -Well, I guess it''s good that he took my advice to heart.- I sat back on my sofa and sipped my coffee in the moonlight, as I listened to Haein talk about this and that. Late that night, I received a call from Lagus. "I did offer to help¡­" "Hahaha. It''s the thought that counts." We had kept in touch every now and then. I had offered to help the Ravi Guild with the Time Attack quest, but Lagus turned me down. He said that the Ravi Guild was focusing its entire attention and resources on the Vaishyas and Shudras, and that they didn''t have time for any side projects. In my opinion, at least participating in the quest wasn''t a bad idea, but I wasn''t going to change his mind. "Then, I''ll continue to wish you the best of luck." "Thank you." --- The next day¡­ ==[Time Attack will end in 1 hour. All records registered on display boards will be final once the quest ends. Please register better times you have recorded before time runs out. Once the quest ends, all one-man and sixteen-man entry passes in inventories will be removed.]== "It''s the end." "So it seems." The Sunbin and Myth Guild officers and I gathered in the conference room to celebrate. We were keeping an eye on the display boards in case somehow someone managed to get better times than us, but we weren''t too worried about it. There was no way anyone could beat us. We spent the next hour leisurely talking about this and that until the message appeared. ==[Time Attack quest is now over. All records registered on display boards are now final. Rewards will be distributed according to rankings.]== ==[One- man dungeon rankings SSS Rank: 00:49:32 ¨C Lee Jiwon (Deva) F- Rank: 02:09:56 ¨C Mellow (Deity) F- Rank: 02:14:33 ¨C Yoana Momon (Deity) : 31. F- Rank: 02:39:17 ¨C Gar Gran (Deva) : ]== ==[Sixteen-man dungeon rankings SSS Rank: 02:13:44 ¨C Sunbin Guild SSS Rank: 02:13:57 ¨C Myth Guild E Rank: 04:57:17 ¨C D. Nerv : 27. F- Rank: 05:44:43 ¨C Cheng Long Guild : ]== "YES!" "We got SSS Rank!" "Mr. Lee, thank you so much!" "This was all thanks to Master Lee!" "It was my pleasure." --- The Gnosis Guild''s headquarters¡­ "So, in the end, it was all thanks to Lee Jiwon." "Just as we expected." "All that time and effort wasted, just like that." The Gnosis Guild tirelessly gathered intel on the dungeons, but once the Sunbin and Myth Guilds took first and second place, no one bought anymore intel. There was no way anyone could beat them. --- The Cheng Long Guild''s headquarters¡­ The Cheng Long Guild had given up on the Time Attack quest even though they held first place for the longest time during the month. There was no way they could ever beat the Sunbin Guild''s record, and it just served to wound their pride. Wai Chung fumed as he stared at the display boards. "The Sunbin Guild robbed us at the King-Emperor''s Tomb and now they rob us again! Fucking Dongyi bastards!" Wai Chung threw the bottle of liquor that he was holding at a wall. "Lee Jiwon! It''s all his fault!" --- The San Tuan Guild''s headquarters¡­ "Holy shit¡­ did you see the records?" Toh asked Wanhu. "Of course I saw them. I''m actually afraid how high Lee Jiwon will end up." "We really woke the beast." "That we did. And we even invited that beast into our living room, like idiots." --- The Sahtashwi Guild, the Behi-Kinat Guild and all other guilds and mortals around the world were talking about Lee Jiwon. In the end, it was Lee Jiwon who took everything from the Time Attack quest. The Sunbin and Myth Guilds may have ranked first and second for the sixteen-man dungeons, but that was all thanks to Lee Jiwon. There was no one who didn''t know that. And so, while the month-long Time Attack quest had come to an end, Lee Jiwon''s name continued to soar. --- While we were congratulating and thanking each other, another message appeared before us. ==[You have placed first for the one-man dungeon Time Attack. With a time of 49 minutes and 32 seconds, you have reached SSS Rank and have proved to everyone the extent of your abilities. As you have gathered 784,900 points, 78% of the one-man dungeon rewards will be given to Lee Jiwon. 1 Rank 8+ random chest. 900 extra Stat points. 1 extra Skill Point. 295,000,000 golden rings.]== ==[Please acquire your rewards when you turn in your quest at a Store''s quest board.]== I smiled as I read through the messages. I did want the Random Skill more, but I was happy with this, as well. -If I''m getting 78% of the rewards, then I should be getting that too, right?- I followed everyone else out of the building and we all headed for Store 72 to accept our rewards. Once that was done, I returned to the room I was staying in. The others were too busy checking out their rewards to notice I had slipped away. "Okay. As long as I get at least a Rank 9 item, I won''t be sad about not getting a skill chest." I took calming breaths as I stroked the top of the Random Chest. "I don''t even expect to get a Rank 10 item. A Rank 9 will be enough! Come on! Come on!" I carefully opened the Chest. "Holy shit?" Inside was an item, shining in a bright, purple light. "Item check!" ==[Ring of Infinite Space (Rank 10) This is a ring that belonged to _ _ _, the controller of time and space. _ _ _ confined three continents and twenty-one kingdoms in the Ring of Infinite Space for the sole reason that he did not like them. And thus, angered by _ _ _''s actions, the entire northeastern continent declared _ _ _ as his own sovereign state, gathered an army of one million strong and declared war upon _ _ _. Two years and one hundred twenty-seven days later, the war ended with the alliance''s victory. Thirty thousand soldiers remained ,and those soldiers brought the Ring of Infinite Space to a legendary blacksmith to destroy it. However, it was impossible to fully destroy the Ring, and so thirty other famed craftsmen were gathered and together with the blacksmith, broke the Ring into pieces. Splintering the Ring was enough to lessen its power. (This item is restorable, but only those with at least the title of Master will be able to restore it, little by little. Each piece will be destroyed as the Ring is restored and all missing effects will reappear and restore their original values.) Restored: 8.1/100 All Stats increased by 100 points Space can be infinitely extended, depending on the wearer''s ability. However, there is currently a limit, as the Ring is still mostly destroyed. (Current Space: 100 x 100 x 100 meters.) Space can be accessed via Enter and Exit commands. Durability: 17,000/17,000 DEF 1, MDEF 1]== "What! Huh? Uh¡­" My expressions kept changing as I read through the item description. "At least a Master? Where am I supposed to find a person like that, and why will it only restore little by little?" The single best crafted item was the Rank 7 Stop Watching Me and that was made by a Journeyman craftsman. "Was there ever a Master?" I don''t think I ever heard of anyone called a Master Craftsman in my past life. There was a chance that I just didn''t know, but either way, a Master should appear eventually. If I had to, I would even fund a Journeyman craftsman to get them to Master rank. I would have to, as this ring was obviously powerful. That was one reason I wasn''t really happy with it. I would probably end up in debt trying to complete it. "No! It''s still a Rank 10. And this Space effect is¡­" I struggled for a second to imagine how big the Space was at 100 meters cubed. "A...anyway, it''s probably as big as a track field!" That was more than enough. I could fit a house, a car, and a motorcycle if I wanted to. "Hmm¡­could I go inside, too?" I was curious. "Enter." ==[The wearer of the Ring of Infinite Space cannot enter.]== "Dang it." If I could, then I would have my own ''little'' safe space. "Well, if it doesn''t work, I shouldn''t worry about it," I said to myself, as I stared at the Ring with longing. One day, I''d make sure its true form saw the light of day again. As I turned my attention to my Stat points and Skill Point to figure out what to do with them, a few people came knocking at my door. It was Song Daechul and others from the Sunbin Guild. "Thank you, Jiwon." "It was my pleasure, sir. I think I''ve received enough thanks now." "Hahaha. Still, take them. We still can''t thank you enough." "I understand." "Anyway, I wanted to reward you for getting the Sunbin Guild to first place." Both I and the Sunbin Guild knew that even though they reached first place, no one would really be talking about them. People would likely be saying that they got there only because of me and that it wasn''t a true competition. "Bwahaha! That matters little. It just proves that you and the Sunbin Guild are good friends. That''s enough for me. Don''t worry about what other people say," Song Daechul said, as if he knew what I was thinking. "Your role this past month has been significant. I want to reward you for everything you''ve done for us. If there''s anything at all you want from us, just say it; it''s yours." "I want only one thing." "What is it?" "The last time I came you gave me the King-Emperor''s Helm." "I did." "I want to return it to you and take the Mantle instead." "Done," Song Daechul replied straight away. "Thank you." "But, I''ll just give it you." "Sir?" "I don''t want to exchange it with the Helm. Keep them both. It''s my thanks for everything you''ve done." That would mean the Sunbin Guild would have nothing from the Tomb. "You don''t have to¡­" "I don''t want to hear it. You know, I''ve found many reasons to smile these days. Do you know why?" "Why is that, sir?" "Because you brought my grandson back to his senses. He''s almost back to his old self now." "..." Song Daechul was beaming at me, and I could see that he was genuinely happy. At his order, the Mantle was handed over to me. To be honest, it was hard to accept it. Even if the Sunbin Guild had its own reward from the Time Attack quest and even if I helped them a lot, a Rank 9 item wasn''t worth it. "We''re going to have a dinner party tonight. You''ll come, won''t you?" "Of course I should." I smiled back at the older man. Well, if he really wanted to give it to me, I had no choice but to take it. It just meant that was how far he and the Sunbin Guild would go for me, regardless of the reason. --- "It''s alright." I was talking with Shin and Ebonene. They wanted to reward me as well, since the Myth Guild had received pretty nice rewards, but I turned them down. The Sunbin Guild could afford to, but the Myth Guild could not. I didn''t want to take any more from them. "But still¡­" "Really, it''s quite alright." The Myth Guild did not have a single Rank 8 item. They already handed it over to me before in the form of the Bracelet of Eternal Fire. They hadn''t been able to find another one after three Khufu dungeon raids, but then again, they could have been lying. I had no way to confirm it, but it didn''t matter. If they said they didn''t find one, they didn''t find one. "Then, take this at least." Shin took something out even though I kept turning her down. "This is¡­" "We don''t have any Rank 8 items we can give you. This is the best we can do for you." Shin handed over seven items that each increased my unassigned Stat points by 100. "We have our own reputation, you know. I won''t accept no for these." "I understand." I graciously accepted her gifts. I spent the rest of the day having fun with both guilds. I don''t remember the last time I had that much fun with other people. Chapter 146: Chapter 145: The Monster Tribe, Part I Chapter 146: Chapter 145: The Monster Tribe, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "It took me more than a month but I''m finally back," I said to myself in front of the Pharos dungeon in Alexandria. Now that I thought about it, the Time Attack quest was nothing different than a gift made for me. It all probably started when I got the Destruction skill in India and I''d gotten so many more after that. I finally got my AGI to 10,000, and got the reward for being the first, too. Also, now that I had the King-Emperor''s Mantle, the Prominent King-Emperor''s Dignity was upgraded to the Grand King-Emperor''s Dignity. I smiled as I recalled that day. --- After I received the seven Increase Stat Points items from Shin, I headed straight for my room to use them right away, to get that 10,000 Stat point reward. "Use." ==[You have used sixteen Increase Stat Points by 100. You have received 1,600 unused Stat points.]== I used the nine I got from my one-man dungeon reward and the seven I got from Shin. "Last time I checked, my base AGI was 1,357 points away from 10,000, right? Open Stats Menu!" ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 538 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 8,815,700/8,815,700 MP: 347,800/347,800 Strength: 15,351 + 1,017 Agility: 10,894 Vitality: 14,051 Willpower: 3,418 Intelligence: 3,148 Unassigned Stat Points: 1,600 + 93 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 points, Fragment of the Destruction God Physical Attack: 56,691 Physical Defense: 29,197 Magical Attack: 10,994 Magical Defense: 16,884]== "Damn¡­" I just couldn''t get over how crazy my Stats Menu looked, no matter how many times I opened it. Equipping the Mantle and the Infinite Space Ring also boosted my Stats a bunch, even though I hadn''t leveled up in a while. I started to raise my AGI until the message I wanted appeared. ==[Your base AGI has surpassed 10,000 points.] Your total AGI points: 12,251 Your base AGI points: 10,000 AGI points increased by items: 1,950 AGI points increased by skills: 300 (Grand King-Emperor''s Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 10,000 points in AGI before anyone else. AGI will be increased by 1,000 points. This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]== "Yes!" I shouted in joy. I was getting slightly worried that someone else had managed to get their AGI to 10,000 before me. It had already been a while since I raised my VIT to 10,000 after the Oosara Falls'' hidden dungeon, and things had been hectic since then. I ended up joining Lagus''s and Muskan''s war, and spent a month doing the Time Attack quest. I only managed to get my AGI up 10,000 because of the rewards I just got. At that moment, the other message I wanted to see appeared. ==[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.] You have reached 10,000 points in three Stats (STR, VIT, AGI) before anyone else. You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points. This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]== "Heh!" I just got 3,000 extra Stat points; 1,000 for AGI and 2,000 for free use. I put the 2,000 left over Stat points and the Shaman Ko points into STR. ==[HP: 8,815,700/8,815,700 MP: 347,800/347,800 Strength: 17,594 + 1,110 Agility: 13,251 Vitality: 14,051 Willpower: 3,418 Intelligence: 3,148]== -¡­Is this alright?- I couldn''t help but think as I stared at my Stats Menu. At what level would this Stats Menu seem normal? Is it even possible to get to that level? Even deities would think it''s overpowered, and they''re supposed to be the most overpowered beings out there. In short, it wasnormally impossible to have a Stats Menu like mine. "But the important part here is that it''s mine and only mine!" I was starting to become like Danhari, nervous and anxious about having such valuable treasures. "I shouldn''t be worrying about anything. I''ve dealt with whatever the new world threw at me so far," I said to myself with fists clenched. "I''ll make everything mine." I turned to face the Pharos dungeon entrance. "Okay. Let''s do this!" I had rested long enough. "I wonder what these crocs have in store for me." I already heard from the Myth Guild what types of monsters awaited me in the dungeon. Inside were normal and mutated crocodile monsters with high ATT and DEF. I looked forward to facing them as they were monsters I had never encountered in the past. --- Around the same time Lee Jiwon entered the Pharos dungeon¡­ A group of people were gathered in a mansion in the Faroe Islands, Denmark, a place known to be a holy place for lycanthropes, or werewolves. These people were devas with pointed ears and covered in thick fur. "The Duke hasn''t been attacking us because he already found out what our plans are?" "Yes. He has already discovered that we plan to ask Lee Jiwon for aid, and plans to consume him first before we can get to him." "Lee Jiwon, huh¡­" "He seems to be waiting for someone strong like Lee Jiwon to enter his domain, as his Predation takes a while." "Lee Jiwon also has a special ability that the Duke wants to consume." "Will it be alright to seek his help under these circumstances? Something could happen to him because of us. It won''t be a simple death, either." "That¡­may be true but¡­" No one could come up with an answer for Lod. "How long has it been since the Duke used Predation last?" "It''s been a little more than four months." "Hmm¡­ it''s been too long. He''s practically screaming to us that he''s going to use it on Lee Jiwon." "Yes, it would seem so." Lod and the other commanders here had been battling against the Predator Duke for over a year now. They''d all become victims of the Predator Duke''s three abilities: Predation ¨C Digestion ¨C Extraction. They could deal with Predation and Digestion if they were the Duke''s only abilities as they don''t do much other than kill their targets. However, the biggest problem was Extraction. Victims of Extraction stood to lose everything. Extraction took away all of its victims'' Stat points and skills and absorbs them into its user. The potency of this ability had a four-month cooldown, but it was still extremely harmful. Furthermore, victims of Extraction couldn''t use the Sea of Reset. All they would get was a message: ==[Your abilities have been absorbed by the Predator Duke. Until you recover your abilities, you will not be able to use the Sea of Reset.]== The Predator Duke didn''t keep the abilities he absorbed forever; he was technically borrowing them and until he returned those abilities, his victims would be unable to use the Sea of Reset. Of course, if the Predator Duke didn''t want to return those abilities, he could never return them at all. In other words, the only way to recover those abilities was to kill him. All abilities he had absorbed would return to their rightful owners upon his death. But it was easier said than done. --- The Werewolf Clan was a clan made up of all devas. Lod, the head of his family clan, obtained the Lycanthrope Lord Random Skill, which turned everyone in his family line into werewolves. Lod''s clan, the Schutt van Agassi family, had a long history of 800 years behind it. The Schutt van Agassis ruled a part of Switzerland under Cheringen, but were forced out by the Habsburgs in a series of defeats, despite their fierce struggle to repel the invasion. The van Agassis fled north to Norway, where they restored their family name and lived for centuries. Although only a fragment of their former glory, the van Agassis had become an influential power in Norwegian society. Not long after the world changed, the entire van Agassi family had become devas and under the Lycanthrope Lord Random Skill, they all turned into werewolves. The van Agassi family then invited all Norwegians to join their family, and after about a week, revealed to the world the birth of the Werewolf Clan. They then moved to the Faroe Islands, where more than 50,000 people once lived, but it was abandoned after the world changed and the land turned into a haven for werewolves. The Faroe Islands weren''t too small nor too big; they were the perfect home for the werewolves. The Islands even had a low, mid, and high-grade dungeon which was perfect, as Lod had an ability where he could choose one dungeon and increase all EXP gained in that dungeon by fifty percent. This ability allowed the Werewolf Clan to quickly grow stronger, and they kept that ability a secret until they could protect it from the rest of the world. They had to, as they had a major weakness as werewolves. While they were devas from the start, they were also monsters. Should a normal deva or deity kill someone of the Werewolf Clan, they would receive a huge amount of EXP, much more than the EXP of normal monsters. There was even a chance that golden rings and items could drop from a werewolf. On the other hand, werewolves could receive neither EXP nor golden rings and items from killing devas and deities. In the end, there was more reason for werewolves to be treated as monsters. No, it was true that they were monsters. It no longer mattered that they had started as devas; they made the choice to become werewolves. That was why Lod kept his abilities hidden to the world until his clan grew strong enough, but his secret had been revealed earlier than he expected, and to their worst enemy. "Master Lod, I suggest we at least ask for help." "I agree. Lee Jiwon even defeated the Blood Prince, when everyone else expected him to lose." "We have nowhere else to turn. If we choose to do nothing, all that''s left for us it to become the Duke''s slaves. We should tell him everything and ask for his help." "Hmm¡­" Lod thought for a moment before making his decision. They were going to ask for Lee Jiwon''s help even if he turned them down. "Fine. If this is our last chance, then we''ll have to take it. However, make sure to tell him everything. Hiding anything risks turning even Lee Jiwon into an enemy." "Yes, my Lord!" Chapter 147: Chapter 146: The Monster Tribe, Part II Chapter 147: Chapter 146: The Monster Tribe, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Damn¡­ look at how easy they fall." "I know, right? It''s like they''re made out of cardboard, and his spear''s a box cutter." "Are they really the same monsters we''ve been hunting all this time?" "Obviously." Guild members of the Myth Guild were looking on in amazement as Lee Jiwon hunted. A party had already been hunting when he arrived and they came right up to greet him when they noticed him come in. Lee Jiwon was a precious friend to the Myth Guild after all he had done for them, especially after the Time Attack quest. The captain of the 7th Hunting Party had already been ordered to not interfere with Lee Jiwon''s hunts and quickly ordered his party to make way for the man. He also handed Lee Jiwon a piece of paper that noted the locations of the FOBs on the 1st, 3rd and 5th floors. (Ed. Note: FOB = Forward Operating Base, if you didn''t know) "Thank you." "Don''t mention it. Let us know if you need any help." "I will." The 7th Hunting Party watched as Lee Jiwon made his way through the dungeon. By this point, no one in the Myth Guild doubted Lee Jiwon''s abilities, but they couldn''t help be curious as to how Lee Jiwon would fare against the Crocodiles. These monsters were covered in leathery scales harder than steel and boasted very high DEF. In other words, the Pharos dungeon was not really a dungeon for fighter classes. But this was Lee Jiwon. The hunting party watched as Lee Jiwon walked closer to a five-meter tall mutated Crocodile, in case he really did need help. However, in a matter of seconds, they realized that they didn''t need to worry about him. The Crocodile had holes all over its body, as if it were made out of paper. Every time the Croc would try to bite him, he would already be behind it and every time the Croc tried to counter with a swing of its sharp tail, he would already be on its back. "Was he always this fast?" "I don''t know. From what I remember, he would always stick to his enemies and not try to dodge any attacks." "Yeah, I''m sure that was his fighting style. But he''s way faster now." After a total of twelve blows, the mutated Croc finally fell on its back, dead. "..." All sixty party members here knew that the five-meter tall mutated Crocs were very strong. There was a reason always came here in a group of sixty. They could deal with one or two at a time, but if at least three or four gathered, things become dangerous for the party. It also took the party quite a while to defeat one, thanks to the Crocs'' high DEF. However, with Lee Jiwon''s speed and flexibility, he could make short work of any horde of Crocs. At that moment, the hunting party heard exactly what Lee Jiwon calmly muttered to himself. "Not bad!" ------ "Grashaah!" "You can hiss all you want; you can''t hit me." I quickly dodged to side as the Croc flew at me with its maw gaping wide. As expected of a high-grade dungeon, the normal and mutated Crocs were powerful. That just made it more fun for me, though. Their hide was thick and I enjoyed feeling my spear actually strike something every time I attacked. At that moment, I let my guard down a little too much against three mutated Crocs and one of their razor-sharp tails slashed my side. "Crap." A wound like that could have been fatal to anyone else, but it was just a scratch for me. "That''s it. Struggle for your lives as hard as you can." I charged in at an even bigger horde of Crocs. ==[You have gained a level.]== They also forked over a lot of EXP! "I can''t leave these, either." I checked every single Croc tooth, Croc hide, and the golden rings they dropped. I was rich enough that I didn''t need to pick up the materials, but the Myth Guild had requested that I sell to the guild at higher prices instead of at a Store. They needed the materials to craft some important items. Another important part was that I no longer needed to worry about inventory space. "Store!" I said, pointing to the hide and teeth. ==[2 Sharp Crocodile Teeth and 1 Thick Mutated Crocodile Hide have been Stored.]== I didn''t need to bend down and pick up dropped items anymore. Release was easy, too. If I used Release, images of whatever was stored would appear and I could select any of them to take out. "Nice!" I continued to hunt as much as I could to make up for lost time after India and the Time Attack. It was fun getting to bound around like this again. I smiled before charging in at another horde. ------ Shetland Islands, Scotland¡­ A lavishly dressed person was seated on a very wide chair. This person was too fat to fit into anything smaller. "Kekeke. So, they sent a messenger to Lee Jiwon?" "Yes, sir. We confirmed it last night." "Good, good. I thought the wolf people gave up after not doing anything this whole time. But do you think Lee Jiwon will help those filthy mutts?" "That''s¡­" The officers glanced at one another and struggled to answer the Duke''s question. They all thought that it was logical for anyone to choose not to, but they couldn''t be honest when the Duke wanted Lee Jiwon to help. If he did, then the Duke could eat him. They knew better than to give him an answer he didn''t want to hear. "He is the one who defeated the Blood Prince. He''ll probably jump in with high spirits." "Besides, the wolf men are at their last dregs,, with no one else to turn to. They''ll do whatever they can to get Lee Jiwon on their side." "Kekeke. I hope that happens. No, it should happen! Mmm, he seems even more delectable as I think about it," the Duke said, visibly drooling. His eyes flashed with a light of craziness, but no one noticed. They couldn''t, as they couldn''t even see his eyes. --- The last mutated Croc fell before me. ==[You have gained a level.]== "Ha¡­ that''s enough for today. I already hunted all day." For the past month, I had hunted all day and rested at the Myth Guild''s FOB for six hours before setting out to hunt again. Not to mention, I was leveling steadily as well. "The King Emperor''s Grand Dignity is also working quite well." I never really noticed a huge difference as I hunted alone, but I once had to help the Myth Guild''s FOB stop an ambush from a horde of Crocs. I could hear what they were saying to each other about it. --- "Huh?" "My attacks are cutting all the way through now." "You too?" The fighters on the front line were the first to notice the difference. They seemed surprised that the attacks that were usually stopped by the Crocs'' armored hide now slashed all the way through. It wasn''t a huge change, but it was enough for them. "Chain Lightning." "Flame Demon''s Raging Fire." "Razor Wind!" The mages on the rear lines made their attacks and even they noticed something different; the monsters were dying faster than before! "Hey, use your Monster Detect." "Okay. Monster Detect!" One supporter used her Monster Detect skill, and discovered the debuff that was the source of the anomaly. "Grand King-Emperor''s Dignity?" "What?" "All of the Crocs are under a debuff called Grand King-Emperor''s Dignity. All Stats, including ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF, are lowered by twelve percent." "twelve percent? That''s one hell of a debuff, but I never heard of it before. Did we always have a supporter who had it?" "Sure, but he''s not part of our guild." "We do? Who?" The support mage who used the Monster Detect skill turned to face the man wielding a spear. "Master Lee. You all remember when he participated in the King-Emperor''s quest in East Asia." "Oh yeah! That''s right!" "It has to be from an item, right?" "I think so. There''s no other answer." The Myth Guild members stared at Lee Jiwon with even more respect. He truly was strong if he had an item of that caliber. Still, they knew it wasn''t fair to just chalk up his strength to item power. They were just thinking that out of envy, especially since the Myth Guild had no items of Rank 8 or above before the Time Attack quest. Lee Jiwon could hear what everyone was saying behind him. -It must really be good.- He never knew how to truly utilize the upgraded King-Emperor''s Dignity after hunting alone. He always thought he could do without. ------ "Heh." I wasn''t getting tired of the hunt even if it was getting grindy. I wouldn''t mind if I had to spend a few months doing this. Actually, I would even prefer to. -Huh?- I felt something strange as I headed for the FOB from behind a huge boulder. Someone was hiding there, and it could be an ambush. -What''s going on?- The only monsters in the Pharos dungeon were Crocs, and that included the elite monsters. They didn''t hide or ambush their prey. That was something real crocodiles would do as animals, but these were monsters. -Deva?- I thought who or whatever was hiding behind the boulder was a deva, but my gut told me that it was a monster. It was definitely a monster, and one that shouldn''t be in the Pharos dungeon. "Ah, jeez. Who''s there? Would it even understand me?" I called out. If it didn''t understand me, I would just kill it. I then heard the footsteps of a bipedal being. It walked like a human. "Huh?" At that moment, I saw a being that seemed like a monster and human at the same time. It was a woman with pointed ears, covered in fur! Chapter 148: Chapter 147: The Monster Tribe Part III Chapter 148: Chapter 147: The Monster Tribe Part III Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED "A monster? No, a deva?" I was sure that it was a monster before it revealed itself, but now, I wasn''t sure anymore. I had no idea what she was supposed to be. I had never seen anything like this in my past life. -Then again, I''ve experienced many things that I haven''t in the past.- I wasn''t really taken aback by her appearance. My new life was completely different from the past. I never knew that I could sit at a table and drink with the guild master of the Sunbin Guild or ever end up as the Myth Guild''s greatest ally. Many more things would continue to happen that I was unaware of, especially now that I was strong. I would gain more allies and more enemies. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lee Jiwon." "I''m not pleased to meet you, though. I don''t even know who you are." "My apologies. I should have introduced myself first¡­" the beastly-looking woman bowed her head and apologized. -Hmm¡­a dog? Or a cat? How interesting. Is she a deva and a monster at the same time?- I wasn''t surprised at her appearance. It could well just be the effect of a skill or item effect or even some sort of buff. I may know more than most, but that didn''t mean I knew everything. What was really interesting was that she seemed like a deva and a monster at the same time. If I killed her, I could get EXP and she might even drop items. No one told me that; it was just something of an instinct. "I am a deva and before that, I was a normal human being." "I can see that." "I am also a monster. If you kill me, you can receive EXP and items, just like the Crocs here." "I can see that, too." My suspicions were right, but I also noticed a small bitterness from the woman as she spoke. The woman began to thoroughly explain who she was even though I hadn''t asked her to. "My name is Kylie van Agassi. A year after the world changed, I became a deva at the age of nineteen. As per my clan''s traditions and laws, I was given the choice to become a werewolf and I accepted without hesitation. I became a werewolf, even though there is no way to turn back and I haven''t regretted that decision to this day. "I came from the Faroe Islands, which are currently the homeland of all werewolves, to meet you under orders of my clan head, Lodin Schutt van Agassi... my father." "Me?" "Yes." "Why?" Somehow, I doubted she came all this way for something trivial, like signing a survey or something. "To ask for your help." "Help?" I asked, pointing a finger at myself. "Yes." "Uh¡­" I was taken aback at her straightforward answer. I''d never seen her before, nor had I ever heard of the van Agassi family. Then again, if I hadn''t heard of them in the past, there was a chance something happened to them by whatever reason she came to ask me for help. -How interesting.- I could somewhat see what was going on here. There was a law in alchemy used these days as a philosophical idea. To obtain something, something of equal value must be lost. These werewolves¡­ became half-monsters, allowing other devas to obtain EXP and items by killing them, incentivizing the act, an extreme loss. That meant that whoever this Lod person was had something of great of equal value if it got him to curse his entire family line. It must be something that provided him with great strength, and it wouldn''t be easy for someone like that to have to ask for help. Unfortunately, my feeling was right. "Please help us. The Predator Duke is hunting my entire family to extinction. We have children who haven''t yet become devas. If you help us, we''ll do everything we can to pay you back." "Who?" It didn''t matter if she begged on her knees, crying, for my help. We were complete strangers; I had no real reason to help her or her family. However, my ears pricked when she said the Predator Duke. He was one of the Seven Monarchs. He, the Blood Prince and another Monarch were infamous in the past for killing without discrimination, devas and mortals alike. I now knew the reason for the Blood Prince''s genocide in Egypt in the past; it all stemmed from the war between him and the Myth Guild. When he won, he exacted his revenge on the entire country by initiating the Blood Purge, killing men and women, old and young. Thankfully, that had all changed in this timeline. Be that as it may, the Blood Prince at least had a reason behind his insanity. The Predator Duke, on the other hand, didn''t have a reason. He just ate. He didn''t care if he ate devas or mortals; he just ate. -Wasn''t he ten meters tall?- The Duke was a giant man, covered in rolls of fatty flesh. Every time he ate mortals, devas and monsters, they were added to his flesh. "The Duke also aims to steal away our land. Its small, but it also has its own low, mid, and high-grade dungeons," she said, visibly desperate. "If he manages to steal away our land, we will end up becoming his infinite food source. Every time we die, we always resurrect in our homeland. Even if we use the Sea of Reset, we always come back as a werewolf and awake in our homeland. We are also unable to leave our homeland for good. If we stray too far from it, we grow weak until we die and resurrect again." She continued to explain that her people yielded EXP comparable to elite monsters upon their death, and would end up as the Duke''s slaves. "I assume there''s more to it?" "Yes. We worry more about the safety of our people than about the Duke''s growth. I won''t make any excuses; that is our top priority," she replied, as teardrops streamed down her face. She must really be at her wit''s end. "We will end up living as his slaves, no; we''ll end up becoming literal fodder for him, and he''ll only get stronger and stronger." She ignored her now-drenched cheeks and continued, "We''ve asked all around. Our clan boasts an 800-year history with the connections to go with it, and asked everyone we knew to save us! But no matter how much we begged and begged, no one reached out to help us. So we asked them not to save us, but to help us stop the Duke''s advance. If we couldn''t stop him, he would turn to the rest of the world, but they all turned us away." I didn''t say anything as she cried. What she said was true. That was what had happened in the past. No one ever stopped the Predator Duke. It was more like no one could. He was avoided like the plague as he came to power because no one ever wanted to fall victim to his abilities. But once he was at full strength, it was already too late and many gave up, even though the Duke just needed to die once. I had heard in the past that if the Duke was killed just once, then all of the abilities he stole would return to their rightful owners. There was a chance, a chance to destroy all of his work in an instant, but no one wanted to risk it. Then again, I didn''t want to, either. In the end, the Duke continued to grow to the point that it was impossible for anyone to face him in combat. In the end, it was the ignorance and self-preservation of devas that made the Duke who he was. "He could wipe us all out whenever he wants, but he ceased all attacks against us when he found out that we were planning to come to you." "Why''s that?" "He wants to use us to lure you." "Me?" "Yes. The Duke wishes to consume you and absorb your abilities." "Why are you telling me that when you want me to help you?" That was the last thing she should be saying. "Because it''s true. We don''t wish to lie to you." I began to feel sorry for her, I really did. The Predator Duke was the worst enemy for the Werewolf Clan. It was right for them to be at a loss when no one would help them. But I was at a loss, too. I knew what the future entailed. There was no way to leave the Duke alone like an idiot, but there was no way I could go around asking anyone else to help me. I would most likely end up revealing the fact that I had turned back time. In the end, I would have to step in. -Shit! It''s not like I knew I would return to the past! All I know are rumors; I don''t know where to find them or what their weaknesses are!- The Seven Monarchs may as well have been the American President to me. I knew a little about them and heard a few rumors here and there, but didn''t know them personally. I didn''t care about them and they didn''t care about me. "Our final battle is nigh and I only came just in case there was even a sliver of hope that you would help us. We don''t have anywhere else to turn to now. You''re the only one to ever defeat one of the Seven as well¡­" "Ha¡­" I could only sigh. Ignorance is bliss. There''s no way I could turn them down. I can''t let the same thing happen again. -Fuck.- I stared into Kylie''s eyes and spoke. "I¡­" Chapter 149: Chapter 148: I Don’t Have a Choice Part I Chapter 149: Chapter 148: I Don¡¯t Have a Choice Part I Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED Kylie van Agassi came a long way to meet Lee Jiwon, but she privately believed that gaining his aid was an impossible task. If all of those who had connections to the van Agassi family had turned away the Werewolf Clan, there was no reason a complete stranger like Lee Jiwon would agree to help them. Still, he was the Clan''s only hope. Lee Jiwon was the only person to ever defeat one of the Seven Monarchs, and had recently made sure his name was known all through the world via the Time Attack quest. There was such a small chance that someone like Lee Jiwon would ever agree, but they couldn''t just sit idly by and wait for their end. "I will¡­" Kylie knew that it was near impossible, but she held on to that sliver of hope. When Lee Jiwon started to reply with a frown, she knew what his answer would be. He was going to turn her down like the rest of them. Tears fell to the ground. She promised herself that she wouldn''t cry, and that she wouldn''t hate him no matter what. He had no reason to help her Clan. The Duke was who she had to take her anger out on, but she couldn''t stop her tears. "I''ll help you." "What?" Kylie thought she must have misheard him. She must have have wanted him to say yes so much that she was hearing things. "I really do need to take this chance and stick that fat pig on a spit." Kylie choked up. She began to cry more tears, but these were tears of joy. Those words were the sweetest words she had heard in a long time. Kylie couldn''t help but run over to Lee Jiwon and embrace him in a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much¡­" --- I decided to help them. I couldn''t let this happen again, even if I didn''t want to. -I don''t want that fat pig to get that big ever again.- I just needed to kill him once. In the past, the Duke was only able to get that far as no one truly knew about his abilities at first, but if I could kill him once now, all of his hard work of five years would go down the drain. It would be impossible for him to ever grow stronger again. However, this wasn''t going to be easy. In these past five years, he would already have grown strong enough from consuming countless people, especially the Werewolves. "I really do need to take this chance and stick that fat pig on a spit¡­ huh?" I saw Kylie run at me and had she had any intention to harm me, I would have smacked her aside, but I saw that beaming smile she had. I let her get closer when she grabbed me in a tight embrace. "Thank you. Thank you so much¡­" I was taken aback again, but not because she was crying out in tears. -Her fur¡­is like velvet.- --- Pharos Dungeon''s 3rd floor FOB¡­ "Open Stats Menu!" ==[Name: Lee Jiwon Level: 570 Death Count: 0 Title: Earth''s First Deva HP: 8,815,700/8,815,700 MP: 347,800/347,800 Strength: 17,594 + 1,110 Agility: 13,251 Vitality: 14,051 Willpower: 3,418 Intelligence: 3,148 Unassigned Stat Points: 640 + 135 Fatigue: 0 Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 points, Fragment of the Destruction God Physical Attack: 63,699 Physical Defense: 29,197 Magical Attack: 10,994 Magical Defense: 16,884]== I had gained thirty-two levels in forty-five days. That was an incredible pace considering the fact that I was past level 500. In fact, I never heard about anyone doing the same in the past. "It looks like it''ll be STR for the time being." I gave up on getting my WIL and INT up to 10,000. Even if ranged and magic classes were superior to fighter classes, raising WIL and INT for me was wasteful. It would only get harder to get Stat points now; I had to use them wisely from now on. "Let''s aim to get STR to 20,000 and see what reward I''ll get then." I added all of my unassigned stat points and Shaman Ko''s points into STR and took out the item Kylie had given me. ==[Warp Scroll to the Werewolf Clan''s Sanctuary Ripping this Activated Warp Scroll will teleport you to the Werewolf Clan''s Sanctuary.]== Kylie told me that the Faroe Islands could not be recorded into Warp Scrolls, and the only way to get to the islands was to cross the sea. This Warp Scroll was the only exception. "Should I ask the Sunbin and the Myth Guilds for help?" I kept thinking about this after accepting Kylie''s request. I had sent her off first, saying that I wanted to prepare first. "Right. I''ll make that decision after meeting with the Werewolf Clan and hear what they have to say about the Predator Duke." I ripped the Warp Scroll in half. --- As soon as I arrived at the center of the Werewolf Clan''s Sanctuary, I noticed quite a big crowd of werewolves staring at me. "It was true?" "Lee Jiwon is actually here!" "Hah. I know that there was no way it could be a joke, but it''s hard to believe he actually came!" someone in the crowd exclaimed, and stepped forward with Kylie by his side. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, finally. My name is Lod Schutt van Agassi, the head of the Werewolf Clan." "It''s nice to meet you too." I took Lod''s outstretched, furry hand and shook it. "Thank you very much for coming. I had heard from Kylie ,but I wasn''t sure you would actually come." "I did promise to help." "Then, I am all the more grateful. You''re the one person who agreed to save us from these desperate times." He and the other Werewolves were looking at me with great respect, so much so that I was feeling a little guilty. I had agreed to save them from the Duke, yes, but it was also true that I had an ulterior motive. It wasn''t to save the world from his cruelty before he got too big; it was to get rid of another obstacle in my own path to greatness. Lod soon led me to the conference room. On the way, I noticed that there were a lot of mortals and normal devas around. "Only devas can become Werewolves. Of course, it is all voluntary. No one is ever forced to become a Werewolf. Everyone here has been educated on what happens and once they are granted the chance, they have five years to decide," Lod explained when he noticed me looking around. "I see." ------ Meanwhile, over at the Shetland Islands¡­ A lackey burst through large door to the Duke''s private room. "What is it?" the Duke asked, annoyed. "He''s here!" "Who''s what?" "Lee Jiwon just arrived at the Faroe Islands." "Are you serious?" "Yes sir. I received several of the same report from our scouts." The Duke laughed loudly, the rolls of flesh under skin jiggling from the action. His most sought-after prey was finally at his doorstep. From the rumors, Lee Jiwon also had a lot of Stat points, possibly more than anyone in the world. The Duke would make sure to digest every single bone of Lee Jiwon so as to not lose a single point. "Get ready!" "Yes sir." The Duke had left the wolf men alone all this time waiting for Lee Jiwon to come, even though he could invade the Faroe Islands anytime he wanted to. The Duke smacked his lips just thinking about it, not caring about the saliva that was dripping down his fat chin. The van Agassi family has a history of 800 years long. There were numerous branch families that had formed over the centuries, and these families were not prevented from entering the Faroe Islands. These adverse situations always give birth to traitors, however, as history always dictates. Of course, Lod and his officers knew at least one existed, but they did not know who it was. Over the past few years, the Duke always knew how to win the battles and knew about each time the Clan asked for aid. He even knew about Lee Jiwon. However, they still couldn''t find the traitor and could no longer tell if they were from the branch families or the main family. ------ The Werewolf Clan''s conference room¡­ I was seated right next to Lod. It indicated how much they valued me. "The Duke boasts insanely high defensive abilities." We were watching videos of all of the Clan''s battles against the Duke. The Duke on the screen seemed to be about five meters tall and weighed at least a couple of tons. -If he''s only five meters tall¡­it might just be possible.- The Duke I knew was over ten meters tall. If this one was only half as strong as the one from the past, I could take him on. "The Duke is difficult to miss, but he is constantly guarded by four deities and has more than 10,000 devas in his army, making it difficult to attack him directly." Those devas in the Duke''s army were just like the devas who followed the Blood Prince. No one liked them, but they didn''t care, as long as they stood on the winning side. I wasn''t going to insult them, however, as they were doing what they believed would get them through this world. When it came to motivations, I wasn''t one to talk. "Furthermore, the Duke''s exclusive debuff skill, the Predator''s Curse, is very difficult to deal with in battle," Aaron, the head of Intelligence, continued. "First, it sharply increases Fatigue. Second, the Curse slows down our bodies considerably. It''s like we just stuffed ourselves so much that taking one step becomes difficult. Third, it lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF," another officer added. "As Werewolves, we have a special immunity that lowers the efficiency of debuffs and the like by fifty percent, but even then, the Curse severely hinders our combat abilities." "The sharp increase in Fatigue also makes longer battles that much more of a disadvantage to us." "But for Mr. Lee¡­" Kylie said as she turned to me. "Right. I have the Unrivaled Skill." The Blood Prince''s curse didn''t work on me, either. "I also have a pretty powerful debuff of my own." ==[The King Emperor''s Prominent Dignity All enemies within a 10m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF by 6%. All enemies within a 10m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT by 6%. Raises user''s Stats by 200 points.]== ==[The King Emperor''s Grand Dignity All enemies within a 50m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF by 12%. All enemies within a 50m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT by 12%. The user''s CRIT rate increases by 5%. The user''s CRIT damage increases by 200% The user''s Stats are increased by 300 points while this buff is in effect.]== The Prominent Dignity was the first debuff effect from when the Commitment and the Helm coalesced. But when I equipped the Mantle, the Commitment coalesced with the mantle instead, which formed the Grand Dignity. It was obviously one hell of an overpowered debuff. "Reveal the King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity!" I decided to reveal it to my future comrades. Chapter 150: Chapter 149: I Don’t Have a Choice, Part II Chapter 150: Chapter 149: I Don¡¯t Have a Choice, Part II Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED "Whoa!" "This has to be the perfect debuff!" "Look at all these effects! Mr. Lee, this will provide us with a great advantage!" I never really cared much about the debuff at first, as I didn''t really notice the difference even when the King-Emperor''s Dignity was upgraded. That changed recently at the Pharos dungeon when I saw for myself what the six percent difference between the two debuffs made. The Dignity I had in India was more than enough to throw the enemy off guard, but when it doubled in power, it shocked even my allies. Attacks that would normally bounce off would go all the way through, and they could deal far more easily with their enemies'' attacks. The Dignity''s ability to kill enemies faster made it a powerful weapon for me and my allies, just like the exclusive skills of the Blood Prince, the Predator Duke, and other deities. The important part here was that this was all possible when I got my King-Emperor''s Commitment. There were no other King-Emperor equips out there; I had them all. The video on the Predator Duke continued while everyone else was in awe of the Dignity''s effect and Aaron continued speaking. "The Duke has two fight styles. The first, as you see here, is when he charges in with a small force of his own." The video showed the Duke surrounded by about 500 soldiers, marching ahead together. "The Duke consumes everything, including damage. Instead of taking damage, he consumes all damage in his surrounding area as part of his exclusive skill." The video showed exactly how the Duke was absorbing incoming damage. "It isn''t to say that the Duke is completely immune to damage. Whatever he consumes turns to fat. As you can see now, there are several droplets falling from his body." Sure enough, the video also showed black liquid oozing from his body, which sizzled into smoke as it fell to the ground. "The Duke is unable to retain any of his stolen HP and must continue to absorb to maintain his HP, or in this case, his size." Kylie continued the explanation, "This tactic lasts about twenty minutes at most. The Duke doesn''t stay out longer than that, but the fact remains that he moves with his four deity guards and 500 soldiers together¡­it''s hellish to say the least." Kylie wasn''t kidding. Hundreds of Werewolves threw themselves at the Duke and his army, all aiming for only the Duke but none of their attacks ever hit their mark. All of their spells and skills were just absorbed by the Duke as more and more black liquid poured out from his pores. Even if the Duke was damaged after all that, the most he lost was probably a couple of pounds of fat. In the entire twenty minutes, the Werewolves were just about wiped out. I could only sigh at what I just watched, but the video continued. "This is the Duke''s second tactic. Here, he employs his Predator Curse and participates in the battle the most." The Duke was standing out in front, grabbing and throwing blobs of fat from his body which exploded like grenades. "Those fat bombs are problems, but in this next scene¡­" I focused on the video. Soon, something rose from the ground where the Duke was standing. They were blobs of flesh in the shape of humans. "They are Flesh Dolls, which explode." The one-meter tall Flesh Dolls charged in at the Werewolves and as soon as they were close enough, they exploded. -Was it always like this?- I know I only heard rumors about the Duke in the past, but I at least knew that he relied more on his defensive abilities. His trademark tactic was to just stand in the middle of the battlefield and eat while ignoring whatever attacks came his way. "The explosive and Doll Summoning abilities were stolen from other deities, as we have confirmed." "Ah¡­" That made sense. That was what made the Duke that much more overpowered than other deities. "We managed to learn how to deal with both tactics, but the biggest problem we have to deal with is his defensive abilities." Again, another group of Werewolves charged in at the Duke. They were the strongest of the Clan. The Duke retaliated by summoning Dolls with one hand and throwing flesh grenades with the other. The vanguard elites managed to break through the four deities and the thousands of devas, allowing a direct chance at the Duke. At that moment, the Werewolves continued their attacks, solely focused on the Duke, no matter how many of them fell. More and more liquid dripped from the Duke''s body, so much so that the ground around him constantly oozed steam. However, that was it. Nothing else happened, no matter how hard the Werewolves fought. They were practically just throwing themselves to feed him. I watched as the Duke grab a Werewolf and bring him towards his mouth, smiling. It was hopeless for the Werewolves from the beginning. It wasn''t because the Werewolves were weak; the Duke was just too strong. No matter how hard they fought, they just ended up becoming another source of the Duke''s power. "He''s not the type to accept defeat so easily. The size of his body is proof of that." The Duke shifted his focus to the elite Clan warriors and picked them up one by one. The battle was lost. "We can''t forget the most important thing!" Lod exclaimed after listening quietly. "You must not let yourself get captured by the Duke. He will extract all of your abilities if you get consumed by him," Lod said to me in a serious tone. "We''re showing everything we have on the Duke to give you another chance to think about this. The Duke is especially intent on preying on you right now. If you decide to leave now, we won''t ever hold it against you. We''re already grateful that you at least agreed to help us." "..." I wanted to do that if I could. It wasn''t like anyone besides the Clan would celebrate if I took care of a problem that would only surface in the future. But I still had to do it and this was my only chance. "He''s a coward, isn''t he?" "Excuse me?" "What does that mean?" "The Duke, I mean. He doesn''t take any chances whatsoever. It''s almost as if he''s so afraid of taking any damage that he''s actually running away." I understood why he would be that afraid. His abilities were overpowered, yes, but the risk was that much greater. If he ended up dying, he could lose this Predation skill along with the normal penalties for deities. However, from what I saw in the video, he was being too cautious. He could definitely do more and defeat the Werewolves in an instant. It was pushing it, but he seemed a coward to me. Besides, it wasn''t like I could say that he was being rightly cautious and wouldn''t be long until he grew to full strength here. I had to make him out as a coward for now, since he was the enemy. -I accepted their request because I was confident.- I was. I wasn''t boasting when I said that I was the strongest in the entire world. I had all of these overpowered skills and item effects, especially Absolute Destruction. The Duke then and now was a being who boasted the highest DEF. That was why no one could ever touch him but that didn''t matter to me. DEF didn''t matter as long as I could get one point of damage off but as I listened to what the Clan had on the Duke, I was starting to worry about one thing. -If he actually absorbs all incoming damage, will Absolute Destruction even activate?- From what I could tell, the Duke had two bodies. One body was the blob of flesh that acted as an armor of fat that surrounded the Duke''s true body. If I could do away with the blobby armor with Absolute Destruction, dealing with the Duke''s undefended body will be a cinch. But, if the blobby armor ended up stopping Absolute Destruction¡­ -This is going to be a tough battle.- But there was no way I could back down now, which was why I called the Duke a coward. "Thank you." "Thank you so much." As soon as I said that, they started to thank me. To them, calling the Duke a coward was the same thing as saying that I would fight until the end. "Not being able to receive help from anyone had been more painful than the Duke so far," I heard someone say calmly. "This is all we can to repay you for deciding to stay with us to the end. We hope that you would accept this humble gift from us." "It¡­it''s not a big deal." "Please, don''t say that. You don''t have to feel burdened about anything. We''re not asking that you win this war for us; just that you stay as our ally to the end." "That''s right." "We''re just happy that we finally got at least one person to stand by our side," Lod said. I only said no, but I really wanted it. The item they were handing me was¡­purple. A Rank 10 item. Chapter 151: Chapter 150: I Don’t Have a Choice, Part III Chapter 151: Chapter 150: I Don¡¯t Have a Choice, Part III Translator: HunterW3 Editor: RED I accepted the reward they were so adamant about giving me. It shone a bright purple. I didn''t turn them down a second time. I really wanted it. "Item Check." ==[Clan Badge ¨C Werewolf (Rank 10) This is the prized treasure of the Werewolf Clan; the single Werewolf Clan Badge in existence. Normally, this badge carries the same authority as Lod, the founder of the Werewolf Clan. On certain occasions, Lod and the Werewolf Clan may decide that Lod''s orders take priority. However, the holder of the Badge is not required to follow Lod''s orders. Furthermore, should the holder''s advice be ignored at least three times, the holder''s orders will take priority. As long as the Clan Badge remains in the holder''s inventory, the holder will receive the following effects: Grants ability to teleport to the Werewolves'' homeland without limit. Attacks inflicted onto the holder by Werewolves are decreased by 50%. Attacks inflicted onto Werewolves by the holder are increased by 50%. (This effect comes from a passive effect Lod placed upon the Werewolf Clan. This does not affect Lod.) AGI increased by 700 points STR increased by 300 points Grants Howl of the Wolf. (Howl of the Wolf: AGI increased by 20% for 1 hour. No skill points required. 24-hour cooldown.) Using Howl of the Wolf grants Razor Fang. (Razor Fang: Successful attacks against enemies inflict 5% additional damage. Can only be used while Howl of the Wolf is in effect.)]== To be honest, it wasn''t that great for a Rank 10 item. I already had three others that had better effects than this. Then again, it was a non-equippable item, which made it valuable as there was a limit to the number of equips one can have at a time. -But that''s not enough to make it a Rank 10, even with its effects.- It was basically an item that gave me the same authority as Lod over the Clan. I couldn''t gauge its true value just by judging its effects alone. Its symbolism was probably worth more. At that moment, Lod turned to me and spoke, "It''s the one item I received after becoming the Lord of this Clan. I do realize that its effects don''t match up to its rank." "It''s fine." Still, it increased my total Stats by 1,000 and had a couple decent skills. "Still, it is the most valuable item we can provide to our only friend." "I understand. Thank you very much." I never really expected to receive such a reward. Sure, I was planning on sort of using the Werewolf Clan to get what I wanted, but I didn''t expect them to go to this extent. -Ha¡­I''m really going to have to defeat the Duke, it looks like.- After the meeting, Lod and his officers took me around the Faroe Islands to show me where we would be fighting the Duke. "Wow! It''s really Lee Jiwon." "Lee Jiwon? Is he strong?" "Duh, idiot! He got the Sunbin and Myth Guilds first and second place during the Time Attack quest!" "He did that all by himself, too." "Is he really here to help us, too?" "Yup." "Yay! Then that means we won''t become slaves, right? My big sis was always saying that the Duke was going to take us over and turn us into his slaves." "Yup. He''s going to kick the Duke''s butt!" I could hear the younger, mortal kids chattering among themselves. "What you did during the Time Attack quest caused such a stir that even our children know about you." "I see." I had already considered this outcome when I did the Time Attack quest. Should a similar quest ever come out again, I was going to do it. --- The next day¡­ A report came as I was having breakfast with Lod and the other officers. "The Duke has just left the Shetland Islands!" Their faces stiffened. "The Duke must be getting anxious now," I said, nonchalantly, as I calmly ate my steak. I had heard that the Duke had been anxiously waiting over a week for me to come and hadn''t attacked the Clan the entire time. "It would seem so." "That pig has been holding back long enough." My nonchalant answer seemed to relieve the tension in the room. "Are they travelling via a container ship as well?" "Yes sir. He''s bringing along his four deity guards and exactly ten thousand deva soldiers." "Then they''ll reveal themselves in three hours'' time." "Yes, sir." "Tell everyone to rest up for the next two hours. Then, get ready! This is it. We have nowhere to turn to now. This is the end!" "Yes, sir!" "We''ll have to end breakfast here, Mr. Lee." "Fair enough. I''ve had my fill. We''ll have a proper party tonight," I said with an awkward smile but as confidently as possible. "..." "You''re right. We''ll have a huge party." "The biggest one yet. We''ll party all week long!" We began our preparations after light jokes. I had many things to prepare as well. -I should always assume the worst, in case Absolute Destruction doesn''t go off against the Duke.- I gathered my thoughts as I rested in my prepared room. I had to win, no matter what. I came here to butcher the Duke, not become his fodder. It would have been better to not come here in the first place, if that ended up happening. --- Torshavn, two and a half hours later¡­ Three thousand Werewolves and fifteen hundred devas of the eight hundred-year old van Agassi family were gathered facing the sea. I stood in the middle next to Lod. "Once again, I must apologize. We ended up leaving a huge weight on your shoulders when you came here to help." "It''s fine. That just means this is that much more important." In the end, it came down to the Duke. If I couldn''t deal with him, this battle was lost. I had to be in the vanguard. I didn''t have time to sit back and test the waters; I had to kill the Duke the first chance I got. -I''ll be fine. I''m strong!- As I stood there, watching the sea, I saw something appear off into the distance. "The Duke has arrived!" I felt the entire Clan fall into despair in an instant when the report came. I completely understood; complete defeat loomed over the horizon. At that moment, Lod chuckled before stepping forth. He laughed louder, attracting the attention of his men. He soon stopped laughing before turning around to address the soldiers. "I am afraid. I am afraid of the Duke who looms even closer now. I am afraid as this is our final battle. I laugh to hide my fear," Lod spoke calmly, but his voice carried across the beach. "As the Lord of the Werewolves and as the head of the van Agassi''s, I apologize to you all. I have left you all with great pain." "No, sir!" the soldiers cried out in unison as Lod hung his head in front of them. Lod raised his head again and looked over at each soldier before speaking again. "I may be afraid, but I know what I must do. I cannot, I will not concede our freedom, our future, our legacy to that fat, piece-of-shit pig! We must fight to protect and we must hold to save our families and our ancient legacy!" Lod''s powerful words echoed over the beach. "I will stand at the front as your leader! I will show all of you my back! Will you all follow?" "Yes, sir!" "We will follow you to Gates of Hell!" "We ride for Valhalla!" "Today, we will win! Today, we end this war on our terms!" --- The container ship heading for the Faroe Islands¡­ The soldiers on the ship heard the war cries from the Faroe Islands as the ship cut through the water quickly with the aid of Wind and Water magic. The Duke heard them, too. "Kekeke!" the Duke scoffed. "Those dogs are getting noisy, just because they have Lee Jiwon with them." "But Lee Jiwon did show the rest of the world the extent of his abilities through the Time Attack quest. There is a chance¡­" one of the deity guards said, but didn''t finish. That couldn''t happen, for their sake! "Kekeke. Do you not believe in me?" "No, sir. We believe in you!" "Well, either way, I''ll show everyone how much I want Lee Jiwon!" The Duke had been waiting long enough for Lee Jiwon to join the war. He was confident that he could consume Lee Jiwon, no matter what! --- Werewolves mostly dealt ATT damage as fighter classes. They were waiting on the beach and watching as the Duke''s army froze the waterfront and crossed the sea. They stopped, leaving three meters between the two armies. The atmosphere was completely different than of the other battles. One side was confident that they could win easily, while the other side knew they would lose, but their eyes were on fire, as if they would not accept another defeat ever again. At that moment, one man from each side walked forward to come face to face with each other; the Duke and Clan Lord Lod! Chapter 152: Chapter 151: The Predator Duke, Part I Chapter 152: Chapter 151: The Predator Duke, Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED A cold breeze blew over the beachfront, but did nothing to cool the heated fifteen thousand soldiers. "Kekeke. How nice to see you all in one place, instead of running away all the time." Every time the Duke spoke, his chins jiggled. "Isn''t that what you always wanted? Now you don''t have to chase after us anymore." "Kekeke! Obviously! But if the reason you''re all here is because of Lee Jiwon, then I''ll say this: it''s a pointless decision." "Well, I won''t deny it. But I''ll say one thing as well: this all ends today. One of us will lose everything here!" "Oh hoh! Will I finally take your land from you? I promise I''ll let you hunt still. I''ll let you all level up as much as you want so that I can feed on you some more. I''ve been a little malnourished these days; I should fatten you all up! Kekeke!" "Whatever you say. We''ll see who loses everything! As Lord of the Werewolf Clan and as Patriarch of the van Agassis, I give my orders!" Lod shouted without turning around. "Sir!" "Get ready for battle. Our targets are anyone who stands in our way!" "Yes sir!" "Mad Wolf!" "Battle Instinct!" "Howl of the Wolf!" The three thousand Werewolves soon became covered in silvery fur as they poised for battle. Once ready, Lod checked his personal power. ==[EXP Blessing Select one of the low, mid, high-grade dungeons of the Faroe Islands to increase EXP gained in that dungeon by 50%. (This Blessing lasts three months. You may choose another dungeon after three months.)]== "Change EXP Blessing." ==[Are you sure you want to change EXP Blessing to another Blessing? If you change EXP Blessing to Battle Blessing, you will not be able to use EXP Blessing again for another three years. Battle Blessing will last for the next 24 hours and all Werewolves in your Clan will receive a 30% boost to all combat abilities. Yes/No.]== "Yes." This whole time, Lod had kept his power on the EXP Blessing, instead of the Battle Blessing. He knew from the beginning that it would only be a waste of three years using it against the Duke. That was why he searched relentlessly for someone who could create the chance to use his Battle Blessing against the Duke. It was his Hail Mary and there was no point in saving it any longer. This was the Clan''s final battle. ==[EXP Blessing has been changed to Battle Blessing. All Werewolves in your Clan will receive a 30% boost to all combat abilities for the next 24 hours.]== Lod Schutt van Agassi stared down the Predator Duke. Both sides were ready. The Duke''s guards and five hundred deva soldiers were poised to march forward. Lod and his Clan had never been able to stop that team before. That team always managed to charge forward without even slowing down once and the Duke had no reason to not use this tactic. Lod had to stop them this time. He turned to look at Lee Jiwon who looked back. No words were spoken between them, but they knew what the other was thinking. --- I began to tense up as well as everyone else began to get ready for battle. I had thought about what to do with the Duke''s two lives during the lull. I had to break through his armor if we wanted to really hurt him. But would Absolute Destruction really work on that fleshy armor? I contemplated on whether or not to use my Harrier or the enchanted spear and decided to go with my Harrier. I planned to deal a massive amount of damage at once using Judge''s Gavel. We''d see if he could truly absorb all that damage. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire, Warrior''s Brave Spirit, Howl of the Wolf." ==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]== ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]== ==[Howl of the Wolf has been activated. AGI will be increased by 20% for one hour. You may now use Razor Fang.]== That wasn''t the end to the buffs. "Earth Armor, Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage." "Fatal Blows." The fifteen hundred van Agassi devas cast their buffs. ==[The Blessing of the Werewolves'' homeland has been changed. EXP Blessing has been changed to Battle Blessing. All Werewolves of the Faroe Islands will receive a 30% boost to all combat abilities for the next 24 hours.]== ==[You are the current holder of the Werewolf Clan''s Badge. You will receive the Faroe Island''s Werewolf Blessing even though you are a deva. Your combat abilities will be boosted by 30% for the next 24 hours.]== I didn''t expect the 30% boost, though, and it seems that the other Werewolves hadn''t either. I could see them murmur amongst themselves, but they were careful not to make a scene. It must be Lod''s ace in the hole. "Kekeke! Begin the assault! Steal away the dogs'' lands and turn them into our slaves! Remember the EXP you can get; kill as many of them as you can!" "Yaaah!" At that moment, the four deity guards and the five hundred devas charged in with the Duke in the center, just like how I had seen in the video. They seemed confident as this tactic had never failed them before. Unfortunately for them, today would be different. "Judge''s Gavel." ==[You have activated Judge''s Gavel.]== "Attack! Don''t let the Duke have his way!" Lod shouted as he charged in to meet the Duke''s attack. "Yes, sir!" The other Werewolves roared in response and were hot on Lod''s heels. The remaining 9500 devas of the Duke''s army leisurely watched, as if they already knew the outcome. -I should get in there, too.- I gripped my Harrier tightly in my right hand and kicked off the ground hard. I was much faster now, thanks to the new buffs from the Werewolf Clan. I quickly overtook the Werewolves and Lod and faced the Duke and his team with less than 300 meters between us. "He''s not even a Werewolf; how is he that fast?" "That''s Lee Jiwon, right?" "Yeah, we already know he would be here." "Fuck. There''s no way he''s a deva! That speed isn''t normal!" "Don''t worry. We still have the Duke on our side." "I know that too, but¡­" I could hear what they were saying from all the way over there. "Eat this!" I quickly closed in the distance between us and when I was about 50 meters away, I jumped up, with my Harrier aimed right at the Duke. --- "Your target is Lee Jiwon!" "Focus all attacks on him!" "Kill him if you have to!" the Duke ordered. It didn''t matter to the Duke if Lee Jiwon died here. The Duke could still consume the black smoke that would appear upon Lee Jiwon''s death and the result would still be the same. "Wind Demon''s Razor Wind!" "Thorns of Pain!" "Triple shot!" : : "Chain Lightning!" "Sturdy Earth Spear!" "Piercing Power Shot!" Countless spells and skills flew towards Lee Jiwon. The Duke and his officers had chosen only the strongest of their ranged fighters to secure their victory. It was easy for five hundred soldiers to attack a single target and no one thought that Lee Jiwon would be able to survive all of those attacks midair. No¡­if it''s Lee Jiwon, he can survive; barely, the Duke thought as well. However, neither he nor his officers had realized just how different Lee Jiwon was from a normal melee fighter. --- I watched as countless spells and skills flew right at me. "Blink 1." I had expected them to do that. I didn''t jump in without a plan, nor did I let myself get stuck in midair without reason. The most damage came out from the first attack using the Duke''s tactic. He lets his guards and soldiers attack at will, keeping the Werewolves at bay, and whenever one dies or gets close enough, the Duke consumes them. That was why I shifted their attention towards me and made them attack into the air. This was the tactic I and Lod had planned out beforehand. And it worked perfectly. The enemy watched dumbly as their attacks hit thin air. "Enjoy your meal, asshole." They realized I was close too late. By then, I was already on the ground, behind their lines next to the Duke. I stabbed at the Duke as hard as I could. I was at my strongest point without the Shaman Ko''s Stats effect. I had several buffs on me, but the thirty percent boost to my combat abilities was the game changer. My ATT was well over 60,000 now. A thirty percent increase meant it was now at least 78,000. I was unstoppable! "Gaaah!" The Duke screamed out in pain. He made an expression I had never seen him make in all of those videos the Clan had shown me. Splash¡­ He began to vomit a huge amount of liquid as well. More and more liquid began to pour out of his pores, sizzling into steam as it hit the ground. So much poured out that I couldn''t see the Duke. That attack had to have been the strongest I had made yet. It actually stopped him and his team in their tracks. The Duke''s army that hadn''t joined in yet and even the Werewolves stopped what they were doing and stared in shock. I didn''t pay attention to them, however, because a message had popped up. ==[Because your target possesses the HP of multiple individuals, Absolute Destruction will not work on this target.]== I had expected this to be one of the outcomes when I contemplated on which weapon to use. But seeing the message with my own eyes left me a little bitter inside. There went the easy route. Chapter 153: Chapter 152: The Predator Duke, Part II Chapter 153: Chapter 152: The Predator Duke, Part II Translator: HunterW Editor: RED A black smoke soon enveloped the Duke and his soldiers. The smoke wasn''t from any of the deities or the devas, as not a single one of them had died or even got hurt. The smoke was from the liquid that was pouring out from the Duke. The Duke was still absorbing damage from the Werewolves'' attacks, but his soldiers weren''t dismayed about that. The Duke''s appearance had changed completely. He had just lost a large amount of his fatty flesh. -He''s never lost that much weight at once like that!- The Duke''s entire army had never seen this happen. It was proof that Lee Jiwon had inflicted so much damage that the Duke couldn''t absorb it all. "Wah¡­ a single person can do that?" "Fuck¡­ is he actually a deva like us? What if there''s something more overpowered than devas or deities out there?" "That might just be possible¡­if you consider everything he''s done so far." "..." The soldiers that had stayed behind could not believe what they had just seen. They had never failed or been disappointed before. They didn''t even like the fact that they weren''t up there with the Duke. They wanted the EXP from killing the Werewolves, too. It shocked them even more that the tactic that had never failed before had just fallen to pieces. The Werewolf Clan was equally shocked. Everything had technically gone as Lee Jiwon had planned. He attracted attention as he said he would, and the Duke had ordered his men to focus their attacks on him, just as they had expected. Then, he slipped past their defenses using Blink and attacked the Duke. This was something the Clan simply couldn''t do. But what they couldn''t believe was that he actually managed to stop the Duke and his team dead in their tracks. Lod and his officers didn''t even think that was possible. Both sides were so shocked that they actually stopped fighting for a moment, until the Duke began swearing in anger. "Fuck! Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch!" The Duke emerged from the black smoke, shrunk to half his previous size. "Assault team 1, stand by. All other teams, ignore the Duke and attack the devas at the rear!" Lod shouted his orders; orders that would ultimately decide the fate of the battle. The Duke and his team had put a considerable distance between them and his remaining army. In other words, the remaining 9500 devas were left undefended. There was also a chance that they could run to the Duke''s aid any second, and Lod needed to keep them occupied, at least until the Duke was taken care of. Unfortunately, the 9500 devas were thinking the same. "Get to the Duke!" "It''s not over yet. The Duke can still use his Predation Curse. The longer the battle, the better it is for us!" --- "Altered Equality," I said as soon as the Duke emerged from the black smoke. Now that I had completed my first task perfectly, all that was left was to kill the Duke. This was it. I couldn''t let him get away. Failure was not an option. ==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent. Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. Calculating all Stat points¡­]== ==[Your opponents Stats have been redistributed. The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else. Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]== At that moment, the Duke stopped in mid-tantrum and glared at me, his eyes full of rage. I could actually see his eyes now. I smiled back. Altered Equality really was the perfect skill to piss anyone off like that. I probably just cut his entire attack power by more than half by redistributing his Stat points. Who wouldn''t be mad? I could hear him grind his teeth in anger from all the way here. "Lee Jiwon! I swear I''ll eat you, bones and all!" "I''d love to see you try." I gripped my Harrier once more and charged in. He could no longer absorb all the damage from me at once now. Lod and three hundred Werewolves of the First Assault team were hot on my heels. I stabbed and slashed at the devas blocking my way. "Gah! Shit!" One deva fell after only two hits. They all had lower DEF as they were mainly archers and mages. It was impossible for them to withstand any more than two hits. --- "Shit. Stick as close to the Duke as possible!" "The rest of our army is on its way. Once these dogs get caught in the Duke''s curse, it''ll only be a matter of time. We''ll win as long as we hold!" The four deity guards formed a circle around the Duke. "You''re not the only ones with an AoE debuff!" "You guys oughta see for yourselves, dumbass!" The Werewolves'' morale was higher than expected. Even though one died after the other, they died smiling. "Huh?" "What''s wrong?" "Right now, we''re¡­within the area of effect of the King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity? What is this?" "All of our Stats are being lowered by 12%." "What?" They were all shocked as they realized they were under the effect of a powerful debuff. They turned their attention to the spear-wielding Lee Jiwon. It could only be from him! It was then they realized that Lee Jiwon could actually turn the tide of this war. It had already started when Lee Jiwon broke through the Duke''s fleshy armor. All the while, Lee Jiwon''s battle prowess shone brightly, almost to the point that they wanted him on their side instead. "Shit! Do something about him!" "Fuck! His normal attack just knocked off half of my health. This can''t be happening!" Lee Jiwon ignored the cries of his enemies and spun his spear faster. There was no time to show mercy. "Grrr! Move! I''ll deal with Lee Jiwon. The rest of you deal with the Werewolves!" The Duke decided that he could no longer sit back. He was losing this battle and it was all because of Lee Jiwon. The Duke had no idea that Lee Jiwon was this powerful. Lee Jiwon''s results during the Time Attack were all thanks to Absolute Destruction. While everyone else trembled in fear of that overpowered ability, the Duke didn''t care. He was confident that his fleshy armor could absorb whatever damage that came his way. After all, Absolute Destruction needed at least one point of damage to be inflicted. It also shouldn''t have mattered that he was an Unrivaled deva. No other Unrivaled or deity had ever been able to hurt the Duke. Lee Jiwon should have been the same! --- "Son of a bitch!" "Fucking fat pig!" I swore back. We began fighting one on one when the Duke stepped forward and sent his guards away. We were left alone as his soldiers tried to escape Grand Dignity and the Werewolves tried to escape Predation Curse. "Flesh Whip!" The Duke formed a whip out of his flesh and lashed it at me. His attack wasn''t strong enough to break through my DEF, but it was annoying when his attacks kept draining my HP. I turned my body to avoid the whip. "Flesh Ball! Link 1. Sticky Flesh. Link 2. Exploding Flesh!" Several blobs of flesh flew right at me. For someone with crazy high DEF, the Duke really preferred ranged combat. It was obvious he was being too careful. It was all the better for me, I could take advantage of it. "Blink 2." I Blinked right behind him and stabbed at his back. This battle was going to take a while. It wouldn''t be long until Blink 1''s cooldown would be up. "You slippery bastard!" Every time my spear pierced his skin, more and more black liquid poured out of his wounds. "Summon: Giant Exploding Flesh Doll!" BOOM! "Gah!" I couldn''t avoid the Doll''s explosion, as it appeared right under my feet. I lost quite a bit of health from that attack. In fact, it dealt by far the most damage I had ever received! "Kekeke!" I could hear the Duke laugh as he saw me get flung away by the force of the explosion. Well, it''s not like I expected this to be easy. Everything was fine. What pissed me off was that the Duke''s flesh had expanded again when I took damage from the Exploding Doll. He must have regenerated some HP. All I could do now was to just keep up the pressure and connect as many attacks as possible. I just needed to shave off all of that fat! "I''m going to force-diet you real good!" "Don''t make me laugh!" 154 Chapter 153: The Predator Duke Part III Translator: HunterW Editor: RED "Shit! Why does it hurt so much?" the Duke swore in pain. Lee Jiwon''s damage output was much higher than he had expected! Over the years, the Duke had faced countless powerful deities and Unrivaled devas and had come out as the victor each time. It was only natural that the Duke would absorb their abilities afterwards, and the bigger the Duke got, the easier his battles were. He didn''t even remember the last time he had felt any sort of pain. However, he couldn''t describe the pain he felt from Lee Jiwon''s attacks. Every time that spear of his stabbed the Duke, pounds of flesh that the Duke had amassed over the years fell to the ground. There was an obvious difference in strength between them. He was not a normal Unrivaled deva! --- I smiled whenever the Duke shouted out in annoyance, as it meant that I was really hurting him. If I was going to win here, I needed to get rid of his fleshy armor as fast as possible. It wasn''t going to be enough to stick close to him like a leech; I needed more ATT power. The Werewolf Clan''s Blessing wasn''t going to be enough. Thankfully, I had the perfect ability to make that happen. I had the skill effects of the First Unrivaled. ==[You have been afflicted by Blood Curse.]== ==[Blood Curse removed due to status immunity.]== ==[Damage received from deities reduced by 50%]== ==[You are the first Unrivaled. Attacks against deities increased by 25%]== The Blood Prince had managed to figure out that I was an Unrivaled on his own, but even he couldn''t find out that I was the First. Frankly, being the first Unrivaled had really helped me defeat the Blood Prince back then. Without it, I would definitely have had a tougher time. While everyone pretty much knew that I was an Unrivaled deva, no one knew that I was the First, and I planned to keep it that way. Either way, the Duke was a deity as well; the perfect target! I pressed my attacks, refusing to give the Duke any breathing room, and I could clearly see that it was working. The Duke had shrunk to about four and a half meters and was still shrinking. "So your height was fake, too?" "Shut up! Wide Area Predation!" the Duke cried out in fury while stretching out his right hand. Soon, his hand began suck in the area around him like a vacuum. ==[You are in the Area of Effect of Wide Area Predation. This skill''s suction force depends on the Predator Duke''s VIT.]== When I felt a force pull me towards the Duke, I dug my heels and slammed the tip of my Harrier into the ground. I stood about four meters away from the Duke. I saw pebbles and dirt get sucked up into the Duke''s hand, but I didn''t even move an inch. "Shit! Because of you, my VIT is¡­!" I smiled as he sputtered in anger that his skill didn''t work. It was all thanks to Altered Equality. My hair and clothes fluttered from the wind as he continued to suck the air in around us, but it wasn''t strong enough to make me move. Hell, I could even stand on one leg. I raised my right foot and kicked at the rocks on the ground. A shower of rocks flew straight for the Duke. "I bet you''re hungry, right? Eat this." I kept kicking at the ground, causing rocks and dirt to fly straight for the Duke. "Shit!" Finally realizing that his skill wasn''t going to work the way he wanted it to, and not wanting to get pelted by pebbles and dirt, he canceled his skill. "I swear I''ll rip you to shreds!" "Right back at ya!" Only one of us was going to get out of this battle alive. "Tch! Let''s see just how long you''ll keep flapping that mouth of yours. Extremely Sensitive Reaction!" -What''s this?- The Werewolves hadn''t mentioned this skill yesterday. Nothing seemed to have changed, but there was no reason for him to use a useless skill by now. -It doesn''t matter. I won''t stop my attacks here.- I didn''t know what it was and I couldn''t exactly ask the Duke himself what it was. I just had to do what I was best at. I resumed my onslaught of attacks. I had learned from the past twenty minutes that my ATT was much higher than his DEF. The previously untouchable Predator Duke was being pushed to the ropes; I had to keep going. I ignored the wound the Duke''s Flesh Whip made on my thigh and stabbed his side. However, the outcome was different this time. In fact, it was explosive. "Gahk!" The second the spearhead touched the Duke, his side blew up so fast that I couldn''t avoid the blast. I was too close and took quite a bit of damage this time as well. "Kekeke! Summon: Horde of Exploding Flesh Dolls!" His cackling pissed me off, but I didn''t have any time to retort as several Flesh Dolls spawned out of the ground behind me and lumbered towards me, blowing up as soon as they got close. "Kekeke! That''s it. That''s what I wanted to see. Run. Run away with your tail between your legs!" The ground around us was a mess, covered in craters as the last Doll blew up. I wasn''t better off. "Ptooey!" I spat out dirt from my mouth. "How do you like it? This is my Extremely Sensitive Reaction!" the Duke shouted, smiling and with his arms outstretched. He seemed happy that he finally hurt me good. Then he raised his right hand to his chest and dug into his flesh. BOOM! His chest exploded with pieces of his flesh splattering all over. "Come at me! I''ve been saving up my flesh all these years, but I won''t hold back against you, Lee Jiwon!" "What a load of bullshit." He seemed pretty confident that he won. It was true that I just took a lot of damage, but from what I could see, he had lost a lot of health too. I knew for sure that my attack connected and I saw a lot of liquid pour out from his side after it blew up and from what he did to his chest. I put his bluff off to the side and took out an item from my inventory. I had a lot of golden rings saved up, but I hadn''t given it much thought recently. I didn''t have a reason to until now. ==[Damage Link Totem (Rank 7) One of the Link Totems. As long as the Totem is the user''s possession, a portion of damage the user receives is transferred to the Totem. The Totem can absorb a maximum of 15% of damage received. Golden rings can be paid to raise the Totem''s damage absorption threshold. Only one type of Totem can be in possession. Current damage absorption threshold: 9% Golden rings required to increase threshold by 1%: 8,100,000 golden rings (this amount rises with each level the threshold increases.) Should the Totem be sold to other devas or sold at a Store''s auction house, the threshold is reset back to 5%.]== I hadn''t leveled up the Totem since the battle against the Blood Prince. Now that I saw it again, it really did cost a lot to increase its threshold by just 1%. But I was rich now and I didn''t really have a particular need to save my money since all of my equips are already top tier. -It''s the perfect time to use it, anyway.- I had to win, no matter what. If the Totem had the possibility to be crucial in my victory, it would be stupid to not use it. If I lost here, I would become the laughing stock of the entire world. All of my past victories and success would just be chalked up to pure luck and the Werewolf Clan would cease to exist. It wasn''t going to be a useless investment. In fact, I should have leveled it up beforehand. ==[You have spent 8,100,000 golden rings to increase Damage Link Totem''s threshold to 10%.]== ==[You have spent 24,300,000 golden rings to increase Damage Link Totem''s threshold to 11%.]== ==[You have spent 72,900,000 golden rings to increase Damage Link Totem''s threshold to 12%.]== ==[You have spent 218,700,000 golden rings to increase Damage Link Totem''s threshold to 13%.]== The next level required more than 650,000,000 golden rings. I hesitated this time. That was a lot just to raise the threshold by 1%. However, I grit my teeth. If I was going to do it, it had to be now. I would end up having to level the Totem up again in the future, anyway. That 1% could be of huge help right now, as well. ==[You have spent 656,100,000 golden rings to increase Damage Link Totem''s threshold to 14%.]== A shiver ran down my spine. I just used up 980,000,000 golden rings in a few seconds. The Duke mistook my trembling as fear. "Kekeke. Do you realize the reality you''re in now? Too bad. It''s too late to regret anything now!" "Shut the fuck up, you fat piece of shit." I was already at my wit''s end from having to spend nearly a billion golden rings on a last resort that didn''t necessarily secure my victory. His damn cackling only served to piss me off even more. Thanks to his Extremely Sensitive Reaction, I couldn''t attack him as much as I could to inflict maximum damage. All that was left now was to just withstand his attacks and come out as the last one standing. This was going to be a messy fight. I gripped my spear and charged at the Duke. "Hmph, so the scared little rat is going to fight to the end." "Who says I''m scared, you dumbass pig?" "Tch! That mouth of yours is still flapping around, isn''t it?" "That''s what I wanted to say!" 155 Chapter 154: First? Part I Translator: HunterW Editor: RED Every time my spear punctured the Duke''s body, a strong explosion followed, pelting me with fleshy shrapnel each time. I stuck to him and didn''t even try to give myself room to avoid the explosions. However, no matter how many times I got hit, I stuck to him. Each time I stabbed him, more and more liquid poured out from his body. His body continued to shrink like an ice cube left out on a hot summer day. "Erk!" "You damn leeching bastard!" the Duke shouted, annoyed. We were both hurting each other quite a bit now, but I had to hold on. This was all I had left. It was do or die at this point. I had no magic spells or ranged skills in my arsenal; all I had to rely on was my Harrier. ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF is lowered by 80%.]== "Gahh! Fuck!" I was waiting for this exact moment. Even though Absolute Destruction wasn''t going to work today, I still had Powerful Shock to rely on. Once the red bolt of lightning struck the Duke''s head, I stabbed again with my spear. Another explosion went off, dipping my HP even lower. Despite that, I kept attacking, even as I bled from the temple when a piece of shrapnel cut it. --- About a hundred meters away from the Duke''s and Lee Jiwon''s battle, another fierce battle between the Werewolf Clan and the Duke''s army was taking place. At the start, both armies were fighting fiercely despite the difference in size but as time went on, both sides couldn''t help but focus more on the other battle. "Die!" "This time, we won''t spare any of you guys!" "Iron Wall." "I call upon the Spirit of Earth, crush my enemies before me. Strike!" "Might of the Wolves!" "Bestial Howl!" Both sides vowed that they would kill the other, and cast spells and skills left and right, but every single soldier paid more attention to the fight between the two strongest people on the battlefield. ---- Explosions went off consecutively in a two-meter radius. Shrapnel from the Duke''s body flew all around and Lee Jiwon''s head was starting to bleed profusely. During this whole time, the Duke''s body was continuing to noticeably shrink. The two continued to fight like that, despite their state and as more and more craters formed in the ground around them. "Gaah! Fucking clingy bastard!" "Fuck you, you fat bastard! How much did you eat all this time?" They fought like diamonds cutting diamonds. The soldiers of the Werewolf Clan and the Duke''s army were all accomplished devas in their own rights. As devas of the Otadolon stage, they had all strived towards one goal; to become the strongest, because that was the only way to survive. That was the reason the devas of the Duke''s army had joined; they didn''t care if they were hated by the devas of the rest of the world if it meant they could get stronger. That was how the world they lived in operated now; the only dream devas could have after emerging from a Don Gate was to get stronger, no matter what! However, many of them felt that that dream was just too far away from them as they watched the Duke and Lee Jiwon battle it out. The soldiers were of the same mind as they watched the two men fight: was it even possible for a deva or a deity to be that strong? It might be possible for a deity, considering how they were born, but a deva? That was impossible! Did Lee Jiwon truly get there through only hard work? No, that was impossible, too! Lee Jiwon was truly an anomaly. Soon, the two armies stopped fighting altogether and solely focused on the Duke and Lee Jiwon. The fate of the war rested on their battle now... --- "Grrr! Fine! Let''s see this to the end, you bastard!" "That''s what I plan to do, you fat shit!" "I won''t let someone like you flush away five years'' worth of Predation!" "Are you sure about that? It seems to me you just lost two years!" "Graah! Today doesn''t matter! Eating you will make up for all of that! I''ll eat all of those fucking dogs, too! I''ll be stronger than I ever was!" "Do you think I''ll let you? Daydream when you''re alone!" The Duke was getting anxious, even though he tried hard to not show it. The battle wasn''t over yet, and he doubted he would lose, as he still had his final ace in the hole. But the flesh he was losing right now was a huge waste. He had spent five years gathering it all as carefully as possible, so as to not attract any unwanted attention before it was time. -Was I wrong?- When he couldn''t capture Lee Jiwon as easily as he expected, the Duke had resorted to using his Extremely Sensitive Reaction. He had never expected Lee Jiwon to have a high enough ATT to break through his defenses. That Altered Equality was equally frustrating, as well! None of his attacks were working now. Lee Jiwon just brushed off his whip or sliced it in half with his spear. The Duke''s HP were even considerably lowered thanks to Altered Equality. The Duke''s Wide Area Predation, that had never failed him before, also didn''t work against Lee Jiwon. It was obvious what Lee Jiwon''s plan was. He was attacking with everything he had, and if he was going to die, he was going to take the Duke down with him. At first, the Duke was confident he could outlast Lee Jiwon, but now, he was getting doubtful. If this continued, the Duke could lose. He had to put some distance between them as quickly as possible, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn''t get away far or long enough. Lee Jiwon was right; the Duke had lost almost two years'' worth of fat. He was down to about three meters now. He had never expected to lose so much! --- "Hey, isn''t that the sign to toss him someone to consume?" "How can he expect us to do that now of all times?" The Duke''s deity guards clearly knew what he wanted from a small sign like that; they had fought alongside him for a few years now, after all. However, they couldn''t just toss him someone from the Werewolf Clan. No one was fighting and they would easily catch on if the Duke''s soldiers attempted anything shady right now. In the end, the Duke probably meant to toss one of their own. There was another problem to that, however; if they tossed the Duke a deva soldier from their side, it would no doubt crush the morale of the rest of their eight thousand-strong army. It was already low enough as they watched Lee Jiwon holding his own against the Duke. No, it was clear that Lee Jiwon was pushing the Duke back. The four deities looked at one another. They made their decision. "We hold on as long as we can. The battle isn''t over yet." "Right. It''s not time for us to retreat just yet." "But what should we do about the Duke''s appetite?" "We can''t do anything about that right now. If we lose our army, it''s over." "Then what do you suggest?" "Attack the Werewolves. We have to turn the tide ourselves and kidnap one if we get the chance." "Alright. You haven''t let us down so far." "Let''s do it." Soon, the four deities led another full-on attack against the Werewolves, fighting harder than before. --- Two hours later¡­ Both battles were still in full swing, without a clear indication of a winner on either side. However, this constituted as a win for the Werewolf Clan; they had lasted longer against the Duke and his army than ever before. The Werewolf Clan continued to fight on with high spirits, even as more and more of their comrades fell and their Fatigue rose higher. The Duke''s army''s morale, on the other hand, continued to plummet, directly because of the fight between the Duke and Lee Jiwon. "Is that the Duke''s true form?" "To think that he is actually a dwarf¡­" "I''ve seen that type of dwarfism before. I think it was called primordial dwarfism." "Yeah, that! I remember watching a documentary about it on TV in the past." No one had ever known what the Predator Duke really looked like, not even the four deity guards that were always with him. Everyone naturally thought he was bigger than average because of his constant state. However, thanks to Lee Jiwon''s consistent attacks, the Duke had just about lost all of his amassed flesh, revealing the Duke''s true form. He came up to only about 110 centimeters. The average eight-year old was about 123 centimeters; the Duke was just too small. He had to be an adult; minors couldn''t use the Don Gates! --- The Duke ground his teeth in anger. This was the maddest he had ever been. He had long forgotten this appearance; he had done everything he could to forget about it, to make sure no one knew about it, but Lee Jiwon had just revealed it to the whole world! Blood streamed from the Duke''s eyes. It wasn''t tears mixed with blood; it was actual blood! "You bastard! How dare you! This wasn''t supposed to happen!" The Duke pointed his finger at Lee Jiwon in rage. He had to punish him for this! He would have to use his final ability, the ability that he had not even used on Muskan! 156 Chapter 155: First? Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED-So that''s what the Duke really looks like?-I was probably more shocked than anyone else here. The Predator Duke I was more familiar with was the one from past, who was over ten meters tall. It was already weird enough seeing the shorter Duke of this timeline, but seeing this dwarf in front of me really took the cake. I really didn''t see that one coming.The Duke''s small, ugly face scrunched and his tiny fists trembled in anger. He swore like he did for the past two hours, but he wasn''t intimidating at all. In fact, it was almost laughably cute."You bastard! You''ve forced my hand!" the Duke squeaked, full of rage. It was easy enough to understand why he was mad. Obviously, he had a complex about his appearance and wished to keep it hidden away from the rest of the world. I wasn''t going to make fun of his appearance, either. I knew enough that it was a condition that he was unlucky enough to be born with, but there was just one problem. To me, it wasn''t a good enough motive to justify all of the inhumane acts he committed so far. I glared at him in contempt and uttered a single sentence. "What a load of bullshit." Wounds? Secrets that no one could know about? It was all part of a normal life. Everyone went through hardships and had dark secrets that not even their closest companions could know.He consumed mortals, damn it. He killed countless mortals even though they didn''t yield anything compared to devas. He killed them just because they got in his way. He was the scum of the earth. He had no right to be that angry over a fucking midget complex. He should be angrier that I flushed five years'' of his work down the drain, not over his fucking dwarfism. Who the fuck cared about that? He was reborn as a fucking deity. If he wasn''t, then maybe I wouldn''t be so angry, maybe I wouldn''t be thinking about all those who died by his stupidity, in this timeline and in the past.I placed my Harrier back into my inventory and took out my enchanted spear. Now that he was completely free of his fatty armor, Absolute Destruction should work on him now. I didn''t care about torturing him or making him hurt. The greatest punishment for him was death. He''d lose everything since he was a deity and that meant he would have to live the rest of his sorry life as a dwarf. I would show no mercy for him."Oy, shorty.""What did you call me, you son of a bitch?""That''s a good look on you. You should stay that way for the rest of your life.""Shut your trap! How dare you look down at me? I am the Predator Duke, damn it! I won''t take any shit from someone like you!" "Blink 1." Tired of hearing the same crap from the Duke, I Blinked over to his side. At the same moment, however, the Duke pointed his finger at me and sputtered in rage. "I''m going to eat you whole and not leave a single bone behind! Absolute Predation!"==[You have been affected by the Predator Duke''s exclusive skill, Absolute Predation.You are now an unconditional target for Predation.]==I felt a wave of anger rush over me as I read through the message. The battle was just about over. I was so close to killing him. I spent over two hours trying to set up the perfect situation for Absolute Destruction to activate."Blink 2." I decided to put some distance between us for now. When he activated his skill, a white, string-like substance was emerging from his finger and it seemed that it was going to touch me before I could attack him.==[You have been affected by the Predator Duke''s exclusive skill, Absolute Predation.You are now an unconditional target for Predation.You are now an unconditional target for Predation.]=="Hah¡­" I couldn''t believe what just happened. The white string had homed in on me even as I Blinked away. I swung my spear at it but as soon as it made contact, the string wrapped itself around me and started to pull me back towards the Duke. At that moment, the Duke opened his mouth, which gaped a meter wide. "Fuck!" I struggled as hard as I could, but I couldn''t free myself. As I was being quickly dragged across the ground towards the Duke''s gaping maw, I realized there was nothing I could do.-Shit! This is too much! Is there no such thing as balance in this world?----"Gahaha!" The Predator Duke couldn''t help but laugh. He was laughing so hard that he fell to the ground and rolled around, cackling. He even forgot that his remaining army knew about his true form.==[Exclusive skill, Absolute Predation, has been activated. (1/3)This skill can only be used when you lose the flesh you have gained from Predation. You can only use this skill three times.]==This ability of his could only be used three times. No amount of leveling up or skill points could ever increase the counter. It also came with some serious restrictions. The Duke had spent the past five years believing he would never have to resort to using it until this day.He even believed it was a waste to have to use it on Muskan, as it meant he would have to give up on everything he gathered over the past five years for an ability that he didn''t know everything about. It also meant he would risk attracting unwanted attention from the Behi-Kinant and the Sahtaswhi Guilds."But it''ll be worth it if Lee Jiwon is the first target!" The Duke never expected that he would have to resort to using Absolute Predation against Lee Jiwon. He thought Lee Jiwon was just some small fry deva who had an incredible streak of luck. He was wrong. Lee Jiwon had the potential to conquer the world; all the more reason to consume him while he had the chance."Kekeke. Let''s see what you have in store for me." It would all be over once the Duke got Lee Jiwon inside his belly. (TN: Austin Powers, anyone?)---"What¡­""That''s¡­just not fair.""Absolute Predation¡­how can something like that exist? We were so close."The Werewolf Clan watched on as the last of their hopes vanished. They didn''t, couldn''t have known about this. Even the Duke''s deity guards hadn''t known about Absolute Predation. The Werewolves weren''t mad about the situation they were in; they found it unfair, especially after all they''ve been through.Then, the sound of someone crying could be heard. "In the end, it''s my fault¡­if I hadn''t gone¡­" It was Kylie van Agassi. The other Werewolves became depressed as well. In the end, they placed all of their burdens onto Lee Jiwon. He wasn''t supposed to take on the Duke on his own in the first place. They were supposed to work together and kill the Duke before focusing on the rest of the Duke''s army. But Lee Jiwon had done most of the work himself and just as they were about to win, Lee Jiwon was going to be the one to lose everything instead of the Werewolves. "Everyone!" At that moment, Lod broke through the silence. "Let''s go!" He didn''t say anything else; there was no directive or command, but they all knew what he meant.Lee Jiwon had done his best even though he didn''t need to. The Werewolves had to pay back that favor and fight twice as hard. If they were going to die, they would die with honor."Yes, sir!""We fight to our dying breaths!"---"Stop them!""The battle is ours!""They won''t last much longer. Hold out until the end!"Up until now, the four deities and the remaining two thousand soldiers of the Duke''s army were afraid that the Duke would lose. Before the Duke brought out his final hand, it seemed that the Duke had lost."Remember what you all can get if we take over this land. Their dungeons and EXP will be ours!"The Duke''s army regained their morale and charged while dreaming about the rewards they could get after winning the battle.---At the peak of H¨²sareyn Mountain, overlooking T¨®rshavn¡­A person was watching the battle below while flipping a coin in his hand. "That doesn''t look good." It was Dorofei Krutikov, the man known as the Information Hunter and the owner of the Troll Market. He was the first to know about the war between the Predator Duke and the Werewolf Clan while keeping tabs on the Predator Duke. He had also learned about Lee Jiwon''s involvement as soon as the Werewolf Clan made its decision to ask his help."Ha¡­I did expect it to turn out this way; just not in this fashion. Am I losing my touch?"The painting he drew in his mind consisted mostly of white and black colors, but only Lee Jiwon was different. The colors Dorofei needed for Lee Jiwon were all over the place. One second, he needed red, orange, and yellow at once and in the next second, he needed green, blue and purple."Huh¡­to think his potential is only at level 19¡­" Dorofei kept flipping his coin as he watched the Duke smile like a crazed lion as Lee Jiwon drew ever closer. Dorofei contemplated on whether or not to use it.On the last coin flip, Dorofei missed it, and the Coin of Fate fell to the ground. He had never missed that catch in his life, but he couldn''t help himself after what he just witnessed.The Duke''s potential had dropped to level 19 while Lee Jiwon''s had jumped to level 499! 157 Chapter 156: First? Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Die!""Howl of the Wolf!""The battle is over. Stop wasting your energy and bow down to your new masters!""Screw you! Razor Fang!""Flaming Whip!""Ice Ring!""Iron Wall!"The Werewolves continued on, even as their comrades fell around them. It was all they could do and they had to do, for Lee Jiwon!However, they weren''t fools to not realize that they were losing. The Duke was still standing in the middle of the battlefield and his Curse was still in play. One by one, the Werewolves were dying. No amount of willpower could ever deny the reality in front of them. Of course, that only applied to the Werewolves.---"Gahahaha! Rapid Absorption!" The Duke didn''t care about the battle going on around him. He remained focused on his prey.==[Rapid Absorption in progress:0%...1%...2%...3%...]==The progression rate for Rapid Absorption was slow, really slow. That just made the Duke smile even wider, however. It just meant that Lee Jiwon had that much more in store. It had always been like that: the weaker ones were absorbed quickly while the stronger ones took longer. Lee Jiwon was the slowest by far, slower than even other deities he had consumed."Kekeke. Good, good. I can wait that much."==[Rapid Absorption in progress:96%...97%...98%...99%...100%]=="Check Abilities!"The Duke wanted to take all of Lee Jiwon''s abilities if he could, but that was an impossible task. Not only was there a time limit, taking them all would bring the entire world''s attention upon him. He had to be careful as there were quite a few that had caught his eye.Soon, Lee Jiwon''s abilities were put up on screen, and the Duke''s expression stiffened as he read through them. He had never seen anything like them before. He knew Lee Jiwon was extremely powerful after fighting him, but this was far from what he had expected.==[Currently one fully absorbed target: (Time remaining: 00:59:59)Lee JiwonStat PointsSTR: 15,324 + 1,235AGI: 11,001VIT: 11,001WIL: 1,348INT: 1,348SkillsUnrivaledShaman Ko''s Selfish PrickWarrior''s Brave SpiritMana ConversionJudge''s GavelAltered EqualitySpecial EffectsStatus effect immunityFragment of the Destruction God]"What is this?" The Duke thought a bug had occurred as he stared at the message screen. It didn''t make sense for an Abilities Menu like this to exist."Just who or what in the world is he? Is he actually a deva? He''s the overpowered one here! His base Stats are just insane!" As the Duke''s Predation skill couldn''t consume the effects of items or buffs, the Abilities Menu he was looking at excluded all Stats bonuses from equips and skill buffs. There were some abilities that he couldn''t absorb as well, like the Unrivaled skill and its status effect immunity."A¡­anyway, this is good enough! I just have to eat now. Extract Fragment of the Destruction God!" This was what he wanted the most.==[Extracting Fragment of the Destruction God:0%...1%...]=="Kekeke." The Duke laughed as he imagined how much stronger he could become after extracting Fragment of the Destruction God, but stopped abruptly as he looked over Lee Jiwon''s Stats."These Stats are¡­just unbelievable. Is this even possible for anyone?" The surest way to gain more Stat points was by leveling up, but that had to mean Lee Jiwon''s level was unbelievably high, possibly a hundred times higher than his own."There''s a good chance he has Dungeon Seeker and has been the first to find a few dungeons. There are quest rewards to take into account¡­but that''s still not enough. And what is this +1,235 next to his STR Stat?"The Duke truly had never seen an Abilities Menu like Lee Jiwon''s before. There were skills he had never heard about, like Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick and Judge''s Gavel.And so, as the Duke stared curiously at Lee Jiwon''s Abilities Menu, the Duke had no idea that something that had never happened before had occurred.---Predation worked the exact same way as the natural world. The victims that the Duke consumed were digested, had their essences absorbed by the Duke, and whatever was left over was expelled as waste. No victim had ever survived once Predation began, and thanks to Absolute Predation, Lee Jiwon was consumed despite his struggling.When Lee Jiwon''s HP hit 0, it meant that he was now ready to be absorbed. However, something unprecedented occurred. The Duke''s Predation skill did not register item and equip effects, as it could not absorb their effects. One of those items was the item given to Lee Jiwon by the Myth Guild; the Rank 8 Bracelet of Eternal Fire. ==[Bracelet of Eternal Fire (Rank 8)A bracelet holding the wick of an ever-burning candle. All that remains is the wick, but the flame never goes out.Increase all Stats by 100 pointsIncrease VIT by 500 pointsWhen HP reaches 0, HP is restored back to 35%. (Eternal Fire''s Last Breath): Once activated, user must wait 30 days before being able to use effect again.]==The flame that burned strongly inside the Bracelet had gone out, indicating that the Eternal Fire''s Last Breath had just activated.---"Huh? What''s going on? Why did it disappear?" the Duke shouted in confusion. The Abilities Menu the Duke was poring over suddenly disappeared. This had never happened to him before! Then, at that moment, another message appeared.==[Digestion is now in progress.]=="What? What''s going on? Digestion should have ended already, and I should be absorbing the abilities by now!"Once the Duke began Predation, Digestion was a stage that began automatically. Rapid Absorption was used to quicken Digestion''s pace. The fact that Lee Jiwon''s Abilities Menu disappeared meant that Digestion should have ended.Digestion shouldn''t be starting again! "Open Abilities Menu." Nothing happened. Only the Digestion progression bar was still there."Fuck! What the hell is this guy?"---I came back to my senses in an instant. "What''s going on? Where am I? All I remember is getting dragged into the Duke''s mouth, and nothing else after that!" I couldn''t see or feel anything around me. It was as if my five senses were taken away from me. There was only one thing I could sense around me.It was the sound of something eating. I couldn''t see, feel or hear it; it was just a feeling I had. It was hard to explain. And that ''sound'' was starting to get on my nerves. It was as if that thing was eating my food without my permission!"Shut up!"The ''sound'' continued."Stop stuffing your face!"The ''sound'' continued."Son of a bitch! Stop it!" I doubted my voice could be heard in the outside world. The Duke was probably munching on my body against my will. That ''sound'' was probably my body being eaten, digested, and then absorbed. I could scream as much as I wanted, but nothing would change. Munch. Munch. Munch. Munch. He kept eating and eating and I felt like I was going to go insane from the sound. Just then, a message appeared before me.==[Shaman Ko''s Will has awakened.]==I had forgotten about Shaman Ko in my anger. Shaman Ko was back to help me once more.---The Duke was in his domain, feeding on Lee Jiwon''s Fragment of the Destruction God. The Duke couldn''t take another ability when the Abilities Menu disappeared, but he managed to snag that ability. And here, the Duke could happily munch on the Fragment, for he was the king of this domain. He fed on the Fragment as if it was a fly caught in a spider web, and he was the spider.However, something tugged on his web. When he looked up, he saw a thing with snarling face. That thing rushed over to him and for an instant, the Duke was afraid. Only the Duke was ever allowed in his domain; it was created so that he could feast peacefully. He didn''t know what to do about the appearance of this strange thing. He tried to stop it from getting closer, but the thing had a greedy expression and outright ignored him. It began to eat the Duke''s meal instead.The Duke was taken aback. It was his meal! The Duke pushed in and began eating as well.The two wolfed down the Fragment, as if to eat more than the other and soon, the Fragment was gone. The Duke was annoyed. He couldn''t finish his meal!Munch. Munch.The Duke was confused. Why was he hearing the sounds of something eating when there was nothing else to be eaten?Munch. Munch.The sound didn''t stop. The Duke looked below. The sound was coming from the thing as it ate him. The Duke scrambled to get away, but the thing held tight.The Duke decided to eat the thing as well. It was all he could do. The two ate each other at a faster pace than when they ate the Fragment!Munch. Munch.Only the sound of eating could be heard for a while, until the domain fell silent. The Duke was completely eaten, save for a part of his mouth, while the thing only lost its arm.The Duke was frustrated. This was his domain and yet, this thing had invaded and stolen away his prey and eaten him! The Duke couldn''t do anything else, as the thing soon ate the leftover mouth as well!Satisfied, the thing left the way it came, leaving the domain empty of sound and life. 158 Chapter 157: Why Are You Coming Out From There?! Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Duke felt that something had gone wrong, something much worse than Lee Jiwon''s Abilities Menu disappearing. Another message appeared which explained why he was feeling so nervous.==[You have lost your Predation ability.You can longer use Predation on other people any more.]=="..." The Duke didn''t know how to react to the message. Predation was all he had. It made him everything he was from all of the abilities he had consumed over the years. Explosion? Doll Summons? Whip? Those weren''t his own skills; they were all skills he had stolen. Without Predation, he was nothing, he had nothing!"Fuck! Don''t give me that bullshit!"The battle around him stopped for a moment at the Duke''s cry. He and his army had just about won the war. The Duke was giggling like a schoolgirl as he consumed Lee Jiwon just a moment ago, so there was no reason for him to act as if he just lost everything. The remaining five hundred-some Werewolves, the four deities and the remainder of the Duke''s army all turned to stare at the Duke. They could tell something was off. At that moment, another message appeared that slammed the final nail on the Duke''s coffin.==[You will now lose all Predation-derived powers and abilities as you no longer possess Predation.Absolute Predation will be removed, regardless of how many uses remain.Re-learning Predation will not grant Absolute Predation again.]==The Duke slumped to the ground. Losing Absolute Predation made him realize that this wasn''t a dream; he had actually lost it all!The Duke trembled. He was scared. He was at rock-bottom now. He had nothing to protect him from the rest of the world!Then, the Duke began to grimace and heave. His mouth gaped wide open, just like it did when it swallowed Lee Jiwon whole."Blargh!" The Duke vomited Lee Jiwon back up whole, even though Lee Jiwon was supposed to have been consumed by Predation. It was then that the Duke realized this was all because of Lee Jiwon.---I raised my head from the ground and looked around me. I saw that I still had my body and my feet and hands were moving like normal. I was really back in the real world. I turned around and noticed the Duke on his hands and knees with a paled face. I knew why he was like that.-Ha¡­to think that it actually ate Predation¡­-I couldn''t see anything in that place, but I could feel that two entities were fighting over something. I had realized that it was Shaman Ko fighting Predation, and that it had won."Give¡­it back. It''s mine. Predation is mine," the Duke whined as he crawled over to me and pulled on my pants leg. "You¡­already have a lot. You''ve got so many Stat points and stuff, but all I have is Predation. Please give it back. I''ll do anything you ask," the Duke begged as he cried."I was wrong. I''ll be good from now on. I''ll be your slave. I''ll leave the Werewolf Clan alone and won''t even turn in their direction. So, please give it back. Please?"He was like a child now, crying over a broken toy. "Get the fuck off of me," I said, coldly, as I kicked him away. It was virtually impossible for the Duke to ever recover from this, even if I spared his life. He would have to start at rock bottom, and even if he did ever recover his Predation skill somehow, he would never be able to use it properly again to ever become a threat to anyone. But one thing was clear; after today, I would be his most hated enemy. He would always have it out for me and would no doubt take any chance to hurt me. I couldn''t let that happen. I had to shut him down for good.Besides, I had accepted Kylie''s request with full intentions to kill him. He was just like that loan shark, Oh Hyungjae; he didn''t deserve a second chance at life. I didn''t regret what I had to do that day, and I wasn''t about to start now.I took out my Harrier from my inventory. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Judge''s Gavel."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]=="My Predation¡­give it back¡­" I stared for a moment as the Duke lay there, crying, before rushing in. I raised my spear high and stabbed his tiny body. The hammer of the Judge slammed down on his body, nearly crushing it.Unfortunately, the Duke survived the attack. He had only lost his fatty armor; he still had all of the abilities he had absorbed over the years and his own base Stats. I guess it was normal for someone like the Duke to not die from a single blow."You son of a bitch!" the Duke shouted at me as he got up, surprised that I had actually attacked him. "Did you seriously just attack me even though I look like this?""What the hell are you talking about? You''re my enemy, aren''t you? What, did you really expect me to pity you just because you''re a dwarf?""...""Wait, are you serious?" I asked, surprise,d before I charged at him again. The Duke tried to resist, but he had lost all of his will to fight now.Not long after, the Duke was on his knees, panting, while glaring at me with contempt. "This isn''t the end of me!"I slowly walked over to him, ignoring his ranting."Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch! Just you wait. I''ll be back and I''ll have my¡­Erk!"I slammed my spear through his chest. He was my enemy; I didn''t care what he had to say as long as he died. "If you show yourself in front of me again, I''ll kill you. I''ll keep killing you as many times as you want, so feel free to do that," I said, staring at his eyes as they dimmed. The Duke''s body slumped as I finished speaking and puffed into a giant cloud of smoke.---"The Predator Duke¡­is dead.""Look. The smoke trails are all heading back to their rightful owners.""The Predator Duke that brings death around him is actually dead¡­""But how did he survive Predation?""Isn''t death absolute when you get consumed by it?"Not a single soldier of either army moved when the Duke vomited Lee Jiwon back out. No one had ever heard of that ever happening. They also couldn''t get over how the Duke begged for his life at Lee Jiwon''s feet and how confidently Lee Jiwon stood.That shock didn''t last long for the Duke''s army, however, when Lee Jiwon turned to face them as the smoke dispersed. Four deities and over two thousand soldiers still remained, but not a single one of them were willing to stand in his way.That was the end of them, as they all turned tail and ran back to their container ship. The Werewolf Clan had won the war."Yaaaaaah!""We won! We actually stopped the Predator Duke!""Glory to the van Agassi!""Glory to Lee Jiwon!"The Werewolf Clan had lost more than four thousand soldiers. They barely won the war, but were victors nonetheless. They had finally rid themselves of their greatest enemy. The Duke had just incurred a heavier penalty as a deity, and lost his title of Duke. He was no longer a threat to the Werewolves. He was a nobody now.They had just witnessed their greatest enemy beg for his life; there was no better reward for their struggles. This was the greatest day for the Werewolf Clan ever!---I let out a heavy sigh as I slumped to the ground. I looked down at my Bracelet of Eternal Fire. Its description said that its Last Breath effect was currently deactivated. "If it weren''t for this¡­Ugh, I don''t even want to think about it."Absolute Destruction had failed me, and I ended up getting caught in the Duke''s grasp. If it weren''t for the Bracelet, I really would have died today. It was thanks to this that I had managed to kill the Duke. It was done. The Duke was no more. I sighed in relief."Thank you, Mr. Lee.""Thank you so much. You¡­truly saved us today."Lod, Kylie and the other Werewolves gathered around me, each thanking me in turn. Kylie and a few others were crying as well, overjoyed."There''s one last thing we must do. It''s time to party!""Yeaaah!""Hey¡­hey!" The Werewolves picked me up and carried me away on their shoulders.The Werewolf Clan held a party in my name for a week, which only got bigger as the deceased Werewolves resurrected and joined in. For them, a single death penalty was a cheap price to pay if it meant the death of the Duke. I was ecstatic as well, as I had killed the invincible Predator Duke that no one could ever touch in the past.---One week later¡­I watched as a few van Agassi children ran past me, waving. I waved back, smiling, but I was too busy thinking about something else to pay attention to what they may have said."Umm¡­Shaman Ko? If you''re there somewhere, please answer me."A week ago, I had no idea what Shaman Ko had eaten. All I knew was that Shaman Ko had stolen it away from Predation and ate Predation as well. But now, I knew exactly what that was."Open Specials Menu."==[Special Effects: Luck Boost (X + 1), Immune to all Status effects, Dungeon seeker 14 points]==The Fragment of the Destruction God, that was right next to Dungeon seeker, that meant that I had Absolute Destruction, was gone. Shaman Ko took it away from me."Come on, Shaman Ko. If you ate it, you gotta give it back to me." Sure, it was better than letting the Duke have Absolute Destruction, but what did that matter if I couldn''t get it back?"Look, I''m thankful you ate Predation and spared my life ,but why did you have to eat Absolute Destruction too?!"Shaman Ko truly was a selfish prick. It ate the Predation''s meal before turning on Predation, as if it didn''t wish to share anything with anyone.I heaved a heavy sigh. "If it''s like this, then I''ve gained nothing."==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now spin.]=="I want an answer, not this." The roulette wheel continued to spin every day. "Is it just me or is it spinning slower than before? Is it because it lost an arm that day?"After that day, the wheel still landed on 3, but there were two sections that were obscured; sections that should have had a 0 clearly marked."Ugh, whatever. I don''t care about 3 daily Stat points anymore, Shaman Ko. Please, just keep Predation and give me back my Absolute Destruction!" 159 Chapter 158: Why Are You Coming Out From There?! Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Faroe Islands¡­I was standing next to Kylie in front of the Troll dungeon, the high-grade dungeon of the Faroe Islands."This is it.""It''s pretty close to your home.""Yes, it is. The Faroe Islands aren''t that big to begin with."My job here was done when I defeated the Duke, but I hadn''t left right away, not with the Werewolf Clan begging me to stay longer. They wanted to fully repay me before I left and I was going to fully capitalize on that, but there was another reason I was still here. I wanted to check out their high-grade dungeon.The Werewolves were more than happy to let me use their high-grade dungeon, saying that it was the least they could do. And with that, I now had three high-grade dungeons at my disposal, while most large guilds were lucky to have just one."The low and mid-grade dungeons are nearby, as well. Shall I take you there, too?""No, it''s fine." After all of the hunting I had done in Alexandria, I didn''t need mid-grade dungeons. Sure, there was a chance that the monsters here could be stronger that the ones in Alexandria, but I was confident. Besides, I had learned a bit about the monsters before I came here."I wanted to hunt with you, though¡­""I don''t mind.""No, mother and father were very clear that I shouldn''t get in your way and I don''t want to end up as a nuisance, either.""Alright. I understand." I smiled at Kylie, before walking towards the dungeon entrance.I had rested enough this past week and just because I had defeated the Duke didn''t mean I could continue being lazy. The Duke was just one obstacle that was in my way and there were plenty more out there. I still had to get stronger, and I could."Oh, that''s right! Take this with you, Jiwon." Kylie stopped me and handed me a note. "We only reached up the second floor and have only one FOB there. This marks its location. You can rest and resupply there as much as you want.""Yeah, thanks." I had realized the importance of FOBs in high-grade dungeons back in Alexandria, as hunting through a single floor was extremely time-consuming."And¡­is it alright if I check in every now and then?""Of course.""Thanks! Good luck, Jiwon!"I watched as Kylie walked away, and entered once she was out of sight.As soon as I entered, I saw the Trolls that gave the dungeon its name."Mana Conversion ¨C Wind. Warrior''s Brave Spirit."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Wind Level 2 has been activated.Increase ATT by 30%.Successful attacks have a 20% chance to inflict Bleeding effect.Increase damage of all Wind-based attacks by 5,000-25,000.This skill has no cooldown.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]==This was my first time using the Wind Attribute as there was never really a need to before. However, the Wind Attribute was perfect against Trolls that had high health regeneration capabilities. The best way to hunt Trolls was to deal tremendous damage quickly to prevent them from taking advantage of their regen. (Editor''s Note: Doing tremendous damage quickly prevents enemies from doing anything by dint of being dead.)"My attack power coupled with the Bleeding effect¡­ hehehehehehe!" I was itching to find out how the Trolls would fare against me and what I could learn from them.I charged in at a horde of Troll soldiers with a huge grin on my face. The Werewolves had told me that Troll hide was incredibly tough, meaning that they boasted some of the highest DEF among dungeon monsters. However, my Harrier easily pierced the side of one Troll soldier."Gwak!" the Troll soldier croaked in pain, telling me that this dungeon was going to be easy enough for me, as well."Human! Kill!""Kill! Human!"The horde of Trolls soldiers raised their clubs and spears and thundered towards me."Hah! Yeah, me too! Troll! Kill!" I imitated the Trolls and charged.I danced around the fifteen three-meter tall Troll soldiers. I dodged whatever attacks I could and took the ones I couldn''t head on. Still, their ATT and DEF were nothing to scoff at for monsters of a high-grade dungeon."Die! Human!""I don''t want to! Troll!" However, they were still no match for my unmatched Stats and equips, and each Troll fell after six or seven hits. It took me less than three minutes to clear this horde of Trolls. They were about as strong as the Crocs in the Pharos dungeon.I pointed at the materials and golden rings the Trolls dropped and moved them into the Infinite Space."It''s a new hunting ground, so I should at least spend the next month in here." I gripped my spear and headed for another horde.---The Gnosis Guild''s headquarters, around the same time Lee Jiwon was hunting Trolls¡­"Ha¡­""He''s practically Hong Gildong at this point (Korean Robin Hood). He''s popping up everywhere.""I know, right? Every time things quiet down, he causes another ruckus in another part of the world."Ever since the Gnosis Guild had received reports about what had happened in northern Europe, the entire Guild was in a tizzy. The news of the war between the Werewolves and the Predator Duke wasn''t going to become that big an issue as the result was obvious; the Duke was going to win.However, the Duke was defeated, and at Lee Jiwon''s hands at that. Another deity of the Seven Monarchs had fallen victim to this anomaly of a deva."We''re going to have to change how we approach Lee Jiwon, aren''t we?""Hmm¡­" Alpha contemplated Jay''s suggestion. After a while, Alpha spoke up, "Find¡­ his biological mother, and do everything you can to support her. Give her whatever she needs, whatever she wants.""What? That''s so transparent.""I know, but if we have to do it if we want to remain in Lee Jiwon''s good graces. He''ll find out himself eventually, but embarrassment will be a small price to pay to avoid becoming his enemy."No one rejected Alpha''s idea. They realized he spoke the truth."Then we''re going to have to hand over the intel now, aren''t we?""We have to. I know we planned to hand it over after the Time Attack quest, but¡­ we''re late enough as it is. There''s nothing worse than coming off as incompetent.""Sounds good. Let''s do that.""I agree a hundred times.""Oh, that''s right. Did you find out why the Yung Gong Guild is pulling that crap?" Alpha asked Lim Gina before wrapping up the meeting."Oh, that? I haven''t received any solid reports yet, but from what I could tell, the Nayuta and the Cheng Long Guilds are behind it.""What? Those guilds? I can see the Nayuta Guild doing that, but the Cheng Long Guild? Why would they choose the Yung Gong Guild, I thought they didn''t like each other that much.""That''s the part I haven''t uncovered yet. But if I were to guess¡­wouldn''t it be because of the Sunbin Guild? They''re probably going to use the Yung Gong Guild to shake the Sunbin Guild''s influence in Korea.""Tsk tsk tsk." Alpha clicked his tongue. "Keep Lee Jiwon a priority for now and check on the Yung Gong Guild when you can.""I will."Alpha watched as the others left the meeting room and muttered to himself, "Idiot. He probably knows he''s being used, and still he plans to go through with it. Challenging the Sunbin Guild? Even if he has the Cheng Long and the Nayuta Guilds backing him, does he really think it''ll be possible?"---"Kwek!""Phew." I let out a tired breath as I cleared a horde of Trolls on the third floor. "It''s actually getting harder now."The biggest horde on the second floor only had about 20 Trolls. The hordes on the third floor had at least forty to fifty Troll mages, shamans, and warriors. They were definitely much tougher. It wasn''t enough that I couldn''t hunt, but I was taking a lot more damage. The Crocs in the Pharos dungeon were mainly solitary monsters, but the Trolls here were always in a horde."At least they yield a lot more EXP."==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now turn.]=="Oh, it''s already been a full day. But¡­those really aren''t numbers, are they?" Two of the 100 sections really were obscured, but I was sure of one thing; the sections had words on them, not numbers."It can''t be, right?" I had an inkling of what the sections said, but I tried to ignore that feeling as much as possible. And then, two weeks after I first noticed them, I finally discovered what they read."Why¡­are you there?"==[Absolute Destruction]====[Predation]=="That''s right¡­Shaman Ko ate them, didn''t it?"==[Absolute Destruction ¨C Obtain one use every time the Roulette lands on it. Use it to inflict instant death upon enemy as long as you deal at least one point of damage.]====[Predation ¨C Obtain one use every time the Roulette lands on it. Use it to consume a target.]=="Hah¡­" I wasn''t sure if this was good or bad. I technically still had Absolute Destruction, and had technically obtained Predation. Besides, if Shaman Ko hadn''t eaten it, the Duke would have instead, so I couldn''t really curse Shaman Ko."And if they both have a 100% chance of success¡­" According to their descriptions, as long as I had at least one use for each of them, they would activate. There was no probability of either skill activating. That was one of the good points. I could use it any time I wanted to against a boss monster, and wouldn''t have to rely on the enchanted spear anymore."The problem here is actually obtaining them." The Roulette wheel just had to land on Absolute Destruction first! Only that! I didn''t care about Predation. I wanted what was originally mine!"Come on! Give it to me!" I carefully placed my hand over the wheel and it began to spin rapidly."Don''t give me a 3! I don''t need a 3 anymore! Come on, Luck. Don''t fail me now!" I begged and begged until the wheel stopped¡­ on a 3."..." I stared deadpan at the wheel. Normally, I would be happy, but not today. "Why¡­does it feel like it''ll always land on 3 from now on?"Up until today, I had wished for that to happen. Now, I was beginning to regret it."No, no! Shaman Ko, I beseech you! Just don''t give me a 3 anymore, please!" I implored at the disappearing Roulette Wheel. 160 Chapter 159: I Heard You Were Looking For Duck Duck, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Oh, come on! It''s about time you give me one by now!""Kwuk!""It''s not like I''m asking for a lot. I just want one, just one. Is that too much to ask?" I shouted as I took out my anger towards Shaman Ko on the Trolls.I stuck my spear in the last Troll warrior before plopping down on the ground. I wasn''t tired and my Fatigue wasn''t too high yet; I was just annoyed."Ha¡­ I didn''t really want Predation, but the damn wheel hasn''t landed on Absolute Destruction once this past month." Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel spun every day at 11 am and had landed on 3 every time. It wasn''t a bad thing, for sure. 3 points a day for a month was like gaining two and half more levels, and it would definitely pay off in the long run, but I needed some sort of insurance. The stronger I got, the more people knew about me and the more enemies I would make. I needed something as powerful as Absolute Destruction in case things went to shit.No matter how much stronger I could get, there would always be a limit. There was always a chance that there was something or someone out there stronger than me, and could get the drop on me. I was getting anxious now. If this kept up, then there was a chance I could never see Absolute Destruction and Predation ever again. If the Wheel at least stopped on either one once, I wouldn''t be so damn nervous, but still today, the Wheel had landed on 3."It''s fine! It''s only been a month; it''s too early to start stressing it. And who knows? It might just land on it tomorrow." I got back up and charged in at another Troll horde.---The Gnosis Guild''s headquarters¡­"Again?""Yeah.""Ha¡­ this is driving me nuts. Why is she like this even though we''re offering her something this great for free?"Before the Gnosis Guild handed Lee Jiwon their report on Lee Kangchan, they were working on Lee Jiwon''s biological mother, someone Lee Jiwon had no idea still existed. They were bribing and fawning over her, but without Lee Jiwon''s knowledge. They had to keep her existence a secret from Lee Jiwon for now if she was going to become their best card. Besides, their client was Lee Jiwon, of all people. They had to stay on his good side, no matter what!"I mean, come on! All mortals dream of becoming devas and here we are, offering that chance to her for free, so why is she acting like this?"Don Gates were still the most valuable thing in this world. This new world was tough on mortals, especially since the world was rife with vicious monsters, superhuman devas and deities, and constant guild wars. Using a Don Gate was the door to a new life for oneself and one''s family. Many large guilds had established a monopoly over the locations of Don Gates, making Don Gates that much harder to find, and that much more valuable.Either way, giving someone the location of an uncontested Don Gate was the greatest gift anyone could give. That was why the Gnosis Guild decided to gift a Don Gate to Lee Jiwon''s biological mother. "Tsk. The most she can do with her life right now is work in someone else''s kitchen. What is she thinking?"The Gnosis Guild had ended up investigating more about Lee Jiwon''s mother than about Lee Kangchan, the target Lee Jiwon had requested from them. They had learned that she was barely making ends meet by working in kitchens, and made the effort to bribe her as discreetly as possible. They started with expensive cosmetics, moved to golden rings and then to a Don Gate¡­ but none of them worked.She had seemed to have accepted her fate and was content staying a mortal for the rest of her life. None of the Gnosis Guild''s gifts worked and that only served to frustrate them."What do we do now?""She won''t accept anything, no matter what we offer her.""It still doesn''t mean we should reveal our identity to her. This is to stay a step ahead of Lee Jiwon. If we do anything more¡­"I know. Even if we had good intentions, trying to convince her anymore isn''t smart. Keep our identity a secret and continue to gift her. We''ll contact Lee Jiwon one week from now.""Got it.""Yeah, yeah."---"Whew¡­that should be enough for today." I turned away from the last Troll as it slumped to the ground, dead, and headed for the Werewolf Clan''s FOB."It''s already been two months." I had only initially planned to test the difference between the Troll dungeon and the Pharos dungeon, but I changed my mind when I realized Absolute Destruction and Predation had appeared on the Roulette Wheel. I wanted to stay here until the Wheel landed on either skill."Okay, okay, I get it. It''s my loss." It didn''t happen, and all I managed to do was just tire myself out mentally. Still, I did manage to hear some good news from Lagus.---One week ago¡­"It''s been a while, Mr. Lee.""It has. How have you been?"I still kept in contact with Lagus these days, especially since we were both Muskan''s Comrades."I''ve finally done it.""Did what?""We finally got the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds to abolish the second caste system.""Really? Congratulations!""It was all thanks to you, Mr. Lee. If it weren''t for you, the Sunbin and Myth Guilds wouldn''t have come to our aidl. Of course, we can''t forget about your own battle prowess.""Please, it wasn''t much.""There''s no need to be humble."Things really were different now. In the past, the Ravi Guild had lost and been dismantled, which led to the formation of Lagus''s Liberation Army. But now, the Ravi Guild had come out victorious and Lagus was spearheading a new age for his people in India."If you ever find yourself in India again, come see me. I would like to show you a new India.""Sure. I''d like to stop by again one day.""If you ever need my or the Ravi Guild''s help, feel free to call me anytime. It''s the least we could do for our greatest friend.""I understand. I wish you and the Ravi Guild the best of luck from now on.""I wish you the same. Well, no. If you get any luckier, you might just turn into a four-leaf clover."I chuckled at his joke.---I dragged my feet all the way to the FOB on the second floor, so carefree that this dungeon was like my home. I was planning on finally stepping out of the dungeon, but I wasn''t in a rush.Just then, my Comm Link started to ring. "Who''s calling now?" So many people had been calling me these days that I wasn''t sure who it was this time."Hello?""Hello, Mr. Lee," a deep voice replied."Who is this?""This is Alpha of the Gnosis Guild. I''m calling to let you know that we have completed your intel request on Lee Kangchan."My heart rate started to quicken. I hadn''t forgotten about it once. "I¡­see," I replied as calmly as possible, but my voice still trembled slightly. My voice never faltered when I faced the Blood Prince or the Predator Duke, but mentioning Lee Kangchan''s name made me nervous."We have the report ready for you, so feel free to stop by anytime.""I understand. I''ll be there soon." I was going to take a much needed rest once I left the dungeon, but I hadn''t expected this to happen. It was like Fate telling me it was time to face him!"Alright. I should at least speak to him face to face." Lee Kangchan was the only man I had ever feared. He had made me realize just how stupid and scary solo play was. I had never thought I would have my revenge on him, I was too scared to. All I could do was run like a hunted hare and escape into the Sea of Reset.I tightly balled my fists. "Don''t be nervous. It''s time to get to the bottom of this." I slowly walked for the dungeon entrance.---The Werewolves hunting on the first floor had notified base that I was finally leaving after two months."Jiwon!" Kylie was first to greet me."Oh. Hey." I tried to act normally, but obviously came out a bit stiff."Yeah¡­" Kylie, however, caught on and seemed a little taken aback. "Is everything all right?""Haha. It''s nothing. Don''t worry." Seeing Kylie scan my face made me laugh. I was telling myself to not be nervous for this whole past hour after I got the call, but Kylie had noticed. So much for that. The past me was afraid of Lee Kangchan. That Lee Jiwon was gone now. I had no reason to be afraid of him. He didn''t know me, and I was the most powerful deva in the world, maybe. "I have to go back to Seoul. Is that alright?" I asked with a small smile.Kylie smiled back. "Of course. Give me a minute."There was only one way out of the Faroe Islands, but it was simple; we just had to go to London. Many Werewolves here even had Teleport magic, and getting to London would be easy."Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 619Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 8,815,700/8,815,700MP: 347,800/347,800Strength: 18,534 + 1,245Agility: 13,951Vitality: 14,051Willpower: 3,418Intelligence: 3,148Unassigned Stat Points: 980 + 246Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 66,954Physical Defense: 29,197Magical Attack: 10,994Magical Defense: 16,884]==I had gained 49 levels in two months. I had finally surpassed level 600 and at an extremely fast pace at that."Ugh¡­it still pisses me off that I don''t have Absolute Destruction." The first thing I noticed as I examined my Stats Menu was the empty slot next to Dungeon Seeker. If only I never had it in the first place, then maybe I wouldn''t feel this way."Screw it. It''s not set in stone yet." I invested all of the unassigned Stat points and Shaman Ko points into STR once again. Soon, Kylie returned with a Warp Mage and Lod behind her."The Faroe Islands will always welcome you with open arms. Come visit us often.""Thanks. I was planning to come back for the high-grade dungeon anyway." I bid them farewell, and allowed the Warp Mage to teleport me to London. There, I headed straight for the Teleporter next to London''s Store and teleported back to Seoul.In less than a minute, I had arrived back in Seoul all the way from the Netherlands. But as soon as I arrived, I heard the crowd talking about the Nayuta, Cheng Long, and Yung Gong Guilds. 161 Chapter 160: I Heard You Were Looking For Duck Duck, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Do you think it''s true that the Yung Gong Guild is doing all that because they''re being supported by the Nayuta Guild and the Cheng Long Guild?""I don''t know, but I heard those rumors as well.""I''m 100% positive. Think about it! Would the Yung Gong Guild even think about pulling that shit if they weren''t supported by the other two guilds?""Well, you''re not wrong.""Then does that mean the three guilds have formed an alliance against the Sunbin Guild?""Yeah, right. I doubt they''re stupid enough to actually try that.""Exactly. They may be three powerful guilds, but they''ll end up with considerable losses if they try to outright challenge the Sunbin Guild to a full-scale war. It won''t be a short conflict, either.""That''s why people are saying that there isn''t anyone directly related to the foreign guilds working with the Yung Gong Guild; they''re all mercenaries paid for by the foreign guilds. But it''s not like no one knows it''s not them by this point.""They''re just poking around to see what sort of reaction the Sunbin Guild will take.""I don''t really like the Sunbin Guild all that much, but if they get pushed back by Japan and China¡­""Don''t worry. Wars between large guilds don''t break out that easily, especially when they have so much at stake."I got the gist of what was going on as I overheard the conversations around me, but something was off.-The Yung Gong Guild is getting support from both Nayuta and Cheng Long?-It wasn''t weird to hear about the Nayuta Guild now. It was around this time in the past when the Yung Gong Guild had allied itself with Nayuta. What I didn''t get was the Cheng Long Guild. That guild and Nayuta weren''t exactly on good terms. Hell, Sunbin, Cheng Long, and Nayuta really didn''t like each other very much.-Well, that''s not important to me right now.-I used both Blinks to get on top of the rooftops and quickly headed for the Gnosis Guild''s headquarters.---Outside the Gnosis Guild''s headquarters in Yeouido¡­Alpha and the same four people were waiting for me outside their building. I calmly walked towards them. I acted as if the request I gave them wasn''t that important to me.I regretted acting so emotionally when I put in the request as we talked about Lee Kangchan. I was sure they noticed it and they must have looked into what my relationship with Lee Kangchan was, or how I knew about him. They wouldn''t find anything, of course.Either way, I made sure to put on my best poker face. They didn''t need to know why I was after him."Hello, Mr. Lee.""It''s been a while." I shook Alpha''s outstretched hand."I apologize it took us a while to complete your request. We should have had it ready sooner. It seems we''re still lacking.""That''s alright. I don''t mind as long as the intel is good.""Thank you for understanding. Now then, shall we head inside and talk over a cup of tea?" Alpha was obviously fishing to see how badly I wanted the intel. He was acting as if he was trying to lure a boar into a trap."Sure," I replied calmly, while looking right in Alpha''s eyes. I followed Alpha and his comrades inside to their parlor. There, Alpha handed me a cup of coffee and a not-too-thick folder."This is everything we gathered on Lee Kangchan.""Thank you." I picked up my coffee first and took a sip."Also¡­" One of the women spoke up. I think her name was Lim Gina."What is it?""That report includes something else we uncovered during our investigation. All I can say is that it''s 100% true and should it turn out that it is false, the Gnosis Guild will shut its doors.""..." I didn''t understand what she was saying. Whatever they did, they could end up overstepping their boundaries and end up digging their own graves."You can think of it as part of our goodwill.""Okay, I''ll leave it at that for now. Thank you." I didn''t know what this additional information was about, but it wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. If I didn''t need it, I could always throw it away later. "Then how much do I owe you?""It was tough since we only had a name to start with. It''ll cost you¡­1 golden ring."-What?-That couldn''t be right. I stared at Alpha, but it didn''t seem like he was joking around."It may have been difficult, but we did take much longer than promised. Think of it as a small gift.""But I should still pay you properly for services provided." I was still rich enough. I had spent most of my money on leveling up the Damage Link Totem, but I still had about 300,000,000 golden rings left."1 golden ring really is enough. We would just like to keep a good relationship with you, Mr. Lee. If we take any more, then all of our plans will fall through," Alpha replied nonchalantly."I understand," I said, nodding. I could tell they had some ulterior motives, but should they come at me with some weird favor, I could always turn them down. I had the authority to.I bid the Gnosis Guild members farewell and left the building.---After Lee Jiwon left the Han Dong building¡­"What do you think will happen now?""I''m not sure. This is his real mother we''re talking about. She didn''t exist in his entire life until now.""It''ll obviously be one of two things: he''ll either disavow her, or accept her. The die is cast; all we can do is wait and watch."No matter how deep they dug, they couldn''t find out what connected Lee Jiwon and Lee Kangchan. The two had never crossed paths before, so the problem lay with Lee Jiwon. That was why they dug deeper into his life. There had to be something if they took Lee Jiwon''s reactions into account. However, all they could find was his biological mother, even though the two were practically strangers. No, they really were strangers!"Anyway, where is Lee Kangchan now?""Over at the Yung Gong Guild.""He''s been very busy kissing up to the Yung Gong Guild after offering more than half of his family''s power," X said."Tsk tsk tsk. Fool." Alpha clicked his tongue. "How likely will it be for Lee Jiwon to put a stop to the Yung Gong Guild''s bullshit?""That I don''t know. All Lee Jiwon cares about right now is Lee Kangchan. That will only change if the Sunbin Guild brings him into it first.""How Lee Jiwon feels towards the Yung Gong Guild is important, too. Then again, if we take Lee Jiwon''s tendencies into account, I doubt he likes them very much.""Tendencies, my ass. You all already know. Duck Duck.""Of course we know. How could we forget?""Either way, if Lee Jiwon gets involved¡­ things are going to get interesting.""Damn right.""Let''s keep watching him for now.""No, don''t. It''s too risky. Clairvoyance won''t work, either, since he still has Stop Watching Me," Jay reminded him."I know. I''m saying we watch from a distance and through the people around him.""Fine, I get it."---Kaltz Hotel¡­I booked a room at the hotel I stayed at every time I was in Seoul to quietly pore over the report.This first page had a picture of the same Lee Kangchan I knew. "Found you."I carefully read through the report while asking the same question as ever to myself: Why did he do that to me? I always wondered if there was some specific reason he had singled me out. Did I hurt someone of his family, or did a distant relative of mine wrong him? I pored over every single word, but I found nothing that could explain his intentions."Was I just unlucky and got bit by a rabid hound?" There were a lot of crazy people in the old world and there seemed to be even more in the new world. "If that''s the case, then corporal punishment is the only answer for him."As I flipped to the next page, I saw a picture of a woman, and it also indicated her age.-Is this it?-I turned the page, thinking she was Lee Kangchan''s mother or something. I doubted I would ever resort to targeting his family just for the sake of revenge.However, my hand started to shake as I read through the information on the next page. "This¡­this can''t be right." It didn''t make sense. I was an orphan for as long as I could remember.The thought that the Gnosis Guild was playing a prank on me crossed my mind, but they weren''t the type of people to do that. That was just stupid.Were they trying to make me their enemy? They''d be crazy to do that...I turned the page, still trembling. The request was for Lee Kangchan, but this report was more detailed than his. I closed the folder and tossed on the table in front of me."Ha¡­" I let out a heavy sigh. I wasn''t ready to believe everything in the report, nor was I going to head straight for Lee Kangchan after learning more about him. If I was going to properly get revenge, I had to bide my time and wait for the right moment.However, a voice in the back of my head told me that everything I had read was true. The report was that detailed. They had obviously double-checked and triple-checked their sources before putting it together.I stood straight up. I could ignore it. My real mom? What did that matter now, of all times? If she was living a decent life, I could ignore her¡­but I couldn''t. She wasn''t living a decent life. She was beginning to bother me more than Lee Kangchan."I''ll go. I''ll go and see for myself." I couldn''t leave this unanswered now. I had to find the truth out for myself. I also couldn''t leave her in the service of his family. My pride wouldn''t allow that. I left the hotel and headed straight for Chuncheong Province, where Lee Kangchan''s family and the woman who was supposed to be my mother were living.---Meanwhile, at the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­"Hmm¡­" Song Daechul was sitting in at the table in the conference room, deep in thought. "How many men did Cheng Long and Nayuta send over?" he asked his officers."We''ve confirmed at least 10,000 from each guild.""How tricky." Those three guilds probably still didn''t have enough soldiers to face against the Sunbin Guild properly. "We believe that Cheng Long and Nayuta sent over mercenaries to use the Yung Gong Guild to get a rise out of us.""Tsk. How annoying." There were too many to ignore, but the Sunbin Guild couldn''t afford to fully retaliate against 20,000+ soldiers. It didn''t matter how others played it off; the Sunbin Guild was still facing an alliance of three powerful guilds."So, what is that they want?""They''re demanding we yield the mid-grade dungeon in Jeju Island and control over Gangnam, Seoul.""Hah¡­crazy bastard." Song Daechul could have been willing to give up the dungeon in Jeju Island, but he could not hand over Seoul, especially since Store 72 was there. Seoul was the Sunbin Guild''s home."And if we say no?""Then they''ll continue their harassment.""Moronic bastards. They know they''re being used; have they no pride? What did the Intelligence Division come up with?""..." The officers fell silent for a moment. Song Daechul asked the question they had been dreading."Master, there are many eyes watching the Sunbin Guild. We must take caution¡­""There''s a limit to how careful we have to be," Song Daechul cut his officer off."But there''s so much at stake for us to launch a full-scale war. And if Cheng Long and Nayuta join in¡­of course, I''m not saying we have any reason to be afraid.""Tsk." Song Daechul clicked his tongue at Song Myungsoo''s sensible response. Song Myungsoo wasn''t wrong, but there were times when they had to come out strong. Should they continue to appear weak, the enemy could easily take advantage of them."Three days. You all have three days to come up with a solution. Do it, as officers of the Sunbin Guild!"Song Haechang was at the meeting, as well. He had come back from his intense training, as the fate of his guild now rest on the balance. It was then Song Haechang remembered Duck Duck.He remembered how the Yung Gong Guild had relentlessly searched for this mysterious person. Most people knew by now who that person was, and the Yung Gong Guild should know as well; Duck Duck could only be none other than Lee Jiwon.-Wait¡­maybe they really don''t know!- 162 Chapter 161: I Heard You Were Looking For Duck Duck, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDGonju City, South Chungcheuong Province¡­I ran straight here from Seoul. "I think I''m almost there¡­" I had sprinted all the way here as if I was possessed by something, but as I got closer to my destination, I began to slow down. What would I do if she really was my mother? The report said she didn''t know about me; is going to her saying that I''m her son the right thing to do?I thought that it might be better off if I hadn''t learned about her, so that I wouldn''t have to be worrying about this. With that, I dragged my heavy feet towards a small guild known as the Sojung Guild. I soon saw it off in the distance and came to a stop. Now that I was here, I didn''t know where or how to start."Ha¡­okay. There''s no need to be afraid. It''s not like anyone''s life is on the line." I tried to convince myself, but I couldn''t take another step forward, because I was afraid. I found myself in an unfamiliar situation that I never expected to happen.I decided to wait for night for now. According to the report, Lee Kangchan had taken most of the Sojung Guild''s strongest members with him to the Yung Gong Guild. It was probably the most ideal situation for me. I doubted I would be able to deal with both him and my mother on the same day.I waited until 8 PM before climbing over the guild base''s walls. The guards didn''t even notice me jump over their heads. Then again, Lee Kangchan had taken almost all of the guild''s elites with him. There were still quite a few people moving around the base, and lights on here and there, but I had no problem slipping in and out of the shadows. I headed towards the kitchens labeled on the map in the report. It wasn''t hard to find as it was the largest tiled building there. I took refuge under an alcove and took out the photo of the woman who was supposed to be my mother.-All that''s left is to wait.-I waited in the alcove, looking back and forth between the women walking around and the photo. After about forty minutes, the woman in the photo finally appeared. She had more wrinkles than the photo and she was very thin, almost malnourished. The clothes she had on were practically rags as well.She obviously wasn''t well off at all. All of those TV shows and novels I''d watched and read about people finding their family after ten or twenty years all had their characters feel some profound happiness when they met up. As for me, I felt nothing like that. Had I not had the report, I probably would have just passed by her on the street. I wondered if I was void of proper emotions, or if all those TV shows were all full of crap.I watched the woman enter the kitchen and begin washing dishes. Not long afterwards, she left the kitchen and I followed her down a small road with no one else around and watched as she entered a small room. I stayed outside, making sure not to make my presence known and soon, the lights in the room turned off.---By four in the morning, I was still standing outside the woman''s room, thinking. I rolled the idea of whether or not I should ask if she knew of Lee Jiwon countless times in my head. Then I came to a decision; I would have her make the choice. I''d just stand next to her when she left her room and if she recognized me, we''d talk. If she didn''t¡­then I''d end it there.I had to admit it; I was a coward.-I don''t want to know¡­what had happened; not now.-I didn''t want anything to do with her, to be honest. There was nothing between us from the start, although I didn''t know how she would react.The lights came on in her room at that moment and not long afterwards, she emerged from her room. She had on the same clothes as last night, and she was probably heading back to the kitchen. I stepped out of my hiding place and acted as if I was another member of the Sojung Guild. I walked past her, and the woman did the same. As we got closer, my heart beat harder than it did when I faced off against the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke. But as the woman continued past, she did not give me a second glance, and my heart calmed down in an instant.-What was I expecting?-I decided that this would be as far as I went. I decided to not meddle in her life and to just focus on Lee Kangchan from here on out.As soon as I steeled myself, I noticed the woman come to an abrupt halt behind me. I couldn''t see her, but I could tell she was trembling."No¡­that can''t be possible." Her small voice felt like a scream. "It can''t be possible. That child¡­" The woman stumbled towards me, tears streaming on her face and her body trembling.I just stood there, watching as she slowly walked back to me. I let her raise a shaky hand to cup my cheek. "My child¡­my child¡­have you come back from the dead to see your mother one last time? I couldn''t even nurse you properly¡­"I could feel the wrinkles on her palm as she caressed my cheek. She thought I had died and had come back as a ghost. I embraced her in my arms as she cried. I didn''t want to create anymore of a commotion here."Blink 1. Blink 2."==[The user''s companion will receive the effects of Blink.Blink''s original range will be lowered by 50%.]==The message came up but I ignored it. 50% was enough to get us out of this place. I couldn''t leave her, after all. She was my mother, for crying out loud. I know I''m a coward, but I wasn''t that pathetic.I Blinked us to a place not too far from the Sojung Guild''s base."Wait¡­you''re not dead? You''re actually him¡­?" She finally seemed to realize something was off, if I could hold her body and she could touch my face."Yeah, it''s me. I''m really Lee Jiwon. And I''m no ghost." I wanted to say something cooler, but those were the only words that I could think of. My mother, on the other hand, didn''t seem to care. She began to wail at my answer and held me tighter. I didn''t try to free myself, either.---"So that''s why you thought I was dead?""Yeah."My mother began to tell me everything while she tightly held my hand, as if she were afraid that I would disappear if she let go.On that fateful day, thirteen people had died in a building fire. I, my mother, father, and grandparents on my mother''s side were among the people trapped in the fire. My father had gotten my mother out of the fire first. He had then ran back inside the burning building to save the newborn me, but that was last my mother had seen him.I didn''t remember anything like that, of course, but what was strange was that I had no burn marks on my body, no evidence that said that I was stuck in a burning building. My mother had lost her parents, her husband and her only child in an instant; that was all that had happened. She had become a sinner and lived the rest of her life in guilt, especially when she had no choice but to return to her in-laws... the in-laws who ran the Sojung Company.She took out a photo from her pocket and showed it to me. It was a photo of a couple holding a newborn child. I couldn''t tell if that child was me, but one thing was for sure, I looked just like my father."So then¡­""That''s right. The guild master of the Sojung Guild is your grandfather. He''ll be happy to see you.""Then¡­do you know someone named Lee Kangchan?""Lee Kangchan? If I remember correctly, he''s a descendant of your grandfather''s grand aunt or uncle. He''s basically a distant relative. But how do you know about him? Then again, he is pretty successful these days. He''s currently the strongest heir of Sojung."I couldn''t help but laugh. My mother didn''t seem to know that her own son was known throughout the entire world. Then again, she had thought I wasn''t part of this world.-But to think we''re related¡­-From my mother''s explanation, Lee Kangchan was at least my third cousin; in other words, we might as well have been complete strangers. The pieces began to fall together. I could see why Lee Kangchan did that to me.I had never heard of the Sojung Guild in this life or in the past. It was just one of the many smaller guilds out there and only controlled a small part of South Chuncheong Province. The Sojung Guild was nothing compared to the current me, even if Lee Kangchan and the elites he took with him remained.However, in the past, Lee Kangchan must have just not liked me at all. To him, I was a threat to his place as heir, as I was my grandfather''s only grandson."Let''s go. Let''s go see your grandfather right now," my mother said, as she stood up while still holding my hand.I held on, however, and stopped her. That wasn''t important right now. "You''re supposed to be the guild master''s only daughter-in-law¡­why are they treating you like that?""That''s¡­" My mother looked down at the clothes she was wearing, and couldn''t find the words to answer my question.She was supposed to be his only daughter-in-law. Even if the Sojung Guild is small, he should have been at least been able to make her a deva. But there she was, a mortal working the kitchens."The Sojung Guild hasn''t been doing well these days." She was lying.I inwardly sighed. My emotions were all over the place. It hasn''t been more than a day since we finally met, but obviously her treatment didn''t sit well with me, especially since I get the royal treatment wherever I go. For the first time in my life, I wanted someone I knew to get the same respect. She was my mother; she deserved it."Will you come with me and leave the Sojung Guild?" The Sojung Guild would receive none of my influence; not after what they did."Sojung''s guild master is your grandfather. You should also¡­"I gave a small chuckle. I understood where she was coming from. She just wanted what was best for her child and but she really didn''t know who I was. The Sojung Guild could do nothing more for me if the Sunbin Guild had a hard time doing so. "I''ll come back soon, then. Just wait for me a little longer. We''ll make that decision later together."I didn''t want to deal with everything right now, since I could always decide what to do after I dealt with Lee Kangchan. I didn''t care that he was a distant relative. It was obvious that that line of my family had taken over the guild de facto and my grandfather and mother had been pushed off to the side.I brought my mother, who was crying again for having to separate once more, back to the Sojung Guild. I promised her that I would return soon and when she hugged me tightly, I didn''t push away.I left the Sojung Guild''s base and headed for Seoul; specifically, the Sunbin Guild."So¡­he''s at the Yung Gong Guild, is he?" The four entities I hated had gathered in one spot. "It''s about time to deal with them all."While I had told myself I wouldn''t fight for the sake of others, I had killed Oh Hyungjae, the man who was going to the Yung Gong Guild''s human trafficker. I at least had the ability to do that. It wasn''t to make the world a better place; no, I wanted to show my mother who I really was. I wasn''t ready to give her everything I had since we had just met, but I wanted to show her what I could do.If that meant cleaning up Lee Kangchan and all of those mercenaries Cheng Long and Nayuta sent, all the better. It would be tough for me to do that on my own, but that was why I was heading for the Sunbin Guild; to stand in the middle of the conflict.---The next day¡­I stood in front of the entrance to the Sunbin Guild''s building. "Hmm¡­should I say I want to help them deal with the Yung Gong Guild?"On the way here, all everyone was talking about was how the Sunbin Guild would react to the foreign guilds'' actions. Sure, the attacks were done in Yung Gong Guild''s name, but just about everyone knew that the foreign guilds were behind it all. What I wanted was a full-on battle. If the Sunbin Guild was for some reason thinking about negotiating, I would have come for no reason, but that didn''t matter. Sunbin was only a part of my plan.No one stopped me as I entered the building. All of the guild members here knew who I was and the Sunbin Guild was completely open to me. Furthermore, they all seemed too busy to care. It was then I noticed Song Haechang in the front lobby.---A small meeting room on the seventh floor¡­"It''s good to see you again, Mr. Lee.""Yes, it''s good to see you, too."It hadn''t been long since we were throwing insults at each other. I had even killed him twice. It was pretty awkward between us, but Song Haechang greeted me politely and I greeted him in kind."I want to thank you for that day.""Oh¡­don''t mention it." It seemed he had awakened to something. He was definitely different from before."I''m sure you''re busy so I''ll get straight to the point. I don''t know if you have heard, but the Cheng Long and Nayuta Guilds are using the Yung Gong Guild to launch a series of surprise attacks.""Yes, I''ve heard about that.""We''re currently struggling to come up with the proper recourse to deal with them."Of course, the Sunbin Guild would have a difficult time against the two foreign guilds, even if the Sunbin Guild was only going up against mercenaries and not the full might of the two guilds."I believe we should retaliate straight on. If we give them any leeway, if we let ourselves be pushed back just once, we''ll continue to lose ground," Song Haechang said so bluntly that it was actually refreshing to hear. "From what I know, you don''t think highly of the Yung Gong Guild as well. Enough people already know that you are Duck Duck.""..." Now that was a name I''d not heard in a long time. I even knew about how the Yung Gong Guild had searched all over to find Duck Duck."Shouldn''t we join forces against a common enemy?"I could leave here and now. I didn''t know if Song Haechang was planning to do away with me and the Yung Gong Guild at once, but there was also a good chance Song Haechang''s suggestion was the same as the rest of the Sunbin Guild. There was no need to be political, especially with Lee Kangchan within my grasp."Sounds good," I said, nodding. It was better for me since they proposed the alliance first."Thank you!" Song Haechang said, beaming. I followed Song Haechang out of the meeting room to where Song Daechul and his officers were gathered.Song Daechul and his officers were having a serious discussion about how to react when Song Haechang and I entered. Everyone fell silent as they turned their attention to us. Unfazed, I quickly took my seat next to Song Haechang."May I say something to the chairman and the officers here?" Song Haechang said."Go ahead.""Thank you, sir." Song Haechang looked around at the people gathered before continuing, "We are Sunbin. We have never bent a knee to anyone. I''ll admit, if Cheng Long, Nayuta, and Yung Gong attack us with their full force, we won''t stand a chance. However, would Cheng Long and Nayuta bring their full army over against Sunbin?""..." No one replied."Sunbin has amassed quite the strength and pride over the years. So as you all know, Cheng Long and Nayuta are just trying to get a rise out of us, to see what we''ll do by using Yung Gong. Giving in to their petty attacks is not what we should be doing. We should be punishing them for having the fucking audacity to actually bother us! That is what I believe we should do," Song Haechang said strongly. The conviction in his voice told me that it wasn''t arrogance; it was what he should do as a member of the Sunbin Guild.Just then, Song Daechul burst out laughing. "Good, I like that. Then what do you propose we do?""We should crush them at once with our overwhelming strength by using everything we have in our arsenal. Mr. Lee has agreed to help us, as well."Everyone in the room turned to look at me. I sat forward and spoke. "The Yung Gong Guild has been looking for Duck Duck¡­I guess I should pay them a visit. I do have something to care of over there as well," I said as if it wasn''t a big deal, but everyone here knew what I was talking about.And so, the Sunbin Guild decided to act on Song Haechang''s proposal. I wasn''t going to just tag along, either. I decided that I would aid the Sunbin Guild completely from here on out in this war. It was the best way to get my revenge on Lee Kangchan. I would show him true hopelessness.After the meeting with the Sunbin Guild, I decided to call first, even though I hadn''t yet asked for a favor myself yet. 163 Chapter 162: I’m the Star of the Show, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Sunbin Guild became very busy. They had decided to crush the three-guild alliance once and for all. There was Song Daechul''s special order to consider, as well.---Back at the meeting¡­"Good, good. Then, do all of you know what it means to crush our opponents to the point that they can''t counterattack?" Song Daechul asked as he scanned the room."We just need to do as Haechang says: gather everything we have in our arsenal and attack with¡­""Tsk tsk tsk." Song Daechul cut his officer off by clicking his tongue. "Haechang''s observation is the closest to what Sunbin should do, except for one part."The officers whispered among each other at what Song Daechul said, but they couldn''t figure out what he meant. That is, except for Lee Jiwon.Song Daechul turned to Lee Jiwon before speaking, "Do you know what is missing, Jiwon?""I think so.""What do you think it is?""A victory by a landslide means defeating our opponents so much that they won''t ever try anything like this ever again. That means we have to show them the difference in our strengths.We have to show them we can crush them without so much as lifting a finger."Song Daechul chuckled. That was the answer he was looking for. He quickly erased his smile and shouted to his officers, "Be strong and bold! Don''t be shaken by their petty incitements! We are Sunbin!"Song Daechul hadn''t been satisfied with his officers lately, including his own son. Their opponents might be Cheng Long and Nayuta, but petty incitements were still petty. They weren''t full scale battles; they were minor attacks that were to be expected for a guild as large as Sunbin. They were just trying to get a rise out of Sunbin, and to be caught up in the flow of these attacks was embarrassing, to say the least. However, Song Daechul decided not to educate his officers, as this was the perfect chance for them to learn on their own."It''s laughable to think that we need to go all out against their petty provocations! That is not the Sunbin I know. Don''t act any different than any other day. Don''t show them that you''re nervous. Don''t even be nervous. Why? Because they are a minor problem! Whatever they do will amount to nothing!""..." Song Daechul''s officers fell silent from embarrassment at his admonishing. All they had been doing so far was trying to find the most peaceful solution possible. They had thought that was their best recourse, but they should have realized that it wasn''t much sooner."Five thousand! Prepare five thousand of our best soldiers. Everyone else will carry on as normal! No matter how large our enemies'' army is, five thousand will be enough! Show them that we can crush them with only that much. The Sunbin I know is capable of that; does anyone here think otherwise?""No sir!""Our five thousand soldiers will fight with the ferocity of five hundred thousand!" the officers shouted in response.Song Daechul just looked on as if that much was obvious.---"Damn¡­should I take a class somewhere or something?" I was in the room the Sunbin Guild had prepared for me and thought back to Song Daechul''s little speech and how vitalizing it was. He whipped his officers back into shape with just a few words. That was when I realized that if I ever became his enemy, the entire Sunbin Guild would rain down on me in full force without hesitation."But!" I tightly balled my hand into a fist. "I won''t be giving up the limelight!" The upcoming battle between the Sunbin Guild and the three guilds was the most talked about issue in South Korea, if not the rest of the world. I wanted to shift that attention from the Sunbin Guild to me instead, so that my mom and Lee Kangchan would know who I was and what I was capable of. Of course, the reasons for each person was different. And so, I decided to call a few places myself."I''m happier that I finally have a chance to repay you for everything.""Of course we''ll be there.""We''re friends, aren''t we?""Cheng Long and Nayuta are involved. It''s okay if you don''t wish to come.""That matters little to us.""We already vowed that we would stay by your side in your time of need.""We hold you highly enough that we''re willing to take that risk.""Thank you." All three of the places I''d asked agreed to help in any way they could without hesitation. I made sure to let them know that we were to show no mercy to our enemies and my three friends agreed to follow my lead no matter what.The only reason I called upon my three friends was to make sure I was the star of the upcoming battle. If it were just me helping the Sunbin Guild, only the Sunbin Guild would get all the recognition as the victor, no matter how hard I fought and showed off my skills.That was why I purposely got more people involved. Of course, I did act with Song Daechul''s and Song Myungsoo''s approval. Showing that the Sunbin Guild had allies like these would also serve to intimidate our enemies!"Lee Kangchan, I will show you why it was a mistake to go to the Yung Gong Guild to get stronger." Lee Kangchan had to have been promised something in return for taking his guild''s elites to Yung Gong. He must have believed that Yung Gong was strong enough, and I wanted to crush his hopes for good. If the Sojung Guild was involved in any way, then that was even better. I wanted to see their faces red with anger and embarrassment. "I can wait a week if it means I can have vengeance." And so, I spent the next week preparing this and that for the coming battle to make sure we would come out victorious.---One week later¡­On a huge, open lot located near the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters, five thousand of the Sunbin Guild''s elites were gathered in formation. Off in the distance, a huge number of devas and mortals were on a hill, overlooking the open lot. They all knew about the Yung Gong Guild''s attacks against the Sunbin Guild and about Cheng Long''s and Nayuta''s involvement. This battle was what everyone had been waiting for, and many were curious as to how it would turn out. Among the crowd were spies from many guilds around the world, including spies from Yung Gong, Cheng Long, and Nayuta."They''re all obviously the elite of the elites, aren''t they?""Of course they are. Just look at how battle-ready they are. There''s no way any of them are rookies.""But what do they expect to do with just five thousand soldiers?""I know, right? The other side has already revealed their numbers. Forty thousand from Yung Gong, ten thousand each from Cheng Long and Nayuta, and thirty thousand other mercenaries from smaller guilds; that''s ninety thousand strong!""But I''m sure than many of Yung Gong''s soldiers just became devas. They''re planning on winning by sheer numbers alone.""Still¡­ the devas of the other guilds should be the real deal. At least half of Yung Gong soldiers seem to be veterans.""Either way, doesn''t five thousand seem way too few to go up against Yung Gong alone, even if they are elites?""You think so too, huh? If they''re thinking of dealing with this in a peaceful way, there''s no need to put on a show like this. I have no idea what they''re thinking."The spectators wondered what the point of this show was, but no one seemed to believe that the five thousand-strong Sunbin army could ever win. They were going up against an army almost twenty times its size.Just then, someone exited the Sunbin Guild''s building and shouted clearly to the five thousand soldiers. It was Song Myungsoo, the vice-master of the Sunbin Guild."Listen up!""Sir!" the soldiers replied in unison. The soldiers'' energy was so powerful that it shocked even the spectators off in the distance. It was enough to shut up a few who were whispering to each other."We''ve ignored their cute antics all this time. We had no reason to react to them. But they have been wanting to play with us so badly lately; that is why we are here today. We can do that much, can''t we?!""Yah!""I wondered if it was right to go this extent just for some playtime ,but after careful planning, you all have been lucky enough to be chosen for today! Are you ready to go play?!""Yes, sir! We''re ready, sir!""Good. Let''s go! Let''s go have some fun!""Rah!" the five thousand soldiers shouted in unison, but that wasn''t the problem."..." The spectators who had much to say a few minutes before were speechless. They had believed that the Sunbin Guild had been quiet all this time because it was unsure of how to react. The losses from a full-scale guild war were too great, even for a guild as powerful as Sunbin.That was why many smaller guilds had allied themselves with Yung Gong, as they had been promised access to the mid-grade dungeon in Jeju Island. However, Song Myungsoo''s speech showed them that they had been wrong this whole time. The speech proved to them that everything had been petty provocations this whole time, and that Cheng Long and Nayuta only had mercenaries to their names."Five thousand, huh¡­?""It should be enough. If he said his speech in front of his entire army, it would be hard to believe. But I can believe him with five thousand soldiers.""But will five thousand be enough for the Sunbin Guild? They''re still going up against ninety thousand.""If Sunbin can pull it off with five thousand, their names will go down in history. If they can''t, they know they''ll become the laughing stock of the country.""The Sunbin Guild made its choice, as burdensome as it is.""Leave it to them to come up with something as crazy as this.""Yup. Besides, even if Sunbin loses, I don''t think Cheng Long and Nayuta will pull any sort of crap against Sunbin ever again.""That''s true. This just proves that Sunbin won''t ever back down and is willing to fight back even harder."The spectators and spies from other guilds could only treat the Sunbin Guild with even more respect. Win or lose, the Sunbin Guild would actually come out as the victor.However, no one knew that Lee Jiwon was there as well¡­------The Sunbin Guild''s army quickly followed Song Myungsoo out of the lot and headed for the Yung Gong Guild''s domain. Fully intending to show the true extent of their power, the soldiers slowly marched south, with the entire nation''s attention on them.It was an excellent decision made on their part, as many admired their conviction.On the other hand, the Yung Gong Guild began to feel afraid and pressured as the five thousand soldiers grew ever closer... 164 Chapter 163: I’m the Star of the Show, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe five thousand Sunbin Guild elite soldiers and I slowly marched for Busan. We had first thought of ambushing them, since we were technically at a disadvantage, but we decided against it because of me. To be more specific, it was because of the friends I had called over. And so, we slowly marched, as if telling our enemies that no matter what they did, we were going to win. Their ninety thousand soldiers were no match for us.Although we moved at a comfortable pace, the elite army managed to pass Gyeonggi and North Chuncheong Province in record time, and soon arrived at Daegu. We could have entered Yung Gong''s territory within a few hours, but decided to stop at Daegu. We took it easy all this time, so there was no reason to rush into it now."We''ll stop here for the day. We face the enemy tomorrow!""Yes, sir!"The Sunbin had already made preparations in the city for the army''s lodgings. Leave it to Sunbin to be that prepared. I attended a last minute battle prep meeting before heading to bed.------The Yung Gong Guild''s headquarters¡­"Son of a bitch!" Shin Changil, the guild master of the Yung Gong Guild, slammed his fist on his desk hard. "This is how they react? With just five thousand soldiers? Those bastards are looking down on us too much!"Up until now, it seemed that his guild would win. The more the Sunbin Guild hesitated and the more time went on, the more people believed that he and his allies would actually defeat the Sunbin Guild. Several smaller guilds had even joined his side, believing that their attacks against the powerful Sunbin Guild were actually working.But now, all that trust was gone, and all the attention had shifted to the Sunbin Guild when they attacked the Yung Gong Guild with an insult of their own.Shin Changil looked around at his soldiers with ire in his eyes. "As I said yesterday, we must exterminate all of their soldiers! Don''t leave a single one of them alive, and make sure we take minimal losses!""But if we do that, Sunbin might actually¡­" one of the officers began carefully, but was quickly cut off by Shin Changil."You idiot! If they had any intention in the first place, they wouldn''t have put on this show at all!""My¡­ my apologies!" the officer cried out, bowing his head as low as he could."Get it together, all of you! This is a battle with our pride on the line now! They''re only bringing five thousand soldiers down here! If we lose, it''s over! We''ll never be able to show our faces in public ever again!""Yes sir! We understand!" the officers answered together.Shin Changil then turned to face the captains of the support teams from Cheng Long and Nayuta. "It seems we''re now in desperate need of your help.""Don''t worry. That''s why we are here."The meeting was ended there, and preparations for the Yung Gong''s allied army to face the Sunbin army were underway. Just because they had more people on their side, they didn''t have the luxury of taking it easy, as many eyes were on them.---The Cheng Long Guild''s base in China¡­"So that''s what they decided?""Ye,s sir.""Hmm¡­" Wai Chung kept calm when he heard about the Sunbin Guild''s response, but in reality, he was shocked. He didn''t expect Sunbin to react the way it had. He and his Intelligence Division believed there was a good chance Sunbin would parley instead. That would have been enough for Wai Chung. He knew the damage a small crack in a dam could do over time. He may have had a slight advantage over Sunbin right now, but he couldn''t face them head on."Ha¡­ it seems overthrowing Sunbin is still an impossible task." It was supposed to be the perfect plan. That was why he had allied himself with the filthy Nayuta Guild. "Very well. Deal with Sunbin''s army for now, then retreat. There''s nothing more to gain, so there''s no reason to stay there any longer.""Yes sir. Understood."Wai Chung''s orders were soon delivered to the Cheng Long Guild members who under the guise of mercenaries. The same had happened to the Nayuta Guild, as well.------"Alright! Let''s go!""Yes sir!"After a hearty breakfast, the Sunbin Guild headed out once more. A crowd had gathered around in the distance last night, but no one paid them any heed. We had already expected them to come, anyway. I marched in front of the army, alongside Song Myungsoo and the other commanders, so that everyone could see me."Jiwon, from the report I received last night, it seems our enemies are scrambling through their last minute preparations to meet us.""That makes sense. They bet everything they had on provoking us.""You don''t seem to care, do you? About the ninety thousand soldiers waiting for us. Then again, probably only about seventy thousand of them will actually fight.""I''m starting to feel the pressure, too. But¡­ we still have our secret weapons that haven''t revealed themselves yet."Song Myungsoo chuckled at my response.------After about two hours of marching, we finally saw came face to face with the ninety thousand-strong army. There were many rookies and fresh devas among them, but nevertheless, the soldiers stood proudly.Just then, someone stepped forward. It was Shin Changil. He was the bastard who had countless devas and their families kidnapped and turned into slaves. Everything he did was for the sake of himself, his family, and his guild. If you weren''t part of his guild, you were fair game and anything could happen to you, as long as he got what he wanted. That was probably why he was lauded as the best guild master by his own guild, but to everyone else, he was the lowest piece of shit the world had crapped out. That was the Yung Gong Guild I had known in the past, and nothing had changed now.I didn''t pay attention to Shin Changil, however, and scanned the soldiers behind him for Lee Kangchan. It was good that Lee Kangchan had the misfortune to join the Yung Gong Guild; I could kill two birds with one stone now.-Found you!-I remembered his face clearly, and I soon pinpointed him within the giant army.I couldn''t help but smile. I was happy and excited; happier than when I found my mother.-I''ll see you soon.-Just then, Shin Changil''s echoing voice broke me away from my thoughts. "As strong as the Sunbin Guild is, don''t you think it''s stupid to come with only five thousand soldiers?""Hahaha. Only five thousand¡­ but I think five thousand is still too much," Song Myungsoo said as he stepped forward."I''m beginning to think you''re losing your sense of reality.""Maybe. But I''m sure I''m saner than you, who decided it was a good idea to annoy the Sunbin Guild."Shin Changil glowered at what Song Myungsoo said and had an expression as if he had just been fed something horrid. "All I''ve done was to try to negotiate with a fellow large guild. This is all because you''ve been asking for it!""Oh, was that supposed to be a negotiation? I had no idea. Well, you have nothing to worry about. You will have our answer soon enough." Song Myungsoo then turned his back as if telling Shin Changil he had nothing more to say.It was now time for me to appear. I might not run a large guild like Yung Gong or Sunbin, but there was practically no one out there who did not know my name or my strength. When I took Song Myungsoo''s place, no one, even Yung Gong, seemed to find it strange that I was there."It''s good to finally meet you, guild master Shin Changil.""Duck¡­Duck¡­" Shin Changil''s face grew purple when I greeted him."I have a name, you know. You can''t just call me Duck Duck like that. Oh, and it''s good to see Shin Hyuk again, as well. It really was unfair for him that day. I even felt bad for him," I said as I turned to Shin Hyuk, who was standing behind his father.Furious at the way I was speaking to him nonchalantly, Shin Changil retorted, "I don''t care how well you''ve been doing these days, but I know you won''t have an easy time against my army.""Well, we can find that out once we actually fight. I just want my reward first." I took out the bounty poster the Yung Gong Guild had posted that I had picked up some time ago.[Duck DuckBringing in Duck Duck or any information related to Duck Duck to the Yung Gong Guild will be rewarded with 10,000,000 golden rings.]The poster had a picture of me with the Duck Duck shirt-mask on. "10,000,000 golden rings¡­Well, since I''m here myself, I should get the reward, right? But 10,000,000¡­is that all Shin Hyuk is worth to the Yung Gong Guild?""Say something that fits the situation around you, damn it!" Shin Changil roared. I could see how furious he was, as his whole body was trembling. That was the reaction I wanted to get out of him, so that I could shift attention on to me. "Fair enough. You can always give the reward to me after the battle." I returned to my original spot. That was enough to tell them that we had no intention to negotiate, and that the only way this would end was through battle."Grr! Yung Gong, listen up!""Sir!""Don''t show them any mercy! Crush Lee Jiwon''s and Sunbin''s arrogance for good!""Yes sir!" The Yung Gong soldiers, the foreign mercenaries, and the soldiers of the smaller guilds roared in response."Sunbin, prepare for battle! Show these fools what true power is!""Yes sir!""Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.AGI increased by 20% for one hour.You may now use Razor Fang.]==I activated my normal battle skills, including the Howl of the Wolf I had received from the Werewolf Clan. I decided it would be best to save the more powerful skills like Judge''s Gavel and Altered Equality for the stronger opponents, like Shin Hyuk."All soldiers, attack Lee Jiwon and Sunbin! Leave none of them alive!""Sunbin, attack!"90,000 vs 5,000. The battle that many believed the Sunbin Guild would lose finally began."Die!""Hey, dumbass! Do you really think Cheng Long and Nayuta will always be your allies? They''ll stab in you in the back once they have the chance!""Cut your bullshit!""Flame Pillar!""Razor Wind!""Iron Wall!""Breathe of Destruction!""Unbreakable Will!""Boggy Earth!""No!"Shouts and cries echoed through the large battlefield as the two armies collided. Pieces of earth flew around as craters formed, and bolts of fire and ice flew through the air as mages cast their spells."Focus your attacks on Lee Jiwon!""Don''t leave him alone. We have the manpower to keep him occupied! We just need to tire him out!""Support Jiwon!""Earth Armor, Fatal Blows, Roar of Rage!""Brilliant Blessing!"I had ten of my own healers and supporters, and there were forty other Sunbin devas tasked to keep them alive. I felt my body overflow with energy as the buffs took effect. I raised my spear and slashed and stabbed at the charging enemies, regardless of where they were from. I did make sure to avoid Lee Kangchan, however. He had to see how strong I was so that I could see him tremble in fear once this battle was over.I laughed to myself for a moment. In the end, I was doing all this just for Lee Kangchan. But showing him the difference in our strength was the best way to have revenge. It was unfortunate that Lee Kangchan didn''t know me like I knew him. He wouldn''t know why I had it out for him, but the same went for me in the past. I''d had no idea why he focused on me that much, so I would make him feel the same pain I felt then. If he felt it unfair¡­then he should return to the past like I did."Fuck! Why the hell does Lee Jiwon have to be here?!""Shut up and fight! He''s a deva like us and we outnumber them!""Half of us will fight him upfront and the rest of us will target his supporters behind him! Depend on your comrades and don''t foolishly charge in!"With all of the buffs I had, I could now kill a single soldier in less than three hits, but there was still a limit to what I could do. I didn''t have any AoE damage skills, like Lagus and his Psychokinesis abilities. I was powerful, but I had more burst damage skills. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about that now.I was too busy to worry about it, anyway. I just had to fulfill my duty as best as I could. I cut down as many as I could before me, but thirty minutes into the battle, things weren''t looking good for us. We definitely made it difficult for our enemies, and it was amazing that we managed to last this long. Our enemies couldn''t believe it themselves as well, even though they were winning. However, the Sunbin Guild and I were here for only one thing and one thing only; absolute victory.It was then that they appeared. They showed up like knights on white horses, leading the reinforcements that would turn the tide of the battle. 165 Chapter 164: I’m the Star of the Show, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThirty minutes since the battle had begun¡­Shin Changil laughed as he watched the Sunbin Guild get pushed back. He finally felt some reprieve from the stress and anxiety he felt recently. Victory finally seemed within his grasp now. He had to admit, things didn''t look good for him and his guild at the beginning of the battle. Even though they were outnumbered twenty to one, the Sunbin Guild had actually managed to cut many of his soldiers down. However, the sheer numbers of his army quickly surrounded the smaller army and gained ground.He could hear the cries of the soldiers, and could tell the Sunbin Guild was fighting viciously. However, willpower alone wasn''t going to be enough for them. This was no fantasy world where miracles actually saved the underdog; this was reality, and reality dictated that was impossible."But¡­" Shin Changil frowned again when he shifted his attention to one part of the battle, where Lee Jiwon was fighting. "So... that''s Lee Jiwon?"Shin Changil could boast that he knew the most about Lee Jiwon, as he and Duck Duck were the same person... although it was difficult for Shin Changil to accept that fact. He couldn''t believe that someone that strong could have come from Korea. He had investigated Lee Jiwon over and over again, until he had no choice but to accept that Lee Jiwon was Duck Duck. He had thought once about getting revenge. The embarrassment Lee Jiwon dealt Shin Changil and his guild was too great to leave alone, but he gave up after he learned what Jiwon had done to the San Tuan Guild. He couldn''t risk embarrassing himself and his guild again by recklessly challenging a lone deva who could topple a guild on his own. In the end, he gave up on revenge, and on Duck Duck."But how can he be this strong? He''s not even a deity¡­" Lee Jiwon truly stood out the most on the crowded battlefield. His light was so bright that it smothered everyone else''s."A real rags to riches story, huh? Too bad I''ll have to clip your wings here!"If you thought about it, defeating a deity was much easier. The penalty they received was much greater, forcing them to commit to safer tactics to protect their bodies. Lee Jiwon, on the other hand, was a deva. Death penalties mattered little to him, and since he was as strong as a deity, it made him practically unstoppable. That didn''t mean Shin Changil could back down now. He had come too far."Press him even harder! Don''t give him room to breathe!""Yes sir!" Lee Jiwon would at least pay for crossing the Yung Gong Guild, and Shin Changil would make sure of that, even at the cost of his soldiers'' lives. The battle continued to be in their favor until one of his officers came up to him with a report."What?""There are about fifteen thousand soldiers heading this way at high speed. They''ll arrive in about five minutes.""Where did they come from?""I''m not sure, sir, but they don''t seem to be Korean. They seem to be from different countries.""It can''t be¡­" Shin Changil nervously turned to the other side of the battlefield.---"Gah!""Shit!"I swung my spear over and over, dropping enemy soldiers in front of me as soon as they appeared. We were getting pushed back. The Sunbin soldiers were still fighting hard, but their numbers had dropped down to two thousand. It was amazing that we had lasted this long against ninety thousand enemy soldiers, but we couldn''t afford to lose any more now.They had to come now. They couldn''t be a single minute late.Then, as if answering my desperate prayers, their shadows appeared on top of a nearby hill. They were here; the Myth Guild, the Ravi Guild, and the Werewolf Clan were here, and with quite a force as well, all properly prepared for battle.---"Song Myungsoo, you con! These aren''t the five thousand you said!" Shin Changil shouted at Song Myunsoo when he noticed the newcomers. There were only fifteen thousand of them, but they seemed powerful. Song Changil wanted justice; Sunbin had said they could defeat him with only five thousand soldiers. Shin Changil felt cheated once again."Answer me! Explain to me how the great Sunbin Guild could lie like this! If you were afraid from the start, then you should have planned accordingly. Is the name Sunbin that cheap to you?""I have no idea what you''re talking about.""Are you blind? Can you not see who just arrived behind you?""No, I''m not blind. I saw them as well.""You said yourself that five thousand would be enough to defeat us! Then who are they and why are they here? Surely you can count?!""I have no idea. I came here with five thousand Sunbin soldiers and they''re right here, standing before you.""What?""If you want to complain, shouldn''t you complain to the commander, and not me?"Shin Changil did not understand what Song Myungsoo just said. Commander? Was Song Daechul here as well? No, he wasn''t; that was certain. Song Daechul was famous for never participating in battles himself. Song Myunsoo was the next highest ranked deva of Sunbin, so who was this commander?Just then, Song Myunsoo turned to someone and addressed him, "Commander, I think Guild Master Shin Changil would like to see you."Shin Changil followed Song Myungsoo''s gaze... to Lee Jiwon.---"Me? I thought we finished talking with him earlier," I replied calmly."Don''t¡­don''t lie to me! Why would Lee Jiwon be Sunbin''s commander¡­?" Before Shin Changil could finish, he was cut off by shouts from the newcomers atop the hill."I, Ebonene, vice-master of the Myth Guild, have arrived to aid Commander Lee in his battle against the Yung Gong Guild!""I, Lagus Aman, captain of Ravi Guild''s Assault team 1, have arrived to aid Commander Lee in his battle against the Yung Gong Guild!""I, Lobon van Agassi, captain of the van Agassi Lion Guards, have arrived to aid Commander Lee in his battle against the Yung Gong Guild!"That wasn''t the end of it."I, Song Myungsoo, vice-master of the Sunbin Guild, am here to aid Commander Lee in his battle against the Yung Gong Guild!""..." The entire battlefield that was filled with battle cries a second ago fell completely silent."Do you still not understand yet, Guild Master Shin? This battle isn''t between you and Sunbin; it''s between you and me.""Don''t¡­ don''t screw with me! Why would you, of all people, do this?""Well, it''s because I don''t like you and what your guild does. It''s a common occurrence, isn''t it, getting rid of something you don''t like? Ah, that''s right. I believe the Yung Gong Guild has a lot of experience in that department.""..." Shin Changil opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. He just stood there, staring at me, dumbfounded. I turned away from him and looked to the army behind him."This war is my punishment against the Yung Gong Guild! And this war isn''t over yet, not by a long shot!" No one made a sound. I turned to my allies behind me. "Listen up!""Yes, commander!" They all shouted in unison. "Obliterate them!" As soon as I gave my order, the Sunbin, Myth, Ravi Guilds and the Werewolves all charged in while our enemies stood still in shock.I''m sure they didn''t expect our soldiers to answer my command with such ferocity. I didn''t have the natural charisma like all of the other guild masters I had met, able to raise the morale of an army, but I had something they didn''t. I had power. I had proved to these soldiers time and time again that I was powerful and if they followed me just this once, I could lead them to victory."Follow the commander!""Don''t get left behind!"I felt all of them right behind me as we thundered towards our enemies. Our goal was to cut all ninety thousand of them in half. "Stop them! Stop them!""There are less than twenty thousand of them!""We still have the advantage. Don''t let them break through!""Sandstorm!""Raging Fire of the Flame Demon!""Torrenting Thunderstorm!""Chain Lightning!""Wolf''s Bestial Rage!""Fighter''s Instinct!""Howl of the Wolf!""Triple Shot!""Dancing Fire Sparks!""Exploding Fire Ball!""Ice Ball!"The foreign mercenaries were first to snap to, and the rest of the enemy soldiers quickly followed suit. However, no one could stand in my way. Every time I swung my spear, I took a step forward. I pushed them back even if my attacks didn''t kill."Gah! Back¡­back up a bit.""Move, will you!? I don''t have any room around me!""Fuck! Let me breathe! At this rate, I''ll die by my own comrades instead!"The enemy soldiers were crowded in front of me like cars during rush hour to stop me from advancing. It got to the point that my spear could no longer make a hole between them.Just then, the human blockade in front of me was thrown into the air and away from me.Lagus!That was Lagus''s trademark Psychokinesis ability, and the one ability I really envied."Each time we kill one, two take his place. Will we be able to break through?" Lagus asked as he came up to me.I replied with a smile. "We can''t stop now! Judge''s Gavel!"==[Judge''s Gavel has been activated.]==I sprinted forward and swung my spear down on an enemy soldier."Guh!" The large red hammer of the Judge slammed down on the soldier''s head, instantly killing him.It was only one soldier. As powerful as Judge''s Gavel was, it could only target one at a time. However, the hammer itself carried a huge amount of force, and the impact blew the enemy soldiers back ten meters.We now had a path in front of us."Let''s go!""Stay close to Commander Lee!""Don''t even think about getting left behind!""Stop them!""Don''t get pushed back!""Gather around the middle!"The enemy soldiers scrambled to stop us, but I had just created a path right down the middle of their ranks. They could try as much as they wanted, but they could no longer slow us down. The more we pushed, the more weak devas we encountered, as well.We kept pushing until I no longer saw any enemies before me. We had completely split the enemy army in half!"Yaaaah!""The enemy split us apart!"We hadn''t won yet. There were still more enemies to kill, but we had done enough damage. The enemy''s morale had plummeted once we divided them like the Red Sea."I''ll crush all of you, until there are none of you left!""We''re right behind you!""Leave the rear to us!""Let''s go!"---The Sunbin, Myth and Ravi Guilds and the Werewolf Clan were pumped up, to say the least. They didn''t have time to be afraid of their enemy''s attacks, not when they were following the most dependable backside ever. The back of the single man ahead of them had no intention of ever bending. They believed that following that back could bring them victory every single time.However, no one thought about victory at this moment. They all focused on the battle in front of them. They focused on ripping apart their enemies in two, just like their commander. They had never fought in such a bestial manner before, and their battle spirit didn''t seem like it would cool any time soon! 166 Chapter 165: Lee Kangchan Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Gah!"I dealt with the remaining Yung Gong soldiers in front of me and turned around. The enemy army was in pieces. It didn''t take long for us to tear their army into smaller units once we split its ranks in half. Just then, I heard Shin Changil''s angry shouting."Lee Jiwon! We''ve done nothing to you! We''re the ones that took the most losses back in Seorak dungeon, but we left you alone, so why are you doing this to us?"I turned my head in his direction. The battle wasn''t over yet. There were still around seventy thousand enemy soldiers left, and our side was taking heavy losses. I needed to get back into the fray but before that, I had to keep our morale up and the enemy''s morale down. As long as we kept this up, it wouldn''t be long until the enemy would lose all will to fight and we would corner them like rats."I told you before. I don''t like what you guys do. You of all people know the sins and crimes the Yung Gong Guild has committed so far. Stealing is second-nature to you, isn''t it?" I replied to Shin Changil while looking straight at him. That wasn''t all I had to say. "What, did you think that this wouldn''t happen to you by someone stronger then you?""But¡­like you, I haven''t persecuted my own people!""Hah." I scoffed in disbelief at what he just said. He shouldn''t be the one to say that. "Then do you mean to say that the ''mercenaries'' from Cheng Long and Nayuta are Korean? Oh, now I understand. Cheng Long and Nayuta have always been YOUR people." Shin Changil didn''t say anything in return, while his face grew beet red. I looked away and shifted my attention back to the enemy soldiers. I had no more to say either, and needed to show more of my strength."Gah!""Fuck! Is he a boss monster or something? What kind of damage output is this?"Tankers or dealers, they all fell before me with only a few attacks. "Blink 1" I charged to an enemy soldier who seemed stronger than the rest."Gah! Where did you come from¡­?"Shin Changil and Lee Kangchan would have to wait until I was done with everyone else. I wanted them to watch as I slaughtered their entire army before them."Everyone, stay strong!" I shouted and my allies shouted back."Yes sir!"Just then, two unarmed devas came up to me."Mr. Lee, we would like to speak with you.""And who are you?""My name is Hong Tai, captain of the mercenaries from Cheng Long.""And I''m Takeru, captain of the mercenaries from Nayuta.""Is that right? Well, what do you want to say? Shin Changil is watching us nervously, you know.""Cheng Long would like to take this chance and retreat from this battle.""Nayuta would like the same as well.""Hah! Aren''t you mercenaries? Shouldn''t you be saying that to your client?" I said, pointing to Shin Changil."Yung Gong has lost this battle.""This battle was over once the devas of Yung Gong and the smaller guilds were shaken. We don''t want to take any more losses since we already know what the outcome is. If you give us your permission for us to leave this place, we''ll put in a good word to Nayuta''s guild master.""Cheng Long will do the same."I knew that this would happen. There was no such thing as loyalty among them in the first place. They weren''t even mercenaries under the employ of Madun Yatekin the Mercenary Lord. Put simply, Yung Gong had stupidly played itself into the hands of Cheng Long and Nayuta. "Is that right? Judge''s Gavel." I kept the conversation going and once Judge''s Gavel cooldown was up, I activated it once more."Yes. Besides, it''s not like we have any resentment towards each other, right? I''ll be sure to let my guild master know about you kindness if¡­Gah!"I slammed my spear on Hong Tai before he could finish talking. The red hammer crushed his body, finishing him off with a single blow." I turned to Takeru, who was staring in shock at what just happened before his eyes. "If you''re supposed to be mercenaries, then the least you could do is see it through to the end," I said before stabbing him."Gah! Shit! Attack! It''s not over yet!"Sure, it would be easier for me and my allies to defeat Yung Gong if Cheng Long and Nayuta retreated from here, but I didn''t want to send them away in one piece. I had already became their guilds'' enemy by butting in this battle. Would Cheng Long bend over backwards in gratitude for sending his underlings back to him in one piece? Yeah, right. Not with his temper.Besides, I had already discussed things over with Sunbin, to deal with all of Cheng Long and Nayuta''s mercenaries before Yung Gong''s devas. The two foreign guilds had sent over ten thousand devas each. That was a lot of death penalties for any large guild to deal with. Dealing with them now would be a huge blow to the foreign guilds, which would lessen the chance of having to battle them."Gah! Shit!""Kill them all! Don''t leave a single one of them alive!" Takeru ordered before he died, but there was no effect. Hong Tai and Takeru, the leaders of the foreign mercenaries, were both dead. With nowhere to turn, the remaining mercenaries began to fall quickly. The enemy might have outnumbered us, but our soldiers were the top elites of their respective guilds. Yung Gong''s ranks mainly consisted of rookie devas. Now that we were pushing ahead, I finally shifted my attention to Lee Kangchan. ---"Fuck! This can''t be happening!" Lee Kangchan couldn''t believe what was going on before his eyes. The Sojung Guild had been split on whether or not they should join Yung Gong in the upcoming battle. The Sojung Guild master had believed that there was no entity in South Korea that could overthrow Sunbin, and that it would be best to remain under the radar. Lee Kangchan and many of his fellow guild members felt differently. They believed that they should join Yung Gong, receive some rewards once they won the battle, and even gain access to the dungeon in Jeju Island.Everything had gone smoothly for Lee Kangchan at first. He was sure that he had made the right decision when many more guilds decided to join in."But at this rate¡­" Lee Kangchan wasn''t afraid of dying here today; he was afraid of the Sunbin Guild. If Sunbin decided to take retribution, it would all be over for him. He wouldn''t be allowed to set foot in Korea ever again.He turned to Lee Jiwon, the man who was supposed to be commander of the enemy army. It all started with him."Huh?" He was glaring at Lee Jiwon, thinking their eyes wouldn''t meet, but when they did, Lee Kangchan quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere. There was no doubt Lee Jiwon was powerful. He controlled the flow of the battle.However, Lee Kangchan could clearly feel that Lee Jiwon was still staring right at him. He even heard footsteps coming closer to him. Sounds of battle echoed through the battlefield, but the footsteps were like claps of thunder to Lee Kangchan.-He''s not¡­actually coming towards me, is he? Is it because our eyes met?-He doubted that was the reason, but the footsteps got closer. He couldn''t even think about running. He knew there was nowhere to run to. The only way out of here was death.Lee Kangchan finally turned to face the man who had stopped in front of him. He had never seen Lee Jiwon before in his life and yet there he was, smiling."It''s good to see you. I''ll see you again."-Is he some sort of psychopath?-That was all he could think as Lee Jiwon''s spear pierced his chest. Lee Kangchan couldn''t understand why Lee Jiwon would smile as he attacked. And what was that about seeing him again? Lee Kangchan wanted nothing to do with Lee Jiwon anymore.-Fuck! What''s with this damage? How could I die from one hit? What is he, a boss monster?-, Lee Kangchan thought to himself as he watched the remaining 70% of his HP fall to 0. He was so jealous that a fellow Korean could be that strong...---I watched as Lee Kangchan''s body slumped to the ground and burst into smoke.I looked down at my shaking hand. I had just killed Lee Kangchan, the one man I feared, the man who had forced me to run like a dog. I closed my hand into a fist and soon, the trembling subsided.-That''s right. I''m strong; so strong that I could kill him with a single blow.-Killing Lee Kangchan left me feeling refreshed, as if the act had finally chased away the demons that had been haunting me since I came back to the past.I smiled. I was always curious how revenge would feel. All those movies I had watched had the main characters feel a sense of loss when they had their revenge, but that wasn''t the case for me. I finally felt free.What was more important was that this wasn''t over for me or Lee Kangchan. There were more chances for us to meet now.I turned back to the battle and charged in.---Five hours later¡­Thirty thousand haggard Yung Gong devas were surrounded by ten thousand devas of my allied factions. "Shall we continue?" There were only ten thousand of Yung Gong soldiers and the remaining twenty thousand were from smaller guilds. Cheng Long and Nayuta were already taken care of.Shin Changil finally looked up at me and replied, "¡­We surrender.""Wise choice. You saw the true faces of Cheng Long and Nayuta today haven''t you? They like using people for their own benefit and are quick to cast aside the same people once they have no use for them. That''s what happened to Yung Gong.""..." Shin Changil couldn''t say anything to the truth in my words, but I didn''t care."Now then, as the victor of this battle, I''ll lay down the terms for Yung Gong. First, Gyeongsang Province is now under Sunbin control, including the dungeons. I''m not saying that you have to leave Gyeongsang or that you have to dissolve Yung Gong. You''ll just be losing all of your privileges."Shin Changil glowered and spit at what I said, but I ignored him and continued. There was more for him to be angry at."Second, I''ll be taking your headquarters. It''s a nice, big building after all. I always wanted it before the world changed and I can finally fulfill that wish." It would be under my control, but to be honest, I was too bothered to take care of it. I just wanted to whittle down Yung Gong''s influence.Taking away their home, dungeons, and headquarters was enough to leave them with nothing at all. It would be annoying to deal with the remnants at first, but over time, they''d leave or be absorbed into mid-class guilds."There is more I want to say, but I''ll only leave those two, for your sake. Will you accept?""..." Shin Changil didn''t say anything, but didn''t retaliate. He knew he had no choice. "I¡­ accept.""Very good." I said, nodding. There were many devas still on the battlefield and countless witnesses watching us. There was no way he could come back from this. He could try, but the whole world already saw him as trash now."Oh, that''s right. If you have any intentions of joining Cheng Long or Nayuta, I suggest you don''t. The second you join their ranks, you''ll be stripped of whatever you have left. It''s the one sincere piece of advice I can leave you." I said my piece and turned to leave. Sunbin could deal with everything else. 167 Chapter 166: Lee Kangchan Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI walked over to the officers of the four factions standing off to the side."Thank you for today.""It wasn''t much.""I''m just glad we could pay you back, as small a chance this was.""We feel the same way. We still owe you much more.""Please feel free to come to us again. We''ll be more than glad to help you again."It was more obvious for Sunbin. They were working together with me today as this was their problem they''d had a hard time solving.The other factions, on the other hand, had come here knowing it wasn''t an easy decision for them. They had to face Cheng Long, one of the top five guilds in the world. There was no doubt they knew this was a politically difficult decision but what was important was that they helped me nonetheless. What they just showed to the rest was that they would ally themselves with me, even if it meant facing a potentially much more powerful enemy. They probably knew I would be disappointed in them had they said no.Either way, we had all helped each other with good intentions."How does a nice party sound to end the day?""Sounds good. Nothing''s completely finished yet, but we could do with a small party."It was too early to celebrate. Over the next week, we had to make sure the Yung Gong Guild knew that it no longer had any influence over Gyeongsang Province and that it couldn''t do whatever it wanted anymore. We also had to let all of its past and current victims know that Yung Gong would no longer hurt them or anyone else any longer.Another group from Sunbin was heading this way to help us prepare for the small party so those who fought could rest. Maintaining Gyeongsang would be difficult for me and Sunbin. All Gyeongsang had was a single low-grade dungeon and Sunbin would have to pick up the slack in clearing the surrounding fields. There were no feasible methods to bring in profit and Sunbin couldn''t employ Yung Gong''s tactics. We decided instead to use the Yung Gong''s building and the low-grade dungeon and attract smaller guilds to pick up the slack for us. If they could divide up the land among themselves and maintain their territory, we would allow them to use the low-grade dungeon free of charge. We would even allow them to move into Yung Gong''s old building and use it as a base of operations."What do you think?""Yeah, it sounds perfect. We''ll go with that plan."Things couldn''t have turned out better for us. Sunbin gained more supporters in Korea and I finally got to have my revenge and punish Yung Gong like I had always dreamed about.---One week later¡­I and ten thousand others from Sunbin, Myth, Ravi and the Werewolf Clan moved to Gongju City in Chuncheong Province. I wanted to fulfill the promises I had made to Lee Kangchan and my mother.Some would ask if I really had to go to this extent, but I had to. I had always dreamt of making Lee Kangchan pay for what he did to me. I also wanted my mother to really see what I was capable of and who I really was.Ten thousand elite devas marched behind me. These devas had just defeated the ''mercenaries'' from Cheng Long and Nayuta; no one stood in our way. With Sunbin at my side as well, I marched confidently towards our destination.---The Sojung Guild base¡­"Shit! Everything was going so well. Lee Jiwon ruined everything!" Lee Kangchan was furious when he heard what had happened to the Yung Gong Guild. The only good thing that came out of the battle was Sunbin''s vow to leave the smaller guilds that joined Yung Gong alone. Had they not, Sojung''s guild master would have never forgiven him for making the one mistake he shouldn''t have."By the way, young master¡­""What?" Lee Kangchan replied, annoyed."Do you and Lee Jiwon have history together?""What?""Back then, Lee Jiwon walked right up to and said something before¡­""No¡­ no, we don''t! There''s no way we do! Lee Jiwon is a world-level being. What would he have against me?""I suppose you''re right."Lee Jiwon was no doubt the star of the battle, and to not be in his good graces was the worst possible situation for them.-He said he was going to see me again¡­did he really mean that?-Lee Kangchan couldn''t forget Lee Jiwon''s smiling face. He really didn''t want to see the man ever again. It was then that Lee Kangchan saw Lee Jiwon on TV, marching with a huge army behind him. He seemed ready for another battle even though everything was supposed to be over. Everyone in the room turned to watch, wondering if he was just now returning to Seoul. Lee Kangchan, however, broke out in a cold sweat. Lee Jiwon had the same expression on his face when he walked over to Lee Kangchan a week ago. It was almost as if Lee Jiwon was coming for him again.Lee Kangchan kept telling himself that there was a chance Lee Jiwon was on the way to Seoul but he couldn''t convince himself. Somehow, he knew Lee Jiwon was coming for him again.-Fuck! Why is he doing this to me? There were other smaller guilds that joined Yung Gong, so why me?! Fuck!----I marched to the Sojung Guild slowly on purpose, so that he could feel the extent of the impending doom that was coming for him. Lee Kangchan probably knew by now where I was headed."You must really have it out for this Lee Kangchan person. I never saw you go to this extent for one person before," Ebonene said."Yeah, quite a bit. I do have a couple of other reasons, though.""I''m beginning to feel a little sorry for this Lee Kangchan," Ebonene said while laughing."I''m just giving back as I got."It didn''t take us long to reach Chuncheong Province, even though we took our time. By now, everyone knew we weren''t headed for Seoul, and a sizeable crowd had been following us since Gyeongsang.---"What''s going on? Where are they headed?""From what I hear, Lee Jiwon decided the destination.""He wanted to come here? Why? He''s from Seoul, isn''t he?""I have no idea. Maybe he''s here for some sightseeing.""With ten thousand soldiers? It looks like they''re headed for war.""I don''t know. Let''s keep watching. Sunbin tagged along as well."Now that Yung Gong, the number two guild of South Korea, had been toppled by Sunbin, there were no longer any guilds that could contest Sunbin''s influence over Korea. Everything Sunbin did right now was a huge issue in South Korea and would be for some time.---We arrived shortly at Sojung''s base once we entered Chuncheong. The entire guild was outside, waiting for us. Among them were Lee Kangchan and my mother."Holy shit. They''re actually here.""This was their destination?""Why?""Is it because we ended up siding with Yung Gong? There''s no other reason for them to be here.""There''s no way. Sunbin already said they didn''t care about that.""We don''t know the truth to that. Maybe they need an example or something.""Shut it!" a much older man shouted, silencing the Sojung guild members. That was Lee Taejung, the Sojung guild master, who my mother had told me about. He was my grandfather.I ignored him for now, however, and walked over to my mother, who was still in the same raggedy clothing, and hugged her."I said I''d be back soon, Mom."My mother burst into tears and hugged me tightly.It wasn''t that I had developed affection for the mother that I never had out of nowhere, but it was the least I could do for her, after all I had learned from the Gnosis Guild. She had lived her life without her husband, parents, and child, believing this whole time they had all died because of her. Returning to her in-laws didn''t help either, once they decided that she was no longer a part of their family.I wanted to show her that all wasn''t lost and I could make her proud to be my mother. I couldn''t give her everything, but I wanted to make the rest of her life easier. I even wondered to myself if I always had these feelings, but it was the least I could do as her son.---"What the¡­that''s Lee Jiwon''s mom?""Wasn''t he an orphan?""Hey, isn''t that lady our cook¡­?""You idiot, that''s the guild master''s only daughter-in-law!""Huh? Really? Then why was she always dressed like that and always doing menial labor? She always bowed to all of us, didn''t she?""You don''t need to know why! You just need to know there was a reason for it.""I always thought she was a guild employee¡­""Wait. Then if she''s the guild master''s only daughter-in-law and she''s also Lee Jiwon''s mother¡­then that means Lee Jiwon''s the guild master''s grandson?""Whoa! Then that makes Lee Jiwon the rightful heir to Sojung!"Then what''ll happen to Lee Kangchan?""Well¡­"Lee Jiwon had just created a huge issue not just for Sojung, but for his allies as well. His allies needed to keep Lee Jiwon on their side no matter what, and had followed him here to appease him. However, the biggest problem they had was that he was alone. There was no way for them to really hold on to him until now. Finally, they had something they could use.---I tightly held my mother''s hand and walked over to stand in front of Sojung''s guild master."It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lee Jiwon," I said calmly."Yes¡­it''s good to meet you, too. I am Lee Taejung, guild master of Sojung," the man who was supposed to my grandfather replied equally calmly, but couldn''t completely hide how much he was shaking. Only I could see it, though. "Would you do me the honor of sharing a cup of tea with me?""I would be more than happy to.""Then let''s head inside." Lee Taejung led the way inside.I turned to my allies before following him in. "Please wait for me out here. I won''t be long.""Hahaha. You''re finally meeting your family. We can wait as long as you need.""Don''t worry about anything and go on."My allies'' elite soldiers quickly surrounded the Sojung Guild''s base to make sure no one would interrupt. I held on to my mother''s hand and followed Lee Taejung inside, passing Lee Kangchan on the way. "I said I''ll see you very soon. Wait a little longer. We''re not done yet," I whispered to him so that only he could hear. 168 Chapter 167: Lee Kangchan Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDMy mother and I sat down with Lee Taejung in a large private room."Please, help yourself," Lee Taejung said as he poured us tea."Thank you," I replied as I accepted a cup. My mother next to me looked around her, nervous, and kept sipping at her cup. My grandfather before us was a deva and the guild master at that, while she was still a mortal with her token of knowledge still on her wrist. I doubted the two were going to have a tearful reunion.Finally, Lee Taejung opened his mouth to speak and addressed me as if I was family. "The last time I saw you, you were just a baby, but now that I see you up close, I can see that you''re the spitting image of your father.""My mother said the same, but I wouldn''t know."Lee Taejung chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you wouldn''t. You''re still using Lee Jiwon as your name, aren''t you?""Yes. It''s the only name I knew, and it''s what I was called at the orphanage.""That''s good to hear. I was the one who named you, after all.""I¡­see." I had no idea about that, but I didn''t doubt him. "My mother called me the same when we first met.""I, like your mother, believed you were dead. That day, thirteen newborn babies died in that fire; all thirteen, including you.""Excuse me?" I didn''t get what he was saying. What did he mean, including me when I''m sitting right in front of him?"It''s as I said. Your father ran into the burning building but couldn''t even make it to the nursery. We found his body in the middle of the hallway."My mother began to cry again as my grandfather explained. I could see why; it was probably the one memory she didn''t want to recall. My grandfather continued, however."There was no need to do a DNA test. All thirteen newborn bodies were found in the nursery, burned to death. They were still in their cribs.""And¡­ what about me?""There were the ashes of a baby in your crib. It had to be you. We had no reason to doubt it. We buried you with your father.""..." I didn''t know what to say. I hadn''t heard this part from my mother and I really didn''t expect to hear it. I was alive and well, but another baby had died on my crib?"I heard your name many times recently. Well, it was impossible not to. You''re a legendary deva, hailing from South Korea. People know your name more than Sunbin. There was your face, as well. We tried to be as skeptical as possible, but all that left was left were your mother''s and my shattered memories.""But who would do that?" This wasn''t a simple case, nor could it have been carried out easily."I don''t know. We couldn''t find a single clue these past twenty or thirty years. The fire marshal ruled it an accident, and the families of the victims accepted it. No one had any reason to deny it."After what my grandfather just said, the room fell silent, save for my mother''s crying. I didn''t know what to make of it all."Don''t think about it too hard. I wasn''t telling you all this to confuse you. It''s all in the past now. There''s no way to undo anything or fix it. I''m just¡­" Tears began to well in his eyes, even though he had kept his calm demeanor since we met.As my mother and grandfather sat beside me, crying, I could tell what they had been feeling all this time. They had missed me terribly and were relieved and happy I was the person of their dreams. And yet, I was cautious of them, in case they were trying to take advantage of my fame. I didn''t know why I was like that, though. It may have been because I lived my entire life as an orphan, or maybe it was just a normal, human reaction."Thank you¡­for being alive and for growing up a fine man. And thank you for allowing us to meet you." I silently allowed my grandfather to take my hand.We began to talk to each other much more comfortably after that. "The Sojung Guild is yours, if you want it. Kangchan''s father may be the de facto leader, but that can be easily reversed.""No, I''m sorry, but I don''t care about the Sojung Guild."My grandfather chuckled. "You''re right. Sojung is too small for you. It would be more of a burden for you, instead.""No, that''s not really it. I can help you regain full power, if you so wish.""No, that''s alright. I''m too old-fashioned now. The radicals realized this and I let them take over. A construction worker like me wasn''t fit to be a guild master in the first place."I didn''t know what to say to that."Then what are you planning to do now? You came all this way to find your mother¡­""I want to leave with her, if she wants, and make a new home for her. I want to make a place fit for Lee Jiwon''s mother," I said, taking my mother''s hand. "Of course, it''s up to her."There was no way I was leaving her under Lee Kangchan''s care. But, if she did say she was going to stay, I would get rid of Lee Kangchan and the rest of his side of the family first."I see. Then what will you do?" my grandfather asked my mother."I¡­ will leave with Jiwon.""Good; as you should. You''re finally reunited with your son, so of course you should go. But, I want to go too.""What?" I blurted out, surprised.My grandfather laughed. "If this continues, Sojung will be split into two; the radicals and the moderates. Or the radicals may just absorb the moderates to their side and completely take over the guild. Either way, I no longer have any ambitions or wants. All I want now is to bring along a few loyal members and follow you."I turned to face my mother after what he just said. I only planned on taking her, but she looked back at me and nodded without hesitation. Maybe this was the better choice. It might be easier for her to adapt if she was with a few people she knew."Will you be alright with giving up on the Sojung Guild and all the work you put into it?""I''ve made my decision. It wasn''t mine to begin with. It''ll be better to just hand it over to those who want it.""I understand. I''ll make the proper arrangements.""I won''t slow you down. If it''s too much for you, you can say no.""No, I can handle at least that much."I had planned on building a small home, big enough just for my mother, but now that more people were coming with me, I decided to make a bigger home. I would make it a home for me as well, strong and sound.---While Lee Jiwon and his mother were meeting with Lee Taejung¡­"What''s taking them so long?""I know, right?""Hey, if Lee Jiwon joins Sojung¡­does that make our guild Korea''s number two guild?""Hey!""What? Think about it. He''s the guild master''s direct bloodline; there''s no reason he won''t become the heir. It only makes sense if someone as strong as him joins our guild."Already, many Sojung guild members had begun to accept Lee Jiwon into their ranks. He had already proved his strength, and if he could become their future leader, there was nothing better to look forward to.On the other hand, the radicals felt like someone had put the final nail in their coffins, especially Lee Kangchan''s father, Lee Sookwang, the leader of the radicals."Father!""Calm down. Nothing''s set in stone yet," Lee Sookwang quickly quieted his son. "Are you sure you didn''t do anything to wrong him?""I''m sure. The Yung Gong battle was the first time I ever saw him. There''s no way I could do that to him.""Hmm¡­" Lee Sookwang didn''t say anymore. He knew what his son said was true. Lee Kangchan had always moved under his father''s watchful eye, and he would know if his son had ever run into someone as strong as Lee Jiwon. However, Lee Sookwang clearly heard what Lee Jiwon said to his son, as he was standing right next to him.Lee Jiwon was definitely targeting Lee Kangchan. Even if this was some sort of sick prank on Lee Jiwon''s part, things didn''t look good. Hell, if Lee Jiwon was serious about this, it would really mean the end of the Sojung Guild. Lee Jiwon could probably wipe them out on his own. No, he might just have the ten thousand soldiers that came with him act, and the result would be the same.Lee Sookwang turned to look around him. Half of the guild members were ecstatic that Lee Jiwon had graced them with his presence, and the other half looked as if they were force fed dog shit.-Ha¡­if things continue, I''ll lose everything I''ve worked for.-He had blatantly tied his guild master''s hands and feet and slowly brought the guild over to his side. Lee Jiwon had ruined everything when he butted in during the battle and when he came here in person. Lee Sookwang was beginning to feel anxious.---Two hours later¡­I paid a visit to the officers of my allied factions.I could have dealt with building a home for my mother if it would be for just one person. But now, three hundred more were coming with her. They were from the moderates who followed my grandfather.I had asked that no one who bothered my mother be included, but they assured me that the radicals were responsible for her treatment. They told me that they tried to help her, but she always rejected them and resigned herself to her fate.Either way, I needed help building a place for all three hundred devas, especially from Sunbin."We can accommodate three thousand, if you need.""I''m sorry that you have to keep helping me.""Hah! Please, this doesn''t count as helping. We had plans to set up a safe zone in our territory anyway. Set up there for now and we''ll see what happens. You even can stay there for the next century if you so wish.""Thank you."---The next morning¡­The Sojung Guild became quite busy after their guild master gave his sudden order."I thank all of you for following this pathetic guild master all these years. I acknowledge my shortcomings and have decided to step down as guild master.""!!!" Both sides of the guild were shocked. Neither side expected him to make that decision."I have decided to take my most loyal followers and leave with my grandson. I am deeply sorry for having to leave and betray all those who had believed in me. I know whatever I say won''t be enough for you to forgive me." Lee Taejung bowed all the way to the ground for all to see."I leave all guild responsibilities to Lee Sookwang.""Sir¡­" Lee Taechung was only a distant relative to Lee Sookwang. This was the chance Lee Sookwang was looking for all this time, but not like this!"I made my decision. Those who don''t wish to stay, pack your things. We will leave in one hour. It''s best we don''t stand in their way too long.""Yes sir!"The choice was made for the moderates. They no longer had any reason to stay with Sojung, and now they could start fresh elsewhere.---"Ha¡­" I watched as Lee Kangchan stood there, dumbly. He was the main reason I wanted to get this strong so quickly. I wanted to torment him for eternity and I always imagined killing him over and over again in my mind. I always imagined him begging for his life at my feet, but in reality, I only killed him once. It wasn''t like I couldn''t; it just wouldn''t look good if I tried to kill him again.I''d just turn into some psycho to the rest of the world who let his power get to his head. They wouldn''t understand my reason, either.Another reason was that now that I had faced two of the Seven Monarchs, I realized Lee Kangchan was just a normal deva. I just couldn''t get over how scared of a normal deva I was all this time!-I''ll leave you for now¡­but don''t forget that I''ll always be watching.-I gave Lee Kangchan one last look as he trembled in fear under my gaze."Let''s go!"After killing him once that day, I no longer imagined him suffering at my hands. I was more or less done with him now. There were bigger things to worry about! 169 Chapter 168: The Guest from America, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIt didn''t take us long to reach Seoul from Chuncheong. A huge feast was waiting for us when we arrived. Song Daechul even came out to greet us himself."Thank you for everything, Jiwon.""Don''t worry about it. I had something I wanted to take care of, and it just so happened that we shared a common enemy.""Still, it''s true that Sunbin has benefitted the most. They''ve been quite the headache for us. Now then, I assume the person behind you is your mother?""Yes, she is.""Then I should greet her and ask her what her secret is for giving birth to a great son like you."I led Song Daechul over to meet my mother and grandfather.---"Damn! That''s him, isn''t it?""Yeah, that''s Chairman Song; the guild master of Sunbin!""Whoa. To think someone like that treats our young master so kindly¡­""Man, you''re dumb. Our young master is a global entity!""Oh, that''s right!""Besides, didn''t you notice on the way here how Vice-master Song acted towards the young master? You should be careful you don''t do anything to embarrass him.""I know that, too! Get off my back!"The former Sojung guild members who followed Lee Taejung to Seoul were touched that they had Lee Jiwon as their young master and were now standing side by side with the great Sunbin Guild. The older members who knew Lee Jiwon''s father were so happy that they couldn''t help but wipe away tears of joy. Sung Sooyeon, Lee Jiwon''s mother, was especially proud to see that her son had grown up to be a strong, respectable man.Just then, the former Sojung guild members froze as Lee Jiwon and Song Daechul walked towards them. This was the legendary Song Daechul!"It''s a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Song Daechul.""It''s a pleasure to meet you as well. I am Jiwon''s grandfather, Lee Taejung." Lee Taejung had decided not to use his former title of Sojung''s guild master and instead carried himself as Lee Jiwon''s grandfather. He realized that had more weight than the former, and that if he wasn''t Lee Jiwon''s grandfather, he would never have had the chance to meet Song Daechul face to face."Your grandson is quite the determined and decisive individual. I''m pretty envious.""I haven''t done much. I''m just thankful you feel that way.""I''ve prepared a place for all of you to stay for the time being. If it''s not to your liking, you can always look for another place and let us know. We''ll take care of everything. If you do like it, feel free to stay as long as you''d like.""Thank you for taking care of us.""Don''t mention it. Sunbin has received so much more from Jiwon; it''s the least we could do." After speaking with Lee Taejung, Song Daechul then turned to Lee Jiwon''s mother. "It''s a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Song Daechul.""Yes, hello. I am Sung Sooyeon, Jiwon''s mother.""You have quite the reliable son. I''d imagine you have nothing to be envious about with him at your side.""No, I''m just sorry that I couldn''t be there for him when he was young.""Well, that just means you can start now, right?""Thank you for your kind words."Song Daechul greeted Lee Jiwon''s mother and grandfather warmly for all to see. With children and grandchildren of his own, Song Daechul knew what they were probably feeling. He also knew how treating Lee Jiwon''s family would make Lee Jiwon feel, as evidenced by the small smile on Lee Jiwon''s face.---"I welcome everyone else, as well. From today onwards, we are all allies and friends. Please, let us know if you need anything." Song Daechul brought everyone into a banquet hall that could easily fit ten thousand people and addressed them. "Thank you.""We won''t forget your kindness!"What followed was a very festive party of eating, drinking, and playing. I decided to join in as well, as I was pretty exhausted after the past few weeks. I was much more tired than when I fought the Duke, but notbecause of the recent battle. I was more mentally and emotionally exhausted.Learning the truth about my past when I had just wanted to have my revenge on Lee Kangchan really took a toll on me. At least, these recent events weren''t without fruit. I finally got over my fear of my past trauma and had a boost in confidence of my abilities. It felt good when Lee Kangchan trembled in fear under my gaze. It was like I was finally free of the shackles that had been holding me back all this time."I want to thank the Myth Guild, the Ravi Guild, and the Werewolves for everything. I also want to thank the Sunbin Guild for fighting by our side and for hosting this wonderful party!""It wasn''t much. It was a meaningful couple of weeks that we got to fight alongside you once again!""That''s right! As we''ve said before; this is nothing compared to what you have done for us! We still owe you much more!""Don''t forget; it was thanks to you that the Ravi Guild managed to achieve its dream!"And so, the festivities continued for another week.---Meanwhile¡­New York City, the homeland of America''s number one guild, the Shire Guild¡­"So they failed this time as well?""Yes, sir.""Hah! Of course they failed. If we couldn''t succeed, how could they?" Daniel Miller, the guild master of the Shire Guild burst out laughing when he received his vassal''s report. He cut his laugh short and quickly grew serious, however.It was his guild''s turn now, but they had already failed three times now. The source of this problem was a single high-grade dungeon, a dungeon that spawned at the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio, right between New York and Chicago.Chicago was the city where the Spencer Guild resided. That guild was one of the top five guilds of America, constantly competing with the Shire Guild for the control of the dungeon. Normally, the guild that discovered a dungeon first would control it, regardless of distance from their territory but unfortunately, both guilds had discovered it at the exact same time.Obviously, shared control was out of the question, especially because they were the two guilds controlling the east half of America. Be that is it may, they couldn''t just commit to a full-scale guild war over a single high-grade dungeon, either. All that would accomplish was an opportunity for the bastards on the west side. The two guilds decided it would be best to compromise and came up with a solution; the guild to defeat the dungeon boss and clear the dungeon the fastest would gain control over the dungeon. It was basically their own Time Attack.While the top five American guilds were similar in strength, the Shire Guild was still considered the strongest guild. When the Spencer Guild came to them with the Time Attack proposition, the Shire Guild didn''t and couldn''t turn them down, because of their reputation.And so began the Time Attack for control of the newly discovered high-grade dungeon.On their first attempts, both guilds failed spectacularly. For the second attempt, both guilds amassed their experience and knowledge from their previous attempt, but still failed. Their third attempt yielded disappointing results as well, according to the report Daniel had just received.Of course, investing that much effort over a single high-grade dungeon wasn''t a waste at all; in fact, they had to. They weren''t two of the five strongest American guilds for no reason, but the more they failed, the more annoying comments they heard, especially from the west.The Shire and Spencer Guilds wanted to scream at the other guilds to come try the dungeon for themselves. They were confident that any other guild would no doubt fail completely as well."Ha¡­is there no new information from the Intelligence Division?""They''re still saying the same¡­""It''s already our fourth attempt! If we fail again, we won''t have the dungeon to worry about! The Shire''s reputation is on the line, damn it!""I know that as well, sir. We''ve pored over all three raid videos countless times and we can''t come up with a solution against its unique battle style and its AoE attacks.""Shit!""What we need is a tank of legendary power. We can''t make do with tanks with only a bit more skill than most.""Are you serious right now? We''ve already raided with the three strongest Unrivaled tanks, that would even give deities a run for their money. Do you possibly mean to say that we should raid with a full party of twenty-five Unrivaled devas? Then who''s going to do the damage and who''s going to heal? What about buffs and debuffs!?" Daniel roared at the officer who had just made the suggestion."Calm down, sir. There''s still one more Unrivaled we haven''t used yet.""What? Who are you talking about?""Jiwon Lee.""..." Daniel''s rage vanished when Lee Jiwon''s name surfaced. He knew as well what sort of deva Lee Jiwon was."Jiwon Lee¡­ say we do get him over here; would the Spencer Guild even accept it? He''ll be a mercenary, not part of the Shire Guild.""Was there a clause that said we couldn''t bring mercenaries?""That''s true, very true.""If we don''t do it first, it''ll only be a matter of time before the Spencer Guild gets the same idea and reaches out to Jiwon Lee first. They''re as anxious as we are.""Hmm." Daniel began to stroke his beard and thought about what his officer just said.Frustrated at his guild master''s indecisiveness, the officer continued, "Don''t we already have history with the Sunbin Guild, who are already connected to Jiwon Lee? If we lose him even after all that, we don''t have the right to own that dungeon.""Fine! Use the Sunbin Guild to contact Jiwon Lee. Use whatever means necessary to bring him over here.""Yes, sir. Only victors create history, sir.""That''s right. No matter what the Spencer Guild tries, we just need to show them through results."And so, the Shire Guild sent over a representative to Korea to meet with Lee Jiwon.---The base the Sunbin Guild had lent us could really fit more than three thousand people at once. The building was very clean, well-maintained, and already furnished. It was even pretty close to the Sunbin''s headquarters. That was just how much we meant to them. That wasn''t all to the good news, either."Mr. Lee, would it be alright if we leave a few Myth Guild soldiers here in case of emergency?""We wanted to leave a few Werewolves as well¡­""Our guild master wanted to leave some Ravi soldiers as well."The three factions wanted to set up a sort of embassy on site, and I was more than welcome to the idea. I did notice Song Myungsoo frown when he heard about it, though. Either way, I felt extremely safe with four factions looking after me and my people.I wasn''t about to stay at home forever. I already vowed to myself that I would become the strongest in the world. It was extremely helpful to me now that I didn''t have to constantly worry about what went on back home.There was one thing that I couldn''t figure out what to do. My mother was still against the idea of becoming a deva. But there was still plenty of time to deal with that later, and I decided not to dwell on it too long.After staying on base for about a week, I finally left to do some long awaited monster hunting! 170 Chapter 169: The Guest from America Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDPharos Dungeon entrance, Alexandria, Egypt¡­There were plenty of places for me to hunt. There was a high-grade dungeon at the Faroe Islands under Werewolf control, and another in Siberia under Sunbin control, but I decided to come here instead. Hell, there was even a dedicated Teleporter connected to the Siberian dungeon in Seoul, but I still came here for one reason only. It was that I had been relying on Sunbin too often these days.They''d done so much for me the past couple of weeks, especially when they agreed to take my family into their territory. Maybe I was overreacting and being to calculating over what was a simple favor, but I knew for sure that they wouldn''t have offered if they didn''t want something in return from me. They were probably sure that I knew the most about this new world."But none of that will matter. My goal since coming back to the past is the same; to get stronger than anyone else." I wasn''t trying to get stronger to get treated better; that was just a perk that came with being strong. I shouldn''t need to worry about that."Right, I shouldn''t worry about it too much; it''s all in goodwill." I let out my worries and happily looked upon the Pharos dungeon entrance."It''s been a month since I last came to a dungeon." It had taken a month to prepare for the battle against Yung Gong that only lasted a day. My allies needed to cross over to Korea as secretly as possible, which required quite a bit of time.I entered the dungeon with light footsteps. A powerful dungeon that required strong teamwork was the perfect playground for me."It''s been a while, Crocs." I pulled my spear out as soon as I saw the Mutated Crocs and Giant Crocs by the entrance. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]==Mana Conversion would probably be enough against these monsters, but I wanted to hurry and level up Warrior''s Brave Spirit. I decided to not activate Howl of the Wolf because of its longer cooldown."Time to play. Judge''s Gavel!" I started off by using Judge''s Gavel on a single Mutated Croc.---While Lee Jiwon was busy hunting Crocs in Alexandria, three men had arrived at the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters. One man was Samuel Miller, Daniel Miller''s eldest son and captain of the Shire''s Assault team Two. The others were Samuel''s supporting officers."You contacted them beforehand, right?""Yes, sir. I already let them know that we''d be arriving today, and they agreed to this meeting," replied the foreign affairs officer."I see. I have noticed that things are quiet here even though they just defeated Cheng Long and Nayuta. They''re not even preparing for a counterattack or anything.""Because they know Cheng Long and Nayuta won''t try to escalate to a full-scale war.""Cheng Long and Nayuta were properly punished for their trolling; they''re probably too embarrassed to try anything so soon.""That makes sense. Let''s go in." Samuel and his two officers entered the peaceful building and soon met with Song Myungsoo. The three Americans hadn''t expected Song Daechul to come to the meeting in the first place, since their own guild master hadn''t come as well. They were satisfied with just being able to meet with Song Myungsoo."How have you been, Vice-master Song?""I''ve been well. It''s been a while, Samuel. It''s been three years, hasn''t it?""Yes, sir.""Is your father well?""He is, sir, thanks to you."The Shire Guild had developed a relationship with the Sunbin Guild a few years back and had maintained it. They had even paid Song Haein fifty million golden rings to bring her over to America and raid a mid-grade dungeon with her.The Shire Guild cared more about experience than golden rings when it came to the Sunbin Guild. It was obvious the Sunbin Guild was different than other guilds from the start. It wasn''t official, but the Sunbin Guild was known to be the first Guild to successfully raid a low and mid-grade dungeon.The Shire Guild decided to invest heavily in the Sunbin Guild to learn from the Korean guild. Many members of the American guild believed that this was a wasteful decision, but soon learned that it was the best decision they could have ever made when the Shire Guild quickly became the number one guild in America."Now then. What brings you all the way here?" Song Myungsoo asked Samuel."We wanted to ask you to help us with one thing.""Help you with what?""I believe you know of the Spencer Guild.""I do. They control Chicago, and they''re your biggest competitors, right?""That''s right, sir. They are also one of America''s top five guilds.""What about them?""We are currently competing with them over a newly discovered high-grade dungeon. The winner of the competition gets the sole rights to that dungeon.""Oh ho~" Song Myungsoo whistled in amazement. "But for the Shire Guild to come seeking for help¡­it must be one powerful dungeon.""It is. We poured everything we have in to try to clear it, but we''ve failed three times already.""Damn shame¡­" Before the Shire Guild sent its people, they had discussed just how much they should reveal to the Sunbin Guild. They decided it was best to reveal everything, and that was what Samuel was doing."But from what I know, there isn''t much difference in our guilds'' raiding abilities," Song Myungsoo said.Raiding and battle strength in guilds were very different. Raiding required being able to adapt to different dungeon boss monsters'' attack patterns. That included having multiple strong tanks and enough magic DPS, physical DPS, and healers/supporters. The Shire and Sunbin Guilds were actually similar in that aspect."Thank you for the compliment. That''s why¡­ we wanted to ask Jiwon Lee for his help.""Jiwon¡­?" Song Myungsoo was taken aback when Samuel said Lee Jiwon''s name. Sunbin had put in a lot of work into obtaining him as an ally, and they weren''t about to let him go when they had just accepted his family into their territory. But Myungsoo also knew that they wouldn''t be able to block the Shire''s advances for very long. "Yes sir.We would like you to at least contact him for us. If you do, we can take it from there."Song Myungsoo chuckled. "I can easily do that for you. I''ll make sure to give him a call so don''t worry about it.""Thank you, sir."---==[You have gained a level.]=="This dungeon really is the best place to hunt."Trolls and Crocs really were the most fun to hunt, with their thick hides and high DEF. To put simply, I liked how ''meaty'' it felt when I cut them down. The biggest difference was that the Trolls back at the Faroe Islands travelled in hordes. By the third floor, more than fifty of them moved together. While that meant I could get more EXP at once, it also meant that I would tire out faster. The Crocs here yielded less EXP but not by a noticeable difference, and I could hunt more during the day."Store," I chanted as I pointed at the Croc Teeth and Croc Hides, storing them in the Infinite Space. At that moment, my Comm Link began to ring. "Is it Mom?" My mother had been calling me the most these days.I quickly picked up the Comm Link."Jiwon, it''s Song Myungsoo.""Oh, hello.""Did I catch you at a bad time?""No, it''s alright. I can talk.""Good. Have you heard about the Shire Guild in America?""Yes, I know of them." There was no way I didn''t know about them. That was the number 1 guild in America. They were so famous that even I had heard about them in the past."They want to meet with you.""Me?"""That''s right. It''s nothing bad. They just wanted your help with something.""Umm¡­I am in the middle of hunting, though. It hasn''t been a week since I started." Just then, I heard another man''s voice through the Comm Link."Hello, Mr. Lee. My name is Samuel Miller. I am the captain of the Shire Guild''s Assault team Two. I would just like you to know that since I and my people have come here to ask for your help, we will be waiting for you here. Please, take all the time you need to hunt. We won''t mind.""I understand," I replied and hung up. From what I could hear, it didn''t seem they were in a rush. "I guess I''ll stay for a month since I''m here."I raised my spear once more and charged at another Giant Croc.---Song Myungsoo and Samuel Miller didn''t know how Lee Jiwon preferred to hunt. To them, a week in a high-grade dungeon was a long time, but neither of them realized that that was too short for Lee Jiwon.---Twenty days later¡­"Hey mom." Lee Jiwon picked up his Comm Link when it rang while he rested at one of the Myth Guild''s FOB in the Pharos dungeon."Where are you right now?""Me? I''m hunting in a dungeon right now.""Do you know that the Shire Guild has been waiting for you for twenty days now?""The Shire Guild?""Yes, them.""I know. They said they were okay with waiting and that I should hunt¡­""That was twenty days ago!" Sung Sooyeon was beginning to realize just how well off her own son was these days. She had been receiving quite the royal treatment from Song Haechang, Song Haein, and people from the Myth Guild, the Ravi Guild and the Werewolf Clan. Sung Sooyeon knew that they weren''t doing that for her, but for her son, Lee Jiwon.On one hand, she was proud that her own son was going around, receiving such kindness from all these great people. On the other hand, she was getting worried as Lee Jiwon was beginning to surround himself with thorns, but was none the wiser. She didn''t get to raise him, but she knew as his mother.Sung Sooyeon couldn''t help but be careful around him as she had finally met her only son after so many years, but she had to put her foot down about this. She knew that it wasn''t right as a mother to be too careful around her own son, no matter how well off he was."Get over here. NOW!""O¡­okay."Sung Sooyeon hung up her Comm Link once she heard her son''s answer and turned to smile at the people from the Shire Guild and the Sunbin Guild. "He said he''s on his way.""Oh¡­ thank you."The people from the Shire, Sunbin, Myth and Ravi Guilds and from the Werewolf Clan stared at Sung Sooyeon, wide-eyed. They had just witnessed a new side to the always confident Lee Jiwon and finally saw the way to hold on to Lee Jiwon.---The next morning¡­"Hello. My name is Samuel Miller and I''m the captain of the Shire Guild''s Assault team Two.""It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lee Jiwon.""These two are my officers, who came here to help me.""I see. It''s a pleasure to meet you both as well."I had invited the three Americans to my new home and we were seated in the living room of my house. My mother poured us all some tea. "I''ll leave you all to talk.""Yes ma''am! Thank you very much!"I stayed seated, but it was weird to see Samuel bolt up from his seat and bow as my mother left the room."So, what''s this about?""Oh, right. I would like to first apologize for getting in the way of your hunt.""No, it''s alright. It was about time for me to finish up anyway.""The Shire Guild has recently discovered a high-grade dungeon. Unfortunately, another guild discovered it the same time we did, and we are currently competing for its ownership.""Through its boss monster?""That''s right. Whichever guild defeats the dungeon''s boss monster the fastest will gain the dungeon, but both sides have failed three times already. That''s why we came here to meet you; to ask you for your help.""Hmm¡­" A high-grade dungeon boss monster raid was extremely difficult. These boss monsters were so strong that I remember the strongest deities and devas in the past had trouble facing them.But the Shire Guild had failed to defeat this one three times. That actually made me curious to find out just how strong that boss monster was."We will of course reward you sufficiently for your help."I couldn''t help but smile at that part. A reward for a high-grade dungeon was going to be nothing to scoff at, especially if it came from the Shire Guild. 171 Chapter 170: The Guest from America Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Shire Guild''s headquarters in New York City¡­"You can rest here until it''s time for dinner.""Alright. Thank you." Samuel led me to a room for VIPs. Once inside, I plopped down on the expensive, comfortable bed. I took out an item and fiddled with it in my hand."If this is their reward, then there''s no reason I shouldn''t come." I recalled the conversation I had with Samuel back in Seoul as I stared at the item.---Back in the living room of my house in Seoul¡­"We would like you to have this." Samuel produced an item prepared to reward me for my aid. It shone with a bright, red light, meaning it was either a Rank 8 or Rank 9 item. I took the item for now, curious as to what they deemed worthy of my help."Item Check."==[Random Skill Chest (Rank 9)This Random Chest contains many skills, ranging from common to rare.Opening this chest will randomly yield one of the skills contained in the chest. However, the yielded skill will depend on the amount of skill points the person opening the chest has available. If the person opening this chest only has 1 skill point available, the yielded skill may be a skill that only requires 0 or 1 skill point.This chest will disappear after opening.The skill learned from a Random Skill Chest cannot be deleted. However, there is the option to not learn the yielded skill. (Not learning the skill will not consume skill points.)]==I wasn''t sure what to make of it when I realized what the item was. There was a chance I could really hit the jackpot with it, or get completely shafted. I would have preferred an actual Rank 9 equip or normal item until I read the part about rare skills.Good skills were worth way more than any item, and I''d encountered and faced off against people with amazing skills. These people had the ability to crush their enemies in an instant, just like the Predator Duke."Is it to your tastes?" Samuel asked.I put on my best poker face before answering, but I had to admit, I really did like it. Only a normal person wouldn''t know what to make of a Rank 9 Random Skill Chest; I wasn''t normal, though. I still had my Luck Boost. That Luck Boost is what was still granting me 3 Shaman Ko Stat points every day, and is what got me the Infinite Space Ring from the Time Attack quest. So yes, I really wanted the chest, but I made sure not to make it obvious."I realize that there''s a chance that a weak skill could come out of the chest but there is also a chance that a really powerful skill is inside. It''s a Rank 9 chest as well," Samuel quickly added when he saw my expressionless face."I think I would have preferred an actual Rank 9 item instead.""I¡­I understand you could feel that way, but¡­""Very well!""Excuse me?""I said I''ll do it." Regardless of what it was, it is still Rank 9. I had to accept their offer. If I kept being too wishy-washy, there was a chance they might just replace it with something else all together."Thank you so much!"---Back to the Shire Guild''s VIP room¡­"It does seem a waste to use it now, though. Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 640Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 8,815,700/8,815,700MP: 347,800/347,800Strength: 19,514 + 1,641Agility: 13,951Vitality: 14,051Willpower: 3,418Intelligence: 3,148Unassigned Stat Points: 420 + 186Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 71,082Physical Defense: 29,197Magical Attack: 10,994Magical Defense: 16,884]==My level only went up by 21 levels after hunting this past month. Sure, that was incredibly fast for someone over level 600 to accomplish in less than a month, but it just wasn''t enough for me."Still, Shaman Ko''s Stat points really aren''t anything to scoff at, the more I level up," I said to myself as I invested all of the unassigned Stat points to STR."Should I wait until I reach level 650?" I had 4 unused skill points right now. The last time I had spent my skill points was when I was level 450 and bought the Judge''s Gavel. I had obtained 3 skill points through leveling up since then, and gained an extra as a reward from the Time Attack quest. I wasn''t really saving them; I just didn''t really have a skill I wanted to learn."Okay! I''ll wait until I have 5 skill points and then I''ll open the chest." I placed the Random Skill Chest back into my inventory and lazed around in bed.---That night¡­"It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lee. I am Daniel Miller, the guild master of the Shire.""Hello, Mr. Miller. I guess you already know who I am," I said. I had to admit, he was a little intimidating. He was the leader of the strongest guild in all of America, after all. I took his outstretched hand, however, and shook it strongly. I wasn''t some nobody, either."I want to express my gratitude for deciding to help us.""Don''t worry about it. I''d say I was paid quite well to do so.""Hahaha! Then please, sit here. We have some time to talk."I sat down at the giant dining table and began to have dinner with Daniel and his family."You''ve met Samuel already, haven''t you? He''s my eldest son.""Yes, I have, in Seoul."After a rather nice dinner, we moved to a conference room."The role we''d like you to take in this upcoming raid is that of a tank.""A tank?" I heard the gist of what was going on from Samuel back in Seoul, but this was interesting. I wondered what sort of boss monster could actually defeat the Shire Guild three times in a row."I''ll explain as we watch the replays of our previous raids," Algred, the head of the Shire''s Intelligence Division, spoke up. He turned on the projector in the conference room and began playing the videos."The monsters of the dungeon are Undead type, and are as strong as any other high-grade dungeon. They are powerful monsters, but can be hunted with a decent enough party. Obviously, the dungeon floors are also the perfect hunting grounds for healers." Dungeons with Undead-type monsters were extremely valuable. Normal dungeons severely limited the growth rate of healers, but with Undead monsters, healers could actually carry the role of magic DPS.I watched as the Shire Guild in the video made quick work of the monsters in front of them."The normal dungeon monsters don''t travel in large hordes. We haven''t run into any difficulties with them, as we have many guild members ready to hunt. It''s the boss monster that is the source of our grief."The video soon displayed the dungeon''s boss monster."It''s called the Dark Caster, and the raid has a party size of twenty. We can''t have any more or any less."I could tell from the video that the Dark Caster was a Magic-type."I''m sure you''re wondering how we lost three times against a Magic-type boss monster. It''s quite simple, really. Whenever its HP falls by 20%, it becomes invincible for one minute and fires twenty curse beams, one for each party member. These curse beams are unavoidable as well."Soon, the Dark Caster in the video cast a golden shield spell around itself and fire black rays of light out of its body. However, the rays looked resistible and the twenty party members did just that."This first curse beam is in fact resistible by even healers and supporters, but the power of the curse doubles after every wave. In other words, the power of the curse that activates when its HP falls by 40% is twice as powerful as the curse that activates when its HP only falls by 20%." Algred took a sip of his tea before continuing, "The curse does have a time limit and it attacks in a linear path so it is possible to have tanks in the front blocking the curse beams while the rest move behind the tanks. That has been our raid method so far."The video showed exactly that."If that was all there was to the Dark Caster, we definitely would have had a good chance of clearing the dungeon but¡­ there is another problem.""What''s that?" I asked."A party can resist up to its fourth curse beam. But in addition to every time it loses 20%, it also becomes invincible every thirty minutes, and fires another curse beam each time it becomes invulnerable."I couldn''t help but scoff in disbelief at what Algred just said."If, for instance, we were two hours into the raid, and brought its HP down to 40%, it would have fired its third 20% curse beam, and also have fired off four timed curse beams, not just one; that''s seven curse beams in all by then. There is just no way to stop its attacks thanks to its invincibility. Each curse beam doubles in strength each time it''s fired, so the seventh curse beam would do sixty-four times more damage than its first beam. After that¡­""..." Not a single person in the room said anything. I shivered just thinking about it.The video showed exactly what Algred explained. The tanks couldn''t resist all of the curses for the supporters and healers."The healers and supporters can resist up to the third curse, but after that, the tanks will have to bear the entire brunt of the curses each time the Dark Caster casts them. It''s a huge burden on the tanks," another officer said. "The only way to compensate for its thirty-minute timeframe is someone with a huge damage output, but that means that person will have equally low defensive power."That much was obvious. A deva or deity with equally high attack power and defensive capabilities was completely overpowered. But one such person existed, and that was me."The problems don''t end there.""Excuse me?" That should have been enough problems. There couldn''t really be anymore¡­ could there?"If even one party member dies during the raid¡­the raid fails. The party will be instantly forced out of the dungeon, and we have to wait a month until the boss room opens again.""Are you sure this is a high-grade dungeon?"Yeah, I knew that there were only low, mid, and high-grade dungeons, but this dungeon was way too difficult for even a high-grade. I had never heard about a high-grade being this difficult in the past."We''re positive it''s a high-grade dungeon. I understand what you mean, though. Many of us couldn''t believe it, either."-If only I had Absolute Destruction-, was all I could think about, but unfortunately, I didn''t have it. There was nothing I could do about it, either.In the end, this was a battle of time. If we couldn''t defeat the Dark Caster as fast as possible, it would be impossible to clear the dungeon. Those curses were going to tear us apart."We have gathered five Unrivaled devas, including you, to serve as tanks, ten devas specializing in DPS, and we are currently preparing five healers. Now that you have joined us, our preparations are just about complete.""You''ve gathered a total of five Unrivaleds?" Five Unrivaled devas in one spot was a lot, considering the fact that there were only 114 of us."Yes, we have. The Shire Guild is putting everything it has into this upcoming raid. We''ve decided this is our best course of action after researching the three failed raids over and over again. I''m sure you know that we''re going to need to deal as much damage against the Dark Caster as possible if we''re going to succeed," another officer said. "At first glance, it might seem foolish to have only one healer per tank, but it''ll have to be enough. That way we can at least survive until the eighth curse.""We''ll split the party into five teams: 1 Unrivaled tank, 1 healer and 2 DPS. I''m sorry to say it, but our success rests on the shoulders of the tanks."I had to admit, I had really underestimated this dungeon boss. I had thought that I would be able to at least fight most of the battle on my own, but after hearing the boss''s description, I finally realized that I might just be in way over my head this time.-So, that''s why they offered a Rank 9 item.-"We even thought about putting in just one supporter, to at least somewhat counter the Dark Caster''s curse and cast debuffs of our own, but decided that it was best to do without."I couldn''t help but smile at that, though. We had a supporter who probably had the strongest debuffs of any specialized supporter out there. We had my King-Emperor''s Dignity and my Altered Equality! 172 Chapter 171: The Dark Caster Raid Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"We do have one¡­ a supporter that it.""Excuse me?""What do you mean?" Algred asked, looking at me as if I was crazy."Reveal Dignity and Altered Equality." There was no reason to keep knowledge of the skills from the Shire Guild. They were bound to find out anyway, once they realized that they could kill the monsters in the dungeon easier than before. I could have also waited until they found out on their own, but they seemed uneasy about not having a supporter going in to the raid. It would be best for all of us if they could prepare knowing about those skills beforehand.I had to do my best here. Not only was this dungeon extremely difficult, the Shire Guild had gifted me a Rank 9 item and were going to allow me to come back to hunt in this dungeon, if we succeeded.==[The King Emperor''s Grand DignityAll enemies within a 50m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers ATT, MATT, DEF and MDEF by 12%.All enemies within a 50m radius (monsters included) incur a debuff that lowers STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and INT by 12%.The user''s CRIT rate increases by 5%. The user''s CRIT damage increases by 200%The user''s Stats are increased by 300 points while this buff is in effect.]====[Altered EqualityYour opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.You will receive severe restrictions from using Altered Equality. (All Stat points received from Kiran will be set to 0.)Cooldown: 24 hours.]==I wasn''t a specialized supporter class deva. However, back when I was a Fire Mage, I had met several supporters during party hunts and knew to an extent what the effects of the average buffs and debuffs were. I also knew that the strongest supporters were trained by the largest guilds and only worked within their own guilds. Still, I knew that Altered Equality and Dignity had to be the strongest debuffs out there.The entire room fell silent in shock as everyone read through the effects of the debuffs. Daniel finally broke the long silence. "We could have recruited another Unrivaled tank. We could have even gone straight to the Sunbin Guild instead. The reason we came to you is because we knew about your uniquely high attack power." Everyone, including me, shifted their attention to him. "Unrivaled devas make the best tanks, everyone knows that, but their attack power definitely falls behind, especially when they don''t have enough skill points to compensate. But we also knew that you were different from all of your recent activities."And yet, we still underestimated you."Time is the biggest factor in this upcoming raid. That''s why we gathered some of the best tanks and damage dealers, but to think that we also have the supporter role filled¡­ I''m beginning to think that what we''ve given you isn''t close to enough.""We''ll have to wait and see, won''t we?" I hadn''t opened the Random Skill Chest yet. I hadn''t even done anything yet, so asking for more now would be considered a dick move. But¡­ if we did clear the raid, then I might squeeze a little more out of them.We continued our meeting after that. The only thing different now was that they were taking me more into account, asking my opinion on this tactic and that. I could tell that this fourth attempt was the Shire Guild''s last and they were putting everything they had in to make sure they would succeed."By the way, I don''t see the fifth Unrivaled here." The nineteen other party members chosen to raid the dungeon were also gathered in the conference room, but we were missing the other foreign Unrivaled deva."That person decided to return to their homeland when our contact with you took longer than planned. We have already contacted them, so the latest they''ll arrive will be by tomorrow.""I understand.""Travelling through the dungeon should be enough to establish the teamwork between the twenty party members. It''s going to take at least two weeks to get the boss room," Algred said, finishing the planning part of the meeting.Daniel Miller then stood up to address the room. "Once our remaining party member rejoins us, we will have a final supper together before heading out to the dungeon. We will begin the raid as soon as we can. We cannot fail. Fight tomorrow knowing that this is our last chance!""Yes sir!" the other party members shouted in response."We''re going to be relying on you tomorrow, Mr. Lee.""I''ll do my best."------The next day, during the feast, I finally got to meet the last member of the party, who was quite familiar.Well, the person wasn''t familiar; the emblem on the deva''s left breast was. That emblem, in the shape of a square shield known as the Shield of Aleppo, meant that this deva was a mercenary recognized by Madun Yatekin, the Mercenary Lord. There were also two sabers crossed beneath the Shield of Aleppo, letting me know that he was under the employ of Yatekin.When our eyes met, the mercenary came forward to greet me first."It''s good to finally meet you. I''ve heard a lot about you. I am Devram of the Karaviki Mercenary Corps." As I had thought, he was a deva chosen by Yatekin himself. The Karaviki Mercenary Corp was under the direct command of Yatekin."It''s good to meet you too. I am Lee Jiwon," I said, shaking his hand."At first, our commander, Madu Yatekin, turned down the Shire Guild.""What?" I asked at the sudden comment."From what we learned at first, there was no way the Shire Guild could ever succeed. And then, the Shire Guild had gathered three Unrivaled tanks, ten powerful DPS devas, five expert healers and you," Devram said quietly, as if he was imparting a secret unto me."Well, if you put it like that, I guess I should give it my all as to not embarrass myself in front of so many people," I said with a smile."I''m sure it''ll be enough to do as you normally do. I look forward to working with you."------The next day¡­Two thousand Shire Guild members were gathered in a large, empty space in the Shire''s base. I stood in the middle of them alongside the other party members."Let''s go! This time, we will absolutely make that dungeon ours! Move out!""Yes sir!"Daniel Miller then led us out towards the dungeon that was about five hundred kilometers away. However, for the Shire Guild, transporting two thousand people via plane was an easy task.------The Dark Caster dungeon was located on a mountain near Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania. I entered the dungeon easily, as if it were a low-grade dungeon. Once all two thousand devas were inside, Daniel Miller stepped to the front and addressed us."As per our negotiations with the damned Spencer Guild, we only have twenty days left to finish up here. It''ll take us about two weeks to reach the boss room. In the meantime, the party to face the boss will spend an hour or two a day working on teamwork."With that, we began to slowly move deeper into the dungeon. Many powerful undead monsters stood in our way, as expected of a high-grade dungeon, but they just didn''t stand a chance against such a huge army."Heal!""Mega Heal!""Flourishing Incense of Cure!""Spirit of Water, bless my enemies with the power of Recovery!"The undead monsters in front of us practically melted from all of the heal spells the Shire Guild cast."It''s weird. Those normally calm healers always get so excited when they go up against Undead-type monsters. I just don''t get it," Devram said to me."They always put up with a lot, don''t you think? They must want to smash things every now and then.""Hah! Is that how it is?"------About six hours later, we came to a large opening on the dungeon floor and stopped."We''ll take a short break here. The twenty core party members, front and center, please." I and the other party members came forward. As we had planned a couple days before, we were split into five teams and each team had one tank, one healer, and two DPS. These teams would have to rely on each other and keep each other alive against the Dark Caster."Let''s do well, Mr. Lee.""You got it."My team consisted of Samuel, a Wind Mage; Jayden, an archer wielding a bow as tall as he was; and Jacob, our healer. We were the strongest out of the five teams, with the highest damage output together."Let''s give it our all. We''re supposed to be ace team, so if we fall behind the other teams, well, I don''t think I''ll ever leave my room if that happens," Jacob joked.Just then, Algred stepped forward and addressed the teams. "Team 5 will go first, then Team 4, then Team 3, Team 2, and then Team 1. Step forward, Team 5. Scout team, bring out the monsters we''ve prepared.""Yes sir."Team 5 was left alone in the middle, and the rest of us moved back to give them room.Building teamwork by fighting against normal monsters wouldn''t amount to much when we actually faced off against the boss monster, but it was better than nothing. Besides, we didn''t have enough time as it was.Soon, the scouts lured in seventeen monsters, who charged straight for Team 5."Iron Wall!""Magma Flare!""Raging Flame of the Fire Demon!""Mega Heal!"The tank stepped in front and used Iron Wall to block the monsters. The Fire Mages and the healer burned away whatever monsters the tank couldn''t stop. "Remember, Heal attacks don''t work on the Dark Caster! Healers should not attack for the time being.""Yes, sir."The healer switched to casting recovery spells on his teammates to give them a bit more breathing room."Provoke!""Two o''clock! We''ll take them down one by one!"About five minutes later, Team 5 finally cleared away the seventeen undead monsters. That was a pretty good record for a party of four. The others nodded, thinking the same."Team 4, you''re up."Team 4 replaced Team 5''s spot. Again, the scouts lured in seventeen monsters for Team 4 to fight. They took about five minutes as well.Team 3 and Team 2 did take four minutes, but it wasn''t that big of a difference."Team 1, you''re up!" 173 Chapter 172: The Dark Caster Raid, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIt was now Team 1''s turn. The other sixteen party members and the rest of the two thousand Shire Guild devas looked on expectantly."Since that team''s got two of our best DPS and Jacob, they should get a few seconds over four minutes, right?""I guess so. Even if that team didn''t have the dealers, and if even 50% of Lee Jiwon''s rumored strength is true, it''s possible. No, I''m sure they will."All eyes were focused on Team 1, including the mercenary from Karaviki, Devram. Soon, just like the teams before them, the scouts lured in seventeen monsters, who charged at Team 1."..."It didn''t take Team 1 long to defeat all of the monsters. They had finished so quickly that the onlookers were left in shocked silence.They had expected Team 1 to exhibit a higher proficiency than the other teams, but this was way too fast. Teams 4 and 5 took a little over five minutes, Teams 2 and 3 took a little under five minutes, so Team 1 should have taken a little over four. This was a high-grade dungeon, after all!"How¡­ long did they take?""I¡­ don''t know.""Didn''t you start the timer?""Yeah, I did, but I was so shocked that I forgot to stop it.""You idiot! Why didn''t you press it?""Would you have remembered to?""..." The Shire Guild member didn''t reply to his guild mate. He was just as surprised, too. However, he had an inkling that Team 1 had taken around only two minutes.---"Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit has been activated.]==I stepped out front like a good tank and gripped my Harrier tightly. "Judge''s Gavel." The cooldown on Judge''s Gavel lasted only one hour. We had days ahead of us until we arrived at the boss room, meaning I could use it as much as I wanted to. I slammed my spear into the very front monster, killing it in a single blow."Number 1, number 2, number 3!"A good tank needs to be able to withstand heavy attacks, but that doesn''t necessarily mean that''s his only role. The real role of a good tank is to shift the attention of monsters away from his team towards himself. That''s why tanks have to learn skills like Provoke or Threaten.Unfortunately, I didn''t have skills like that, nor did I need them. I probably wouldn''t need them in the future, either, since my attack power can actually do the same thing as Provoke. My attack power is so high that not even monsters can ignore me.Before our turn, I told my team to focus their attacks on one monster at time in the order I called out."Focus the three targets! Hurricane Prison!""Transform ¨C Arrow of Hellfire.""I form the Earth to my will; release the Spring of Energy. Earth of Rejuvenation!"==[You are in the Area of Effect of Earth of Rejuvenation. Your HP will automatically be restored.Restore 3% of lost HP.All undead monsters within the Area of Effect of Earth of Rejuvenation will lose 3% HP.]==My job wasn''t to clear all of the monsters, but rather to use Judge''s Gavel and make sure all eyes were on me. Instead of attacking one monster until it died, I weakened one severely before moving on to another, leaving the previous one to my teammates. I wasn''t hunting solo right now.This method allowed us to clean up the monsters just as fast as I would alone, though. Even though Samuel''s and Jayden''s attacks were strong, they weren''t enough to distract the monsters away from me, allowing us to work in decent cohesion.Sure, I could have dealt with all of them by myself. I had plenty of experience hunting high-grade dungeon monsters on my own, after all. But our, my, main target was the boss monster. We needed to get used to this attack pattern as soon as possible, and so I continued my role as tank as Samuel and Jayden made quick work of the monsters.It took the four of us a little more than two minutes to clear them all.---After Team 1''s test¡­Silence enveloped the Shire Guild. Team 1''s battle was like watching an adult play around with a child.Just then, a single voice broke through the silence, "Jacob! I thought I said healers aren''t allowed to attack the monsters!""What do you mean? I was healing my teammates, which so happened to damage the monsters. I can''t do that, either?""..." Algred couldn''t come up with anything to say back. He realized what he said could be taken as not allowing the healer to do anything at all."That spell only affects those within its range, so I''ll be using it against the Dark Caster. Besides, who was the one who told me to use it, since it''s my best skill?" Jacob said while laughing, putting an end to the issue."Ahem! You''ve all done well. We''ll rest here for one hour. Dismissed!"Team 1''s test came to a close, but the events still lingered in the air."So that King-Emperor''s Dignity that affected all of the monsters is Lee Jiwon''s, right?""Obviously. Who else would it belong to?"Samuel, Jacob, and Jayden were all guild mates of many years. The three were also the strongest of the Shire Guild, but none of them had ever seen a debuff like that. It had to be Lee Jiwon."He didn''t even use a Provoke skill, and yet he still managed to attract all of the monsters to him.""I also noticed that while he was in range of my heal spell, I just kept getting a notification that he was already at full HP.""That''s not the important part here.""Then what is?""We all know that Sam and Jayden have the highest attack power in our entire guild. But don''t you think that it was over way too fast?""Yeah, I think so too. Two minutes is just¡­ those were supposed to be monsters from a high-grade dungeon.""That was way faster than the last three times we came here.""Then who do you think is responsible?""Jiwon Lee, right?""Exactly. It can only be him."The entire Shire Guild couldn''t help but focus on him, including Devram.---"Bro! You are awesome!" Jacob came up to me and gave me a thumbs up. "I know for a fact that I''m pretty good out of all of Shire, and I party up with Sam and Jayden a lot. So I also know that even though they''re pretty good, they can''t do the same as you. You and that Dignity of yours are something special, man!"Jacob really had a refreshing personality. And he talked up a storm..."You were just critting left and right. How high is your Crit rate? Actually, before that, how high is your HP? You had to have gotten hit at least a couple times, but you don''t even have a scratch on you.""I''m sure that''s because of your regen spell.""Hey, come on~ you can take it easy with me around!"Jacob reminded me of Do Sunghoon, especially because of their similar personalities."Okay, okay."As Jacob and I talked about this and that, Samuel and Jayden walked over to us."I knew we made the right choice," Samuel said in awe."It wasn''t much."To be honest, their reaction was unfamiliar, especially when high-grade dungeons were pretty normal to me. I couldn''t help but laugh to myself when I realized that. I really had come a long ways. I could even confidently bet that all of my items and equips were better than the entire Shire Guild''s.------After the break, the Shire Guild set out once more, only this time with more confidence. There really was a chance they could succeed now. The raid party continued to work on its teamwork and perfect its battle plans against the Dark Caster before we all arrived at the elite monster room. It only took us sixteen days."Clear the elite monsters as fast as possible!""Yes sir!At Daniel Miller''s order, the two thousand devas charged into the room."The raid team will stand by." The raid party was more or less prepared for the raid. There was no need for them to tire themselves out fighting the elite monsters.About an hour later, the Shire Guild cleared the elite monster room, allowing the raid party, Daniel Miller, and his officers to take refuge in front of the door to the boss room."We have four days left until the date we negotiated with the Spencer Guild. But I believe we''ve sharpened our blades long enough. We''ll rest here for the night and the raid party will enter the boss room first thing tomorrow."The rest of the Shire Guild went off to rest while Daniel Miller turned to the twenty party members and addressed them. "Don''t be nervous. You are all the best this world has to offer. I know you''ll successfully clear the raid, but it''ll be alright if you fail. If this party fails, then there is no way anyone else can even dare to challenge this dungeon boss. I know for a fact that this is the best raid party out there and doubt I could ever put together another one as fine as you all." Daniel then turned to look at each member in the eye, as if granting them a last minute boost of courage.Meanwhile, the rest of the Shire Guild began to set up beds and shower stalls in the safe room. Others unpacked meat, vegetables, and a few bottles of liquor."You''ve all done well coming this far and testing yourselves in front of two thousand people. Take the rest of the night off and I''ll see you all tomorrow."And with that, Daniel Miller led his officers and the rest of the Shire Guild out, leaving the raid party alone in the safe room with his faith, trust, and a looming sense of burden.----Geez. Talk about high expectations.-Daniel Miller and the others left us with a safe room filled with silence. I completely understood how my party members were feeling. Except for me and Devram, it was their fourth time here. Of course they would be nervous, especially since this was the Shire''s, no, Daniel''s, last attempt."Okay! Like the boss said, we don''t need to be nervous about anything. I also believe that this is the best party that could ever be put together. All we need to do is our job and if we fail, we fail. It just means that it wasn''t meant to be. So don''t have success as your goal, but rather, do your best tomorrow! We can worry about winning or losing after," Samuel said after getting up."Leave it to Sammy! He''s such a smooth talker, just like Daddy!" Jacob''s joke lightened the mood in the room a lot. "Come on, guys! Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow. Jiwon, come on and join us." Jacob grabbed my left arm and pulled me over to the barbecue grill.------The next day¡­We finalized our preparations, and the twenty of us entered the boss room, knowing that Daniel Miller and the entire Shire Guild were watching us."Let''s go."We had decided last night over dinner to appoint one of us as captain. Even though we were split into five teams, we needed someone to make sure each team was in the right position. The party had appointed me instead of Samuel. Samuel himself had even asked me to be captain, and I couldn''t turn him down. I walked in first to the boss room, with my other nineteen party members right behind me. 174 Chapter 173: The Dark Caster Raid Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[You have entered the 27th high-grade dungeon''s boss room: The Dark Caster.This raid requires twenty party members to start.Not a single party member must die until the Dark Caster is defeated.Should even a single party member die before the Dark Caster is defeated, the party will fail this raid and will be forcibly removed from the dungeon immediately.]==It had been so long since I last entered a boss room that it was nice to see that message. I had plenty of chances to raid over the past several months, especially when the Myth Guild and the Werewolf Clan had always offered to take me along in their raids, but I always turned them down. I had always preferred to hunt in the dungeon floors and gain more EXP than to incur the Dungeon Blessing and not be able to enter a dungeon for a whole month each time. I wanted more levels than random chests.[Who dares to trespass into my domain?]A loud bellow echoed from the center of the room, where the problematic Dark Caster I had seen several times in the videos stood."Get ready for battle!" This was it. It was up to us now. Once we entered the boss room, any buffs that were in effect were removed. We were alone."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 2 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.AGI will be increased by 20% for one hour.You may now use Razor Fang.]==Once we entered the boss room, a timer activated. We had to deal with the curse beams it fired every time it lost 20% of its HP, and had to defeat it as fast as possible as to decrease the amount of times it used its timed curse beams. It was a battle against time!"Iron Wall!""Earth Armor!""I form the Earth to my will; release the Spring of Energy. Earth of Rejuvenation!""Take up your positions and get into an encirclement formation!""Yes sir!"The five teams quickly and expertly surrounded the Dark Caster. Most of the party had plenty of experience against the Dark Caster by now, and while this was my and Devram''s first time here, we had pored over the Shire''s videos countless times."Altered Equality." The Dark Caster was a Mage-type monster. In other words, it had high INT and WIL and relied heavily on those Stats. With Altered Equality, its INT and WIL would be severely lowered while its STR, AGI and VIT would rise sharply. It also meant that its HP would go up.The Shire''s officers debated heavily on whether or not I should use Altered Equality for this reason, but in the end, it was decided that it should be used. Its lowered INT meant lowered MATT, which also meant that our DPS could attack more freely without having to worry about taking heavy damage. It also made it easier for our tanks to absorb the attacks for their teams. We could also afford to stay in this raid a little longer since its curse beams that doubled in strength each time they fired would lose power.==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours, and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]==Every single person I used Altered Equality on always became furious. The Dark Caster was no different.[You''ll pay dearly for that, filthy insect! Disorder and Chaos! Descend upon this place and reveal thy strength! Tangled Connection!]"Shit!""It''s using Tangled Connection now?!""Everyone but tanks, get back! If you don''t have status immunity, you won''t be able to tell friend from foe!"The five tanks remained close to the Dark Caster while the remaining fifteen party members leaped back as far away from it to the edges of the boss room. I stared at the Dark Caster in shock. It shouldn''t be using Tangled Connection this early in the raid.Tangled Connection was the main reason the Shire Guild had failed its first raid attempt. Those caught in its Area of Effect received the Confusion effect and begin attacking friend and foe alike. Thankfully, it didn''t last forever.It had a time limit of thirty minutes, but that essentially meant that the party couldn''t get close to it for those thirty minutes, allowing the Dark Caster to get one more curse beam in. During the past raids, the Unrivaled tanks weren''t affected by the Confusion effect, but their attack power just wasn''t enough to break the spell for the other party members. But this time would be different, now that I was here."Move away! Judge''s Gavel!" So what if the Dark Caster was furious at me for ruining its Stats? I needed to take this chance and inflict as much damage as I could at once, and create another opening for the party. I charged in and swung my spear hard at the black crystal atop the Dark Caster''s head that was oozing a black haze.The Shire Guild had told me that this diamond-hard crystal was the source of its Tangled Connection, and breaking it would also break the spell. My spearhead slammed into the crystal, and the giant red hammer of the Judge came thundering down on top of it, crushing it into dust. The black smoke dispersed almost immediately."The Tangled Connection spell is broken. Attack!""Exploding Fire Sparks!""Rain upon my enemy, Earth Spears!""Transform ¨C Ultimate Ice Arrow."As soon as the crystal broke, the DPS devas hugging the walls immediately fired off their most powerful spells and skills. I made sure to get in a few hits as well, since I had the highest ATT here.[Graah! Dark Explosion! Dark Explosion!!!]The Dark Caster retaliated by throwing bombs of black miasma everywhere. Two damage dealers and one healer were about to be hit by one bomb, but their tank quickly stepped in to absorb the damage. "Huh?""What''s wrong?""The Dark Caster''s attacks are¡­ much weaker!"The three Unrivaled tanks of the Shire Guild had been in all three previous raid attempts. They had been hit the most by the Dark Caster''s attacks, and knew firsthand just how much damage they did."Yeah, we expected that. It''s already under the effects of Jiwon Lee''s Dignity and Altered Equality.""Right, I know that. I saw it with my own two eyes, so of course I know. But its attacks are much weaker than when our own supporter used Weakness and Debilitation. How is it possible that his debuffs are stronger than a supporter specialist?""Damn! Jiwon''s amazing, ain''t he? He was going easy on the normal monsters all this time, huh?" Jacob exclaimed from the back. His job was to just keep Lee Jiwon, Samuel, and Jayden alive. Lee Jiwon was the most important and Jacob was preparing his best heal spells, but it seemed he didn''t need to. Lee Jiwon was taking the most of the Dark Caster''s attacks, but had barely lost any of his HP."Hey! Concentrate on the battle.""Come on, Jayden. How could I not be doing anything during the most important day of our guild? Don''t worry. My mind never falters."Jayden rolled his eyes as he fired another arrow. There was no winning against Jacob, ever.---I continued to relentlessly slash the Dark Caster with my spear."Tanks, don''t stop your attacks as well!""Yes, sir!"We aimed to bring the Dark Caster''s HP by 20% within twenty-three minutes. That meant the raid should ideally take an hour and fifty-five minutes. We had to decrease the number of times the Dark Caster could use its curse beams by at least one. Then we should have a good chance to clear the raid.But now that Tangled Connection was already out of the way, we had more openings to attack. The tanks had to attack as well, even if they had lower ATT."It''s been fourteen minutes and fifty-three seconds. Its HP is at 81%. It''s about to fire its first wave of curse beams.""Damn! It''s only been fifteen minutes?""We actually lowered its HP by 20% in fifteen minutes?"The previous raids took thirty minutes to lower its HP by 20%. Sometimes, it took forty minutes and Tangled Connection had forced them to waste time many times.This was a record no one ever thought was possible."Each person will deal with curse beams on their own until after the third wave. Tanks are to tank starting from the fourth wave with everyone else behind their teams'' tanks!""Yes sir!"[Die!]Soon, a golden barrier formed around the Dark Caster. It was in its invulnerable stage. Twenty red rays of light shot out, one at each of us.One of the rays hit me as well. I checked my HP bar to see how much damage it did, and to expect how much the seventh would do. I barely lost a tick and gained it back thanks to Jacob''s healing circle."Hah! That tickled!""Rest as much as you can for the next minute. We''ll have to attack like crazy again soon.""Hey, Jiwon. What''s your secret? Is it the water in Korea? You and Sunbin are really at a different level than the rest of us. Hell, Haein-noona also gave us a real shock when she came over to raid a dungeon boss with us, and now you¡­""Leave your jokes for later and focus. It''s only going to get tougher.""Hmph! Don''t worry bro. I know what I''m doing. This is my fourth time here, didn''t ya know?"Just then, the golden barrier around the Dark Caster disappeared."It''s not over yet. Don''t get cocky yet!""Got it!"I charged in before anyone else.[Curse you all! Rippling Dark Curtain!]Black curtains appeared around the Dark Caster."Everyone, get behind me!"That was one of its tactics to burn time. We had to get the Dark Caster out from those curtains. "Focus your attacks on a single point!""Yes sir!"We needed to focus on a single point instead of attacking anywhere we could. We just needed to rip a hole in one spot and those curtains would disappear. I still had forty minutes left on Judge''s Gavel''s cooldown, so I opted to just repeatedly stab at one spot."Piercing Power Shot!""Arctic Spear!""Thorns of Agony!""Razor Wind Storm!"All we needed was just one small hole. I kept digging my spear into the same spot after every time my party members'' attacks landed. Then, I finally saw a glimpse of the Dark Caster through a small hole we managed to rip."Scatter and continue your attacks!""Got it!"------After that, we continued the same attack patterns, taking all of its curse beams every time its HP decreased, from 60% to 40% and then when one hour passed. The curse beams really did hurt, as they doubled in damage every time.However, we were way ahead of schedule and we were actually fighting with smiles on our faces. Victory was within our grasp. If it could take us an hour and thirty minutes to get its HP down to 20%, it would only have two curse beams it could use. There was even a chance we could defeat it by the time it only used one!"We''re almost there!""Yeah!"________________Ed. Note: We won''t ask why the defense-destroying effect from his boots doesn''t proc once during the ninety minutes. 175 Chapter 174: The Dark Caster Raid, Part IV Translator: HunterW3Editor: REDAn hour and thirteen minutes into the raid¡­"The Dark Caster''s HP is at 20%.""Damn! It actually took us forty minutes sooner than we planned, huh?"Even I believed that if this raid took more than two and a half hours, it would be too difficult to clear. By then, it would have fired its ninth curse beam, which would be 256 times stronger than its first one. That was way more damage that even I could deal with easily.That was why we planned to get its HP down to 20% before the two-hour mark and attacked every chance we had, to end this as fast as possible. At this rate, we could actually end the raid an hour sooner than we anticipated.[Insolent fools! Die!]Another golden barrier formed around the Dark Caster and it fired the sixth volley of twenty curse beams. They were 32 times stronger than the first wave, but we had five Unrivaled tanks. Again, each team''s dealers and healers hid behind their tanks while the tanks took four curse beams each. "Heal!""Flourishing Incense of Cure!""Mega Heal!""Hah! I wonder what the guys at Spencer will look like when they see our record!""Is that all? They''re going to lose this dungeon to us so I''m sure they''ll be pissed."Victory was actually within our grasp!"All of you, focus! This isn''t over yet." Had I not been their captain, I would have laughed and joked along with them.We were almost done, but it wouldn''t do to let our guard down and flush all of our hard work down the toilet, now of all times. "We have seventeen minutes until the next thirty-minute mark. Surely you''re not all thinking that we''re going to allow it to fire its next volley when we have 20% left to go, are you?""No sir!""Like Jiwon, no, like the captain said, let''s set our record to an hour and a half. We''ve cleared each 20% in fifteen minutes before so it should be possible for us, right?""You just need to do your job and we''ll be fine, Jacob.""Hey, screw you! I''m the hardest working guy here." Thanks to my little speech and Jacob''s jokes, our morale was through the roof. At that point, the Dark Caster''s shield spell dispersed."Attack! Attack with everything you have!""Yes sir!"I wanted to use Judge''s Gavel again in a grand finale but I had already used it a few minutes before when its one-hour cooldown was up. But my normal attacks were enough. "3% left!""2% left!"The closer the Dark Caster''s HP fell to zero, the healer with Monster Detect used the skill as much as possible while shouting out how much HP were remaining."The final blow belongs to me!""You joking? The final blow is mine!""Hey, I was wondering. It''ll die when its HP hits zero, right?" a Shire guild member asked."Well, yeah. That''s how it works," another guild member said, confused as to what he meant."No, I know that too, of course. But it fires a volley of curse beams when it loses 20% HP so I was just wondering if it did when its HP hits zero. Like, will it do a final attack when it dies or something?""..." The other guild members had nothing to say, as it did make sense.I heard what the first Shire guild member said as well. "It doesn''t matter. If it does, it''ll only be its seventh volley. Don''t worry about it.""It''s as the captain says. We''re almost there, so focus on defeating it first," said Samuel."Yes sir!"It didn''t take long for its HP to hit zero from 2%. It was over. It should have been over. That was common sense.[Graah! Curse you all!]Common sense must have not applied to the Dark Caster. It wasn''t dead yet, and just roared out in rage. Another golden barrier appeared around him just like always."But its HP is at zero!¡­" protested the healer with Monster Detect."It''s because you jinxed it.""What? I didn''t do anything. I just pointed out something that could happen""It''s fine. It''ll be its last volley. Prepare yourselves," I said to quiet them.The other tanks walked forth, muttering all the way while their teammates moved behind them. They prepared themselves the same way they did against the curse beams but something was different. The Dark Caster should have fired the curse beams by now, but nothing happened. Just then, the Dark Caster began to chant a spell.[I call upon the Darkness that is darker than Death. You contain a life that is unable to free itself from your cold grasp. Grant that life unto me. Life of Darkness!]The Dark Caster chanted something from within its barrier that none of us had heard before, but we could tell what it meant, especially as the healer continued to scan its condition."Its¡­its HP is going back up! It was at zero, but it''s now up to 0.1%!"As soon as I heard the healer''s report, I rushed in at the Dark Caster, while everyone else stared at it in shock.I attacked just in case something else changed and I could break this golden barrier this time.However, my spear bounced off the golden barrier.==[The Dark Caster is currently invulnerable. It is immune to all types of damage.]=="Shit!""What the hell is going on?""Is this raid even clearable or not?"The other party members didn''t know about this, either. The Shire Guild wasn''t able to get this far the past three times. Hell, they couldn''t get past 32%."Its HP is back up to 1%!""This is bullshit! What is he, a Lich King or something? If he was, at least we could have prepared for a life vessel or something!""That''s what I''m saying! Fuck! Why does he get to do this? The only thing he and a Lich share is Dark Magic, so what the hell is this about?"The other party members spat out their insults at how the Dark Caster literally had a second life."Burn his soul to cinder! Hellfire!""Burning Flame Pillar!"A couple mages shot their spells at the Dark Caster, even though they knew it was immune to all attacks, but they tried nonetheless."Blink 1."==[You are unable to move within the Dark Caster''s invulnerability zone.]==Back when I fought against the Predator Duke, I was able to Blink next to him when he used Blood Curtain. I had tried to Blink at the Dark Caster when its HP fell to 80%, but I wasn''t able to and was greeted with that same message. It was the same even now."Its HP is up to 5% now!""Fuck! This just means that defeating it was impossible in the first place!""What the hell are we supposed to do now?"All we could do right now was just watch as its HP continued to recover. I was getting frustrated too. I couldn''t see any way to stop it.-Shit! What kind of boss it this?-Wed been properly had. I didn''t know what to do.I turned around to look at the other party members. Even the optimistic and talkative Jacob didn''t say anything, and just looked at the Dark Caster with a lost expression. I knew how he felt.-There has to be something we can do. If not, this raid was impossible to clear in the first place.-I definitely had more experience in all of this than everyone else standing here dumbly. I remembered what the two Shire guild members had mentioned; about the Lich and its second life.I turned to look at the Dark Caster. It had its arms up and was looking up at the ceiling, as if there was something there. It wouldn''t be weird if something was there, something like a life vessel."Look for it!" I shouted at the other party members. "There''s a chance it''s really there. Its life vessel, I mean! Turn this place inside out. Dig through the ground and break the walls. It could even be in the ceiling!""What?""The Dark Caster isn''t a¡­""Don''t take what''s happening at face value! There actually is a chance there''s something around here! We need to do everything we can! Whatever we find out now will be experience we can use even if we fail here! Don''t squander what time we have left!""Uh¡­yes, sir!""Use AoE attacks and break through the floor, walls and the ceiling!""Tanks and healers, don''t just stand there. Use your shields and fists if you have to!"The other party members started to dig through the very ground they were standing on."Sandstorm.""Chain Lightning.""Boreas Echo!"It must have looked like we had finally lost our minds but regardless, we all dug through everywhere we could. If we couldn''t do it now, we would have to do it again during the next raid."The Dark Caster''s HP is back up to 20%!""Shit!""Gah! I''m about to lose my mind!"I heard a couple swear because that meant the Dark Caster had just gained another volley of curse beams it could use. We all continued to dig around though, until we heard a different sound. It was hollow, rather than the same thunk that came from the broken rocks."Huh?" It was a small sound, but I and the others heard it too."Keep digging!""Yes sir!" The other party member struck the wall another time, creating a small hole. He put his hand through the hole and pulled out a black crystal.==[Dark CrystalThis crystal holds the Dark Caster''s Essence.]==That was one simple description, but I didn''t need to look into it more when the healer behind us shouted, "Its HP is up to 39%!"I grabbed it and crushed it in my hands. I didn''t have time to find out how to use it, but something told me I needed to break it. When the crystal crumbled in my hands, I found that I made the right choice when the Dark Caster screamed.[You can''t!]"I can!"The barrier surrounding the Dark Caster disappeared at the same time, the healer behind us shouted, "Its HP stopped recovering. It''s still at 39%!"I turned to face my party. "It''s too early to give up! Am I the only one who thinks so?""No sir!""Attack!" By my command, the party split back up into the five teams, as if we had just entered the boss room.The Dark Caster fired its volley of curse beams at the two-hour mark, even though it couldn''t use it at the hour-thirty mark. This would be its seventh wave, but we had already been prepared for that."Judge''s Gavel!""Piercing Power Shot!""Earth Spears!"We attacked relentlessly once more and when its HP fell to 20% again, it fired off its eighth volley of curse beams. We couldn''t afford to let it fire off another volley again. That volley had done 128 times more damage than its first, and was painful enough already."DPS, don''t just hide behind the tanks, attack until your HP is in the red!""Yes sir!""Flourishing Incense of Cure!""Great Heal!"The tanks could withstand a single beam each, but it was getting difficult to withstand the damage for their teammates."Gah! Shit!""Hang in there!"[Graaah! Damned insects! Multi Dark Spears!"We all remained standing, while the Dark Caster grew more and more furious. I checked the timer. Two hours and sixteen minutes had passed since the raid started. We had fourteen minutes until it was going to fire its ninth volley. There was a good chance at least one of us wasn''t going to survive it. If that happened, we would fail this raid. We had to end this within fourteen minutes, no matter what."We have fourteen minutes left! We have to bring its HP down to 0 in that time!""..." No one replied this time and I turned around to see why. They were all exhausted. Their Fatigue was probably too high at this point. Many had trouble catching their breath, as we had all been fighting nonstop for two hours now. The DPS and healers with lower VIT were especially exhausted. Still, we had come too far to surrender now! We came back with even more confidence that we could succeed since we knew everything by this point, but that meant giving the Spencer Guild another chance and even if they didn''t, we would still have to wait another 2-3 months."Listen carefully. It''s okay if you all want to give up now. We have another chance, and I''m sure we can succeed then. But it''s too much of a waste to give up now. I believe that we must do everything we can until the end! That''s what I think! If at least one of you here wishes to give up, then I will agree to give up now, too," I said to my party members."I don''t see a next time as well, sir!""I don''t have surrender in my vocabulary, sir!""Then let''s go!" 176 Chapter 175: The Dark Caster Raid Part V Translator: HunterW3Editor: RED"Fire of the Flame Demon!""Chain Lightning!""Transform ¨C Hellfire Arrow!"[Insolent fools! Die! Touch of Darkness.]"Iron Wall!""Great Heal.""Flourishing Incense of Cure."All of my party members looked like they were just about to fall over, but they kept up their barrage of attacks. I moved twice as fast as everyone else was. If I stopped now, everyone else would follow."Shit! This ends here!""Same here. There''s no way I want to ever come back here again!"A couple of them refused to accept defeat, and kept up with my pace, but it just wasn''t enough. The healer with the Monster Detect skill scanned the Dark Caster again and her report echoed through the room. "It''s been two hours and twenty seven minutes since we started and its HP is at¡­10% now."We had fourteen minutes left when its HP was at 20%, but it took us eleven minutes to take off half of that. We had three minutes until it was going to fire its ninth volley. Then again, that was an incredible pace considering our current situation."Exploding Fireball!""Soaring Earth Pillar!""Razor Whirlwind!"It was impossible. There was no way we could win. There was just no way any of our tanks could survive the ninth volley of curse beams. We could all see what our fate was, but my party members continued to fight. At this point, they didn''t think about failing. All twenty of us had cameras on our shoulders, filming the entire raid and if we were to fail now, we had to record everything we could to make sure the next raid would succeed.But I cared. I hadn''t come all the way to America to fail. There was still one more thing I could do.I looked around at my party members. There were twenty of us in all; five tanks, ten DPS, and five healers."I''m splitting us up into three teams!""Sir?""What are you talking about, Jiwon?"My other party members turned to me in confusion. Some of the DPS even stopped their attacks to look at me."I''m not ready to give up yet. We''ll get through the ninth volley and clear this raid.""But¡­""With our current condition, the ninth volley is just¡­"They all thought that it was impossible and I understood them. It was obvious we were going to fail at this point. I ignored them, however, and shouted to all of them, "Two teams will have two tanks, two DPS, and one healer. The remaining six DPS and three healers will get behind me."Two tanks should be able to withstand the curse beams aiming for them and three others. The problem was me. I had to withstand ten curse beams at once and each one would be 256 times stronger than the first curse beams. I might have three healers ready to heal me, but there was a good chance I wasn''t going to survive. Either way, if we were going to fail, we were going to do it after I tried this method.We all divided into three teams, as per my orders."Are you actually going to take ten beams by yourself? Dude! You know how strong they''ll be!""He''s right, captain. It won''t work, even with three healers," Samuel said, eyes full of worry."I know. But this is the best chance we''ve got if we''re going to succeed," I said, looking back into Samuel''s eyes."We''ll do as the captain says!""Alright, you''ve convinced me. If it weren''t for the captain, we wouldn''t have come this far in the first place.""Let''s do it!"They moved into position while throwing attacks at the Dark Caster."It''s time. The Dark Caster''s HP is at 8% now."[Let''s see how you fare against this!]Another volley of curse beams was fired at us."Tanks, switch with each other when you have to. Don''t go overboard and work together. Healers, keep them healed up.""Captain, the other teams seem like they''ll be fine. But we''re¡­" a DPS deva said from behind, antsy with worry. He didn''t know what to do."Take this chance to rest up and figure out how to best deplete his remaining HP." Just then, the ten curse beams struck my body hard."Gah." I could have dealt with one, but all ten beams were quickly depleting my close-to 9,000,000 HP!"Mega Heal.""Great Heal.""Flourishing Incense of Cure."The three healers behind me cast their strongest heal spells, but they weren''t enough to slow the damage to my HP.Forty seconds passed as my HP continued to decrease."Damn¡­is this even possible?""The other tanks were having so much trouble and scrambling to switch with each other."I could hear what they were saying behind me, but I was too busy focusing on my HP to care."Jiwon''s got less than 10% to his HP now! If Jiwon has to die, then I''ll die in his stead!" Jacob cried out and was about to run forward, but I quickly grabbed him by the collar."Quit saying stupid shit and heal me!"The only reason I decided to get through the ninth volley was because I still had one last ace in the hole I could rely on. I still had my Bracelet of Eternal Fire.It saved my life back when I battled the Predator Duke, preventing me from being completely consumed by him. As the Bracelet''s description stated, I wasn''t going to die, so I knew that whatever happened to me, the raid wasn''t going to fail."But Jiwon!""Just heal me, damn it!" I snapped at Jacob and continued to watch my HP bar drop. It was just about to hit 0.==[Your HP has reached 0 through a considerable amount of damage. The Bracelet of Eternal Fire''s Last Breath has been activated.35% of your total HP (8,815,700) has been restored (3,085,495).Eternal Fire''s Last Breath has been deactivated for thirty days.]=="Huh?""The captain''s HP is¡­" The healers who had been healing me were the first to notice."You can be surprised later. We have ten seconds left until that barrier falls! All of you, get ready!""Yes sir!"Soon, the ninth volley ended, with all of us still standing."This is our last chance. Everyone attack the Dark Caster!""Yes, sir!"Every single party member capable of attacking flung their strongest spells and skills at the Dark Caster. It didn''t take long for us to finally crush the dungeon boss.[I swear I''ll have my¡­!]==[You have successfully cleared the 27th high-grade dungeon''s boss raid.]=="YES!!!""We did it! We beat it before the Spencer Guild!""Jiwon! Jiwon! Jiwon!"My party members all ran to me and picked me up, throwing me into the air while chanting my name.------While Lee Jiwon and his party members were celebrating their win¡­Five people were gathered in an expensive room around a large table at a high class hotel in Hong Kong. On one side sat Wai Chung and his guild mate. On the other side sat Okamoto, the guild master of Nayuta, and his guild mate. A single man sat between them.Silence enveloped the room for a while before Wai Chung finally broke the silence. He spoke to the single man sitting to his left."Now then. Why did you ask to see me? You even called Nayuta over as well. So what does¡­" Wai Chung looked dead in the man''s eyes before continuing, "the Dungeon Maker, a member of the Seven Monarchs, want with us? Actually, it''s more like the Five Monarchs, isn''t it?"Kazunari, famously known as the Dungeon Maker, smiled briefly at Wai Chung. It quickly disappeared when he finally spoke, "We all share a common enemy. It''s fine for us to meet at least once, isn''t it?""Sure. But I''m beginning to think that enemy is me. You have a decent relationship with Nayuta, don''t you? But Cheng Long and Nayuta don''t really like each other.""Whatever do you mean? The two of you joined hands once recently, haven''t you?""We did, somehow." Wai Chung took a sip of his tea before continuing, "It''s better for us if Nayuta grows stronger instead of Sunbin. No matter how much Nayuta tries, it won''t ever rival Sunbin, after all."Okamoto smiled at the obvious insult. "That''s why we would like to thank you in advance for your help. We know we can''t do much against Sunbin, but Cheng Long has a better chance of becoming the dagger that ends Sunbin''s rule."Wai Chung stared at Okamoto, but Okamoto held his gaze."You''ve come a long way.""Hah! I''m still nowhere close to you."Wai Chung leaned back in his chair. "Fine. Let''s talk.""Lee Jiwon. We need to stop him, don''t we? From what I hear, he was the man responsible for ruining whatever plans you had for Yung Gong," Kazunari said."Hmm¡­""He is on friendly terms with Sunbin, and is quite the painful thorn in the side to both Cheng Long and Nayuta. He''s also very annoying to me and my people, as well.""So what do you propose we do?""We need to hold him down. We have to stop him from getting stronger.""Are you suggesting we build some sort of prison and toss him in there?""No. I don''t know how to make a prison, nor am I strong enough to capture him in the first place. However¡­" The Dungeon Maker Kazunari had a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke, "I can make a prison-like dungeon.""It won''t be easy." Wai Chung knew some things about Kazunari, especially because he was a damn Jap and not because he could create new dungeons with a snap of his finger."That''s why I have asked Cheng Long and Nayuta here today. The two of you share a common enemy.""What do you need from us?""I need two thousand devas willing to incur an irreversible death penalty each, a Rank 8 item, and 100,000,000 golden rings.""¡­That''s a steep price.""Because our enemy is none other than Lee Jiwon. I believe it''s a fair price to imprison him for at least a year or two. There won''t be any monsters, any food or water to keep him alive, and he won''t be able to use a Warp Scroll to escape. Even if he dies, he will resurrect within the dungeon, as well.""Hmm¡­"Wai Chung and Okamoto had heard about this type of dungeon before and contemplated it. There were quite a lot of things required."Lee Jiwon always makes the impossible possible. While everyone else shook their heads, he always came up with a solution, as if it were in his pocket all along."Kazunari laughed and placed his right hand on the table. "You have nothing to worry about thanks to this little guy." Something moved on his right shoulder and climbed down his arm to the table. "This is the dungeon mole." 177 Chapter 176: Betting on Zero and One Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Thank you so much, captain. If it weren''t for you, we would never have been able to defeat the Dark Caster," Samuel said, bowing to me. He was still calling me his captain, even after the raid had ended."Don''t worry about it. It was the least I could do for the reward you''ve given me.""No, man. If it wasn''t for your quick thinking, we would have all just stood there dumbly, wasting time. We never would have thought about looking for the Dark Crystal. Ugh. If we hadn''t, I don''t know how many more times we would be raiding this damn place! You''re the bomb, Jiwon!""Jacob''s right. Thank you for everything."The other Shire Guild members gathered around me, thanking me and giving me thumbs up and everything. At that moment, a message appeared in front of all of us.==[You will now be rewarded for clearing the 27th high-grade dungeon boss.Twenty random chests will be rewarded.These random chests have a chance to contain golden rings, rare items, or nothing at all.]==The random chests, the reason many guilds aimed to control as many dungeons as possible, finally appeared. Before we set out to open them, we all turned to the items that the Dark Caster had dropped. Samuel walked out in our stead to check each single item for all of us to see. There was a Rank 7 pair of gloves for mages, a Rank 6 ring for mages, eleven death penalty gems, 27,500,000 golden rings, and some materials. "Unfortunately, it didn''t drop a Rank 8 item. Then again, expecting a Rank 8 on the first clear is being too greedy." We were all expecting something at least Rank 8, after all the work we put in. "Sorry, captain. I should have let you check the items instead. I hope you don''t feel too bad, since there wasn''t much that came out of it.""It''s fine. It''s not a big deal." I knew about the universal party rules as I had hunted in parties in the past. One of the rules about items was that only the party leader could ever check the items and distribute them among the other party members."Then Devram should receive the Rank 7 gloves and the Rank 6 ring." Many devas in this world were Mages. As such, there was always a high demand for Mage equips, and those two items would definitely sell at high prices quickly."Oh, you don''t have to¡­" Devram tried to turn Samuel down. That was easily a 100,000,000 golden ring value."Please, we want you to have them." Samuel practically threw the items on Devram. "The Shire Guild will take the death penalty gems, the golden rings and the materials. As a guild with many members, gems and golden rings are always in short supply." Samuel picked up the remaining items and put them in his inventory while smiling.He then turned to me. "As for the captain¡­" He pointed to the random chests that were still in the middle of the room. "I think those twenty random chests should be enough. You don''t need a random chest since you have those two items, right, Devram?""Hahaha! I see now¡­that''s perfectly fine with me. These two items are definitely enough to pay me for my services today.""I''m down!""Yup, that''s totally fair," Jacob and a few other Shire members, said while smiling."I¡­but¡­" To be honest, I wasn''t really happy. Those were some poor items to drop from the Dark Caster after all I''d done to defeat it. I was a little put off when Samuel was checking the items all on his own, but now, I felt a little embarrassed when I finally realized why he did all that."Let''s all leave. Those random chests aren''t ours. We don''t need to know what''s inside them.""You got it!""Hey, let''s party it up! We can''t just let this day end like that, right?""Yeah! Let''s party til we drop!"The other party members followed Samuel out of the boss room without as so much as turning to look at the random chests.Jacob and Devram left me a few parting words, however."Hey, Jiwon. I''ve opened my fair share of random chests but¡­damn. I''ve never gotten anything better than Rank 7. But I know you''ll get something way better.""I know it might seem what I got is worth more at first, but I believe this is a better deal for you. I''ll be praying that you get a great item."Soon, I was left alone in the boss room with the twenty random chests. "Hah. Geez. It''s a good thing I stayed quiet." I quickly regained my composure. I was about to complain to everyone in the room that I hadn''t gotten my share of the loot yet. "Patience is a virtue. I really need to remember that."I stared at the random chests in front of me. Before we came here, we had decided that everyone one would get one random chest but now, they were all for me."There are twenty of them¡­I should be able to hit the jackpot at least once, right?" If I really was unlucky, Devram would actually have gotten the best items out of this entire raid. Still, if there was at least a small chance that a Rank 10 item would come out, I would still choose the random chests over anything else."All I need is a Rank 8. I won''t even expect anything higher." I opened the leftmost chest without hesitation."..." There was nothing in there. "It''s okay. I still have nineteen more to go." I opened one chest right after the other but stopped after I opened the nineteenth one."This is bullshit! How is this even possible? They''re all duds!" Well, they weren''t all duds. There were a few that had 100,000-210,000 golden rings, and others with death penalty gems. But I hadn''t come here to get chump change."Nineteen in a row, are you serious!?" I yelled and kicked at the last chest I opened. I turned to the last chest. "I swear, if this is a dud as well, I''m quitting boss raids for good!" I angrily opened the last chest. Inside was an item, shining with a red light. "Wait, this is¡­" It looked exactly like the item I had held earlier. The item before didn''t have a rank, though. "Item Check."==[Dark Crystal (Rank 8)This Crystal holds the entire essence of the Dark Caster.Crush this Crystal over any other item and the dust from the Crystal will grant one of the following effects to that item.Effect 1: 1% chance to upgrade one of the chosen item''s effects by one tier.Effect 2: 1% chance to grant the Darkness effect to the chosen item, which will increase the potency of all Dark Magic spells and skills.Dark Crystal can only be used on one other item.Once Dark Crystal has been used and one of the two effects has been granted on the chosen item, Dark Crystal can no longer be used.]=="What is this, the lottery?" I had never seen this item in the past, nor had I heard about it. But I''d been noticing lately that there really were a lot of items and skills out there."Will it work? It should, right? Yeah, it should." Both effects had a 1% chance of working and I really liked that first effect more than the other one. A whole rank up. I took out the King-Emperor''s Commitment. It was the best piece of equipment I had."Actually, hold on. Should I wait and use it when I open the Random Skill Chest?" I was ten levels away from getting another skill point. I was saving my Random Skill Chest until I had five skill points to use. "Yeah, that would be better. It''s superstitious, but I might get some good stuff consecutively if I save both for later."I stowed the Dark Crystal and left the boss room. As I had expected, the party in the safe room outside was already in full swing.---"Was it that difficult?""Dude, it was nuts!""Yeah, man. That damn Dark Caster thought he was a Lich King or something. He hid some weird shit and when his HP hit 0, it started to go back up¡­ugh. If it weren''t for the captain, we would have been royally screwed.""The captain? You mean Sam?""No, I mean Jiwon Lee," Pavel, one of the three tanks, looked as if he had just woken up from a really nice dream and spoke Lee Jiwon''s name respectfully."Since when have you respected anyone outside of our guild?""Heh. You don''t need to know. Only those who have walked the same ground and breathed the same air as him can know what I''m feeling.""The hell is wrong with you?"Pavel didn''t lose his smile despite his comrade''s scoffing. All he cared about was that he was an Unrivaled deva like Lee Jiwon. He imagined that one day, he wouldn''t have to fill the tank role and could be as strong as Lee Jiwon, regardless of how difficult it would be."Hey! He''s coming out!""Yeeeah! Jiwon! Jiwon! Jiwon!"---I had no idea what my party members had told the other guild members, but I was completely taken aback by the huzzahs of two thousand people. Daniel Miller and his officers surrounded me for another wave of thanks."We''re partying it up tonight! Remember to keep everything that happened today a secret for the next few months! We''re going to wait until the Spencer bastards fail!""Yes, sir!"This high-grade dungeon wasn''t the Shire Guild''s yet. The Spencer Guild still had another shot at it first.We all spent the next three hours taking a well-deserved rest before all two thousand of us were teleported to the dungeon''s entrance. We spent the next week feasting and partying. The high-grade dungeon had just opened up a new profit window for the Shire Guild, and Daniel Miller spent lavishly on us. And the Spencer Guild and their upcoming raid? The officers of the Shire Guild had gone over our raid video and judged that there was absolutely no way for the Spencer Guild to succeed, unless they had a clone of me or something."Yo, Jiwon! Where you going? Have another drink with me.""Mr. Lee, I know that you came here under contract, but I wish for us to maintain a good relationship in the future. Is that alright?""If there is anything you ever need, come knocking on our door. We will always help you, no questions asked."I had no choice but to stay for the entire week. Since I couldn''t enter another dungeon for the next month, I decided to take it easy and pamper myself. After partying, I occasionally went with the Shire Guild in field hunting, but I really wasn''t into it. There just wasn''t enough EXP for me. Still, I hunted with them to train the Safety Crystal I had received.---One month later, The Faroe Islands¡­"Ugh. I still feel like crap." After the weeklong party, I drank with Samuel and Jacob almost every day for a month."Anyway, should ten days be enough?" I had five levels left before I reached level 650. I had only gained five levels in twenty days in the fields, even if I had taken it easy."Meh. I''ll take my time. I''m ahead of everyone else, anyway." I had used the Werewolf''s Clan Badge to quickly come back to the Faroe Islands, and headed straight for the Troll Dungeon. This was the best place I knew of, yielding the most EXP. I saw many of the members of the Werewolf Clan I had met before as I walked through a village in the middle of the Faroe Islands."Hey! It''s Jiwon!"The kids were the first to run up to me. I was almost as popular as Lod to them. They all gave me the best treatment, as I was the only one to ever receive their clan''s badge.I greeted all those who came to say hi and headed for the Troll Dungeon, entering it straight away. 178 Chapter 177: Betting On Zero and One Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Human! Kill!""Kill! Human!""Sorry, maybe in your next life you can." I barely gave a glance at the Trolls charging at me and struck each one of them down. They fought back hard, being monsters of a high-grade dungeon, but fell nonetheless.==[You have gained a level.]=="Yes! Finally." As soon as the last Troll Warrior fell, the message I was waiting for appeared. I finally reached it! "Open Stats Menu!"==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 650Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 8,815,700/8,815,700MP: 347,800/347,800Strength: 19,934 + 1,887Agility: 13,951Vitality: 14,051Willpower: 3,418Intelligence: 3,148Unassigned Stat Points: 200 + 126Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 73,080Physical Defense: 29,197Magical Attack: 10,994Magical Defense: 16,884]=="Hehehehe." It always happened whenever I looked at my own Stats Menu, but I couldn''t help laugh. I was just doing too well. I could confidently say that I was the top 0.1% of the entire world."Ah, right. This isn''t the important one." I invested all unassigned points into STR once again."Open Skill Menu."==[Skill MenuUnassigned Skill Points: 5Passive skills: 2Unrivaled (1/1) (First Unrivaled)Selfish Prick (1/1) (Stupid Selfish Prick)Active skills: 3Warrior''s Brave Spirit (1/3)Mana Conversion (2/1)Judge''s Gavel (1/3)Additional skills: 4Blink 1 (Azazel''s Lightning Boots)Blink 2 (King-Emperor''s Commitment)Altered Equality (Shaman Ko''s Selfishness)Howl of the Wolf (Clan Badge ¨C Werewolf)]=="..." I didn''t laugh this time as I looked through my Skill Menu. I was just in awe at the skills I had. I had Mana Conversion past its max level, and my four additional skills didn''t require a single skill point, yet they were all very powerful and very valuable skills. I had never had an additional skill in my past life. I also still couldn''t see the Absolute Destruction after it was eaten up by Shaman Ko."Well, then again, Absolute Destruction wasn''t exactly a skill and more of a trait. And¡­ I have no idea what Predation is supposed to be since I haven''t even seen it at all." Either way, all of my skills really were second to none."Meh. It doesn''t matter. I think five skill points should be enough to open the random chest now." If I could, I would have saved up to like ten skill points before opening the chest. The more I had, the better skills I could learn, after all.I moved to a place where there were no Trolls around and took out the Random Skill Chest from my inventory. "Please! I beg you. I don''t need a skill like Lagus''s Psychokinesis. Just give me something I can use!"I nervously placed my right hand on the chest''s clasp and was about to open it when I felt a strange feeling. It wasn''t a hostile feeling and there weren''t any Trolls around me. It was a feeling that was telling me that I was about to make a very bad decision."The more skill points required, the better the skill?" I said to myself. That was how it was supposed to be when it came to skills. That''s what I believed now and in the past."But¡­I know of an exception to that rule; Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick." No matter how you looked at it, Selfish Prick was an amazing skill. The stat points I got from it were over 2000, it got me Altered Equality and actually saved me from being eaten by the Duke. But all it needed was a single skill point. I reread the Random Skill Chest''s description.==[¡­ However, the yielded skill will depend on the amount of skill points the person opening the chest has available. If the person opening this chest only has 1 skill point available, the yielded skill may be a skill that only requires 0 or 1 skill point.]==I didn''t realize it until now about how the description was very specific on the 0 points part."Is there even a skill that doesn''t require skill points?" From what I knew, there weren''t any. Besides, skills were supposed to require at least one point to learn, not including item skills like Blink."0 points¡­0 points, huh?" Once I realized the 0 points part, it was all I could think about. It could also be a complete fluke and whatever skills that didn''t require skill points could really just be useless and I would have wasted not only five skill points but a damn Rank 9 Random Skill Chest. But I just couldn''t stop thinking about it. "Shit!" If only I hadn''t noticed it, I wouldn''t be agonizing over this. I wouldn''t end up blaming my luck for opening the chest and getting some crap skill and could at least get a decent skill with my five skill points. But something at the back of my head just kept telling me that if I didn''t do it, I would regret it."What the hell is wrong with this random chest and the Dark Crystal? I went to New York, not Las Vegas!" Both items I received from getting involved with Shire Guild were like a high roller table in Vegas. The chest wanted me to bet on 0 and the Crystal wanted me to bet on 1."Gah!" I stood straight up. No matter how many times I was going to think about it, there was only one answer. I was going to have to gamble one way or the other. If there was a chance I was going to hit the jackpot with either of these items, I wasn''t going to spend my life wondering what would have happened if I had bet on them. I sprinted for the dungeon entrance, ignoring every single horde of Trolls in my way.---Seoul''s Store 72¡­As soon as I left the Troll Dungeon, I headed straight for London, barely glancing at the Werewolves who greeted me as I sprinted by. Once I got to London, I headed straight for the Teleporter there and warped to Seoul.I put my hat and sunglasses on and went straight up to the skill store, to use all five of my skill points. I had already picked out the skills I wanted to learn as I was leaving the dungeon."Welcome.""Show me your skills.""Of course."Once the buy menu came up, I searched up the skills I wanted.==[Spear Mastery (3/3), (Passive)Applies additional benefits when using a spear.Cannot receive these benefits when using a different type of weapon.Learning requirements: noneLevel 1: Increase equipped spear''s ATT by 1%, ATT speed by 1%, CRIT rate by 1%, CRIT damage by 30%.Level 2:Increase equipped spear''s ATT by 2%, ATT speed by 2%, CRIT rate by 2%, CRIT damage by 60%.Level 3: Increase equipped spear''s ATT by 3%, ATT speed by 3%, CRIT rate by 3%, CRIT damage by 90%, increase chance to ignore enemy DEF by 1%.Skill Points required: 1Golden rings required: 10,000]==This was the most basic skill I should have learned. Everyone should be learning weapon mastery skills. Its actual effectiveness wasn''t exactly that great but it was cheap to learn."I really should have learned it sooner." A level 3 Spear Mastery skill was definitely good to have. It''s easy to level up as well since it gains EXP every time I attack with my spear."Learn.""Spear Mastery costs 10,000 golden rings to learn. With your 20% VIP discount, your total comes out to 8,000 golden rings."I paid the clerk and searched up the next skill.==[Fissure (3/3), (Active)Pierce the ground in front of you strongly with your spear.This skill splits the ground in front of you for ten meters. The shock of the attack damages enemies in its range. (This skill''s range can increase depending on the user''s STR.)Learning requirements: STR 6500, INT 1500Level 1: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 100% of user''s ATT in addition to skill''s base damage upon enemies in range. Movement speed of enemies in skill range is decreased by 30%.Level 2: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 125% of user''s ATT in addition to skill''s base damage upon enemies in range. Movement speed of enemies in skill range is decreased by 40%.Level 3: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 150% of user''s ATT in addition to skill''s base damage upon enemies in range. Movement speed of enemies in skill range is decreased by 50%.Skill points required: 3Golden rings required: 6,507,750]==-This one is really good, too.-I didn''t know much about melee skills, as I was a Fire Mage in the past. This skill I had heard a lot about, though, in that it was good AoE skill for fighter classes.-Still, it only does 150% more damage at level 3.-Judge''s Gavel did 500% more damage at level 3, had a base damage of 100,000, and increased CRIT damage by 1000%, even though it required 3 skill points, as well.-Then again, it''s a special skill that gave me a thousand extra Stat points for being the first to learn it.-I decided to learn it regardless, to finally have an AoE skill under my belt. 100% of my ATT was nothing to scoff at, after all."With your 20% VIP discount, your total comes out to 5,206,200 golden rings."I had one skill point left.-I guess I should learn that one then.-==[Increase CRIT Rate (3/3), (Passive)Increases your CRIT Rate.Learning requirements: noneLevel 1: Increase CRIT rate by 1%Level 2: Increase CRIT rate by 3%Level 3: Increase CRIT rate by 5%Skill points required: 1Golden rings required: 37,009,980 golden rings.]==I didn''t and couldn''t learn this skill in the past because of its price tag.-I guess this is the best option right now.-The best thing I had going for me and my normal attacks was my CRIT rate and CRIT damage. I more or less got three critical hits for every ten attacks. In other words, I got about one critical hit for every three attacks and most of my enemies couldn''t last against three or four attacks. That was why I decided to learn this skill, so that I could get one critical hit for every two attacks."I''ll learn this skill.""Increase CRIT Rate costs 37,009,980 golden rings. With your 20% VIP discount, your total is now 29,607,984 golden rings."Man, was it expensive, even with the 20% discount. It was no wonder I couldn''t learn it in my past life. I paid the clerk, left the Store and headed for Guryong Mountain, the mountain I went to when I assembled Azazel''s Boots.---Halfway up Guryong Mountain¡­"I''m beginning to think that this is way better." I was satisfied that I finally got to learn at least a few of the skills I wanted to learn after pushing it back so many times. I really should have learned them earlier, at least to level them up some."Man, I was stupid. I didn''t need to save that many skill points. There''s no such thing as too many skills," I chastised myself. "Well, whatever. What''s done is done. At least I know better now."I took out the Random Skill Chest and the Dark Crystal from my inventory. "I guess I have you to thank for helping me come to my senses." I raised the chest to eye level. It seemed to shine a darker red than the Dark Crystal. "Which one should I use first?" The only thing different between the two was what I was betting on; 0 and 1."I guess I''ll start with the Rank 8." The Random Chest had the potential to be bigger jackpot of the two, so I decided to save it for last.I unequipped the King-Emperor''s Commitment and read through its description. I whistled in amazement. Having seven effects on a single item was just not right. It shouldn''t exist at all."If I could get it to raise Mana Conversion''s level again, it would be at level 3¡­"I only wanted one thing from it.I raised the Dark Crystal over the earrings. "I believe in you, 1%. This is the exact spot I assembled the impossible Azazel''s Boots." Then again, I did already know the formula back then.Either way, I really didn''t want the other effect. I didn''t have any Dark magic to use.I gripped the Crystal hard, crushing it into dust, and the powder was absorbed by the King-Emperor''s Commitment. 179 Chapter 178: Betting on Zero and One Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAs more and more powder from the Dark Crystal was absorbed into the earrings, the brighter the earrings shone, until that light completely went out. There wasn''t any change to its appearance and for a second there, I thought it had failed, until a message appeared.==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment has received the power of the Dark Crystal.The King-Emperor''s Commitment has received the Dark Crystal''s first effect and one of its seven effects will be upgraded by one tier.The King-Emperor''s Commitment can no longer receive any more power from the Dark Crystal.]=="It worked!" I bet on the 1% and I struck gold, getting the exact effect I wanted. "Item Check!"==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10)The King-Emperor''s true treasure.All Stats increased by 450 pointsIncrease Mana Conversion skill level by 2Add Blink SkillIncrease CRIT rate by 9%Increase CRIT damage by 500%Increase Penetration by 240 pointsIncrease EXP gain from monsters by 15%DEF 1000, MDEF 1000]=="Holy shit!" Ever since I had gained the King-Emperor''s Commitment, I had always checked it whenever I could. It was just that powerful and I was so proud that I had crafted it myself. I knew what its effects were so well that I immediately noticed what had changed. Mana Conversion''s skill level was no longer increased by one, but two levels now!"Hehehe." There was only a 1% chance it would work, and a one in seven chance that the Dark Crystal would choose Mana Conversion. I cackled to myself. There was no one around me anyway..."Check Mana Conversion!"==[Mana Conversion''s level has been raised from level 2 to level 3.]====[Mana Conversion Level 3Convert your Mana to one of the Five Attributes.Increases ATT by 45%For every successful attack, there is a 30% chance to inflict the damage effect of the chosen Attribute type.Increase damage of all Attribute-based attacks by 15,000-75,000.This skill has no cooldown.]==More than anything, the ATT boost was raised by 15%. That meant that this skill was 30% stronger than anyone else using Mana Conversion. 30% wasn''t a huge difference between devas who only have about 10,000-20,000 ATT, but that wasn''t the case with me. 30% of my ATT was nothing to scoff at!I broke out into a fit of laughter again, happy that the Dark Crystal had sharply increased my already high combat abilities.I took out the Random Skill Chest. "Strike while the iron is hot, right?" I opened the chest without hesitation.==[You have opened a Rank 9 Random Skill Chest.You currently have 0 skill points.You will receive a skill that requires 0 skill points.]==I knew that. That was why I had just spent all of my remaining skill points. This was one hell of a gamble. A light shone out of the chest for a while before disappearing.==[You have obtained the skill, Listen.]=="Huh?" I was taken aback. What the hell was Listen?"What the hell is this? I''ve still got two ears and I''m not deaf. Why does a skill like this even exist in the first place?" There were so many good skills out there, like Muskan''s Descendant of the Destruction God, Lagus''s Psychokinesis. I knew about Phoenix Summon, Immortal, and so many more that I wouldn''t have time to list them all. I didn''t want one of those. Well, okay. Maybe I did. But I did at least expect something almost as good those skills."But what the fuck is Listen!? It''s not what I wanted!" I finally realized that it was stupid to gamble on 0. I had screwed up and just wasted a damn Rank 9 Random Skill Chest.==[You may decide whether or not to learn the skill, Listen.You will not be able to delete the skill after learning it.Learn/Don''t Learn.]==Another message appeared while I was frothing with anger. "God damn it! Check Listen!" No matter how angry I was, I needed to check what it was first.==[Listen (1/10, (Passive)Grants the ability to listen.Required skill points: 0Required golden rings: 0]=="..." I stared dumbly at the skill description. I thought that maybe there was more to it, but reality was cruel."Ha. Haha. Ha¡­ha." I plopped down on the ground and stared at the message, unsure if I should really learn it or not.---Benten-jima, Hokkaido, Japan¡­Three people were gathered on this deserted island that sat closest to Russia from Japan. They were Wai Chung, Okamoto, and Kazunari.Benten-jima wasn''t really an island, more of a rock that sat in the northernmost part of Japan''s waters. It was only 0.005 square kilometers in area, its perimeter roughly 0.5 kilometers around and its highest point only 20 meters above sea level. Its small size was the reason Kazunari decided to meet here.A small, deserted rock of an island was the perfect place to create a prison-like dungeon. One would think how that would work on a small, narrow space, but that didn''t matter. Like all other dungeons, the ones Kazunari could create were bigger on the inside. All he needed was a secluded area that wouldn''t attract too much attention.The three men moved to the center of the island where the entrance to the created dungeon was located. Kazunari spoke as he stood in front of the entrance. "Entering the dungeon through this door is the only way you can come back out.""What do you mean?" asked Wai Chung."I mean exactly what I said. Lee Jiwon cannot and will not open this door on his own. When I invite Lee Jiwon to this dungeon, it won''t be to this door, which means he won''t be able to find this one door by himself," Kazunari said, with a wicked smile on his face.The three entered the dungeon. "As I''ve said before, I can''t create a prison. I have to put in a way out of the dungeon once it''s cleared, even if it''s not a door. For example, I can set a requirement like ''clear the monsters'' or ''defeat the boss monster in set amount of time'' or ''find a hidden message or key'' and clear the dungeon that way. It''s the one rule I have to follow when creating dungeons."Wai Chung frowned at Kazunari''s explanation. "Will it work on Lee Jiwon, and for at least a year or two at that?"Kazunari smiled again. He knew how strong Lee Jiwon was. He knew when Lee Jiwon defeated the Blood Prince, but even he was surprised when the Predator Duke was defeated. The Duke had the highest potential of becoming the strongest out of all the Monarchs, after all. There was no way Kazunari would set a simple requirement for Lee Jiwon. If he did, he might as well hand the dungeon rewards to Lee Jiwon personally. He had to set a requirement that was practically impossible to clear."I''m completely aware of that problem. I didn''t ask for two thousand people to incur an irreversible death penalty for no reason. It was all because of Lee Jiwon." Kazunari continued forward while smiling, and with Wai Chung and Okamoto were right behind him. When they arrived in a small space, a message appeared before them.==[You have arrived at the safe room.The boss of this dungeon must be defeated in order to leave this dungeon. If the boss remains undefeated, this dungeon will remain closed to the outside world.]=="How simple.""It''s enough if we''re only going to imprison Lee Jiwon.""But all he has to do is defeat the dungeon boss? Will it be enough? Lee Jiwon is able to defeat most dungeon bosses on his own.""I can''t create a dungeon boss monster that is any stronger than that of a mid-grade dungeon. I know very well that it''s not enough to hold Lee Jiwon in this place.""If you do know, then what¡­" Okamoto said, but Kazunari only laughed and headed for the boss room.==[You have entered the boss room.Defeating the boss will yield a Rank 8 Random Item Chest.A Random Golden Ring Chest containing 100,000,000-300,000,000 golden rings will also be rewarded.]==Wai Chung and Okamoto barely gave a glance at the new message. They already knew about it, as they were the ones who provided the dungeon rewards. They focused instead on the small, cute animal standing in the middle of the room. It was a mole.==[Dungeon Mole (Invincible)Dungeon Moles are extremely rare.They prefer to roll around in damp earth and have quite the sweet tooth. Give one a piece of candy and it will follow you around.]=="That''s¡­""The boss monster?"There was nothing in the boss room, except for the small mole that was as big as a man''s palm."That''s right."It did not look anything like a boss monster, but Wai Chung and Okamoto weren''t necessarily disappointed. It was very special indeed."I used those two thousand lives to give it the Invincible special effect. Of course, as time goes on and every time it''s attacked, it''ll lose its Invincibility .""Is that why you said one to two years?""Yes. If, for any reason, Lee Jiwon decides not to do anything when he realizes the mole is Invincible, the effect will last up to three years. But if we take into account his personality, I would give it at least a year, and at most two."Wai Chung and Okamoto finally broke out into smiles at Kazunari''s description. The dungeon''s requirement was to defeat an invincible boss. That was just impossible for anyone. "I doubt anyone could ever bring themselves to attack something as cute as this little guy," Kazunari said."Kyuu?" The mole purred as if it were replying to Kazunari.Wai Chung and Okamoto remained silent, though. They weren''t sure if he was joking or being serious.---Guryong Mountain¡­"Ha¡­I''ll learn it."==[You have learned the skill, Listen.Skills learned from Random Chests cannot be deleted.]==I decided to just learn the skill. Why? Because I did something stupid, and it would serve as a constant reminder to not do anything as stupid ever again."I swear I''m not going to gamble ever again!" I did manage to win with the Dark Crystal, but I was too angry to care about that right now.Just then, I heard something off in the distance.''Gah! I''m so pissed, damn it!''"Huh?" I looked around me. My high Stats actually allowed me to sense the presence of people around me. I was absolutely positive there wasn''t a single soul in my vicinity."What''s going on?" I couldn''t tell if whoever was ''talking'' was a man, woman, child or adult. It was more like a ghost was whispering, and was very annoyed about something. 180 Chapter 179: Their Circumstances, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI slowly walked down Guryong Mountain to think about what had just happened. "Okay, let''s be positive about this. The best part of today is that Mana Conversion is now level 3. It''s not like it''s easy to level skills anyway." What''s done was done. There was no use crying about it anymore. Besides, getting a skill past its max level was better than learning a new skill any day."I''m more worried about that voice." I know I heard it, and I know it said it was pissed. I even heard it after learning Listen. At first, I didn''t want to think that I was able to hear that voice because of Listen, but there was no other explanation."Hmm¡­I have the ability to Listen¡­that description is just way too simple." I would have preferred if it said what I could Listen to, like animal noises or what people are really thinking or something like that. But no, I could just Listen now. I would have also tried to find its source, but I only heard it once."Screw it. Thinking about it isn''t going to give me an answer. Blink 1. Blink 2." I decided that getting Mana Conversion to level 3 was a good enough payment for helping the Shire Guild. "Let''s just go home and rest." It had already been two months since I left my new home. My mother had been beginning to nag as well, wondering when I was going to come back home.------The newly built base by the Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­"Well, well. The young master''s come back home." As I drew closer to the main building''s entrance, two elderly men who were playing baduk [Korean word for go] on the porch stood up to greet me. They had come along with my grandfather."Please, you don''t have to do that. Think of the time we''re in. You don''t need to be calling me young master every time you see me.""Hahaha. We call you young master, especially because of the time we''re in.""..." I didn''t say anything back. He was right. This was an era where only strong people could exist. This was an era of warriors, mages, and guilds and an era where the strong fed on the weak. I had completely forgotten about that."Hah. I suppose you''re right.""That''s right. That''s the reality we live in now, young master," the elder man said, still smiling. From that I could tell that he was happy he was in a place where he could comfortably call me his young master. My mother and grandfather sometimes called me that, too. I had been getting the royal treatment from the Sunbin, Myth, and Ravi Guilds, and the Werewolf Clan when I had helped them, and had been getting more respect these days. I was sure that this elderly man was getting some of that too, solely for the reason that he was under my influence.I never thought I would ever have my own followers in the past, and didn''t expect it to happen when I had come back to the past."Go on in, young master.""Thanks." I entered my home. Everyone inside bowed as I walked past, calling me young master as well, and I let them. It''s what they wanted, I guess."Jiwon!""Oh! Hi, mom!""You don''t ever come back home when you leave! You really ought to call home more often.""I''ve¡­been busy.""Have you eaten yet?""Me? Not yet.""Okay. Wash up and get ready for supper.""I will." I watched my mother''s small back as she went back to the kitchen. She was wearing better clothes now and had put on some weight, but I didn''t get why she seemed so small.-Am I just bigger?-------I washed up, ate the hearty meal my mother made and went to my room to rest. Later, Song Haechang heard that I had returned and came over for a cup of tea.He really did change a lot. It should have been awkward for him after what we''ve been through, but he didn''t avoid the issue. Rather, he laughed it off."Man, I really was foolish then. I should have at least dragged in the entire Sunbin Guild and kidnapped you. I don''t know why I had a bunch of alley rats do it. Geez¡­""Aha¡­" I wasn''t sure if he was joking or was being serious.------That night, I met with my grandfather. I took out 200,000,000 golden rings. The Shire Guild had paid it to me during the party after the Dark Caster raid, saying that I had done so much more that the Random Skill Chest just wasn''t enough. I was polite enough to turn them down a couple of times, but took it nonetheless. The Shire Guild was rich enough, anyway."What''s this for?""Just because. I''m sure it isn''t cheap looking after three hundred people." Only a hundred of the three hundred people who followed my grandfather out of the Sojung Guild were devas. That was still a lot for a small guild like Sojung. I didn''t expect them to be elites that I could rely on. No, the most they could be were weights that would hold me down, but they were still my comrades, one way or another. Whether they were devas or mortals, if they were going to stand with me, they would have the best life here."I don''t need it.""I''m making a lot of money now.""Hahaha. Did you think I left the Sojung Guild empty-handed?""What?""I raised Sojung for forty years, before and after Otadolon. I mean, I did spend the last few years as an old fart. Either way, it''s only right that I take everything that''s mine."I could see from how my grandfather was laughing that there was nothing better than the wisdom that came with age."So don''t worry about us and spend it however you like.""But still¡­""Jiwon. You don''t need to worry that your family has grown by three hundred. You also don''t need to worry about what you need to do for them.""...""You''re already doing enough. Everyone who has followed me, no, who is now calling you young master, is already satisfied with their life now."I knew what he meant. More and more of our mortals were becoming devas every day and they all got to hunt in the mid-grade dungeon in Jeju Island, thanks to the Sunbin Guild. They definitely had a better, special life than when they were with Sojung.Were any of them embarrassed that they were living a privileged life, or pitying those that didn''t have this life? I doubt it. That was the world we lived in, after all. My grandfather was right; I didn''t have an obligation to make anything easier for them. I wasn''t a hero, nor was I planning to become one.---Three days later¡­"Jiwon. Call at least once a week, okay?""Okay, I will."I had rested enough and ate well the past few days. It was time to get moving again."Come back soon, young master.""Good luck out there, young master!"About a hundred others had come out to see me go."Haha. Thanks, everyone!" I left my base and headed for the nearby Sunbin Guild headquarters. I was planning on heading to Siberia next, to the high-grade dungeon the Sunbin Guild controlled."Welcome back." Song Haechang greeted me outside the building. He had asked why I hadn''t gone there yet when it was the easiest dungeon to go to when he stopped by three days ago."Thanks." I shook his hand."Let''s go." I followed him down to the basement where Sunbin had their Teleporters. It was one of the most important rooms in the building and there were many guards guarding the path, but no one stopped us. Then again, they all probably knew Song Haechang''s face by now.Soon, we came to the room where the Sunbin had seven Teleporters."This third one over here is connected to the Teleporter in Siberia."I got up on the Teleporter with Song Haechang."Warp."------The Sakha Republic, Siberia; also known as Yakutia¡­Khandyga, three hundred kilometers away from the capital city of Yakutsk¡­"It''s cold here.""Well, it is one of the coldest regions in Siberia."A biting, cold gust of wind and heavy snowfall greeted us when we got off the Teleporter. There were quite a few large buildings around us. Around those buildings was a giant ice wall forming a massive circle."The dungeon here is called the Iceman Dungeon. But, more than that, there are also a lot of Ice Trolls around here, so it''s a good idea to stay on guard at all times.""I see." I followed Song Haechang out of the Teleporter zone."I know I''m an Ice Mage, now so the cold doesn''t bother me, but I noticed that you don''t seem affected by it, either.""Well¡­ I''m stronger than I look." All I had on was a light jacket. A normal person would be shivering to the bone and would barely be able to take a step forward, but with my body, my Stats was just too great to be bothered by the cold.I followed Song Haechang to the dungeon''s entrance, where I could see a lot of Sunbin Guild members were gathered. All of them exuded confidence."Inside the dungeon are, well, Icemen, monsters that are made of ice in the form of humans."I had never heard of these types of monsters in the past before. "Wait, what?"Song Haechang was an Ice Mage. There was no way he could hunt here."Hahaha. That''s right. Ice Mages can''t hunt here. We can''t inflict a single point of damage against them. We might as well be their healers, instead." Casting Ice Magic on Ice-type monsters would only serve to make them bigger. "Trying to break ice with ice is just impossible, after all.""Then why did you come here with me?""I wanted to see the strength of the man who suggested I change my future. Oh, I''m not saying I don''t think your strength is real. I just wanted to see for myself for once," Song Haechang said, looking straight into my eyes.I held his gaze and replied, "I''ll make sure you see the full extent."I know I was being nosy back then, and I didn''t regret it, even now.-If he wants peace of mind, I''ll make sure he has it.-I walked alongside Song Haechang and entered the Iceman Dungeon, where I saw the blocks of pointy ice in the shape of humans."Obviously, they are weak to Fire Attribute. Their attacks also have the Frostbite effect, so if you''re not careful, you can become frozen. If you don''t have anyone with you who can cure you of Frostbite, you can actually die here," Song Haechang said when he saw the Icemen."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." I didn''t say anything back to him and got ready for battle. Showing him first hand was better than explaining, after all. I was itching to finally see what Mana Conversion level 3 could do as well.==[Mana Converion ¨C Fire Level 3 has been activated.Increase ATT by 45%.Successful attacks have a 30% chance of inflicting Burn.Increase damage of all Fire-based attacks by 15,000-75,000.This skill has no cooldown.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==That ended my battle preparations. I did have Spear Mastery and Increase CRIT Rate, but they were passive skills and I would experience their value in the heart of battle."Judge''s Gavel." I turned to face Song Haechang. "This is my power that is responsible for your new future." I turned away and charged in at the nearest horde of Icemen, targeting the closest one to me.In one blow, the three meter tall Iceman broke to pieces, dying."Fissure!" I yelled out and slammed my spear into the ground. The ground rumbled and cracked.[Block it. Ice Shield!][Ice Shield!]A couple Icemen summoned shields of ice, but it was in vain, they all shattered instantly. The 100% extra damage Fissure did on top of its base damage was enough against these high-grade dungeon monsters. There were still some left standing, however. It wasn''t strong enough to take them all out at once yet, but at least it did enough damage.I charged at the remaining Icemen and slashed at them with my spear. Each attack was met with a resounding crack, rather than the soft thud I was used to.[Ice Arrow!][Ice Field!]Despite the Icemen''s attacks, I attacked the horde relentlessly.---Three minutes later, I had cleared the area of all twenty Icemen. I did manage to take some damage. No matter how good I was, it was just impossible for me to avoid or deflect every single attack that came my way. Regardless, I had barely lost a single tick in my HP bar.I walked over to Song Haechang who was standing off to the side in a corner."Hmm¡­ I wonder if that''s enough to justify butting in to your life.""¡­It''s more than enough." Song Haechang stayed silent for a moment before replying with a small smile. He then took out a small piece of paper. "I did want to stay a little while longer and watch some more, but watching you made me itch for some action of my own. I have a long way to go to at least get close enough, don''t I? This paper notes all of the locations of Sunbin''s FOBs in this dungeon."The piece of paper noted all the FOBs on each of the seven floors. The Myth Guild and the Werewolf Clan had their own high-grade dungeons, but neither of them had FOBs on each floor. This was enough to show just how much stronger the Sunbin Guild was.------Seven days had passed since I started hunting in the Iceman Dungeon. I had hunted nonstop since Song Haechang left."Ha¡­that''s enough for today. Store." I Stored the drops from the Icemen I had just killed and headed for the FOB on the third floor. On the way there, I ran into someone. This dungeon was exclusively run by the Sunbin Guild, and only Sunbin Guild members were allowed in here. But this person was Japanese. Most Westerners couldn''t tell Oriental Asians apart, but we could, to some extent.There were some devas of Japanese origin in the Sunbin Guild. The guild even had Americans and Europeans in their ranks. But my gut told me that this person was not a Sunbin Guild member. No Sunbin member could come to the third floor alone."Who are you?" I asked, bluntly."You''ve got good instincts. Man, it was hard getting here without getting caught by Sunbin. It took an entire week of hard work, you know. Why did you have to come all the way here and not where you always went to?""That wasn''t my question.""Give me a break, will ya? It''s been a long week for me."I gripped my spear. "Judge''s Gavel. Blink 1." If he wasn''t going to tell me now, I was fine with finding out why he was here later. If he really wanted to talk, he could come back anytime. 181 Chapter 180: Their Circumstances, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI Blinked right next to the stranger and stabbed at him with my spear, making it clear that I had no intention of getting pulled around, but as soon as I got close to him, he disappeared and my spear struck thin air.I had attacked without any warning and had moved literally in a blink of any eye. And yet, the stronger had moved away as if he was expecting that I would do that."You''re more impatient than I thought.""That only depends on whoever I''m up against," I calmly retorted back as I withdrew my spear. He had reappeared about seven meters away from my right.A failed attack was a failed attack. I wasn''t going to break out in a cold sweat because I missed once. If we were going to fight for real, I knew I can kill him five times over."Fine then. If you''re that impatient, I''ll get straight to the point. I came here because I wanted to invite you.""Invite me?""That''s right. I want to invite you to the best party in the world where only the strongest and best looking men and women attend," the stranger said, spreading his hands out grandly."What a load of bullshit." If he came all the way here under the Sunbin Guild''s radar, then he wasn''t here with good intentions. He was an enemy. Even if he wasn''t, he would be."Ha¡­you''re too serious. Have you no sense of humor?""Was that a joke, then? I thought you just had your head up your ass," I said as I gripped my spear, waiting for the right timing. Judge''s Gavel was still active."Ah, fine! I''ll have to drag this boring man to the party myself.""Why don''t you just go by yourself!?" I charged in without using Blink 2. I was going to use it after he disappeared again."I invite you to my dungeon.""What?" That sounded eerily familiar. There was a famous warning that went around in the past.-Beware of that man and his dungeon invitations-That man was the Dungeon Creator, one of the Seven Monarchs!==[You have received an invitation from the Dungeon Creator.You will be forcibly moved to his dungeon.You must fulfill whatever requirements in place in order to leave the dungeon.]=="Dungeon Creator?" It was him. Shit!"Yup, that''s right. It''s a special dungeon I made especially for you. I hope you like it," he replied with a shit-eating grin. I badly wanted to wipe it off his face and curbstomp him, but I couldn''t. My body was already being sucked into a black hole-like substance. I remembered more of the warning.-Beware of that man and his dungeon invitation. You will never be able to leave.-I couldn''t get away. "Blink 2."==[You have been invited by the Dungeon Creator. You are not able to use Blink.]=="Now, now. I went through all this trouble making it for you, so don''t go turning me down or anything.""Ha¡­" I could only sigh as the black hole had already come up to my neck. Once again, I had another bullshit skill used on me against my will, like Muskan''s Comrade and the Duke''s Absolute Predation. If I was weak and had no skill, I wouldn''t be this mad. What could I do against someone stronger, right? But I wasn''t weak. I was strong, but despite that, this shit was happening again!"Have a wonderful time," he said, waving.I stared at his face, so that I wouldn''t ever forget him for the next time we meet. "I''ll definitely pay you back for this kindness," I said, as if talking to a good friend. Soon, the black hole swallowed me whole.---"Hmm." Kazunari''s bright smile disappeared in an instant once Lee Jiwon vanished from view. Lee Jiwon reacted completely different from all those Kazunari had invited to his dungeons before. They had all raged, vowing to have their revenge. He did only have ten victims so far, but one thing was certain; Lee Jiwon''s reaction was just too different."I''ll need to get stronger over the next year or two, if I don''t want to lose to Lee Jiwon the next time we meet."Dungeon Invitation was a forced skill. No matter how much stronger his targets were than him, he could forcibly Invite them to his created dungeon. The only downside and penalty to this skill was that if his target ever cleared his created dungeon and successfully left it, he couldn''t use Dungeon Invitation on anyone else for the next three years.Then again, he had never thought badly of that penalty, since none of his targets had ever succeeded. Hell, if he didn''t have the penalty to worry about, he would have thrown Okamoto into a dungeon and taken over the Nayuta Guild. He would have even done the same to the Predator Duke. However, because his targets would always eventually reemerge into the outside world, he had to carefully pick his targets.Lee Jiwon was definitely someone he shouldn''t have targeted in the first place, but he did it anyway because he was afraid of Lee Jiwon. He was afraid that Lee Jiwon would turn his attention to him, so he decided to take action first. He believed that this was the only chance he would ever get."Either way, I don''t expect Lee Jiwon to stay there for all three years. I just need at least a year. That''ll be enough for me," Kazunari said to himself and left his spot. It wouldn''t be easy to leave without attracting Sunbin''s attention, either. "I do feel a little lonely without the mole." Lee Jiwon was the only reason Kazunari had to part with his Dungeon Mole; otherwise he would never have left it alone in the dungeon. It was all he had, after all.Just then, Kazunari stopped in his tracks and burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he almost doubled over. Then, he stopped just as suddenly as he started laughing. "I''ve must have been very afraid of Lee Jiwon to be talking to myself this much."Kazunari stayed quiet for a while, before his body turned to smoke and vanished. All he left were a few parting words."I''ve already passed the point of no return."------==[You have arrived at the dungeon''s safe room.You must fulfill whatever requirements are in place in order to leave the dungeon.]==A message appeared before me when I came out of the black hole-like thing, but I didn''t pay attention to it. The party hall of the Dungeon Creator was obviously a dungeon."The Dungeon Creator, huh¡­?" This was the first time I had seen him. I did hear a lot about him in the past, though. I knew he was Asian, but I had no idea he was Japanese."It won''t work, will it?" I took out a Warp Scroll and the Clan Badge I received from the Werewolves from my inventory. If I could use a Warp Scroll and easily leave this dungeon, the warning wouldn''t have existed in the first place, but I used it nonetheless. Hell, maybe the power of the Rank 10 Clan Badge could work.==[You cannot leave this place.You must fulfill whatever requirements in place in order to leave the dungeon.]==It was just as I had expected. "But the power of a Rank 10 item won''t work either, eh?" That meant that the power of the dungeon itself was that much stronger.I plopped down on the ground to think calmly about my situation. It had been five minutes since I was transported to this dungeon. There was no reason to start panicking now. I looked around at the safe room I was in. It looked like the safe rooms in normal dungeons, but it was much smaller than a low-grade dungeon''s safe room. Thankfully, it also had the spring that all safe rooms had that restored HP and MP, and lowered Fatigue to 0."I guess he still has to include the basics of a dungeon as details." This was a real safe room. In other words, the Dungeon Creator could only create real dungeons, not fake ones. It was not like he had any reason to go this far for me, his enemy. "I wonder if I''m a genius." I found it amazing that I could learn that much just by looking around at the safe room. I put my feet up and took the break I was planning to back in Siberia, trying to remember what I knew about the Dungeon Creator."I can''t leave here even if I die, right? Yeah, that''s right. I''ll resurrect in this safe room if I die here. What else was there?" I racked my brain, but couldn''t remember anything else. It wasn''t like I could ever learn much in the past."Oh, that''s right! I should check the Comm Link." I took out my Comm Link from my inventory.==[Use of Comm Links is restricted.]=="Tsk. This is so unfair. This is pretty much a prison." I was completely cut off from the outside world. I was beginning to get worried now. The dungeon was completely limiting my actions, so there would be no way the boss here would be normal."No, no. I shouldn''t get scared when nothing''s happened yet. I''ll find out soon enough what it is anyway."I spent the next two hours taking it easy while my Fatigue went down to 0 and all of my skills cooldowns reset. I took out a piece of Bread from my Inventory. I still had a lot of Bread and Drink in my inventory and in the Infinite Space. At least I didn''t have to worry about starving to death. I got up and looked down the one path leading out of the safe room; the path to the boss room."Is there really nowhere else to go?" I picked up my spear and poked around the safe room, but found nothing."Fine then. Let''s see what sort of party you prepared for me." What I had to do was simple; defeat the boss. If I do that, all this nonsense would be over. I confidently walked down the path.==[You have entered the boss room.Defeating the boss will yield a Rank 8 Random Item Chest.A Random Golden Ring Chest containing 100,000,000-300,000,000 golden rings will also be rewarded.]==I ignored the message that appeared as I entered the room. "Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." I quickly prepared for battle as the boss room was small, like the safe room.==[Mana Conversion ¨C Lightning Level 3 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I looked around the boss room as I activated my skills for the dungeon boss. At first, I couldn''t see it and I thought that it was a smaller monster type. A big boss monster didn''t always mean that it was strong. I had heard of human-sized boss monsters that were of legendary class. I kept looking around, but still didn''t see anything else in the room; that is, until I heard it. I heard a voice that sounded similar to the one I heard at Goyrung Mountain.-It''d be nice if he was a piece of banana candy.-Just like with the voice I heard at Goryung Mountain, I couldn''t pinpoint the source of this voice. Confused, I looked around the room from ceiling to floor, and found a single animal in the middle of the room."Kyuu?" It was a mole."There''s no way¡­right?" It couldn''t be it. A boss needed to be intimidating and¡­"God. Damnit! There''s nothing else here but this damn, fucking mole!" Only this mole was here in this boss room, and boss rooms were where boss monsters resided. In other words, this mole was the boss monster.What I had to do was simple. I walked over to the mole with my spear in hand and stabbed it as I stood over it without a single moment of hesitation.The spearhead slammed right on top of the mole. The damage was enough to leave not a single trace of a mole behind, but when I moved my spear away, the mole was still here."Kyuu? Kyuu?""Huh?" I was even more confused when I first noticed the mole. I examined the mole closely.==[Dungeon Mole (Invincible)Dungeon Moles are extremely rare.They prefer to roll around in damp earth and have quite the sweet tooth. Give one a piece of candy and it will follow you around.]=="..." I had no idea what to say. After a while, I finally opened my mouth again. "Fuck." It had only been two months since I dealt with a boss monster that had the Invincible effect. Invincibility was really the most overpowered effect any monster could ever have, and this damn rat had it."The Dark Caster only occasionally turned Invincible. This rat is constantly Invincible?"-Is he not banana candy?-"Kyuu. Kyuu." The mole seemed to lose interest in me and I watched it scamper around the boss room. I at least got to learn one thing: I could understand its squeaking thanks to Listen. I could actually Listen to what it was saying! 182 Chapter 181: Their Circumstances, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI stared dumbly at the mole for three hours as it roamed around as if the boss room was its home, in case it lost its Invincibility state, but there was no sign that anything would change. I picked up the mole and held it in my hand. It looked exactly like the moles I had seen in books and on TV, except this one didn''t scamper around and was pretty slow. For three hours, it didn''t try to dig through the ground. It probably didn''t even know how to.It squeaked and struggled in my hands and I scrambled to keep a hold on it. "It feels¡­nice to hold." It was really soft and fluffy. As soon as I said that though, I squeezed as hard as I could without warning. My strength was enough to that whatever I squeezed would either blow up or be crushed into pieces. A normal mole would have turned into a bloody pulp.However, nothing happened to it. It just kept struggling to get out of my hands. It didn''t even yelp in pain."Ha¡­" I heaved a heavy sigh. I set the mole back onto the ground. "Now what?" I said to myself as time continued to tick on by.---''This is so annoying!''Shaman Ko was not happy since that day when it lost an arm to Predation.''Grr! I''m so mad! Grr!''It was always happy that it got to live the easy, strong life, but ever since it lost its arm, things weren''t going right. Everything was off balance. Every time it tried to get up, it would try to use its lost arm to prop itself up, only to slam its head on the ground. It couldn''t live freely in its own domain anymore. Ever since then, it spent its days annoyed and angry.As the days went by, its anger never dissipated and only accumulated more and more until one day, Shaman Ko shifted its attention to its remaining arm. It thought that it was angry because it only lost one arm. It believed that if it couldn''t regain its lost arm, it could just get rid of its other one and regain its balance. Shaman Ko raised its other arm towards its mouth and began to eat it. Only the sound of Shaman Ko cannibalizing itself echoed through its domain and inside Lee Jiwon.------A month had passed since I was tossed into this prison of a dungeon. I did everything I could think of during that time. I even tried to take the mole out of the boss room and into the safe room, in hopes that it counted as defeating the dungeon boss.==[The boss monster cannot be moved outside of the boss room.]==It didn''t work, however. I could move in and out of the boss room and into the safe room to rest but I couldn''t take the mole with me. I even tried throwing the mole into the safe room, but it was like there was an invisible wall that prevented the mole from getting too close to the safe room."Ha¡­" I sighed as another message appeared.==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now appear.]==The Roulette Wheel never failed to appear every day. But something was changing about it these days. I hadn''t noticed it at first but as time passed, I noticed that the wheel had a crack in it."It doesn''t look good. There''s no way it''s a good thing." The crack was getting bigger as the days passed. The crack was bigger today than it was yesterday. I had no idea why this was happening. There was no explanation and I didn''t know enough about this skill to come up with a reason. All I knew was that the wheel refused to land on Absolute Destruction and Predation.I sighed heavily again. There was not a single monster in this dungeon besides the Dungeon Mole. I had no contact with the outside world, as well. I couldn''t get out until I defeated the boss monster, but it was freaking immortal. I was up shit creek without a paddle.The only silver lining I had was that I knew I wasn''t going to be stuck in here forever. In the past, all those who were imprisoned in the Dungeon Creator''s dungeons were eventually freed. It took some time, but I knew that he couldn''t keep me in here forever. But, there was the fact that I wouldn''t be able to hunt the longer I stayed here. While everyone else continued to grow, I would be on pause until I got out of here."It doesn''t matter. I can deal with whatever you throw at me! I don''t care if I''m stuck here for months, a year or two. I can easily catch up and pass anyone out there! Too bad you have to wait another three years before you can imprison anyone else again."I was more worried about Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick than the fact that I was stuck here. The wheel spun even though the crack continued to grow. It even rattled as it spun, as if it had a loose screw somewhere. The wheel came to a stop soon.==[You have received three Stat points from Shaman Ko.]==Since the day I learned the skill, the wheel always landed on the same section, yielding 3 Stat points every day. Those Stat points did help me a lot since I learned the skill. It really was a valuable skill that had saved my life plenty of times already. That was why I was afraid that I would lose it for good.I watched in worry as the wheel disappeared. Soon, that worry turned into frustration. "God damn it! Tell me why this is happening so I can at least do something about it!" I could clearly see the symptoms and they were getting worse by the day. If this kept up, the Roulette Wheel could actually break one day.I was also nervous that if the Roulette Wheel did break and took the skill along with it, I would lose all of the accumulated Shaman Ko Stat points as well. I had more than 2,200 points accumulated right now. I could also lose Altered Equality, since I was able to obtain it thanks to Shaman Ko. Of course, there was no evidence that I would really lose the skill, or that I would lose the points and Altered Equality, but I couldn''t help the uneasiness I felt. I just knew that the wheel was going to break soon."Fuck! Fuck it all to Hell!" I angrily kicked at the ground. I just couldn''t sit still any longer.-Kyuu. Kyuu.-Just then, the mole came towards me with the same expression it had this entire past month. I raised my leg and started to stomp on the mole instead."Die! Die! Just die already!" I stomped and stomped with everything I had. I knew it wouldn''t do anything, but I kept stomping. All I had was the mole to take out my frustrations on.-I wish I had a banana candy.-"Kyuu. Kyuu.""I don''t have anything like that, you son of a bitch!" I stomped and stomped like a mad man.---[Hehehe.]Shaman Ko had finished off its other arm and laughed as it finally had some balance to its body. But that happiness lasted only for a moment as it kept falling over.When it only had one arm, Shaman Ko was annoyed and frustrated. It got rid of its remaining arm, thinking that if it did, it would make its life easier. But now that it had lost both arms, it was practically hopeless. It couldn''t even pick up its toys in front of it. It couldn''t pick up its food to eat or drink its water anymore. It had to crawl like a lame dog to get anywhere.Shaman Ko ground its teeth in anger. It was furious now. It stomped on one leg with its other and smashed its head on the ground. Shaman Ko began to destroy itself, believing that this was the best way to relieve itself of its anger and frustrations.---A month and two weeks had passed since I was thrown into this dungeon."God damn it! Tell me what''s wrong with you!" I was getting more and more anxious by the day. The wheel looked like it would break in half if I so much as tapped it. It barely spun and grinded as it went around.==[You have received three Stat points from Shaman Ko.]==It stopped once again on the 3. I should be happy that it did, but I was sure that if it survived today, it wouldn''t last tomorrow. I was sure it was going to disappear if it broke. I would lose it like when the Blood Prince lost his Blood Showdown and how the Predator Duke lost his Absolute Predation.The best thing I had going for me used to be my Unrivaled skill. I was able to learn it at level 0 when others had to wait to level 500, and it cost me 0 skill points. I had a huge head start over all of the other 114 Unrivaled devas, and not once did I regret learning it.Now, I was positive that my greatest trump card was Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick. It had never ceased to surprise me when it gave me a huge STR boost in dire times, or when it stole a deity''s skill for me. It was the one skill that could break any wall in my way, even if it did take away Absolute Destruction from me.-Kyuu. Kyuu.-"Shut the fuck up!"-Kyuu. Kyuu.-"God fucking damn it! Shut the fuck up you fucked up rat piece of shit!" It pissed me off just seeing the mole, which was often since I was stuck in this dungeon with the damn rat. I started stomping at it like a mad man again.-If you don''t have banana candies, I like other candies too.--Kyuu. Kyuu.-"Fuck! Stop it with the banana candies! Candy, candy, candy! Fuck you!"Losing Shaman Ko was going to weaken me. That just made me more furious. I had vowed to myself that I would become stronger than anyone else. I had come so far; I wasn''t ready to lose it now!Something compelled me to pick up the mole and I brought it up to my mouth. I had no idea why I was doing that. I must have finally lost it because of the damn rat''s Invincibility and the fact that I was about to lost Shaman Ko. I put the mole in my mouth and swallowed without chewing. Why would I chew when it was obvious it wouldn''t work? I just shoved it inside and swallowed, feeling the mole struggle as it passed down my throat. I wasn''t even sure this was going to work. I just did it for absolutely no reason at all. I just wanted to get it out of my face.------[Hehe. Hehehehe.]Shaman Ko collapsed onto the floor and cackled. It had beaten itself to tatters. Its body was broken and ripped all over, but it was still happy. If it couldn''t move at all, then it wouldn''t need to get frustrated by trying to move in the first place. It finally felt happiness again. Then, while it lay there basking in its happiness, Shaman Ko heard a strange sound.-If you don''t have banana candies, I like orange candies too.--Kyuu. Kyuu.-A small mole came towards it, and the two looked at each other face to face, each in this place with their own circumstances. 183 Chapter 182: Shaman Ko and the Dungeon Mole, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDShaman Ko and the Dungeon Mole stared dumbly at each other for a while, but it was the Dungeon Mole who made the first move.-There''s a lot of tasty-looking stuff here.- The mole ignored the Shaman Ko on the ground and walked around, licking here and there."Don''t eat it! It''s mine!" Shaman Ko yelled when the strange newcomer began to eat its food. This was Shaman Ko''s domain, which it had created for itself and itself only. Shaman Ko was also selfish. It was the epitome of greed. It screamed and screamed at the mole even though its body was in tatters and dying. The mole ignored Shaman Ko, however, and continued to eat the food on the floor.Shaman Ko started to twitch. Shaman Ko was dying just a little while ago. Its body was so damaged that it couldn''t possibly move, but Shaman Ko floundered and used its chin to drag its body over to the mole.Shaman Ko wanted to eat the mole for eating its food. All of the anger and frustration it felt from losing both its arms were gone and replaced with a single determination to stop the mole from eating all of his food. Shaman Ko crawled like a worm over to the mole and bit the animal''s behind. The mole was too distracted by all of the treats around it to notice Shaman Ko and get away.Once the mole was in Shaman Ko''s mouth, Shaman Ko bit down hard. It was fully intent on ripping the mole in half. "Hehe." Shaman Ko laughed as it felt the mole struggle to get out from inside its mouth. It would punish the little rat for coming to its home and eating its food without permission. Then, as it continued to bite down hard, it fell hard on its face.The only sound that could be heard was its snoring. It had exhausted itself from stopping the mole when by all rights, it should have been impossible for Shaman Ko to even move an inch. Once it stopped the mole from eating its food, Shaman Ko fell asleep.Shaman Ko''s body had stopped dying as well once it had forgotten about its anger over losing its arms. Shaman Ko could not recover what it lost, but no matter how much it hurt its body, its wounds would heal. That was the power of Shaman Ko, the entity that stole Equality and devoured Predation.-I want more sweets.- The mole crawled back out of Shaman Ko''s mouth as if nothing had happened and scampered back to the food on the floor.------"Holy crap." I had no idea I could actually eat the Dungeon Mole. As small and cute-looking as it was, it was still a monster. Then again, if eating would have killed it in the first place, I would have done so sooner."But¡­ what will happen to me now?" I had just force-swallowed a Dungeon Mole that could not die. It was probably sitting in my stomach right now, still alive. Monsters disappeared when they died and only left behind items and golden rings, just like a video game. As such, there was never a reason for anyone to try eating monsters. Only the Predator Duke was exempt from this case."And no matter how many times I think about it, I''m not a special case like that." I had never heard about or experienced anyone eating a monster in the past."Will I die?" Dying wasn''t really a problem. I had more than forty penalty restoration gems in my inventory. I also had the Bracelet of Eternal Fire to save me one life. If I died more than forty times here, I could also buy more. I had more than enough money to buy as many as I needed, and I even had a couple of large guilds that would be more than enough willing to give me some."Right. Dying isn''t the problem here." I was probably going to die in some weird fashion. I had swallowed a monster whole after all. But that worry quickly disappeared."There''s an even bigger problem in front of me," I said as I sat back down on the floor. I hated the fact that I couldn''t do anything to fix Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel. Losing Shaman Ko wasn''t going to be something I could easily brush off. ---"Huh?" Shaman Ko woke back up and looked around its domain, and not at its body. Before it had fallen asleep, it remembered that when it bit down on the soft and squishy mole, it felt as if it were chewing on a rock. Shaman Ko quickly confirmed its suspicions when it saw the mole still alive."No! You damned rat!" The mole was again licking at the food on the ground. Shaman Ko wriggled to get back on its feet and charged at the Dungeon Mole, headbutting it. The force of the attack threw the mole ten meters away, but the mole wasn''t fazed.-There are so many tasty things here. Is this heaven?- The mole slowly continued along, eating the food. No, it only seemed slow to Shaman Ko, but this was as fast as the mole could move.Shaman Ko got back up and headbutted the mole repeatedly, but the result was the same."Hehe." Shaman Ko was having fun. Every time Shaman Ko headbutted or kicked the mole, it would go flying a few meters and get back up to move again. It was the perfect toy, even though Shaman Ko didn''t like how it kept going around eating its food."Stop eating, you pig!" After kicking the mole around a few more times, Shaman Ko got on its belly and drank from its water bowl. Then, it used its thighs to trap the mole and prevent it from moving. It held it there for hours before letting it go and kicking it around some more. It repeated that again and again for the next couple of days.-Let me go. Let me go.-Kyuu! Kyuu!"No. You keep taking my stuff and I can''t do anything else to you, since you can''t die." Shaman Ko didn''t have time to be angry over its lost arms anymore. It was too busy trying to figure out how to eat the mole. Shaman Ko hadn''t realized that, however. Shaman Ko was so selfish that what he was doing was more of an instinctual response.During this whole time, Shaman Ko''s body had just about fully recovered, although it didn''t seem like it would regrow its arms ever.------Two months after Lee Jiwon was imprisoned by the Dungeon Creator at the now-abandoned Makarov town of Sakhalin Island, Russia¡­"It''s done!" Kazunari shouted out as a dungeon he had been painstakingly molding was finally completed. This project had taken him a year and a half. This dungeon wasn''t completely finished, to be exact. The physical parts of the dungeon were completed, but Kazunari couldn''t flesh out the dungeon''s functions quite yet. He still needed one thing to be done that only the Dungeon Mole could do."Damn it. Why now of all times?" The Dungeon Mole that was with him at all times was instead being used to hold Lee Jiwon imprisoned right now."Check Dungeon Mole''s Status." Kazunari checked on his mole''s status daily and today was no different.==[Unable to check Dungeon Mole''s status.]=="Huh?" The Dungeon Mole was all Kazunari had. He needed the Dungeon Mole in order to completely finish his dungeons. That was why he constantly checked up on it at least ten times a day; to make sure it was alright. As the weeks passed, Kazunari grew relieved and positive that nothing would happen to it and that not even Lee Jiwon would ever be able to do anything to it."What the hell is this? Check Dungeon Status!"==[Unable to check Dungeon Mole''s status.]=="Summon: Dungeon Mole!"=[Unable to Summon Dungeon Mole.]=="..." Kazunari was beginning to break out in a cold sweat. This had never happened before. Kazunari could always check on his Dungeon Mole, and always Summon it. The Dungeon Mole was practically a part of him. These messages told Kazurari that something had gone terribly wrong."Shit!" Kazunari got up and left to head for Benten-jima. To him, the life of his Dungeon Mole was much more valuable than stopping Lee Jiwon''s unnatural growth. All this would have been for naught if Kazunari lost a key part of his abilities."Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch! What did you do!?" Kazunari headed to Benten-jima as fast as possible. Only two months had passed. He had promised Cheng Long and Okamoto, who had invested heavily into this, at least one year, but that didn''t matter right now. The Dungeon Mole was far more important right now. Losing it meant the end of him, as well!------Benten-jima¡­Kazunari stood outside the only dungeon entrance. "Shit." As soon as he arrived, Kazunari realized that he couldn''t open it without the Dungeon Mole. He had forgotten, as it had gone everywhere with him."No¡­it can''t be, can it?" He had no idea what was wrong, but for his sake, it could not be anything serious. If it wasn''t for Lee Jiwon, Kazunari wouldn''t be this nervous about not being able to contact his Dungeon Mole. This was Lee Jiwon, after all; the man infamous for being able to make the impossible possible. Kazunari stared at the dungeon gate for a while, filled with anxiety and fear.------A little more than two months had passed since I was thrown in here. "Is this a blessing in disguise?"==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now spin.]==I had been paying careful attention to it and was able to notice recently that the almost broken wheel was beginning to fix itself. Many of the cracks had miraculously sealed themselves, but I had no idea why. I hadn''t done anything to it."Well, that''s not completely true, is it?" The only special thing I had done was swallow the mole whole. I hadn''t even thought that eating the mole was going to repair the wheel. I just did it because I was mad."I have no idea where that little thing went, either." I knew for a fact that it was no longer in my stomach. If it was, then I would have died a pretty embarrassing death by now. And yet, nothing really happened for two weeks now."Did Shaman Ko eat it?" That was entirely possible, but either way, I now had two problems to face. One was that the dungeon still wasn''t cleared yet. The other was¡­==[You are unable to leave the boss room.]=="Ha¡­" Now I couldn''t leave the boss room, just like how the mole couldn''t. That meant it was still somewhere in my body."Man, things are getting weird." Coming back to the past was the only other event that could top this."It''s a good thing I have plenty of Bread and Drink." I had contemplated committing suicide after I had eaten the Dungeon Mole. A single death penalty wasn''t a big deal for me. However, I decided to keep going when I noticed the next day that the wheel hadn''t broken yet, and then it started to slowly repair itself the following days."Huh¡­ should I foster a normal mole when I get out of here, or something?" To me, it was all thanks to the Dungeon Mole that the Roulette Wheel was beginning to repair itself. All of my fear and uneasiness had disappeared now so I wanted to thank it, kind of. I smiled as today''s wheel landed on 3 once again. 184 Chapter 183: Shaman Ko and the Dungeon Mole, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Dungeon Mole was a precious and valuable thing as only one existed in the world, just as only one Dungeon Creator existed. The Dungeon Mole''s role was quite simple; it existed to breathe life into the dungeons the Dungeon Creator created. How? By digging like any other mole. The Dungeon Mole dug out the tunnels and chambers of a dungeon, and connected it to a real dungeon. It didn''t exactly dig through the earth. It wasn''t like it had the stamina or the strength to actually do that. What it really did was create a false space beneath the earth and connect it with the outside world, which would then allow Kazunari to flesh out the insides however he wanted. The tunnel it dug to connect the created dungeon with a real dungeon would also serve as a conduit that transferred energy from the real dungeon to the created one. That was all there was to it.Just like that, Kazunari could create dungeons that were as close to the real thing as possible.Then again, when real dungeons lost their energy, the items and golden rings the monsters drop decreased as well. However, these created dungeons were around 10%-20% the size of a low-grade dungeon. If they were connected to a high-grade dungeon, no one would ever notice anything was wrong. It would be like taking a couple of buckets of water from a lake. The dungeon Kazunari had just created was 20% as big as a low-grade dungeon and had taken him a year and a half to make. That was enough for about a thousand people to easily hunt in. The dungeons Kazunari created in Japan were mostly connected to the high-grade dungeon on Mt. Fuji, since it was the biggest dungeon in Japan. Connecting his dungeons to a high-grade dungeon also meant that his dungeons could actually become as strong as a high-grade dungeon. They just didn''t have elite monsters or boss monsters.Also, since his dungeons were smaller, they were also much safer. There was never a chance the monsters could ever overrun the hunters inside. Furthermore, Kazunari could use his skill, Grant Dungeon Traits, which was a type of blessing that raised either EXP or the amount of monsters in the dungeons.If creating dungeons was all he could do, Kazunari wouldn''t be going around creating as many dungeons as he could. Every time he created one, he received a large amount of EXP and bonus Stat points. The bonuses he got were actually more than from hunting for the same amount of time. He would also sell these dungeons to large guilds to fund himself and create more dungeons by using their high-grade dungeons.All of this was why the Dungeon Mole was such an important entity to Kazunari. Without the Dungeon Mole, all of Kazunari''s skills were pretty much worthless. No matter how many he made, they would always be sealed off and powerless. That was why Kazunari spoiled it so much, feeding it thirty banana candies a day.But now, that Dungeon Mole was suffering from a long stretch of torture after being spoiled for too long.-------Let me go! I said, let me go!--Kyuu! Kyuu!-"No! I''ve got you now, you little thief!" Shaman Ko said to the mole it had between its thighs. If it took its eyes off the mole for even a second, it lost another piece of food to the mole.Shaman Ko had tried many times to kill the mole to punish it for stealing what belonged to Shaman Ko, but it failed each time. No matter what it tried, it just couldn''t kill the mole. Eventually, Shaman Ko began to warm up to it when its attempts to kill it turned into playing around with it. Of course, none of this was play to the mole. Either way, the more Shaman Ko warmed up to the mole, the more Shaman Ko bothered it. But at the same time, Shaman Ko didn''t stop trying to figure out how to kill the mole. It stole its food and Shaman Ko had to properly punish it for its sins.Shaman Ko kicked the mole across the space like a soccer ball.-Leave me alone!--Kyuu! Kyuu!-"No!"---About a month after the Dungeon Mole ended up in Shaman Ko''s domain¡­The Dungeon Mole couldn''t take it anymore. Shaman Ko was just bothering it way too much. It decided to search for a way to get rid of that annoying thing so that it could go back to eating the sweet and tasty food all around.It didn''t take long for the mole to notice a stupid habit Shaman Ko would occasionally make. Shaman Ko would sometimes fall over on its face, just like now. It was moving around as if it still had its arms, but since it didn''t, it obviously lost its balance and fell over. Every time it fell over, it would remain focused on the mole, in case the mole went back to eating during that time.The mole remembered how Shaman Ko looked when they first met. Shaman Ko was a bloody pulp without arms and the mole had thought that it didn''t have arms in first place. But recently, the mole realized that Shaman Ko had lost its arms and wasn''t adapting well.-Is it that angry because it lost its arms?-That was what the mole thought. There just wasn''t any other explanation for its temper. The mole stared at Shaman Ko. The mole''s ability was to breathe life into created dungeons. That was a figure of speech, but it basically dug through space. It couldn''t dig through real earth, but it could dig through false spaces, like the spaces around real dungeons. It was difficult to do, but it was possible to break through spaces that weren''t around dungeons as long as it could see it.The Dungeon Mole realized that the space of Shaman Ko''s space was similar to dungeon space and was able to see that Shaman Ko''s arms still existed inside Shaman Ko.-Did it eat its arms because it didn''t have anything else to eat? But there are so many things to eat here. It''s weird as it looks.-At that moment, Shaman Ko kicked the mole again, sending it flying. "You were trying to steal more food without me knowing, weren''t you?"-Kyuu! Kyuu!-As the mole flew around, it began to think that it might just have to just extract those arms. Doing so might just calm Shaman Ko down and it might let the mole eat the food as thanks.---The next day¡­When Shaman Ko fell asleep with the mole between its thighs, the mole began to get to work to connect this space with Shaman Ko''s insides. It failed that day, however, and continued to fail each day after that. It was to be expected, as this space was different from dungeon space, but the mole kept trying. By this point, the mole was pretty fed up with being stuck here with Shaman Ko.On the seventh day, the mole succeeded. Shaman Ko was still asleep. The Dungeon Mole carefully watched the tunnel it made as the arms inside Shaman Ko floated out of the tunnel as if they were being pulled by magnets. In less than five minutes, Shaman Ko''s arms had reattached themselves to Shaman Ko''s body, as if they were there all along.The Dungeon Mole chattered with excitement. It could only attempt to open a tunnel once a day and it finally succeeded after seven tries. The Dungeon Mole closed the tunnel and drooped its head between Shaman Ko''s thighs, exhausted. It didn''t even notice the large black spot that had formed on one of Shaman Ko''s hands.---The next day¡­The first thing Shaman Ko checked on when it awoke was the Dungeon Mole, in case it slipped away and was eating its food again. Once it saw that the mole was still asleep between its thighs, Shaman Ko tossed it aside and started to pick up the food around it and ate. When it was done, it decided to play by itself by swinging around in the trees it had made in its domain. All the while, Shaman Ko stole glances at the Dungeon Mole, but the mole hadn''t moved from its spot.Shaman Ko went over to the mole and kicked it like it had before. It should have gotten back up like nothing had happened and went around scavenging for food but again, it remained still. Shaman Ko didn''t like this one bit and went over to the Dungeon Mole and picked it up.It was then Shaman Ko finally realized it had its arms back. It couldn''t believe it took this long to realize its arms had returned, even after it had used its arms to eat and play. This was Shaman Ko''s domain. Even while it slept, Shaman Ko knew what happened in its domain. It looked through the domain''s memories and learned what had happened.Shaman Ko picked the mole up and started to cry. It believed that the mole was dead it just wasn''t moving at all. Shaman Ko carefully picked up a piece of food on the floor and brought it to the mole''s mouth. It had never shared its food before, but it felt sorry for not letting it all this time.But when it did, Shaman Ko noticed the mole start licking the piece of food with its eyes still closed.Shaman Ko began to laugh even as tears dripped down its face. "You''re mine now!" Shaman Ko carefully placed the mole back on to the ground and grabbed a clump of its hair. It rubbed the strands of hair together to make a long piece of rope that wouldn''t ever break. After it wove a rope at least ten meters long, it tied one end of the rope around the mole and the other around its own waist."You belong to me now! You''re going to stay here with me forever!"------Back at the town of Makarov, the day after Shaman Ko tied itself to the Dungeon Mole¡­"Shit!" he yelled as he slammed a wall. It had been a month since he couldn''t check on or summon his Dungeon Mole. If he could, Kazunari would have sprinted off to find Lee Jiwon and beg for his forgiveness. Unfortunately, Lee Jiwon was trapped in Kazunari''s created dungeon. Kazunari knew there was no way to contact Lee Jiwon. He knew full well that Comm Links didn''t work inside."Ha¡­ calm down. It might not be a big deal. No matter how great Lee Jiwon is, the Dungeon Mole still belongs to me." The Dungeon Mole belonged only to Kazunari and there was no way for it to be stolen away, but he was dealing with Lee Jiwon, of all people. Uneasiness remained at the back of Kazunari''s mind when a message appeared before him.==[Your ownership of the Dungeon Mole has been lowered by 1%.]=="..." Kazunari stared at the message in front of him, his mouth gaping in shock. This was the worst case scenario! "Fuck¡­"------The boss room in Benten-jima¡­"Ah¡­I''m so bored." At least when the Dungeon Mole was still around I could play around with it. But now, I was going crazy with boredom after being left alone in the boss room for more than a month."Just you wait until I get out of here." All I did was imagine ways of how I would exact my revenge on the Dungeon Creator. At least Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel was almost fully repaired now.==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now spin.]=="Yeah. If I lost this too¡­ ugh." It was obvious the Dungeon Creator threw me in here to slow my growth for a long as possible. Unfortunately for him, he didn''t know about Shaman Ko. No one did, as I told no one about it."At least I''m getting Stat points every day." That was the one silver lining I had, but I was still frustrated and angry. I haven''t leveled up for over two months now."Huh?"Just then, I felt that something was off with the wheel. It was almost fully repaired, but still had cracks here and there yesterday. Today, however, it didn''t have a single scratch on it. It looked just as it had when I first got it. The shiny, new Roulette Wheel spun once again. It would land on 3 again, like it always had before.==[You have obtained Predation.You have received a one-use Predation Scroll in your inventory.]=="What?" I had given up on it all this time. I thought that the wheel was going to land on 3 until the end of time. I couldn''t believe it actually landed on Predation."What the hell is wrong with this thing?" Nothing made sense with the Wheel ever since I had come to this dungeon. 185 Chapter 184: Shaman Ko and the Dungeon Mole Part III Translator: HunterEditor: REDI had no idea why the Roulette Wheel decided to land on Predation instead of 3 Stat points, now of all times. "Open Inventory." Curious, I opened up my inventory and took out the item in question. "Item Check."==[One-use Scroll of Predation (No Rank)Bound to owner.Grants the Predation ability upon use.Can only be used on targets of certain levels.]==It was bound to me, meaning I couldn''t sell it. It made sense, since this was the Predation that had belonged to the Predator Duke."But what does it mean that it can only be used on certain targets?" I knew enough about Predation because I had gone up against it, and it was pretty infamous in the past. It gave the ability to eat, basically. It wasn''t like eating food; that was just a normal, biological action. It also didn''t consume items, rocks or electronics."I''m pretty sure it gave the ability to eat monsters, mortals, devas, and deities." Predation was more about taking and absorbing the strengths and abilities of others. If there were no abilities to absorb, it would then convert the bodies into a fleshy armor that looked like fat. But either way, the only reason the Predator Duke was able to cause terror with Predation was that he could use it without any limits. If he couldn''t, then I highly doubt he would have been able to get that strong."But this Predation Scroll has a limit, eh? Well, maybe it won''t matter to me." There was no way to know for sure. The item description didn''t explain in detail. "That means I''ll have to learn on my own¡­" Unfortunately, that meant using the one scroll I had and there was a chance it wouldn''t work and I would end up wasting it.I sighed and put it back in my inventory. I couldn''t use it now since there were only rock walls around me."I have no idea when I''ll get another one, either." I could get another one tomorrow, or it might take months or years before the wheel gave me another scroll. Either way, it was a waste to use it now. "Yeah, I''ll save it for now. I''m sure I''ll have to use it eventually."I didn''t care about ''eating'' other people at this point. Well, maybe a not mortal¡­ unless someone paid me enough and for a very good reason. But if it were a deity, I would ''eat'' them for free without hesitation. I definitely wanted to use Predation on the Dungeon Creator, if the Scroll allowed me to."I really want to get out of here." I was getting impatient, but I tried to calm myself as best I could. Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick was back to normal. I had no idea what caused it to break in the first place, or how it repaired itself, but the fact that it was fine now was good enough for me."Do I just have to wait now?" ------"Hehehe!" Shaman Ko climbed a hill while giggling to itself. Behind it followed the mole, still attached to the rope of hair.-Let me go!--Kyuu! Kyuu!-"No! From now on, you belong to me!" Shaman Ko was the essence of greed. Once it had something, it would never let it go. This held true for the Dungeon Mole."Here, eat this." Shaman Ko picked up the mole and held a piece of fruit. Now that the mole belonged to it, it didn''t mind sharing its food.The mole quickly wolfed down the treat. It really couldn''t do anything against sweets. It didn''t care who it was; as long as anyone handed it sweets, the mole would follow that person forever, even to the depths of Hell.Soon, the Dungeon Mole stopped asking to be set free. It didn''t need to open up more spaces, and Shaman Ko stopped kicking it around, as well. It could eat as many treats as it wanted to now.-Freeing its arms was the best decision I ever made.- The Dungeon Mole stuffed itself full and laid down on its back. It was truly comfortable here."Alright! Let''s run!" It was comfortable except for the times when Shaman Ko played like crazy. Once Shaman Ko had its arms back, it practically flew around everywhere. It did notice that the arm that was eaten by Predation had a large, black spot on it, but it didn''t care. It was still its arm.---Makarov, Russia¡­Kazunari had done practically nothing for the past month. He couldn''t, as he had nothing to do."Shit! Shit!" Kazunari''s biggest problem was getting bigger by the day, and it drove him crazy that he couldn''t do anything about it. "God damn it! It''s mine! It belongs to me! I am is its owner! Do you not know what that means?!" Just then, the message he was dreading appeared again.==[Your ownership of the Dungeon Mole has been lowered by 1%.Current loss: 95%]=="Ha¡­" He had already lost 95% of his ownership. There was no explanation about what would happen once the counter reached 100%. Would he really lose his Dungeon Mole, and never be able to contact it or summon it ever again?"I was an idiot. I did something stupid. I just ended up digging my own grave." He was so afraid of Lee Jiwon that he believed that he needed to tie the man down, and even got Cheng Long and Nayuta involved. "Where did it all go wrong?" Lee Jiwon wasn''t his first target. He had done this to several others before, so he knew what he was doing. He was so sure this would work."Two days! I''ve only got two days left!" He received three messages a day, each telling him that he had lost 1% of his ownership. All he could do was hate the system for taking away his Dungeon Mole, and regret ever crossing Lee Jiwon.------Four months had passed since I was imprisoned in this dungeon. I heaved a long sigh as Ilay comfortably on the floor. It was all I did these days. If I didn''t, I got too caught up in my anger and frustration."Predation hasn''t come out since then." After that time I got the Predation Scroll a month ago, I only received three Stat points every day once more. That made me even more reluctant to use the scroll.Just then, a different message appeared before me.==[You have cleared this dungeon''s requirements.You will now receive your rewards.]====[You have received a Rank 8 Random Item Chest.]====[You have received a Random Golden Ring Chest containing 100,000,000-300,000,000 golden rings.]=="Huh? What the hell is this?" I stared dumbly at the messages. "What did I do now?" I really didn''t do anything this time. I had nothing to do¡­ and the messages didn''t stop there.==[You will be forcibly removed from this dungeon in one hour.]==I read over the message, and walked over to the random chests for now. I was confused about what was going on, but there really were random chests in the middle of the boss room."This is some rabbit hole I fell down." I opened the golden ring random chest first, since the item chest was the main course.==[You have received 250,000,000 golden rings.]=="Hey! Not bad." I walked over to the other random chest."Four months. I spent four whole months here." I was stuck in here doing nothing for four months. If I could get a decent item here, it wouldn''t be for nothing. I opened the chest without giving it another thought.==[Glacier Gauntlets (Rank 8)These are a pair of gauntlets made from the ice of a glacier in the deepest and coldest parts of Zonguldak. Crafted by a gifted blacksmith, these gauntlets boast considerable power.Increase all Stats by 100 points.Increase STR by 300Decrease damage from Ice-type attacks by 15%.Increase Penetration Resistance by 75 points.Decrease CRIT damage by 110%.When enemies successfully attack the wearer, the gauntlets have a 1% chance to inflict Bone-chilling Frostbite (Bone-chilling Frostbite: For three seconds, decrease movement and attack speed by 45%, decrease max HP by 3% per second.)Durability: 722,500/722,500DEF 2,050/MDEF 2,400]=="Whoa!" It was not bad at all. I had been needing a pair of Rank 8 gauntlets, so they were perfect! I quickly equipped them and set them to invisible.I did a quick check of my current equipment. Besides the accessories, I had a Rank 8 weapon, helm, cuirass, and gauntlets, a Rank 9 cape, and Rank 10 boots. Only my greaves were Rank 7."Hah¡­" They were all mostly Rank 8 or above. I never imagined having this many Rank 8 equips in the past. They were just too expensive, or just too difficult to find."I guess I''ve got to thank the Dungeon Creator for giving me these gloves." Since this was a created dungeon, the Dungeon Creator had to give out the rewards on his own. He probably thought I would never be able to defeat the Invincible Dungeon Mole and clear the dungeon. But the dungeon reward was one thing for wasting my time. I was still going to repay him for inviting me here in the first place.---Not long after, I was finally removed from the dungeon. It had been four months."Where am I?" All I could see around me was the sea, and I was standing on a very small island. Where I was didn''t matter, though. I could use the Clan Badge to take myself to the Faroe Islands, go to London from there, and use the Teleporter to get back home.Just as I was about to take out the Clan Badge, I got a call on my Comm Link."Hello?""Jiwon!""Huh¡­ Mom?" I heard my mother scream my name from the other end, which made me realize that I had been gone for four months without a word, when I had promised her that I would call once a week."Where have you been? Why didn''t you cal, and why couldn''t I call you?" Her voice sounded hoarse from crying."No, about that¡­""Why couldn''t I call you? Why!?"I didn''t know what to say. Telling her the truth would only cause her to worry more."Where¡­ are you now?""I''m about to head home now.""Hurry home. Okay?""I will. I''ll be there soon." I finally calmed her down enough and hung up. She must have called several times a day. I felt even sorrier.I quickly used the Clan Badge. When I arrived at the Faroe Islands, the Werewolves were in a tizzy."What happened to you, Jiwon? You had completely disappeared off the face of the Earth!""Were you somewhere that prevented your Comm Link from working? You weren''t¡­" Lod seemed to have an inkling as to what must have happened. "I''m sorry, guys. It just happened that way." I promised Lod and Kylie that I would explain later, and left for London. They didn''t ask any more questions and let me go.------Back at my house in Seoul¡­The moment I stepped off the Teleporter, I used both Blinks and headed home at the speed of light. My mother, grandfather, and the three hundred vassals were waiting for me outside."What happened to you?! Where have you been?" My mother ran up to me as soon as she saw me."I''m sorry, Mom. Some stuff happened." It was all I could say for now as I held my mother in my arms. I could also feel that she had lost considerable weight; she felt bony, like when I first met her.My mother finally calmed herself enough to wipe away her tears and looked up at me. "Have you eaten yet?""No. I''m hungry.""Then let''s head inside.""Okay." I followed my mother as she tightly held my hand and led me to the house. It was then my grandfather and everyone else could finally say something."You''re late.""I''m sorry.""You''ve really worried us, young master!""It''s good to see you''re alright!"I also saw Song Haechang and Song Haein behind them, standing with the liaisons of the other three factions. I bowed my head at them. They looked very worried as well.---Around the same time Lee Jiwon reunited with his family¡­Kazunari stood alone on Benten-jima. "He''s gone." Once a created dungeon was cleared, it disappeared for good. The energy that kept it alive was then returned to the original dungeon. Kazunari stared at the spot where the dungeon entrance once stood, and remembered the message that brought him here in the first place.==[You have lost all ownership over the Dungeon Mole. You will lose all abilities related to the Dungeon Mole.]==That was it. It was the end. No matter how many dungeons he could make, they were useless without the Dungeon Mole."Contact Dungeon Mole. Summon: Dungeon Mole."He didn''t even get the messages that told him he couldn''t connect with or summon the Dungeon Mole any more. It no longer belonged to him."Ha¡­haha...hahaha." All he could do was laugh in disbelief, but that laughter quickly disappeared and he bit his lip. He couldn''t just let it go like this. He was the Dungeon Creator. He had to make dungeons! It was his best and only skill."I''ll go to the Troll Market, buy that item, and meet Lee Jiwon once more. I have to do everything it takes to get my Dungeon Mole back!" 186 Chapter 185: Predation Part I Translator: HunterEditor: REDWe decided it was best that I take a week off. My family wanted me to stay in, and I needed the break as well. The four months I''d spent there was nothing compared to the four years I spent in imprisoned in the dream-place, but at least during those four years I slept. These past four months I had spent worrying about losing the Shaman Ko skill and stressing that I actually swallowed a small dungeon monster whole. One day, my mother came up to me "What should I cook for you today?""As long as I have meat, anything is fine, I guess.""You had pork yesterday, beef the day before, you want meat again today?""Yeah, I want meat again today.""Don''t you get sick of eating beef and pork every day...? Devas are truly weird. Okay, I will make you chicken today.""As long as I get to eat as much as I want, anything is fine!""Alright."I had only ever rested by booking hotel rooms and lazing around. That was more than enough for me, but I now had an actual place to call home, and I got to eat home-cooked meals almost every day. I even liked how I had guards making sure I wasn''t bothered."Taking it easy like this every now and then isn''t so bad." I wanted to for the time being, if it weren''t for the newcomer who was headed this way. "Yeah, I''m sure you are confused as I am."I had spent some time thinking about what had happened during my break. Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel was breaking, and had repaired itself on its own. The dungeon had also cleared on its own. "It has to be because of the Dungeon Mole. There''s no other reason." That much was obvious. There was nothing else in that dungeon besides me and the Dungeon Mole, and I had never really done much to trigger either of those events."I assume you didn''t expect this to happen, either. That''s why you''ve come all the way here." The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he was my enemy, and I was his. But knowing that he came to my home on his own told me that this was an unprecedented problem for the Dungeon Creator."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 3 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 1 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I got ready just in case things went south. I took out my Harrier from my inventory and propped it against a wall, while activating Judge''s Gavel as well."Ah, that''s right." I remembered the new item I received, and took out the Scroll of Predation."Hmm¡­ I can only target one person and can only use it once." After getting this one a month ago, I had not received another one and only got the same 3 Stat points as always."I should try it out now. It was thanks to you that I somehow got this anyway." I ripped the Scroll of Predation.==[You can now use Predation 1.You can only use Predation on certain targets.After using Predation, you can use your target''s abilities for 24 hours.After 24 hours, all abilities taken from your target will return to their original owner.If you do not use Predation on a target within 24 hours, you will lose the effects of the Scroll of Predation.]=="Huh?" This was not the same Predation skill I knew about. This was also not the same Predation the Predator Duke had used on me."This sounds closer to Possession." This was more like borrowing someone''s abilities for a day. "I mean, the Predator Duke did technically borrow his targets'' abilities, it''s just that he never returned them until he died. This is just not right."I wasn''t sure if this Predation was good or bad. I could only hold my target''s abilities for a day, and it didn''t even kill my target. I didn''t have time to think about it, as the Dungeon Creator was now practically at my doorstep.---"Hey, it has been a while." I said lazily to the Dungeon Creator, who had appeared out of thin air in my room, as if I knew he was coming. "Security is pretty lax here," the Dungeon Creator replied."Do understand. They''re not that strong, but they are pretty overprotective of me," I said as I reached to the table next to me and picked up a banana-flavored piece of candy. I was curious about what they tasted like, thanks to the Dungeon Mole. After trying them, I realized they weren''t half bad. To be honest, it didn''t really have much more meaning to it, but the Dungeon Creator frowned and glared at me."So what brings you here? I doubt we''re on speaking terms, I have a debt to pay as well.""A debt...""Yeah, it really was a fun party you sent me to. Thanks for inviting me and giving me one hell of a gift bag. I am a man of honor after all," I said with a small grin.---Kazunari studied Lee Jiwon intently. He was being too calm, and the banana candy got on his nerves. -So Lee Jiwon did steal my Dungeon Mole!-It did make sense, since Kazunari had lost all ownership over the Dungeon Mole.-But how does he know that banana candies were its favorite?-Kazunari had only learned recently by coincidence that the Dungeon Mole preferred banana candies over anything else. Either way, Kazunari had come here ready to lay everything down, as long as it meant he could get his Dungeon Mole back.---I wanted to grab the Harrier next to me and rush him, but I refrained from doing so, as I noticed that the Dungeon Creator was thinking about something. I was curious as to what he had to say, and I wanted to know why he even dared come here on his own. "Fine, then. I''ll get straight to the point.""By all means.""I want my Dungeon Mole back."I almost asked why he wanted it, but I took that moment to chew on the candy in my mouth instead. "Why should I?""I''m not asking that you return it for free. I''ll give you everything I have in return.""Everything you have?""That''s right; everything. I have one Rank 9 item and 1,463,000,000 golden rings. I''ll even hand over all of the assets I''ve been gathering all this time."I almost choked. A billion golden rings were enticing enough, but he offered a Rank 9 item as well. Then again, I had no idea where the Dungeon Mole went. After I swallowed it whole, I never figured out what happened to it. But it seemed the Dungeon Creator knew it was with me."Hmm¡­" I stroked my chin as if I was thinking about his offer. "Fine."I was definitely going to pay him back by killing him once. A death penalty to a deity was crippling, to say the least. But now, I had a chance to get a Rank 9 item, and there was no way I was going to let that go. "But I''ll take your payment first," I said, in case he wanted us to trade at the same time. He was the one who was sure I had the Dungeon Mole, after all.The Dungeon Creator just scoffed, however. "Do you trust me, Lee Jiwon? Because I don''t trust you.""Tsk. Then what do you suggest we do?"The Dungeon Creator took something out of his inventory. "This is a contract I got from the Troll Market."I tried my best to not frown at what he had just said. The Dungeon Creator then ripped the contract in half, causing the halves to burn red and disappear. All that were left were letters in the air."I, Kazunari, vow that if Lee Jiwon gives up possession of the Dungeon Mole to me, will pay him with a Rank 9 item, 1,463,000 golden rings and all of my assets at once." The letters in the air reassembled themselves into what Kazunari said."All that''s left is your end of the agreement.""Huh. This must have cost you a pretty penny." This was a contract from the Troll Market. I didn''t know the exact price, but I knew whatever came from there was extremely expensive."It cost me 350,000,000 golden rings.""Wow. You''re pretty rich, aren''t you? You should have given it to me instead.""You''re getting a Rank 9 item and 1.4 billion golden rings anyway, so what''s the problem?""That''s true." Yeah, if I did have the Dungeon Mole.I quietly raised my hand and pointed it at Kazunari. "Predation."==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]=="What¡­ what the hell are you doing?" Kazunari said, shocked at what I had just done.It wasn''t like I had much of a choice. As much as I wanted everything Kazunari had to offer, signing that contract meant I had to fulfill the terms, no matter what. If I couldn''t, then I had to pay him back five times his offer. That was the power of a Troll Market contract."No¡­ it can''t be!" Kazunari grew from shocked to angry. "You don''t have the Dungeon Mole!""No, I don''t. I wish I did," I said as I picked up my spear and charged at him. It was time to kill him. Yeah, I wanted his Rank 9 item, but what could I do? Not fulfilling those terms meant I had to fork over a Rank 10 item, and there was no way I could live with myself if I did that."Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch! What did you do to my Dungeon Mole?!""How should I know?" I couldn''t really say that I ate it. It wasn''t really something to boast about."Fuck! Teleport!""Blink 1." It was only for a moment, but I had faced against him before and expected him to warp. I used Blink to get right where he shifted."Multi-Teleport!""Blink 2." I panicked for a second because I had to use my second Blink already, but it seemed that Kazunari couldn''t Teleport again. "Gah!" My spear pierced him all the way through and stuck him to the ground. But he wasn''t dead yet."Ho ho?!" Only boss monsters had ever survived more than one hit from me. He really was one of the Five Monarchs, but that was all there was to it. "This¡­ is bullshit!" I walked to stand over Kazunari as he raved. "Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch!""That''s what I wanted to say to you. You''re the one who started this shit." I didn''t even know his name. He wasn''t as infamous as the Predator Duke and the Blood Prince, even during my past life."I swear I won''t ever forget this embarrassment!""Good. Don''t. I want you to suffer for the rest of your life." I pulled my spear back out, before stabbing him again. Kazunari screamed out a final cry of pain before disappearing.At that moment, the guards patrolling the house burst into my room."What''s going on, young master!?""It''s nothing. I was just swatting an annoying fly that snuck in," I said. "It''s taken care of, so you can get back to your rounds.""Yes, sir!" The guards noticed the large new hole in my floor, but didn''t mention it and left."But where did the Dungeon Mole go?" I asked myself as I sat back down on my armchair. I know I ate it. "But what did he mean when he wanted me to give up ownership?" It had to mean that Kazunari had lost it, but I was pretty sure I didn''t have it."Ha¡­ geez." This was one hell of a mystery.I leaned back in my chair, reveling in the fact that I had easily taken out another member of the Monarchs, and closed my eyes, basking in the sun.-I like banana candies the most.--Kyuu! Kyuu!-I must have really spent way too much time in the dungeon, because I swore I could occasionally hear its voice. 187 Chapter 186: Predation Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe day after I killed Kazunari¡­"I''ve rested enough; I should get back to it," I said to myself as I got up from my chair and stretched. I felt a lot better after getting rid of Kazunari. "I have no idea what the Dungeon Mole did for him, but it''s good for me if he lost it. If he was willing to lay down everything he had¡­ he must have been at his wit''s end."I realized that this meant almost no one would ever know who the Dungeon Creator was, or that he ever existed. He was finished. That was one less enemy for me to worry about."It''s about time for me to get back to hunting, but where should I go this time?" I wanted to get back to hunting, as I wasn''t yet strong enough. "I have too many places I can go." I had four high-grade dungeons I could freely hunt at now. "I''ll pass on the Shire Guild''s since they just gained full ownership and haven''t set up FOBs yet. I guess that one is still the best one to hunt at." The four high-grade dungeons weren''t difficult for me at all, but the one dungeon that yielded the most EXP was the Pharos Dungeon in Alexandria. The Crocs were pretty fun to kill and they never travelled in large hordes, like the Trolls in the Faroe Islands."Okay! Off to the Pharos Dungeon."---Meanwhile, at the Cheng Long Guild headquarters¡­"So, he failed?""Yes, sir.""Hah¡­" Wai Chung sighed at his officer''s report. Kazunari''s plan was perfect, which was why Wai Chung did whatever he asked. He even let the Cheng Long''s Rank 8 Glacier Gauntlets go on the condition that Lee Jiwon would never get it and that the Nayuta Guild would fork over the golden rings instead. He was even satisfied when Kazunari showed him and Okamoto the finished dungeon. He thought that they could finally tie Lee Jiwon down, but Lee Jiwon was free again after only four months, when they had planned for at least a year or two. He even got away with the Rank 8 gloves and the golden rings. They had spectacularly failed once more."And what happened to Kazunari?" Wai Chung asked through gritted teeth. He would have Kazunari pay for this screw up."Well¡­""Spit it out!""He''s dead. Lee Jiwon killed him yesterday.""..." Wai Chung was so shocked that he forgot his anger. Kazunari, the Dungeon Creator, was still a deity whose name carried weight. He was still one of the Monarchs.Wai Chung heaved a heavy sigh. There was no way he could have Kazunari take responsibility anymore. Wai Chung knew that Kazunari would return in three months, but also knew that he would never show his face ever again."Hah¡­ I ended up handing over a Rank 8 item to Lee Jiwon, who is supposed to be my greatest enemy. Just my luck¡­""It''s not your fault, sir. Even the Intelligence Division believed that this plan was perfect. We can still-""That''s enough." Wai Chung interrupted his officer. What''s done was done. It wasn''t like he could go to Lee Jiwon and beg for the gloves back. That would never happen. A heavy silence hung in Wai Chung''s office.---The situation at the Nayuta Guild was no better when Okamoto learned of what happened to Kazunari. Nayuta had invested quite a bit in Kazunari, after all. It wasn''t enough to cripple the guild, but they were bitter about it, nonetheless.------I was standing outside the Pharos dungeon entrance when a message appeared.==[Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel will now spin.]=="Predation¡­ really was nothing." I remembered about what happened with Predation yesterday. There were just way too many restrictions on it. It was just way too hard to use to find out what its effects were. I wouldn''t be happy even if I got a scroll every day.==[You have obtained Predation.You have received a single use Scroll of Predation in your inventory.]=="Huh?" It hadn''t landed on it since that one time a month ago, and it landed again after I used it yesterday. "No way. Can I only have one scroll at a time?" There wasn''t enough evidence behind that theory, but that''s what it seemed like.I took out the scroll from my inventory. If that was the case, then I had no reason to save it. I ripped it right away.==[You can now use Predation 1.You can only use Predation on certain targets.After using Predation, you can use your target''s abilities for 24 hours.After 24 hours, all abilities taken from your target will return to their original owner.If you do not use Predation on a target within 24 hours, you will lose the effects of the Scroll of Predation.]==I entered the Pharos dungeon right after that and pointed to a Mutated Croc standing right by the entrance. "Predation!"==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]=="..." I stared at the message in annoyance. "I can''t use it on a deity and now I can''t use it on a monster! Then who or what can I even use it on? Do I have to use it on devas or mortals?" It should have at least worked on monsters. "Why doesn''t it work?" I yelled as I pointed at another Croc.==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]=="Huh?" I was surprised when the message appeared again. "I thought I could only use it once." I had thought that if it failed, it used up the skill. That was why I hadn''t tried it again after it failed on Kazunari. I read through the description again."So, I guess it means I have twenty-four hours to get it to work on a target before I can''t anymore." I turned to the monsters. "Predation! Predation! Predation! Predation!" I shouted at all of the monsters I could see. I used it over and over and over again. I must have pointed at a hundred Crocs.==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]==But it still didn''t work. "Shit!" I left the dungeon right after. "Mr. Lee! Why are you leaving so early?" a Myth Guild member asked as I left. There were quite a few of them hanging around the entrance, some getting ready to hunt and others finishing up. I had spent at least a month in dungeons whenever I hunted, and they all knew that about me.I turned to the guild member. "If something goes wrong, I''ll give you a death penalty gem. If you lose anything, I promise I''ll properly compensate you.""Excuse me?"I had to know now. There were plenty of people who would gladly help me experiment back in Seoul, but I didn''t want to waste single second."I want to test out a skill. Is that alright?""¡­Okay." The guild member hesitated for a moment, but still happily agreed to help."Thank you. Predation," I said, pointing to the guild member. I made sure to say the skill''s name as quietly as possible, just in case.==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]=="..." It was as I had expected. If it wasn''t going to work on monsters, it wouldn''t work on a deva either."Um¡­ did you do something?" asked the guild member.I smiled at him. "No. Turns out it was nothing." There was no reason to spread rumors about something that didn''t work. "Either way, thanks for helping.""You''re very welcome."I shook the guild member''s hand and left. As I passed by the devas outside, I used Predation on them while making sure no one would notice what I was doing. But the results were all the same.==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]==------I had used it on a hundred different devas by this point, I was positive it wasn''t going to work on another one. I finally turned my attention to the mortals. I kept fighting with myself over this; I was a human too, but I had to know for sure. I doubted it would work, but I couldn''t leave a single doubt.I didn''t want to test this on the mortals staying at my home, though. This Predation might return the abilities to devas in 24 hours but¡­ this meant death to mortals. I used both Blinks to get out of the dungeon''s vicinity as fast as possible and to leave no trace behind. I kept going until I came to an alleyway where many vagrants stayed. I grabbed a shawl that was hanging out to dry and wrapped it around my face. I entered the alley and looked for the oldest person I could find.I found one after only a few minutes of searching. I realized that no life was worth more than the other, but that was the reality we all lived in right now. An old, dying vagrant living in a seedy alleyway had no worth, even if he was a deva.I tossed100,000 golden rings at the old man''s feet and pointed at him. "Predation."==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]==I burst out laughing, relieved that it didn''t work."Huh?" It was then the old man finally realized the golden rings in front of him. He quickly picked them up and looked around to see if anyone else had seen them. He got up and sat in a different corner and looked down at the golden rings in his hands, as if he couldn''t believe that he was actually holding that many. "Why does this even exist at all?" I asked myself as I headed back to the base set up by the Pharos Dungeon. I wanted to rest a bit, even though I hadn''t done much. All I had done was try to use Predation, but I had tried it on a mortal. No matter how many times I tried to justify it, it just didn''t sit well with me.I went over to the food stall, ordered a beer and sat down at a table. I leaned back and closed my eyes to try and get my mind off of what had just happened."Hello, Jiwon." I turned to look at the person who called my name. It was the one Unrivaled deva of the Myth Guild, Benenti. We had fought together once, and I remembered that he was quite good. "Hello, Benenti." I shook his hand."I came here when I heard you were here to hunt, but I see you haven''t started yet.""Yeah, I had some stuff to take care of first," I said, brushing it off. "Oh, that''s right. You''re collecting Croc Hides and Teeth, right?""I am, since I was told the Myth Guild was using themto craft items.""Then why don''t you take this chance to clear out your inventory?""Sure, let''s do that." The Infinite Space Ring could hold a lot of materials, but I had collected quite a bit now. I followed Benenti to the Myth Guild''s general store. I accessed the Infinite Space as if I was opening up my inventory and took out all of the Croc Hides and Teeth of normal, Mutated, and Giant Crocs."Wow¡­ you''ve collected quite a bit," the merchant said, raising his eyebrows."Yeah, it kind of happened that way."-That reminds me; I should get rid of the materials from the other dungeons, too-, I thought to myself as I went through the list of items in the Infinite Space before closing it."Huh?" Right when I closed it, I noticed something that shouldn''t be there. I quickly reopened it and saw that the Dungeon Mole was actually in there!-Kyuu! Kyuu!-"You¡­ what are you doing in there!?" I shouted in confusion. I knew for a fact that I didn''t put it in there myself. I had learned that living things, like people or monsters, couldn''t go inside when I tried to put myself in there.-''Shaman Ko''s so annoying!''--Kyuu! Kyuu! -The Dungeon Mole turned towards my voice and leapt out of the opening and into my hand.-''I want banana candies.''-The mole laid down comfortably on its stomach right on my palm. I stared down at it as it acted all friendly towards me.==[Dungeon Mole (Belongs to Lee Jiwon and Shaman Ko)Dungeon Moles are extremely rare.They prefer to roll around in damp earth and have quite the sweet tooth. Give one a piece of candy and it will follow you around.Predation can be used.]=="What the hell?" The Dungeon Mole''s description was almost the same as when I first encountered it in Kazunari''s prison dungeon. I noticed right away what had changed, though."It belongs to me and Shaman Ko? And¡­ Predation?" Kazunari was right. I owned the Dungeon Mole now. And now I had learned that Predation wasn''t completely useless. 188 Chapter 187: Predation Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI had completely forgotten about selling the Croc materials because of the Dungeon Mole. I took the one million golden rings the merchant gave me absentmindedly, said goodbye to Benenti and left the general store. I then Blinked away to the nearest secluded area and looked back down at the thing in my hand. "Hah¡­" It was still there. It really made itself at home, too. I petted it to feel its soft and furry belly. This definitely wasn''t a dream."Oi, Mr. Dungeon Mole?" I asked, shaking my hand a little. It was acting friendly right now, but it was my enemy not long ago. It had tortured me for four months in Kazunari''s dungeon thanks to its Invincibility and incessant begging for banana candies.Now that its ownership had passed on to me, however, I no longer hated it like I did before, but I still had some ill will towards it. That was why I wanted to bother it some more.I tightened my hold around the mole and gave it a good shake. It squeaked and stared at me, as if telling me not to bother it."Hah¡­oi, Mr. Dungeon Mole, you should be on your knees, begging for my forgiveness right now." I then started to toss it in the air and catch him repeatedly.''I''m getting dizzy!''When I heard it shout, I caught it and didn''t throw it again. I felt a little bad bullying it when it couldn''t do anything against me. I looked down at the mole. It was playing the victim from being thrown into the air a couple of meters even though it barely reacted to my kicking back in the dungeon. But, those puppy eyes did their job."Yeah, I guess you''ve done nothing wrong." The real enemy was Kazunari, not the Dungeon Mole, and I had already taken my revenge against him.I stroked the mole from head to tail. I never got to really feel it when I kicked it around like a soccer ball. Its fur was as soft as velvet. The mole finally uncurled itself and looked up at me.-Do you have banana candies?-"Hah!" I couldn''t help but laugh at it. "Right, banana candies. You really like banana candies, don''t you?" I took out a piece of banana candy I had purchased before. I had developed a taste for these too, so I decided to bring some with me in my inventory. I opened the wrapper and placed the candy in front of the mole.-Banana candy! Banana candy!- It bounced up and down on my hand and began licking the candy.I ripped open another piece of candy and ate one. "It belongs to me and Shaman Ko. So that means Shaman Ko is partly responsible for this." That was all I could deduce, however."Well, whatever. It''s not like I can figure it out on my own by just thinking about it," I said to myself, passing the time watching the mole eat the candy.------One hour later¡­I could easily tell that it was pretty cute, but I needed to check Predation. The mole was seemingly the only one I could use it on."Predation," I said to the mole, still happily licking at its candy.[You have consumed your target.Target: Dungeon MoleTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Dungeon TeleportTeleport to all dungeons you''ve visited by breaking through their space.You can teleport to any dungeon within five kilometers without having to use dungeon entrances. (This does not work with hidden dungeons or unrevealed dungeons; can only be used on revealed dungeons.)Last dungeon visited: Mt. Fuji Dungeon. (Altered as Benten-jima''s created dungeon no longer exists.)Can be used 3 times a day.Effect 2: Dungeon SearchCan search for dungeons within a small range.Cannot search for hidden dungeons.Can be used once a day.Daily use can be increased. Each time the counter is increased, the range increases as well. Can be increased up to 100 times.Current usage count: 1]"Holy¡­!" I definitely hadn''t expected much from either Predation or the Dungeon Mole. But these effects were much better than I had thought. Too bad I could only use them for 24 hours."Dungeon Teleport and Dungeon Search, eh¡­?" I read through the descriptions once more in case I had missed something. "Does Dungeon Teleport to the dungeons the mole has been to?" The last dungeon recorded was at Mt. Fuji, and I hadn''t been there yet."Dungeon Teleport." I could use it three times a day, anyway.==[You may Teleport to any of the following dungeons.47th low-grade dungeon (Bukhan Mountain Dungeon)83rd low-grade dungeon (Seorak Mountain Dungeon)...31st high-grade dungeon (Siberia''s Iceman Dungeon)14th high-grade dungeon (Alexandria''s Pharos Dungeon)]== All of the dungeons I had been to were all recorded. I knew where to go first."I''ll Teleport to Mt. Fuji, so that it''s recorded in this list." The list only had the dungeons I had been to."Dungeon Teleport: Mt. Fuji Dungeon."==[You will now Teleport to the high-grade dungeon in Mt. Fuji.You will be moved to a random place on the dungeon''s first floor.]==A white light soon enveloped me as soon as the message appeared.------"Freeze that side!""If they get back to the swamps, they''ll restore their HP!""Keep them away from the swamps!""Ice Field!"I heard the sounds of battle first. If the Dungeon Teleport''s description was true, then this was the Mt. Fuji Dungeon. In other words, those fighting right now were members of the Nayuta Guild."Blink 1." I quickly Blinked away to the opposite side the sounds were coming from and hid in a crevice in the wall. I poked my head out to watch the battle.-It is the Nayuta Guild!- I could clearly see the guild''s emblem of a blooming chrysanthemum on their uniforms.I had never been to the Mt. Fuji dungeon in my past life, but I had heard about what sort of dungeon it was. The entire terrain here was swamps.-It worked like a charm...-I really liked this ability that I got from consuming the Dungeon Mole. Going in and out whatever dungeon I wanted to whenever I wanted to was an invaluable skill. I could even enter them without the guild in control ever finding out I was there.I contemplated for a second if I should go and attack the 20-man party while covering my face, like I did as Duck Duck. I knew I could kill the entire party in an instant.-No, I shouldn''t. I don''t want them to find out what I can do now.-If it ever got out that I had outright invaded their dungeon, I risked sparking an international incident. I doubted I could even hide my identity from anyone anymore.-Tsk. Count yourselves lucky today.-I really didn''t like them one bit. "Dungeon Teleport: Pharos Dungeon."==[You will now be teleported to the Pharos Dungeon.You will be moved to a random place on the dungeon''s first floor.]==---My surroundings soon turned into a familiar setting. "Hmm. I give it 9.5 out of 10!" I was pretty satisfied now with Predation and the Dungeon Mole. All I needed to check on was Dungeon Search."I think¡­ I''ll save it to increase its counter." I still had the Dungeon Seeker special at 14 points. I wanted to get it to 50 points, that way I could get a Rank 10 Random Item Chest. I wasn''t planning on getting hung up on it, though. Most of the world''s dungeons should have been discovered by now, and it wasn''t like I was that desperate for a Rank 10 Random Chest."Alright! Time to do what I came here to do!" I had left home to get back to hunting."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."I activated my battle skills and charged in at a small horde of Mutated Crocs.------The next day¡­I had hunted for about 24 hours straight and rested at one of the Myth Guild''s FOBs. I was on my way out of the FOB when a message appeared before me.==[Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick Roulette Wheel will now spin.]=="Nice." I wasn''t completely sure about this, but something told me that the wheel was going to land on Predation again, and was going to as long as I didn''t have the scroll in my inventory. ==[You have obtained Predation.You have received a single use Scroll of Predation in your inventory.]=="Hehehe." That was enough proof for me.I happily continued my hunt after that. As I had expected, the Roulette Wheel landed back on 3 after that. It was just as I wanted.------I spent the next two weeks hunting Crocs non-stop."Summon: Dungeon Mole."-Banana candy?-"Yeah, yeah, here you go."I occasionally summoned the Dungeon Mole whenever I rested to play with. I gave it a candy to eat. It was pretty precious to me now. It was kind of healing to watch it hold the candy with its forelegs and lick it."It would be nice if I could also summon Shaman Ko." I was positive Shaman Ko resided inside me. I learned of its existence when it consumed Predation."Summon: Shaman Ko.""..." It didn''t work, obviously. I did have another good thing happen though.==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit''s level has been increased.]====[Level 1: 8 hour cooldown. For one hour, raise your ATT by 20%, CRIT chance by 1%,CRIT damage by 50%, movement speed by 5%, and ATT speed by 2.5%. For one hour, Slightly Awkward Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Slight Awkward Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.]====[Level 2: 8 hour cooldown. For two hours, raise your ATT by 25%, CRIT chance by 2%,CRIT damage by 100%, movement speed by 10%, and ATT speed by 5%. For two hours, Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 12%, increases DEF and MDEF by 10%). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.]==It was the first time a skill of mine leveled up naturally. Its effects had gone up considerably now. Thanks to Make My Skills Work Longer, the skill would also work for more than two hours now. It was starting to seem that the four months in the dungeon weren''t a complete waste now.------A month and two weeks had passed since I had started hunting. I was initially going to spend a month at most since I left home, but I was staying longer than I had planned. Why? Because it was getting fun again. I could visibly see myself getting stronger by the day. If I hadn''t gotten a call, I would have stayed longer."Young master!""Yes, what is it?""I''m calling because I think you should know something.""What''s going on?""A quest appeared in all Stores.""¡­What quest is it?" A quest that appeared in all Stores meant only one thing: the reward was going to be extremely valuable, just like the Time Attack quest."It''s called the ''Bring the Best Treasure!'' quest." "..." I knew exactly what quest it was. I also knew that the quest reward was as great as the Time Attack quest reward."I''ll return home ASAP.""I understand."I hung up my Comm Link and thought for a moment. I took out the notebook I still had in my inventory and opened it. There wasn''t much in it, but there was one thing I had written about an event from my past life: how the treasure of an underdog could very well be the origin of disaster."That means I have to participate this time." Obviously, this was a quest that I formerly wasn''t able to participate in. In the past I had owned nothing that could even be considered a treasure, but this time was different. I had too many to count now! 189 Chapter 188: Bring Me Your Best Treasure Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Open Stats Menu." ==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 675Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 8,865,700/8,865,700MP: 357,800/357,800Strength: 20,474+ 2,463Agility: 14,051Vitality: 14,151Willpower: 3,518Intelligence: 3,248Unassigned Stat Points: 500 + 135Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 77,106Physical Defense: 31,347Magical Attack: 11,304Magical Defense: 19,384]==It took a month and a half to gain 25 levels. Like always, that was a very fast pace, but I still wasn''t satisfied. "I''ll need to work harder if I want to get my base STR to 20,000 as soon as possible." I put all of my unassigned Stat points into STR again, took out a Werewolf Clan Warp Scroll and ripped it. It was the fastest way for me to get back home. I warped to the Faroe Islands, used the Teleporter there to London, and from there warped to the Store in Seoul.-------It''s always busy here.-Every time I came back to Seoul via the Faroe Islands and London, I couldn''t help but compare the three places. What I really noticed was that Seoul always had more people. London was no doubt a main city in its own right, and was definitely busier than the Faroe Islands, but still fell behind Seoul.I had even spent a month in New York at the behest of the Shire Guild, and even then, Seoul was busier. -Seoul definitely wasn''t like this in the past.-I put on my hat and sunglasses and walked towards Store 72, to check on the quest notice before I headed home. Thankfully, everyone else was too focused on the quest to notice me.------Inside the Store was even busier than the outside, all because of the quest."Dream on!""Why? What''s wrong with this item? It boosts all Stats by 50 points and boosts VIT another 250. It even boosts defensive skills by 4.2%.""What rank is it?""Why is¡­ does rank have to be important?""Dude, think about it. Do you really think anything under Rank 7 is going to cut it with this quest?""But still¡­""But still nothing. Don''t do it you don''t want to get embarrassed in front of the entire world. You need at least a Rank 8 if you want to get in the top 50. Anything lower will get you nowhere, no matter how good the effects are.""But there aren''t that many Rank 8 items out there.""Right; which is why we don''t have a chance with this quest. We''re just here to see what kind of crazy items are out there.""..." The man who came hoping to register his item and get into the top 50 fell silent when his friend shot him down. What his friend said definietely wasn''t wrong.Just then, a shout came from the quest board. "Hey! Someone put up a Rank 9 item!""Russia''s D. Nerv registered the Hailing Snowstorm.""Damn!""Check out those effects!""Shit, man. Where do you get items like that? If a Rank 9''s this strong, how powerful is a Rank 10?""If I had an item like this, I''d be leveling like crazy; at least ten levels a day!""Yeah, dude! If I had that, I''d even jump into the Sea of Reset and switch to an Ice Mage."---A Rank 9 had entered the quest and people were scrambling to check it out.-I used to be like that, too.- I remembered how I used to stand where they stood; dreaming about what it would be like for me if I had those items. I stayed behind the crowd instead of heading to the quest board and focused on the "!" mark above it.==[Bring Me Your Best Treasure! (No Rank)Gulman was known as the greatest blacksmith to ever exist. His worst pieces were all Rank 8, his average pieces were Rank 9 and all of his masterpieces were Rank 10. Anyone who touched his work was filled with awe.However, Gulman has not crafted any items for the past 200 years. His fire and inspiration to once again craft masterpieces has completely died out. Since then, Gulman has been searching for a treasure that will reignite his passion once more.Bring an item great enough to reignite Gulman''s passion to craft once more.Quest ends: 30 days remaining.Accept/Decline]====[If you accept the Bring Me Your Best Treasure! quest¡­Each person can only register up to three items at a time.Registering items means will they will be revealed for others to see through the quest board while you still have them equipped.You will receive points based on the items'' rank, rarity and effects.Only 50 participants with the highest points will have their names and items revealed to the public and only they will receive the rewards when the quest ends.Rewards can vary from Rank 8 Random Item Chests, Special Random Skill Chest, to golden rings, skill points and Stat points.]=="Accept," I said as soon as I read through the quest description. It was the perfect quest for me.==[You have accepted the quest, Being Me Your Best Treasure!You will be granted 3 slots to register your items. Once they are registered, they cannot be removed or cancelled from the list until the quest ends.You have received the command, Register Item.]==Once I accepted the quest, I left the Store without registering any items. The quest had just started and for the next month, it was going to be a fierce battle of wits between the largest guilds. There was another problem for all of us, though; once an item was registered, it was going to be revealed to the public, even the items we had been hiding away and saving as last resorts. Then again, some guilds would still do it if it meant becoming famous. That was what Wakabi of the Baobab Guild did in the past after he assembled the Lightning Boots of Azazel."Everyone participating in the quest is going to have to make the choice; is revealing their best item going to be worth whatever the quest reward is?" That was just how valuable items were. I hadn''t realized that in the past, and had only watched in awe and envy as new items were registered every day. Things were different now; I had many overpowered items of my own and knew different people who also had some of their own."Still¡­ I should participate. The quest reward is going to be too good to just pass up and watch from the sidelines." In the past, a fierce battle of wits had broken out between the larger guilds who had revealed their best items to get in the higher ranks. The smaller guilds and solo players eventually got caught up in the flow and registered their own secret items. It was then that everyone realized the treasure of an underdog could very well become the origin of disaster; as if it was all part of someone''s well written screenplay.------Back at my house in Seoul¡­"Welcome back, young master." I had already called ahead that I would be home soon and a few members of my new family were waiting outside to greet me."Thanks. I''m back.""Go on in, sir. The madam has been waiting for you."I headed inside and saw my mom waiting by the foyer. "Others get too tired and can only hunt for a week at a time, but you¡­I just don''t get how you find it so fun," my mother complained."But a week''s too short.""Oh, whatever. Go wash up. I''ll have your meal ready.""Alright. I want a lot since it''s been a while since I''ve had your cooking!""Okay, okay. I bought a lot of beef since you like it so much.""Thanks, mom." It was nice coming home to a hot, home-cooked meal and people waiting for me. After I had dinner with my mother and grandfather, I went up to my room to put my feet up. The quest had yet to start and all I had to do for now was to wait.------The next day¡­''Banana candy!''I was watching TV as I fed the Dungeon Mole a piece of candy while petting it from head to tail. All of the channels were talking about this new quest.---"Obviously the larger guilds will have the best items, won''t they?""It would seem so. The best way to get items of Rank 8 or higher is to defeat dungeon bosses as many times as possible, after all.""Then will this quest be monopolized by those guilds?""I doubt that will be the case. I''m sure there are a few solo players out there who have items we did not think existed.""I see. Also, it has only been a day since the quest was announced, but there aren''t many Rank 8 items registered. The highest is a Rank 9 as well. Does this mean that there just aren''t that many Rank 8''s out there?""That is true, but this is more because of a battle of wits?""What do you mean by that?""This quest is 30 days long and only one day has passed. No one is quite willing to reveal their hands quite yet.""That makes sense. Then¡­"---Someone knocked while I was immersed in fiddling with the Dungeon Mole, but I had an idea who it was and why they were here."Tell him to come in.""Sir?" the guard on the other side of the door asked in confusion."Song Haechang is out there with you, isn''t he? Tell him to come in.""Oh. Yes, sir."The door opened and Song Haechang walked in. We were meeting quite often these days, and it was usually he who came knocking first."Hey there.""Welcome. Have a seat.""Thanks."I poured each of us a cup of tea and lay back against my armchair. "I think you know how this new quest is causing quite a stir recently," Song Haechang said."I do. I heard about the quest mid hunt and just came back.""I see. Well, I came here to tell you one thing about the quest.""What is it?""The Rank 9 King-Emperor''s Mantle is yours, not Sunbin''s. You can feel free to register it and don''t have to worry about us."I gave a small smirk at what he just said."Oh, I''m not saying this because we''re looking down on you or anything. I''m just saying in case something happens so that you have one less thing to worry about. And don''t forget that if Cheng Long ever gives you a hard time, the Sunbin Guild is always ready to get them off your back."I knew exactly what Song Haechang meant. The King-Emperor''s Mantle did belong to the Sunbin Guild at first, and was an item Cheng Long could still be hung up on. Sunbin was just looking out for me in advance, in case I ended up hesitating about it.However, I should be the one asking for their understanding, not them. I was planning on registering my Rank 10 King-Emperor''s Commitment to get first place in this quest. Once Sunbin and Cheng Long saw the item''s name on the list, they could easily figure out what happened in the Tomb."Thanks for looking out for me.""Don''t worry about it. I want to thank you for understanding our intentions.""It was easy enough to understand what you meant. But¡­""What is it?""I think I should be the one asking for your understanding.""What do you mean¡­?"Song Haechang wasn''t there at the Tomb that day, but everyone already knew what items were rewarded and what I did to the boss."Open Item." I revealed the King-Emperor''s Commitment that I hadn''t shown to anyone else yet. He and Sunbin were bound to find out about it once I registered it anyway, so I might as well show them first.==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10)The King-Emperor''s true treasure.All Stats increased by 450 pointsIncrease Mana Conversion skill level by 2Add Blink SkillIncrease CRIT rate by 9%Increase CRIT damage by 500%Increase Penetration by 240 pointsIncrease EXP gain from monsters by 15%DEF 1000, MDEF 1000]==I watched Song Haechang''s shocked expression for a while. I completely understood what he was probably thinking right now. 190 Chapter 189: Bring Me Your Best Treasure Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI completely understood why Song Haechang had such a shocked expression. Hell, even I checked the King-Emperor''s Commitment every day because I couldn''t believe an item like that could ever exist. In my past life, there were seven items called The Seven Treasures, and one of them was the Lightning Boots of Azazel. The King-Emperor''s Commitment wasn''t one of them, however. The one I had right now was completely different than the one of the past. This one was in the form of earrings, but the past one was in the form of a bracelet and belonged to one of Cheng Long''s unexceptional healers. It only had three effects, which were made specifically for healers.The past one was nothing compared to mine. While I didn''t know what the other six treasures were, I was confident in saying that my Commitment was strong enough to become one. I was sure that in this life, there could even be eight treasures instead of seven. It was that powerful."¡­I see it''s a King-Emperor item.""Yes, it is," I said."Hah. Wow. Before I came here, we at Sunbin believed that we could compete for the top three places since we had a Rank 10 item of our own. We did have our sights on first place as well, but realized that would be too difficult, even for us." Song Haechang took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Now, the reason I came today was that if you registered the King-Emperor''s Mantle, you could at least get into the top 50s, no, into the top 30s. But I can see now that we''ve needlessly butted in. I feel ashamed.""Please, don''t worry about it," I said, waving my hand. To be honest, it was thanks to the Sunbin Guild''s help that I was able to create the King-Emperor''s Commitment, after all. If it weren''t for them, I would have had to deal with the greedy Wai Chung on my own and he probably would have got in the way of my plan. The Sunbin Guild had even given me its King-Emperor''s Helm and Mantle willingly. In the end, it was through Sunbin that I managed to complete the King-Emperor''s Set.After that, we discussed what to expect in the next thirty days. Right now, the top players were being careful, but eventually, they were going to lay down their cards. While they would do that for the quest reward, they would also be confident they could protect their treasures from grabby hands. Song Haechang didn''t ever mention the King-Emperor''s Commitment ever again, and I didn''t bring it up. Once he left, I sat back on my sofa and took out the Dungeon Mole again to pet, while lost in thought.---Thirty minutes later¡­"The item that took first place was Broken Spacetime, right?" If I recalled correctly, the Lightning Boots of Azazel hadn''t appeared in this quest. Wakaba had assembled it after this quest. Like the Lightning Boots, Broken Spacetime was also one of the Seven Treasures. That meant if I kept the Commitment hidden and registered the Boots, I could place in the top three. However¡­"Each person can register up to three items¡­" All solo players, organizations and guilds technically had a chance to place in the top three. If it weren''t for that, I would have kept the Commitment hidden and just registered the Boots instead. Actually, if Kazunari hadn''t attacked me in first place, I would have been content with registering the Boots. The reason he had attacked me at all was that he was afraid of me. He didn''t want me getting any stronger and wanted to get rid of me, kind of like how I wanted to get rid of the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke. That told me was that I was pretty threatening to some people, and I was kind of happy with that. "But that doesn''t mean I should give up on this quest. The reward is too great to do that!" The reward I got from the Time Attack quest was the Rank 10 Infinite Space Ring. If there was even a slight chance this quest would give me a similar reward, then I was going to get first place no matter what!"If people are going to care about whatever I do half-assed or earnestly, then I might as well give it my all, so that no one will ever be able to catch up!" That was what it all boiled down to. Pretty much everyone in the world knew about me and wanted to know what I did, just like how Cheng Long and Nayuta cared about what Sunbin did and how the Shire Guild cared about what the Spencer Guild did. I had three Rank 10 items as well, so I decided that if I was going to do this quest, then I would give it my all and live up to my reputation."And if anyone tries to take them away from me¡­ I''ll make sure to teach them what that means."-Banana candy!-"Haha. I''m busy trying to figure out how to win, and all you want is candy," I said to it for butting in at such a weird time. The mole got up on its hind legs and squeaked for more candy, so I took out another one and placed the candy in front of it. "Here, eat up. You''re going to be pretty busy soon, too."Soon, some nameless person was going to get a treasure that would become the harbinger of disaster, just like it had in the past. When that happened, I was going to need the Dungeon Mole''s help.I resumed petting the mole as it licked the piece of candy.------The next night at the Sunbin Guild headquarters¡­"Dig in.""Thank you." I had received a invitation from Song Daechul to have dinner with him, Song Myungsoo, Song Haechang, Song Haein, and four other high-ranking officers. I could tell this was about what I showed Song Haechang yesterday. He had to have reported it, since it was a Rank 10 item and an unusual one at that."You know, the older I get, the more I can''t hold back my curiosity. If this meeting makes you feel too uncomfortable, feel free to let me know," Song Daechul said to me in the middle of dinner."No, I''m fine sir," I replied with a small smile. It didn''t seem like they were trying to interrogate me, and I wasn''t a criminal or anything. Yeah, I did use the Sunbin Guild a little, but only I needed to know that."I heard something strange from Haechang yesterday.""Yes sir," I said with a nod."I didn''t ask you here to interrogate you. As I said before, I''m just curious, which was why I had rewatched the video of that day. I had thought that when you were sacrificed, that was the end to the quest. But¡­ that wasn''t it, was it?""No, sir, it wasn''t." The King-Emperor''s quest was over anyway, so there was no need to keep everything about it a secret.Song Daechul let out a booming laugh, while Song Myungsoo and Song Haein blinked in confusion, since they were the ones who were with me in the Tomb."Could you explain what happened after?""I can.""Haha! Thank you!"Just then, Song Myungsoo cut in. "By chance, were the irreversible seventy death penalties¡­?""Yes, sir. That part was a lie. I didn''t receive a single one.""Ha¡­" That was the one reason neither Sunbin nor Cheng Long could volunteer any one of their members to be sacrificed. Those other six people in that room were the future of their respective guilds. They had naturally shifted their attention to me, expecting me to become the sacrifice instead and that was how I got to squeeze 1.4 billion golden rings out of the two guilds."When I stepped onto the altar, I was transported to an identical room. A message appeared, telling me I had passed the test and was taken to the King-Emperor''s true treasure room." After that, I explained how I was able to create the King-Emperor''s Commitment with the effects of my choice and what the requirements were for each effect. I didn''t tell them everything, but I told them enough so that they could understand. "And that was how I got the King-Emperor''s Commitment. Reveal King-Emperor''s Commitment."==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10)The King-Emperor''s true treasure.All Stats increased by 450 pointsIncrease Mana Conversion skill level by 2Add Blink SkillIncrease CRIT rate by 9%Increase CRIT damage by 500%Increase Penetration by 240 pointsIncrease EXP gain from monsters by 15%DEF 1000, MDEF 1000]==I revealed the Commitment for all to see, just like I had shown Song Haechang, and the others ended up with the same expression he had yesterday.Song Daechul burst out laughing again. "We were all too greedy! And that part about the sacrifice; it was all to a trap to pit us against one another," he said to no particular person. "You were properly rewarded for your selflessness, it seems.""No, I was just lucky. I was the only solo player there, after all. It only made sense that I had to be the sacrifice. I believed getting paid 200 million by the members of both guilds was enough restitution," I said, playing it off as if I had gotten lucky. No one had any suspicions, it seemed, and they had all bought my story."Fortune favors the prepared mind and you, Jiwon, were prepared in mind, heart, and soul.""I apologize for not telling you sooner.""Don''t worry about it. You made that item all on your own. You had no reason to tell anyone."Song Myungsoo had a bitter expression at what his father said. I understood how he felt, because he made the best decision he could considering his circumstances."Leave it. You don''t need to worry about anything. You made the best decision you could make. There was nothing else you could have done," Song Daechul said. He felt the same as me."Yes, sir."We talked a little bit more about the King-Emperor''s Commitment."By the way¡­" Song Daechul began. "I feel like the King-Emperor''s Commitment isn''t all you have. We all have three chances, which was why I sent Haechang. I was sure you had a few Rank 9 items in your possession. But¡­ it would seem I have underestimated you once more."I didn''t say anything back and only smiled."Hahaha! I thought Sunbin stood a chance this time, but I''m reminded of the Time Attack quest once more." Song Daechul saw right through me.I was going to do exactly like I had during the Time Attack quest! 191 Chapter 190: Bring Me Your Best Treasure, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDBack at my house in Seoul¡­Two weeks had passed since I had accepted the quest. "Was it this late?" I still had another two weeks until the quest ended, but it was around this time that item was registered and yet the Hailing Snowstorm was still in first place. It was also the only item higher than Rank 8, and there weren''t even that many Rank 8 items registered yet. I watched the live report on the rankings on TV. There were way too many people around the quest board at the Store, so I opted to watch from home instead.==[Bring Me Your Best Treasure! Rankings:1.1000 points: Hailing Snowstorm (Rank 9) ¨C Olga (D.Nerv)2.857 points: Brawl (Rank 8) ¨C Krinashwi (Banjarsin)3.844 points: Infinite Quiver (Rank 8) ¨C Thomas Dylan (Ulster)4.837 points: Stone Cuirass (Rank 8) ¨C Holmel (No organization):17.761 points: Conqueror''s Glory (Rank 8) ¨C Santiago (Beheira)''::49. 495 points: Breath of Cure (Rank 7) ¨C Angelina (Foam)50. 492: Brave Commander''s Helm (Rank 7) ¨C Wang Feng (Hong Kao)]==There were seventeen Rank 8 items, and the rest were Rank 7''s."I know that there aren''t many Rank 8''s out there, but seventeen is just too few. It doesn''t make sense that there''s only one Rank 9 up right now." Even though items of Rank 8 and higher couldn''t just be bought with money, seven Rank 8 items were just too few. This was an individual quest, not a party quest, so there should be more chances for people to register their items."All it means is this is an even fiercer battle of wits." There was no other explanation for that. "How was it in the past?" I wasn''t able to participate in my past life, but I had some interest in it because I was curious as to what sort of powerful items were out there. But that was all there was to it. I had just about completely forgotten what items were registered then. There was no use to me remembering them when I wasn''t able to use or have any of them back then. Had I known that I would return to past, I would have memorized all fifty items, but that wasn''t the case."Hmm¡­ but doesn''t it seem that these quests prefer relative evaluations a little too much?" The points were all geared towards first place. The same had happened with the Time Attack quest. When I entered the lists, the S Ranks, A Ranks, and B Ranks were all shoved down to D and F Ranks."I bet the same will happen with this quest." Nothing was certain, but something told me that this was going to be the case. "Yeah, I''ll just wait. I''ve got two weeks left anyway. I don''t know when it''ll happen, but I''m sure people will start registering Rank 8 items eventually."I decided to just ride the flow for the next couple of weeks, that way I had the highest chance to come out on top. The weaker devas were going to get caught up in the flow as well, and end up registering their treasures even though they won''t be able to protect them. I wasn''t going to stop that flow, and I didn''t know how to. Well, there could be a way to stop it, if I registered all three of my Rank 10 items at once. If I did that, then I could take first place early on and leave a considerable distance between me and my competition that no one would try to challenge. "But¡­if I do that, it''ll be my loss." I got up and walked out to my large garden. This was the one place in the house that was my private sanctuary. I took a long walk through the garden for no particular reason. I came to a stop in front of a beautiful flower that I did not know the name to. As I stared at it, I suddenly shouted out, "My greed comes first!"I had never set out to be a hero, and I wasn''t going to become one now. My greed and my ambition had priority over anyone else. I wanted to reach the end. ---The next day¡­"Hmm¡­I think I''ll hunt today." I was getting bored of watching the rankings that hadn''t changed for a couple of days now."The Iceman Dungeon and the Troll Dungeon are the quickest to get to¡­" I could use Sunbin''s Teleporter nearby to get to Siberia, or just use my Clan Badge to get to the Faroe Islands. "But I should use that instead, to get some hands on experience!"I took out the Scroll of Predation from my inventory. Just as I had expected, the Roulette Wheel only gave me a Scroll when I didn''t have in one in my inventory. Today seemed like the perfect day to put it to good use."Summon: Dungeon Mole."-Banana candy?-"I''ll give you one when we''re done. Predation!"==[You have consumed your target.Target: Dungeon MoleTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Dungeon Teleport (Can be used 3 times a day.)Effect 2: Dungeon Search (Can be used once a day, one additional use available)]=="Heh." This was such a great ability. "Dungeon Teleport: Pharos Dungeon."==[You will now be teleported to the Pharos Dungeon.You will be moved to a random place on the dungeon''s first floor.]=="Ah, it''s so useful." I was taken to the Egyptian dungeon in less than a second. "If only I could use it as much as I want¡­" This ability took away the need to waste time travelling from city to dungeon, and kept my whereabouts hidden from everyone else. If I could gain entrance to as many dungeons as possible, I could travel across the world in less than a second."Well, this much is fine. Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 3 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]=="Alright! Time to play!" I rushed at a Mutated Croc off to the distance and swung my spear. The Croc swung its tail and chomped its maw at me in retaliation. I placed my foot on its body and used it as a springboard to jump over and land on its other side."Fissure." The ground split, damaging the eight Crocs that were standing over there"Judge''s Gavel." I rushed in at the horde of Crocs that had lost their footing from the split ground, killing one in an instant and made short work of the other seven."Store." It took me less than two minutes to clear the monsters, and I stored their drops in the Infinite Space like always."Oh, that''s right. Now that I think about it, I kind of just left." I realized I had left home without a word. I took out my Comm Link and called my mother."Hello?""It''s me, mom. I wanted to let you know that I''m not home. I''ll be back tomorrow morning.""When did you leave?""Just now.""Okay. Take care of yourself.""It''s only a day. I''ll be fine.""You know what I mean.""Okay. I will."Every time I talked with my mother, the conversation started and ended with worry. She was treating me as if I was still a child, even though there were many who trembled at my name. After I hung up, I decided to call the officer who let me know about the quest and who had stayed by my grandfather''s side for half his life."Hello?""I wanted to let you know that I''m not home right now. If anyone registers a Rank 9 item on the quest board, please let me know.""I understand. You have nothing to worry about, young master.""Thank you," I said, before hanging up. "Good. That''s been taken care of." All I had to do now was hunt as much as I wanted for the rest of the day.------After hunting for almost a full day, Predation was about to expire. "Dungeon Teleport: Bukhan Mountain Dungeon." The Bukhan Mountain Dungeon was the closest dungeon to my house, and once I warped there, it didn''t take me long to get back home."I''m home.""Is that all you have to say for staying out all night?""Heh. Sorry.""Are you going to take the rest of the day off after you eat?""Yeah.""Then go wash up first."I wasn''t really tired since I always hunted all day and I hadn''t really done much. Yesterday was more of a test for the dungeon''s abilities. After breakfast, I went up to my room to sleep. Before I laid down on my bed, I remembered to summon the Dungeon Mole to feed it another piece of candy.-Banana candy!-"Yeah, yeah. Eat up."Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel appeared again.==[You have obtained Predation.You have received a single use Scroll of Predation in your inventory.]==I decided to spend the next few days hunting at the Sunbin Guild''s Iceman Dungeon.------There was exactly a week left to the ''Bring Me Your Best Treasure!'' quest now. I was still at the Iceman Dungeon hunting."Die!"The Icemen in front of me could not last long against my attacks, and their sturdy bodies crumbled into ice cubes after my spear struck them a couple of times. The last Iceman crumbled like broken glass at my feet. Just then, a message appeared before me.==[This message has been sent because you have accepted the ''Bring Me Your Best Treasure!'' quest.]====[''Bring Me Your Best Treasure!'' quest has one week remaining.You have two days to register your items.You will not be allowed to register your items two days from now.You can still check on registered items until the last day of the quest.]=="Huh? What is that about?" This quest was supposed to be thirty days long, but the system was now telling me that with a full week left to go that I only had two more days to register my items. But the important part here was that the thing I was waiting for hadn''t happened yet."Maybe this was the catalyst¡­" That message could have forced the item''s owner''s hand to register it around this time."Hmm¡­ I should head back first." I put away my spear and quickly left the dungeon. On the way out, I ran into Song Haechang."Hey there.""Hey," I said as I shook his hand."I see you saw the message too.""Yeah, I did.""Sunbin is waiting for the very last minute possible as well.""I suppose you had to. You''ve got many eyes watching you, too.""But we''ve only got two days left and our items are going to be revealed for five whole days¡­ there''s no reason to wait anymore, is there?""No, there isn''t. That''s why I''m heading out now." Many of the quest participants were thinking about registering their items with less than a minute left to the quest. Anyone with common sense would do that, but it would seem that wasn''t what the quest wanted."Then I wish you luck in the rankings.""I also hope to see Sunbin get good results from this quest." We had already learned of the items we were planning on registering during that dinner. After that, Sunbin and I seemed to have gotten closer, which was better for me. Sunbin was the greatest shield for my family. The Myth, Ravi, and Shire Guilds, and the Werewolves, may have set up their own liaisons in my house, but the Sunbin Guild was the closest and had the most power out of all of them.---Just as I returned to Seoul, I got a call on my Comm Link."Young master! It happened. Two Rank 9 items were registered at the same time!""I understand." It would seem everyone else was of the same mind as me and Song Haechang. If they weren''t going to give up on this quest, then they no longer had a reason to keep their items a secret any longer.This was the real start of the quest. There were two days left, and I had quite a bit to prepare. 192 Chapter 191: Lee Jiwon Again? Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAs soon as I returned to my house in Seoul, I called Lod van Agassi of the Werewolf Clan."It''s been a while, Jiwon. Is something the matter?""Hello. I wanted to ask you about something.""What is it?""You know about the quest going on right now, right?""Of course I do. What about it?""I was wondering if I could register the Clan Badge you gave me.""Hahaha. It''s yours, so why are you asking me for permission?""Still¡­""It belongs to you, Jiwon. Whatever you want to do to it is up to you.""Thank you.""I know it''s a Rank 10, but I don''t know if it will be worth that many points. But either way, I wish you all the best.""Thank you," I said, before hanging up. It was just as Lod said. It might be a Rank 10 item, but its actual value definitely lacked. I had thought the same when I had first received it. It was an item that was only beneficial for one person, like the one ally of the Werewolf Clan. Its rarity was the only reason it was Rank 10; if it didn''t have that restriction, it would definitely be a Rank 8.I was going to go with the Infinite Space Ring even though it was only 8% complete. Even if it was incomplete, it was still obviously worth more than the Clan Badge."But I might just end up revealing a weak point of mine."I had also planned to go all out and register the King-Emperor''s Commitment, the Lightning Boots of Azazel, and the Infinite Space Ring. They were my best items by far, but I changed my mind. I would have to complete the Infinite Space Ring, no matter how long it took. If I revealed it now, then it would become a weakness. People would start coming to me, calling themselves master craftsmen when they could actually be average or novices. There was also a chance I could make finding master craftsmen harder and more expensive."Who knows? There could even be a few who would outright try to stop me from ever completing the Ring."---I went up the room overlooking my garden. I sat on a sofa and at my request, two TVs were set up showing different channels. I had this done since the quest started so I could look out for a certain item."When is Amplification going to show up?" Amplification was the name of the Rank 10 item I was waiting for. This was the item that caused quite the ruckus during the quest of my past life. If I didn''t have the Dungeon Mole, I wouldn''t try to do this, but guess what? I did.I was waiting to register my items right after Amplification was registered, that way the owner of Amplification wouldn''t be intimidated by my items.---On the twenty-fifth day of the quest¡­There were about four hours left until item registration closed. "Hmm¡­" Amplification still hadn''t been registered yet, and of course, I hadn''t registered my own items yet. There were three Rank 10 items and twelve Rank 9 items currently registered. All items from sixteenth place to seventieth were all Rank 8''s. I didn''t care what those items were, though. I didn''t care about stealing away the treasures from the weak. It wasn''t because I was weak; it was just a pain to go through. It was virtually impossible to steal away someone else''s items. Not even Wanhu could do it. She had to make someone her Buddy and ask to borrow their items instead. Even Lee Kangchan hadn''t touched a single one of my items in the past.The only way was to kidnap someone and blackmail them into forking over their items. But there weren''t exactly many ways to threaten a deva when they couldn''t die. Most thieves would have to resort to torture while keeping their victims alive, but even then, that wouldn''t work against stronger devas. In short, they had to target weaker devas who wouldn''t normally have decent items in the first place.Still, there was one organization that actually managed to make its fortune by stealing items from other devas. It was none other than the House of Windsor Guards of Great Britain."Once they were ousted, they were completely stripped of their power and chased out of their country." They were the biggest two-faced pricks that ever walked Otadolon Earth. Publicly, they presented themselves as loyal, honorable guards of the queen, but they also ran the seediest and shadiest organization from the shadows."Well, it''s not like I''ll go out of my way and do something about them." I might if I could get strong enough to crush them easily.I glued my eyes on to the TV screens, watching the rankings and soon, I finally saw Amplification get registered. The fourth Rank 10 item was ranked in 8th place."Register Items!"==[You can register up to three items.]==Three empty slots appeared before me. Next to them was all of the information on items that were currently registered. I ignored the three slots for now and selected Amplification.==[Amplification (Rank 10)This is a consumable item that will be disposed of upon use.Use Amplification on another item to increase the targeted item''s power by at least 50% and at most 100%.Can only be used on equippable items.]==Its description was quite simple for being a Rank 10, even simpler than the Clan Badge. In the past, I had managed to check this item out, but I had thought that it was pretty trash and useless. But this item was the cause of a huge scandal when so many people tried to steal it, even though the item''s owner wasn''t a pushover at all."But now that I see it again, it seems pretty overpowered, doesn''t it?" I wanted it so I could use it on the King-Emperor''s Commitment. If I could double its power¡­"Man¡­ I would be unstoppable." I couldn''t help but want Amplification for myself. "Now that Amplification is up, I should register my items." Once they were registered, I just had to wait for the quest to end. Once I got first place, I would get the chance to steal away Amplification."Register King-Emperor''s Commitment, Lightning Boots of Azazel, Clan Badge."==[King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10), Lightning Boots of Azazel (Rank 10), Clan Badge (Rank 10) will now be registered.Once these items are registered, they cannot be cancelled until the quest ends.]=="Yeah, yeah, I know that much." I was getting slightly nervous now. What if for some reason King-Emperor''s Commitment didn''t get first place? I watched as the rankings changed.==[Bring Me Your Best Treasure! Rankings:1. 1000 points: King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10) ¨C Lee Jiwon (No organization)2. 699 points: Broken Spacetime (Rank 10) ¨C Song Myungsoo (Sunbin Guild)3. 698 points: Lightning Boots of Azazel (Rank 10) ¨C Lee Jiwon (No organization)4. 632 points: Warpath (Rank 10) ¨C Giorgio Aleng (House of Windsor Guards)5. 630 points: Retribution (Rank 10) ¨C Wai Chung (Cheng Long Guild):10.534 points: Amplification (Rank 10) ¨C Baden al Nayan (Abu Dhabi)11. 527 points: Clan Badge (Rank 10) ¨C Lee Jiwon (No organization) ::49. 274 points: Blade of Conviction (Rank 8) ¨C Okamoto (Nayuta Guild)50. 268 points: Krakshia''s Provocation (Rank 8) ¨C Astrada Fareh (Bazarzan)]==Once again, the rankings were completely flipped thanks to me. I had made the point difference between first place and the other places even larger now. But what caught me off guard was the Clan Badge''s ranking."It''s at eleventh place? I thought it would be at around the thirties." I smiled. I was nervous that I wouldn''t be able to get first place, but I had definitely secured my win.-Give me candy!-"You''re getting pretty demanding these days, aren''t you? You''re starting to treat me like your servant," I said to the mole, even though it probably didn''t understand what I was saying. I ripped open another piece of candy and placed it front of the mole.Well, I was going to rely on it a lot to deal with Amplification. "Eat up," I said as I petted it from head to tail and looked back at the rankings. There were only thirty minutes until the registration closed.------The rest of the world was in chaos once Lee Jiwon registered his three items."It''s Lee Jiwon again?""Shit! How does he always get first place in all these quests?""What''s even funnier is that South Korea took first, second, and third!""Fuck. South Korea is just a puny country without a single high-grade dungeon, how the hell did Lee Jiwon and Sunbin get so powerful?"Just like after the Time Attack quest, China, Japan, America, and Europe were all completely dissatisfied at how South Korea always came out on top, even though it wasn''t even the strongest Asian country.---The reaction at Seoul''s Store 72 was different, however."Hah! Did you see it?""Yeah, I did. I told you there was going to be a twist towards the end.""Holy¡­ is that even possible?""Why? Are you going to say it''s a bug like that expert on TV?""...""But damn! Did you look at the effects on the King-Emperor''s Commitment?""Of course I did.""It''s so overpowered!""I never heard about a pair of earrings being able to carry seven effects at once. It even has weapon effects, at that!""That''s why it''s at first place.""Yup. And to think we thought that the Broken Spacetime was the most overpowered item¡­""It''s not all he has, though. Look at third and eleventh place!""It''s Lee Jiwon again...""Damn¡­ where does he get these items?""I want to be his friend.""Me, too! It''d be nice to know someone like him...""Snap out of it..." 193 Chapter 192: Lee Jiwon Again? Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Cheng Long Guild''s headquarters¡­A conference table was split cleanly in half with Wai Chung standing over it, his fist still outstretched and shaking in anger. "Lee Jiwon, that son of a bitch!"The King-Emperor''s Commitment had completely secured first place with such an overwhelming record. Wai Chung wasn''t sure about it at first, but when he read the item''s description, he realized where it was from."There was more to the sacrifice!" He didn''t have a single piece of solid information, but he could tell it was from the Tomb quest. "Please calm down, sir.""Please, sir. Anger won''t solve¡­" The officers'' pleas only served to anger Wai Chung even more. Cheng Long had gotten nothing out of the Tomb quest after all they had put in to it. No, it was better to say that they had lost more than they got out of it. They had paid Lee Jiwon seven hundred and fifty million golden rings, and the Sunbin Guild were the ones to get the two King-Emperor items.Frankly, Wai Chung had pushed it far from his mind because of how disgraceful it was, but thanks to Lee Jiwon, Wai Chung began to recall what had happened that day. Lee Jiwon was supposed to take on seventy irreversible death penalties as the sacrifice. It was why Wai Chung had to pay him the golden rings. But that obviously wasn''t what had happened after Lee Jiwon had stepped onto the altar. No, what Lee Jiwon got instead was an unbelievable treasure. Wai Chung was swindled!"Fucking Dongyi bastards! I swear I''ll tear them into pieces!" It didn''t help that Lee Jiwon had recently taken away the Glacier Gauntlets. Every time Wai Chung remembered it, he grew angrier and angrier."Is there no one out there who can do away with Lee Jiwon?""Well¡­ the underworld hasn''t accepted our requests pertaining to Lee Jiwon."There existed an entire network of underworld guilds and organizations that spanned the globe. These organizations were willing to do anything to anyone, like kidnapping or assassinations, as long as they were paid enough.Cheng Long had made a request to the secret organizations to deal with Lee Jiwon, because doing it themselves would attract too much attention and came with too many consequences. However, not a single organization had accepted that request, even after Cheng Long had increased the offered amount several times. They all had the same reason as Cheng Long. Killing Lee Jiwon once wouldn''t end him. He would resurrect like any other deva, and what followed would be revenge. There was not a single underworld organization that could withstand Lee Jiwon''s full might if he ever came knocking in the name of vengeance. The only other method was to kidnap him and imprison him somewhere, but even that was impossible. There was not a single person on this Earth who could drag Lee Jiwon away, and there was not a single prison that could ever keep him hidden away. If an underworld organization had that much strength, it wouldn''t exist in the underworld in the first place. That was why Wai Chung had accepted Kazunari''s offer and left it all in his hands. If it was him, he could do it; he had to! But even the Dungeon Creator couldn''t defeat Lee Jiwon..."Shit! Shit!" Wai Chung knew why the underworld wouldn''t dare bother Lee Jiwon, but he just couldn''t forgive the man for making a fool of him and his guild. "Find a way! I don''t care if it''s Lee Jiwon or those brown-nosing shits; I want them gone!""Yes, sir." Wai Chung''s officers quickly replied but even they were frustrated. All of the spies they had sent to infiltrate Lee Jiwon''s family were all discovered and kicked out immediately by the five foreign guilds that guarded them viciously. They were practically untouchable now.No one knew what to do with Lee Jiwon. They had once thought he was just some pest that had a decent streak of luck, but now, he had grown into a powerful dragon. In fact, some underworld organizations were even calling him the Emperor of the Monarchs.------Alexandria''s Pharos Dungeon¡­"It feels good to get away from home every now and then."The reactions from registering my Commitment were even more explosive than I had expected. Everyone got to see how powerful it was, and believed that its very existence was a cheat. Even my allies all thought so, too. I had received a call from each faction, telling me how jealous they were and congratulating me on an easy win. I could tell they were all saying that to stay in my good graces, but I didn''t mind. I still needed them in my corner, after all."There''s only one day left, huh?" There was only one more day remaining until the quest ended. The item registration had already ended four days ago, so the rankings were still the same."I''m looking forward to the quest rewards." I got back up again and gripped my spear as I headed to another horde of Crocs. The reward would come tomorrow. All I had to do today was hunt.------Back at my house the next day¡­The ''Bring Me Your Best Treasure!'' quest was one minute away from ending, and I waited for the quest on the terrace overlooking my garden. Since the item registration had already ended, there was no way anyone could ever do a total reversal and take first place from me. Soon, the quest finally ended and once again, my name was shown to everyone around the world.==[Bring Me Your Best Treasure! quest has ended.Quest rewards will be granted to 1st to 50th place.Lee Jiwon has secured 1st, 3rd and 11th place and obtained a total of 635,520 converted points. As a result, Lee Jiwon will receive 2/3 more of the quest rewards.You have received a Rank 8 Random Item Chest.You have received 1,550 Stat points.You have received 1 skill point.You have received 245,000,000 golden rings.]====[You may receive your quest rewards be completing the quest at the quest board.]=="Hehehe!" These rewards were twice as good as the rewards from the Time Attack quest. Those extra 1550 Stat points will also be great to get my base STR closer to 20,000. "It would be perfect if I can get a couple more quests like this!"I got up from my seat and headed out to get my rewards and spend my new skill point. "Blink 1. Blink 2." I put on my hat and sunglasses and headed straight for the Store. Once I got there, I went up the skill shop."Welcome.""Show me your skills.""Of course."When I got the Dungeon Mole, I had thought about a skill that would go great with it. I entered the skill I wanted in the search bar. "Summon: Sparrow."==[Summon: SparrowGrants the ability to summon a Sparrow.There is a limit to its abilities as it isn''t very strong and is very small.Requirements to learn: 900 AGI]==This skill was like Shared Vision; it allowed me to see through the eyes of the summoned Sparrow. It was as good as sharing notes with someone, and it didn''t have any combat abilities at all. I could learn the stronger Eagle summon that could attack but it required two skill points to learn. Basically, I was just learning it so that I could use Predation on it. I didn''t need the summoned beast to attack. No matter how many times the Eagle attacked, it wouldn''t ever match up to my attack power. A Sparrow that could fly in the air was enough for me."Learn Summon: Sparrow.""Summon: Sparrow costs 5,000 golden rings. With your 20% VIP discount, your total comes out to 4,000 golden rings."I handed the clerk the money and left the Store to head home. "Predation works on the Dungeon Mole because it''s rare, so it should work on the Sparrow too, right?" That was the only explanation on my Predation ability that made sense. It only worked on the Dungeon Mole, and not on anyone or anything else.As I neared my house, I could hear a buzz of voices coming from the yard. Once I entered through the gate, I was met with a boom as party poppers went off. I saw a huge sign hung above the yard and saw a line of chefs cooking on one side of the yard. I looked up to read the sign.[Congratulations to Lee Jiwon for getting First Place in the Bring Your Best Treasure! quest!]"..." I was shocked into silence. Just then, a few people brought over a giant cake in front of me."Go on! Blow out the candles!""So many people are talking about you, young master! We''re so proud to have you lead us!"I wasn''t sure how to react. I didn''t expect them to do this at all. At that moment, my mother came up to my side."Go on. Blow out the candles. We''ve all been preparing for this for the past five days.""Oh¡­okay." I blew out the candles."Alright! Let''s party!""Young master, come over here!""Yeah, come eat with us!"I was dragged to the large dining table that was set up in the middle of the yard and sat down next to my grandfather. The feast commenced and it wasn''t just for us."Hey, hey! I can smell the food all the way from outside.""Can we join in on your celebration, too?"The liaisons of my allied factions had gathered around as well."Of course, of course! The more the merrier!"The party doubled in size in an instant, and I still felt out of place. I never had anything like this happen to me before. I never even had my own birthday parties growing up."Jiwon," my mother said as she sat down next to me."Oh¡­ hi.""It looks good.""Huh?" I couldn''t get used to this atmosphere, and my mother was looking at me as if she enjoyed watching me squirm."It''s nice seeing you uncomfortable, not knowing how to react to something you never experienced before. But don''t worry. You''ll have many more chances to experience this in the future.""..." I finally understood what she meant. Every day since I came back to the past, I had more or less known what was going to happen and prepared myself fully for each event. But there were still some things that hadn''t happened in the past, and I just had to learn to adapt."You''re right! Next time¡­" 194 Chapter 193: Let it Simmer Part I Translator: HunterW3Editor: REDDuring the party at Lee Jiwon''s home¡­"Hehehe!"''Let me rest!''"No!"Shaman Ko ran endlessly; through trees, down hills, and over boulders. It was having so much fun. But the Dungeon Mole that was still tied to Shaman Ko felt like it was dying as it was dragged around everywhere."Huh?" In the middle of its play, Shaman Ko heard a sound it had never heard before in its domain. Shaman Ko turned its head to the new sound, and saw a small bird perched in a tree. Shaman Ko suddenly rushed towards it and the bird quickly flew away when it saw Shaman Ko scrambling after it.Unfortunately for the little bird, this was Shaman Ko''s domain. There was nowhere for it to run. Just because it could fly didn''t mean it could escape Shaman Ko''s grasp.Shaman Ko leapt up from the ground and jumped right over the bird, hitting it like a flyswatter. The bird fell straight to the ground from the force of the blow. The bird got back up on its feet and tried to flap its wings and fly again, but it must have broken a wing. All it could do was jump a couple centimeters off the ground.Shaman Ko slowly walked over to the frantically chirping bird. It picked up the poor thing and brought it up to eye level. "This is my home."A strange thing had entered Shaman Ko''s home without its permission. It didn''t matter if it was big or small, strong or weak; any strange beings that entered Shaman Ko''s home without permission were Shaman Ko''s enemies. Shaman Ko reacted only one way towards its enemies; by getting rid of them! It was how the epitome of greed protected its belongings.After Shaman Ko declared firmly to the bird that it had invaded Shaman Ko''s home, Shaman Ko tightly squeezed the bird in its hand. It was impossible for the bird to withstand that amount of pressure, and it was destroyed in an instant. All that was left was a bloody pulp and feathers in Shaman Ko''s hand. Shaman Ko looked emotionlessly at the mess and gave its hand a good shake, before getting back to his playtime with the Dungeon Mole still tied to it."Hehehe!"-Let me rest, I said!-------After the weeklong feast ended, I was back up in my room overlooking the garden. "Can this even happen?"A skill of mine had been removed on its own. Deleting skills was a pretty common occurrence. I had done it a few times during my past life and I had even deleted Heel Kick some time ago. But there was only one way to delete skills, and that was to go to a skill shop and have the clerk or system do it for you. There was no other way to remove skills and yet¡­"It still got removed¡­" I recalled the message I received during the first day of the feast.------After the short talk with my mother, I could finally smile. I fully understood what she meant and was able to enjoy the party. I was the star, after all¡­ and then the message that appeared.==[Summon: Sparrow (1/1), (Active) has been removed.You will not be refunded the golden rings spent on learning this skill.The skill point used to learn this skill will be returned to you.]==I was shocked at the message that came without warning. It didn''t make sense at all. I held my tongue, however, and acted as if I was still enjoying the party. It might be something I hadn''t experienced before, but I wasn''t a child to go running for help at the first sign of danger. ---Back to the present¡­"Ha¡­geez¡­" Thankfully, the skill was only level 1, so it didn''t need any EXP and it also didn''t cost much to learn. The important part here was why. Why did it get removed?I got up from my seat. I didn''t know enough to figure out why it happened. It didn''t cost that many golden rings, so I could still learn it again and see for myself if it would happen again. I left my house and used both Blinks to quickly get to Store 72. I went straight up to the skill shop and bought the skill again. I left the Store once I had it, since I couldn''t use skills inside, and once I was outside, I quietly activated the skill."Summon: Sparrow."==[Sparrow has been Summoned.]==In an instant, a small sparrow appeared before me, chirping and flying around me in a circle before alighting on my shoulder. It seemed to know that I was its owner."There doesn''t seem to be any problems¡­" The skill worked completely fine. Just as I was closely examining the little bird, it burst like a balloon. It just popped for no reason, and then that same message appeared. ==[Summon: Sparrow (1/1), (Active) has been removed.You will not be refunded the golden rings spent on learning this skill.The skill point used to learn this skill will be returned to you.]=="Huh? What the hell?" The fact that it just happened right in front of me made it that much harder to believe. I never really had a Summon skill before, but I at least knew that this was not normal."Okay. Let''s say it died, for whatever reason. But why would it get removed just because it died?" A Summoned creature could die during battle. Sometimes, that was their role; to tank damage for their caster. The only penalty for a dead Summon creature was at most just a 24-hour cooldown before it could be summoned again. If the penalty ever affected the summoner, then no one would ever learn Summoning skills.So obviously, none of this made sense to me. The Summoning skill was removed as soon as the Summon creature died, as if the creature only had one life.I went back inside the Store and up to the skill shop to learn another Summoning skill that only cost 1 skill point, called Summon: Pocket Monkey. Most summoners used this Summon beast as a pack mule to carry items when their inventories got full. When I left the Store this time, I used Blink once to get some distance away from the crowd."Summon: Pocket Monkey!"==[Pocket Monkey has been summoned.]==The Pocket Monkey was summoned without any problems. I quickly examined the little beast.==[Pocket Monkey (Owned by Lee Jiwon)The pouch on the Pocket Monkey''s belly is actually quite large on the inside.This Summon beast possess no combat abilities whatsoever.Items can be stored inside the Pocket Monkey''s pouch.If the Pocket Monkey is attacked, it can drop some of the items it is storing.]==I didn''t see the same notification that told me I could use Predation on it, like when I first got the Dungeon Mole."Predation!" I shouted to see for myself.==[Predation cannot be used on this target.]=="..." So I was wrong. But before I could do anything else, the Pocket Monkey blew up the exact same way the Sparrow had.==[Summon: Pocket Monkey (1/1), (Active) has been removed.You will not be refunded the golden rings spent on learning this skill.The skill point used to learn this skill will be returned to you.]==I was completely clueless as to why this was happening. I had never heard about this happening in my past life. "I just don''t get it."I went back to the skill shop and bought the Sparrow skill to check it before it blew up and learned that it also didn''t have the Predation notification. When the Sparrow blew up again, I finally realized that there was nothing more I could do, and I decided to head back home. I might as well think from the comfort of my own room.------Back in my room¡­"Are Summon skills the problem?" None of my other skills were removed, just the Summon skills."Summon: Dungeon Mole."-Ha¡­ha¡­I just can''t deal with that Shaman Ko!-It sometimes said things I didn''t really get, but I could still Summon it without any problems. I stared at the mole as it spread out on its belly on my palm and snoozed away. I then finally realized the difference between the mole and the other Summon beasts."It belongs to both me and Shaman Ko?" The Sparrow and the Pocket Monkey had only belonged to me, but the label on the Dungeon Mole clearly said that it belonged to me AND Shaman Ko.When I realized that, I began to put together the answer. "The Scroll of Predation comes from Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel, and the only target Predation works on is the Dungeon Mole." Shaman Ko was in the center of it all, including Predation."Hmm¡­" I was sure that Shaman Ko existed within me. I hadn''t realized it then, but that voice I heard when I got the Listen skill that cried out when it was annoyed about something came from Shaman Ko. But Shaman Ko was a different entity than other Summon creatures. It couldn''t exist in the real world, like the Dungeon Mole could."Shaman Ko consumed Predation, which is how Predation is on the Roulette Wheel, and also means that Predation is now one of Shaman Ko''s abilities. That''s why I and Shaman Ko both own the Dungeon Mole and how I can use Predation on the mole." The pieces were slowly starting to fall together. "Then¡­ does that mean Shaman Ko was killing off those normal Summon creatures?" Shaman Ko was probably rejecting those creatures, as it didn''t see a real use for them."And the reason why I can''t use Predation on the Sparrow or the Monkey is because only I owned them. Shaman Ko has to own them as well, in order for me to use Predation on them." A shiver ran down my spine once I finally understood why that was happening. I double-checked my facts in case I had missed something, but that was the only explanation I could come up with."So¡­ now what do I do?" Predation only lasted a day, but it had unlimited uses. Right now, I could only get Sparrow, but there were other Summons, like Invisible Beetle, Fire Butterfly, or even Phoenix. Saving Predation was too much of waste when there were so many Summons I could try to use Predation on. There was a chance I could obtain an ability no one would normally be able to get.-Give me candy!-I looked down at the mole in my hand. "Just how did you get yourself captured by Shaman Ko in the first place?" I asked, but I didn''t get an answer. All it did was squeak, demanding I give it a piece of candy."Fine, fine, here you go. What can you know, anyway?" I ripped open a piece of candy and handed it to the mole.I stroked the mole as it licked the candy. I felt much better now that I understood what was going on. I just didn''t know yet what to do about it. "Will it fix itself if I just leave it alone?" I wondered if Shaman Ko would ever give up if I kept throwing Summons at it."Well, I can figure that out later." I finally decided to shift my attention to the quest rewards that had been on the back burner for a week."Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 678Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 8,865,700/8,865,700MP: 357,800/357,800Strength: 20,974+ 2,658Agility: 14,051Vitality: 14,151Willpower: 3,518Intelligence: 3,248Unassigned Stat Points: 1610 + 114Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 79,181Physical Defense: 31,347Magical Attack: 11,304Magical Defense: 19,384]=="Heh." I had gained three levels while waiting for the quest to end, and received the 1550 extra Stat points. I hadn''t been satisfied with the leveling these days. While my pace was faster than anyone else''s, it was definitely slowing down recently. But those extra Stat points from the quest reward were enough to put my worries at ease for now."20,000 points isn''t so far now." I put all of the unassigned points into STR, as always."Now then, it''s time for the main course." I took out the Rank 8 Random Item Chest from my inventory. The last time I got one was from the Time Attack quest, and I had gotten the Rank 10 Infinite Space Ring from it.I carefully opened the chest and saw that the item was unfortunately purple, meaning that it wasn''t Rank 10, but either Rank 8 or 9."No, no. It''s okay if it''s not Rank 10. I have enough for now." I gathered myself and picked up the item inside the box. I had never seen or heard of this item before."Call?" I repeated its name. 195 Chapter 194: Let it Simmer, Part II Translator: HunterW3Editor: RED==[Call (Rank 9)You can Summon those registered in Call.You can register up to 10 people into Call.Use the command, ''Register'' on a person while keeping that person in your sights for 1 minute to register that person into Call.Once Call list is full, you have to remove one person in order to register someone else.Cooldown: 24 hours.As long as this item remains in your inventory, you will receive the following effects:All Stats increased by 300 points.]=="Umm¡­" I wasn''t sure if this was good or bad. I think I would have preferred a piece of armor or accessory of the same rank instead. But I quickly realized it wasn''t so bad. I could afford to buy whatever items were still lower than Rank 8. It was good enough that I could get 300 points to all of my Stats as long as it was in my inventory, even though 300 points wasn''t a whole lot for a Rank 9."But to think I can Summon whoever I register¡­" I was reminded of Kazunari and how I was trapped in his dungeon. The Clan Badge wasn''t able to work while I was inside it."The Clan Badge was Rank 10 and didn''t work, but I wonder if this could?" I wondered if I could Summon someone while I was inside Kazunari''s dungeon, but my curiosity soon vanished and I smiled. Kazunari pretty much didn''t exist anymore after he lost his Dungeon Mole. Call definitely wasn''t a bad item. I got up from my seat and set out to find people to register.------I went down to kitchen where I found my mother humming to herself as she cooked. She didn''t have to, but she insisted she continue cooking. Then again, she did have five assistants here, while she had worked alone back at the Sojung Guild."Hmm? What brings you down here, Jiwon?" she asked when she noticed me come in.I walked over to her with a smile. The guests from the five factions had actually liked my mother more during the feast, even though I was the star."It''s nothing. I just had something to do. Register," I said as I held my mother''s hands.==[Registering target into Call¡­Number 1: Sung Sooyeon (Mortal)]====[Register has been completedCall ListSung Sooyeon (Mortal)]==After a minute, my mother was registered into Call and I let go of her hands."Hmm? Did you do something? I don''t feel any different." Even though she was a mortal, my mother spent a lot of time around devas and could tell that I was up to something, but she didn''t pull away. "I''m all done. Wow, are we having noodles for dinner?""Yup. It''s almost done.""Great." I left my mother in the kitchen and returned to my room. I decided to try it out right away. "Call." The Call List appeared before me and selected the one person registered.==[Summoning Sung Sooyeon.]=="Ah!" My mother appeared before me, still holding a frying pan in one hand and tongs in the other. I was pretty calm about it, but my mother looked around her, eyes wide with shock."Jiwon!" she shouted when she saw me. "You surprised me!""Sorry, mom." I was satisfied with this experiment so I couldn''t help but smile as my mother nagged, still surprised.------A week later¡­I was back at hunting at the Pharos Dungeon. "Hmm¡­that rumor should be surfacing around now." I was waiting for that event to happen pertaining to Amplification that was revealed during the quest. It was a huge scandal back then if someone like me was able to hear about it."It''d be nice if I could register that person into Call. Should I have done that? No. It''s hard to infiltrate that place even with Blink, and if I get caught, I risk sparking an international incident."Amplification was owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi Guild of the Arab Emirates. The guild master of the Abu Dhabi Guild was the president of the Arab Emirates before the world changed, and his power only grew when he created the guild. He used that power to unite all seven emirates under Abu Dhabi. "The child that was kidnapped back then was Abu Dhabi''s guild master''s only son." The guild master was royalty and had four wives, but only had one child born before Otadolon. "Of course that child would be precious to him."I had never met the child myself, but I was sure he was raised completely sheltered from the rest of the world while receiving the utmost care and protection. He was supposed to live that life until he became an adult and used his token to become a deva."But he disappeared and Abu Dhabi threw a huge fit that I''m pretty sure shook the entire world." Someone had managed to get past those defenses and kidnap the child. News of the incident had even travelled all the way to South Korea."But now, only I know what happens." I knew that no one could find him and knew where that child was kept. When Abu Dhabi handed over Amplification, the child was returned dead and tied up like a pig. Enraged, the Abu Dhabi guild master ceased all guild activities and focused all of his and the guild''s resources into finding the culprit. They couldn''t find the culprit even after a year and that was when the guild members began to express their dissatisfaction. They weren''t able to level up during that year, but were forced to continue at their guild master''s rage. That only served to fuel the guild members'' frustrations and eventually the guild master was replaced by his younger brother."And that former guild master completely disappeared off the face of the earth." That was all I knew about the incident concerning Amplification, most of it was through rumors."I just need to let things simmer. I don''t want to let that child die, but I need to wait regardless. He''ll be fine for at least a few months." I also had Call to use as a last resort. If I could register the boy into Call, it would be perfect, but there was a high chance of me getting caught. I risked getting misunderstood as the boy''s kidnapper and having a whole entire guild come down on me in full force. No matter how good Amplification was, that just wasn''t worth doing."It''ll be alright. I wasn''t even planning on using Call anyway. I just need the Dungeon Mole." I raised my spear again and turned towards a Mutated Croc. It was going to happen, and I just needed to wait for the right time to butt in.------Abu Dhabi Palace, Arab Emirates¡­"Say that once more!" Baden, the guild master of Abu Dhabi, roared as he slammed the desk in front of him angrily."We¡­um¡­don''t know how¡­or where, the Crown Prince was taken to.""It''s been two weeks! Two weeks! Since those sons of bitches stole Jayid away from this very palace!""..." The officers could say nothing to defend themselves. Their crown prince was taken from his own bedroom, after all. He was kidnapped and two weeks had already passed without being able find a single trace of the kidnappers."Amplification! It has to be because of that, isn''t it?""Yes, sir."The kidnappers hadn''t made contact during those two weeks, but the guild''s Intelligence Division gathered that they were after Amplification since it was revealed during the recent quest."Those sons of bitches!" Baden was conflicted. Amplification was the one Rank 10 item his guild possessed, but they had taken his only son. He couldn''t have any more children. That boy was all he had left. He was fully prepared by now to part with Amplification in exchange for his son. However¡­"Those bastards! Why aren''t they doing anything?" They had to have kidnapped his son because they wanted something in return, but they still hadn''t made contact yet."I believe they''re doing this to make us nervous.""They''re being cautious since they kidnapped the crown prince.""Guild master, might we make some noise?""What?""If we keep moving secretly like this, those bastards will remain hidden. We know they want Amplification, so if we make enough noise saying that we''re willing to part with Amplification in exchange for the prince, we can at least let them know what our intentions are," Umaru, the head of Intelligence, said. The others seemed keen on this idea, as well."We''re at their mercy as long as they have the prince. They''re probably making us suffer so that we have no choice, but to meet their demands.""I agree with Umaru, sir.""Will¡­ they leave Jayid unharmed if we do that?" Baden also thought that it was a decent idea, but he still feared for his son''s safety. The boy was only ten years old!"They''ll have to, if they want Amplification.""He''s right. Besides, if we reveal to the public that they took the prince, they have no choice to keep him safe."Baden fell silent for a moment after he heard his officers'' suggestions. There was one person he suspected in all this, especially because that person was in charge of security when Jayid was kidnapped. He had him secretly investigated, but couldn''t find any evidence of betrayal. If he could, Baden would have outright interrogated the man, but he couldn''t. He wasn''t someone he could easily do that to."Fine! We''ll do as you say. Let everyone know what has happened! Tell everyone that I''ll hand Amplification over in exchange for Jayid or his whereabouts!""Yes, sir!"------It didn''t take much longer for the rumors that Abu Dhabi''s prince was kidnapped for Amplification to spread, and I was actually the first to hear about them."So it''s begun." I just had to wait a little bit longer now. If I appeared with the prince right after the rumors started to spread, they would obviously suspect that I had something to do with the kidnapping. I didn''t care about what they thought, but that meant I wouldn''t be able to get the item. I just needed to wait. 196 Chapter 195: Let It Simmer Part III Translator: HunterW3Editor: REDAmerica''s Dark Caster Dungeon¡­Now that the Shire Guild had set up FOBs all the way up to the dungeon''s fourth floor, I had gone to hunt there at their request. They wanted me to see how this dungeon compared to other high-grade dungeons when it came to training.This was an Undead-type dungeon, meaning that normal fighter classes would need the help of Holy buffs from supporters in order to hunt in this dungeon. This was, no doubt, the most efficient way for most fighter classes to hunt, but I wasn''t like most. I didn''t need Holy buffs from supporters. All I needed was my Level 3 Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. It was two levels over its max level so it provided much more utility than a support caster''s strongest buff.I had to say, I definitely preferred this dungeon over all of the other high-grade dungeons so far. I inflicted so much more damage against these undead monsters thanks to their weakness to fire that this dungeon actually yielded more EXP than the Pharos Dungeon. It was also nice to see the Shire Guild watch in awe as I laid waste to any powerful undead monsters that stood before me. It had been a week since I started hunting here and I came to the FOB on the third floor to rest a while. When I stepped under the awning, I managed to overhear a conversation between two Shire guild members about Amplification.---"Gah¡­I shouldn''t be wasting time here. I should be out there looking for that Prince Jayid.""I''m going to stop you right there. Do you have any idea how many people are out there right now searching for him?""Of course I do. Our own Investigative Division is on the case, as well. I''m sure a lot of people want Amplification for themselves.""Good. You''re not a completely lost cause. But a month''s already passed, and no one''s seen hair or hide of the boy, so what makes you think you can get ahead of them by starting now?""Do you really think it''s that hard to find a boy?""Honestly, I''m not so sure myself. He''s just a ten-year old mortal boy. There''s no way he can be forced to enter a dungeon or anything, so there can''t be many places he can be hidden away.""I know, right? We have everyone we know, even the information guilds searching for him and to think we haven''t found him yet¡­ something doesn''t seem right, huh?""Do you think whoever kidnapped him already killed the boy and got rid of the evidence?""Yeah, right. I''m sure the kidnappers have something they want, so I doubt they''ll kill him yet.""But it''s weird that they''re being quiet even now. The Abu Dhabi Guild already announced that they''re willing to fork over Amplification in return for the safe return of their crown prince.""Hmm¡­"---I gave a small nod to what the two Shire members were saying. They were completely right for the most part, except that there were some cases that mortals could enter dungeons. Given common knowledge, they weren''t wrong. Just like mortals couldn''t enter Stores, they couldn''t enter dungeons. The ten-year old boy who just couldn''t become a deva or deity for the next 8 or 9 years shouldn''t be able to enter a dungeon. So, those searching for him would obviously search in all places but dungeons. No one could have ever thought otherwise."But he was found in a dungeon." It was one hell of a twist. It was a completely unorthodox dungeon. It also wasn''t a hidden dungeon or one of Kazunari''s created dungeons, either."It was because of the skill, Declare Dungeon." It seemed similar to Kazunari''s Dungeon Creation at first glance, but it turned out that it was completely different. Kazunari could create an actual dungeon. But from what I heard in the past, Declare Dungeon actually granted the skill user ownership of an already existing dungeon. Of course, it only lasted for a certain amount of time.Declare Dungeon also allowed the skill user to alter the laws of the dungeon for that amount of time, such as allowing mortals to enter it. Well, saying that mortals could actually enter wasn''t exactly correct. It was more like they could be moved into the dungeons while still keeping the laws of the dungeons intact. Keep in mind that the space around dungeons was not restricted to anywhere.The child''s body was found back in his room, as if he hadn''t left in the first place. That meant whoever took him had managed to slip past Abu Dhabi''s defenses again just to leave the corpse behind. The guild master of Abu Dhabi raged for days.When the boy''s body was returned back to his room, it meant that Declare Dungeon''s timer had expired and what was taken was simply returned, dead."Man¡­that guy really was a scummy piece of shit." The kidnapper''s plan was perfect. There was just no way it could go wrong. I had to thank him, though, for giving me the key to get in and allowing me the chance to obtain Amplification."I''ll make sure it doesn''t go to waste." I know I wasn''t the nicest guy on Earth. I wouldn''t be sitting here and waiting for things to unfold if I was. But I still enjoyed tripping up the bad guys and making sure they got their just desserts any time.I got up from my seat. I''d waited long enough. It was time to bring Amplification home.------Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates¡­The second I stepped off the Teleporter platform, I felt a strong air of uneasiness and fear. It made sense, as that was how the guild in control here felt. They were probably getting ready to hold a wake soon. Undeterred by the depressing atmosphere, I put on my hat and sunglasses and slowly walked out, as if I was a tourist. Then again, it was my first time here, so that wasn''t completely wrong."But¡­" I slowly said to myself, "It won''t continue to be like this, will it?" I could feel everyone around me shooting daggers at my back. I wouldn''t be surprised if I turned around and saw like twenty daggers sticking out of my shoulder blades. I felt the stares the moment I stepped out of the Teleporter, as if they were all checking to see who was coming in and out.I didn''t mind, because that was the situation here, but I could feel at least ten people put me in their sights. I doubted they had any good intentions towards me. "Alright. Let''s see if you guys can keep up." I continued for the Royal Palace while feigning ignorance. I had expected that they would react this way. If I choose to not step in, the guild master of Abu Dhabi was going to quietly disappear, just like he did in the past. If I did step in, the culprits'' plan was going to fail spectacularly and they were going to pay dearly for their crimes. I wasn''t here on holiday. I knew what I was here to do.------A gilded room larger than the Abu Dhabi''s guild master''s room¡­"¡­Who did you say it was?""It was Lee Jiwon, sir. Our scouts just saw him arrive from Abu Dhabi''s Teleporter.""Huh. Why is he here? Is he here because he wants Amplification? No, even if he does, why did he come here? Why not search for Prince Jayid elsewhere?" The owner of the large, gilded room didn''t like his subordinate''s report. He knew what kind of deva Lee Jiwon was and the chaos he managed to bring with him.Not a single entity had ever survived after making Lee Jiwon their enemy. Even when it looked like Lee Jiwon would lose, he always somehow turned the tables and destroyed his enemies to the point that they could never hope to recover. It was normal to worry about having Lee Jiwon here in Abu Dhabi of all places, and now of all times."Well¡­ the Intelligence Divisions of the other six emirates couldn''t figure that out, either. But they do seem sure that he is currently heading for the Palace.""..." Khalid al Nayan, younger brother to Baden al Nayan and uncle to Jayid al Nayan, remained silent after he heard his subordinate''s report. There was also a chance that it was all a coincidence. No one on Earth knew about Khalid''s random skill, Declare Dungeon. He hadn''t used it before and had not told a soul about it. But this was Lee Jiwon. The name alone made Khalid feel as if he had just drank a glass of full of sand. Unfortunately, there wasn''t much Khalid could do to stop Lee Jiwon''s movements. If he really was here to find Jayid, interfering wasn''t going to look good to anyone, especially to Baden."Contact the six other emirates and tell them to get ready.""Sir? There''s still the next stage¡­""Just¡­tell them to prepare. In case things go south.""Yes, sir."Once his subordinate left the room, Khalid got up from his chair and looked out his window. After a while, he finally spoke to no one in particular."No one knows about it. Only I know. If the dungeon can''t be found with Search skills, then Lee Jiwon can''t find it, either. My random skill is that special. It was the perfect chance." Soon, Khalid put on a grieving face, as if he was still stressing over the disappearance of his only nephew. Keeping that same mask, he finally left his room.---It truly was the perfect plan. In the past, the plan was so perfect that Khalid was able to take over the Abu Dhabi Guild without as so much as shedding a single drop of blood. But this time, a different Lee Jiwon existed in this world.------United Arab Emirates Palace¡­A maintained vigilance surrounded the entire palace. Security around the place was so tight that not even an ant could sneak in. In the middle of the watchful palace walls stood a single building under the palace entrance. It was a temporary reception room set up to greet any outsiders that came knocking. The entire palace was constantly under strict guard, but the prince was still kidnapped from within. This meant that the security team was the first to be investigated. There was no way the guards couldn''t be investigated.In fact, many actually pointed fingers at the royal family, since many had turned their sights onto Amplification once it was revealed. It was the royal family''s fault for putting the prince in danger, and it was the royal family that should be investigated. Still, this was the royal family. Anyone could say they were willing to investigate the royal family, but who would actually go through with it?Fuad of the Intelligence Division manned the reception counter today. Earlier that day, five organizations and eighty-one individuals had come, offering to investigate the prince''s disappearance, but were all turned away."Ha¡­now even the rabble are coming," Fuad said to his comrade Jayina with a heavy sigh."It''s been two months already. Pretty much the entire world has already stopped by.""Just where is the prince? There are so many superhumans out there that can move mountains and create new rivers, but how is it that not a single one of them can find one little boy?""Calm down. I''m sure he''ll be found soon.""Shit!" Fuad couldn''t calm down, even with Jayina trying to reassure him. Just then, the door to the reception building opened and a lone man entered. Fuad looked the man up and down. He had a hat and sunglasses on, but Fuad could tell the man exuded confidence. So many people had come by today that Fuad assumed that this man was the same trash as the rest of them. If Fuad hadn''t been given the order to not turn anyone away, he would have turned them all into recycling sooner.Fuad glared with unconcealed annoyance at the man and barked out his words. "Affiliation. Name." Fuad did his bare minimum and was prepared to yell at the man to screw off."I''m not affiliated with anyone. My name is Lee Jiwon."Fuad wrote down what the man said on his clipboard before opening his mouth to speak once more. "Fu¡­ huh?"Fuad was still a member of the Abu Dhabi Guild''s Intelligence Division. He knew everyone worth mentioning and that was why he was tasked to man the reception counter, to screen through the guests as efficiently as possible. If anyone in the Intelligence Division didn''t know about Lee Jiwon by now, then they were either a rookie or terribly bad at their job."Fu? What''s that?" the man asked as he took off his sunglasses."Hic." Fuad started to hiccup. The man was actually Lee Jiwon! Fuad jumped to his feet, his chair falling over with a clatter. "Fu¡­funny seeing you here, Mr. Lee! I was just surprised to see you come in through this door!" "Oh, I guess so.""Yes, sir! This building is only for us to sift through the rabble that comes through, thinking they can actually help us. Someone of your stature shouldn''t have to go through the same formalities!""Well, thank you, I guess. I still want to conduct my investigation, though. Will that be alright?""Of course, sir! I''ll take you in myself. Follow me, please!""Understood."---Fuad led Lee Jiwon through the other door and into the palace grounds. It really was Lee Jiwon! Every time Fuad and his comrades heard about Lee Jiwon''s deeds, all they could do was listen in awe. Fuad felt that if anyone could find the prince, it had to be Lee Jiwon. No, he was positive Lee Jiwon would be able to find the young prince.As Fuad led Lee Jiwon towards the palace building, Fuad quickly contacted his boss, Umaru. Even Umaru was surprised to learn that Lee Jiwon had actually come here!And so, Lee Jiwon was practically led on a red carpet all the way to Jayid''s room. There, not only were all of the guild''s officers waiting, but so were Baden, the guild master, and Khalid, the vice-master of Abu Dhabi. It was none other than Lee Jiwon who had come knocking, after all! 197 Chapter 196: Rift between Brothers, Part I Translator: HunterW3Editor: RED-They''re hiding everywhere.-I followed Fuad out of the reception building towards the palace. Every ten steps I took on the way there, I felt someone hide their presence and watch. This was the first time a large guild was so on guard towards me. I mean, I got why, but there were just way too many of them around. It was almost as if something horrible was about to happen."We''re here, Mr. Lee. It''s through that door," Fuad said as he pointed to a large door. As he stepped forward to open the door, I took out my Scroll of Predation from my inventory."Activate," I quietly said as I ripped the scroll. Once I obtained the Predation ability, I slipped my hand into my pocket and took out the Dungeon Mole I had hidden away before coming to Abu Dhabi. I looked down at the candy-eating mole."Predation."==[You have consumed your target.Target: Dungeon MoleTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Dungeon Teleport (Can be used 3 times a day.)Effect 2: Dungeon Search (Can be used once a day, three additional uses available)]==This was my third time consuming the Dungeon Mole and since I hadn''t used Dungeon Search yet, I could use it three times. I was planning on using it today to find Amplification.---The giant door slid open easily, revealing Prince Jayid''s room. It was really big for a ten-year old. About twenty grown men were waiting inside with room to spare. A man standing in the middle stepped forward with his hand outstretched to greet me."Welcome. I am Baden al Nayan, guild master of Abu Dhabi.""Thank you. My name is Lee Jiwon." I had never met or seen Baden before. The man I knew to be the guild master of Abu Dhabi was the man standing behind him, Khalid."Thank you for coming all this way to help us find Prince Jayid. Now that you''re here, I feel as if Prince Jayid has already been found.""Please, it''s nothing like that. I don''t really have the ability to find the prince. I just want to be as much help as I can be in finding the boy." Baden al Nayan''s words would have put a huge burden on my shoulders but from the expression he had, I didn''t feel burdened at all. They were just the words a worried father would say. Besides, I was going to find Jayid no matter what and soon."Umaru.""Yes, guild master!""Explain to Mr. Lee the events of that day.""Yes, sir."I could tell how Baden was feeling through his hands that still held mine. He was grasping at straws."Hello, Mr. Lee. My name is Umaru and I''m the head of Abu Dhabi''s Intelligence Division. Allow me to explain the events of that day." Umaru led me around Jayid''s bedroom, playroom, bathroom and all of the places Jayid went to. He also explained what time they believed Jayid disappeared and whatever else they had found out.I didn''t need any of that, however. I already knew how he disappeared and where he was taken to. "I want to look around alone.""By all means." Umaru left me alone in the room and I walked around before coming to a stop at the center."Dungeon Search."==[Dungeon Search has been activated.Dungeon Search''s counter is currently at 3.Please choose how many Dungeon Searches you wish to use.]=="Use all 3."==[Searching for dungeons in the surrounding area.Dungeon Search range will be increased by 3.]==I probably didn''t have to use all three uses, but I wanted to be on the safer side. If it meant getting Amplification, using all three uses was definitely not a waste.==[A dungeon has been found.Khalid al Nayan''s Dungeon.Time remaining: 47 days 14 hours 52 minutesOnce the timer hits 0, Khalid al Nayan will lose ownership of this dungeon and access to this dungeon will disappear.]=="Hehehe." I couldn''t help laugh to myself. I actually found it!"Dungeon Teleport: Khalid al Nayan''s Dungeon." I moved to the dungeon right away to find Prince Jayid, and didn''t care at all about those secretly watching me off to the distance.------"Holy shit!""What just happened?""He disappeared!"Lee Jiwon''s hidden observers were shocked when he disappeared in an instant. He could have used a skill or a Warp Scroll, but there was no reason for him to do so. The observers quickly moved to the garden by the prince''s room, where the guild master, vice-master and the other guild officers were waiting."What? He disappeared?""Yes, sir. He seemed to have muttered something and vanished into thin air right after."Baden al Nayan fell silent and thought about everything he knew about Lee Jiwon and how he operated. Currently, Lee Jiwon had five powerful factions at his side: Sunbin, Myth, Ravi, Shire, and the Werewolf Clan. No, it was safer to say that they all vied for his attention to the point that they all took it upon themselves to protect his home. That was enough to tell Baden what sort of man Lee Jiwon was; a man powerful and charismatic enough that he wouldn''t just up and disappear for no reason. Lee Jiwon must have discovered something in Jayid''s room that no one else could ever find."We''ll wait for his return."---Khalid flinched when he heard that Lee Jiwon had vanished into thin air, but quickly regained his composure.-What are you planning, Lee Jiwon?-Khalid was confident that he wasn''t going to get caught. The power of Declare Dungeon was supposed to be so strong that normal Search-type skills couldn''t detect it. He had tested it countless times and decided to use it right there, in his nephew''s room. He knew it was risky to do it so close to home, but he was confident it would work.He felt safe over these past couple of months after no one could find a single clue as to Jayid''s whereabouts... that is, until Lee Jiwon arrived. When he heard that Lee Jiwon had disappeared in Jayid''s room, Khalid grew anxious. There was a chance Khalid had just made himself another of Lee Jiwon''s targets.-But it has to be impossible, even for Lee Jiwon! He couldn''t have found it!----It was just unlucky for Khalid. There existed only one Dungeon Mole in the world that could create dungeons that blocked Comm Links and even the Rank 10 Clan Badge from the outside world. It was just unlucky for Khalid that that Dungeon Mole had ended up in Lee Jiwon''s possession.---Khalid al Nayan''s dungeon¡­"This is supposed to be a dungeon?" If this really was a dungeon, then there should be monster around; after all, what''s a dungeon without monsters? But there wasn''t a single one in sight. This dungeon wasn''t exactly that big, either. Then again, maybe Khalid''s Declare Dungeon only transferred ownership of a portion of a dungeon over to Khalid. Either way, that made it easier for me.I picked a direction and walked down the linear path while searching for Jayid. After about thirty minutes, I felt weak signs of life off into the distance. I doubted monsters would appear now of all times so I was sure the source was my goal. I quickly sprinted over and found a child curled up underneath a crevice made by a few boulders. From the blood-soaked face and clothes, I could tell that he wasn''t in good shape."Who¡­who are¡­you?" the boy croaked out as he struggled to turn his head towards me.I stepped on the empty, plastic water bottles scattered around him as I drew closer. "Me? I guess a knight of justice works.""Are¡­are you¡­here¡­to save me?""That''s right."The child gave a weak laugh before dropping his head back on to the floor, no longer having the strength to keep it up. I felt a little sorry, to be honest. I knew that he was destined to die and I could have come sooner. But I had to wait. If I had come any sooner, I would have been suspected as the culprit by Abu Dhabi."Let''s get you home." I carefully picked up the boy and got us both out of the crevice. He was so light. He was also filthy and reeked, but I didn''t care. I pitied the boy too much after he was caught up in a stupid adult''s game of power.I carefully cradled Jayid in my left arm so that he could rest his head against my shoulder. If I had any heal or support skills, I could ease the boy''s pain a little, but all I had were combat skills. Well, if that was the case, I could just use them to break through the space around Khalid''s dungeon and get Jayid out of here as soon as possible."Mana Conversion ¨C Wind. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." When I was imprisoned in Kazunari''s dungeon, I had tried digging my way out, but those efforts were in vain. I couldn''t make a single scratch on its space. But when I came into Khalid''s dungeon, I noticed right away that the space around it was different, almost artificial. Because it was so different than Kazunari''s space, I was sure that I could punch my way out of this dungeon."Judge''s Gavel!" I tightened my hold around Jayid and placed my right hand on the dungeon''s wall. If this didn''t work, then I''d just laugh it off and get out by using Dungeon Teleport. It wouldn''t take more than ten minutes to return to the palace from Bukhan Mountain.I pulled out my Harrier with my right hand and thrust the spearhead into the wall hard. I was rewarded with a strong resistance and I thought for a second that the attack failed, until I noticed a faint crack in the wall. I pulled my spear back, and struck once more so hard that I was even pushed back a couple of feet away from the wall. This time, I was rewarded with resounding pop and a gust of wind."You really¡­are a...knight." Jayid couldn''t see me attack the wall, but when he heard the sound of the wall crumbling, he slowly craned his head around to look at the hole in the wall."I told ya, didn''t I?" I answered the boy and watched as my surroundings changed.---The guild''s officers were waiting in Jayid''s room for Lee Jiwon''s return when a huge crack echoed through the room."What was that?""Are we under attack?"The sound echoed all throughout the palace, shocking everyone and they stopped whatever they were doing. People looked around, wondering if the sound was from an enemy attack, but saw that nothing was destroyed and no one was hurt. That only served to confuse everyone in the palace, except for one man. That man knew what was going on and began to break out in cold sweat as a message appeared before him.==[A dungeon under your possession via Declare Dungeon has suffered a powerful blow.The dungeon has been destroyed by that attack and will now be removed.]==In the end, Lee Jiwon had gone to the dungeon. No one was able to find it, let alone get inside, but Lee Jiwon had, and he had destroyed it from the inside.Khalid couldn''t help but grind his teeth in anger. His perfect plan was in ruins thanks to a single foreigner. There was no way he could yield now. Once the sword is drawn, it must draw blood. Khalid knew that his own brother wouldn''t readily forgive him for his transgressions.At this point, Khalid no longer had a choice. Thanks to Lee Jiwon, he had to start the next stage of his plan much sooner. It was kill or be killed now!"Astes, listen up! We''re retaking Abu Dhabi!" Khalid had formed a secret organization of his most loyal followers within all seven emirates, who also did not like Baden''s current regime."Yes, sir!" Out of the twenty guild officers, ten of them were agents of Astes. As Khalid''s voice carried outside, some of the devas in the palace grounds suddenly turned on their former comrades with weapons drawn. Soon, a small battle broke out.Two people suddenly appeared amidst the chaos, as if they had just used a Warp Scroll."What the hell? It''s starting already?" a voice asked calmly. 198 Chapter 197: Rift between Brothers Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Jayid!""Prince Jayid!"As soon as Baden saw Jayid in my arms, he sprinted over to us. I carefully passed over the weak boy to his father."Jayid! Oh my boy, Jayid¡­""Dad¡­he saved¡­saved¡­""I know, I know."It truly was a heartfelt reunion between father and son. Even I felt a tear well up, but I quickly blinked it away and steeled myself. A single man was glaring daggers at me from the crowd surrounding us. It was Khalid, the man who was supposed to become the guild master of Abu Dhabi, and he was furious at me."Lee Jiwon, you bastard!" I totally understood why he was mad. His plan was flawless, but it had fallen to ruins thanks to me. "You ruined everything! My plan that I spent months on is ruined because of you!" Khalid roared at me, but I ignored him. He was my enemy, and I was his. "You call that perfect? Getting around it was child''s play." I wanted to rush at him and attack him with the spear I still had in my right hand if it weren''t for Baden stepping between us after he left Jayid to his officers. I was only here for Amplification, which had actually escalated this fight between two brothers that had been dealt with quietly in the past. In other words, I wasn''t the main cast here, Baden and Khalid were!"Khalid!" Baden shouted and Khalid turned his attention away from me to his older brother. "Did you really want to take my place that badly?""Yes, I did! I always have! I always hated that you had everything!""You fool. Is that why you gathered the six other emirates and decided to pull this crap? Did you really think that they would always follow you?""..." Khalid didn''t reply, but I was itching to cut in. In the past, Khalid had led Abu Dhabi spectacularly. From what I remembered, I had not heard of Khalid getting kicked out, or any other guilds in the UAE forming, either. I held my tongue, however. After a moment of silence, Khalid finally spoke up again, "Hmph. We can''t know about that for sure. That was why I wanted to see if I could lock you up and see how much better I could lead the guild than you.""Do you really think that will work out the way you want it to?""I do. The palace is already just about under my control. I just need you to disappear, and they''ll all have no choice but to follow me.""You look down on me too much, my brother. I''ve always been prepared for my own little brother to stab me in the back one day; you just didn''t know about it.""What?" At that moment, an officer that was standing off to the side walked up to Khalid and whispered something in his ear. It was Umaru, who had given me the tour of Jayid''s room. Khalid''s face drained of all color and he turned back to his brother. "Ha¡­ so you never trusted me, even though you made me your vice-master?""My foolish brother, that''s what it means to be a guild master.""...""Five minutes. In five minutes, the full might of Abu Dhabi will arrive here. Will you be able to defeat me and my men in five minutes, before the army gets here?"Khalid tried to remember how many members he had in Astes. He had members from all of the seven emirates, but it was impossible for many of them to infiltrate the main body of Abu Dhabi and the royal palace. Even with his influence as vice-master, it was difficult to keep records of guild members crossing the borders. Over time, he had managed to gather around 2,500 Astes members in Abu Dhabi. Those 2,500 members stayed around the royal palace at all times, with the order to always be ready to siege. Those 2,500 members were fighting outside right now. That meant it was impossible for him and Astes to completely take over the palace in five minutes. There was no way they could face the entire Abu Dhabi army, as well. He had to come up with a plan, and fast!"I, Khalid al Nayan of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, challenge Baden al Nayan, current head of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, to a duel for the throne!""My brother, you can''t just challenge the current head for the throne any time you want to, even though you have as much right to it.""I know that much. Did you think I didn''t?" Khalid said as he took something out of his pocket."That''s¡­""That''s right. This is the declaration of Khalifa, the first ruler of Abu Dhabi. With this, I won''t need over half of the Senate''s vote to authorize the challenge.""I doubt that the entire Senate would have willingly handed it over to you. I see the head of Senate has grown senile.""Does that matter? What''s important is that I''m holding the declaration right now. I, Khalid al Nayan, challenge you for the right to the throne. Winner takes all!""But my dear brother, the words on the declaration were written during a time before Otadolon. What reason would I have to honor such an ancient custom?""I know you will, if you really do believe you''re the rightful ruler of Abu Dhabi.""..."Khalid was nervous even after he made his little speech. The whole thing had some flair to it, but it was just a piece of old, yellow paper the first ruler had made to make sure no one ever challenged his rule while he was still alive. It was a relic from a time where Stat points didn''t exist. It obviously had no worth in a time and age where people could throw fire from their hands. But it was still a piece of Abu Dhabi''s history and tradition, so there was still a chance. If it didn''t work, Khalid was prepared to cut his losses and surrender. This was his last shot."Fine. I accept."Khalid breathed a sigh of relief when he finally heard his brother speak up. "I propose the battle for the guild to be held in one week. Winner takes all.""That''s fine by me. Before you go, brother, do come well-prepared, or else you''ll regret and lose everything."Khalid clenched his jaw in anger and briskly turned around. "Astes, listen up! We''re leaving this place as fast as possible. We leave for Dubai!""Yes, sir!"Baden also turned around to address his men. "Let them pass!""We mustn''t, guild master. Our army will arrive in a few minutes. We can''t just let them walk!""He''s right, sir. We must quell this rebellion while we have the chance. We must not let them gather their strength.""It''s a declaration with my family''s honor on the line. It doesn''t matter how old it is; it''s my duty to uphold it." Baden stood adamant despite his officers'' rejection. They had all been retainers of Baden al Nayan''s family since the old world, so they had no choice but to go along with Baden''s decision.------"Hmm¡­" I didn''t like how things were turning out. A stitch in time saves nine, but I had obviously missed my chance. I could just take Amplification for finding Jayid and leave, but that meant leaving an enemy alive. If Baden were to lose the upcoming challenge and Khalid took over Abu Dhabi, it would leave things awkward, to say the least. He wouldn''t be much of threat to me if that happened, but I had learned recently that it was never wise to leave an enemy alone. That was how I dealt with all my enemies so far and to be honest, I was annoyed and frustrated at how Baden dealt with this situation concerning his brother. Now Khalid was my enemy, too, not just Baden''s. There was no way I could play nice with both sides now. -Ha¡­ should I have just ignored Baden and done away with Khalid?-I was beginning to regret the decision to hold off attacking.I watched as Khalid and his group quickly left the palace grounds, and as the others quickly returned to the palace to care for the half-dead Jayid and prepare for the coming battle. I decided to just take Amplification and get the hell out of dodge. Not being able to deal with Khalid left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I didn''t want to get caught up in their matters.Just then, Baden walked up to me. "Thank you for finding my son, Mr. Lee.""It was nothing. I just got lucky," I said respectfully, but curtly.Baden wasn''t even fazed. "Could I ask you to wait here for a moment while I take care of things?""Of course," I replied."Thank you."As Baden walked away to join his officers, I watched as the guild members moved around busily, addressing this issue and that."Huh?" I noticed something off. The officers had been split into two groups and Umaru was supposed to be on Khalid''s side. He was the one who whispered into Khalid''s ear, telling him that Abu Dhabi''s army was coming here in full force. But now, he was stuck to Baden''s side even though I had seen him leave with Khalid.Umaru noticed me watching him and came over to me. "I imagine you''re quite surprised.""I suppose so.""I was acting on Master Baden''s orders and made it seem that I was on Master Khalid''s side.""Ah!""I see that you didn''t approve of Master Baden''s decision to let Master Khalid go, but we had no choice.""Excuse me?""The army that is headed here now won''t arrive for another thirty minutes. We lied about the five minutes part."I stared at Umaru in shock.Umaru chuckled. "It''s exactly as I say. Master Baden had suspected Master Khalid all along. That was why he turned me into a double agent. Unfortunately, neither of us expected Master Khalid to bare his teeth so soon."So Baden had Khalid eating out of his hand all this time. He had kicked out his own brother by barely doing anything and even feigned shock when Khalid brought out the declaration."Khalid should have noticed the treachery by now and will be quite furious. We had just tricked him into releasing his greatest catch.""I see." I sort of understood Baden''s actions, but not completely. Either way, I had to wait the rest of the day while Abu Dhabi began to repair the palace grounds and went through an entire roster change of their security forces, thanks to Khalid.------The next day¡­"Thank you, Mr. Lee.""Really, it''s quite alright. I think you''ve thanked me once already.""One or two thanks aren''t enough for what you''ve done for me and my son. Oh, and here''s the promised item."I took the item Baden handed to me. Finally, Amplification was in my hands.==[Amplification (Rank 10)This is a consumable item that will be disposed of upon use.Use Amplification on another item to increase the targeted item''s power by at least 50% and at most 100%.Can only be used on equippable items.]==Now if only I could have dealt with Khalid when I had the chance, then this whole trip would have been perfect, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I was done with this place.---Dubai, three days later¡­"Fuck! Umaru, that bastard! How dare he play me?" Khalid roared as he slammed the table in front of him. Khalid had led his men out of the palace and quickly fled to Dubai to get away from the Abu Dhabi army that was about to arrive. On the way to Dubai, he had heard from one of his hidden scouts that he had been fooled. He realized that the report was true when he noticed that Umaru had secretly slipped away to return to Abu Dhabi. He had Baden in his grasp, but had let him go!"Calm down.""He''s right. What''s done is done. Focus on the coming battle."Representatives of the six other emirates were gathered in the same room. Khalid knew he shouldn''t show them such a pitiful side, and quickly regained his composure."Out of the entire Abu Dhabi Guild''s forces, the six emirates make up half while Abu Dhabi makes up the other half. But now, you''ve taken about 10% of their forces over to our side.""Right. We outnumber them six to four.""But we can''t account for Lee Jiwon simply with numbers.""Lee Jiwon is an outsider. Do you really think Baden will have him join this battle when this is a matter of Abu Dhabi''s honor?""That also means the six other emirates have no right to join this battle.""But we are still a part of Abu Dhabi, are we not? Baden was the one who brought us together under his flag. Lee Jiwon is an outsider through and through.""Hmm¡­ that is true¡­"Khalid cut the representatives'' discussion off. "It doesn''t matter if Lee Jiwon joins or not. I already recruited someone who can deal with Lee Jiwon for us.""Lee Jiwon isn''t someone we can underestimate.""I''m well aware of that, but not even Lee Jiwon will be match for this person. The Grim Reaper himself wants Lee Jiwon''s head." 199 Chapter 198: Rift between Brothers Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Hmm¡­" I sighed to myself as I stood in one of the palace''s many luxurious rooms, staring down at Amplification. I recalled the conversation I had when Baden handed me the item.---"Mr. Lee.""Yes?""In one week, I will have to fight my foolish brother over the right to rule Abu Dhabi."I knew that. I was there when it all went down. I had already made my decision to not concern myself with their family matters. "We are also outnumbered four to six.""I see," I said, making it clear that I had nothing to do with this. A guild master like Baden should have gotten the hint by now."It''s a battle we can''t avoid.""Right.""That said, could I ask you for a favor?""No, you can''t. My job here is already done." It was painfully obvious he was going to ask me to help in his guild''s upcoming battle, but he should have asked on the spot that day, or at least asked me for my opinion. Khalid was now not only Baden''s enemy, but mine as well. Unfortunately for Baden, that ship had already sailed.Baden didn''t even flinch and just laughed. He didn''t seem put off by my curt response. "I will make sure you are properly and well compensated for your help.""I don''t care about¡­""I just would like you to take Prince Jayid with you when you leave.""..." I didn''t know what to say to that. I was sure he was going to ask me to help in the coming battle. "I don''t care if you have him clean your home, or have him work as an errand boy. I don''t care if you feed him scraps. I just want you to keep him safe and raise him until he becomes an adult." Baden was being serious. He was just worried about his son. That just shocked me even more."I¡­ I''ll have to think about it.""Thank you."------"Hmm¡­" Taking Prince Jayid under my wing was easy. To be honest, it just made it harder to decide what to do."Man, if he''s going to go to this extent¡­" If Baden had asked for any other favor, I wouldn''t have cared much, but the boy was only ten years old. I wasn''t that nice to go out of my way for a single child. There were plenty of starving children and mortal adults out there who will be unfortunate enough to never see a single Don Gate ever in their lives, and I hadn''t done anything for them. The most I had done was ask Sunbin to take care of their mortals, but that was it and I didn''t care. That was the new world we all lived in now. But this concerned Jayid, the boy I had saved with my own two hands. Fate had connected us now, and that was bothering me. I was still human; I couldn''t outright ignore the boy."Damn it! Taking care of Jayid, or standing by Baden''s side and dealing with Khalid is pretty much the same thing!" That was my problem. Rather than take Jayid with me, I could just get rid of Khalid. Honestly, that seemed the better idea. I looked back down at Amplification. It boosted the power of an item of my choice anywhere from 50% to 100%, and I wanted to use it on the King-Emperor''s Commitment. All of Commitment''s effects were great. What I was worried about was how the Mana Conversion effect would be affected.From what I knew, nothing could be raised partially. If I got 99% from Amplification, Mana Conversion''s level should technically be raised to 3.98; almost level 4. But the system wouldn''t count it as level 4 and keep it at level 3. The boosts of the other effects would definitely more than compensate for it. A 99% boost to 450 stat points was 895.5 points, but I would still get 895 points. In other words, a 99% boost was more than good enough. But it just seemed a waste for Mana Conversion. A 99% boost to Mana Conversion was the same as a 50% boost. I needed 100% no matter what."If I get 100% out of Amplification, then I''ll tell Baden I''ll deal with Khalid myself!" I would do anything for Baden if I got 100%.I took deep breath and took out the King-Emperor''s Commitment. I placed Amplification right over the earrings and said the words in a shaky voice, "Use Amplification."==[Are you sure you wish to use Amplification on King-Emperor''s Commitment?The effects of King-Emperor''s Commitment will be boosted by 50%-100%.]=="Yes!" A bright light soon emanated from Amplification and enveloped Commitment. Not long after, the light disappeared, leaving the same Commitment in my hands. Amplification was gone as well.I gave out a shaky sigh. I was too nervous to check right away. A 50% boost was good enough. It would raise Mana Conversion''s level by only one level, but that was enough; it should be enough. But I was greedy. I knew I wouldn''t be satisfied if I didn''t get 100%."Item Check!" Amplification was used and gone now. Nothing was going to change that.==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10)The King-Emperor''s true treasure.All Stats increased by 900 pointsIncrease Mana Conversion skill level by 4Add Blink Skill (Cooldown: 150 secs, MP required: 1, no skill points required) Blink range: 1,000 meter radius as long as King-Emperor''s Commitment is equipped.Increase CRIT rate by 18%Increase CRIT damage by 1,000%Increase Penetration by 480 pointsIncrease EXP gain from monsters by 30%DEF 2,000, MDEF 2,000]=="Oh...!!!" It worked! It actually worked!After a moment of being shocked into silence, I burst out laughing. People already thought Commitment was overpowered during the "Treasure!" quest. But now, Commitment was way past overpowered."Man, that Luck Boost¡­" I knew getting Luck Boost was the right thing to do. It might not directly affect my combat abilities or Stats, but this was way better!---Antisiranana, Madagascar''s northernmost port, also known as Diego Suarez¡­"It''s nice having this room not crowded.""We did lose three people.""That''s perfect, isn''t it? They never came to these meetings anyway.""Don''t be like that. They were still once our comrades.""What comrades? Leave the bull crap by the door. It''s not like we''ve broken bread together or anything."Two men and one woman were seated around a large table. The two men were rambunctious, but the woman practically whispered her words."So why were we called here?""I''d like to know, as well. We hardly ever meet face to face, and I''m sure we''re all busy," the two men asked the woman who called this meeting."I''ve always thought being a deity was a blessing. I thought I was a chosen one in this new world. That was why I believed I should shepherd the devas as their leader.""¡­What the hell are you saying?""Have you finally lost it?""Look, devas get an extra 1000 Stat points if they''re the first to get a Stat past 10,000 base points. Even if they aren''t the first, they still get 100 bonus points. But deities don''t have those perks. We also have the worst penalties for dying. It''s no wonder we live in fear of death. These days, many deities actually enter the services of devas!"Why are you telling us this? If you like devas that much, become one yourself. Go ahead and jump into the Sea of Reset.""I want to, but I''ve come too far to do that now.""Then just live your life. Did you seriously call me here so that you could complain to me?" one of the men, a red-headed individual, asked in annoyance."Is it because of Lee Jiwon?" asked the other man."..." The woman didn''t speak for a moment before replying. "Well, it might be.""Tsk. What a waste of time. I''m leaving." The red-headed man stood up from his seat."I said it might be, and I didn''t say I called this meeting," the woman said before the trio heard a set of footsteps heading for the room."Hoho. So this is the Reaper''s idea, even though he hardly ever shows up to any of these meetings?" "That''s right," the woman replied as a man draped in a black cloak entered the room. The cloaked man seated himself in the remaining chair."So, why has the Reaper called us here?" the red-headed man asked."I want to kill Lee Jiwon.""Oh, is that right? So are we here so that you can ask us for our help?""No. I don''t need help from the likes of you.""Tch. You''re beginning to get on my nerves.""There are many these days calling Lee Jiwon our Emperor," the cloaked man quietly said.The red-headed man only laughed in response. "Well, I don''t care much about that. I don''t really want to make Lee Jiwon my enemy. I''m just worried we''ll be called the Three Monarchs soon, instead of Four. Hahahaha.""The Reaper wants Lee Jiwon''s head.""Oh ho!" The two men and woman didn''t need to say anything else any more. They all knew what it meant for Lee Jiwon to be wanted by the Reaper.==[Target: Lee JiwonKill Lee Jiwon within 3 months.Time remaining: 85 days 17 hours 53 minutes.Penalty: If you are unable to kill Lee Jiwon in 3 months, you will incur a death penalty. You will lose your exclusive ability, Death.Advantage: Never miss Lee Jiwon, Cancel out Lee Jiwon''s Unrivaled skill, Lee Jiwon will receive 10 deity death penalties upon death.]=="Lee Jiwon will die by my hand. I will show the entire world what a mistake it was to call Lee Jiwon our Emperor.""Will you be able to do it alone?" asked the woman."The Grim Reaper doesn''t want it done by someone else''s hands. I''ve also prepared the perfect place for Lee Jiwon to meet the Grim Reaper as well," the cloaked man said.The others didn''t oppose the cloaked man. No one had ever been able to escape once they were targeted by the Grim Reaper. ---Abu Dhabi Palace¡­"I''ll do it.""Thank you!""I don''t mean your son. I''ll help you fight in the guild battle instead."I had to admit, the abilities of healers and supporters were amazing. In less than four days, the half-dead boy was brought completely back to life. He was so lively that he had planted himself on my leg and made himself comfortable."Can you get off, please?" I asked Jayid as he climbed up while I tried to converse with his father."No. I don''t want to.""I''m not your personal chair, you know.""I know.""You still won''t get off?""Nope.""¡­" I knew I wasn''t going to get anywhere with this kid."Are you serious?" Baden asked."I am. I don''t exactly know how much I can help you, but I will if you''re okay with that.""Thank you so much! If you help us, I''m sure we can win the battle!" Umaru seemed happier than Baden.I was beginning to suspect this was what they wanted and used Jayid to make me say it myself, but I ignored the thought. If it was, it was a pretty clever tactic. I honestly wouldn''t be mad."Okay, it''s time for you to come down.""But I like it here."This damn spoiled prince¡­ 200 Chapter 199: The Grim Reaper Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAbu Dhabi Palace¡­"Hmm¡­" Everyone was busy, except for me. Tomorrow was the day of the guild battle that would decide who would win the right to rule Abu Dhabi. I spent the time getting the royal treatment and taking it easy in the luxurious room provided for me. I wasn''t nervous at all; I was that confident in my abilities. But taking on a large guild on my own would still be pretty difficult, even for me. No matter how high my DEF and HP were, there was no way I could survive long against the attacks of at least two thousand soldiers.Thankfully, I wasn''t completely alone. Baden''s army might be outnumbered four to six, but that would be enough for me. I could use Baden''s army as an impromptu meat shield and hit Khalid''s army from the sidelines."If only Predation worked¡­" If I was at least able to consume Sparrow or Chameleon and steal their abilities, I could get around the battlefield with ease. But for some reason, I couldn''t and I just couldn''t figure out why or how I could fix it."Well, there''s nothing I can do about it now. I''ll leave that for another time."Then, as I lounged around in my room, feeding the Dungeon Mole more candy, someone knocked on my door."Dinner is prepared, Mr. Lee.""I''ll be right there." During the past six days I was here, I really got the royal treatment; as in, the Abu Dhabi Guild treated me like a member of the royal family. This guild battle was a fight to decide who got to rule the Abu Dhabi family; in other words, a clan battle. An outsider like me had to be accepted into the family in order to participate.In order to make that happen, Baden brought me into his family as Prince Jayid''s godfather.I opened the door to see Jayid and Umaru waiting outside. "Let''s go, godfather!" Jayid said with grin. Jayid was only ten and didn''t really seem to understand what a godfather was, but he kept calling me that nonetheless. Well, that was fine."Yeah, let''s go."---The next day¡­Seventeen thousand soldiers stood in formation outside the royal palace. I stood in front with the senate and faced the army. At that moment, Baden stepped up to the podium to address the soldiers."Today is a sad and pitiful day. Today, we must fight our own foolish brothers, but we have no choice in the matter. We must cut away at the tumors so that the infection does not spread and kill us all together." Baden paused for a moment to scan the gathered soldiers. He finished his speech in a loud, clear voice, "We will overcome this tribulation. We will take this moment of weakness as a chance to become stronger. I will make us stronger. I, Baden al Nayan, swear on my name and as the current head of the Abu Dhabi royal family, vow to make this guild stronger!""Yaaah!""Baden al Nayan! Baden al Nayan!""Move out!""Yes, sir!""We follow Baden al Nayan to the ends of Hell!"After that, ten thousand of the soldiers marched out as one. Our destination was Masdar City, not far from the royal palace. I had taken part in the battle briefing the day before. Khalid and his allies had decided on Masdar City as the battlefield for this guild battle, and each side would fight with seven thousand soldiers. Whichever side came out victorious wouldn''t have much trouble dealing with the remnants of the enemy, so we didn''t mind that condition. As we drew closer to the city, three thousand soldiers split off on standby, in case anything went wrong.-It''s been a while since I''ve participated in a guild battle.-Most guilds hardly participated in guild battles. Most guilds took other guilds by force if they had to, like how the Predator Duke tried to conquer the Werewolf Clan, and how I had pushed the Yung Gong Guild back. Official guild battles were more to clearly show who was stronger or weaker, or when both sides were more or less evenly matched.Just then, Umaru walked up to my side. "Have you been in many guild battles, Mr. Lee?""This will be my second.""I see. So the one in Egypt was your first?""That''s right.""By the way, I''m pretty sure Khalid has already found out that you will be joining us.""I suppose so.""The entire world knows about you and your strength. And yet, Khalid had proposed that both sides come with only seven thousand soldiers. That means he has found someone he believes to be strong enough to face you. Khalid is no fool. His intuition and ability to lead are on par with Master Baden."I had to agree with Umaru. Baden''s younger brother, Khalid. In the past, I knew full well that Khalid was able to completely take over Abu Dhabi and lead it far better than his older brother. I also suspected Khalid was planning something, but that didn''t matter. Whatever magic or spell he had, I knew I could break through it. I wasn''t being arrogant when I knew that I was stronger than I was a week ago, especially because of my Amplified King-Emperor''s Commitment. I was actually itching to find out who or what Khalid had in store for me. I wanted to show the entire world the true extent of my power."I''m actually looking forward to see what hidden card Khalid has for us," I said to the slightly nervous Umaru with a small smile. ---Masdar City¡­Both sides stood in the center of the city facing one another; I and the Abu Dhabi Guild on one side with Khalid, and the Astes of the six other emirates on the other.Baden and Khalid both stepped forward to meet in the middle."As your older brother, it is a shame to have to stand in front of you like this.""I don''t like this either. I wanted to send you away quietly, but you had to make a big deal out of this.""I see. That''s a relief. If you didn''t feel that way after harming your own nephew like that, then I would be very furious.""Jayid''s life wouldn''t mean anything if I can lead the Abu Dhabi Guild far better than you, would it?""..."It was the perfect counter. I could see Baden tremble from all the way over here."Fine, then. We''ll talk more once we find out who is more fit to lead Abu Dhabi.""That''s all I wanted. I, Khalid al Nayan, guild master of Astes, challenge Baden al Nayan, guild master of Abu Dhabi, to a guild battle!""I, Baden al Nayan, guild master of Abu Dhabi, accept the challenge of Khalid al Nayan, guild master of Astes, to a guild battle!"==[Astes and Abu Dhabi have agreed to a Guild Battle.Battle type: DeathmatchParticipants: Astes 7000, Abu Dhabi 7000Battle conditions:The guild master of the defeated side will give up all authority.The guild master of the defeated side will be prohibited from hunting, Stores, obtaining items, and any other activities that seek to increase the guild master''s abilities for five years.The victorious side may pick up to 100 members of the defeated side and prevent them from entering UAE for the next five years. (This restriction will stay even if those members change guilds or factions.)]==Whoever won here took everything. That was the condition Khalid wanted. It was thanks to these conditions that the officers during the briefing were in an uproar. It didn''t seem right to them to accept when Baden was already the rightful ruler of Abu Dhabi. Baden, on the other hand, accepted those conditions without hesitation. All he said was that he had expected more.I would never have accepted those conditions if I were him. There was so much to lose in this battle now. If we really did lose this battle, Baden would actually just have to sit in a corner somewhere for five years and suck on his thumb while doing jack shit.==[The Guild Battle between Astes and Abu Dhabi is about to begin.The battle will take place at the Battlefield of Valor. The Battlefield will appear in 1 minute. The Battlefield will then stay open for 30 minutes. The battle will begin after the time limit, regardless of whether or not all participants have entered the Battlefield.]==Soon, a huge island appeared in the sky, just like it did in Egypt. It was the Battlefield of Valor."Move out to the Battlefield of Valor!""Yes, sir!"I moved with the seven thousand Abu Dhabi soldiers into the Battlefield. When I entered and saw the same large and flat Battlefield, I was reminded of the guild battle against the Blood Prince. Now that I thought about it, joining the Myth Guild was a reckless decision. If I hadn''t had the Lightning Boots, there was no way I could have defeated the Blood Prince on my own. It was only thanks to Powerful Shock that I had weakened him that much."As we''ve already planned, we will let you do as you please. You don''t have to worry about us; do whatever you believe is best.""Understood." After thirty minutes had passed, the two entrances on opposite ends of the Battlefield finally closed. This was a deathmatch; we were to fight until the last man standing. Abu Dhabi had split its army into seven battalions, each consisting of a thousand tanks, damage dealers, and healers/supporters."Sixth and Seventh Battalions, take the flanks! Fifth Battalion, you''re going straight down the center!""Yes, sir!"The three thousand soldiers split off from the main force and marched out, spreading out into a semi circle. The enemy matched our movements and sent out their soldiers in similar fashion. This first scuffle was to see what the enemy had. First to Fifth Battalions were made up of the strongest devas, while Sixth and Seventh were to provide the Fifth Battalion with support.As soon as the battle began, we could plainly see that the tactic worked. Our soldiers were definitely pushing Khalid''s army back."Things are looking good.""It does. Our boys are fighting well."This was only the beginning but seeing the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Battalions do well boosted the morale of the other soldiers. Just then, another wave of Khalid''s soldiers joined the fray. From a glance, there seemed to be two thousand."Fifth Battalion, slowly retreat! Third and Fourth Battalions get in there and cover Fifth''s retreat!""Yes, sir!"Finally, the real battle began. It was time for me to get in there as well."Earth Armor, Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage.""Fatal Blows."I felt a wave of bluffs envelop me. I had forty healers/supporters to back up just me. I slowly followed Third and Fourth out into the battle."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 5 has been activated.Increase ATT by 100%Successful attacks have a 50% chance of inflicting Burn.Increase damage of all Fire-based attacks by 75,000-300,000 pointsThis skill has no cooldown.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I smiled as I read through Mana Conversion''s updated description. I was practically unstoppable now. I tightened my hold on my spear and quickened my pace. 201 Chapter 200: The Grim Reaper Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDFayez, the so-called Grim Reaper cackled as he watched the battle unfolding before him. He turned to Khalid beside him with a sneer. "This is the strength you were boasting about all this time?"Khalid had told Fayez that all he needed to do was take care of Lee Jiwon. If Fayez could keep Lee Jiwon away from the battle, then Khalid and the Astes could easily do away with the Abu Dhabi Guild. But the battle Fayez was watching right now was completely one-sided, with the Astes getting pushed back."Even if I kill Lee Jiwon, I doubt any of you will be remaining," Fayez snorted.Despite Fayez''s insults, Khalid put on a wicked grin. He didn''t seem at all worried that his army was losing. "You''re quite talkative today, Lord Reaper.""...""You''re not afraid or nervous about fighting Lee Jiwon, are you?"It was a good counter to Fayez''s taunts but Fayez did not retort. There was not a single trace of worry on Khalid''s face.Fayez had known Khalid for quite a while now. Fayez had accepted Khalid''s request without question because even Fayez acknowledged Khalid''s abilities. It just worked out that Lee Jiwon was targeted by Death. Fayez''s targets were always chosen without Fayez''s say, and he had to kill his targets within the time frame or he incurred a severe penalty. If he couldn''t kill Lee Jiwon on time, Fayez would die instead and lose his Death ability at the same time. When Lee Jiwon was targeted at the same time Khalid came with the request to kill Lee Jiwon, Fayez saw this as a sign from the heavens; to kill Lee Jiwon and end his climb to greatness. But now, Fayez was annoyed and angry as he saw Khalid''s Astes getting pushed back so easily by Abu Dhabi."Do you know where we are right now?""This is obviously the Battlefield of Valor," Fayez replied bluntly."Do you really think so?""¡­What do you mean?"Khalid smiled again. "Everything is going according to plan. As long as the Lord Reaper kills, no, as long as you keep him away from the battle, we will win this battle.""You seem confident in yourself.""I''m confident in my plan.""I''m curious as to what that plan really is.""You''ll find out soon enough. Oh, look, Lee Jiwon has finally shown himself." Khalid pointed to Lee Jiwon, who was slowly walking towards the battle. "I leave him to you, Lord Reaper. No matter how perfect my plan is, I need him preoccupied.""Fine by me. I realize there are only four of the Seven Monarchs left, but I''ve made my promise as the Grim Reaper and I intend to keep it. But, should your so-called perfect plan fail, even I won''t know who I''ll take my anger out on."Khalid laughed. "It seems I''m doing this for Lord Fayez, instead!""You must, or I swear you''ll regret it!" Fayez said as he turned around and headed towards the battle. Khalid watched Fayez sprint towards the fray before bursting out in laughter. "That''s right. More will die by the enemy''s hands, all the while in my dungeon!"Just then, one of Khalid''s closest advisors came forward. Only three people knew about Khalid''s random skill, and they were his closest advisors. "The fools are all gathering in their own graves.""It''s because they don''t know. They can''t know that this entire place is inside my dungeon. Not even Lee Jiwon can ever know."------Khalid''s random skill, Declare Dungeon. To be exact, it didn''t exactly create dungeons like Kazunari''s Dungeon Creation. As such, no monsters existed in Khalid''s dungeons, nor were there items or golden rings to be dropped. In addition, once the dungeons'' time limit was up, the dungeons disappeared. Creating dungeons that looked and felt like the real thing, but didn''t have the same essence; that was Khalid''s Declare Dungeon.It definitely fell short against Kazunari''s fully fleshed-out dungeons, but when it came to altering the laws of dungeons, Khalid''s dungeons were perfect. Declare Dungeon allowed Khalid to create a dungeon anywhere he wanted, just like how he did in Jayid''s room. It was a crude method, but it worked nonetheless.Khalid took that chance to create an open-type dungeon as big as a city. Khalid decided at Masdar City to create a giant dungeon that would be invisible to the mortal eye. This part of the plan was the riskiest, however. This dungeon was an open-type, not a closed-type like the one from Jayid''s room. While it was invisible to the naked eye, the dungeon didn''t have any entrances or doors, preventing those inside from leaving. This dungeon only worked with the Battlefield of Valor. That was the most important part of his plan. As long as the Battlefield lined up with the dungeon, everyone inside the Battlefield would not be able to leave until the guild battle was over, or until Khalid''s timer ran out. Frankly, that was all there was to Khalid''s perfect plan. Only this time, Lee Jiwon wouldn''t be able to break this dungeon like he did with Jayid''s dungeon, thanks to the Battlefield of Valor.This foolproof plan was only supposed to be a backup in case Khalid couldn''t fully use Jayid and take over the Abu Dhabi Guild. He didn''t want to have to resort to it because of all the lives it would cost and the scars it would leave, but that was just how much he desperately wanted to become Abu Dhabi''s guild master.---"You won''t be able to break and smash your way out of this one, Lee Jiwon," Khalid quietly said to himself. He was very satisfied with how things were going. "Send the rest in!""Yes, sir!""I''m sure you all know, but make sure you bring as many of the enemy into the battle before dying as you can! Baden or Umaru will know something''s up sooner or later. Keep it up until then!""Understood, sir." By Khalid''s orders, Astes began throwing their lives at Abu Dhabi while making sure to increase the enemy soldiers'' fatigue as much as they could. They certainly weren''t throwing away their lives needlessly, especially when their guild master had a way to restore their lives.==[Restart (Active)This skill is granted via the random skill Declare Dungeon.This skill can only be used by the user while the user is in a Declared Dungeon.Cooldown: 30 days.Resurrects the user''s allies that have died in the Declared Dungeon. (No death penalty)Successful resurrections restore HP, MP, and Fatigue to full.Successful resurrections grant a buff that decreases all damage taken by 50%.]==This skill could only be used after a dungeon was Declared. Furthermore, Khalid had never used this skill before, so no one knew what it really did, but they were going to find out soon enough.------"Gah!"It only took two hits to kill a shield tank. "Damn." Level 5 Mana Conversion was just way more than I had expected."Ahahahaha!" I couldn''t help but laugh like a maniac."Fuck! Why is he so strong?""Shit! That debuff I get every time I get close to him is starting to piss me off!""Why is everything he has so overpowered? What sort of cheat engine is he using?"It seemed that we would win this battle pretty soon, especially once I had entered the fray. That is, until that message appeared before me.==[You have been caught in the range of Touch of Death. You will receive the effects of the debuff.ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF decreased by 15%All recovery-type skills lose 70% of their effectivenessDamage received from all Death-type skills increased by 30%]=="Huh?" That didn''t make any sense. Unrivaled made me immune to all status effects, including debuffs. Ever since I had learned it at level 0, I had never been affected by debuffs, including the Blood Prince''s and the Predator Duke''s. This was the first time this had ever happened and that shocked me even more. I wasn''t the only one to be taken aback as well."Huh? Touch of Death?""You got it too?""Yeah.""We know everyone on Khalid''s side, but I''ve never heard of anyone knowing this debuff or Death-type skills.""There''s no way we couldn''t have known about an AoE debuff like this!""Whose is it?"It seemed Abu Dhabi didn''t know about this debuff, either. Either way, what was important was that I was affected as well.Just then, I felt a sharp gust of wind blow from behind me. I quickly turned around and swung my spear at the object flying at me. I was rewarded with a clang of metal and saw a short, black stick fall to the ground before it disappeared into a cloud of smoke.Another message appeared before me.==[Your deity opponent''s attacks are unaffected by Unrivaled.]==Soon, a single man came into view along with sounds of his laugh and footsteps. He was completely covered in a black cloak. He had to be caster of Touch of Death. That quickly reminded me of a man I had heard about. He was one of the Seven Monarchs, and known as the Grim Reaper."Reaper?""Oh ho, so you know of me! I work from the shadows, so there aren''t many who know of me.""Ha¡­" I heaved a heavy sigh. It wasn''t that long ago that I had defeated the Dungeon Creator, and already another Monarch had appeared before me. -I get it. The stronger I become, the more enemies I make that want to stop me from growing any stronger. But I just didn''t get why Unrivaled isn''t working.-"What''s wrong? It is because your once-reliable Unrivaled isn''t working anymore?""Yeah, that''s exactly it. I have never had it happen before," I replied matter-of-factly as I brushed my hands."You''ve got quite the mouth for a dead man," the Reaper said coldly."That''s what I want to say to you. You can''t possibly think you''ve won already just because you took Unrivaled away, do you?" I said, but I was actually pretty annoyed at this point. I needed Unrivaled to face a deity, especially a Monarch. This was going to be tough."Bwahahaha! Me? Die? I am Fayez, the Grim Reaper!""So you say, but you know what happened to all those who boasted about their power in front of my face, don''t you?""Don''t compare me to those fools! Thorns of Death!" Angered by my choice of words, the Reaper attacked first. A shower of thorns fired at me from his shadow.I swung my spear at the incoming missiles. They were supposed to be thorns, but when they collided with my spear, I was met with a resounding clang of metal and it felt like hitting a metal pole each time."Blink 2." I quickly got away from the volley of thorns and Blinked behind the Reaper and stabbed."Cloak of Death!"My attack wasn''t successful, however, thanks to the Cloak of Death that suddenly appeared."Wrap him!" The Cloak then stretched outward and wrapped around me.---"Hmm¡­something''s not right.""I think so too, sir. We''re killing many of his soldiers, but Khalid hasn''t reacted at all.""Exactly. Khalid isn''t a fool to throw the lives of his soldiers away like this."Baden always knew Khalid was up to something. That was why he had Umaru defect to Khalid''s side, and made Khalid his vice-master. But no matter how hard he tried, Baden just couldn''t figure out what Khalid was thinking. Baden soon learned just how crafty his younger brother was when that same brother challenged him to a guild battle with those conditions.There was no way Khalid would throw this battle. Then there was that individual Baden had never seen before. That stranger was actually pushing Lee Jiwon back."Cover Lee Jiwon and begin the retreat! Something''s not right!" 202 Chapter 201: The Grim Reaper Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI quickly swatted the Cloak with my spear as it closed around me. I used the impact of the blow to squeeze my way out of the quickly closing hole. I still had the other Blink, but I didn''t want to use both at once. My AGI was high enough for now."You slippery bastard!""Thanks, I''ll take that as a compliment.""Grah! Let''s see how long you stay that confident! Spear of Death!" Angered again by my retort, the Reaper summoned a black spear and threw it at me.I tightened my hold on my Harrier and charged at the Reaper, while quietly activating Judge''s Gavel. I knew this attack probably wouldn''t connect, but its cooldown was an hour. I had to use it as much as I could since I was sure this battle was going to take quite some time.As soon as the Spear of Death drew close to my head, I bent over backwards far to avoid it. The attack power of the Spear of Death was actually so high that the air it cut through cut me. I ignored the scratch and focused on the Reaper. Just as I drew close to Fayez, I heard something whizzing right at me from behind.For a split second, I contemplated on whether I should focus on the Reaper or turn around and deflect whatever was coming at me but quickly decided to stay on the Reaper. Judge''s Gavel was still activated and I was confident my body could take whatever attacks for now, even without the damage reduction from Unrivaled."Die!""Summon: Doll of Death!"My spear connected with the summoned Doll of Death, destroying it in single blow with the thundering boom of the Judge''s Gavel. Soon after, something struck me hard in the back. I couldn''t see what it was, but I was sure it was the Spear of Death that had turned around. And it hurt!"Gah!""Shit! You''re insane! How did you destroy my Doll in a single blow?" the Reaper shouted, but I ignored him.It had been a while since an attack last knocked the wind out of me. The Reaper''s attack was truly the strongest that I''d encountered so far. I thought for a moment if the same fighting style was going to work against the Reaper. Sure, thanks to Level 5 Mana Conversion, my ATT was second to none, but my DEF and HP wouldn''t last long against the Reaper''s own attack output. I quickly brushed the thought away. I was good at this fight style and as long as the Reaper made that ugly expression, I knew that I was not the only one taking damage.---Fayez was shocked. He didn''t underestimate Lee Jiwon for a second. He knew that Lee Jiwon was powerful, but it was impossible for him to destroy the Doll in a single blow. That Doll of Death contained all of the lives of Fayez''s past victims. Its HP were well over 3,500,000 points. That was equivalent to 7,000 VIT points! Sure, it didn''t have DEF or MDEF, but it didn''t need them until now. That meant Lee Jiwon''s attack just now had inflicted well over 3,500,000 points of damage. If he had gotten hit by that¡­Fayez shuddered at the thought.==[Doll of Death has been completely destroyed.You can now only summon a base Doll of Death.]==Fayez now had to start over with the Doll of Death. "I''m going to rip you to pieces, Lee Jiwon!" It took Fayez six years to build that Doll. It was near impossible to build it back up. Devas and deities were much stronger since the start of Otadolon. It was going to take the Heavens knew how many years, and that just pissed Fayez off even more.---Fayez was getting noticeably angrier, and that worked for me. Him getting angrier meant I was doing something right, and meant it was more likely he was going to make a mistake."Fissure!" I slammed my Harrier into the ground, splitting the ground beneath the Reaper. The split earth rose up to swallow the Reaper whole."Come forth, Roots of Death!" As the earth split around Fayez, giant black roots burst through the ground, intertwining with each other and protected Fayez from Fissure. The ground continued to rumble and undulate around Fayez, ripping some roots while other roots grew to replace the ones that were lost."Blink 2." At first, both Blinks were the same. But after Amplification, Blink 2 from the Commitment had a shorter cooldown than Blink 1, meaning I could use it more often. Once I confirmed Blink 2 was available again, I used it to get right next to Fayez and stabbed him with my spear. This time, it was successful."Gak! Chains of Death!" Fayez was too focused on protecting himself from Fissure, so he didn''t notice me get behind him. He didn''t just take it, quickly counterattacking. In an instant, a black chain appeared and wrapped itself around my leg. Fayez grabbed the chain and spun me around in the air.I smashed my spear at the chain to try and get out of its hold, but I was only rewarded with the clanging sound of metal before I was slammed hard into the ground."Die!""Gah!" My ribs felt like they were going to break from the force, but I bit through the pain and quickly got back to my feet. I raised my spear and with a single, powerful blow, I broke the chain around my leg."Thorns of Death!" The Reaper fired another volley of black thorns my way. I used my spear to block what I could while avoiding the ones I couldn''t and charged at the Reaper again. "Fuck! Why is your attack power so high?" the Reaper spat as my spear slashed him twice."Shit! I avoided them all, but I still got hurt," I muttered to myself. Not a single thorn hit me directly, but they had still left deep scratches when they whizzed past me."I''ll kill you, Lee Jiwon!""Not if I kill you first!"---"...""..."More than ten thousand soldiers were fighting in a fierce battle in the middle of the Battlefield of Valor. However, many of them were more focused on the duel taking place beside them rather than on their enemies.-Is that even possible?--What do I have to do to get that strong?-The duel was no longer a fight between two men. It was more akin to a fight between gods. The force of their attacks was so great that they had inadvertently created a hundred-meter wide opening around them.Just then, the sound of horns being blown could be heard from the Abu Dhabi Guild''s side of the Battlefield. It was the sound of retreat. The Abu Dhabi soldiers turned around to see the red flag waving, signaling them to fall back."Why?""But we''re still winning.""We can win if we just help Lee Jiwon."The Abu Dhabi soldiers didn''t understand, but they were still given the order to retreat by their commanders."Fall back!""Don''t advance any further and fall back!"The Abu Dhabi soldiers disengaged from their enemies and began to retreat, making sure to take Lee Jiwon with them.---"Mr. Lee! We need to go!" I heard someone call from behind me. I heard the horn as well, and I think I knew why. Khalid''s army was being pushed back and he didn''t do anything besides send in the Reaper, even though he set those conditions. From what I could see, Khalid had about three thousand soldiers left while Abu Dhabi still had about six thousand and yet, Khalid continued to send in more soldiers to die. He was planning something and Baden and Umaru must have caught on."You''re not thinking about running away, are you?" Fayez taunted, but I didn''t care."I am!" This duel was going to end with one of us dying, one way or another. It didn''t have to be now."Blink 1." I Blinked away from the Reaper and joined the retreating Abu Dhabi soldiers. Fayez didn''t follow.---"Hmph. So they''ve finally caught on.""Yes, sir. They aren''t fools. But either way, this should be enough, wouldn''t it?""It is."Astes had lost four thousand of its original seven thousand soldiers while Abu Dhabi only lost about fifteen hundred."How much time has passed?""It''s been two hours and forty minutes since we lost our first soldier.""Then it''s time," Khalid said with a nod. He just needed to begin the next phase before the three hour mark, since that was how long it took for devas to resurrect outside the Battlefield."Get ready.""Yes sir!"By Khalid''s orders, the Astes soldiers on the Battlefield spread out. Once they were in formation, Khalid stepped out and shouted, "By the will of this dungeon''s owner, Restart!"In that instant, thousands of beams of bright light shone down upon the Battlefield for a moment. At the very spots the beams shone on stood the devas that had died."Huh?""What is this?""I thought I was dead¡­"The resurrected Abu Dhabi soldiers were left alone in confusion, right in the middle of the Astes soldiers who knew exactly what had just transpired. "Kill the rat bastards stuck in our trap!"Fifteen hundred Abu Dhabi soldiers were surrounded by seven thousand Astes soldiers. They didn''t stand a chance. Astes rained down a torrent of skills and spells, sending the resurrected Abu Dhabi soldiers back to their graves in an instant, shifting the tide of the battle in favor of the Astes.---Baden watched in anger as his men died like hogs caught in a bait trap. He wanted to save them, if it wasn''t for the report he received from one of the resurrected soldiers before he died. Those brought back to life had a buff that decreased damage taken by 50% and had their HP, MP, and Fatigue fully restored. Khalid''s army was back to full force while Baden''s remaining force was heavily fatigued after nearly three hours of fighting. There was no way to save them. 203 Chapter 202: The Grim Reaper Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Hah¡­instant resurrection; something like this actually existed?" I truly had no idea this was a thing. If I did, I would have prepared for it. "Ha¡­no wonder they were dying too easily."During the twenty minutes I had fought against the Reaper, I believed we were evenly matched. With Abu Dhabi pushing forward, I just had to keep him preoccupied and we would have won the battle. But now, things were different. I had to defeat the Reaper no matter what, and then help Abu Dhabi. Even then, we only had a small chance of winning.---Khalid laughed, content with how well his plan worked. The tables had flipped in an instant. Astes''s officers and the representatives of the six emirates smiled along with him. Just like Khalid, they had poured many resources into ensuring this plan would work over the past five years. There was no turning back now.One man couldn''t smile, however. Fayez had clearly felt the power of Lee Jiwon during the twenty minutes they fought each other. Lee Jiwon couldn''t utilize his Unrivaled''s abilities and all of Fayez''s attacks more or less connected, even if Lee Jiwon managed to block some of them. Either way, Fayez had believed he could make short work of Lee Jiwon.-Tsk. So I was completely off the mark?-Fayez thought that the only reason Lee Jiwon was able to defeat three of the Seven Monarchs was his special Unrivaled skill. He thought that Lee Jiwon had relied on Unrivaled''s special abilities, but by now, Fayez realized he was wrong.-Shit! I might actually die before he does!-Fayez was horrified by how much Lee Jiwon''s normal attacks hurt. He had never received that much damage from anyone before. That giant hammer that destroyed his Doll in a single blow... Fayez had no idea what that was. The problem wasn''t Lee Jiwon''s Unrivaled skill, it was his unbelievably high attack power! If it weren''t for his passive ability, Death''s Sovereignty, which decreased all incoming damage by 30%, Fayez would turned back first, no matter how embarrassing it was.-Facing him on my own was a mistake. Fuck! Lee Jiwon¡­he really does have the potential to become the Emperor of the Monarchs!-He didn''t want to admit it, even if it meant dying, but personally facing Lee Jiwon like this didn''t give Fayez much choice in the matter. Lee Jiwon truly could become much more powerful than the Four Monarchs. If Fayez couldn''t defeat Lee Jiwon here, the other Monarchs didn''t stand a chance against him.-I can''t let that happen! I have to kill him here. If I can''t do it on my own, I''ll make Khalid help me!-Fayez made his decision. No matter what happened here today, Lee Jiwon had to die. Lee Jiwon had to incur those ten deity death penalties. It was the only way to slow him down.-It''s a good thing Khalid has the upper hand now.-Fayez laughed bitterly. All the confidence he had before fighting Lee Jiwon was gone.---"We leave the Reaper to you, Mr. Lee," Umaru said."I understand," I replied with a nod. What other choice did we have? I and Fayez were the strongest here. There were no other devas here that could face him. He also had way more AoE skills in his arsenal. If I didn''t face him, he could wipe out the entire Abu Dhabi army before I could make a proper dent in the Astes army.Just then, Baden stepped out to face the soldiers. "The fault lies with me! As your leader, I should have noticed the enemy''s scheming sooner, but I didn''t and fifteen hundred of our comrades paid the price." Baden scanned over the soldiers before continuing, "However, I won''t go down as a useless leader. I want to be remembered as the leader who overcame such an unfavorable situation and achieved victory. If you all feel the same and trust in me, I know I can make that possible. Will you all follow me once more?""We will follow you to the depths of hell!""We fight as Abu Dhabi and die as Abu Dhabi!""For al Nayan! For Abu Dhabi!"The soldiers roared as one with a new burning morale, after they felt lost when they lost their comrades without being able to do anything. I nodded at their willpower. Things weren''t looking good for us, but the battle wasn''t over yet. Abu Dhabi was made up of the most elite veteran soldiers, accustomed to fighting with one another. The other side was made up of a makeshift alliance of six different factions. It didn''t matter if they outnumbered us if they couldn''t work together as well as Abu Dhabi."Move out!""Yes, sir!"Baden led his army out to meet Astes in battle once more. Thirty minutes had passed. Astes had lost their buff by now, and Abu Dhabi had recovered most of their Fatigue, as well. I headed out too, to face Fayez the Reaper again.---"Shit!""Someone do something about Lee Jiwon!""Where''s the guy who fought Lee Jiwon before?"I hacked and slashed at the Astes soldiers before me like a machine. I stole a glance towards Fayez. He stood next to Khalid with his arms crossed. It seemed he wasn''t going to join the battle any time soon. I didn''t understand why he would do that, but I and Abu Dhabi were actually thankful for that. I kept swinging my spear, knowing for a fact that they couldn''t resurrect again. ---"Why aren''t you fighting Lee Jiwon again?""Because I''m afraid.""¡­Of Lee Jiwon?""Yeah.""..." Khalid didn''t know how to respond to Fayez''s blunt reply. Fayez and Lee Jiwon seemed to be on equal footing before, but now he was acting differently. Either way, the battle was going according to Khalid''s plan. He couldn''t leave Lee Jiwon alone like this."We will defeat Lee Jiwon ourselves! Just hold him at bay until we defeat Abu Dhabi!""I know you saw Lee Jiwon''s hammer attack, too. I might be able to survive it, but at what cost?"Khalid clenched his fists in anger. "What happened to all that confidence you had earlier?""I know. It''s embarrassing, but it''s the truth.""Then are you just going to stay here like an idiot? Are you just going leave Lee Jiwon alone? You''re going to die with us in the end if you leave it like this.""Are you threatening me?""Yes, I am," Khalid replied without missing a beat. Khalid had put everything on the line with this guild battle. If he lost here, he had nothing more to lose.Fayez softly chuckled. "I want to kill Lee Jiwon as much as you do. But he''s strong, possibly stronger than me. We really underestimated me. I barely made a scratch on Lee Jiwon, but he almost wiped the floor with me. I can''t hold him off for you. It''s impossible.""That''s bullshit! Do you mean to say that I should just accept my defeat now?""No, I''m not. Let me finish. There''s a way we can win.""And what''s that?""Prepare four hundred people that can incur irreversible death penalties, and they have to consent.""What do you mean?""I don''t want to have to resort to Incarnation of Death. It''s not easy to recover from it, but we don''t have a choice." Fayez didn''t want to ever use Incarnation of Death, but he believed that it was the only way he could kill Lee Jiwon.==[Incarnation of Death (Fayez''s exclusive skill)A skill usable only by the retainer of Death''s Sovereignty.Cooldown: 30 daysRequirements: This skill can only be used by one of two ways.The user incurs a death penalty to use this skill for 24 hours. (After Incarnation of Death deactivates, the user will die.)Four hundred devas must willingly incur irreversible death penalties to use this skill for 24 hours.All Stats increase by 2x.All Death-type skill damage increase by 2x.Power of Touch of Death increases by 2x. (Decreases ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF by 30%.)Grants Cuirass of Death.After Incarnation of Death is used, Death''s Sovereignty cannot be used for 90 days.]==There was no way Fayez could normally use it because of its requirements. He had to sacrifice himself or four hundred willing people to use it. If he sacrificed himself, that meant losing Death''s Sovereignty altogether.He had four hundred people he could sacrifice here, however. He could just use Khalid''s subordinates. Fayez concealed the first requirement and revealed the rest to Khalid."This is the only way I know of.""...""Make your decision quickly. The more of your men Lee Jiwon kills, the less men we have to sacrifice.""Shit!" Khalid hated that he had to resort to this and hated Lee Jiwon for forcing his hand. "Fine! I''ll have them ready in ten minutes! Just make sure you at least hold him at bay for ten minutes!""Hmph. Fine. You''ll have your ten minutes. I won''t be able to do anymore than that," Fayez said calmly, but he was actually sweating bullets. He was crossing his arms to hide fact that his armpits were drenched. This was the Battlefield of Valor. There was no way out of here until he killed Lee Jiwon, or until he died. If Fayez died, then it would take him three thousand hours to resurrect. Fayez knew that there was a higher chance of him dying than of him killing Lee Jiwon. Regardless, Fayez uncrossed his arms and sprinted for the battle.---"Judge''s Gavel." Fayez finally moved. I activated the Judge''s Gavel that I was saving and moved to intercept him.---"Multi-Thorns of Death!" Fayez feared Lee Jiwon''s hammer attack. If his Doll of Death couldn''t fully protect Fayez from that attack, then his Mantle of Death or Roots of Death couldn''t either. Fayez decided to attack from a distance instead. He just needed to buy ten minutes.It was impossible to maintain a fair amount of distance from Lee Jiwon, however. Not only was he unbelievably strong, he was also unbelievably fast."Fuck! A skill that strong should at least have a month-long cooldown! Wave of Death!" Fayez shot a huge black wave of liquid at Lee Jiwon, but it wasn''t enough to slow him down. That only served to frustrate and annoy Fayez even more."Mantle of Death! Thorns of Death!" Fayez summoned a black shadowy wall and fired another volley of thorns, but it was all in vain. Lee Jiwon''s spear broke through the Mantle and struck Fayez. He went back flying from the force of the hammer that struck his head. All Fayez could do was swear and ask the heavens how a deva this strong could ever exist! 204 Chapter 203: The Perfect Conclusion Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI frowned as I watched Fayez get thrown back by Judge''s Gavel.-Shit! I know Unrivaled isn''t working right now, but this hurts way too much. And this Touch of Death is really starting to get on my nerves!-I didn''t have any ranged attacks besides Fissure. All I could do was attack him from up close, but the Reaper''s attacks did too much damage for me to be able to keep it up for long. It didn''t help that every time he landed a successful attack, I was dealt an additional 30% of damage thanks to his Touch of Death debuff."Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch!" Fayez shouted as he got up. He was thrown back about ten meters from the blow and was embedded into the ground. He didn''t have his Doll of Death to protect him from Judge''s Gavel again, and his body was in tatters. Once I saw that, I could finally smile. I was getting hurt, but I was hurting Fayez even more.I raised my hand and pointed a finger at him. "Altered Equality!"==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]==The reason I hadn''t used it on him from the start was simple: Abu Dhabi was winning. They had only lost a thousand of their men while Astes lost half. I had thought that I wouldn''t need to try as much for us to win, but obviously that wasn''t the case anymore. I had to pull out all the stops to defeat the Reaper."Grr! What the hell is this now?" Anyone affected by my Altered Equality grew furious. It had happened to the Predator Duke and the Dark Caster, and it wasn''t any different with the Reaper. It just meant that they were affected heavily by Altered Equality.I charged in at the Reaper glaring at me with shocked anger, giving him no chance to react. "Fissure!""Come forth, Roots of Death!" I was ready for his counter. "Blink 2.""Mantle of Death!" Again, he summoned his Mantle of Death to try and stop me, but it was no use. I stabbed at the black wall with my spear. The Mantle shattered in three hits and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke."Fuck! Multi-Thorns of Death!""Gah!" I blocked what I could and didn''t bother trying to dodge the rest. By now, I realized that even if I did, they all turned around to hit me in the back, homing in on me. This was going to be battle of who would outlast the other, and I had more experience in those types of battles than anyone else."Shit!Why won''t you die?""Are you crazy? Why would I want to die now?""Wave of Death!""Blink 1." I Blinked over to the other side of the black tidal wave and was rewarded with the unguarded backside of Fayez. I quickly slashed at him twice."Fuck you! Chains of Death!" The Reaper didn''t bother turning around and instead summoned a black chain from his shadow, which shot for my leg.I was already expecting it and quickly slammed my spear into the chain, stopping it an inch away from my ankle. I then used my spear as a springboard to jump right at the Reaper who still had his back turned. I landed a perfect dropkick right on his backside."Oof!" My whole body was a weapon. Including the Shaman Ko stat points, my STR was close to 26,000. Fayez did not expect the attack at all and was thrown forward by the force of the blow, rolling several feet away.Another chance. I used the momentum from the jump to hit the ground and jump high into the air. Fayez was still on the ground with his back to me and I brought my spear right down onto him. I was rewarded with a thundering crash, telling me that attack had inflicted a tremendous amount of damage. I could see Fayez grimace in pain, but he didn''t shout out.Instead, his body exploded into a cloud of black smoke. All that was left was my spear stuck in the ground, as if he wasn''t there at all in the first place."Hey, asshole! I don''t like fighting like barbarians!""Really? That''s a shame, because I really do." I pulled my spear out of the ground and turned to the right. Fayez was standing a few meters away, panting and with his left hand over his chest. His face was covered in dirt and mud."Let me ask you something.""Go ahead. You''re half dead anyway, so I can at least hear you out.""Cut the crap and listen. Are you really a deva?""Of course I am. You obviously know that a deity can''t learn Unrivaled, don''t you?" Unrivaled devas were the enemies of deities. A deity couldn''t learn Unrivaled and an Unrivaled deva couldn''t become a deity. "Well, I think that just about answers your question. Shall we continue?""No. It''s my loss.""What?" I was surprised, to say the least, at his sudden surrender. He was supposed to be one of the Seven Monarchs. But this was the Battlefield of Valor. The only way out of here was if everyone on the enemy team was dead. He was my enemy. There was no way we could shake hands and become friends. Well, maybe there was if he actually surrendered here and now, but I highly doubted that was the case. He was my enemy through and through, and there was no way I was going to let him get out of here alive."Huh, really now?" I feigned interest and slowly walked towards Fayez. Unfortunately, my actions seemed just as transparent as Fayez''s. "Fuck off! Did you really think I''d fall for your ploy?""Tsk!" I tightened my grip on my spear and charged. At that moment, Fayez turned around and turned tail. He was heading back to where Khalid was standing."Are you running away?""I am. You ran away, so I should be able to as well." Fayez sprinted towards the Astes side of the Battlefield. If I was going to chase after him, then I was going to have to follow him into the enemy''s army. I decided to not give chase. There was nowhere for him to run anyway.Instead, I turned around and shifted my attention to the Astes soldiers. The more I decreased their numbers, the higher the chance Abu Dhabi had of winning. I smiled as I cut down the enemy soldiers in front of me. The Grim Reaper, one of the Seven Monarchs, had run from me.I had defeated yet another Monarch."Alright! Lee Jiwon chased away the enemy''s champion!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"---"I see you had your ass handed to you.""Ha¡­ha¡­are they ready?" Fayez didn''t react to Khalid''s taunt and just tried to catch his breath. Fayez knew exactly what he said to Khalid before he faced Lee Jiwon, that he would face the man alone. Fayez would make sure Khalid paid for his insolence later. Right now, he had to focus on Lee Jiwon."They''re ready for you.""They have to be willing to take on the irreversible death penalties. No one can be forced.""I know that full well. That is why they are all my direct subordinates in Astes." Khalid actually wanted to use the soldiers of the other six emirates rather than his subordinates that followed him out of Abu Dhabi. But the sacrifices had to give their utmost consent, so he had no other choice and even chose another fifty."Good."At Fayez''s reply, Khalid gestured to his aide, who then ran out to shout towards the Battlefield."Form up!" The command seemed unexpected, but the Astes soldiers did not even turn around. They had already knew what was going to happen. Four hundred and fifty soldiers who had been moved to the sidelines changed their positions to stand in formation in front of Khalid. It took them less than a minute."I''m sorry for making you all do this. I only have you all to rely on!""No, sir! We are prepared to do lay down our lives for victory!" These soldiers had been Khalid''s most loyal followers since before Otadolon. Khalid hated having to put them through this."Are you done filming your little drama skit?" Fayez sneered."We''re done. Just make sure you kill Lee Jiwon." Khalid was not happy with Fayez at all."Of course," Fayez said and turned to the gathered soldiers. "As the servant of Death, I offer these souls gathered before me! Dark One, grant me your strength so that I may cut down my enemies in your name!" As soon as Fayez completed his incantation, a black smoke oozed from Fayez''s body and surrounded the soldiers. A message appeared before each soldier.==[Will you accept an irreversible death penalty?Yes/No]==The soldiers all selected Yes, as per Khalid''s request. At that moment, four hundred trails of smoke emerged from the black cloud and connected with four hundred soldiers. In less than a minute, those soldiers disappeared into thin air. The smoke that had absorbed the four hundred lives was soon sucked back into Fayez and a message appeared before him.==[You may now turn into the Incarnation of Death for 24 hours.You will not be able to use Death''s Sovereignty for 90 days once Incarnation of Death deactivates.]==Fayez had never used Incarnation of Death before, not even against the deity considered to be the strongest of the Seven Monarchs. He knew he could only use it against a target that was stronger than him. If he didn''t use it, he risked dying and losing his abilities anyway."Incarnation of Death!" A huge cloud of black smoke bellowed out of Fayez''s body and surrounded him, before taking Fayez''s form. It resembled a suit of armor made out of shadow. Fayez smiled as a message appeared, notifying him that his Stats, Death-type skills and Touch of Death were doubled in power. Once again, he sprinted back to the Battlefield to face Lee Jiwon once more.---"Hmm¡­" Fayez had definitely run away, but the little ritual he did with the separate group of soldiers worried me. I watched as a cloud of black smoke enveloped the soldiers and absorbed a good chunk of them. Something wasn''t right, and I wasn''t the only one who noticed."That doesn''t look good," Baden muttered."No, it doesn''t," Umaru agreed.I heaved a heavy sigh as I watched Fayez with a frown. He already wasn''t easy to deal with, and yet, he had another card up his sleeve. I honestly should have expected he would do something like this. He was one of the Seven Monarchs; they all had failsafes.Soon, the now three-meter tall Reaper stood before me."What are you, some sort of Transformer robot?""Again with that mouth of yours!""What, did you think I''d cower in fear after you ran away like a coward?""Gahahaha! Good. Let''s see how long that fa?ade of yours lasts! I bend the earth to my will! Become the Field Where Death Blossoms!" The ground where Fayez stood soon turned black and the blackness spread to where I stood.==[You are now in the Field Where Death Blossoms.All non-Undead types lose 10 HP per second.All non-Undead types have their ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF decreased by 10%.]=="..." There was another message that appeared the moment Fayez appeared before me.==[Incarnation of Death doubles the power of Touch of Death.]==Thanks to that, my ATT, MATT, DEF, and MDEF were already lowered by 30%. This Field Where Death Blossoms lowered those Stats by another 10%."Well, shit." 205 Chapter 204: The Perfect Conclusion Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI could deal with the 15% debuff. I had still managed to deal more damage to Fayez than he could do to me. But 40% was just way too much. It practically halved my combat abilities, and that wasn''t the end to this misery either.Fayez threw a bigger Spear of Death that flew at me at much higher speeds that I couldn''t defend against it.==[Touch of Death increases damage received from all Death-type skills by 60%.]==The original 30% extra damage it increased hurt plenty enough already, but this effect had doubled to 60% as well."Bahahaha. What''s wrong; got nothing else witty to say?" "..." Oh, I really wanted to if I could. I really didn''t want to lose this battle of will, but I was truly at a loss for words. That single attack did way more damage than he did before. This was not the same Reaper I fought less than ten minutes ago.The Reaper had a failsafe, just like the Monarchs I had faced and killed before him, but theirs wasn''t as overpowered as this. The Blood Prince''s and the Predator Duke''s just gave them a chance to live another day, but the Reaper''s failsafe turned him into a different being. This was just way too unfair. I could only sigh in despair and frustration and the Reaper laughed in joy at my silence. I wanted to yell that he was just a bug in the system, but I couldn''t bring myself to do it. I was the bug, not him. I was the one who got to come back to the past, and that pissed me off even more. I worked my way up here from the bottom, but he was born that way from the start. He was just lucky enough to be reborn as a goddamn deity.I squeezed my grip around my spear. I was going to feel the loss of my Unrivaled skill properly now. But there was no way I was going to accept my loss like this. If I was going to lose, then I was going to make him work for it. I wanted to wipe that smug grin and rub his face in the dirt once more."Fuck it! I''ll show you who the real system bug is!" I charged in at the Reaper once more."Gahaha! Yes! Struggle for your life. It''s all you can do anyway," Fayez laughed, but I was more concerned about the black aura that was oozing from his body."Appear before me! Gap of Death!" The black aura spread out widely and shot past me as I continued charging. A message soon appeared before me.==[You are 10 meters away from the Source of Death.You will lose 100 HP per second.]==I was still sprinting toward the Reaper and after I took a couple more steps, another message appeared.==[ You are 10 meters away from the Source of Death.You will lose 120 HP per second.]==The closer I drew towards the Reaper, the more HP I lost per second and I was already still in the Death Blossom Field and was losing an additional 10 HP per second. A couple more steps and another message appeared telling me that I was losing 200 HP per second now. So now, on top of the doubled damage debuff from Touch of Death, I was losing 210 HP per second."You''re pissing me off!" I doubted Fayez knew the definition of overkill."Mantle of Death." The Mantle of Death he summoned this time was twice as big as the ones before. My spear struck the Mantle dead on, but I was only rewarded with a loud clang and the feeling that it was twice as thick."Encase!" The Mantle of Dead wrapped around me in an alarming speed. It closed around me so fast that I couldn''t get out on my own. I still had both Blinks off of their cooldowns, but I didn''t use them. I was already pissed off enough by Fayez''s damned debuffs."Argh! I can break through this easily!" I slammed my spearhead into the walls of the Mantle and the sound of metal clanging echoed around me.==[You are encased in Death.You will lose 1000 HP per second.]=="Enough with it already!" I ignored the message and continued to slam my spear against the Mantle. After about eight or nine hits, I finally broke my way out."Tsk. I just don''t understand it. How can you be this strong? There are so many debuffs on you as well!""Fuck you! It''s you I don''t understand. How are you allowed to change that much in a matter of a few minutes?" His power had more than just doubled; I was doubly weakened as well!I didn''t have time to complain anymore and charged at the Reaper once more. I was still losing 210 HP per second so each second was precious right now. Once I was close enough, I swung at Fayez with my spear. Ever since I had found my Harrier, my attacks had always pierced through my enemies, and now, my Commitment''s Penetration was recently doubled, thanks to Amplification. My attacks didn''t go through this time, however, and were stopped by Fayez''s Armor of Death."Gahahaha! Give it up! Your puny attacks won''t ever pierce through my Armor of Death!" Fayez cackled as he looked down at his Armor... and then made a shocked expression. The second slash from my spear had made a gash in the Armor, and a black powder was spilling from the hole. "¡­That''s a trace of the Armor of Death being destroyed?" he muttered to himself.I felt a newfound vigor rise within me. If my attacks couldn''t make a scratch in that Armor of his, I would have really felt lost and would have given up then and there, but now I saw a ray of hope."Fissure!"---Once again, Fayez was shocked at Lee Jiwon''s strength. He knew that he had the upper hand now that he had ascended as the Incarnation of Death and saw the damage he was doing to Lee Jiwon. But even with all of those debuffs on him, Lee Jiwon was barely slowing down. His attack power was still high and he still had enough HP to keep him going. Fayez was growing more annoyed. If it weren''t for Incarnation of Death, he would have actually lost to a damn deva!"Die! Death Burst!" Three giant explosions went off consecutively around Lee Jiwon, but despite that, Lee Jiwon forced his way through the explosions and stabbed at Fayez again."Argh! You''re a tenacious bastard, I''ll give you that! Summon: Spear of Death!" Fayez summoned a spear of his own and counterattacked Lee Jiwon.Lee Jiwon was losing 210 HP per second as long as he stayed close to Fayez. There was no reason for Fayez to not fight in close quarters. Time was on his side. The two began to fiercely exchange blows, while the ground around them cratered from the force of their attacks.---"Keep up your attack!""Yes, sir!""Billowing Fire Pillar!""Razor Wind""Iron Wall!"Baden continued to lead his army from the front and together, they pushed hard against Astes. However, both sides couldn''t help, but pay attention to the fierce duel taking place a ways from the main battle.-Damn¡­is that even possible?-The time they were all given since Otadolon began was the same. Even then, Baden was confident enough to say that he had become a deva sooner than most, but the difference in strength was too great. The Reaper was one of the Seven Monarchs, a man chosen to become a deity, so that much was a given... but Lee Jiwon was still a deva like Baden.Baden inched closer to the duel.==[You have been caught in the range of Touch of Death. You will receive the effects of the debuff.ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF decreased by 30%All recovery-type skills lose 90% of their effectiveness. Damage received from all Death-type skills increased by 60%]==He received the messages explaining what sorts of debuffs were in play: Touch of Death and Field Where Death Blossoms. Just stepping within a hundred and fifty meters of the two nearly halved Baden''s combat abilities.He also noticed the Astes soldiers moving closer to the duel as well. Most of them were soldiers from the six other emirates. They wanted to be the ones to defeat the great Lee Jiwon, but the result wasn''t what they had expected.Anyone who got too close were cut down in two hits, even though Lee Jiwon was under those debuffs. They fell like moths to the fly. In fact, Lee Jiwon did away with the invading soldiers with a couple of swats of his spear, as if he was annoyed at their constant appearances.However, the powerful and great Lee Jiwon was getting pushed back, even more as time ticked on. If Lee Jiwon fell here, it was over for Baden and Abu Dhabi. The only reason he and Abu Dhabi were able to last this long was because Lee Jiwon was keeping the Reaper occupied, and Baden knew that quite well."Umaru.""Yes sir.""Split five hundred off of the main force and have them support Lee Jiwon.""But sir¡­""I know. They probably won''t be of much help, but if he falls here, so do we. If he does fall, I don''t want it to be our fault, nor do I want it to be known that I did nothing to help him.""Understood, sir."At Baden''s order, Umaru gathered five hundred elite soldiers of the First Battalion. Their directive was to provide Lee Jiwon with some breathing room, even if it was only for a moment.---"Ha¡­ha¡­" I was panting heavily."What''s wrong? Are you tired already?" Fayez taunted, laughing."Yeah, just give me a second." Losing 210 HP per second was a huge blow, not to mention his attacks were pretty painful as well. My HP had already dipped below 100,000 and by now, I had come to accept that this is where I was going to die. I had made plenty of holes in his Armor of Death, but that was all I could do while I only had 1% of my HP remaining.Still, even if I died here, I would only incur a single death penalty. Once I resurrected in three hours, I could easily just use one of the many Death Penalty Restoration Gems in my inventory. Before then, I could fight a little longer thanks to my Bracelet of Eternal Fire. Either way, I wasn''t really too worried about dying here. The only sad part was that Baden would lose his title as guild master and head of the Abu Dhabi royal family. I was going to get my revenge, though; I had to."Are you going to give up now? Good. Then allow me to show you something interesting. Reveal Target."==[Target: Lee JiwonKill Lee Jiwon within 3 months.Time remaining: 85 days 17 hours 53 minutes.Penalty: If you are unable to kill Lee Jiwon in 3 months, you will incur a death penalty. You will lose your exclusive ability, Death.Advantage: Never miss Lee Jiwon, Cancel out Lee Jiwon''s Unrivaled skill, Lee Jiwon will receive 10 deity death penalties upon death.]=="..." I finally learned why the attacks I avoided still struck me, and why Unrivaled wasn''t working. I also learned of something that horrified me; if I died here, I was going to incur 10 deity death penalties.I had just thought that because I had done all I could, it was enough. I really did do all I could, but it just wasn''t enough. Now, I really had to win."Bwahaha! I hope you enjoyed your time being worshipped as a false god, for this is the end for you, Lee Jiwon!"I stood on my spot, teeth clenched in fury. At that moment, I heard a loud shout from behind."Help Lee Jiwon!""We cannot let him die!"I turned around to see about five hundred Abu Dhabi soldiers run towards me and step in range of the Reaper''s debuffs."I see your friends have come to die like moths to the flame.""Fire Demon''s Rage!""Stormbreaker!""Chain Lightning!""Piercing Power Shot!""Triple Shot!"The Abu Dhabi soldiers fired a volley of spells and skills at the Reaper, but once they stepped within the range of the Reaper''s debuffs, their combat abilities were halved as well."Wall of Death! Wall of Death!" The volley of attacks had managed to pierce through the Reaper''s first Wall solely by the sheer amount of attacks ,but the remainder bounced of the second Wall."Come forth, Roots of Death!" Giant black roots broke through the ground, inflicting a great deal of damage on the soldiers."Heal!""Flourishing Incense of Cure!""Shit!""The Heal spells aren''t doing much!""Damn it! We''ve pretty much been stripped of our abilities! What are we supposed to do here?"The soldiers quickly plunged into chaos, but I didn''t just stare at them dumbly. There was nowhere to run to, so all I could do is keep on attacking. I had to get at least one more attack in before the Bracelet of Eternal Fire activated."Gahahaha! Did you find your will to fight again as you watched your allies die? Giant Spear of Death!"My attack finally pierced through the Reaper, but in return, I was impaled by the Reaper''s own spear.==[Your HP has reached 0 through a considerable amount of damage. The Bracelet of Eternal Fire''s Last Breath has been activated.35% of your total HP (9,240,700) has been restored (3,234,245).Eternal Fire''s Last Breath has been deactivated for thirty days.]==I was out of chances now. "Yaah! Die! Die, you son of a bitch!" I swung madly at the Reaper with a bestial roar. I hated being here. I hated that I was chosen to be his Target and that I was going to incur those penalties. I hated that even with the Bracelet, I was still going to lose."Oh ho! Looks like someone''s back alive! Too bad that''s all you can do. Explosion of Death!" Fayez set off an explosion right at my face, but I kept attacking. "Judge''s Gavel!" I activated the skill once its cooldown was up and sent him flying ten meters back."Tsk. That attack still hurts!" The blow from Judge''s Gavel had shrunk the three-meter tall Reaper down by about half a meter. I still had more to do!---Forty minutes later¡­I was bent over, hands on my knees and sweat streaming down my face. I had 45,000 HP left. The Reaper could finish me off in a single blow. I hated this. I was going to die and incur ten deity death penalties as a deva. If I were a deity, I doubted I would be this pissed."Huh. I can''t even laugh anymore. Fuck! How did a mere deva get this powerful?" Fayez spat at me, but I didn''t have the strength to retort.Fayez had to use his special and strongest ability to take me down. Normally, I''d feel honored that a Monarch had to go such an extent to defeat me, but I was pissed. I didn''t have one of my own. Even if I did, they only amounted to Mana Conversion and Judge''s Gavel. They were enough to defeat the Reaper if he didn''t have that damn failsafe.-Fuck! Why don''t I have one? Why couldn''t I be born with one?-"Well, have a nice trip, Lee Jiwon. We won''t be seeing each other ever again."I tightly closed my eyes as Fayez slowly walked over. At that moment, I finally remembered that I did have a failsafe. It was the same failsafe that saved me against the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke, the same failsafe that stole Equality and Predation and gave them to me. I had Shaman Ko!-Please, Shaman Ko! If you''re ever going to save me again, now''s the time to do it!-I really needed Shaman Ko now, more than ever.==[Shaman Ko''s Will reacts to its wielder''s powerful desires.]==-Yes!-My eyes shot open when the message appeared, but my joy was short-lived. Shaman Ko''s Will increased Shaman Ko''s Stat points by a hundredfold for three seconds. I had 3,432 points invested into STR. A hundred times that was 343,200. That was a lot of STR points, but I couldn''t use them against the Reaper. His Armor of Death was just too high, and he still had plenty of HP left. He could still kill me with a single blow before I could get one attack in. I might have a chance if I could use Judge''s Gavel as well, but I had already used it and it was still on cooldown."Kyuu! Kyuu!""Huh?" I heard the squeaking of the Dungeon Mole and looked down to see a shaggy and dirty boy of around five years of age. He had a piece of string tied around his waist, which was also tied around the Dungeon Mole. I had never seen Shaman Ko face to face like this, so I''d had no idea what he looked like. During the battle against the Predator Duke, I could only feel him eat Predation, but I knew that this boy was Shaman Ko. I didn''t know why, but I opened up my inventory, took out the Scroll of Predation and ripped it.==[You can now use Predation 1.You can only use Predation on certain targets.After using Predation, you can use your target''s abilities for 24 hours.After 24 hours, all abilities taken from your target will return to their original owner.If you do not use Predation on a target within 24 hours, you will lose the effects of the Scroll of Predation.]=="Consume," I said as I pointed my finger at Shaman Ko. I had no idea why I did that, but my hand moved anyway. 206 Chapter 205: The Perfect Conclusion Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDLee Jiwon was collapsed on the ground with the Reaper standing over him. Baden looked on helplessly. Even though he was about to lose everything, Baden did not blame Lee Jiwon. Lee Jiwon had given his all; everyone knew it."Master Baden¡­" Umaru weakly called out to Baden, choked up. Abu Dhabi still had about two thousand soldiers left, while Astes had around twenty-eight hundred. Both armies could still fight, but all of the soldiers had laid down their weapons. They all knew this battle was over. Suddenly, a figure appeared beside the Reaper and Lee Jiwon. It was a child of around five or six years of age. He had tied a mole to his hip with a piece of string. No one knew where this child came from, or who he was. He obviously wasn''t a deva or deity, and it had already been some time since the entrances to the Battlefield of Valor were sealed off. There was little chance he was some sort of Summoned creature, either.Then, Lee Jiwon weakly raised his hand and pointed a finger at the child, who disappeared after a few moments. No one understood what was going on, but no one also gave it much thought. This was a battle between gods; it wasn''t their place to try and understand Lee Jiwon''s and the Reaper''s abilities.---I didn''t know why I pointed at Shaman Ko. My hand just moved on its own. But what was important was that it worked; I actually Consumed Shaman Ko.==[You have consumed your target.Target: Shaman KoTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Increase Shaman Ko''s Stat Points two hundredfold.Your currently invested 3,432 Shaman Ko Stat points will be increased by two hundredfold.Effect 2: Increase all Stat points besides Shaman Ko''s Stat Points tenfold.All invested Stat points besides Shaman Ko''s Stat Points increase by tenfold. (This only applies to base Stat points)You may choose one of these two effectsEffect 1/Effect 2]==Compared to the abilities I received from consuming the Dungeon Mole, these abilities were much simpler. Both effects involved Stat points. Shaman Ko really was the essence of Stat points. And neither effects had the three second duration that came with Shaman Ko''s Will."Select Effect 2!" I quickly selected the second effect. While the first effect would tremendously boost my STR and increase my attack power the same, I was one good hit away from dying. I needed the extra VIT to increase my HP. Increasing the rest of my Stats was also going to be a great help in surviving and getting more attacks in.==[You have received the effects of Effect 2.]====[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 690Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 67,054,822/76,295,200MP: 3,998,702/4,274,000Strength: 235,740+ 3,432Agility: 147,010Vitality: 149,010Willpower: 42,680Intelligence: 40,280Unassigned Stat Points: 0Fatigue: 6Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 724,901Physical Defense: 167,206Magical Attack: 122,310Magical Defense: 59,546]=="..." I never knew a Stats Menu could have numbers that high. There was barely any space left to show all the digits of my HP, not to mention that my HP were restored to about 90% when I just had less than 1% left. I could feel the effects with my body. My Fatigue was all the way at 92 just a few moments ago, but now it was at 6. I was no longer panting heavily.I slowly stood back up."There''s no need for you to get back up. I would have sent you off comfortably. Oh well. Have a nice trip." The Reaper put on a wicked grin before continuing, "We probably won''t ever see each other again, not with those ten deity death penalties. Sweet dreams. Spear of Death!" He summoned another spear and threw it at me.This was an attack I normally wouldn''t be able to defend against. Both of us knew that quite well. The Reaper seemed confident that this attack was going to kill me, and I watched the spear fly right at me. I didn''t try to block it or avoid it and let it strike me. I smiled as I watched my HP drop and burst out laughing. I laughed so hard that I was bent over, holding my belly.The Reaper finally realized something was off. I could tell from his expression that he was slowly beginning to panic. "Have¡­you finally lost it? Multi Thorns of Death!"Each thorn dealt considerable damage as they struck me. I was still under the effects of the Reaper''s debuffs, but the attacks didn''t stop me from laughing.I slowly walked towards the shocked Reaper. The second I took my first step, I received a message.==[Shaman Ko''s Will is being altered.There is a 0.1% chance that the target of Predation will assume total control.]==At that moment, my vision began to darken; as if I was beginning to black out.---Fayez was beginning to panic. After three hours of fighting, he knew that Lee Jiwon should have been close to dying. Lee Jiwon couldn''t defend against Fayez''s attacks properly, so Fayez attacked with everything he had. He fired two of his strongest attack skills at Lee Jiwon, but neither of them worked. No, they did work, but Lee Jiwon was still standing and laughing like a madman.Fayez broke out in a cold sweat. For each step forward Lee Jiwon took, Fayez took a step back. Fayez wasn''t sure what was going on, but he was afraid for his life.Then, Lee Jiwon stopped dead in his tracks. He looked like a marionette doll with its strings cut. Fayez clenched his teeth, angry that he felt fear from a mere deva. "Spirits of Death, gather to me! Show this place your power so that my enemies may tremble before your might! Rainstorm of Death!"The sky rumbled as dark clouds gathered over Fayez and Lee Jiwon. Black raindrops of a deathly aura rained down upon the still Lee Jiwon as thunder rolled and black lightning cracked in the air.Then, Fayez thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him. One second he was looking at Lee Jiwon and the next, he was looking up at the sky. Then, he was looking at the ground, as if he was upside down... He heard a deafening boom that brought him back to his senses. He was flying through the air. He turned his head to see Lee Jiwon standing outside of the Rainstorm''s range, with his arm outstretched and missing his spear. Lee Jiwon had attacked Fayez so fast that it took Fayez a second to realize what had happened. Before Fayez could react, Fayez hit the ground hard, so hard that his body burrowed a hole into the ground from the force of the blow. Fayez painfully got back up, only to notice that he had flown twenty meters away from Lee Jiwon.---Shaman Ko had temporarily taken over Lee Jiwon''s body. His surroundings were new and unfamiliar, but that made it more fun to Shaman Ko. That is, if it wasn''t for the black aura that was raining down on him. Shaman Ko didn''t like being attacked.Shaman Ko looked up to see his enemy before him and charged. He threw away the long stick in his hand and slammed his right palm into the chest of his enemy. He watched as his enemy flew through the air, spinning like a Frisbee."Kekeke." It was funny to Shaman Ko to see a giant man spin like that. Shaman Ko sprinted over to his new toy. It was twenty meters away, but Shaman Ko used Lee Jiwon''s body to cross the distance in an instant. It was so fast it was almost like Shaman Ko had used Blink. Shaman Ko straddled Fayez''s back."Argh! Get off of me! Wave of Death!"A wave of black liquid crashed its way towards Shaman Ko, but Shaman Ko grabbed it with his hands and brought it to his mouth. "Ptooey! It tastes bad! You eat it!" After chewing at the liquid a couple of times, Shaman Ko spat the liquid out and ripped the liquid with his hands and started throwing the blobs at Fayez.---"Ha¡­?" Never before had Fayez seen anyone block his Wave of Death attack like that. Not even Lee Jiwon had done so... until now.Fayez squirmed to try to get Lee Jiwon off of him, but couldn''t make Lee Jiwon move. No, it was more accurate to say that Fayez could barely move an inch. It was like Lee Jiwon weighed a thousand tons."Death Bomb! Death Bomb! Death Bomb!" Fayez set off consecutive explosions at Lee Jiwon, but to no avail."Kekeke! Fireworks! Kekeke!""..." Fayez was at a loss for words. Just a few minutes ago, those attacks had inflicted severe damage on Lee Jiwon, but now he was laughing as they exploded in his face. The way Lee Jiwon was talking had changed as well. Fayez remembered the small child that had appeared by Lee Jiwon''s side a few moments ago."Kekeke! You got more?" Fayez''s Armor, which had deflected Lee Jiwon''s attacks and even withstood the hammer attack, was now being ripped to shreds by Lee Jiwon''s hands."Kekeke! This is fun!""Fuck¡­Fuck! Get off!" Fayez was afraid. He could only watch as Lee Jiwon ripped away at the last of his Armor."Huh? Are you dead?""Who''s dead!? Spear of Death! Thorns of Death! Death Burst!" Fayez threw all the attacks he had at Lee Jiwon consecutively, but was only rewarded with the same maniacal cackling."Kekeke! This is fun! Do it more!""...""Huh? You''re not going to? Then it''s my turn!"Fayez could only watch as Lee Jiwon grabbed hold of Fayez''s ankles."Gah!" He could only cry out in pain as Lee Jiwon slammed him into the ground repeatedly... 207 Chapter 206: The Perfect Conclusion Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAstes and the Abu Dhabi Guild were speechless as they watched the Reaper and Lee Jiwon fight again. It wasn''t really a fight; it was more like Lee Jiwon had turned into a child and was playing around with the Reaper. No one knew what to say. Just a few moments ago, it seemed that the Reaper was going to win while Lee Jiwon was collapsed on the ground, unable to catch his breath.---"Hehehe!" Shaman Ko found Fayez''s reactions amusing."Let go! Let me go!" But this was torture for Fayez. Fayez struggled as hard as he could, but his Armor of Death was pretty much completely stripped off him now. Now that it was destroyed, Fayez was starting to lose HP. "Come forth! Roots of Death!""Hehehe! That tickles!""..." What was he supposed to do if the Roots of Death tickled Lee Jiwon, and didn''t hurt him? Fayez was truly starting to hurt, but the face on Lee Jiwon told him that he was actually enjoying this. Lee Jiwon squirmed and giggled as the Roots snaked their way up Lee Jiwon''s leg, until he swatted them away when they tickled him too much. It was just a small slap, but the force of it slammed the Roots back to the ground, where they disappeared into a cloud of black smoke."Hehehe! You''re fun!"Fayez was in danger, but he just didn''t know what else to do. He began to panic more and more.---Shaman Ko enjoyed horseplay the most, and enjoyed tussling around with Fayez, especially because of Fayez''s reactions. Shaman Ko threw Fayez into the air and kicked him in the shoulder when Fayez landed back onto the ground."Gah!"Shaman Ko scrambled back onto Fayez''s back like a toy horse. "Again! Do it again! Throw those black things again!" Shaman Ko cried out as he shook Fayez by the collar. He had no idea he was slamming Fayez''s head into the ground repeatedly. "Will you do it if we play some more? Okay!"Everything was a game to Shaman Ko. Shaman Ko slammed Fayez into the ground again and threw him up into the air and tore at what remained of Fayez''s Armor. It didn''t take long until Fayez was in complete tatters."Gah! Mantle of Death!" Fayez struggled to get away whenever he could, but it was to no avail. Nothing worked on Shaman Ko. Actually, it was more accurate to say that every time Fayez struggled, it only made Shaman Ko more excited. It was evident from the laughter that came from Lee Jiwon''s mouth."Hehehe! Huh?" After Shaman Ko completely tore away and destroyed Fayez''s Armor of Death, he saw something shiny inside Fayez. Shaman Ko was greedy. Shaman Ko sat himself over Fayez''s torso, held down Fayez''s arms with his knees, and stuck his hand inside Fayez''s chest."Gaah!" Fayez screamed loudly in pain, as this blow had inflicted way more damage than those before. Fayez squirmed to get out of Shaman Ko''s hold and threw Death Bombs and Death Bursts at Shaman Ko, but Shaman Ko remained planted on Fayez''s chest. Shaman Ko ignored Fayez''s cries of pain and continued to dig through Fayez''s chest. All he could see right now was the shiny object residing within Fayez.---"Fuck¡­!" Fayez was angry and frustrated and scared at the same time. No matter what he did, he couldn''t push Lee Jiwon away. Fayez knew that Lee Jiwon was strong during their first bout. Fayez knew he could lose even though Lee Jiwon didn''t have Unrivaled working for him, but Fayez had no choice. Lee Jiwon was his Target and Fayez had to kill him. That was why Fayez had to turn to his secret weapon, the Incarnation of Death, and was able to finally hurt Lee Jiwon. It wasn''t easy, though. His Armor of Death, which was supposed to be invincible, was half-destroyed by Lee Jiwon, but that was okay. Fayez had won. All he needed was one more attack and Lee Jiwon would have died. But the tables had turned once more. Lee Jiwon had become much stronger than before. No, this was more than that. Lee Jiwon had turned into something else, something inhuman. The giggles Lee Jiwon made were nothing of this Earth, and they sent shivers down Fayez''s spine. Fayez was afraid."Fuck! Fuck! Gah!" Tears started to well up in Fayez''s eyes. He could only watch as his chest was torn over and over again. If he died here, he wouldn''t be able to complete the Target quest within the time frame, meaning he was going to incur additional penalties and lose Death''s Sovereignty."Fuck! This is so unfair! You cheater! Why is this happening to me!?" Fayez cried out, but he had no idea that this wasn''t the end...---Shaman Ko shoved his entire hand inside Fayez''s chest to try and grab the shiny object that resided inside the man, but it kept escaping his clutches. "Why can''t I touch it?" Shaman Ko could clearly see the shining black object by now, but his hand just couldn''t reach it."Grr!" Shaman Ko was growing annoyed and stuck his entire arm inside."Gah!" Fayez screamed out in pain, but Shaman Ko ignored him."Grr! Open up!" Shaman Ko yelled out before reaching inside once more. This time, the result was different. Shaman Ko''s hand didn''t enter the hole in Fayez''s chest, instead breaking through the space separating Shaman Ko from the object. Finally, Shaman Ko could touch it!"Hehehe!" Shaman Ko grabbed a piece of the object and pulled his hand out of the space. He opened up his hand to look down at the shiny thing and carefully licked it. Fayez''s black wave tasted gross, so Shaman Ko was wary about this one."It''s tasty!" Shaman Ko quickly shoved the entire object into his mouth and swallowed it. A message appeared before him, but Shaman Ko didn''t care¡­ and couldn''t read.==[You obtained 7% of Death''s Sovereignty.]==Shaman Ko wasn''t the only one to receive this message."What¡­what is this? Fuck! What did you do!? How is this possible!?" Fayez had received it as well. He was going to lose Death''s Sovereignty if he died here anyway but he didn''t expect Lee Jiwon to take it away!Shaman Ko didn''t care about Fayez''s ranting and reached back inside to grab more of the shiny object. All he cared about was how to get back inside that space and take more of the tasty thing.==[You obtained 18% of Death''s Sovereignty.]====[You obtained 34% of Death''s Sovereignty.]==Shaman Ko kept eating and eating, not paying attention to the messages that appeared before him. Soon, Shaman Ko finished it off as the final message appeared; telling him that he had obtained 100% of Death''s Sovereignty, but he didn''t even glance at it. He just rubbed his belly and belched.---Fayez stared at the message in front of him in despair.==[You have lost 100% of Death''s Sovereignty.]==He had no idea he would become Lee Jiwon''s offering when he entered the Battlefield. He also had no idea his Death''s Sovereignty could be stolen by anyone. But Lee Jiwon did it. He actually stole it. Lee Jiwon was truly the Emperor of the Monarchs."Hmm¡­ is there more?" Lee Jiwon asked as if he wasn''t satisfied with stealing away Death''s Sovereignty. Fayez grew angry, but that rage quickly turned into despair. Fayez was a fool. He was a fool to think that he could face Lee Jiwon on his own. He wanted to turn back time, not to take revenge but to crawl into a hole and hide. He wanted to never show himself in front of Lee Jiwon ever again.---"I''m bored!" With nothing else to do, Shaman Ko grabbed Fayez by the ankles again and began slamming his body into the ground repeatedly. Fayez didn''t make a single sound. He had already given up, now that he had lost his exclusive ability for good. Fayez let Shaman Ko slam him into the ground again and again until his body disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Another Monarch had died very disgracefully."Huh?" Shaman Ko''s toy had disappeared. Shaman Ko was still bored, so he got back up to his feet. There were still many toys he could play around with, and five thousand of them, at that. Shaman Ko looked over the five thousand people, and they stared back with bated breath."Hehehe." Shaman Ko was happy; he had so many toys to play with! Shaman Ko turned towards the two thousand Abu Dhabi soldiers first. He wanted to save the best for last, and the best had the most people. Unbeknownst to Shaman Ko, however, this was the Battlefield of Valor, and Lee Jiwon and the Abu Dhabi were on the same side. Shaman Ko tried to charge and attack the Abu Dhabi soldiers, but his body wouldn''t move the way he wanted it to.Unfazed, Shaman Ko turned towards the Astes soldiers instead. This time, there was nothing holding him back. "Hehehe! Let''s play!" Shaman Ko rushed at the Astes soldiers.---It was one against 2800. No matter how strong Lee Jiwon was, 2800 soldiers should have been enough to overrun him, but the Astes soldiers were being killed by Lee Jiwon with a single blow."Shit! Stop him!""We must kill Lee Jiwon while he''s alone! If Abu Dhabi joins him, we''re done for!" Khalid shouted.The Abu Dhabi Guild just watched, however, as Lee Jiwon ran head on to meet the Astes army. They couldn''t believe what was going on.The Astes army rained down a torrent of spells and magic upon Lee Jiwon in an attempt to slow his advances, but they were only rewarded with more giggling."Hehehe! That tickles!"The Astes soldiers stared in shocked silence. Not all of the attacks had met their mark, but enough did, but Lee Jiwon just brushed them off and charged. That wasn''t the only thing they were shocked about as well."11 o''clock! He''s at your 11 o''clock!""No, he''s at your seven!""Are you screwing with me? He''s over here!"Lee Jiwon was all over the place. Once he killed off one group of soldiers, he bounded over to another on the other side so quickly that it was almost like he was at multiple places at once. The Astes army was quickly plunged into chaos.---"It seems¡­ not interfering would be more helpful to Lee Jiwon...""It does, doesn''t it?..." Baden agreed with Umaru. They were both afraid of this new Lee Jiwon. They knew for a fact that Lee Jiwon had tried to attack them, but changed direction at the last moment. They and the rest of the Abu Dhabi soldiers watched as the Astes soldiers screamed for their lives. 208 Chapter 207: The Perfect Conclusion, Part V Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Stand fast! Hold your positions! Don''t let him get through!" the Astes officers shouted, but the Battlefield was in chaos. Lee Jiwon was all over the place, killing left and right."Shit! I can''t see him! Where is he?""Gah! When did he¡­?" Lee Jiwon had suddenly appeared behind one Astes soldier and lightly smacked the back of the soldier''s head, but the force of the attack was enough to turn the soldier into a cloud of smoke. Lee Jiwon was no longer using his spear, just using his hands, but they were enough to easily kill the Astes soldiers."Hehehe!" Lee Jiwon cackled again before disappearing from view.The Astes army had lost three hundred more soldiers in a matter of minutes and still could not slow Lee Jiwon down."Fuck! What are we supposed to do?""I can''t get a shot on him!""Is he using Blink or Teleport? If he is, how the hell can he use them consistently like this? I''m calling hacks!"The Astes soldiers seemed furious at how Lee Jiwon was cheating the system, but despite their insults, Lee Jiwon continued to jump around while giggling, and that only served to sow more fear into their hearts.---"This is fun!" Shaman Ko was truly enjoying himself, especially when he gained the ability to break and move through space. He didn''t know how he could do it and didn''t care to find out why. He just wanted to keep having fun while listening to his toys scream."Gah!""Help¡­me!"---Khalid al Nayan was flabbergasted. He now stood watching the battle in shocked silence. Thirty minutes ago, he was shouting orders to his soldiers to try and stop Lee Jiwon, but he soon gave up. If the Reaper couldn''t stop Lee Jiwon, then Lee Jiwon was truly unstoppable and Khalid was obviously no match for him."Is this the true extent of Lee Jiwon''s power?" Khalid knew that Lee Jiwon was the biggest hurdle in his quest to take over the Abu Dhabi Guild. It was why he had recruited the Reaper into his endeavor, but the Reaper alone just wasn''t enough to defeat Lee Jiwon. Khalid was regretting his decisions now, but the time for regrets had long passed."How did he manage to get this powerful? He''s beyond the power of devas or deities... he''s a completely different entity!...""..." Khalid''s aides were as despondent as he was, and didn''t reply to his question. They were wondering the same thing. Lee Jiwon was no deva or deity. His abilities just didn''t follow the same rules as everyone else''s. Lee Jiwon was rolling through the Astes soldiers like a tank over bowling pins, sending the poor soldiers flying across the Battlefield to their deaths. The Astes didn''t just sit there and take it; they fought with all the grit they had and poured all of their attacks onto Lee Jiwon, but nothing worked.Suddenly, Khalid began to laugh bitterly. "So in the end, this begins and ends with Lee Jiwon." It was as Khalid said: the battle had started because of Lee Jiwon''s sudden appearance, and was ending by Lee Jiwon''s hands."Let''s go. It''s too late to beg for our lives. Let''s end this. No, let us be ended. It is our role as the losers," Khalid said in a quiet, bitter tone."Yes, sir!" Khalid''s replied with a strong shout. They knew that this was the end as well, but they didn''t want the leader they had served for most of their lives to feel lonely. It was the last thing they could do for Khalid.And so, as per Khalid''s final wish, the remaining fifty Astes officers followed Khalid into battle. They rained down their strongest spells and skills at Lee Jiwon, but the result was as expected. No amount of will could get them over the wall that was Lee Jiwon.And so, after about three hours, Shaman Ko wearing Lee Jiwon''s face had completely wiped out the 2800 Astes soldiers. To Shaman Ko, this was all a game, but even then, Shaman Ko was dissatisfied.------During those three hours, Baden, Umaru, and the entire Abu Dhabi Guild did not utter a single word. They all just watched in stunned silence as the twenty-eight hundred soldiers were wiped out, one by one, right in front of their eyes. No one even cheered when the victory message appeared before them.==[Astes has 0 members remaining. The Abu Dhabi Guild has won the guild battle. As per agreement, the following conditions will now take place:Khalid al Nayan, guild master of Astes, is to give up all authority over to Baden al Nayan, guild master of the Abu Dhabi Guild.Khalid al Nayan is prohibited from hunting, entering Stores, obtaining items, and other activities that seek to increase Khalid al Nayan''s abilities for the next 5 years.Baden al Nayan may select up to 100 Astes members to be exiled from the United Arab Emirates for the next 5 years.]==The Abu Dhabi guild members all received the same message, but no one reacted because of Lee Jiwon."You know¡­ I''m pretty damn scared right now.""You too?""Uh huh. Why¡­ is he acting like that?""Yeah, I have no idea. All I know is I''m about to piss myself."Lee Jiwon and the Abu Dhabi Guild were supposed to be on the same side. Furthermore, Abu Dhabi should be grateful that Lee Jiwon had defeated Astes for them and helped them protect their guild and legacy. But the way Lee Jiwon had now turned to them sent shivers down their spines. Those eyes were full of hunger, the same hunger that had stared down the Abu Dhabi soldiers three hours ago. It was almost as if Lee Jiwon would turn on them any second, and the Abu Dhabi soldiers stood in fear, waiting for their impending doom, until a message appeared before them and Lee Jiwon collapsed to the ground.==[The Battlefield of Valor will disappear in 30 minutes. Please make your way outside within that time.]==As soon as Lee Jiwon fell to the floor, Baden al Nayan quickly ran over to him. Baden was afraid too, and didn''t react even when his guild had won the guild battle, but only Lee Jiwon had collapsed without warning. He couldn''t just leave him be. Baden owed Lee Jiwon his life for saving his son and his guild. He also needed Lee Jiwon alive and well if he was going to completely absorb Astes back into his guild after exiling the royal families of the other emirates.Baden''s legs were like jelly as he ran over to Lee Jiwon. The fear he felt was probably nothing compared to the fear the Astes members had felt, so Baden needed Lee Jiwon that much more. There was nothing better than fear to get any insurgents back in line. Behind him, Umaru grabbed a few soldiers and quickly followed his master.---"He''s still breathing.""Yes, he''s just out cold.""I suspect that ratty-looking child was responsible for this," Umaru carefully brought up after examining Lee Jiwon."Do you mean the child that suddenly appeared and disappeared?""Yes, sir.""Hmm¡­" Baden thought for a moment."Everyone knows Lee Jiwon''s combat style, and his main weapon is his spear. The Lee Jiwon that defeated the Reaper and the Astes army used his hands, not his spear. That combat style was more akin to a beast than a man.""That is true. Fine. Let''s make sure he''s alright for now. We owe him our lives and he''s a part of my family now; we can''t just leave him like this," Baden said loudly enough for all to hear him."Understood, sir." A few soldiers carefully picked Lee Jiwon up.Baden turned to face his remaining soldiers. "Victory is ours and it is all thanks to you! Once our ally awakes, we will have a feast in his and your honor!""Yeaah!""Baden al Nayan! Baden al Nayan!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"------Three days later at the Abu Dhabi Royal Palace¡­"Holy¡­ that''s me?""That''s right."I was watching the video of the guild battle with Baden, Umaru and a few other officers. I only remembered up to the point where I received the message that there was a 0.1% chance that Shaman Ko was going to take control of my body. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the palace''s infirmary. But there I was in the video¡­"¡­That''s unbelievable." I didn''t know how else to explain it."We agree.""We couldn''t believe it ourselves."I was like a madman in the video, cackling and giggling as I laid waste to the enemy soldiers before me."After the guild battle, we tried to take over Astes and prevent videos of the guild battle from leaking but¡­ there were just too many to keep track of.""Well, it was to be expected," I said. Censoring thousands was impossible, especially when most used to be the enemy."Wow¡­" I muttered as I continued to watch myself wipe out twenty-eight hundred soldiers. I mean, the tenfold increase in my Stats was a lot, but that didn''t explain how I practically warped everywhere across the Battlefield. That definitely wasn''t Blink; I had nothing that would do away with its cooldown, so it had to be something else."We''re going to hold a celebratory feast now that you''re up. We''d like you to join us.""Okay, I''ll do that," I replied with a nod. Baden and his officers then left the room, leaving me alone to watch the video."What a shame. I wanted to kill Fayez with my own hands." By this point, I knew for a fact that Shaman Ko had taken over my body and was responsible for what I was watching. He was the one who ripped apart the Reaper and destroyed the remnants of Astes, not me."But that one scene¡­ it can''t be, can it?" Lee Jiwon had taken notice of one short scene in the video.-Shaman Ko attacked the Reaper and brought something up to his mouth¡­ did he eat some of Fayez''s flesh?-It was a very short scene and that seemed the most natural explanation. The Abu Dhabi officers who watched the same scene with Lee Jiwon didn''t mention it at all, as they were honestly too grossed out by it.Lee Jiwon, on the other hand, thought differently. That scene reminded him of how Shaman Ko ate Predation. He couldn''t help but bring his hand towards his mouth. He could almost feel whatever it was that Shaman Ko had eaten that day. Lee Jiwon was no fool and made no mention of this fact, however. There was no reason to. And so, while Lee Jiwon felt that it was a shame he couldn''t kill the Reaper with his own hands, he had no idea what Shaman Ko had obtained in return.---Cheng Long Guild''s headquarters¡­"Is this real?""Yes, sir.""Seriously?""Yes, sir."Wai Chung was watching a similar video with his officers. He was seeing it with his own two eyes, but he just couldn''t bring himself to believe it. "That''s Fayez, the Grim Reaper, one of the Monarchs?""Yes, sir.""He''s barely in one piece. That''s really him?""Yes, sir."After that, Wai Chung watched as Lee Jiwon destroyed the remnants of the Astes army. Wai Chung didn''t care that Lee Jiwon defeated those soldiers; he cared about how he did it. A guild was strong in numbers. No matter how strong the person, it was impossible to go up against such huge numbers. That was why the Blood Prince couldn''t hope to face the entire Myth Guild at once. But once again, Lee Jiwon had made the impossible possible. "Scrap it.""Sir?""Scrap the operation we''ve been preparing to hurt Lee Jiwon!""Oh! Right away, sir!"Wai Chung was the type to hold on to grudges for a lifetime, especially when it involved those damned Dongyi bastards. But Wai Chung made a new decision after watching the video. Antagonizing Lee Jiwon any further meant Wai Chung was digging his own grave. It was better for him and his guild if they no longer had anything to do with Lee Jiwon. 209 Chapter 208: The Avenger Who Appeared in Mexico Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAbu Dhabi Royal Palace¡­"Mr. Lee, have a drink with me!""Have one with me too!""No, have one with me first!""I''m going to drown if you all keep this up!" This feast was to celebrate Abu Dhabi''s victory and its reunification, but it seemed that it was being thrown for me. Baden, Umaru, and the other Abu Dhabi officers never left my side and many of the soldiers who fought that day kept coming up to me to pour me a drink. If I hadn''t watched the video, I would have been so overburdened by their treatment that I would have run away. "As the newest member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, let''s have Master Lee say a few words!"They kept mentioning the part where I was now a part of their royal family every time they addressed me or said my name. It was so obvious why they were doing that, but I didn''t really mind, especially with what happened yesterday.---The night before the feast¡­"I have something to ask of you, Mr. Lee.""Go ahead." Baden and I were having a cup of tea in his drawing room."I would like the Abu Dhabi Guild to maintain a good relationship with you. That is why I would like to request setting up an embassy at your home base in Seoul, just like your other friends.""Hmm¡­" I thought for a moment about Baden''s request. As Baden said, I was holding an alliance with five other factions. At first, I didn''t really care about how they wanted to set up embassies of their own at my home base. Well, it was more like I wished they didn''t. There really wasn''t a special reason for my dislike. It was just part of my solitary personality and how I didn''t want anyone else to find out about my secret treasures. But now, I had people I needed to protect. The perks of being allied with large guilds were definitely a plus, too. It wouldn''t hurt to have more people ready to back me up."Very well. Let''s do that.""Thank you so much!"---Back to the present¡­"Here''s to a prosperous future for the reunified Abu Dhabi and that I may always be there to witness the full glory of Abu Dhabi. I am, after all, a part of your family now, am I not?" I put in a little showmanship and said exactly what they all wanted to hear."Yeaah!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!" The entire party hall roared in response to my short speech.And so, the feast went on for an entire week.---One week later, at my home base in Seoul¡­"Jiwon!""Hi, mom.""Why did you let yourself get caught in something so dangerous?""I¡­" Everyone besides my mother, grandfather, and the eldest members all gave me a thumbs up and patted me on the back when I returned. The first thing my mother did when she saw me was lecture me. She did sound very worried though, and I could see why."If something happened to you, I¡­I don''t¡­""Don''t worry, mom. Nothing will ever happen to me. It''s the assholes who mess with me you have to worry about." I was being confident in front of my mom, but that battle was truly dangerous. I was so close to incurring ten deity death penalties. The lost Stat points aside, I was more worried about the 3000-hour Respawn cooldown. That was 125 days for one death penalty. Ten death penalties meant 1,250 days. I shivered at the thought."Did you eat?""Not yet." I had stuffed myself for a week during Abu Dhabi''s feast, but I always craved my mother''s home cooking. There was nothing better."Alright. Go freshen up. It''ll be ready soon.""Thanks, mom."I made sure to greet my grandfather and the elders before heading up to my room. It had been a while since I was last home, but my room was still well kept. I lay down on my bed and went through everything that had happened since the moment I planned to obtain Amplification to when Shaman Ko appeared before me."Summon: Shaman Ko.""..." As I had expected, nothing happened."Summon: Dungeon Mole."-Shaman Ko plays too hard!-Kyuu! Kyuu!This guy still worked. As soon as it was summoned, the mole made itself comfortable on the palm of my hand.-Do you have banana candies?-"Yeah. It''d be weird if you didn''t ask for more candies." I handed it a piece of candy and took a well-deserved rest.---Guadeloupe, Mexico, the southern Mexican state bordering Guatemala¡­The large basin in the highlands made by the Sierra Madre de Chiapas was the perfect place to grow one type of crop in secret. That crop was none other than marijuana. The high demand for the drug and the region''s close proximity to its largest consumer, America, gave birth to numerous drug cartels in Mexico. Of those, the Nueva Chivas Rio Cartel had its roots all over Mexico and controlled over 55% of the country''s drug distribution. For decades, the Nueva Chivas Rio Cartel controlled Mexico through corruption and intimidation, so it seemed obvious that this cartel would quickly become the strongest organization in Mexico after the world changed.The misery didn''t end there. Once the NCR cartel wiped away its rival cartels and began establishing its power over the entire country, the US quickly closed its borders. Soon, no one was watching the country anymore, and there was no one around to hear the cries of the victims of the NCR cartel. It was only a matter time before the NCR cartel took complete control of Mexico through murder, violence and coercion and became the NCR Guild.---Cantana Alejandro, the heir of the NCR Guild¡­ "Ahahaha! Bring me more!"{Translator''s Note: I ''like'' how the author just makes up foreign names like this. I hate it. I really hate it. What kind of name is Cantana?}"But the guild master said only a hundred a day¡­ Gah!" Cantana''s subordinate couldn''t finish his sentence when a bright-red fireball flew past his face and struck the wall behind him."I didn''t quite hear you. What was that?""I¡­ I understand. But I can''t bring you anymore after this. This is your 300th today. We need enough slaves to continue working.""Bahaha. We bring in more slaves every day, don''t we? If we run out, bring some from Guatemala.""We''ve been kidnapping so many these days that many mortals have run off south by now," the subordinate replied, but he was thinking something else.-Fuck! Even if I bring more, you''re going to kill them all anyway! God! Someone needs to do something about this pinche gordo!-"Whatever. Bring me more.""Yes, sir."The subordinate left and soon returned with a hundred shackled mortal field workers who had been working in the marijuana fields."Please¡­ don''t!""Spare us please!""We''ll work harder, so please let us go!"All mortals and devas in Guadalupe alike knew what it meant to be taken to Cantana like this. It was no secret that those taken to him never returned alive. The one hundred mortals that were just brought over all dropped to their knees and begged for their lives, but to no avail."Hey! Hurry up and bring them over here! El Patr¨®n is waiting!"There were many whole families among the one hundred slaves. It could be said that dying together with your family was a blessing, but for Pedro, who had just turned of age, this was anything but a blessing. Today, he was going to lose his father, mother, and his eleven-year old younger brother right before his eyes.---Cantana Alejandro''s workshop¡­"Hehehe." Cantana licked his lips as he stared at the hundred slaves shaking in fear. He began to think of ways to kill them that would please his random skill, the Butcher.==[The Mad Butcher (1/1), (Passive)Cantana Alejandro''s exclusive skill.Kill and kill again! Make them all squirm and scream in pain! Their pain and suffering will grant you strength.The Mad Butcher increases ATT and MATT by 10%.If the Butcher leaves pain:Obtain a small amount of EXP10% chance to obtain 1 bonus Stat pointIf the Butcher leaves pain and despair:Obtain a large amount of EXP10% chance to obtain 2 bonus Stat pointsIf the user feels pain and despair, the Mad Butcher skill will be removed along with all obtained EXP and Stat points.]==Cantana Alejandro knew he lucked out when he was able to learn this random skill. Making people suffer for his enjoyment was his specialty, after all. At first, he thought the skill only worked on devas, but quickly realized he couldn''t make them feel pain or despair by Butchering them. Devas eventually resurrected; death wasn''t the end for them. It didn''t take him long to learn that the Mad Butcher also worked on mortals.When he began Butchering them, he realized that even though he wasn''t chosen to become a deity, he could just as well become as strong as one. And he did it. He became so strong and so cruel that many around the world had learned of his name."Please spare us!""If you have to kill someone, kill me. Just spare my children, please!"Cantana watched as the fathers of their families begged at his feet. The more they despaired, the stronger he grew."Should I show mercy this time?" Cantana asked, leaning down to the closest slave."Yes, patr¨®n! I''ll do anything if you show us mercy!""Sir, please! At least spare my wife and children!""Hehehe. No." Cantana said with a mischievous smile and pointed to a man kneeling in front of his wife and sons. "Burn!""Gah!""No!"The man suddenly burst into flames and quickly burned to ashes."You monster!""Papa!" "Gahahaha!" Their screams of despair were like music to Cantana''s ears. Cantana burned the woman and the younger boy, as well. But before he could kill the remaining boy, a message appeared before him.==[You have obtained the maximum amount of EXP through the Mad Butcher.You will no longer obtain any more EXP or Stat points today.]=="What? It''s over already? I have more to kill though." The one thing Cantana didn''t like about the Mad Butcher skill was the daily limit of EXP and Stat points. If there was no limit, he would have gathered all of the mortals in Mexico and killed them all."Oh well! Tomorrow''s another day! Soon, I''ll become even stronger than Lee Jiwon!" Cantana ceased his burning. Only five of the hundred slaves remained."Will you save the rest for tomorrow?" Cantana''s subordinate asked."Are you being serious right now? Do you want to show the rest of the slaves that some had actually survived this place? They all need to believe that coming here spells death for them, that way they will despair even more!""Then I''ll have them killed and their bodies disposed of.""Good. Oh, if that''s the case, then I may as well do this." Cantana drew his blade and sliced into the remaining five slaves. The wounds slowly began to burn away, leaving the five slaves in unbearable pain."Ahh! Please! Please just kill me now!"Cantana''s subordinates then dragged the five slaves back to the center of the slave quarters for all of the slaves to see that Guadalupe, Chiapas was Hell on earth."God, please! Don''t forsake us!"The slaves cried to the heavens as the burns continued to burn away at their flesh. Cantana''s subordinates had been through this many times before, and left the slaves to die.One of those five slaves was Pedro. And slowly, the slaves died one by one until it was only Pedro left. Pedro hated this world. He hated himself for being so weak. And most of all, he hated Cantana Alejandro. He wanted to kill Cantana over and over again for taking away his family, but right now, there was nothing he could do.Then, just when Pedro was about to give up on his life, he felt his token of knowledge burn on his wrist and looked up. A Don Gate stood before him. With no other choice, Pedro began to slowly crawl towards the Don Gate, until he could just barely touch it with his fingertips... 210 Chapter 209: The Avenger Who Appeared in Mexico Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI got up from the sofa on the terrace overlooking the garden with a stretch and a yawn. I picked up the Dungeon Mole that was sleeping on my chest, set it down to the side and walked down to the garden. My body felt light and I didn''t feel a single trace of Fatigue. I was back to 100%."It''s about time to get back to hunting." I had taken a week-long break here in my home base in Seoul. By now, the Abu Dhabi Guild had set up an embassy in my base and I had met with many emissaries from my allied factions. They all wanted to talk about one thing; my role in the recent guild battle. I mean, I could hardly believe it myself, and I had watched the video probably ten times already."But I''m far from satisfied yet." I had received much praise from all of my friends, but only I knew that it was all Shaman Ko, not me. If I had maintained my consciousness when I had consumed Shaman Ko and controlled his abilities like I did with the Dungeon Mole, I would have accepted the praise, but that wasn''t the case. It wasn''t me who slaughtered the Reaper and the Astes army; it was Shaman Ko. Shaman Ko was the one who somehow obtained the ability to break and move through space whenever he wanted, not me."Oh well. That''s a problem for another day. Which dungeon should I go this time?" I thought of which of the four high-grade dungeons to go to as I looked down at my new ring.==[The Desert King''s Resolve (Rank 9)This ring contains the Resolve of Borza Horanbao, the Desert King.Born from the seventh tribe, he grew up to conquer the Desert as its absolute ruler, and the sand dunes still hold the records of his bloody conquest. Despite his crude and simple appearance, Borza Horanbao, the Desert King, only cared for one treasure his entire life.Increase all Stats by 200 pointsIncrease VIT by 500 points.Increase STR by 300 points.Increase ATT, MATT, DEF, MDEF by 15% in desert terrain.Decrease damage from Earth-type attacks by 10%.Increase CRIT chance by 3.9%, Increase CRIT damage by 110%.Grants ability to summon two Sand Warriors that carry 20% of the user''s combat abilities. (Can be summoned for up to 24 hours. If the Warriors'' HP reaches 0 before their 24-hour limit, they will return to the sand until they can be summoned again. Sand Warriors receive the same buff while in desert terrain. Cooldown: 24 hours.)DEF 700, MDEF 700]==This was the item Baden had given me when the feast had come to an end. He told me that Amplification was my reward for finding Jayid, and this was the reward for winning the guild battle for Abu Dhabi as he shoved the ring into my hand. Honestly, I didn''t really expect to receive one as I had gotten 100% out of Amplification. Thanks to it, my King-Emperor''s Commitment had become unbelievably powerful, so much so that it could actually become one of the Seven Treasures. But, since he was so adamant about me taking the ring, I happily accepted it. "Nice. Now both my rings are super-rare," I said to myself with a smile. The Infinite Space Ring wasn''t complete yet, but it was still a Rank 10, so I was one step closer to getting all of my equips to Rank 9 or higher."The ring''s great and all, but I would have to go somewhere that has a desert terrain¡­" None of the four high-grade dungeons I had full access to had desert terrain. The Pharos Dungeon was just a normal earth terrain."The Khufu''s Dungeon is desert terrain, but it''s only a mid-grade dungeon. And it''s not like I can go to the Abu Dhabi''s high-grade dungeon since it''s co-owned by the Sahlat Guild of Saudi Arabia." There was no way I was going to resort to a mid-grade dungeon just to test out an equip buff, and trying to gain access to the Abu Dhabi Guild''s co-owned dungeon was just too much work.After about five minutes, I laughed at myself for thinking too much about this. "I''ll just go to the Dark Caster Dungeon." It didn''t matter which dungeon I went to; it wasn''t like the buff was going to make much of a difference.------The next day, I was standing out in front of the Dark Caster Dungeon''s entrance. I could have consumed the Dungeon Mole and used its abilities to teleport myself inside, but I used the Messenger Guild''s Teleport instead to save up some more Shaman Ko Stat points. The reason I came here was simple; I had spent the least amount of time in this dungeon compared to the other high-grade dungeons."Mr. Lee! Welcome!" A Shire Guild member guarding the dungeon''s entrance waved to me when he saw me and came over."Hey there!""I already received the report that you were on your way. We have set up FOBs up to the fifth floor, this map marks their locations. Good luck with your hunt!""Thanks." I accepted the map and headed inside the dungeon. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 5 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]=="Heh." I already knew the damage Level 5 Mana Conversion could do, but I just couldn''t help but smile. This was the first time I was using it against monsters, so I was looking forward to what it could do against these Undead monsters that were weak to Fire."Let''s have some fun!" I charged in without even bothering to activate Judge''s Gavel.==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For 3 seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]==As soon as my spear struck the first monster, a red bolt of lightning came straight down on it. It had been awhile since Powerful Shock had last activated."My first attack activated Powerful Shock? This must be my lucky day!" I said with a grin. I was off to a good start. "Judge''s Gavel!" I charged in right away at a horde of monsters.My goal was to get to level 724. Those 34 additional levels were all I needed to get my base STR up to 20,000. It normally would have taken longer, but the bonus 1550 Stat points I got from the Best Treasure! quest was a huge help.---Meanwhile, in Chiapas, Mexico¡­Pedro had done it. His arm was almost completely severed from his body from the wound Cantana had left him, but that actually gave Pedro the extra arm length to be able to touch the Don Gate with just his fingertips. Pedro actually had to thank Cantana for wounding him so badly. If Cantana hadn''t, Pedro''s body would have been completely burned before Pedro could touch the Gate.Pedro laughed. He swore that he was going to pay Cantana back for everything. Pedro didn''t know where to start, but he was going to find a way.Soon, Pedro''s ruined body was healed completely and disappeared inside the Don Gate. After a few minutes, Pedro''s body was thrown back out. Pedro smoothly got back up on his feet. "So this¡­ is what it''s like to be a deva?" Pedro looked down at his hands and balled them into a fist. He was one step closer to getting his revenge. But Pedro soon slumped. He really did not know where to start. Up until the point he had touched the Don Gate, Pedro had thought he could have his revenge as soon as possible. But now that he was a deva, he realized quickly that Cantana Alejandro was truly powerful.Cantana was the ruler of this part of Chiapas, and had an army of around three thousand devas at his beck and call. He was also the heir of the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, the guild that controlled all of Mexico. The distance between Pedro and Cantana was abysmal. Pedro had lived the past eight years as a mortal, but he knew that much."Damn it! Okay, I''ll have to head for Panama for now." Pedro had lived all his life in Mexico, but he heard many things about the NCR Guild, especially that it could not control Central America. The NCR Guild could never cross over the border into Panama as that small country was part of Luana''s territory, Luana being the ruler of South America."I''ll be back, Cantana, no matter how long it takes! I''ll come back and you will die by my hands!" Pedro turned to give one last glance at Cantana''s home before leaving, his eyes full of hatred and vengeance. He turned away and quickly headed south.Pedro ran and ran with only revenge in his mind, but Pedro didn''t know then that sometimes revenge didn''t need to be served cold. Whether that was a good or bad thing was up to Pedro, however.------Two and a half months had passed since I started hunting in the Dark Caster Dungeon. When I killed the last undead monster in front of me, I received a message.==[You have gained a level.]==I finally reached level 724. "Open Stats Menu!"==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 724Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 9,590,700/9,590,700MP: 452,800/452,800Strength: 24,074 + 3,732Agility: 14,901Vitality: 15,601Willpower: 4,468Intelligence: 4228Unassigned Stat Points: 680 + 228Fatigue: 19Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 90,803Physical Defense: 35,497Magical Attack: 14,154Magical Defense: 23,034]==It took me an average of two days to gain one level, and for once, I was actually satisfied with that pace. It was a pace that was normally impossible, especially for levels past 700, but it was possible thanks to Amplification doubling the extra EXP gain on the King-Emperor''s Commitment. It had gone from 15% up to 30%.It did feel a little empty after seeing my Stats get increased tenfold after I consumed Shaman Ko. Still, my own Stats were nothing to scoff at. Before the Reaper activated his failsafe skill, I was actually beating him even though my Unrivaled skill was deactivated the entire time. I truly was second to none."Oh well. That''s not important now. This is!" I put in all of my unassigned Stat points into STR once again. Once I was done, the message I was waiting for popped up.==[Your base STR has surpassed 20,000 points.Your total STR points: 27,806Your base STR points: 20,000STR points increased by items: 4,074STR points increased by skills: 3,732 (Shaman Ko''s Stat points),1 (Kiran''s Stat points) ]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 20,000 points in STR before anyone else.STR will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]=={Translator''s Note: I''m not exactly sure if the math here is correct. In CH 103, where Lee Jiwon first gets this reward, the author had included the Shaman Ko Stat points but he didn''t in this chapter. He even turned the Commitment''s buff into a skill for some reason.}"Nice!" I actually wasn''t sure if I was going to get the reward like I had when my STR passed 10,000 points. I also wasn''t sure how long it was going to take, but thankfully, it happened and happened quite soon.Satisfied, I closed my Stats Menu. "Ah! Time to go home and rest!" I had done enough these past couple of months. I happily headed for the dungeon exit. 211 Chapter 210: Crossroads, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI cut down the undead monsters that stood in my way as I headed for the dungeon exit instead of sprinting past them like I used to. I had hunted for two and a half months straight, but I wasn''t feeling tired, and decided I may as well take the time to get some extra EXP."But now that I''ve gotten my STR up to 20,000, what should I do now? Should I keep raising my STR, or should I get my VIT and AGI up to 20,000 as well?" If I made it my goal to get VIT, AGI, INT, and WIL up to 20,000 points, I could be obtaining 10,000 points in bonus Stat points. That was a lot of bonus Stat points, but the question was, would it be worth spending points on the two Stats I didn''t really need, instead of focusing on the Stats I did need?I scoffed at myself. I was already thinking about what to do with my Stat points when I didn''t even have a single one leftover. "I''ll make my decision after I''ve saved up a bit first. It''s hard to save points by leveling up, anyway. If anything, I''m going to need another quest like Time Attack!"Wrapped up in my thoughts, I soon found myself outside of the dungeon."Mr. Lee!" the guard shouted, surprised when he saw me emerge from the dungeon entrance."Hey there!""I was surprised to hear from the FOBs that they hadn''t seen you for more than a week.""Oh, yeah. I got caught up in hunting." I made the effort to rest every two to three days of hunting, but all I did was hunt after two months had passed and I grew closer to my goal. I had even received a call from the Shire Guild when the FOB I had visited often hadn''t heard from me in over a week."Ah¡­ I see," the guard said, weirded out by my calm response."By the way, I notice it''s gotten a bit noisy." There were always many Shire Guild members around the dungeon entrance, but today, a large group of them were gathered around, fervently talking about something."Oh, right. Something interesting is happening in Mexico right now.""What''s that?""A single man is fighting against the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, the guild that controls Mexico and Central America. He supposedly appeared out of nowhere and is pretty strong. There are many videos of him out right now. Shall I show you one?""No, I''m fine. Thanks." When the guard mentioned the Nueva Chivas Rio Guild, I knew exactly who he was talking about. The Avenger had appeared. To be more exact, he was the failed Avenger. I bid my farewells to the guard and quickly headed to the Teleporter in New York City to warp back to Seoul. I was actually interested in this coming event. I didn''t want to completely butt in since it didn''t really have anything to do with me, but I wanted to do something about the non-recyclable piece of trash that was the NCR Guild."His name was Pedro, wasn''t it?" The NCR Guild controlled Mexico with an iron fist and made sure everything that went on inside never leaked to the rest of the world. Unfortunately for them, Pedro''s attacks had punched walls into the NCR Guild''s hold, and many people had managed to escape, devas and mortals alike. Thanks to them, the NCR Guild''s crimes were revealed to the rest of the world. These sins were so inhumane that it made the Yung Gong Guild look like Nirvana. Had Pedro''s revenge succeeded, the entire world would have condemned the NCR Guild and buried the guild once and for all. Still, even though he had failed, the strength he had shown to the rest of the world was tremendous.---Seoul¡­As soon as I stepped of the Teleporter platform, I could hear the entire square talking about one man."Hey, did you watch it?""Of course I did!""Dude, it was crazy! I bet this new guy is almost as strong as Lee Jiwon.""What? No, they''re not. Lee Jiwon faced like three thousand soldiers at once, and there were only about a thousand in the video.""That''s right. Lee Jiwon even defeated the Reaper first, too.""I''m just saying, just saying. Then how many do you think you can face alone?""Me? Maybe¡­ about thirty?""What a load of crap. Why the hell are you comparing yourselves to godly devas?""Quit fighting over nonsense. But that Nueva Chivas Rio Guild is pretty trashy, isn''t it?""Yeah, I heard about that, too. Thanks to this guy, so many people managed to escape the NCR Guild, and they''re saying the NCR Guild tortures and murders mortals for fun. Man¡­ I''ve been saying Hell Joseon all this time, but it''s a blessing that I was born in Korea." {TN: Hell Joseon is a meme that became popularized pretty recently. It combines Hell and Joseon, the last Korean Dynasty before Japanese involvement, and basically means Korea is shit to live in.}"Hey, the NCR Guild originated from the Mexican drug cartel of the same name. It''s what they do.""I don''t care about what or why they do it. I just want to see them get destroyed one day.""Me too!"---It was like they wanted someone like the Punisher to deal with the NCR Guild. I was the same in the past.I quickly headed for home, stopping by the Sunbin Guild for whatever information they had on what was happening in Mexico. I couldn''t do anything to help the Avenger in the past, just like I couldn''t do anything about the Yung Gong Guild back then. I was too weak and I was a coward. But that was then. I was strong now. I had developed an interest, and while I wasn''t ready to step in completely, I at least wanted to see if there was anything I could do this time.------Three hours later in my drawing room¡­"I didn''t realize you would come yourself. I would have been satisfied with a simple report," I said to Song Haechang, who was sitting in front of me."Well, we have been observing them for some time now. And since you made the request, I thought why not," Song Haechang replied with a small smile. "Here''s what we have on the NCR Guild and this new individual. I''m confident enough to say that the information on there is about 99% accurate."I believed him. If this report came directly from the Sunbin Guild, then I knew the intel was reliable. "Thank you," I said and accepted the thick folder. I opened it up and skimmed through it.It really was Pedro the Avenger. There was also quite a bit of information about the NCR Guild, as well. Some of it I knew about from my past life, but there was also a lot about the inhumane crimes they had committed that I did not know about. The report also mentioned Cantana Alejandro numerous times and that he was mostly responsible for the guild''s wrongdoings.Song Haechang noticed that I had stopped on the intel about Cantana Alejandro and spoke up. "He''s the heir to the NCR Guild, and has a special ability known only as the Mad Butcher. We believe he and Pedro have some history, as he seems to be focusing on retaliating against Pedro right now.""I see," I said with a nod. I knew about that part as well. I was actually pretty surprised at how well the Sunbin Guild''s report matched with what I remembered."Huh?" The last page had my name on it, as well as the names of many organizations and solo players. "The NCR Guild''s approach list?" was the heading on the page."Pedro is strong, which is why he is able to face the NCR Guild on his own."Right, I knew that. That was what happened in the past and why he was the focus of attention in New York and Seoul."To be honest¡­" Song Haechang leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. "Sunbin and many other guilds and organizations have had our eyes on Pedro for some time. Rather than stay away from what''s going on, we''re waiting for the right time to aid Pedro. Of course, smaller guilds and organizations can''t do the same for fear of retaliation from the NCR Guild.""..." Song Haechang had a point. Having someone like Pedro the Avenger as an ally was definitely a huge plus, ethically and economically. But I knew something about Pedro that no other guild or organization could ever know about. Pedro was like a cicada. He lived most of his life as a pupa, and now that he had reached adulthood, he wasn''t going to last very long. This was the biggest reason he had failed getting his revenge against the NCR Guild. He faded away as soon as he appeared."I see," I said, not saying anything more.------I kept thinking on what to do after Song Haechang left. If I didn''t know that Pedro''s end was near, I honestly would have killed him. The only reason I thought differently was because I knew he wasn''t going to become a rival or anything."But¡­ he''s not a rival. No one can rival me right now."------One week later¡­Once my allies had discovered that I had an interest in Pedro, they sent over their own reports on the events in Mexico. They also included many videos showcasing his abilities. He was growing stronger by the day. In fact, his strength was actually visibly growing exponentially. It was pretty unbelievable."So he''s basically pouring out energy day by day. The stronger he grows, the shorter his lifespan becomes." This was the truth that only I knew."But wouldn''t it be better if he just keeps that part of his abilities hidden and recruits the help of some other large guild? I''m sure Luana would at least be willing to help, and could make short work of the NCR Guild."It became harder and harder to make my decision as the days passed. Pedro had only about two more weeks to live. From what I knew, Sunbin, Shire, Myth, and Abu Dhabi had reached out to Pedro, letting him know that we were willing to help, but he kept ignoring us. He seemed adamant that he was going to destroy the NCR Guild on his own.Just then, someone knocked on my door. I already knew that there were two strangers heading for my home. I had never felt their aura before."What is it?""You have guests, young master.""Who are they?""They''re from the NCR Guild, young master.""..." My name was on the list Song Haechang had given me. The NCR Guild was planning on approaching those organizations and people on that list to recruit to defeat Pedro. But I didn''t expect them to actually come."Let them in.""Yes, sir."I would at least hear what they had to say. 212 Chapter 211: Crossroads Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDA man and a woman sat opposite me in my drawing room."Thank you for meeting with us. My name is Jericho, head of the NCR Guild''s foreign affairs.""And my name is Medina Alejandro, and I''m the head of the NCR Guild''s disciplinary force, as well as the eldest daughter of our guild master, Jose Alejandro.""Welcome," I said curtly. "Please, help yourself to some tea, although I''m not sure it''ll be to your tastes.""Please, you don''t have to worry about us. We''re just honored to meet you face to face," Jericho said with a smile."So, what brings the two of you here? From what I hear, things aren''t looking too well for you¡­" I said simply. I didn''t want to be to blunt, but I didn''t want to beat around the bushes too long."What a shame. I see the rumors have reached all the way here, as well.""It is quite embarrassing." Jericho and Medina both laughed off my small taunt. I knew for a fact that they knew what I was trying to do, but outright ignored it. That had to mean that things weren''t looking good for the NCR Guild if they couldn''t properly defend themselves at my taunt."I see," I said with a small smile of my own. While I was no saint, it was nice to hear that a criminal guild like the NCR Guild was experiencing heavy losses. "Since I''m sure you know what has been going on, I''ll get straight to the point," Medina said. "Our guild has been experiencing heavy losses due to one man; a man by the name of Pedro. We have recruited support from wherever we could to defeat this man, but nothing has been of help so far.""I see.""That is why we have decided to extend our reach. We, the NCR Guild, have accrued quite the wealth of our own over the past eight years, but no other guild or organization has accepted our request for aid. Do you know why that is?"Of course I knew. If I didn''t know back then, I definitely could see why now. "Because they all want Pedro on their side.""That''s exactly it. They all want Pedro for themselves, regardless if we get destroyed or not. Even most of our allies had abandoned us for this one man."-Serves them right.- I thought to myself. I fought to keep the corners of my lips from rising."I''m very sorry to hear that," I said with the best poker face I could muster, but I wasn''t sure if Medina bought it."That is why we are afraid that Pedro has by now sold his services to someone like Luana and will soon launch a direct assault on us." A worry that only came from not knowing the true abilities of Pedro. "We also believe that you worry as well, since another powerful being has appeared. You have to be feeling that your position is being threatened."I suddenly burst out laughing. Why were they worried about me? I will admit that Pedro''s combat style was similar to mine. We both were capable of killing our enemies in one or two attacks while brushing off whatever damage we received. No normal tanks could ever do that, even with support from healers and supporters. But I didn''t expect Medina to take that into account and say that they were worried for my sake. I couldn''t help but find that amusing. Medina, on the other hand, didn''t even flinch and continued talking. "Would it not make sense for us to join forces?""Okay. You make a fair point," I said in between chuckles. "But Pedro is a deva. Killing him once won''t be the end of it and there aren''t any methods to detain someone as strong as him for very long." I purposely left out the part where Pedro was soon going to meet his end. Only I needed to know that. "There is a way. Reveal Item."==[Scroll of Summon: Death Prison (Rank 9)Imprisons a dead target in Death Prison before they can resurrect.1st condition: If the target will resurrect in the spot they had died at in three hours, this Scroll must be used within three hours of the target''s death.2nd condition: If the target will resurrect in the closest Store, this Scroll must be used within three minutes of the target''s death.3rd condition: If the target will resurrect at their Respawn Point, this Scroll must be within three seconds of the target''s death.This Scroll can only be used on devas.The target can be imprisoned for a minimum of 24 hours. However, for every 10 non-respawnable deaths sacrificed, the sentence can be increased by another 24 hours, to a maximum sentence of 1 year.This Scroll will be destroyed after use.]=="..." I had never seen this item before."Just once! You just need to kill Pedro once and we will be able to imprison Pedro''s soul in the Death Prison. We are prepared to make the sacrifice if it means we can imprison him for one year as well," Medina said, but I was more focused on the 10 non-respawnable deaths part. If they wanted to imprison Pedro for one year, they were going to need 3,650 lives."I''m sure you feel threatened with the appearance of a new rival, Mr. Lee. And if you do help us, I will personally make sure you are properly compensated. We are prepared to fulfill whatever request you may have." The way Medina smiled as she made her proposition reminded me of how villains negotiated with each other in movies.I smiled back. "I have to say... you are quite convincing."------A few hours later, Medina and Jericho finally left and I had returned back to my room and was lounging on my sofa."I should help them if they really need my help that badly." I made my decision to go to Mexico and butt in a little.------The NCR Guild''s headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico¡­"Lee Jiwon accepted our request for aid?" Jose Alejandro asked Jericho and Medina, skeptical."Yes, father! He agreed to help when we promised him a Rank 8 item, two billion golden rings and the promise that we will fulfill whatever wish he desires.""Hmm¡­" Jose remained skeptical while his eldest daughter sounded excited. Jose had thoroughly investigated Lee Jiwon''s past activities over and over again. It wasn''t because of Pedro; Lee Jiwon was powerful enough alone, and that warranted the need to know everything there was about him.There was one thing Jose knew for sure about Lee Jiwon; while Lee Jiwon didn''t seek to protect the weak, he did tend to stay on the right side of justice. It was pretty obvious considering the famous battles Lee Jiwon had participated in. He protected the Myth Guild from the Blood Prince, the Werewolf Clan from the Predator Duke, and the Ravi Guild from the upper caste guilds of India. Lee Jiwon had saved the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and defeated the Grim Reaper, another member of the Seven Monarchs. Lee Jiwon had also fought San Tuan Guild, infamous for stealing people''s abilities and Stat points.Ever since Pedro had started attacking the NCR Guild, many of the NCR Guild''s oppressed had managed to escape, revealing to the rest of the world the many inhumane crimes the NCR Guild had committed. Jose was positive Lee Jiwon had heard of those reports as well. He was sure that Lee Jiwon would never stand with the NCR Guild, but still made contact with the legendary deva. The reason was simple¡­ to lower the value of Pedro!There were currently many powerful guilds and organizations that wanted Pedro for themselves, and the NCR Guild couldn''t afford to make enemies out of all them. But actions were louder than words and just being able to meet with Lee Jiwon was enough for Jose. He doubted that Lee Jiwon would ever accept his request for help, but that didn''t matter. Just being able to meet was enough to spread rumors saying that Lee Jiwon did not like the appearance of Pedro. That would make the guilds and organizations vying for Pedro''s attention hesitate and potentially turn them away for fear of antagonizing Lee Jiwon. But the problem now was that Lee Jiwon had really accepted the NCR Guild''s request."Ha¡­" This all sounded too fishy to Jose, but he couldn''t exactly go and ask Lee Jiwon why he agreed to help. "Fine. When did he say he will come?" Pedro''s attacks were growing stronger by the day."Well¡­"When Medina hesitated to answer, Jericho answered instead."He only told us that he would come as soon as he was able." A vein pulsed on Jose''s forehead. "What? The two of you know quite well what our situation is like and that''s the best you could get?" Jose wanted this done as soon as possible, because he just couldn''t figure out what Lee Jiwon was planning."I¡­I''ll contact Lee Jiwon once more. He did say he will come as soon as he can, so I''m sure there is nothing to worry about," Jericho quickly added."Contact him now¡­ no. Call him tomorrow. We can''t seem desperate.""Yes, sir!""And start spreading the rumors. Just make the necessary adjustments of what we initially planned." The only thing they could do now was to continue with their plan. It might become a problem in the future, but right now, they were allied with Lee Jiwon for the moment."Then should we just say that Lee Jiwon has allied with us to defeat Pedro?" asked Hugo, the head of Intelligence."That''s right. It''ll be enough to make the rest of the world second-guess the value of Pedro. We need to make this worth whatever we''re going to pay Lee Jiwon.""Yes, sir. I''ll get on it right away."---As Jose Alejandro and the NCR Guild had anticipated, once the rumors that Lee Jiwon had decided to join forces with the NCR Guild against Pedro, many guilds and organizations that had been vying for Pedro''s attention pulled away. There was no guild or organization out there willing to become enemies with Lee Jiwon, the deva who had defeated four of the Seven Monarchs! 213 Chapter 212: Crossroads Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSeoul, Korea¡­"Hah! Would you look at that?" The rumors had come out of nowhere. They weren''t completely false, but regardless of whether they were true or not, the fact that the entire world knew about my involvement already wasn''t natural. It was obvious someone had done this on purpose."Are they that desperate? It hasn''t even been a whole day yet and already they''re selling my name." I had expected them to do something like this, but I didn''t realize they would do it so early. It was like they were just raring to go at it.I chuckled to myself. Either way, the NCR Guild was doing exactly as I had expected. "I suppose it''s time I got ready too," I said while still lounging on my couch.-''I want more candy!''-------Early the next morning¡­"I apologize for contacting you so early in the day, but we need you to come in soon, Mr. Lee. Pedro''s attacks are growing stronger by the day, and we won''t be able to last any longer.""I''m so sorry about this. I''m not sure if it''s a case of food poisoning or if I caught a bug but I really don''t feel good. I don''t think I can make it today.""..."------The next day¡­"Are you feeling any better today, Mr. Lee? I could hardly believe that someone like you could succumb to a mere cold.""Oh, I''m very sorry. My cold has gotten better, but now my dog has run away and I can''t bear to leave without making sure he''s okay. I hope you understand.""..."------The next day¡­"How are you doing today, Mr. Lee? I''m sure a powerful deva like you has already found a mere mutt by now. You must come today.""Yes, my dog and I are doing fine. But the equipment I had sent to be repaired yesterday hasn''t arrived yet. According to the blacksmith, I had really abused my armor and weapon and repairing them will take some time. I am quite picky about my equipment and prefer to use what I''ve always used.""..."-------One week later¡­"Lee Jiwon, that son of a bitch!" Jose roared as he slammed the table in front of him. The steel table couldn''t withstand the blow and crumpled to the floor. His subordinates sitting around the destroyed table remained silent."Grr! How dare he play me like this!?" For an entire week, Lee Jiwon had given half-hearted excuses and still had not come to Mexico. In the meantime, the guilds and organizations that had stopped contacting Pedro resumed their coercions. Pedro was also continuing his relentless assault against the NCR Guild, destroying more and more of it each day. The rumors the NCR Guild had spread about Lee Jiwon''s involvement were deemed false. As a result, three of the gathered officers - Medina, Jericho, and Cantana - couldn''t bear to raise their heads."Spread the rumors again! This time, say that Lee Jiwon has grown afraid of Pedro''s power and has run away with his tail between his legs!" Jose yelled in anger."We can''t, guild master. If Lee Jiwon catches wind that we are the source of those rumors, we risk making him our enemy, as well as Pedro.""Shut up and do as I say! Don''t you all get it? Pedro is getting stronger by the day!" This was a fact that the entire world knew. There was a limit to how fast a deva or deity could grow strong, but Pedro''s power was growing exponentially without any sign it was ever going to slow down. It had only been twenty days since Pedro appeared, and there were countless videos that had recorded how much stronger he was than the day before. It was plain to see, but no one knew why or how. All eyes were on Pedro and the NCR Guild, curious to see what Pedro''s limit was."I''d rather deal with Lee Jiwon than Pedro. At least we can still talk to that bastard. He might be giving us bullshit excuses right now, but he agreed to help us. Nothing will change that fact, so just spread the rumors!""Yes, sir!"Jose Alejandro had attempted many times to contact Pedro without his own guild''s knowledge. He had decided that if he could get Pedro over to his side, he would abandon Cantana and make Pedro his heir instead. Familial ties mattered little to Jose in this undying world. But all Jose received in return were more waves of attacks."One more thing," Jose said to Hugo."What is it, sir?""Contact the House of Windsor Guards in London. I already told them what they need to know.""Are you going to trust those hypocritical bastards?""Hmph. That''s exactly why I can trust them. They were trash like us from the start!""Understood, sir."Soon, Jose''s officers left the room, leaving Jose alone with his thoughts. "Ha¡­ it''d be perfect if Lee Jiwon would just kill off Pedro..."By now, Jose knew that Lee Jiwon wasn''t going to come to Mexico, even if the rumors that he was a coward spread. If he was going to come, he would have already done so. It was already too late to expect anything now."Hmm¡­ have I just played right into Lee Jiwon''s hands?" The rumors he had spread were worth the payment promised to Lee Jiwon, even though he hadn''t paid him yet. But there was another rumor that had gone around.==[Pedro is now Lee Jiwon''s sole target. The NCR Guild confirms this. Pedro is now off limits to any other guild or organization.]==This rumor had spread around the same time as the first one and was actually instrumental in forcing all other guilds and organizations away from Pedro. "But I didn''t expect that to happen as well." Once those guilds and organizations pulled away, Jose was given another chance to approach the other guilds of Mexico and Central America, guilds that had also started out as drug cartels. When Jose had taken control of Mexico, he had done away with anyone who opposed him, leaving people behind who were as cruel as he was. They had all agreed to stand by Jose, in fear that if the NCR Guild fell to Pedro''s hands, they would be next. But once that second rumor spread, those guilds had cut all ties with Jose and the NCR Guild."No, it can''t be. It can''t be." The NCR Guild was now weaker than it was when it reached out to Lee Jiwon. It had lost 30% of its power and territory, and was being pushed back further by Pedro each day."I''ll give you whatever you want if you would just kill Pedro for me!" Jose now only had the House of Windsor Guards to turn to.---Buckingham Palace¡­"Jose Alejandro has accepted our proposal?""Yes sir, he has.""Good. Very good," Queen Elizabeth laughed when she heard the report from Duke Glavis, head of the Windsor Guards. "It was already prophesied that Pedro will never join forces with anyone. If we can''t obtain Pedro, then we may as well take whatever we can from Jose Alejandro.""Yes, Your Majesty. Alejandro has promised he would do whatever we ask if we defeat Pedro for him. From this, it would seem that there was something wrong with the promise he made with Lee Jiwon.""That is quite beneficial for us. We finally have our chance, thanks to Lee Jiwon.""There is something we must be wary of," a woman who was observing the conversation cut in."What do you mean by that, Ms. N?" While Duke Glavis served as Queen Elizabeth''s sword, N served as the queen''s most trusted advisor. "We must be wary of Lee Jiwon himself. Lee Jiwon hasn''t reacted once to the rumors. He may as well just confirm that the rumors are true and that Pedro is his target alone. If we decide to face Pedro as well, we may as well outright challenge Lee Jiwon for that right.""Hmph! It''s because Lee Jiwon isn''t doing anything that we are being given the chance, is it not?""That is true, but if Lee Jiwon comes forth and says that he has already staked claim, then we must figure out how to react to that.""Would Lee Jiwon really interfere after we kill Pedro?""Who knows at this point? But it won''t hurt to be careful. I suggest we send our men under the guise as members of the NCR Guild rather than as Windsor Guards.""I see. If it seems that the NCR Guild has defeated Pedro on its own, then Lee Jiwon can''t do anything about it.""Exactly. Besides, the six hundred members that are ready to defeat Pedro are members of the Templar Order, are they not? And what we want is not fame, but Jose Alejandro''s treasures. It would be best if our men operate disguised.""Very well. What say you, Duke Glavis?""I think it''s a sound idea, as well. It''s a shame the world won''t know that the Windsor Guards will be responsible for Pedro''s death, but I believe it''s a small sacrifice for success.""Thank you, Duke Glavis. Let us prepare as we have planned.""Yes, Your Majesty!"Soon, six hundred members of the secret Templar Order set out for Mexico.------Seoul, Korea¡­"Really? He had to go as far as to call me a coward?" The new rumors spread faster than the first. I had to admit it did seem that way, and gave out a bitter laugh."It looks like the Puebla Defensive Line is gone now." I kept tabs on the war in Mexico and learned that the line of defense the NCR Guild had set up in the nearby city of Puebla was broken by Pedro. Pedro was getting closer and closer to Mexico City."I am in full support of your act of revenge, which is why I made things easier for you, but this is all I can do. You''re going to disappear soon, but I''m going to still be here." I knew what it was like to exact revenge, and wanted to let Pedro get as far as he could, but I couldn''t do what I did against Lee Kangchan and the Yung Gong Guild again. I had already attracted too much attention that day. Furthermore, I had no particular stake in Pedro''s war. I was maintaining many alliances right now, and I couldn''t continue to act just on my wishes, especially during an event as political as this one.------The next day¡­More reports came in on the war in Mexico, only this time, the information was different. Pedro had lost a battle and had barely gotten away with his life. I had used my name to weaken the NCR Guild, but somehow, they had turned the tables on Pedro."Those are¡­" I noticed something as I watched the video of the latest battle against the NCR Guild and Pedro. The NCR Guild''s soldiers all had the same uniform and markings, but one group was still noticeably different. I knew who they were in an instant. They were from the Windsor Guards."Ha¡­ so this was when they first showed themselves?" 214 Chapter 213: It’s Obviously Not Me, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDBristol, England¡­"Is that it?" I was examining the entrance of a high-grade dungeon while staying hidden about ten kilometers away. It was the high-grade dungeon the Windsor Guard, the number one guild of the United Kingdom, controlled. I came here secretly for one reason and one reason only; to show the NCR Guild and the Windsor Guard just how dangerous a "scared dog" was."Summon: Dungeon Mole."-Banana candy?-"I''ll give you some when we''re done here. Consume."==[You have consumed your target.Target: Dungeon MoleTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Dungeon Teleport (Can be used 3 times a day.)Effect 2: Dungeon Search (Can be used once a day, 1 range counter is available)]== From what I could see all the way from here, there were about fifty guards patrolling the entrance. They had it locked down tight. There were also four large buildings right next to the dungeon entrance. Who knew how many more Windsor Guards were inside? I was going to need the Dungeon Mole''s abilities to get inside without setting off any alarms. I carefully made my way forward until I was about five kilometers away from the entrance. "Dungeon Search."==[Dungeon Search has been activated.Dungeon Search''s counter is currently at 1.1 range counter will now be used.]==Soon, a message appeared telling me that it was now searching for nearby dungeons. About three minutes later, another message appeared.==[A dungeon has been found.Bristol Dungeon.]==It worked. Now, I could get inside the Bristol Dungeon without the Windsor Guards'' knowledge. "Dungeon Teleport: Bristol Dungeon!"==[You will now Teleport to Bristol DungeonYou will be moved to a random place on the dungeon''s first floor.]==My body felt like it was being sucked into the sky for a moment while my surroundings changed. I quickly looked around me in case I was unfortunate enough to be moved right next to a Windsor Guard, but thankfully, I was alone.I had never been here before, so it was my first time seeing what sort of dungeon this was. As I looked around, I noticed what terrain this dungeon had and I thought to myself that this was quite the coincidence. Out of all terrains, this dungeon was a desert.==[You are currently in a desert terrain.The Desert King''s Resolution responds to the sands.ATT and MATT increased by 15%.DEF and MDEF increased by 15%.]==I chuckled to myself. I did not expect a high-grade dungeon in the UK of all places to be a desert terrain. Sure, I knew that a dungeon''s geographical location did not determine its terrain type. Mt. Fuji''s dungeon was a swamp-type, after all. But the reason I was here in Bristol Dungeon was to outright cause a scene. Coincidentally, this dungeon had now boosted my combat abilities by 15%, as if it wanted me to hurt its owners. Well, that''s what they got for calling me a coward and for targeting Pedro when I specifically said that he was mine."Mana Conversion ¨C Wind. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Wind Level 5 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==Once I finished my battle preparations, I took out the well-made mask I had prepared before coming here. It was a golden mask of a duck. It also wasn''t in the likeness of the Duck Duck character from Korea, it was in the likeness of the Angry Duck that was popular in Europe. I pulled out my trademark Heart''s Blood Harrier. Its appearance itself was intimidating, with its curved, pitch black blade oozing a blood-red aura.I had no intention of completely hiding my identity. Well, I did think about it, but I quickly realized it was impossible. My combat style was too unique and I wasn''t about to switch it up now just for this. So I made my decision that I would make it obvious that it was me by revamping the whole concept I used with Duck Duck. It also didn''t matter if the Windsor Guards accused me; I could just blatantly lie that it wasn''t me."Let''s play!" I was in deep behind enemy lines, with the entrance of the dungeon heavily guarded, but I did not feel tense or anything. In fact, my entire body felt lighter than before. Now that my base STR was well beyond 20,000, I practically glided over the soft sand. I zoomed through the dungeon, searching for my prey and about five minutes later, I finally heard the sounds of battle.---"Tanks, form a defensive line!"The deafening boom as solid bodies struck the metal of shields echoed across the dungeon floor."2nd and 3rd attack teams, begin your attacks!""Fireball!""Ifrit''s Raging Flame!""Exploding Firebolt!""Razor Wind!"The attacking Sand Giants fell to the ground with a crash from the volley of attacks."Nice! Healers, keep an eye on our tanks'' HP!""Yes, sir!"Conrad, the captain of the Windsor Guards'' 73rd hunting party, looked proudly on his thirty party members as they showed exemplary teamwork. He was also proud of himself for making such snap decisions. Conrad turned to the two scouts who had lured in the five Sand Giants that just fell. "The two of you search for more Giants to lure. The rest of you, get ready for battle!""Yes, sir!"As his party members moved as one to get ready, Conrad sifted through the sand where the Sand Giants fell to pick up the dropped loot. It was his role as the party leader to evenly distribute the items among the party members, but he naturally pocketed a bit more for himself. About three minutes later, the two scouts had returned with more Sand Giants on their tail and the party began the hunt once more. They did not know that an entity far more dangerous than the Sand Giants was watching them from afar.------I watched the Windsor Guard hunting party fight from about a kilometer away. "Huh. So that''s how they hunt." I could have run straight in, but I decided to hold back and watch. I wasn''t going to stop with these thirty devas, and there was bound to be more hunting parties in this dungeon. I needed to know how the Windsor Guard''s hunting parties operated to make it easier on me.This party had seven tanks, fifteen DPS, three healers and two supporters. The captain stayed back in the rear lines, giving out the orders. They actually worked pretty well together; it was obvious that they were all veterans of the hunt and made quick, clean work of the Sand Giants.I smiled. "Let''s see how well they do against unforeseen circumstances." It was no secret that I did not like the Windsor Guards. If they had been upfront with their intentions and revealed to the rest to the world that they weren''t the good guys, I wouldn''t have really minded. It would have given the lesser devas a chance to not get caught up with them, but that wasn''t the case. They were the biggest hypocritical assholes, even though they were supposed to be the famed Queen''s Guard. I knew for a fact that they had stolen countless items from weaker devas to participate in the Best Treasure quest, and had even committed several kidnappings to get what they wanted. Now, I finally had the chance to properly punish them.Once the hunting party engaged the next wave of Sand Giants, I glided across the sand towards them. Once I got close enough, I Blinked right next to the front line of tanks."Gah!" The tanks were too busy defending against the Sand Giants to notice me. The tanker deva at the very front fell after two of my attacks and vanished into a cloud of smoke."Huh?""What''s going on?" The other tanks turned to notice that their comrade had disappeared, only to scream out in pain as they died to my attacks. Even though they were tanks, it only took me two attacks to get through their defense and kill them. It took me less than fifteen seconds to wipe out the seven tanks. The rest of the party finally realized what was going on as their line of defense was wiped out and screamed in unison."Fuck! What is this?""But¡­ this is our dungeon!""Is he one of us?""Why would he be? You just saw what he did! He killed all of our tanks!""Dumbass! You just said this is our dungeon!"I stood in front of them, staring as they clamored amongst themselves in panic. They obviously did not know how to react to the sudden changes of battle. Then again, it would be difficult to expect the sudden appearance of an enemy in the middle of an established dungeon, especially if that enemy was me."All of you, shut up!" The man who remained on the rear lines giving out orders silenced his team and stepped forward to face me.---"I am Conrad, captain of the Windsor Guard''s 73rd hunting team! Identify yourself! Who are you and why are you doing this? This is the Windsor Guard''s Bristol Dungeon, so I know you have to be one of us, so¡­" Conrad trailed off. He saw the same thing as his party members; how his tanks had fallen to only two attacks from this stranger. He knew no one in his guild had that much attack power. Not even his commander, Duke Glavis, possessed such power. It was now obvious to Conrad that this stranger was the enemy. A bead of sweat dripped down Conrad''s forehead. He had no idea how this masked man was able to enter the Bristol Dungeon without alerting his fellow Guards, and that scared him. ---The captain of the hunting party had started off confident, but I could clearly hear the tremble in his voice. I smiled as I replied, "Me? I''m Angry Duck. I''m always mad!"As soon as I finished talking, I charged in. The tanks were already dead. The rest of the hunting party had no hope of surviving now."Gah!" A DPS deva fell in one clean strike."Shit! Stop him!""Earth Wall!""Chain Lightning!""Piercing Power Shot!""Slow! Slow!"A volley of attacks flew right at me, but they may as well have thrown pebbles at me. I pierced through the wall of earth in a single stab and the rest of the attacks bounced off me.==[Slow has been removed due to status immunity.]==I juggled with the thought that I should act as if I was under the effect of Slow, but they were going to find out that it was me, anyway. There was no point in hiding that I was an Unrivaled deva right now and I just continued my onslaught of attacks."Gah!""Fuck!""They were all¡­ one hit kills? Is that even possible?""Obviously. I''m right here, aren''t I?"---"Slow¡­Slow isn''t working, sir!" a supporter cried out as she tried to hide herself behind a dungeon wall.There were a few ways a debuff like Slow wouldn''t work. It could be a difference in level, he could have higher MDEF, or have some item that protected him from debuffs. There was also the chance that he was one of those famous Unrivaled devas.A name popped up in Conrad''s mind when he heard the cry from his supporter. Lee Jiwon; the spear-wielding monster of a deva. Conrad had also seen what Lee Jiwon had done during the battle between the Abu Dhabi Guild and Astes. Conrad finally realized that this masked stranger was absolutely Lee Jiwon, and that the sands of the dungeon were going to be his own grave."Lee¡­Jiwon?""What? No, I said I''m Angry Duck." Those were the last words Conrad heard before he resurrected three hours later. 215 Chapter 214: It’s Obviously Not Me, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSecond floor of the Bristol Dungeon¡­The forty members of the Windsor Guard''s 94th hunting party were moving as one as they hunted Sand Giants. There were ten more members than the hunting parties on the first floor because Sand Wizards occasionally spawned from the sands in the middle of the party. This moment was one example of that, as three Sand Wizards emerged from the sand amid the party''s dealers.Melissa, the captain of the 94th hunting party, shouted to her team,"Tanks, focus on the Sand Giants! Make sure they don''t push forward! All dealers, focus your attacks on the Sand Wizards! Don''t let them fire off any attacks!" "Yes, ma''am!" Her party members reacted at once to her orders. The Sand Wizards not only cast Sandstorm, a powerful AoE spell, they also cast buffs onto the Sand Giants, making them a bigger pain than they already were. Killing these Sand Wizards the moment they appeared took priority."Iron Wall!""Steel Body!"The tanks formed a solid shield wall, preventing the Sand Giants from moving any closer to the rest of the party, and the dealers immediately focused their attacks on the Sand Wizards. They all received damage from the Sandstorm spell a Sand Wizard managed to cast, but ignored it for now."Focus your attacks on the Wizard on the left!""Got it!""Ifrit''s Raging Flame!""Thunderstorm!""Chain Lightning!""Piercing Power Shot!""Triple Shot!"The attacks flew nonstop and soon, the three Sand Wizards collapsed back into the sand. Once the Wizards were dead, the party members quickly shifted their attention back to the Sand Giants. It was clear the 94th hunting party had a great deal of experience dealing with the sudden appearances of the Sand Wizards.------Two hours had passed since I entered the Bristol Dungeon. I was now on the second floor of the dungeon and watched another hunting party as it worked. They seemed to be hunting with ease and no worries."It looks like they haven''t been notified yet." I had wiped out seventeen hunting parties on the first floor alone. Each party had thirty or thirty-five members, but I was able to deal with all of them with ease. This dungeon was under their guild''s control, so they all focused on the monsters in front of them. No one in this dungeon knew of my existence or expected it, and I made sure to wipe out each party I encountered as quickly as possible to keep it that way. As long as I prevented them from using their Comm Links to report their situation before the first deva I killed here resurrected, my existence could be kept hidden."Oh, it looks like they''re starting again." The party lured another horde of seven Sand Giants and began their hunt once more. This party had ten more party members then the others, however. "It won''t make a difference!" I said to myself as I charged at them. I had already killed about six hundred Windsor Guards, but that wasn''t nearly enough for slighting me."Blink 1.""Gah!"I ambushed this party the exact same way I did the parties before and it worked on this party just as well. The tanks that were too busy dealing with the Sand Giants did not have time to react to my attacks and quickly fell to my attacks."What¡­ what''s going on?""Who is that? Is he not one of us?""This is the second floor of the Windsor Guard''s dungeon. We haven''t heard anything from the guys on the first floor or the entrance about an attack!""You fool! Leave that for later and focus! It''s clear he''s an enemy! We''ll figure out who he is after we defeat him!""Right! Attack! Shift your attacks on this asshole!""Roger!""Dancing Fire Sparks!""Earth Spear!""Flame Whip!"This party actually reacted quicker than the parties on the first floor, but that was it. There attacks did nothing to slow me down."Gah!""Debuff! Cast debuffs on him!""Roger! Weaken!""And you, get on your Comm Link and notify command what''s going on!""Yes ma''am!"The captain of the party was a woman this time and I could clearly hear her orders, especially when she ordered her subordinate to contact the command post. I still had fifty minutes until the first deva I killed was going to resurrect. I could at least wipe out five more parties within that time. "Blink 2.""Gah!" I Blinked right next to the subordinate reaching into his inventory to take out his Comm Link and stabbed him right through. He died with his hand still inside."We haven''t had our interview yet. I''ll let you make your report after, okay?" I said to the captain with a smile and attacked her while she remained silent. Chopping off the head of the snake never fails.The captain quickly retreated as I began my attacks, but I was much faster than her."Gah!" My spear pierced her heart before she could take two steps back."You''re¡­Lee Jiwon¡­aren''t you?""Nope. The name''s Angry Duck!" All of the party captains said the same thing, asking if I was Lee Jiwon, and I answered the same."Don''t¡­ bullshit me. You''re going to regret this. You''re going to pay¡­Gah!" Not wanting to hear anymore, I stabbed her twice more, killing her. "We''ll see about that." I turned back to the remaining twenty hunters and charged at them. I had no time to lose.------The Green Park was the smallest of London''s Royal Parks, located right behind Buckingham Palace. Beneath the Green Park was a bunker established for the entirety of the Windsor Guards. The Windsor Guards existed solely to protect the United Kingdom''s royalty, so unlike other large guilds and organizations, they didn''t ever come out in public, nor did they need to. That was Queen Elizabeth''s role.This giant bunker was the Windsor Guard''s base and also served as the Respawn Point for all Windsor Guards. A guild with the history of a crack military branch such as the Windsor Guards was capable of investigating all of its soldiers deaths, such as how many had died and why. Twelve investigators staffed the Respawn Room of the base because anywhere from ten to as many as one hundred soldiers resurrected a day. "It''s quiet today.""You''re right. We haven''t had a single death today.""It should be like this every day. It''s not like we have an infinite supply of restoration gems." The twelve investigators were marveling at the fact that they hadn''t had a single death to report today. That is, until they heard the dreaded thud as one of their fellow soldiers finally resurrected."I guess we spoke too soon.""Yes sir. I''ll go check up on him.""Very go¡­" The lead investigator trailed off as more thuds were heard consecutively."What the¡­?""One of our hunting parties must have been wiped out.""That may be the case, sir.""Tsk tsk tsk. They really should be more careful. I feel bad for the party for having such a careless captain." The lead investigator just clicked his tongue and didn''t pay much attention to it. But soon, he and his team slowly stood up from their seats and looked out the window into the Respawn Room. The sounds of devas resurrecting did not stop. It was evident by now that at least two teams had been wiped out. But more and more continued to resurrect and soon the Respawn Room was just about full.The twelve investigators looked at one another. This had never happened before. Each of them felt fear and knew that something terrible had just occurred. As they dumbly stood there, unsure of what to do, they all heard their recently deceased comrades utter a single name: Lee Jiwon!------Duke Glavis met with N to hold an emergency meeting."I''ve already notified the hunting parties still in the Bristol Dungeon to cease all hunts and to make their way to the nearest FOBs.""Good," Glavis said with a nod at his subordinate''s report."And this is a video we just received from the 114th hunting party. They were notified, but were soon attacked by the invader and managed to record the battle.""Put it up." By now, Glavis and N knew that the invader was Lee Jiwon, but it was difficult to launch a counterattack... because it was Lee Jiwon. The video soon showed a man wearing a golden duck mask and wiping out the hunting party, while calling himself the Angry Duck.After a short silence, N spoke up. "He really is Lee Jiwon.""So he is." It could only be Lee Jiwon. Only he possessed that much attack power. But why was he here? Why was he attacking them so gleefully? Glavis turned to look at N and N looked right back at him.-The six hundred Templar soldiers.-They both realized that was the only reason Lee Jiwon was here."Ha¡­ how did he find out? This was the only foreign mission of the Templars.""I¡­ don''t have an answer to that, but I doubt it was the NCR Guild that tipped him off. It would be suicidal for them if they did.""Then how? How did he learn about the Templar Order, and how did he sneak into the Bristol Dungeon?""..." N didn''t know how to answer Duke Glavis''s question."We''ll report to the queen for now. We''ll have to¡­ observe the situation more to figure out what to do. Cease all hunts in Bristol Dungeon for the time being and make sure to punish the guards over at the Bristol Dungeon entrance.""Yes, sir."Soon, Duke Glavis and N met with Queen Elizabeth and together, they decided they would meet with Lee Jiwon first. There was no way the existence of the Templar Order was known to the rest of the world, so the best thing they could do right now was to outright accuse Lee Jiwon for invading without reason.---A whole day had passed now since I had come to the Bristol Dungeon. "I don''t see any more of them now." I hadn''t encountered any more hunting parties for some time. They were still there, just hidden away in their FOBs."Hmm¡­ should I stop here, or should I attack the FOBs?" There were many guards manning the FOBs, as these bases were still right in the middle of monster territory. There always needed to be enough guards to protect the FOBs from any potential monster attacks."Since most FOBs have about two hundred guards manning them at one time, and since the hunting parties probably haven''t returned to the surface yet, each FOB should have somewhere between seven hundred to a thousand soldiers right now." That was a lot compared to the hunting parties I''d wiped out so far, and I had also lost the element of surprise. They were all definitely prepared for me."But¡­ I should try at least once, shouldn''t I?" I didn''t want to retreat just yet. My goal was to force the Windsor Guards to recall the Templar soldiers in Mexico back to the UK. I needed something bigger, something more spectacular to grab their attention."I''ll need to destroy at least one FOB to do that." I headed for the FOB I saw as I searched through the dungeon''s third floor.------Windsor Guard''s FOB located on the 3rd floor of the Bristol Dungeon¡­"Hmm¡­there''s a lot more here than I expected. Should I try a FOB on the first or second floor instead?" There was only one FOB on the third floor of the dungeon. I could see from a fair distance away that there were about five hundred soldiers out in the open. If I took the hidden soldiers into account, there were well over a thousand soldiers manning the FOB. This FOB looked far sturdier than the FOBs on the lower floors.Still, I soon made my decision. If I was going to do this, I might as well go all out and destroy their most well-defended base... 216 Chapter 215: It Obviously Isn’t Me, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDWindsor Guard third floor Bristol Dungeon FOB¡­Two male Windsor Guards were talking to each other while walking across the base."Are the three battalions properly prepared?" asked the higher-ranked Guard. This was Cedric, the base commander of the third floor FOB, now in charge of the makeshift regiment of 1,200 Windsor Guards."Yes, sir. We''ve split the men evenly into three battalions. 1st Battalion is currently on guard duty with 2nd Battalion on stand-by, and 3rd Battalion resting in the barracks," replied Harrison. Harrison was the captain of the 67th hunting party, but was made vice-commander to assist Cedric. "But would Lee Jiwon really attack one of our FOBs?""Who knows? But we need to be careful. Lee Jiwon once wiped out close to three thousand soldiers on his own.""But that''s¡­""I know. He probably can''t do that all the time." Anyone who had seen the Abu Dhabi guild battle knew that Lee Jiwon could not zip around battle and wipe out a large army on his own any time he wanted to. If he could, he wouldn''t have been nearly destroyed by the Reaper during their second bout. "If he could, and still let himself get thrown around like that during the second duel, then he''s one sick bastard," Cedric said, but he kept silent about one thing he had noticed during the guild battle. That first duel showcased Lee Jiwon''s normal combat abilities but even then, Lee Jiwon was a monster. That power nearly destroyed the Grim Reaper, forcing the Monarch to bring out his secret weapon very early in the battle.Cedric was honestly annoyed with the fact that Lee Jiwon was now targeting the Windsor Guards. Ever since that battle was aired, not a single deva or deity wanted to outright antagonize Lee Jiwon, especially if there was a chance Lee Jiwon could willingly turn into the Hulk and lay waste whenever he wanted. In the back of his mind, he thought it would better to leave the dungeon.-I swear, if the higher ups were responsible for this bullshit, I''m leaving this guild.-Cedric rubbed his forehead in frustration and Harrison quietly followed him into the base''s main building. A grim silence soon washed over the base like the calm before the storm.------"Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf. Summon: Sand Warriors."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 5 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]====[Two Sand Warriors have been Summoned.The Sand Warriors have received 20% of their liege''s combat abilities.The Sand Warriors will serve for the next 24 hours and when their HP reaches 0, they will return to the sand until they can be Summoned again.You are currently within desert terrain. The Sand Warriors receive a 15% boost to their combat abilities.]==The two pillars of sand in front of me began to rise about two meters high and took the form of spear-wielding warriors. I looked at them with pride. With 20% of my combat abilities, they were probably stronger than the average deva.I hadn''t used them during my ambushes against the hunting parties since I didn''t really need them, but I did test them out against the monsters here in the dungeon. It was safe to say that I was more than satisfied with their power, especially since they had the 15% boost from being in a desert."I don''t need you two do much. Just do enough to scatter their forces," I said as I commanded each one to the opposite sides of the base. I planned to send them in mid-battle."That''s it, then." My battle preparations were complete and charged in. I didn''t need a specific plan or tactic. I just needed to crush whoever was in front of me and show them my power to make them regret ever crossing me.------"Judge''s Gavel!" I roared. It wasn''t an AoE skill that would help me take out more enemy soldiers at once, but it was a powerful skill nonetheless. It was enough to scare the enemy shitless."He''s¡­he''s here!""It''s Lee Jiwon!""Battle stations!"I heard the shouts come from guards above the giant solid gate and several devas turned towards me from atop the battlements, but I ignored them. My target was the gate. FOBs didn''t have giant, solid gates like that. It was obvious the gates were hastily put together because of me, to try and intimidate me so that I wouldn''t attack them, but it only made them a bigger target."I''m not Lee Jiwon, I''m Angry Duck!" I yelled as I split the five-meter high gate in two.The soldiers of the Windsor Guard stared in shock as the gate fell before them. Splinters from the wood rained down all around us, leaving a second of silence before I jumped up to the battlements and attacked the guards up there. I had successfully intimidated them and now it was time to kill them all."Gah!" The guards could only scream in pain as they died in two hits from my merciless attacks."Fuck!""He''s¡­he''s broken through!""He''s at the right side of the broken gate! Get it together and form up!""Hold him off, 1st Battalion! Get 2nd and 3rd up here, now!"Screams and orders were shouted in unison, and only I was calm during the chaos. "Lightning Storm!""Dancing Fire Sparks!""Sand Whip!""Iron Wall!"Many soldiers quickly snapped to and tried to counter, but they all died like moths to the flame. The spells bounced off my body and my spear easily pierced through the tanks'' shield wall."Fuck! That damage¡­""Mega Heal!""Slow! Slow!""Damn it, Lee Jiwon''s an Unrivaled deva! Debuffs don''t work on him! Focus on buffing the tanks instead!""Ye...yes sir!"------During the chaos, one Fire Mage noticed something was wrong. "Why do my fireballs seem smaller today?" The same Fire spells he cast day after day were noticeably smaller and seemed to inflict less damage than usual."You idiot! Check your Stats Menu. You''re going to see something that wasn''t there before."The Fire Mage quickly opened his Stats Menu at his comrade''s scolding and saw a debuff he had never seen before. His combat abilities and Stats were all lowered by 12%. "The King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity? What the fuck¡­?""Get it together! This is Lee Jiwon we''re dealing with!"The Fire Mage had heard many things about Lee Jiwon and his power, but when he learned of this debuff, he could only think of how unfair this battle was.---"Gah!" I sprinted over the walls that were supposed to protect this base and cut down all of the devas in my sight, tank and dealers alike. "Come forth, Sticky Roots!"All of a sudden, a mass of roots emerged from the ground under my feet and snaked their way up my thigh, but as soon as I lifted my leg, they ripped apart."Fuck! What is with that STR of his? He just ripped through my Roots like paper!" a deva shouted from one side of the base, but I ignored him. I noticed another wave of soldiers emerge from the building next to him, and they were all bunched up."Blink 2." I Blinked right next to the new group of devas and slammed my spear into the ground. "Fissure!"The sand in front of me shot up into the air."Gah!""Shit! I can''t see!""The sand¡­it''s¡­AHH!"An AoE skill doesn''t normally do the same amount of damage as a single target skill, but that all depends on who uses it. With my power, a simple AoE skill could inflict tremendous damage.The sand had shot up about ten meters into the air and the screams of the soldiers that came from within the sand were soon silenced. When the sand came crashing down, all of the soldiers that had emerged from the building were gone."Fuck¡­ what the fuck is this?"Honestly, I was a bit surprised as well. I didn''t expect Fissure would actually kill more than a hundred devas at once. I remained still for a moment, but quickly turned my attention back to the devas out on the field.I kept an eye out if there was someone I needed to use Altered Equality on, but it didn''t seem I would need to. They all fell like flies. The King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity and the occasional Powerful Shock and Bone-chilling Frostbite were enough to inflict considerable damage against these soldiers. I hadn''t even called in my Sand Warriors yet.I couldn''t help but smile. Many people had praised me after the Abu Dhabi guild battle. To them, I was the one who killed the Reaper and wiped out an army nearly three thousand strong, but only I knew the truth. I couldn''t accept the praise because I knew I couldn''t do that on my own. But now, as I laid waste to the thousand-strong army before me, I knew that I was still the strongest.---"My God¡­" Cedric watched all this, his mouth gaping in horror. He knew that they should have just run. They should have just left the dungeon as fast as possible. There would be losses, but they would be minimal compared to losing an entire base.Cedric knew that his men were fully prepared. They were all fully rested and were veterans of battle who knew to never let their guard down during times like this. They all moved expertly to try and slow Lee Jiwon down, but no amount of expert tactics or experience could do anything to Lee Jiwon."Twelve hundred soldiers are not enough, or we need someone as strong as the Monarchs on our side to even slow him down a little." A thousand sheep could do nothing to a lone wolf. What they needed was a shepherd or a sheep dog to protect them from that wolf. Cedric picked up his Comm Link and contacted his superiors, anxiously waiting for word."What has happened?" asked the guild officer.Cedric calmly closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering. It was obvious how this would end. "The base has fallen.""..." There was no answer for a moment. "I understand."That was it. There was no word of surrender yet. They had to save that as the utmost last resort.------Windsor Guard situation room¡­"Tell N to hurry up and meet with Lee Jiwon.""Yes, sir."They needed to get the monster out of the Bristol Dungeon first before moving forward. 217 Chapter 216: It’s Obviously Not Me, Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIt took me about an hour to wipe out the entire third floor FOB. I turned to face the Sand Warrior that had lost its arm and about a third of its body. The other was destroyed mid-battle and only this one was left standing."Recall." At my command, the sand that was keeping the Warrior whole lost its hold and returned to the dungeon. I was satisfied with my Sand Warriors. They had both taken out about seventy devas by themselves. Those devas were healers and supporters that stood the farthest away from me, but killing them definitely helped with killing the other soldiers."Hmm¡­" With the Sand Warrior gone, I finally looked around to see that the base was in complete ruins. "Did I overdo it?" I had just killed over a thousand soldiers in a single battle. A thousand devas had just incurred a single death penalty.I shook my head. It was war. Soldiers were going to lose lives and there was no need to regret it. Besides, they were the two-faced criminals, not me.I plopped down on a piece of rubble that was once part of the base''s wall. "What should I do now?" I could stop here and wait for the Windsor Guard to react or keep going. I didn''t have much time to keep thinking about what to do when my Comm Link rang. "I bet it''s from the Windsor Guard." They had lost over two thousand lives in all, starting from yesterday. It wasn''t cheap to have to provide all of them with restoration gems. Losing so much at once wasn''t something they could ignore."Hello?" I picked up after letting my Comm Link ring for as long as possible."Young master!""Yes, minister, what is it?""There''s someone here from the Windsor Guard to see you. She said it was urgent.""The Windsor Guard? What do they want with me?" I knew that the representative from the Windsor Guard was listening in and I purposefully played dumb. Obviously dissatisfied with my response, I heard the minister''s Comm Link get taken away."Hello, Mr. Lee," a new voice spoke up."Who is this?" I said, adding a small sprinkle of annoyance.The owner of the new voice noticed the annoyance and I could hear the sheepishness in her voice. "I must apologize. I can assure you that I didn''t steal away the minister''s phone; I was just in a hurry. I wouldn''t do anything so foolish with people from the Sunbin Guild watching me closely.""I asked who you were.""Right. My name is N and I''m the Chief of Staff of the Windsor Guard. I would really like to meet with you as soon as possible." For the Windsor Guard to send their chief officer, they must really be hurting more than I had imagined."Hmm¡­I am a bit busy right now¡­""I believe we have many things to discuss, Mr. Lee," N said. She probably meant what happened here in Bristol Dungeon and Mexico."Hmm¡­" I kept feigning ignorance and pretended to think. "I''m not sure what we have to talk about, but very well. I am a bit curious. I''ll return to Seoul soon.""Thank you, Mr. Lee. I''ll be waiting." I was one step closer to stopping the Windsor Guard''s involvement in Mexico. I hung up my Comm Link and took out a Warp Scroll that had my home recorded."And if they don''t do as I ask, then I''ll just make it so that they won''t ever be able to hunt in the Bristol Dungeon again."---Back at my home base in Seoul, I noticed that there were about a hundred devas wearing the mark of the Windsor Guard gathered on one side. That was an interesting number. It wasn''t enough to be intimidating, but too many for this to be a simple talk. Devas of my allied factions had them surrounded, as well. I gave them a small nod as I headed inside my house.I had changed my clothes before leaving the dungeon, but my body was still grimy from the fight. I took a long, hot shower and finally met with the British guests an hour later."I am N, Chief of Staff of the Windsor Guard. We spoke earlier.""It''s an honor to meet you, Mr. Lee. My name is Albert Brown, captain of the Windsor Guard''s 1st Assault team.""Welcome to my home. Please, have a seat." I shook N''s and Albert''s hands and sat down. I was the first to talk. "So, what brings you all the way here? I don''t think I ever had anything to do with the Windsor Guard or have met anyone from your guild," I said shamelessly, even though I obviously looked like I was just in a fight when I got home."We honestly have no idea as well. What reason would you have to do something like this?""Something like what?"N took out several photos in response to my question. It was me with the golden duck mask holding my Harrier."I don''t know who that is, but that''s one good-looking fellow. I like his mask, too.""..." N didn''t say anything, looking straight at me, and I held her gaze. "This isn''t you, Mr. Lee?" Albert asked, disgusted."Me?" I asked, pointing to myself, as if I was shocked he asked that."Yes, you!""I don''t see how you think this person is me. Is it because he''s using a spear? There are so many people out there who use spears.""Is it because of what happened in Mexico?" N asked suddenly.I was taken slightly aback. I didn''t expect her to be upfront about it. But if I said that it was, then I was admitting that that the duck-man was in fact me. I mean, we all knew it was me, but I didn''t want to give them the satisfaction."Mexico? Why are you bringing up Mexico now all of a sudden?""Then can we take that as permission to continue our operation in Mexico?""I don''t know why you''re asking me that.""You don''t know anything at all¡­ then I''ll put it simply. The Windsor Guard is heavily invested with the battle in Mexico between the NCR Guild and Pedro. The moment we intervened, this duck mask-wearing individual began attacking us.""Huh¡­ is that right?""Yes.""Then why are you meeting with me and not him?""We want to hear your advice, Mr. Lee," N said, looking right at me. I could tell she was no easy opponent, but I did want the Windsor Guard to do what I wanted them to do."Well, if that''s the case, I can impart to you the best advice I can give you." I picked up a photo that had a clear shot of me wearing the duck mask. "You can''t see his face, but I can tell this man is very stubborn and has a strong personality. Unless things go his way, I don''t see him ever stopping.""¡­..." N obviously knew what I was getting at and remained silent."But, that is just my opinion. I don''t know who this person is, so I can''t outright speak for him.""He did proclaim he would do something, but he hasn''t done anything about it for a while. That is why we acted instead. Was that our mistake?""I don''t know. Maybe.""Had he acted first, we would not have interfered. We had no intention of ever getting in his way.""Well, I''m not entirely sure what had happened between you two so I don''t really know what to say." I had already told them what they needed to know when I said the masked man was very stubborn. The choice was theirs now. It was up to them if we were going to continue this charade."I see. Well, it certainly was helpful advice. If I may, could I ask one more thing?""By all means. I''d be more than happy to help.""How do you think he found out about our operation? How did he find out that it was us? We have never executed a foreign operation before.""Hmm¡­I''ll just say what I would do, since you are asking for my advice. In such cases, I just guess. I just leave it to luck and usually, I''m right.""You guess¡­" N repeated. "That''s quite the ability you have.""Well, that''s just my experience," I said with a smile."Thank you for answering my questions.""Don''t mention it. I just hope it will help.""It will; I''m sure of it.""Then I''m glad."N and Albert stood up to leave the drawing room. Before they left, I spoke up. "Since you say my advice was of great help, could I add one last thing?"N stopped and turned to face me. "Go ahead.""I believe that this man also has a quick temper and is quite impatient. I doubt he likes sitting still for more than a day.""..." N didn''t say anything for a moment. She soon put on a smile. "Thank you for telling me that."I was soon left alone in the drawing room. "Now all I have to do is to wait." I had done all I could now. I didn''t outright say it, but I had asked them if they were going to take their hands off of Pedro and gave them 24 hours to decide."Ha¡­ to think I would actually help someone I never met with their revenge¡­" I headed back to my room while thinking about Pedro, who only had five days left to live now. I needed the rest, in case the British bastards didn''t do as I said.------Windsor Guard base beneath London''s Green Park¡­The guild officers and Queen Elizabeth herself were gathered to meet. N had just reported on the meeting she had with Lee Jiwon."He''s outright looking down on us," Queen Elizabeth said with utmost disgust, and her officers agreed. The United Kingdom once had the greatest empire in the world, and was still considered a great power."Can we not use the Death Prison on Lee Jiwon instead?" the queen asked."That''s¡­" The officers knew what she meant. They needed to exact their revenge on Lee Jiwon, but there was a time for everything, and it wasn''t now."If we recall the Templar soldiers, wouldn''t it be possible?""It might be, but Lee Jiwon isn''t alone anymore.""You mean those six guilds that took it upon themselves to protect Lee Jiwon''s home?""Yes, I do. The Myth Guild, Ravi Guild, and the Werewolf Clan all owe Lee Jiwon their lives. Only Lee Jiwon was there to save them. The Abu Dhabi Guild were also the ones to experience Lee Jiwon''s true power up close. If we openly bring the fight to Lee Jiwon¡­ then they will all run to his aid, no matter what.""We have allies as well, don''t we?" The Windsor Guard was one of the three strongest guilds of Europe, and maintained good relationships with many guilds."I doubt we can rely on them for something as political as this," N replied."Ha¡­ then do we give up here?""..." No one could reply to their queen''s question. Not even N knew what to say.In the end, Queen Elizabeth knew what had to be done. They had to wash their hands of Pedro and leave him for Lee Jiwon. "Fine. Very well. I''m no fool, to not realize that we have no choice. But I won''t ever forget that we failed here today.""Yes, Your Majesty!"And so, the Windsor Guard recalled their secret Templar soldiers.------The next day in Seoul¡­The news channels and papers were all talking about the war in Mexico. More attention was on it now when Pedro almost died a few days ago. But the news today was different. The NCR Guild had received another heavy blow."Good. They pulled out." Without the Templar soldiers assisting them, the NCR Guild could not defend against Pedro''s attacks."He has four days left now." I remembered clearly how long the war was because of Pedro''s sudden appearance and disappearance. "Four days. I hope you successfully exact your revenge by then." I was serious about that, especially with all the work I put in for him. 218 Chapter 217: Pedro the Avenger, Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDMexico¡­Pedro was standing by the foot of Popocat¨¦petl, an active volcano located about seventy kilometers away from Mexico City, looking down at the city where the headquarters of the NCR Guild was located. It was near impossible to push forward. He had fought against a hundred tofifteen hundred NCR Guild soldiers every day and won, but now, he was out of time.==[Advance (1/1), (Passive)There once was a time when you could take out an advance loan if you were in desperate need of cash. Why not take out an advance on time if you don''t fear death? Take out an advance on your time to gain tremendous power. However, be aware that this means you will be paying with your life.You will die a permanent death once you run out of time to borrow.The more you borrow time, the more you can borrow at a time and gain increasing power each day.]==---Pedro had managed to escape to South America where the Mad Butcher, Cantana Alejandro, could not reach. Once he reached Columbia, he could finally take a breather. But it was a short breather, as all he lived for now was to take revenge. He went around begging and pleading to be taken along in party hunts and managed to slowly raise his level. Pedro had roamed all around Columbia and Venezuela while being spat on and ignored, but Pedro had already set foot in Hell before; such treatment did not faze him. All he cared about was that each step he took brought him closer to his goal. But he quickly realized that it took too long. No matter how hard he tried, his dream of vengeance was just too far to reach. The more he leveled and the stronger he grew, the more he knew that killing Cantana was going to be impossible. Pedro soon fell into despair from the irony of it all. Pedro had to become a deva just like Cantana and the members of the NCR Guild to clearly see how high their position was.Pedro soon fell into a pit of depression and roamed around aimlessly, until that day when he learned the Random Skill, Advance. It was like the Devil himself had felt Pedro''s despair and presented him with a contract, a contract that Pedro signed without hesitation. If it meant he could destroy the NCR Guild and see Cantana''s face scrunch up in fear, Pedro was more than willing to sign that contract a hundred times over.------ "Can I do it?" Pedro calculated the time he had left. He had borrowed the maximum amount of time each day and now, he had just four days left. No, it was more precise to say that as the minutes ticked on, he had three days and a few hours left. It was hard to say if he had enough time to break into the NCR Guild''s base, find Cantana from whatever hole he was hiding in, and kill him.Pedro bitterly laughed. "I have to do it." He already took an advance on his own life and he was no longer a deva who could die and resurrect by merely losing Stat points. Once he ran out of time, he was going to die permanently. It was too late to stop now. He had to fight! If there was one thing he found unfortunate, it was that his past, present, and future were just inadequate. If only he had Lee Jiwon''s life, he could have completely done away with the NCR Guild and at least left behind a legacy. But Pedro knew that because of his sudden appearance, he was not going to be remembered for long."But I just don''t know. I just don''t know if that Lee Jiwon guy is helping me or not." Pedro had also heard the rumors about Lee Jiwon being a coward, but Lee Jiwon still did not show his face around in Mexico. It was as if Lee Jiwon was purposely attracting all of the outside attention so that Pedro had more freedom to move around."I just don''t get him, and I won''t ever find out what he''s thinking. I don''t have the time to. But I won''t squander the chance he''s given me, willingly or not," Pedro said to himself as he slid back into the shadows. He didn''t have even four days left. Sleep was a luxury he could not afford. Pedro disappeared into the darkness, imagining how it would feel to have his hands around Cantana''s neck, staring into the sick bastard''s horrified eyes. Pedro smiled. It wouldn''t be long now...------The next day in Seoul¡­-''I like banana candies!''-I was in my room watching TV with the Dungeon Mole in my hand as it ate another piece of candy. Next to me was a new report the Sunbin Guild had sent over to me. "Hmm¡­ I don''t know if he can do it."The NCR Guild''s base was located about thirty kilometers away from the outskirts of Mexico City. In the past, the guild had done its best to prevent it, but Mexico City had allowed Pedro to enter the city. If Pedro could take out the leaders of the NCR Guild, the rest of the guild would soon follow. That was what I remembered happened in the past; the people of Mexico City and Pedro agreed to work together and reconstruct the destroyed guild until Pedro suddenly disappeared. But the one thing different about today and the past was that Pedro was three days ahead of schedule."Well, at least he still has some time left." I leaned back on my sofa and carefully observed what was going on in Mexico. I still had a stake in it, after all. If it looked like Pedro was going to fail, I was going to step in. That promise the NCR Guild made to me was still in play and if I stepped in just five minutes before Pedro''s death, then I could make it look like I killed him and take my rewards. I was that greedy. I had already done enough to help Pedro succeed this time, and I had no reason to finish the job for him.---Two days later¡­I clearly remembered the moment when Pedro suddenly disappeared. His body had suddenly burst in mid-battle, killing him, and he didn''t resurrect three hours later. It was all the papers and news channels talked about for a while. I knew for a fact that he had fifteen hours left, but¡­"Hmm¡­was it impossible for him from the beginning?" I had made it possible for Pedro to get this close to the NCR Guild, sooner than he had in the past, but he still hadn''t appeared with fifteen hours left on the clock. It actually looked very difficult for Pedro to get through the guild''s defenses, which had included Mexico City this time around."He should have accepted help from at least one of the guilds that came to him. He should have lied about his ability and just destroyed the NCR Guild by now." I was still supporting him even though it meant I could lose out on a Rank 8 item and two billion golden rings. "Hmm¡­" In fifteen hours, Pedro was going to disappear into the sands of time. I wanted to meet him at least once before then. "If he can''t do it even after I''ve done so much for him, then I may as well step in and take my payment." If he was going to fail, killing him five minutes prior to his death wasn''t going to make me feel guilty.I got up from my seat and began to secretly move to Mexico.------Outskirts of Mexico City¡­"Stop him! Don''t let him get through!""Thick Earth Shield!""Thunderstorm!""Chain Lightning!"The NCR Guild''s 2nd and 3rd assault teams did their best to stop Pedro from advancing. Just stopping him wasn''t going to defeat him, however. To do that, the guild''s Special Forces team was flanking around the battlefield with black chains in their hands.The Windsor Guard had participated in the war for only a short time, but had taught the NCR Guild a way to capture Pedro. The NCR Guild didn''t have the same golden chains the Templar soldiers had, but they did have a thousand black chains and a thousand fighter-class devas who could use them.Pedro, on the other hand, knew that they were surrounding him and began to slowly pull back. He was annoyed that he couldn''t break through the guild''s first line of defense after coming this far, but he knew it would be the end for him if he let himself get captured."Don''t let Pedro move on his own!""Attack him! Keep up the pressure!""Yes sir!"The NCR Guild was putting everything on the line as well. Pedro was getting stronger by the day and if they couldn''t stop him now, they definitely couldn''t stop him tomorrow. This was the only choice they had, as they did not know about the truth of Pedro''s ability."Fuck off!" Pedro slammed his greatsword into a tank deva."Gah!"Pedro was only level 97. When he learned that his dream of vengeance seemed impossible, he had stopped leveling up. He also only had cheap, low-ranked items. But even though he was only level 97 and wielded a Rank 2 greatsword, he was able to send the higher level tank deva meters flying. The tank died when he landed hard on the ground. Pedro couldn''t find any satisfaction from the kill. This was his final battle of his life, and he continued to attack the NCR Guild. To him, they all had a hand in killing his family."AHHHHH!" "Stop him!""We can''t let him get through!""This battle decides our fate as well! ATTACK!"The fierce battle continued, and a lone man watched from the roof of a ruined hotel.---"Hmm¡­" The battle felt fiercer when watching it with my own two eyes. Both sides were literally fighting with their lives on the line, and without any sign of stopping. I shifted my attention to the other side of the battlefield. A thousand soldiers were circling around the battlefield, with black chains in their hands. I knew right away these were the soldiers trained by the Templar.There were still about seven hours left. If those special soldiers managed to surround Pedro, there was a chance Pedro would die to them instead of to his own skill. In the past, the NCR Guild had actually never fully recovered after the war against Pedro, because they didn''t kill him themselves. It left an emptiness within the guild and soon, the remnants of the guild scattered to the wind. But if they actually managed to kill Pedro themselves this time, the NCR Guild could actually recover quickly and become stronger than ever, and I did not want that happening."Ha¡­ I have to do everything." If things went on like this, I would have to end up fighting by Pedro''s side with no benefits to me. "And I can''t just sit on the sidelines, either. If I let them kill him, I will definitely lose out on the rewards." I continued to watch the fierce battle from the broken rooftop."I mean, they''re the bad guys, so why are they fighting so hard? I thought all bad guys cared about their own lives." I half-expected many of the NCR Guild members to break rank and run for it, but each soldier fought with their lives on the line. That camaraderie of theirs actually outshone Pedro''s ferocity.The special soldiers drew ever closer to Pedro. "Ha¡­" I heaved a heavy sigh and jumped down from the ruined thirty-story building to the ground. I wanted to have a word with Pedro. 219 Chapter 218: Pedro the Avenger Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Keep up the pressure! We''re going to put an end to this today!" Jose Alejandro shouted to his men."Yes sir!" his soldiers responded as one. They all seemed ready to follow Jose into the pits of Popocat¨¦petl if he so chose. They may as well have, given how many and quickly they died."Gah!""No!"The NCR soldiers threw themselves at Pedro as if they did not know or care about death penalties, and Jose watched with satisfaction. He was getting his money''s worth. A big reason why his guild was losing the previous battles against Pedro was that there were many deserters and a huge loss of morale. These rat bastards all fought as one and with the same cruelty against weaker opponents, but when someone stronger than them appeared, they were quick to find a way out. Thanks to that cowardice, the NCR Guild had experienced more heavy losses that it should have. That was also why Jose had also prepared the perfect shackle for this final battle.==[Voice of Powerful Control (Rank 7)Your voice now carries a powerful ability to control your targets.Usage restrictions: a guild of at least two members or the leader of one organization.Can only be used on those weaker than you.Time limit: 5 hours.]=="We were only able to buy two of them. Isn''t it too early to use one already?" Hugo asked."It won''t matter. This battle decides our fate," Jose replied in a disgusted voice. This was all because of Lee Jiwon! ------Pedro was beginning to grow tired. The NCR bastards were throwing themselves at him nonstop. They weren''t like this before. These were supposed to be the same guys looking to escape every time Pedro showed himself. Now, they were fighting like they didn''t care about death penalties."Fuck off!" He was not about to let himself get surrounded by these rat bastards and threw them back each time they got close, but they were starting to swarm him. He was quickly running out of room to even swing his sword. He didn''t know what to do.Pedro laughed bitterly. It was all he could do.-Is this the end?-He only had a few hours left now. Pedro''s eyes flared and gritted his teeth. If he wasn''t going to be able to break through their defenses and die here, he was going to take with him as many as he could."Gah!""Ahh!"Then, as Pedro was swinging his sword like mad, he started to hear a clamoring from the other side of the battlefield. It was getting louder, too. Why were they clamoring over something in the middle of battle? Pedro asked himself, but he soon saw the source. It was Lee Jiwon,was walking casually through the army, as if he was out on a stroll. No one tried to stop him.---"Guild master!" Hugo cried out, but Jose didn''t reply and just clenched his jaw in anger."Father, it''s¡­""Lee¡­Lee Jiwon''s coming this way!"Cantana and another officer cried out, but Jose didn''t need them to say anything. He could see for himself that Lee Jiwon was calmly walking towards the battle. How many days had it been since Lee Jiwon said that he would help the NCR Guild, and never showed? How much did Jose and the NCR Guild lose to Pedro in the meantime? And now Lee Jiwon decided to show himself, during the battle that would decide the fate of the NCR Guild? Jose was furious. It was obvious now that Lee Jiwon was on Pedro''s side.Jose had maintained an inkling of hope that there was still a chance Lee Jiwon was on his side. That was why he used Lee Jiwon''s name to ensure that Pedro stood alone. He had even reached out to the Windsor Guard for help and for a moment, it looked like Pedro was going to lose. But the Windsor Guard didn''t stay long, and it was all because of Lee Jiwon.-Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch!- Jose swore in his head, but didn''t let it out of his mouth and put on his best poker face."Mr. Lee, welcome! It''s great that you''re finally here," Jose said with a beaming smile, as if he as greeting a precious guest. Why? To take out the biggest fire first. He almost had Pedro now. He couldn''t afford to spark Lee Jiwon''s ire when he was so close to winning."Sorry I''m late. Some things came up I had to tend to.""Don''t worry about it. Life happens and sometimes, there''s nothing we can do about it." A vein pulsed on Jose''s forehead when he heard Lee Jiwon''s lame excuse, but he acted as if it wasn''t a big deal. He wanted to make use of his Voice of Control and throw his men at Lee Jiwon, but he knew that was the last thing he should do and maintained his smile.---I inwardly laughed at Jose Alejandro. This was my first time meeting the man in charge of one of the world''s cruelest and most villainous guilds, but I knew that behind that smile was anger and vile hatred directed at me. He was probably throwing all the insults he knew at me and I actually found that amusing. But I didn''t bring it up and continued to feign innocence. I shook hands and went back and forth with praise with Jose for about a minute until he finally addressed the issue."I''m afraid you''ve come a little too late. We''ve just about captured Pedro now, and I''m afraid we''re no longer in need of your services. Oh, but not to worry. We will pay you as we have promised. Your name is worth that much to us, after all."I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted to use the promised reward to try to get me away from the battle. Too bad for him. "Please, I can''t just take it when I haven''t done anything yet. I know it''s late, but let me at least help you finish this up. Then, I''ll accept your reward."Jose''s beaming smile quickly disappeared and was replaced with a real sour look. "No, you don''t need¡­""Please, let me help. My mother would throw a fit if she learned I didn''t earn my keep. Besides, I''m sure you''ve lost a lot of men today. Let me lessen your losses." I cut Jose off and pointed to the ongoing battle. I made it obvious that I was not going to budge."..." Jose didn''t say anything, looking right at me, and I held his gaze. I knew he was going to yield. What else could he do? Fight me? He might as well kill himself now. "My, my. Are you sure about this? You really don''t have to. Pedro really doesn''t stand a chance against you, I''m sure.""I''ll do my best," I said with a forced laugh. I then turned around to look for Cantana Alejandro, the asshole responsible for this mess. I had memorized his face from the report I received so it didn''t take long to find him. I walked over to him and outstretched my hand."Hi there. My name is Lee Jiwon.""Uh¡­and I''m Cantana Alejandro." Cantana couldn''t hide the surprise, but quickly shook my hand."I heard a lot about you," I said, but inside, I wanted to throttle this kid. It was pretty much all his fault, this sadistic piece of shit that didn''t deserve to ever see the light of day ever again."Oh, I''m sure it''s nothing compared to your stories, Mr. Lee..."---After putting my foot down that I was going to participate no matter what, Jose ordered his men to cease fighting. The NCR soldiers moved back thirty meters, leaving a sixty-meter wide circle in the middle of the battlefield. In the center of the circle stood Pedro, and I slowly walked towards him. I came to a stop about a meter away from him."...""..."He was young. He obviously just turned of age. He had just become a deva and had grown stronger by the day."Nice to meet you, Cicada.""Cicada?"It was another nickname the world used to call him, one a little nicer than the Failed Avenger. We called him the Cicada because he had lived the entirety of his youth unknown to the rest of the world, and when he finally became an adult, he made enough noise for the entire world to hear, but died a week later. Just like cicadas."That''s right, Cicada. But I don''t know if you''ve made enough noise to the point that you no longer have any regrets.""..." Pedro just blinked, as if he didn''t understand what I was saying. So I decided to be blunt about it."You have, what, four hours left?"He suddenly slammed his sword at my head, and I quickly drew my spear to block the attack. That attack was no doubt the strongest I had ever felt. The force of the attack created a small crater in the ground and pushed me back another meter away. He was strong, very strong.I acted as if I wasn''t fazed and lowered my spear. "You don''t need to get so angry. Was it a secret?" Of course it was a secret. For the longest time, Pedro''s abilities were a mystery. He didn''t have any other special abilities or skills and only ever carried a cheap, low-ranked greatsword."Lee Jiwon¡­ who the hell are you?""Me? What, you still don''t know? I''m obviously on your side. I''m the reason you got this far. I''m the reason you were left alone," I said as I slowly walked closer to Pedro. "Oh, right. You remember those new guys that appeared a few days ago, right? The guys who carried golden chains? I took care of them for you, so you don''t need to worry them." I once again stood a meter away from Pedro and this time, Pedro didn''t attack. His eyes were wide with surprise."Since I''ve done that much for you, you should at least give me some of your time to talk, especially since we have less than four hours."---Meanwhile¡­"Something''s not right. It doesn''t look good at all." Jose didn''t like that Lee Jiwon was talking to Pedro like that at all. No, it was more like he was afraid. Pedro did suddenly attack Lee Jiwon out of the blue, but Lee Jiwon had only defended against the attack, and they were back to talking about something."Hmm¡­" Jose sighed and looked down at the hand that shook Lee Jiwon''s hand. It was just a handshake, but he couldn''t shake the feeling that there was more to it. 220 Chapter 219: Pedro the Avenger, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDPedro was looking panicked with confusion. As he remained silent, I decided to speak up instead. "I am curious about one thing. Why didn''t you accept help from a large guild or organization? There were a lot that offered, weren''t there? And you''re still popular, too. Any one of them could have easily destroyed the NCR Guild for you." I was always curious about this. He had an easier way to get his revenge, but never chose it. "You had only a set amount of time left. You are going to die soon, so there''s no reason to care about the truth anymore. Is it because you''re not allowed to lie or something?""..." Pedro remained silent. He probably did not know what to say. I didn''t wait to hear an answer and kept talking."Well, be that as it may, I said before that I''m on your side. That''s why I let these bastards call me a coward and let you get this far. But that is the most I can do for you. I have no reason to help you with your quest for vengeance. And while you are going to die forever today, I still have years to look forward to. Unfortunately, the NCR Guild shares the same fate as me, as shitty as they are.""..." Pedro said nothing."But don''t feel too bad about it. I always wished you the best from afar. Remember, I''m the one who chased away the Templar soldiers. Oh, and I am going to be taking away a good chunk of resources away from the NCR Guild, too."Finally, Pedro reacted. "Why?""What?""Why did you do all that for me? I''ve never met you before.""And I''ve never met you before, either.""Then how do you know everything? I never told anyone about my abilities and what they cost.""Isn''t it obvious? If you care about someone, you end up learning everything about them.""...""Whoa, I don''t mean it like that." I threw in a little joke because of what I was about to say next. "Well, now that we broke the ice a bit, shall we get to it?""What do you mean?""Well, it''s nothing, really. I really did think about giving up on the Rank 8 item and two billion golden rings the NCR Guild is supposed to pay me. I really did, if you succeeded on your own. But I''m sure you know as well that you''ve failed today," I stuck my spear into the ground and crossed my arms. We were surrounded by the NCR Guild and Pedro had nowhere to go. I really did support Pedro. He lived a much harder life than I had in the past. No, it was more like he survived Hell itself. I pitied him for losing his family in such a cruel and violent way. I really wanted him to succeed."I would have been content had you successfully avenged your family, but I made my decision to step in five minutes before your death if you failed. And I''m going to hold you off for five minutes and make it look like I killed you so I can receive my payment from the NCR Guild. I''m the greediest man on Earth, as you can tell.""..." Pedro was starting to tremble, but I continued to talk."So why am I standing in front of you now? It''s simple; because it was looking like the NCR Guild was going to kill you before you died on your own. I don''t want that. I don''t want the NCR Guild to have that glory." I pulled out my spear from the ground and took up a battle stance. "I''m sorry to have to do this, but I''m going to kill you here with my own hands." I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth as I said that. I only wished I had either stayed completely away or outright helped him from the start. Maybe then, I wouldn''t be tasting bile at the back my throat."You don''t want the NCR Guild to have the glory of killing me?" I wasn''t sure how he was going to react to what I just told him. Would he curse me to the grave, or would he just laugh bitterly at his own fate? He did neither, and only seemed to care about what I said about the NCR Guild."That''s right. I don''t want them to have anything." The NCR Guild wasn''t going to be the victor of this war. I was going to take whatever I could from them, and make sure their names were stricken from history. Just then, Pedro started to laugh. He didn''t care that I had my spear raised to attack. "Do you want to know something?""What is it?""I occasionally, no, often thought about you.""Me?" I lowered my spear at the sudden confession."Yup. You always shone brightly. The whole world worships you. Well, at least that''s what everyone seems to think of you. I always wished I had your destiny, your future."This time, I was the one confused."I know. It''s as you say, I''ve failed. I knew the moment those thousand soldiers behind us closed off my escape route. So, I''ll give you my remaining four hours. I do hate you, you know. If you had just fought alongside me instead¡­ I would have succeeded. But I get it. I get that it isn''t in your favor." Tears were starting to well up in Pedro''s eyes. "But I still want to thank you. You gave me a chance to hurt these rat bastards. And thank you for stepping in now. I don''t want to die by their hands.""..." I didn''t know what to say."Then, let''s finish this now. I don''t want to waste any more time. I gift to you the last of my time. I''d also like it if you thought of it as a small tantrum on my part," Pedro said as he pointed a finger at himself and then at me."Oh, that''s right. You said you were curious as to why I never accepted any help. The truth is¡­" Pedro cut himself off and started to laugh. "Actually, I won''t say. I want you stay curious for the rest of your life. That''s my last request."That was it. Pedro burst into pieces while still smiling. It was truly a gruesome sight. I had to avert my eyes as pieces of flesh and blood splattered everywhere. At that moment, I heard a shout from behind me."Use the Death Prison now!" It was Jose hurriedly giving the order and quickly, a member of the NCR Guild appeared before me."Summon: Death Prison!"The ground in front of me split, and three-meter tall and wide iron cell walls rose from the depths of the earth. Inside were five iron chains snaking through the cell bars. There was obviously nothing in front of it, but the chains shackled themselves to the empty air, as if they were trying to hold an invisible man. The chains maintained that shape as they snaked back inside the cell. There was nothing there. No, it was more precise to say that the chains held onto a cloud of smoke. Everyone here, including me, knew what or who that smoke was supposed to be."Yaaaaah!""We did it! We captured Pedro!""We won! We won!"I didn''t like this at all. A message appeared when Pedro exploded, but I couldn''t help but pay more attention to the cheers around me. I tightened my hold on my spear. I no longer cared about my reward. I was supposed to end this, not them. But just when I was about to charge at the NCR Guild, I heard the sound of something breaking.It was coming from the Death Prison. The sound was growing louder and the cell walls and chains were beginning to crack and break into pieces."What¡­what''s going on?""Why''s the Death Prison doing that?""I¡­I don''t know, sir!"Jose and his officers were visibly confused as the Death Prison was acting in a strange way, but I knew why it was doing that. Pedro had died a permanent death. His soul could not resurrect again, and had vanished. The Death Prison had lost the soul it was meant to catch, and was now leaving this plane, as if it had just completed its duty.The breaking and cracking finally stopped, and the walls of the Death Prison fell to the ground."What¡­?""What just¡­""It¡­it just had Pedro''s soul¡­"I smiled. Now that was the reaction they should have. I finally turned to the message that appeared before me. It appeared right after Pedro pointed at me."What¡­?" I didn''t expect Pedro to leave me this. I may have started all this for Pedro and helped him get out of the worst situation possible with good intentions, but I was still calculating to the end. Still, if there was one good thing I managed to do was that I had registered both Jose and Cantana Alejandro when I had shaken hands with them.==[Call (Rank 9)You can summon those registered in Call.You can register up to 10 people into Call.Use the command, ''Register'' on a person while keeping that person in your sights for 1 minute to register that person into Call.Once the Call list is full, you have to remove one person in order to register someone else.Cooldown: 24 hours.As long as this item remains in your inventory, you will receive the following effects:All Stats increased by 300 points.]====[Call ListSung Sooyeon (Mortal)Jose Alejandro (Deva)Cantana Alejandro (Deva)]==I turned to the confused Jose and Cantana, who also turned to face me. 221 Chapter 220: Pedro the Avenger, Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[You have received the last of Pedro''s borrowed time.Calculating the value of the remaining time¡­Pedro had 3 hours and 40 minutes remaining. That time has been converted into Stat points. You will now receive 1,100 stat points. (1 hour=300 Stat points.)]==Pedro had gifted me 1,100 Stat points, even though I had raised my spear against him and said that I would kill him with my own hands. -Is this what he meant by a small tantrum?-Beneath the initial message was another one.==[Chest Containing Pedro''s Unfulfilled Desire for Revenge (Rank ?)Pedro has failed his quest for revenge, even after he pulled in all the time he had. This chest contains that unfulfilled desire. There is no way to know what is inside. However, this chest will open in one month. This chest currently has 0 points. Fulfill Pedro''s desire for revenge to obtain up to +100 points. Conversely, ignoring Pedro''s quest for vengeance or helping Pedro''s target of revenge will cause the chest to lose points, up to -100 points. Obtained points will decide what the item will be. +100 points, the better the item. -100 points, the worse the item.This item binds when received.]==This was supposed to be a tantrum on Pedro''s part, but I didn''t really hate it or hate Pedro for giving it to me. I knew why he gave it to me and how desperate he must have felt. I was more curious about one thing.-This is a thing?-I had a hard time believing that this was a real item. The item''s description was more akin to that of a quest, and from what I knew, that was just about impossible. Devas and deities couldn''t give out quests to other devas and deities. Then again, I''d had a previous encounter with a unique quest over at Incheon Airport. But that quest had its own marker and this chest was an actual item... But there was nothing I could do about it now. I couldn''t ask Pedro about it since he was dead. Then, just when I was about to closely examine the item''s description, I heard Jose come up to me, panicked."Mr. Lee, do you have any idea on what just happened? The two of you didn''t even fight and yet, Pedro just exploded like that.""I''m not sure, either.""Then what did the two of you talk about?""Not much. I just advised him that it might be better for him to stand down, now that he was completely surrounded and all." I was going to keep feigning ignorance, at least until I got my payment. Well, maybe even then. I turned away to look at the messages that were still up. I had already read through them, but they were still there, meaning there were more messages to confirm. I scrolled down to see another message, one I didn''t expect at all.==[Lee Jiwon''s exclusive ability, Death, was connected with Pedro for 0.13 seconds.]==- What?-I remained silent as Jose and his officers were still around me, and just craned my head to the side in confusion. Death was my exclusive ability? That wasn''t right. That was Fayez''s exclusive ability. I never stole it from him. I would have known if I had--Oh!-I remembered that one clip from the video of the guild battle. Shaman Ko had taken over my body and was eating something whenever he pushed his hand into Fayez''s chest. To be honest, it looked more like Shaman Ko was just attacking Fayez, so I wasn''t completely sure that he was eating a piece of Fayez, but now I was positive. Shaman Ko had used Predation to steal away Fayez''s Death ability.-I''m¡­not sure what to think about that...-I turned my attention to the other message below.==[Death instinctively reached out to Pedro when he willingly gave up his remaining time.Death constantly searches out for more death. When it sensed Pedro''s impending permanent death, it attempted to connect itself with Pedro.From the 0.13 second long connection, Death managed to bring back a piece of that permanent death.Obtain 4,277 Stat points.Death had also brought back a Ripped Piece of Advance. (This skill is only partially obtained. In order to fully obtain this skill, 1 skill point is required. Not obtaining this skill within 10 days will remove this skill.)]=="Holy shit!" I gasped. I thought there was nothing else in this world that could outright surprise me, but I was stunned, to say the least. "What is it, Mr. Lee?" "Did you learn something?" asked Jose and his officers."No, it''s nothing." I wiped away my shocked expression and put on my best poker face, but I couldn''t help the shaking from the rush of adrenaline I felt. Pedro had just pretty much gifted me 5,377 stat points. I could hardly believe it.-Open Stats Menu!-I had to see it for myself.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 724Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 9,590,700/9,590,700MP: 452,800/452,800Strength: 26,754 + 4,260Agility: 14,901Vitality: 15,601Willpower: 4,468Intelligence: 4228Unassigned Stat Points: 5,377 Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 106,427Physical Defense: 35,497Magical Attack: 14,154Magical Defense: 23,034]=={Translator''s Note: No, I don''t know why he hasn''t any SK points here. IIRC, it''s been at least a week since he last opened up his Stats Menu and should have a Scroll of Predation in his inventory again, meaning he should be getting more SK points.}"..." I dumbly stared at my Stats Menu. There it was, 5,377 Stat points. I knew the messages couldn''t lie, but I just had to see it for myself. Even then, I found it hard to believe.-Skill Check: Ripped Piece of Advance.-==[Ripped Piece of Advance (1/1), (Active)A large chunk of the skill, Advance, was ripped away by Death. As a result, this skill has lost many of its initial effects.Doubles Stats upon use for 24 hours. However, as a penalty, there is a chance to lose 0-100 Stat points after the skill deactivates. (The Stat points can be taken away from STR, VIT, AGI, WIL and/or INT.)Cooldown: 10 days1 skill point is required to learn this skillTime left to learn: 9 days 23 hours 59 minutesNot learning this skill within the time frame will remove this skill.]==Skills that had penalties for using them were rare, especially one that made you lose up to 100 Stat points. But when I read through the skill''s description, I knew I had to learn it. I couldn''t pass up the opportunity to double my Stats for twenty-four hours, especially when my Stats were that high. Even if I was unlucky enough to lose 100 Stat points each time I used it, it would still be worth it. While that was a huge blow to a normal deva, I could definitely afford the loss.I wouldn''t be using it every chance I got, of course. I would only use it when I needed to, like when I was fighting against someone or something as strong as the Reaper when he activated his failsafe. I could rely on this more than having to Consume Shaman Ko.-Learn skill.-I still had the 1 skill point from reaching level 700.==[You have learned the skill, Ripped Piece of Advance.]==I wanted to jump and yell for joy, but I pushed down that desire way down. This was all thanks to Pedro. It was all Pedro''s way of thanking me, for making sure he didn''t die at the hands of the NCR Guild. I had to suppress that strong feeling of joy as best I could if I still had even a sliver of honor left.-Ha¡­but that Death¡­-I still wasn''t completely sure as to how exactly it became my exclusive skill, but it was mine either way, and that was great. I could live with that for now. I cleared my thoughts and came back to reality to see that the NCR Guild was busy."Get ready! There''s a chance Pedro will resurrect here in three hours!""Yes sir!" The one thousand soldiers wielding black chains and the rest of the NCR army moved to surround the spot Pedro exploded."Guild master, will Pedro really resurrect here?""I don''t know, but we have no choice."It was all in vain, but the NCR Guild did not know that Pedro was not going to resurrect ever again. I kept silent to keep it that way. Then, Jose Alejandro turned to me."Mr. Lee, if Pedro does resurrect here¡­""Then I will stand by the NCR Guild," I answered with a smile. Pedro wasn''t going to resurrect, so I might as well suck up to him until I got my payment. Once I did, I would carry out Pedro''s desire for vengeance. I was going to destroy them all.---Three hours later¡­"¡­It seems he had set his Respawn Point at a Store or used a gem," one officer said, dejected. But a few thought differently, including Hugo, the head of Intelligence."Maybe¡­that was Pedro''s last death." Even Hugo didn''t believe what he was saying. "The Death Prison definitely had Pedro''s soul. The five chains inside the cell came out and grabbed it.""That¡­ is true," another officer agreed."Then the Death Prison destroyed itself. The Death Prison''s role is to prevent its target from resurrecting. If it doesn''t have a soul to do that¡­ it would have no reason to remain on this plane.""..." No one said anything for a while."What''s the probability of that being true?" Jose finally asked."I had it at a 5% chance three hours ago. But it''s well over three hours now, so I would say there''s now a 40% chance.""Why?""One of Pedro''s skills or items must have had a huge condition. I doubt it was an item. He definitely couldn''t afford one and I don''t think he ever visited many Stores." Hugo''s investigative ability was second to none, so there was no reason for anyone to reject his hypothesis."Hmm¡­" Jose took a moment to contemplate his next move. "Return to base! But for the next ten days, we maintain vigilance!""Yes, sir!" 222 Chapter 221: Pedro the Avenger Part V Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAmid the preparations to retreat, Jose Alejandro came up to me. "Mr. Lee.""What is it?""Will you be willing to stay with us for the next ten days, in case anything happens?""Of course I will. I can do that much for what you''re about to pay me, can''t I?" I replied with a small smile.And so, I and the rest of the NCR Guild moved back to Mexico City and for the next ten days, I rested while receiving the VIP treatment. Of course, only I got to take it easy. Even though many of the NCR Guild believed that this was the end of Pedro, the fear of him still existed. As such, the NCR Guild was tightly guarded for the next few days, but as time passed, many began to realize that Hugo''s hypothesis was true.------Ten days later¡­Jose and his officers were holding a meeting, with me included."Thank you for your past help, Mr. Lee.""It wasn''t much. I just wish I could have come earlier and helped more." The past ten days had gone by without incident, prompting the NCR Guild to rule that Pedro was permanently dead, even though they didn''t know why. They did seem suspicious of me, though, but did not outright ask me, and had to be content with not knowing."Here you are, Mr. Lee. Thank you for everything." Finally; the Rank 8 item and two billion golden rings."Thank you." I took the payment without hesitation, but also with mixed emotions. Just about nothing had gone according to plan. Pedro couldn''t get his revenge and had almost died to the NCR Guild. I was forced to step in even though I told myself I wouldn''t. But I had gained more in the end. I brought up the item to eye level. "Item Check."==[Fire Dragon''s Scale Greaves (Rank 8)All Dragons, including the Fire Dragon, molt seven times as they grow. Each time they molt, their older, weaker, light-colored scales slough off. These greaves were made from the sloughed scales of the Fire Dragon. Furthermore, Dragon scales are extremely rare, as Dragons tend to eat their scales.Increase all Stats by 100 pointsIncrease STR by 300Increase VIT by 300Increase Penetration Resistance by 77 pointsDecrease CRIT Damage taken by 115%Decrease all Fire-type damage taken by 15%50% chance to ignore Fire-type damageDurability 780,000/780,000DEF 1700, MDEF 3000]==Just about all of my weapon and armor were at least Rank 8, excluding accessories and greaves. But with this, my entire equipment set was now Rank 8 or over.Once I was finished checking the item, Jose spoke to me once more. "We will be holding a weeklong feast to celebrate our victory. We would like it if you would join us.""Ah, I must apologize, but I''m afraid I won''t be able to make it. Staying here for ten days has already put a dent in my schedule." I rejected him right away. I was done here. But once I received the item and the two billion golden rings, someone made it obvious that they didn''t like that.==[The Chest Containing Pedro''s Unfulfilled Desire for Revenge has lost another 30 points. The Chest now has -54 points.]==While I had stayed over at the NCR Guild''s base for the past ten days while receiving the royal treatment, the Chest was losing two to three points each day. It had lost another thirty points when I received the NCR Guild''s payment. If I had agreed to join the feast, I would have lost another good chunk of points.I didn''t really care about losing out on whatever item could be in the box. I doubted that there could be any item that would be better than what I already had, but I had received so much from Pedro. He pretty much gave me over 5000 extra Stat points and left me with a part of his skill. I was definitely going to pay him back and get the chest to +100 points. I said a short farewell to the NCR Guild''s officers and left Mexico.---The next day, back at my home¡­"Hmm¡­now should be a good time, right?" I leisurely walked out of my house and headed for the side of the base that housed the embassies of my six allied factions. It didn''t really matter where I headed, but I decided to head to the Abu Dhabi embassy. It was simple; I had dealt with them more recently than the others, and they held me in higher regard."We''ve been waiting for you, Mr. Lee.""You may head inside. Everything has been prepared for you."I had already notified them of my plan and the guards outside the embassy waved me in. "Thanks. Keep up the good work," I said as I patted them on the shoulders, and I headed to a small shed off to the side, not the embassy building."Ah, you''re here, Mr. Lee." The door to the shed opened as soon as I got close, and a lone man poked his head out to greet me. It was Khamil, captain of the Abu Dhabi Guild''s 3rd assault team, as well as his guild''s district leader of this side of the globe."Hello, Khamil," I said, shaking his hand and followed him inside. Khamil led me down a long staircase to a large basement room. It didn''t take them long to build this room once they received my request."No one will ever know whatever happens inside this room.""Thank you. It''s perfect.""And, as per your request, I''ve gathered five hundred of our soldiers over there," Khamil said, pointing to a large group of soldiers standing to one side of the room."I know it''s a strange request, but thank you for doing this.""Hahaha. Don''t sweat it. I have relatives in the royal family as well, so that practically makes us family.""Is that right?" I said with a laugh.Soon, Khamil drew back, leaving me alone in the middle of the room."Call."==[Call ListSung Sooyeon (Mortal)Jose Alejandro (Deva)Cantana Alejandro (Deva)]=="Cantana Alejandro." I selected the man directly responsible for Pedro''s pain.==[Summoning Cantana Alejandro.]==Soon, Cantana Alejandro appeared before me, snoring away in his birthday suit. It was 8 PM here in Seoul, meaning it was five in the morning in Mexico. It was prime time for him to be sleeping, especially since the NCR Guild was well into its festivities by now.I tapped Cantana''s side with my foot."Leave me alone¡­go away¡­""Hah! You''ve got some nerve." No one talked to me like that; not even the Mad Butcher. I kicked him a little harder."Ah fuck! Who the fuck do you think you are? I''m going to kill you!" Cantana finally opened his eyes."Hello there.""Ahk!" Cantana''s furious face soon paled in horror when he looked up at me. "Lee¡­Lee Jiwon?""That''s right. How''ve you been?""Where¡­am I?""Seoul.""Seoul?""Yup.""Why¡­am I in Seoul¡­?""It''s simple. I''m going to imprison you here before I kill you. I''m going to seed fear and despair into your heart so that you will lose your Mad Butcher skill." Everyone knew about his Mad Butcher skill. The idiot bragged about it so much that he even revealed his one weakness.==[The Mad Butcher (1/1), (Passive)Cantana Alejandro''s exclusive skill.Kill and kill again! Make them all squirm and scream in pain! Their pain and suffering will grant you strength.The Mad Butcher increases ATT and MATT by 10%.If Butcher leaves pain:Obtain a small amount of EXP10% chance to obtain 1 bonus stat pointIf Butcher leaves pain and despair:Obtain a large amount of EXP10% chance to obtain 2 bonus stat pointsIf the user feels pain and despair, the Mad Butcher skill will be removed along with all obtained EXP and Stat points.]==The report on the NCR Guild I had received from the Sunbin Guild had a clear description of the Mad Butcher skill, and explained that Pedro''s family and many other mortals had fallen victim to this skill. I also did not like the fact that a skill like this even existed. I decided that not only was I going to take revenge for Pedro, I was also going to make sure to delete this skill from the system."I have to thank you for not keeping your skill a secret. Moron," I said, as I kicked his face."Gah!" Cantana rolled backwards three times, his nose bleeding from both nostrils. "Lee Jiwon, you son of a bitch! You''re not going to get away with this!""Yes, I will. No one knows that I''ve brought you here." I didn''t bring him here; I Summoned him, but I didn''t want him to know that, just in case. "Don''t worry. He''ll be joining you soon," I said with a grin as I looked straight into Cantana''s eyes. "Your father, that is." I never really knew that I would be using Call this way when I first got it, but I was glad I had decided to register both Jose and Cantana when I first met them."Die! Hellfire!" From the detailed report I had received, I knew that Cantana was a Fire Mage, so I actually found it ironic that his father actually gave me a piece of equipment that would decrease the damage Cantana tried to deal to me or could negate his spells altogether. I watched as the fireballs flew towards me. "Blink 2." The fireballs exploded when they collided on the ground where I once stood."Fire Wall!" Cantana must have learned something about how I fought and quickly put up a wall of fire between me and him, but he also must have known that something like this could never stop me."Gah!" My spear went straight through the Fire Wall and stabbed Cantana in the chest. I did not activate any of my battle skills. I wanted him to suffer for as long as possible, that way he would lose his Mad Butcher skill."Fuck! Shackle my enemy! Manacles of Fire!" Four shackles made of fire homed in on me, but I did not move. I actually let my wrists and ankles get caught in the shackles instead.There was a slight smoke and a short sizzling of flesh as my skin made contact with the shackles of fire, but that was it. I gave each shackle a slight yank and they broke without much resistance. I brought my left wrist up to my mouth and blew on it. "Your fire isn''t hot enough¡­I don''t think you can have a proper barbecue like that.""..." Cantana just stared at me with his mouth gaping open in shock.I stabbed down at him with my spear."Gah!"---Three minutes later¡­Cantana was lying on the floor, bleeding all over the place and panting heavily. Just about everything was going as I had expected, except for the part where Cantana''s eyes were still full of hate and anger. I had warned him that I wasn''t going to let him go until he lost his Mad Butcher skill, but from his eyes, I could tell that this was going to be a while. But that was why I had prepared something that all devas feared; imprisonment and regression.I slowly walked over to Cantana. "Since you''ve done the same to others many times before, you know what to expect, right? Because I''ve prepared the same. I''m going to incarcerate you here," I said as I gestured to the five hundred soldiers off to the side. 223 Chapter 222: Pedro the Avenger Part VI Translator: HunterWEditor: REDNCR Guild''s headquarters¡­"He''s not in Guadalupe, either?" "No, sir. He hasn''t been there nor has he contacted them.""Hmm¡­" Jose stroked his beard. Jose had received the report that his son, Cantana, had disappeared late in the morning. The entire guild was still reeling from the festivities the night before. Cantana had been seen turning in late the night before but now, there wasn''t a single trace of him anywhere. He simply vanished into thin air. Cantana was the heir to the NCR Guild. The entire guild knew who he was, and he was always well-guarded. The only way he could have disappeared like this was if he used a Warp Scroll, but there was nowhere he would go while he was that drunk. Still, if there was anywhere he would go, it would be Guadalupe, Chiapas, the one place Cantana was allowed to do whatever he wanted. But the guild members there had not seen Cantana ever since the war against Pedro started. This did not sit well with Jose. Sure, Cantana was a fully grown man capable of taking care of himself, but Jose could not help but feel that something was horribly wrong."I assume you''ve tried his Comm Link as well?""Yes sir. We''ve been calling him every thirty minutes for the past ten hours, but he hasn''t picked up.""Very well. You may go.""Yes sir." The officer left, leaving Jose alone in his office.After thinking to himself for a while, Jose looked down at his right hand. "Was it the handshake?" Jose muttered to himself, but after that, he fell into a deep silence. The feast continued, however, as if nothing was wrong.---8 PM, back at the basement beneath the Abu Dhabi embassy in Seoul¡­I looked over at Cantana Alejandro, who was now chained to one side of the basement room. Imprisoning a deva sounded easy, but was extremely difficult to pull off, especially because devas no longer feared death. That was why I had five hundred soldiers prepared even though I was only going to imprison two devas, Cantana and Jose. There was a lot to be done.First, I needed a team that was combat ready 24/7 in case our victims tried to use a Warp Scroll to get away. We could not let that happen.Second, I needed another team that was combat ready 24/7 in case our victims tried to use a Comm Link to contact their friends. We could not let that happen, either.Third, normal steel shackles or cuffs only worked on mortals. Our victims were devas who might have immense strength or could use skills or spells to easily break out of those shackles. We also needed to make sure their HP, MP, and Fatigue didn''t restore completely while not killing them all the way. Killing them would mean letting them go, letting them resurrect wherever their Respawn Point was. We had to make them beg us to kill them. You could see the dilemma we were now faced with. We couldn''t give them too much room, which would allow them to use a Warp Scroll or their Comm Links, but we couldn''t stay too close to them, which would prompt them to force us to hurt them too much. It''d be easier if they were devas who didn''t have access to Warp Scrolls or Comm Links, but our victims were the highest ranking officers of a large guild. We had no choice but to go to this extent just to torture them."You''re here again, Mr. Lee," Khamil came up as I stared at Cantana."Yes. I might as well bring the other one here now." I walked over to the same place I had Called Cantana to the night before."Call: Jose Alejandro." Like the night before, I Called him at 8 PM. It was 5 in the morning in Mexico right now, so Jose should have been asleep, but he wasn''t. He actually looked like he knew he was going to be Summoned, but I wasn''t fazed by that. "Do you always get up this early or did you not sleep at all?"Jose turned towards me."Didn''t you hear that sleep is the best medicine? The same goes for devas. You really ought to sleep when you can."Jose ignored what I said, however, and raised his right hand instead. "Was it the handshake?""Handshake? We don''t need to shake hands again. We''re going to be spending a lot of time together, you and I," I said, shaking my head. I did know what he was talking about, though. I had made sure to shake hands for a minute long with both Jose and Cantana. To them, it was just an awkwardly long handshake but it had turned out to be a great chance for me to get them here.Jose heaved a heavy sigh before speaking up. "Fuck this world. If you thought you knew everything, you''re always surprised by something worse.""Isn''t that just how life works?" I gripped my spear and raised it, poised to attack. We had plenty of time to talk."Is it because of Pedro? But he''s permanently dead. There''s no reason for you to become our enemy just because of Pedro. I doubt someone like you would do something this shady yourself." Was it his age or experience in these matters? Jose didn''t even flinch when I raised my spear. "You''re the type of man who only acts in his favor and not in honor or glory, are you not, Lee Jiwon? I will give you what you want."I smiled when he said that, as if I liked what he was getting at."Do you want a monthly stipend of golden rings? Or a yearly offering of worthy items? How about someone to do your dirty work? I can make any of that possible. Having a shadowy guild on your side is never a bad thing, Lee Jiwon."I cackled. Jose was trying his best to appease me, but I saw what he was really doing. "It''s so obvious you''re just trying to buy time." He did seem pretty sincere about it, as if maybe one of his suggestions could catch my eye. "Do you have Change?"Jose gasped in surprise and paled. I wasn''t sure if he had it, but no matter how strong he was compared to other guild leaders, there was no way he could remain so calm about this. He was in an unfamiliar and hostile environment with about four hundred soldiers surrounding him. And his opponent was me."Blink 1.""Gah!" My spear easily pierced his chest and I stabbed him twice more, keeping him alive by a thread. Cantana at least struggled and fought back while cursing me, but Jose just let it happen.---Three minutes later¡­Jose was on the floor, laughing but the laughter came out as sharp, pained breaths."Why aren''t you struggling? Your son at least shot off a few spells.""Is there a reason to?" Jose said as he struggled to sit up. "So why are you going to this extent? Is it really in Pedro''s name? You''re not the man to do that, though.""Well, I''ve been thinking that it''s time I made the world a little safer to live in. You know the saying; with great power comes great responsibility.""Fuck off," Jose spat out.It would seem that Jose knew a little too much about me. I turned around and nodded to Khamil. I have one last look to the panting and bloody Jose and left the basement. Now that I had removed the head of the snake, it was time to skin its body.---The next day¡­I had sent in an official declaration of war to the NCR Guild because last night, someone from their guild had raided my home, while leaving insults and a clear reason why they did that. Of course, no such intruders existed. I just needed a good enough reason to attack the NCR Guild, that way I wouldn''t receive any fallout.I used the rumor the NCR Guild had spread, calling me a coward, and made it seem as if the so-called intruders didn''t like the fact that I had received my payment when I had barely done anything to Pedro. And frankly, that was enough.---The NCR Guild''s headquarters¡­"Where is the guild master?""Where has he disappeared off to?""He''s right. Lee Jiwon is obviously making this up. Why would anyone from our guild do such a thing? We need the guild master to properly address this situation!"Lee Jiwon''s declaration had come out of nowhere. It was obviously built on false pretenses, but if the guild master wasn''t here to deny those claims, Lee Jiwon would soon come to make good on his threats. What resulted was complete chaos among the guild''s officers.Hugo, on the other hand, laughed to himself when he read through the declaration in Jose''s stead. He knew there was no recovering from this. Hugo got up from his seat and quietly left the board room. Those fools hadn''t realized by now that this was all going according to Lee Jiwon''s plan. The end of the NCR Guild had come, and Hugo wanted to be long gone by then. And so, with Hugo''s departure, the NCR Guild soon began to implode from the top.---One week later¡­"I guess it''s about time to go now." I''d let things marinate for long enough now. I could have gone earlier and made sure not a single one NCR Guild member escaped, but I decided to just let them destroy their own guild first. That way, the name, Nuevas Chivas Rio, would completely disappear off the face of the earth.Behind me were six thousand soldiers. Each of my allied factions had sent over a thousand of their best soldiers. I hadn''t even asked for help, either. They were the first to offer their help and I gladly accepted. Together, we were going to burn the NCR Guild to the ground."Well, I''ll be relying on all of you," I said to the captains of each guild."Haha! We''ll make them regret ever crossing Lee Jiwon!""If they wanted to die that badly, then we''ll gladly grant them that wish!""Hey, you know what this reminds me of? A school field trip.""Ha! I like the way you think! It''s nice working together like this. We should do it more often.""That''s not a bad idea!"Everyone was in high morale. They were about to destroy one of the world''s worst guilds that had already just about imploded. This was going to be an easy battle.------For the first time in this new world, six large guilds had come together as allies in battle against a single foe, all under one man''s name; Lee Jiwon. The alliance had in short become a true force to be reckoned with, and it was no surprise that the NCR Guild was completely and utterly destroyed in an instant. The rest of the world had to react quickly. They knew that this alliance had existed, but it had never acted together until this day when it showed its power. Soon, no one guild or organization would ever be able to stand up to this alliance.---Back at my home in Seoul¡­"Hmm¡­why did it stop at 99 points?"==[The Chest Containing Pedro''s Unfulfilled Desire for Revenge currently has +99 points.]==Destroying the NCR Guild should have been enough to get the Chest up to +100 points, but it was stuck +99. There was only a week left until the Chest was going to open on its own."Is it because of him?" I left my house and headed back to the basement beneath the Abu Dhabi embassy. Jose and Cantana were still imprisoned here. I walked up to Jose first. His eyes were bloodshot and out of focus. He knew what had happened while he was here; I had placed a TV for the both of them to watch as I razed their guild. I even allowed them to use their Comm Links because there was nothing they could do about it now.I dragged a chair over nearby and sat down in front of Jose."How much longer are you going to keep me here?""You know, I''m not so sure myself. I''m still thinking on it." It wouldn''t matter if I let Jose go now and he tried to tell the world what had really happened. No one was going to care what he had to say. History was written by the victor, and I won. I was starting to worry for the Abu Dhabi Guild. These five hundred guards were some of the best of their guild and keeping them from their normal duties couldn''t be good for the Abu Dhabi Guild. I wanted to let Jose and Cantana out soon. I had no reason to worry about Jose and Cantana trying to get revenge, since I was only going to get stronger. I might just keep them registered in Call for the time being, to kill them once every so often."I''ll let you go today."Jose blinked when he heard that. He didn''t even try to blackmail me into giving him golden rings or anything. He probably felt too¡­ humiliated to try that."Try and live a good life from now on, okay?" I said as I stabbed him."Gah!" There was no way I was going to send him off nicely. Soon, Jose disappeared from his spot in a cloud of smoke. As soon as the smoke dispersed, I checked the Chest, and saw that it was still at +99."Yup. It''s got to be you." I walked over to Cantana."Fuck you, Lee Jiwon! I swear to God, once I get out of here I''m going to kill you over and over! I''ll sell my soul if I have to! I''ll make you pay!" His eyes were still full of hatred and anger. Keeping him imprisoned just wasn''t going to work, so I might as well set him free."Fine, you win. I''ll let you go." I stabbed Cantana right in the face as his eyes went wide with shock, killing him in an instant.---The next day¡­"Call: Cantana Alejandro.""Huh?" This time, Cantana wasn''t naked, but was covered in blood stains. They obviously weren''t from hunting, which meant they were from Butchering more mortals."Did you seriously kill more mortals again?""How¡­why did you¡­?" Cantana was looked like he was about to cry from the shock."I brought you here again because I was bored, but to think in that short of time, you went back to your old ways." I slammed my spear into him repeatedly. Cantana tried to fight back, but it was all in vain. He was going to die again."Fuck fuck fuck fuck! Why¡­why¡­?" Cantana was bawling now."Why are you crying? I just wanted to see you again, so lighten up. I won''t kill you right away, okay? Here, I have some tasty snacks for you too. Come here, have a cup of tea before you go."Even Cantana could see by now that he wasn''t going to get away from me, ever. He realized I could kill him every day, or whenever I wanted to."You don''t want to die today? Then do you want to spend the next week in my jail? I''ll do whatever you ask, just say the word." When I said that, I heard a weird sound come from Cantana. It sounded like glass breaking and soon, a red smoke oozed out of Cantana and vanished into the air. A message appeared before me at the same time.==[The Chest Containing Pedro''s Unfulfilled Desire for Revenge currently has +100 points.]==I could tell from that message that the red smoke from Cantana''s body was his Mad Butcher skill. He had finally lost it."Please¡­please¡­spare me¡­" I finally heard the despair I was waiting for in Cantana''s voice. It took him long enough. 224 Chapter 223: A Small Clue Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI slowly walked out of the basement beneath the Abu Dhabi embassy. I had just killed Cantana Alejandro and was feeling very satisfied with how I had sent him off.---Ten minutes earlier¡­"Do you understand now? I have you in the palm of my hand now.""Yes! Yes, I understand!""I would like it if I didn''t hear about you doing bad things from now on. It''s hard enough to find any good news in the world today, and I don''t need you adding to that, okay?""I''ll be a good boy! I promise!""Good. And don''t forget, I''m always watching," I said as I stabbed Cantana repeatedly in the chest. I wasn''t going to let him go scott free after all this. He needed to know that I had not a single drop of mercy left in me for him.He did keep thanking me again and again until he died, though.---"Well, that''s all done and dusted. All that''s left is to open the Chest." That was it. The Chest was going to open itself in two days'' time. But as I noted before, I hadn''t done this for the Chest; it was to return whatever favor I could after all that I had received from Pedro. "Young master!" someone called to me once I returned to my house."What is it?""You have a guest.""This late at night?" It was around 10 PM. It was normal for many to be still out hunting at this time. There was no time to waste when it came to leveling up, but it still was pretty late to come knocking at someone''s door."Yes, sir.""Huh. Alright. Let''s see who it is." Whoever it was and whatever this was about, coming this late meant that it had to be an emergency of some sort. -----My drawing room¡­"Ha¡­" I thought I was confident enough to not be surprised at this sudden guest. Hell, I probably wouldn''t have been surprised if all three remaining Monarchs were making themselves comfortable in my own house, but this guest really took the cake."It has been a while, Master Lee.""Yes, it has, Ms. Marie." The guest was none other than Anton''s personal assistant, Marie. In other words, an NPC. "What brings you here this late at night?" My curiosity was piqued. I doubted an NPC would come to ask for my help or anything."I''ve come to ask you to visit our Store tomorrow.""Excuse me?" That was it?"Master Anton will explain everything if you come. But, please know that it will be of benefit to you.""Huh. I understand." Since this was coming from Anton, I didn''t turn her down. He was the one who made me his Store''s VIP member and helped me get a decent head start, like giving me the chance to learn Unrivaled at level 0."Then we''ll see you tomorrow," Marie said as she got up, curtsied and left my home.After she left, I racked my head to try to figure out what it could be about, but couldn''t get a clue. "Well, I guess I''ll find out tomorrow."------Early the next morning, I left the house with my hat and sunglasses on and headed for the Store. Marie didn''t say when I should go, but there was no reason to put it off. Like always, there was a huge crowd in and around the Store. It seemed like everyone was talking about me and how I had destroyed the NCR Guild in Mexico.---"Man¡­do you think Lee Jiwon will go down in history as one of Korea''s greatest heroes or something?""Hero? What are you even talking about?""What? He''s Korean, isn''t he? It''s thanks to him that our small country''s become a superpower of the new world. That makes him a hero, doesn''t it?""Hey, leave your daydreaming at home. There are more important things to worry about. Like how do you think the Emperors will react now?""The Emperors?""Yeah. Lee Jiwon is definitely one of the Emperors now. He also brought the Sunbin, Myth, Ravi, Shire and Abu Dhabi Guilds, and the Werewolf Clan, together. That should be enough to make him an Emperor.""That actually makes sense.""Right? A new power would need to exhibit the same or similar amount of strength as the existing Emperors to be called one as well.""Either way, the previous Emperors need to watch out now. Lee Jiwon is one matter, but there''s no way they can ignore the six factions that have his back now.""That''s true.""Well, that''s good enough for me. If that does happen, it''s good for us as fellow Koreans.""Damn right!"---I was hearing praise everywhere, and I couldn''t help but stand a little straighter.I entered the Store with light footsteps and slowly walked up the stairs to the fifth floor, where Anton''s office was located. The guards on the fourth floor were still there, preventing entry to the fifth floor, but they must have known I was coming and allowed me to pass. Just that was enough to throw the entire Store in a tizzy. "Come in," I heard from the other side of Anton''s door when I raised my hand to knock. He must have known the moment I had entered the Store and for the life of me, I could not figure out how he does it.I opened the door to see Anton beaming at me, and I smiled back. "It''s been a while, but what''s this about?""Sit for now. Marie will be here soon with the tea. It''s the same expensive tea I brought out when we first met." Well, that meant that whatever was going on was very good for Anton, and that put my heart at ease. What was usually good for him was also good for me.A knock soon came from the door. "Come in," Anton replied, and Marie came in with the tea and poured a cup for me and Anton."Drink up.""Thanks." This tea really was something else. Each sip I took had a very distinct and unique flavor, but left an equally refreshing feeling that washed over me."No, thank you.""Huh?" I haven''t really done anything recently. Well, if I did, it was just learning and removing multiple skills again and again, but I doubted that was what he meant."It was revealed yesterday that I took first place by a mile. There''s no need for me to worry about competition anymore, and it''s all because of you.""Oh, congratulations." Because of what he told me every time I visited his office, I knew by now that all Stores competed with one another through points. It was why Anton and Marie wanted me to use only their Store."Anyway, it''s why I invited you. I want to give you a gift that''s definitely going to take out a good chunk out of my profits. Honestly, I was just going to give you a small gift and be done with it, but my grandfather found out about it and wouldn''t let me hear the end of it. Ugh."My ears picked up at the mention of a gift."Do you know what others call my family? A bunch of barbaric mercenaries. My grandfather has always preferred fighting over talking. But this was the first time my family entered the competition and secured first place, so everyone''s going crazy. My grandfather, father, and mother are all so happy," Anton said with a sincere grin. "Did you bring them, Marie?""Yes. I have them right here." Marie came over and placed three crystals on table between me and Anton."This first one has 5,000 Stat points. This one has 5 skill points ,and this one has 5 billion golden rings," Anton explained as he pointed to each crystal. "Obviously, I can''t give you all three. You can only pick one of them. I was going to give you crystals that had 1000 stat points, 1 skill points and 1 billion golden rings, but since it''s you, I can deal with the loss.""..." It hadn''t been that long since I had received over 5,000 Stat points, and now that I had another chance to gain another 5,000 Stat points, I shivered a little. It was like the universe was forcibly trying to make me the strongest in this world. This couldn''t just be chalked up to pure luck."I''ll take the Stat points crystal.""Great."Marie took away the second and third crystals, leaving the first crystal alone on the table. I reached over and picked up the crystal with a shaky hand."Awesome. Now, what I''m about to say is going to be the first and last time I''m going to say it. I won''t ever repeat myself, so listen carefully," Anton said with a serious tone. He leaned over as if he was imparting me with a huge secret. "Soon, the 1455th world, no, Earth''s Otadolon stage is about to come to an end. This world will then receive a test, and if you all pass the test, you''ll be able to survive, but if you fail it¡­ well, simply put, the world will be destroyed. Even you.""..." I thought Anton was going to joke around, but from what he just said and the expression he was making, I quickly realized that this was no game. What he said next forced me to believe him."The Judge''s Continent¡­ it''s going to appear soon.""!!!" My eyes shot open in shock. I knew about the Judge''s Continent. Well, I didn''t really know about it, but I had heard passing rumors about it in the past. I also knew that many large guilds and organizations had frantically tried to find it."A battle royale will take place on the Judge''s Continent, where each Creator will place the fate of their worlds on the line.""Each Creator''s world...""Yup. Other worlds that have completed their Otadolon stage, like Earth, will participate in a fierce battle. Only the winner will survive, and the rest will be destroyed."I sat there in stunned silence as Anton continued. "Dying on the Judge''s Continent means dying for real. There''s no resurrecting like you usually do.""What?" I couldn''t believe what I was hearing, but Anton continued on. "There are going to be monsters on the Continent, as well as Stores like this one. There will be chances to get stronger, but know that there will also be other competitors. No, not just competitors, enemies! You have to kill them if you want to survive," Anton said as he leaned back on his chair. "That''s it. I can''t tell you anymore than that. I''m not allowed to. Anymore and it''ll be considered aiding Earth in getting first place. But, remember this as well... I want you to win, Lee Jiwon!"Anton didn''t say anymore after that, and I didn''t try to ask him anything. What could I ask him after what he just told me? I just finished my cup of tea and left the store as Marie and Anton wished me the best of luck.------I quickly returned home and went straight back up to my room. I plopped down on my sofa and just thought. I Summoned the Dungeon Mole, too, and petted it to try to calm my racing thoughts."The Judge''s Continent¡­" I was actually shaking from shock. It had barely been ten years now and now, all that hard work was about to be taken away from me."Is that why¡­?" I had over 10,000 unassigned Stat points. I could get my base STR up to 30,000, or my base AGI or VIT up to 20,000. It really was like the universe wanted me to become the strongest. 225 Chapter 224: A Small Clue Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Troll Dungeon, at the Faroe Islands¡­"Grah!" The Trolls screamed in pain as they died from a single blow, but I swung my spear through the horde of Troll Warriors relentlessly. It took me less than five minutes to clear the horde of thirty Trolls and when the last one died, I fell to my knees. I had been hunting nonstop and without rest for more than a day.I laid down on the floor spread-eagled, and let out a sigh. My allied factions and I were actually planning on holding a feast after Mexico, but after what happened at Anton''s Store, I just had so many things on my mind to deal with it. I came here to try to clear my mind."Shit!" But all I did was just tire myself out. I tried to stay focused on the Trolls in front of me and hunted without rest, but I just found myself still thinking about the Judge''s Continent and how I was supposed to prepare for it. I also kept thinking about what to do with my 10,377 extra Stat points.""Ah, I''ll go with VIT!" It was safe to say that I really was a coward. That was the whole reason behind my desire to get stronger. I had defeated four of the Monarchs because I was a coward, because I was afraid they would get in my way."I haven''t yet met anyone strong enough to pose a threat to my HP, but it''ll be good to raise it nonetheless." My VIT right now was well over 16,000, and I had almost 10,000,000 HP, but I was still afraid. I did not know what awaited me at the Judge''s Continent. It might seem better to just raise my STR and attack power so that I wouldn''t need to feel threatened, but my ATT hadn''t let me down so far. With just about all of my attacks being critical hits now, I was now strong enough to be called an Emperor. My attack power was basically at its maximum potential.Then again, I did wonder what I would do if my attack power still wasn''t enough, which was why I was unsure of what to do with my Stat points. "But the Otadolon stage is about to end, which means this is the endgame. I know my ATT is high enough, but if it isn''t, then that means my VIT and HP aren''t high enough. I have to be safe." In the end, it was all just about peace of mind.My base VIT and AGI were at 11,000 points, so I would need 9,000 more points to get VIT up to 20,000. There was also that additional bonus I could get whenever more than one of my Stats reached 10,000 points. "If it happened then, then it''ll happen if more than one of my Stats reaches 20,000." Thanks to that, I felt a bit more at ease."Open Stats Menu." I opened my Stats Menu and began to raise my VIT. After a little while, a message appeared.==[Your base VIT has surpassed 20,000 points.Your total VIT points: 25,001Your base VIT points: 20,000VIT points increased by items: 4,700VIT points increased by skills: 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for gaining 20,000 points in VIT before anyone else.VIT will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 20,000 points in two Stats (STR, VIT) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 1,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]=="Only a thousand?" I had expected 2,000 points since I was given twice the points when I reached 20,000 points on STR and VIT. But this achievement only gave me a thousand extra points for doing both."Is it because they''re just extra points?" These points could be invested into whatever Stat I wished, but the other Stat points were automatically invested into their respective Stats. "Oh, well. Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 724Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 15,590,700/15,590,700MP: 452,800/452,800Strength: 24,714 + 4,557Agility: 14,901Vitality: 27,001Willpower: 4,468Intelligence: 4228Unassigned Stat Points: 2,377 Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 108,518Physical Defense: 50,597Magical Attack: 14,154Magical Defense: 29,034]=={Translator''s Note: Again, he did not include Shaman Ko''s SP¡­}And with that, my HP were now over 15,000,000, and my defensive Stats had increased considerably as well. Just looking at my Stats Menu put me at ease."I still have 2,377 Stat points left, though. Hmm¡­ I''ll save them for now." I just needed a total of 9000 extra Stat points to get my AGI up to 20,000 points. If I saved the points for that, I could get a total of 4,000 Stat points: 2,000 AGI points, and 2,000 extra points. I couldn''t give up on that so easily.I closed my Stats Menu after one more look and sprang to my feet. I grabbed my spear and charged at a horde of Trolls, hunting as I waited for Pedro''s Chest to open. I hadn''t really expected much from it at first, but now that I knew of the impending arrival of the Judge''s Continent, I was going to need all the help I could get.------Cape Town, South Africa¡­"Were you going to keep this a secret from me as well?""Well¡­""To think you would leave me, Dorofei Krutikov, the top shareholder of the Troll Market, out of the loop; I''m very disappointed in you. All those times you''ve called me your friend were all lies, weren''t they?"{Translator''s Note: made a mistake in CH 143, where Dorofei was first introduced. He''s not the owner of the Troll Market; he''s supposed to be the top shareholder}"No, they weren''t. I''m taking a huge risk as a Store manager by telling you this in the first place. Do you not realize that?""I think it''s a fair price after all that I''ve done for you," Dorofei said to Bohol, the owner of the Troll Market and leader of the Golden Trolls, seeming genuinely hurt."But this really is a secret we are required to keep¡­ it''s more precise to say that we''re prohibited from speaking of it unless required to.""That''s why I''m just asking to at least nudge me in the right direction.""All Store VIP members will learn of it within the next year, anyway.""I''m supposed to be the infamous Information Hunter. Do you seriously expect me to wait like everyone else?""Hmm¡­" Bohol contemplated what Dorofei just said. "Fine. I''ll tell you. But it will cost you.""I''ll give you whatever you want.""Give me back all 80% of the shares you hold in the Troll Market.""..." Dorofei hesitated. He couldn''t just readily part with all those shares. "Is this information that worth it?""Obviously. Be thankful that''s all I want.""I understand." Dorofei had noticed that things were getting busy within the Troll Market and knew that something big was going to happen, if it hadn''t happened already."The Earth''s Otadolon stage is about to end soon. Around that time, the Judge''s Continent will appear. Everything will be decided there; your fate, and Earth''s.""..." It was so bizarre that it almost sounded like a riddle, but Dorofei knew that Bohol was not a man to play with words. Dorofei also knew that he couldn''t take this message lightly. If his fate was on the line, then it was simple; the end was nigh!"Thank you.""Don''t worry about it. I''m just sorry I can''t tell you any more.""Well, I guess it''s about time I get going, then. I''ll have to start preparing, won''t I?""I wish you the best of luck."Dorofei gave Bohol a small bow and left. He still didn''t know everything, but knowing that everything would be decided on the Judge''s Continent was enough. It was worth giving up his Troll Market shares. ---Troll Dungeon¡­"Grah!"I had always preferred not to hunt at the Troll Dungeon. Just on the second floor of the dungeon, the Trolls always traveled in hordes of at least thirty. On the third floor, that number increased to at least fifty of a variety of Troll Warriors, Soldiers, Mages, and Warlocks. I had the ability to defeat them, but there were other high-grade dungeons that yielded more EXP with easier monsters. I never had a reason to stay here and fight like mad for less EXP since I usually stayed at least a month just to hunt.But now, I was doing exactly that. I practically threw myself at any Troll horde I could find and swung my spear relentlessly. This time around, my attacks easily sliced through the Trolls'' hides and I no longer found myself tired out after fighting a few Troll hordes. Hell, their attacks even bounced off my skin, and I barely lost any HP after a fight. My entire body was a weapon as I mowed through the entire dungeon floor. I was receiving the occasional level up messages, but I didn''t care about them. The message I looked out for pertained to something else.==[The Chest Containing Pedro''s Unfulfilled Desire for Revenge will now open.The Chest currently has +100 points.You will now receive an item of benefit.]==Soon, the Chest disappeared and left a single item in its place, as if it wasn''t a big deal."..." I stared dumbly at the item, however, because the item was shining with a bright purple light. It was a Rank 10 item, and an accessory at that. I really just couldn''t believe my luck at this point."Item Check," I ordered in a shaky voice.==[Avatar of Revenge (Rank 10)This bracelet was once worn by Avali, born from vengeance. Born from a strong desire for revenge, Avali lived only for vengeance. Eventually, Avali succeeded in its quest for vengeance, but now needed a new goal to live for. It needed a new target for revenge. It decided to make all monsters, its own species, animals, plants, and the very earth it lived on its targets for revenge. Blind with vengeance, it soon destroyed everything in its path, including the very God that created it. All that was left was this bracelet.Increase STR by 5,000 points.Decrease CRIT Rate by 10%, Increase CRIT Damage by 1,000%.]=="Holy¡­" While its description was long, its effects were pretty darn simple. What caught my eye was that it decreased my CRIT rate by 10%, instead of increasing it. 10% was a lot to lose. My Harrier only increased CRIT rate by 4.1% and the Desert King''s Resolution only increased it by 4.9%. The King-Emperor''s Commitment increased it by 18% but that was only after Amplification. But seeing as how it had increased STR by 5,000 and CRIT damage by 1,000%, it seemed that it was for balance reasons. In exchange for the lower CRIT chance, I had increased CRIT damage."Well, for someone like me, it''s more than enough." Even though it was a 10% loss, I still had enough CRIT chance and luck to make up for it."But¡­ that STR, though¡­" It hadn''t been that long since I was struggling with myself over VIT and STR, and had ended up deciding to go with VIT instead. But with this new item, it was like the system was trying to make up for it! 226 Chapter 225: The Mercenary Lord Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAfter taking care of my Stat points and Pedro''s Chest, I remained in the Troll Dungeon to hunt. I needed to train more than ever now. I cut through one large horde of Trolls like a tornado through a farm field, and as the last Troll fell before me, my Comm Link rang."Hello?""Ah, Young Master. There is a guest here looking for you.""Who is it?" Another guest. I''d been getting quite a few visitors lately and they had all brought trouble with them. "He says his name is Devram.""Devram?" The name sounded familiar, but I wasn''t sure from where."Yes, sir. He says he''s from the Karaviki Mercenary Corps, under the direct command of the Mercenary Lord. He says the two of you met before.""Ah, right." That''s right. Devram was the mercenary who took part in the Dark Caster Raid in the US. "Did he say why he came?""He says he has a letter from the Mercenary Lord addressed to you, and he would very much like to meet with you again.""Hmm¡­" Madun Yatekin was as much a Lord as Lagus Aman, and he was known as the perfect mercenary. In the beginning, mercenaries were more akin to con artists. They would accept a contract and the payment up front and would do whatever escort, hunting, or exploration that was asked of them, but whenever things got dicey, they would get the hell out of Dodge the first chance they got. They would then argue that the client was responsible for the failure, deem the contract void, and keep their payment. It seemed that there was no such thing as a proper mercenary. One could say that it would be better to not use these mercenaries at all in the first place, but there were always times to have to resort to such measures, regardless of the cost. It was then Madun Yatekin appeared and formed the Mercenary Corps under the Shield of Aleppo, which represented the Corps'' promise to uphold their contracts, no matter what.No ordinary Joe could wear the Shield of Aleppo. Each prospective mercenary had to show that they had the proper set of skills, abilities, and morale in order to join. They also had to follow Madun''s rules to the letter. Madun had set the requirements of what it meant to be a real mercenary, and not following his rules meant that you were a false mercenary, a con. It didn''t take long for Madun Yatekin to be called the Mercenary Lord and his Mercenary Corps became a force that could not easily be trifled with.Now that same Mercenary Lord wanted to meet with me. "I understand. I''ll be home soon." As Anton said, the Judge''s Continent was going to appear soon. With that timing, this meeting probably had something to do with it, and if that was the case, then it wasn''t a bad idea to have the Mercenary Lord as an ally.------Back at my house in Seoul¡­"It''s been a while, Mr. Lee.""It has. Have you been well?" I shook hands with Devram, and we sat down in my drawing room."Same old. You''ve been quite busy since we last met, haven''t you?""It sort of happened that way. But what brings you all the way here?""Oh, right. This is a letter to you from Master Madun." Devram took out a fancy-looking envelope with a wax seal.There really wasn''t much written in the letter. It just had a formal greeting with Madun''s signature, meaning that Devram himself wanted to meet with me."To be honest, I wanted to ask you for a favor.""Alright. I can at least hear you out.""Thank you. I''m not sure how much you know about this, but there are many thieves and cons out there who call themselves mercenaries. Master Madun has made it his personal mission to get rid of all of them.""Yeah, I''ve heard of that.""And that leaves those false mercenaries unhappy with Master Madun and the Mercenary Corps.""Well, I''m sure they''ll feel that way." Only mercenaries wearing the Shield of Aleppo received contracts, leaving the rest with no work."There are times when we fail contracts. We don''t publicize this, but it''s no secret.""Sure, that can happen.""But seventy percent of those failed contracts are because of La Griffe, an organization made up of those false mercenaries. They purposely interfere with our contracts and cause us to fail. Many of our mercenaries have died as a result." I had never heard of La Griffe, but I could tell from Devram''s sour expression how much he hated them."If we faced them in a full-on battle, we could easily wipe them out, but they know this as well and have resorted to guerilla warfare to whittle away at our resources. They are also avoiding the Karaviki division and focusing on the weaker branches. Their attacks have been getting stronger and more frequent, and our boys are starting to become restless.""Wow. That sounds very frustrating. I''m sorry to hear that.""Yes, it is frustrating, to say the least. But the kicker is¡­ they contacted us not too long ago.""Really?""Yes. They proposed a challenge to Master Madun personally, with the condition that the loser will have to disband their organization and cease all mercenary activities."What Devram explained after that was simple. The Karaviki Division of the Mercenary Corps was based in Ankara, Turkey. Store 39 of Ankara had revealed a small Quest not too long ago, called the Defense Quest. The challenge La Griffe proposed was to set the Quest at maximum difficulty and the winner would be decided by whoever lasts the longest."It seems they had properly prepared for their own challenge. They even recruited the Slayer. On top of that, they wrote up a Troll Market contract stating that we weren''t allowed to bring in any outsiders for help. This was a ploy to prevent us from recruiting someone like you. No, they were targeting you specifically." Devram took a sip from his tea before continuing. "They held us at ransom. If we didn''t sign the contract as soon as possible, they would continue their guerilla attacks against our lower branches.""Hold on a second. Did you guys sign the contract?" I interrupted."Yes, we did.""Then why are you telling me this?" I wasn''t a mercenary, nor did I wear the Shield of Aleppo. If they had already signed the contract, then there was nothing I could do. There was no breaking a Troll Market contract. There was a reason one cost 350 million golden rings."You are absolutely correct. You aren''t part of our Mercenary Corps, but you still have that item, don''t you?""Do you mean this?" I took out an item Devram had given me during the Shire Guild''s feast after the Dark Caster Raid."That''s right. La Griffe obviously predicted that we would come to you when they recruited the Slayer. I can''t blame them. No one wants to face you in battle anymore. That''s why they bought that Troll contract, but unfortunately for them, they do not know that you have that."==[Karaviki Mercenary Corps Rank 1 Token of Authority (No Rank)Grants total authority over 1,000 members of the Karaviki Mercenary Corps for 1 month.Usable only by Lee Jiwon.Destroyed after 1 use.]=="I had expected you to use it during the Abu Dhabi guild battle, or during the war in Mexico, but I see now that you didn''t need it. I have to say, though, that the Karaviki division did preemptively prepare.""But using this won''t make me a part of the Mercenary Corps." It didn''t put me under the command of the Mercenary Corps; it gave me my own mercenary team to command."You''re right. It won''t put you into our ranks, but it will make you one of our captains for a month. It wouldn''t work if we had given you the Token after we signed the contract, but since I gave that to you way before, it isn''t affected by the contract. You will become one of our captains without any issues.""Hmm¡­" I pretended I was thinking about what Devram said, but I had already decided that I would help them. The Mercenary Corps was probably the most reliable ally to have. "Very well, I''ll help. I don''t like the fact that these false mercenaries even existm either." I had faced many false mercenaries now, especially during the fight against the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke. Those damned devas working for deities were all mercenaries."Thank you!"------I stood alone on the terrace overlooking my garden."Should I tell them?" I knew that I shouldn''t keep the existence of the Judge''s Continent to myself. I knew I had to tell my allied factions since it quite literally meant the end of the world."But since all VIP members of Stores will soon learn of the Judge''s Continent, I may as well wait a little longer." If I made a scene about something only I knew, I could very well seem like a real madman. If everyone was going to find out soon enough, I may as well bide my time and wait for the perfect timing."What I need to focus on right now is my own strength." Even though I was going to need the help of other guilds and organizations, the best thing I had to rely on was my own abilities. If I was strong enough, then I could fight on the Judge''s Continent without worry."I have no time to rest." I took out my Clan Badge and used it to teleport to the Faroe Islands.I was expected to arrive at Ankara in three days. I needed to train as hard as I could during that time.------Ankara, Turkey¡­"Lee Jiwon said he''ll come?""Yes sir." Devram had just reported to his superiors what he discussed with Lee Jiwon."Ha¡­that''s a relief to hear." Madun Yatekin sighed when he heard the good news."Master Madun, do you really think we need Lee Jiwon''s help?""I was actually thinking the same thing, sir. Just because those cowards have the help of the Slayer, I doubt we have much to worry about. I''m sure our Mercenary Corps can beat them at their own game on our own!" a couple of the Corps officers exclaimed.Madun chuckled. "You may be right, but I''d rather be on the safe side. This is not the time or place for pride.""I have to agree. Besides, having Lee Jiwon on our side might be enough to show them what sort of mistake their existence is." Taniya, another of the Corps officers agreed with Madun. She didn''t seem like much, but no one ever looked down on her, especially because of the abilities she possessed."Something big awaits us on the horizon. This matter with the La Griffe is nothing compared to what''s about to happen. In order for us to prepare for this event, we need allies, and recruiting Lee Jiwon is the best place to start.""..." Taniya had never really spoken as vaguely as this before, but she was also never wrong, so the other officers did not dispute her."Very well. We''ll proceed as planned.""Yes sir!" 227 Chapter 226: The Mercenary Lord Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAnkara, Turkey¡­I stepped off the Teleporter platform with my hat and sunglasses on. I had received a call from the Corps, asking me to hide my identity when I arrived. They wanted to catch La Griffe off guard, and I also thought that it was a good idea."Blink 2." I didn''t head straight for the Corps'' headquarters. There were too many eyes on it right now, so we decided that I was to meet with a Warp Mage somewhere else. Through him, I finally arrived at the Corps'' headquarters.-------Karaviki Mercenary Corps headquarters¡­I had been to several guild headquarters by now, but this base was definitely the biggest out of all of them. It was like they were expressing their liberal lifestyle. On the other hand, there was not a single tall building in sight.I followed my guide into a building at the center of the base, where I finally met the famous Madun Yatekin, the Mercenary Lord. I never dreamed this day would actually come."It''s an honor to finally meet you. I am Madun Yatekin, commander-in-chief of the Mercenary Corps.""The honor is mine, sir. My name is Lee Jiwon," I said, shaking his hand."Thank you for agreeing to help us.""Please, it''s my pleasure. I hate these false mercenaries almost as much as you do. I also appreciate the effort you put into forming a valiant organization such as this.""Thank you for your compliment."The only two people I had any respect for now and during the past were Lagus Aman and Madun Yatekin. Both of them clearly acted for the greater good and did not act according to their own selfish needs. It was safe to say I was kind of a fan of Madun."Let''s head inside.""After you." I followed Madun to a conference room and was seated next to him. I was here at Madun''s personal invitation. I liked that very much. A woman who was also seated there stood up and addressed me."It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Lee. My name is Taniya, and I''m the Karaviki''s head of Strategic Planning.""The pleasure is mine.""Well, since I''m sure you know who we''re up against, allow me to explain the what." Soon, the projector was turned on and a video started playing. "This is where the Defense Quest takes place. If you look to the far right side, you''ll notice a tower. All we need to do is to protect that tower. It''s a simple Quest, really."The video showed a large, open space that had a linear path going straight through it. At the very end of the path stood a small tower, and down along the path in front of the tower were ten rectangular shapes spaced out in a zigzag pattern. Each rectangle looked like it could hold up to about thirty people."Along the path, you''ll see ten rectangular sites spaced out. That is where the Quest participants will have to position themselves. There is a limit of fifty-five participants. The first site will hold one person, the second will hold two, and the third will hold three and so on, until the tenth which holds ten participants. The participants will have to attack from these sites to prevent monsters from reaching the tower."As soon as I heard the explanation, I was reminded of a pretty famous game-type: tower defense!"I see from that look on your face that you know what this is about and you''re right. It works just like a tower defense game. The first site begins to whittle down at the monsters'' HP, and the sites after that have to wipe out the monsters before they reach the tower. Once they do, the Quest ends and we receive the time it took. Oh, another thing to keep in mind; dying during this quest does not incur a death penalty."Taniya''s explanation was pretty easy to understand thanks to my familiarity with the game, and I had no questions so far."There are four difficulties: easy, medium, hard, and insane. We can decide which difficulty before the Quest starts. But obviously La Griffe wants to challenge us on the insane difficulty, and we''ve already accepted the challenge. We only have one chance at this," Taniya finished and sat down."We want you to stand on the tenth site with nine others," said Madun. It seemed to be a sound choice. The more devas worked together, the higher their potential. That was how most devas fought, with tanks on the front line and healers at the back. But that was for normal devas."I actually was thinking about another site.""Excuse me?" The other officers in the conference room looked at me in confusion, except for Taniya."I want to stand at the first site.""..."It was the first site that would encounter the monsters, and alone at that. Normally, it would be impossible for a deva to last very long on the first site. It was a difficult position to place the strongest or weakest player, but that just made me want to stand there more."He who saves for tomorrow saves for the cat. Is that how the proverb goes? Anyway, I want the first site," I said to everyone in the room with a small smile."Pft." Someone broke through the awkward silence with a snort of laughter. It was Taniya. "Thank you, Mr. Lee!""For what?""You just made me a rich woman! Only I bet that you would volunteer to take the first site. And I agree with you. We should use our strongest weapon as much as we can to get the best result."Since you''re the one helping us, we''ll do as you say."That finalized our preparations. There were now four days left until it was our turn at the Defense Quest. I was actually asked to come four days before the Quest started to find the right teammates to stand with me on the tenth site, but now that there was no need to, I was allowed to take the rest of the time off.I did want to take that time and hunt some more, but I didn''t want to show the Mercenaries my uneasy state and decided to try and take it easy. It actually helped me realize that ever since my meeting with Anton, I had been pretty antsy. I mean, it was to be expected since there was going to be a competition that would decide the fate of this world."But with my abilities, I shouldn''t have anything to worry about. I just need to make sure I don''t get too cocky." I realized that worrying too much and not worrying enough would be an ever bigger problem for me, which helped me to really take a well-deserved break.------The day before the Defense quest¡­I was invited to tea with Madun and a few of his officers. That morning, I had used the Token of Authority and became a temporary Mercenary captain with five hundred Karaviki mercenaries under my command."You know, I''m beginning to think that this was all thanks to divine intervention," Madun joked."I was thinking the same thing, sir. I was a little disappointed Mr. Lee hadn''t used it during the Abu Dhabi battle or the war in Mexico, but now, I''m very relieved he hadn''t used it until now," Devram added.Madun then gestured to Taniya, who placed something on the table in front of us. "This is a token of our appreciation."The item oozed a red haze. Devram had told me when he first visited my home that they would properly reward me if I agreed to help them deal with La Griffe. I hadn''t really expected much, since just getting the chance to fight alongside the Mercenary Lord was more than enough for me, but I also wasn''t about to turn it down, especially since the item was red."Well, it looks like I definitely can''t slack off now," I joked. After some more small talk, I was left alone so that I could rest. The Quest was to start tomorrow."Item Check."==[The Reversal Prodigy (Rank 9)These are the earrings that once belonged to Paolini, known as the Reversal Prodigy.Paolini fought in countless battles and as a veteran commander, in many battles that seemed impossible for him to win. But Paolini only needed a 0.1% chance of survival. As long as he had that, Paolini was able to turn the tables around even when all seemed lost.Increase all Stats by 200 points.Increase WIL by 500 points.Increase CRIT rate by 0.1%, increase CRIT damage by 200%After a successful critical hit, there is a 30% chance the next attack is a critical hit. (Successful critical hits increase CRIT damage by 500%.)Increase skill EXP gain by 10%. DEF 850, MDEF 850]==I couldn''t help but smile at it. Even though its CRIT rate was at 0.1%, my CRIT rate was high enough, even with the 10% decrease from the Avatar of Revenge. It also had a special effect that basically increased my CRIT rate by 30% as long as my attacks were critical hits as often as possible. That could make normal attacks better than any skill. That skill EXP boost was definitely a plus, too. I had been using Judge''s Gavel as much as I could to get its level up to 2.Satisfied, I spent the rest of the day taking it easy while admiring my new earrings. It didn''t seem like my smile was going to go away any time soon.------Istanbul, Turkey¡­A group of people were gathered around a large table."Tomorrow, we will finally be able to knock that Madun Yatekin down a couple of pegs.""Just thinking about how he''ll no longer be a mercenary lifts a weight off my shoulders.""Too right. It''s his own fault for doing something no one asked him to. He''s just a hypocritical bastard who filled his own belly and left not even scraps for the rest of us."They were part of the alliance of mercenaries who couldn''t receive the Shield of Aleppo from Madun Yatekin, La Griffe. Each person gathered here today all had insults directed at Madun to say. Finally, Belngac, the chairman of La Griffe, turned to the red-headed man who was listening quietly. "I would like to thank you for joining us, Master Zulova."Zulova, also known as the Slayer, was one of the remaining three Monarchs. "Well, I''m just here because I was paid. I''m only here because you made it impossible for Lee Jiwon to come along tomorrow. He''s just getting too strong, you know? I''m too scared to try to fight him now. I''m afraid he could actually kill me like he did the Reaper and the Mad Butcher," Zulova said with a laugh. "I swear, this world is fucked. Who could have known a deva could kill deities like they were rats.""..." The entire room fell silent, even though Zulova laughed. They could all hear the despair in his voice."Well, once we take care of Madun, we will leave the remnants of the Mercenary Corps so that you may form a new one to your liking.""Good. That''s the whole reason I agreed to this anyway." La Griffe and Zulova were confident that they were going to win this competition. Even though they were limited to the people they had now, they were confident that Lee Jiwon was not able to interfere with this matter."But keep in mind that we haven''t won yet! We can celebrate after we''ve chased out Madun Yatekin!""Yes, sir!"And so, La Griffe and Zulova marched out towards Ankara, without even bothering to conceal their movements. They thought they had already won. 228 Chapter 227: Defense Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDKaraviki Mercenary Corps headquarters¡­"They''ve begun to move." While I was having tea with the Corps officers and further discussing our plans, we received the report that La Griffe had begun to mobilize."They''re not using the Teleporter in Ankara?""No, sir. They''re moving straight from Istanbul. This is the video of them that just arrived." Soon, a video was put on, showing about four thousand soldiers marching in formation towards somewhere, which was probably Ankara."Well, would you look at that?""Those rat bastards look pretty excited, don''t they?""Well, it''s not like they''re all going to fight us or anything. They''ve got all their cards on Defense.""Look, there he is. It''s the Slayer," one officer said, pointing to the screen. Sure enough, there was a red-headed man marching at the front of the army. It was Zulova, also known as the Slayer. I had only heard about him during my past life, and none of it was good. Like his title suggested, he killed without mercy."It seems that they''ve pulled out all the stops. Not only did they recruit the Slayer, I also see the Polar Bear and the assholes from the Wetlands," Taniya added.I didn''t know who the Polar Bear was, but I had heard a little about the Wetlands Mercenaries. Well, calling them mercenaries was an insult to the profession. Their real profession was burning and pillaging. Like Taniya said, they were assholes¡­ but very competent assholes."Every day, I get a reason to hate La Griffe more and more. They obviously prepared all this before daring us to sign the contract.""How ironic. These are the same assholes that have no qualms about breaking their contracts when things don''t look good for them, and yet they had to put all those restrictions on us.""It doesn''t matter. It''s enough that we made these amateurs overextend themselves this much. We just need to win, and I know we will," Madun declared firmly."Yes, sir!" replied the officers in unison.Madun then turned to me, who was sitting beside him. "I''ll be relying on you, Mr. Lee. A good chunk of my confidence actually comes from the fact that I get to fight alongside you.""Haha! I''ll do my best!" That was no lie. I had to do my best. There was no way I was going to let those fakes rise up in this world. I also didn''t want to have to return the Reversal Prodigy!---Ankara''s old town¡­It didn''t take us long to get to Ankara''s Store 39 since the Corps base was in Ankara itself. Behind Store 39 was a large, wide lot where the Defense quest took place. There were already a lot of people waiting around there, even though La Griffe hadn''t arrived yet.---"Wait, are you serious? So, whichever side with the lowest rank in the Defense quest will have to stop all mercenary activities for good?""Yeah. That''s what I read. The Troll Market contract was already revealed.""Are the La Griffe guys crazy? Do they really think they can stand up against the Mercenary Lord?"Have you been living under a rock? Did you not hear the rumors?""What rumors?""La Griffe hired the Slayer.""It''s not just the Slayer. I heard they hired the monsters of the Wetlands Mercenaries and the Polar Bear. They''re all marching here from Istanbul as we speak.""What about the Mercenary Corps?""I don''t know. But from what I know, the contract stated that they can''t hire anyone else after signing it. It''s obvious La Griffe did that after recruiting whoever they could.""But the Mercenary Lord still signed the contract?""It''s because La Griffe has increased the frequency of their guerilla attacks. Or it could just be because he wanted to end this once and for all.""Tsk. We finally had proper mercs thanks to the Mercenary Lord, but now, we might have to deal with those fakes again.""If the Mercenary Lord loses¡­ you might be right.""Shit!"---The huge crowd was talking over one another, but I could still make out that most of them were talking about how this competition came to be. Most of them seemed to favor the Mercenary Lords, but there were also some who seemed to favor La Griffe.---One hour later¡­"They''re here!" The crowd turned as La Griffe''s finally showed themselves. I also watched as I kept myself hidden and half-disguised.Each side had about four thousand soldiers, and faced each other with about ten meters between them. Soon, a single man from each side stepped forward; Madun Yatekin of the Mercenary Corps, and Belngac of La Griffe.---"Who would have thought I would get to meet the famous Mercenary Lord this often?""I was thinking the same thing. It was so hard to get you to show yourselves, but to think this was all it took; maybe I should have tried a little harder.""Hahaha! We are constantly busy, after all. I''m sure someone as stuck up as you doesn''t know it, but there are many dirty jobs that require people like us. That''s the one thing you''re hopelessly na?ve about.""Is that right? For some reason, I don''t want to know."Sparks were flying between the two men."Well, you don''t need to know since you''ll be leaving the mercenary world soon enough, and for good.""Hmm¡­ For some reason, I can''t help but think differently.""Hahaha! Well, we''ll find out soon enough, with all these people to stand witness," Belngac exclaimed with his arms outstretched, gesturing to the huge crowd around them."Then shall we begin?""Let''s."There were six lanes on the huge lot made specifically for the Defense quest. All six lanes were empty, so the Corps and La Griffe could compete at the same time. But then, Belgnac spoke up. "What do you say we take turns instead of doing it at the same time?""Why?""Well, this is the Store 39''s special quest. There is the quest reward we can try to receive. It''ll be hard to try for the reward if either of us ends up losing at least one lane. Wouldn''t it be better to just take turns?" Belgnac''s explanation seemed simple, but Madun knew that there was more to it than he was letting on. This competition wasn''t started just for a quest reward."You sound pretty confident.""Hahaha. Do you mean to say that you''re not?" Belgnac just wanted to set as many records as he could. He didn''t want to win by a hair; he wants to leave the Corps in the dust."Fine. A quest is important, too." Madun Yatekin was confident too."Smart man," Belgnac said as he took out a single golden ring. "Heads or tails?""Tails.""Then I''m heads. Whoever calls right will go first." Belgnac flipped the coin into the air and let it drop in his hand. It was heads. "We''ll be going first.""Let''s see how well you do.""Thank you. We''ll do our very best."Madun and Belngac returned to their armies and soon, fifty-five La Griffe soldiers emerged. They headed to the first lane and took their positions.---I and the Corps officers watched as the La Griffe team took their positions."It''s just as we expected. They''re focusing on Sites 6-10.""It is the most effective method."The Slayer entered Site 10 while the Wetlands Mercenaries filled up Sites 7 and 9. Once they were all in position, someone yelled out from Site 10. "Difficulty set to Insane!"A black door soon appeared at the start of the first lane and when it opened, a single orc monster exited through the door. It was the weakest of all Orc-type monsters, an Orc Slave."Gah!" The deva on Site 1 easily cut it down with a couple of slashes of his sword. When the Orc Slave died, another monster exited the door."The first wave starts off with very weak monsters, even on Insane difficulty. Soon, monsters will appear that are too difficult to fight alone," Taniya said beside me."I see." As I turned to face her, I noticed that she was trembling. She looked extremely focused, though, as if she was nervous and excited at the same time."It''s weird, isn''t it," Taniya asked with a chuckle."Yeah, it is.""When I saw the deva on the first Site, I envisioned what you would be like on it¡­ Well, I''m sure you''ll show everyone here what you''ll do, and why you''re called the First Emperor.""...""It''s why I couldn''t help, but shiver."For a second there, I didn''t know how to respond, but I quickly gathered myself. "Right. I''ll do exactly that."I turned back to the deva on the first Site. Just as Taniya said, about three minutes later, I could see exactly why the insane difficulty was just too hard for one person. Before one monster could be killed, more and more monsters emerged from the door one by one. After a total of seven minutes, the first deva fell."Wow. Seven minutes. That deva''s pretty good.""Yeah. Seven minutes on Insane difficulty is much better than I expected."The monsters then moved to the second Site where there were two devas, and those devas lasted about thirteen minutes. Sites three, four, and five each lasted about between ten to twenty minutes, making La Griffe''s run currently at around sixty minutes.Finally, the wave of monsters reached the sixth Site. The huge horde of monsters was met with a shower of powerful spells. It was obvious that the six devas had properly prepared for today."They must have put in a lot of effort preparing for the quest.""We''ve put in just as much effort as well, if not more. There''s no need to be nervous.""Yes, sir."The officers and I continued to watch as the six-man team fought fiercely against the growing horde of monsters. They were doing great, but this was still on Insane difficulty.---"Shit! The monsters immune to magic are already here! What the hell are we supposed to do now?" A total of an hour and ten minutes had passed. There weren''t a lot of magic-immune monsters, but there were enough to overrun the sixth Site. The monsters finally reached the seventh Site.Before they got too close, the Wetlands Mercenaries quickly turned the ground in front of them into muddy and swampy terrain. The magic-immune monsters were not immune to the change in terrain and fell into the bog."None escapes the bog''s grasps! I sacrifice thee to the Bog Witch!"At the mercenary''s command, the monsters in the swamp began to get sucked into the boggy water. Even a giant golem had trouble moving. It wasn''t a perfect spell, however, because of the ranged-type and flying-type monsters. The Wetlands Mercenaries could not hold against those monsters for much longer, but still managed to hold the wave for fifteen minutes. The eighth and ninth Sites fought just as hard as the mercenaries before them, but even they could not last more than fifteen minutes. No one despised them for it, however. They all knew buying fifteen minutes each was no easy feat.Two hours and one minute had passed by the time the ninth Site fell. All that was left was the tenth Site, and I concentrated on that Site to see how well the Slayer and the strongest of La Grille would do. I did learn one thing from the past two hours, though. I had to prevent the monsters from piling up and I knew that I could, no matter how high the monsters'' DEF and MDEF were! 229 Chapter 228: Defense Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe ten soldiers of the first lane''s tenth Site fought fiercely to show the spectators why they were chosen to fight on the tenth Site, especially the Slayer."Gahahaha! Eat them all!" Zulova cackled as he swung his oversized greatsword like a madman. Every time he slashed his greatsword, Bobocica, at the monsters, the monsters'' blood was absorbed into the blade. It was a pretty infamous weapon back then, so I knew something about its abilities."Bobocica is a Named weapon that grows stronger in battle. It''s basically of the same body and soul as Zulova. It resides within Zulova outside of battle. The wounds it inflicts cannot be healed normally. Even Trolls have trouble recovering against wounds the blade inflicts. The blood it absorbs also adds to Zulova''s strength temporarily," Taniya whispered to me."He really is a Monarch, isn''t he?""Yes, he is. All he needs to do is feed Bobocica monsters like that, and he and Bobocica grow stronger together. But¡­" Taniya turned to look at me. "We have the man capable of destroying all the Monarchs right here, don''t we?""I''m still envious of him. I wouldn''t have to worry about buying weapons anymore if I had something like that.""What? Oh! I suppose you''re right. Weapons are expensive," Taniya said as she gave a surprised giggle.I gave her a small smile in return and turned my attention back to the fight. Zulova and the nine other soldiers were still fighting hard. By now, twenty minutes had passed since they started fighting and it was looking like they could go on.---"Shit. Aren''t they doing too well?""I know, right? It''s already been two hours and twenty minutes¡­""That''s the highest record, isn''t it?""Yeah.""Damn Monarchs. Madun may be the strongest of the Corps, but they''ve got the Slayer, the Wetland Mercs, and the Polar Bear on their side. The Corps can''t beat them. If only they didn''t have the Slayer as their enemy¡­""Damn those cheating La Griffe bastards! They blatantly made sure they had the advantage. Why would Madun foolishly accept that contract in the first place?""Shh! Madun and the Karaviki are right in front of us! Watch your mouth.""I''m just frustrated!"The Mercenary Corps'' members were beyond frustrated as the more time went on, the higher La Griffe''s record grew. The other La Griffe soldiers remained silent. This was still the Mercenary Corps'' home.---It had looked like they could hold on till the end of time at first, but the longer Defense ran on, the more HP and MP they lost as their Fatigue rose. The monsters continued to appear, each wave stronger than the last as well. Their line was beginning to break."Stop them!""I can''t! They already broke through my Iron Wall!""Shit! Still try to stop them! We can''t let them break through!"Their record was now past two and a half hours. There were now monsters capable of killing the softer dealers and healers with a single blow. If their tank line fell, there would be no way to stop the wave of monsters. Bad things come in threes, however, when a Bull Ogre, a Stone Golem and an Iron Golem suddenly appeared amid the monsters. They couldn''t kill all the monsters at a fast pace anymore, and the monsters were beginning to stack up. It wouldn''t be long until the monsters broke through the tenth Site."Think of this as our last chance and keep attacking!""Just ten seconds! No, just one second is fine. Just hold out a little longer!""Yes, sir!""Stalagmite!"Lava Burst!""Thunderstorm!"The tenth team had lasted more than thirty minutes. They had no doubt done more than enough,but still they fought and I couldn''t help but frown at the sight. My enemy was just doing too well, making my job just that much harder.Finally, about a minute later, the tank hunkered down at the front was washed away by the wave of monsters. Once the tank was gone, it didn''t more than a few seconds for the dealers and healers to follow him. But Zulova still stood."Erupt!" he cried as he raised his now five-meter long Bobocica high into the air. At his command, the giant sword began to shrink as a red aura spewed out of the blade. It was like it was expelling everything it had eaten so far. The stacked monsters were then pushed back along the lane and fell to the floor."And that''s the power of La Griffe!" People began to shout from the crowd."Don''t kid yourself! Since when was the Slayer a member of La Griffe!?""Your last five Sites were all members of Polar Bear and Wetlands! You guys didn''t do jack shit, so shut your trap!""Hah! Don''t get sore now! They''re obviously a part of us right now! If they weren''t, they wouldn''t be here today in the first place!""Yeah! What''s the matter? Did you forget about the contract already?"Even though this was Ankara, the home of the Mercenary Corps, the supporters of La Griffe couldn''t help but express their joy. La Griffe''s two and half hour long record was just too high.---Zulova had shown everyone why he was one of the Monarchs, but he could not last much longer against the growing wave of monsters. Soon, the monsters broke through the last line of defense and reached the tower. At that moment, a message appeared above the tower for all to see.==[The tower has been corrupted by monsters.La Griffe''s Defense is now over.Difficulty: InsaneTime: 02:35:44Current rank: 1st]=="Yeaah!""We''re in first place! Alright!"The hurrah of four thousand soldiers was deafening, which grew louder when the quest''s ranking appeared.==[Defense Rankings ¨C Insane Difficulty1st. 02:35:44 ¨C La Griffe2nd. 01:01:18 ¨C Horus''un3rd. 00:56:31 ¨C Dahlaman]==1st place was twice as long as 2nd place. Even though only Turkish guilds could participate in this quest, it was just too great a difference. From what I knew in the past, the Mercenary Corps had won with a record of two hours and twenty-something minutes in the past, but La Griffe was well over that now. Five minutes was no laughing matter for the Insane difficulty.The Mercenary Corps fell into a sullen silence as La Griffe were busy cheering away, expect for me."Well, looks like it''s getting interesting." I said it just loud enough for Taniya and the other officers to hear. It was too early to be depressed. We hadn''t even started yet, and I was now even more excited to begin, especially when I was told just five minutes ago that the monsters yielded EXP.I may have been temporarily conscripted into the Mercenary Corps for a month, but I was still an outsider. If an outsider like me was this confident, it wouldn''t do for the actual members to give up hope now. A few actually picked up on this and put on confident smiles."Hah! How embarrassing," Madun said to me."Don''t worry about it."Soon, thefirst lane was automatically cleaned up by the system, and the fifty-five soldiers were resurrected, including Zulova. When he saw that, Madun stepped forward."Karaviki division, listen up!""Sir!""La Griffe is head over heels over their simple record. Let''s show them what real mercenaries can do!""Yes, sir!"Soon, I and fifty-four Karaviki mercenaries headed for thefirst lane. I placed myself right in the middle of the first Site and let out a deep sigh. My heart rate was picking up and I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline wash over me. I wasn''t nervous at all. "Mana Conversion ¨C Ice."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Ice Level 2 has been activated.]==Warrior''s Brave Spirit lasted two hours, and Howl of the Wolf lasted one. Even with the added bonus of the skill boost item I received from the Myth Guild, I still needed to save them for at least an hour or two into the quest."Difficulty set to Insane!" I heard Madun shout loudly from behind me and at the same moment, the black door appeared."Heh. Bring it on."---"It looks like Madun had the same idea," Belngac said when he noticed Madun on the tenth Site."It''s the best strategy after all.""But if Madun''s Focus¡­""It won''t matter. It will only work on ten people. Focus''s effects grow stronger if more people are affected by it, but ten people won''t be enough to make much of a difference. That''s why I chose Defense out of all other methods."Madun''s special ability, called Focus, was an overpowered AoE buff skill that could sharply raise the abilities of up to ten thousand people. But Madun was still a powerful deva if Focus was not taken into account. That was why the Shield of Aleppo carried weight. "Hmm¡­ I don''t think I see any outsiders," Zulova said."Yes. They all seem to be Karaviki Mercenaries," Belngac replied, but they only paid attention to Sites 5-10. "It''s starting!""Hmph. I don''t care how strong the Mercenary Lord is supposed to be; it''s impossible for them to last more than two and a half hours without any help!"The La Griffe officers watched the first lane with high spirits, obviously not giving much thought about the person on the first Site.---Slash!"Grah!"Slash!"Gah!"The black door was constantly throwing out monsters, but I just mechanically swung my spear at the monsters that came out. They were the weaker monsters since the quest just began, so there wasn''t much need to put in more work. I was even using my Rank 7 spear, saving my Harrier as a surprise. With my exceptional Stats and Mana Conversion''s buff, it was more than enough. Five minutes into the wave, I was still cutting the monsters down with one hit.By now, I could hear the crowd begin to murmur. The crowd began to grow louder as I passed the five minute mark, but I continued my work. But soon, my identity was pretty much revealed when Powerful Shock went off after my attack and a red bolt of lightning struck the monster in front of me.---"The man on the first Site isn''t your average deva.""No, he isn''t.""It was impossible for any outsiders like Lee Jiwon to join them, right?""Of course," Albini, the head of Strategic Planning for La Griffe, replied."But strangely enough, that man reminds me of Lee Jiwon.""He is using a spear, but that spear has a black blade. Lee Jiwon''s spear is red and shaped differently. There''s no way he''s Lee Jiwon.""Then why do I keep seeing Lee Jiwon? Is it just me?""Well¡­" Albini couldn''t reply, because he saw it too. Then, it happened. One of Lee Jiwon''s trademark red lightnings came crashing down on top of a monster."Lee Jiwon!""It''s Lee Jiwon the First Emperor!""It''s Lee Jiwon versus the Slayer!""Yeaah!""Alright! That''s what I''m talking about!"The crowd was going wild while a stunned silence enveloped La Griffe."What is the meaning of this?""I''m not sure. The Troll Market contract is still in effect.""Then does that mean Lee Jiwon was already a part of the Mercenary Corps?" Belngac asked angrily"It''s¡­ the only explanation," Albini quickly replied."But is that arrogance I see?" Zulova said quietly. It was just impossible for anyone to last very long on the first Site, but that was Lee Jiwon''s position. "We might actually win because of Lee Jiwon''s arrogance."Zulova had just experienced how strong the monsters were. He knew that there was no time to rest at all. It was only possible for Zulova to last more than thirty minutes because he had supporters to help him. It was just impossible to do it alone.Thanks to Zulova''s words, La Griffe''s officers were able to watch with newfound hope. Lee Jiwon continued to fight on, his hat off and his red spear now out. 230 Chapter 229: Defense Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDTwenty minutes had passed since Defense started and I could no longer kill the monsters with one hit now. It was time to enter stage two. "Ripped Advance." This skill lasted for 24 hours, so I decided to use this one before using Warrior''s Brave Spirit and Howl of the Wolf.==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base stat points will be increased.)Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]==Slash!"Grah!"I was one-hit killing the monsters again. I smiled as I brought up my partial Stats Menu.==[HP: 29,291,200/29,291,200MP: 1,069,600/1,069,600Strength: 64,708+ 5,007Agility: 30,202Vitality: 54,402Willpower: 10,336Intelligence: 8,856Unassigned Stat Points: 2,397]==My STR was now way over 60,000, meaning my ATT was probably the highest in the entire world. I did wish my Shaman Ko points were doubled too, in case I ever needed to activate Shaman Ko''s Will, but I didn''t really mind much.Then, at the forty-minute mark, the monsters were once again still standing after one attack. It was time for stage three. "Warrior''s Brave Spirit."==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.For 2 hours, ATT increases by 25%, CRIT rate by 2%, CRIT damage by 100%, movement speed by 10% and attack speed by 5%. For 2 hours, Indomitable Spirit is in effect. (Indomitable Spirit decreases incoming damage by 12%, increases DEF and MDEF by 10%.Fatigue does not rise while this skill is in effect.]==With my attack increased by 25%, I was once again one-hit killing the monsters. A little while longer, stronger monsters had now appeared. "Summon: Sand Warriors!"My Sand Warriors would have 20% of my current combat abilities. They would be strong enough to aid me even without this place being a desert terrain. I worked in tandem with my two Sand Warriors, finishing off the monsters they attacked. The one-hour mark had passed now ,and still the monsters hadn''t started to stack yet. I kept killing them before they could."Howl of the Wolf." This was still on Insane difficulty, however and soon I had to use my last buff skill. The way I and my Sand Warriors cut down the monsters before us actually reminded me of the shredder I used to man over at my factory job. We pretty much tore at the monsters relentlessly with our spears.Again, more resilient monsters were starting to appear, but I wasn''t worried. I still had my secret weapon, the Reversal Prodigy. I was attacking enough for it to activate and make all of my attacks critical hits. With the King-Emperor''s Commitment and the Avatar of Revenge, my CRIT damage was over 2000%. No monster could ever stand up against me for very long. If they did, I just used Fissure to slow them down and finish them off. If they still started to stack, I used Judge''s Gavel to push the monsters away with the sheer force of the blow.==[Judge''s Gavel has gained a level.]==I smirked. It had finally gained a level, after all this time."Back up," I commanded and the Sand Warriors moved behind me. With my increased Stats, I wanted to take on all the monsters on my own. "Bring it on!"---The entire crowd watched the first lane in silence. It may as well have been a library, save for a few whispering to each other."Wow¡­ what''s the time now?""It''s been thirty minutes since it started.""Holy¡­and he''s still one-hitting the monsters.""Seriously. Look at all those critical hits. Who does that?""Look, eight just went off in a row. Did you see that?""Yeah. I see why now everyone''s been calling him the First Emperor," one man said when his friend beside him tapped him on the elbow."Hey, look over there. Zulova looks like he was just fed a spoonful of dog crap.""Not just him. Look at the La Griffe guys. They look even worse.""I know, right? Serves them right."The Mercenary Corps supporters were elated as Lee Jiwon continued to mow down the wave of monsters, but as Lee Jiwon was still one-hit killing the monsters after the 60-minute mark, the joy was soon replaced with shock. They all expected Lee Jiwon to last this long on the first Site, but to still one-hit kill all of those monsters was just too hard to accept. He was supposed to be a deva that started around the same time as everyone else, but it was like he had a three-year head start.Zulova took this the hardest. He believed that before Lee Jiwon appeared, he had no one to fear as one of the Seven Monarchs. "So¡­ he wasn''t arrogant at all." Zulova had misjudged Lee Jiwon from the start. Even though the one-hit kill parade was now just about over, Zulova and the La Griffe officers watched Lee Jiwon in despair. They were going to be defeated.---I stole a glance at the timer in the sky as I continued to slice through the wave of monsters. It had been an hour and forty-seven minutes. Just then, another message appeared.==[You have gained a level.]==After reaching level 700, it had taken me a little more than a day of nonstop hunting to gain just one level, but this was EXP heaven. There were so many monsters here that I was gaining EXP like crazy. It was like these monsters yielded more EXP in exchange for not dropping items or golden rings. That was good enough for me!Just then, Golem monsters started to emerge from the black door. These guys had high DEF. Normally, the strategy would be to kill all the Fire Warriors with high ATT first, but I shifted my attention to the Golems instead. If these guys started to stack, it would just get harder for me to clear up the monsters. I could just ignore whatever damage the Fire Warriors did to me and kill them after I dealt with the Golems whenever they appeared. I left the Sand Warriors to hold down the line and began hacking away at the Golems. By now, I was more focused on the EXP than on time.---Site 10 of the first lane¡­The Karaviki Mercenaries were still on the other nine Sites behind Lee Jiwon, and had started off this Defense wave with heightened focus to try and buy just a few extra seconds for the Mercenary Corps. But now, they were unsure of what to do."What''s the time?""Two hours and two minutes.""Ha¡­ that''s the time La Griffe had on their ninth Site, right?""Yeah, it is.""And Lee Jiwon did that all on his own?""Yup¡­and it''s looking like he''s¡­going to do more. Look at him. He''s laughing to himself."Lee Jiwon mostly had his back to the Karaviki Mercenaries, but they could occasionally see him smile and laugh as he moved around killing monsters. He was actually having fun. It was like he didn''t want the wave to end.One mercenary sat down."Hey! What are you doing? Get back up!""What? He''s going to last about another hour anyway.""But still¡­""Master Madun is sitting down, too."The other mercenaries turned around, to see that Madun and the other tenth Site mercenaries were either sitting down or leaning on their weapons. They looked at each other before sitting down as well."You know, if I knew it''d be like this, I would have brought some popcorn or something.""Me too."---The timer had passed two hours and forty-seven minutes. I didn''t need to keep fighting anymore, and Howl of the Wolf had deactivated by now. These monsters were also about five times stronger than all the high-grade dungeon monsters I''d faced so far. They were only going to get stronger but that just made me want to fight more and get more EXP."Fissure!" The ground split in front of me again. "Stay behind me and cover my back," I commanded my Sand Warriors and stepped forward. I slashed and stabbed, no longer caring about defending or dodging. I couldn''t let the wave of monsters stack up.==[You have gained a level.]==I haven''t had a second to rest yet, but I wasn''t tired, as long as that message continued to appear.---"Was¡­ Lee Jiwon a tank?""He was more of dealer than a tank with crazy high ATT.""But¡­ look at him.""..." Lee Jiwon was just attacking without even giving the attacks that came his way a second glance. He was a tank and dealer rolled up into one. A true Rank 1 player. Zulova and the rest of the crowd just continued to stare in shock.---The timer had now passed two hours and fifty-nine minutes. As each minute and second passed, even stronger monsters poured out of the door, as if the system wanted to stop me once and for all."But there''s no way I''m giving up on all this EXP now!" I had already beaten La Griffe''s record, but I wanted to set an even higher record, one that they couldn''t possibly reach. I was going to keep going until I dropped dead.I continued to attack, ignoring the Fire Arrow that struck my leg, or the Fireball that burned my side. Just then, another message appeared.==[A special 3-hour monster for the Insane Difficulty will now appear.]==A giant bull lumbered out of the door, giving out a bellow that rattled my bones. It was more than seven meters tall and looked strong and tough. It was definitely going to be hard to stop, but coincidentally, my newly leveled-up skill had just came out of its cooldown! 231 Chapter 230: Defense Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe giant bull bellowed again. Its giant seven-meter tall body was truly intimidating, but my eyes drifted towards the load bags that were on its back. I had no idea what was inside those bags, but if this was a special monster, then there had to be something inside worth taking."Then I may as well take it for myself." I had no intention of letting the mercenaries behind me have whatever it was. This was my payment for getting us this far.I cut down the lesser monsters in front of me while keeping an eye on the bull that slowly stomped its way towards me. I carefully bided my time until it got close enough. "Judge''s Gavel!" I quickly activated before activating another skill. "Altered Equality."I didn''t feel the need to use Altered Equality on the lesser monsters, because they still pretty much fell to my normal attacks after using all of my buff skills. But I definitely had to use it on the giant bull to allow Judge''s Gavel to inflict maximum damage.==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]==I smiled when the messages confirmed that Altered Equality worked, and jumped high in the air bringing my spear down atop of the bull''s head. The Judge''s hammer that fell down from the sky was the biggest so far and produced the loudest crash I had ever heard from it. The giant bull was actually pushed back five meters from the blow, but wasn''t dead yet. I could tell, however, that it took severe damage, as both of its horns had shattered."Fissure!" I was slightly surprised that it had actually survived Judge''s Gavel after Altered Equality, but it was only for a moment. I just needed to keep attacking it until it died. I charged at the giant bull and slashed at it. Its hide had looked extremely tough at first, but now, my spear was actually easily cutting through its flesh. I quickened my attacks because the black door continued to expel monsters. The spearhead started to flash yellow again and again six times before a message appeared before me.==[You have defeated the special three-hour monster on Insane Difficulty.]==The load bags on the bull''s back exploded, dropping several objects to the floor.==[You will now receive the reward for defeating the special three-hour monster on Insane Difficulty.Those that have at least killed one monster during this Defense wave will be granted large EXP bundles. Even those that have died will receive the same amount of EXP.]==There were countless large EXP bundles on the floor and they were all for me. I was the only one to have killed any monsters during this Defense wave.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]==::==[You have gained a level.]==Several level-up messages appeared one after the other. I had no idea about this and hadn''t heard anything of the sort from the Mercenary Corps. That meant no one knew that this was a thing. I had no time to be happy about it, as more and more monsters continued to pour out of the door. This was no doubt not a normal power-leveling method, but these monsters were yielding at least ten times the EXP as high-grade dungeon monsters. I couldn''t give up on this, not yet!---About forty minutes had passed since I had defeated the giant bull. Warrior''s Brave Spirit had deactivated by now and my Sand Warriors had returned to the sand. That was just how strong the new monsters were. I was even beginning to flinch at their attacks as they cut through my DEF and started to take a chunk out of my HP. But I continued to attack for more EXP.==[You have gained a level.]==I was beginning to see the end, however, as the monsters were starting to stack. I was consistently getting four critical hits in a row, but the monsters were still standing and kept pushing me back. They were definitely stronger than dungeon boss monsters. I wasn''t bummed out about it, however. I definitely did everything that I could, and got quite the reward for my efforts. It wasn''t long before I was overrun by the wave of monsters.==[Because you have not died a true death and are protected by the quest''s magic, the Eternal Fire will not activate.]==That was the last message I saw before I died.---After Lee Jiwon was removed from the lane, the wave of monsters quickly pushed towards the second site. "Whoa. They took him out so quickly." The two mercenaries knew that if Lee Jiwon couldn''t do anything against this wave, they had no hope. But they were still mercenaries carrying the mark of the Shield of Aleppo. They put up an Ice Wall and prepared to attack even though the monsters broke through the Wall as if it were made of glass."It''s as we expected.""But¡­""But nothing. I don''t want to embarrass the Corps and just let them kill me without a fight. Let''s at least attack with everything we''ve got. Stalagmite!""Blizzard!"The two mercenaries fired off their strongest spells at the incoming wave of monsters, but the spells just bounced off the monsters and they were soon overrun. It was the same for the next sites until the tenth site. The Mercenary Lord and his team did manage to last about five minutes, showing everyone that they were still the strongest of the Corps. Not a single person in the crowd looked down on them. Instead, they all cheered as Madun fought to the end. Once Madun fell and the monsters finally reached the small tower, a message appeared for all to see.==[The tower has been corrupted by monsters.The Karaviki Division''s Defense is now over.Difficulty: InsaneTime: 03:57:58Current rank: 1st]==The Mercenary Corps had secured an overwhelming victory, with a record an hour and twenty minutes longer than La Griffe''s."Yeaaah!""We did it! We won!""Eat that, La Griffe!"The entirety of the Mercenary Corps and its supporters cried out in joy, while La Griffe and its supporters all looked like they had just been battered for the fryer. La Griffe was finished.---The mercenaries and I were returned amid the deafening cheers around us."Thank you, Mr. Lee," I heard Madun say from beside me."Not a problem. I''m just glad I could be of help," I replied. I was more than satisfied with what I''d done. The Reversal Prodigy the Corps had given me was a great help, as well. I got off so many critical hits thanks to it. I was also satisfied with all the levels I had gained in the past four hours. I smiled and joined the cheering mercenaries.---After about ten minutes, the crowd finally quieted down. Madun and Belgnac stood face to face once again at the same spot from about six hours ago."You don''t need to know, right?""..." Belgnac didn''t say anything back for a while before finally speaking up. "You are a mercenary like the rest of us, but you treat us so severely. You put so many restrictions on us while calling it equality," he said loudly enough for all to hear. Madun wasn''t fazed, however. "I know I am. I care more about a mercenary''s duty than a mercenary''s rights. But it was all because of you brigands and thieves calling yourselves mercenaries and stealing from other people. Am I wrong? Mercenaries aren''t thugs or assassins. I want to ask you, Belgnac. Is La Griffe truly a mercenary guild?""..." Belgnac didn''t have a comeback this time."Scum like you has dirtied the mercenary profession long enough. It is my duty to pick up the pieces and make mercenaries trustworthy once again," Madun said loudly enough for all to hear. "I am proud to be a mercenary. I find it disgusting that you would call yourself the same. That is why I created my Mercenary Corps, so that real, proper, and honorable mercenaries can finally be treated the way they deserve to be treated. No one will ever look down on my mercenaries ever again!""Yeah!""Madun! Madun! Madun!"Madun said one more thing to Belgnac amidst the deafening cheers. "I am so happy that you and La Griffe are no longer mercenaries. I will take this chance to make my declaration."Madun waited for the right timing to shout through the cheers. "According to the contract I have signed with Belgnac, La Griffe and all of its affiliated members and organizations are no longer mercenaries, now and forever!"==[The Troll Market contract will now take effect.]==Countless beams of light shot out from the sky and connected with every single member of La Griffe. The light didn''t hurt them and disappeared in an instant. La Griffe had dug its own grave. Belgnac and the La Griffe members could say nothing. It was their own contract, after all.---I looked over where Zulova stood. He was close enough that I wouldn''t need to use Blink to get next to him in an instant. If this wasn''t a competition and a guild battle instead, I would have attacked him without hesitation. The competition was over, however, with La Griffe''s defeat."Hmm¡­" I contemplated for a moment before I returned my Harrier to my inventory. This was between the Mercenary Corps and La Griffe. Now that La Griffe were no longer mercenaries, there was no need for me to cause a scene. Well, I couldn''t since I was technically Madun''s subordinate for the next month. There was also what Anton told me about the Judge''s Continent. Zulova was part of this Earth, like me and like it or not, I might have to rely on him in the upcoming contest."Let''s head home!" Madun shouted.I took that moment to quickly run up to Zulova. I put on a sincere smile and stretched out my hand. Hell, if he refused my handshake, I had every intention of hugging him instead. 232 Chapter 231: The Value of Information Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI really was going to go as far as hug Zulova if he didn''t accept my handshake, but he didn''t turn me down. He must have not had heard from Jose and Cantana Alejandro how I had just backstabbed them, which was good for me."It''s an honor to finally meet you. I''ve heard many things about you," I said and shook his hand for about a minute."Uh, yes. I''ve heard many things about you too." He didn''t make it seem obvious, but I could tell from his clammy hand that he was more than taken aback. I was, after all, not only called the First Emperor, but also the Monarch Hunter. But I acted as if nothing was wrong and Zulova did the same."It was unfortunate we had to meet in these circumstances, but I hope the next time we meet, we''ll be on the same side.""Yes. I was thinking the same thing." Zulova was obviously wary about my true intentions, but he had to at least keep up the appearance that we had no bad blood between us. If he didn''t, then he would experience firsthand what I put Cantana Alejandro through."I''ll see you around.""Likewise."------Karaviki Mercenary Corps headquarters¡­A feast was held that very day as what we had achieved today would go down in history as one of the Mercenary Corps'' greatest achievements. The party went on until late at night, and when it was finally over for the day, I retired to the room the Corps had prepared for me and plopped face down on my bed"Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 814Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 15,690,700/15,690,700MP: 522,800/522,800Strength: 32,354 + 5,007Agility: 15,101Vitality: 27,201Willpower: 5,168Intelligence: 4428Unassigned Stat Points: 4,477 + 3Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 130,378Physical Defense: 51,797Magical Attack: 14,754Magical Defense: 30,734]==All those EXP bundles that the giant bull dropped were supposed to be shared by all fifty-five participants of the Defense wave; that is, in normal cases. But the reward description didn''t specify about the limit of EXP bundles one person was allowed to have. Just as long as a member had killed at least one monster during the wave, they were allowed their share. It seemed right, because getting to the three-hour mark was no easy feat. Helping the party get to that point was fair enough."But it was all for me." My level went up 89 times during the Defense wave! Thirteen of those were from killing all those monsters on my own for close to four hours. I smiled. "What to do with 4,477 unassigned Stat points?" Getting my base AGI up to 20k wasn''t such a faraway dream anymore...---The next day, a message appeared before me.==[Ripped Advance is no longer in effect.You will lose 0-100 Stat points randomly from your five Stats.]==It was supposed to be a pretty big penalty, but I waved it off. A hundred Stat points was nothing for me.==[You have lost Stat points from the following Stats.STR -50, AGI 0, VIT 0, WIL 0, INT 0]=="Huh¡­I guess my Luck can''t do anything about that." I did hope that I would lose closer to zero points, but I guess this was the most my Luck Boost could do. Losing 50 points wasn''t all that bad, so I just waved away the message.------After the weeklong festivities, I was asked to meet with Madun Yatekin before leaving."What is this?" I asked when Madun passed an item my way."It''s the winner''s reward.""Winner''s reward? For what?""For the Defense quest.""Oh." I had actually forgotten about that all this time. I cared more about defeating La Griffe and Zulova than about the quest."It''s rightfully yours, which is why we brought it over to you exactly the way we received it.""But¡­" I didn''t take it right away. I was still a member of the Karaviki Mercenary Corps, as temporaryasthe position was. I had to keep up appearances."No, it''s yours. You not only won us the competition, you completed the quest all on your own. It belongs to you. This is also not only my decision, but the unanimous decision made by the other fifty-four party members who stood behind you," Madun said, as some of the party members who sat with us nodded fervently. "I see. Thank you.""Mr. Lee," Taniya said."Yes?""This won''t be the last we hear from you, will it?""Of course not. I treasure my friends." I agreed to help them in order to establish a good relationship with Madun Yatekin in the first place. I valued him more as an ally than I did my other allied factions. Well, I guess the Sunbin Guild was a special case... "Haha. I''m glad we''re of the same mind," Taniya said with a smile."So am I," I replied with a smile of my own. With that out of the way, I shared my farewells with the Corps officers as I turned down the bundle of golden rings they tried to push onto me before I left. Having them set up their own embassy in my base in Seoul was already more than enough to me.------Komosomolets Island, Russia¡­"Hmm¡­" Dorofei was alone in the study of his mansion, which stood alone in the northernmost Russian island. He thought of what to make of the most valuable piece of information he had come across. "But there''s nothing about the Judge''s Continent anywhere..."Dorofei was told that the Continent would appear when the Otadolon stage came to an end and would be the place that would decide Earth''s fate. He needed to learn more about the Judge''s Continent and about what kind of competition that would take place, so that he could at least prepare."If the Otadolon stage is going to end, then something in this world system we''re in right now is going to change. There''s a chance that change will be just as unbelievable as the voice in the sky." That was all Dorofei could gather after spending almost his entire fortune on information alone, but it was worth it. No, it was more than worth it. Knowing more than anyone else in this world was always a step up, but that no longer mattered to Dorofei anymore. The world was ending and Dorofei needed to know more about the Judge''s Continent. He was born of this very Earth, after all. Dorofei picked up the report he just received, still hot from the printer. "Hmm¡­if it''s him¡­" The report had all the information on the recent competition between the Mercenary Corps and La Griffe, and how Lee Jiwon had once again showed unbelievable strength."It''s quite the mystery¡­" Dorofei had kept an eye on Lee Jiwon ever since India. He had chalked everything up to luck at first, but no one was this lucky. Lee Jiwon was no doubt a person of true skill, which was why Dorofei kept his distance. It was near impossible to tell how Lee Jiwon would react to a situation, especially towards someone as infamous as Dorofei, the Information Hunter. There was also no way to know for sure that Lee Jiwon knew things about this world system, things that not even Dorofei knew."But for some reason¡­ I''m beginning to think he does." It was just a gut feeling and nothing else. Dorofei got up from his chair. He would just have to find out.------My house in Seoul¡­Rumors were finally starting to spread everywhere about the end of the Otadolon stage."So it''s begun." I had been receiving reports from my allies and even my own clan about it, and I didn''t need to do anything. That was how high my social position was now. I left my room and headed for the terrace overlooking my garden and sat down on the sofa. I gave the Dungeon Mole another piece of banana candy.-''Banana candy!''-It was starting to become a habit now as I would do it each time I had something to ponder."It does kind of feel like a waste, though," I said to myself. I did not have any intention of keeping what I knew about the end of the Otadolon stage and the Judge''s Continent to myself forever. Everyone on Earth needed to work together to come out of this alive, but I also didn''t want to let the fact that I currently knew the most about the end go this easily. "So that''s why I want you to buy it off of me instead. I''m no good at buying or selling goods, so I want you to make the best of the information in my stead," I said as I pet the Dungeon Mole. There was no one else in the garden, that is, until someone revealed himself from a nearby rosebush."You should have just entered through the front door. You didn''t have to wait there by yourself all this time. But then again, you''ve got some skill to slip in unnoticed." My base was guarded by seven powerful factions around the clock. You''d have to have a death wish to try to sneak in."My apologies. I was just too curious about many things, and had to take this approach.""No, it''s fine. I wanted to meet with you at least once, too," I said to the newcomer. He was none other than Dorofei Krutikov, the infamous Information Hunter. I was told by my allies that they had bought their information from him. "You must be very curious.""Yes, I am. I feel like I''ll go crazy if I don''t find out more.""What can you give me in return?""I would need to hear what you know first to make a decision, but I do know that whatever it is, it is sure to be valuable. I have also never underpaid for any type of information; you can be sure of that. I value information that much."I nodded. "I see." I had never heard about the Information Hunter ever being fooled. Anyone who ever tried to sell him false information found out firsthand why he was called the Hunter.---Dorofei was genuinely surprised when Lee Jiwon easily pinpointed where he was hiding. He followed his gut feeling and went there even though there was no evidence indicating Lee Jiwon knew things others didn''t. Dorofei knew now that he made the right decision, especially from the look on Lee Jiwon''s face."So you want to know what I know. I''ll tell you¡­" Lee Jiwon began to explain what he knew in a calm, simple tone, but nothing he said was simple. Dorofei knew from the start that there had to be other worlds that entered stages similar to the Otadolon stage. The voice in the sky calling Earth World 1455 was a pretty big clue. But he did not expect that there would be a battle royale competition between the worlds'' participants over the fate of their worlds, or that dying during the battle meant a permanent death! 233 Chapter 232: The Value of Information Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"And that''s it. That''s all I know.""..." Dorofei remained silent after I finished explaining, and I didn''t blame him. Even I couldn''t believe it when I first heard it. "Now then¡­" I said, as I leaned back on my sofa. "Let''s discuss how much that information was worth to you, shall we?"I have no idea what Dorofei the Information Hunter would do with what I told him. There was a chance he might actually get more out of it than I could, but I decided to not get hung up on it. If he could actually make a huge profit from it, it would mean that he was just that good at his job. I already got what I could out of the information. "You''re the only person I''ve told this so far, and I''ll continue to keep it a secret for the next fifteen days. You can do whatever you want with that information during that time.""You sure do know how to drive a bargain.""Well, it''s just something I''ve picked up over the years.""I have to admit, this information is not something I can easily put a price on. How would this work instead?" Dorofei opened his inventory and took something out.I smiled when I saw that the item shone with a purple light. "I see you know how to bargain as well." A Rank 10 item was a Rank 10 item, no matter what kind of item it was. I took the item Dorofei handed to me. "Item Check."==[Upgrade Item Rank (Rank 10)Raises the rank of one item by 1. This item can raise a Rank 7 item to Rank 8, a Rank 9 item to Rank 10 and so on. Once an item''s rank increases, it can gain another effect or can have its current effects upgraded according to its new rank. Rank 10 items will not increase but do have a chance to have their effects increase in power. (Number of effects or power of effects will never decrease.)]== I could tell right away that this item was a really good item. I could create a new Rank 10 item out of a Rank 9 item. But what really caught my eye was the part where it explained about Rank 10 items."Your Rank 10 King-Emperor''s Commitment. Its existence itself is overpowered, and the whole world knows it. You also used the Amplification you received from the Abu Dhabi Guild on the King-Emperor''s Commitment, as well." Dorofei scanned my face before continuing, "I''m curious. How will the King-Emperor''s Commitment turn out if you use that on it? How much scarier can it become?"Amplification doubled my King-Emperor''s Commitment in power. It truly did become something to fear. "I know most would want to use it on a Rank 9 item to have more Rank 10 items, and you may do so, should you choose to. But wouldn''t you want to find out what the King-Emperor''s Commitment can become?""I like it." I made it obvious how I really felt about the item. Chance and Luck were almost always on my side. Sure, there were times they failed me, but only during non-important times. They always worked for me when it mattered, like Amplification."I''m glad you like it.""Yeah, I really do. But I do have something to ask of you.""What is it?""I would like if you would give that information out to my allies for free if they ever come to you again, and let them know that it is a gift from me. You have plenty of other clients than them, don''t you?" I wanted to let my allies know what I was about, but I didn''t want to say it with my own mouth. It would also look nice if someone like the Information Hunter said that he got help from me. I could still just outright gather them all up and tell them what I knew, but I didn''t want to have to demand compensation for that information. I wanted them to repay me on their own.Dorofei chuckled. "I''m very envious of your friends."I leaned forward. "It''s all because I think highly of the divine.""..." Dorofei looked just as taken aback as when I told him about the Judge''s Continent when I said that, but it might have just been me."Anyway, you have a lot to do, so you may as well get going.""Good point. Thank you again." Dorofei disappeared into the rose bushes and I no longer felt his presence. I leaned back on my sofa."That should be enough ambition for today." I would have acted a lot greedier if the fate of the world didn''t hang on the balance. Right now, I needed as many people to know as possible."Shall I use these now?" I raised the quest reward I received from Madun and the Item Upgrade and looked at them with satisfaction.------Dorofei''s mind was racing. Selling this information was an once-in-a-lifetime deal, but he couldn''t just look out for his own gains. Whatever he did now had to ensure Earth''s victory on the Judge''s Continent."I wonder where he got this information from, though. Did he get it from Seoul''s Store? How curious." Dorofei became the Information Hunter not because he wanted to know everything or knew many things. Dorofei had the ability to tell what was false and what was true. True information was no doubt highly sought after. And everything Lee Jiwon told him, was true!"Either way, Lee Jiwon is an important piece in this game now, and will be in the coming hellfire." Whatever awaited them on the Judge''s Continent had to be Hell. It might as well be, since one small mistake would mean the end of this world and all of its life.------I reached over to the two items on the table in front of me and picked up the item on the left. It was the quest reward I received from Madun. I opened the chest right away.==[You will now receive the quest rewards of the Defense quest.You have obtained 1 skill point.You have obtained 800 Stat points.You have obtained 30,000,000 golden rings.]==It wasn''t much compared to the difficulty of the quest, but the quest was given out only by Store 39, and could only take place in Turkey. All things considered, it was still probably the best reward the quest could give. I was at least satisfied with the 800 extra Stat points I got."Well, that was just the appetizer anyway." I picked up the Upgrade Item Rank that Dorofei had given me. "Using it on a Rank 8 item just to make it Rank 9 is not a good idea. This item itself is Rank 10."My mind was about 70% made up to just use it on the King-Emperor''s Commitment, but I did have a few Rank 9 items I could use it on. I was starting to get curious what it could do to the Reversal Prodigy. I really felt the boost it gave to my critical hits during the Defense Quest, when it allowed my attacks to crit six to ten times in a row. I had never that happen before. The Reversal Prodigy''s effects would go through the roof if its rank went up to 10. This was also a failsafe method, since there was no chance it would fail.And no matter how confident I was in my Luck, there was still a chance I could just end up wasting the item if I used it on the King-Emperor''s Commitment instead. It really would be the worst situation if nothing changed. So the question was, would I play it safe or lay down all my cards now? I kept going back and forth between those two choices for a while."Okay! I''ve made my decision!" I decided to gamble and use it on the King-Emperor''s Commitment. I could just end up regretting this, but going with my gut''s first choice almost always worked out."It''s okay. At least its effects'' power won''t go down. It''s got good enough effects already, so it just needs to go up. Use Upgrade Item Rank!"==[You are about to use Upgrade Item Rank on the Rank 10 King-Emperor''s Commitment.A Rank 10 item will not increase in Rank. However, it does have a chance to have its effects'' power increase, or not at all.Are you sure you wish to use it?]==It told me once more that there was a chance it wouldn''t work, but I had already made my decision. "I''ll use it!" I cried out, before I could change my mind. The Upgrade Item Rank emitted a bright light that enveloped the King-Emperor''s Commitment before disappearing, leaving the Commitment with the same purple shine."Item¡­Check." I was just as nervous as when I used Amplification as I checked the item.------When the first rumors about the end of the Otadolon stage and the Judge''s Continent spread, no one truly believed them, even if they came from Dorofei the Information Hunter himself. However, when it became known that Store VIPs were told the same information, everyone had to believe it.It quickly became obvious that more needed to be learned about the Judge''s Continent, but there was no information about it anywhere. Even Dorofei had a hard time learning more about it until a certain rumor began to spread, a rumor that pointed to Dorofei should anyone want to know more about the Judge''s Continent and what was about to take place there. If it came from Dorofei himself, then everyone had to believe it.------The Windsor Guard headquarters¡­"Where did you say he is?""Russia, Your Majesty.""Go then. Go and find out what he knows.""He may ask for a lot in return.""Give him what he wants. Just make sure to not come back empty-handed.""Understood, Your Majesty."------The Cheng Long Guild''s headquarters¡­"Go. Hurry.""Yes sir."------All large guilds and organizations around the world quickly set out to find Dorofei. This was all information that would be revealed in a matter of days, since the VIPs who received it would soon start selling it in the marketplace. But knowledge was power and that much more powerful if it was obtained as soon as possible. Whatever the end was, everyone needed ample time to prepare.------The Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­"Dorofei just ups and invites us¡­" A letter had arrived just when they were about to set out to find Dorofei. They were going to just set it aside for later until they found out that the sender was Dorofei himself.[I have received this information from a friend of yours, and that friend asked me to not ask for a price from you. That is why I invite you instead.]"A friend?" No one was quite sure who he meant until Song Daechul spoke up."He must mean Jiwon.""..."The Sunbin Guild wasn''t the only one to receive this invitation. The Myth, Ravi, Shire, Abu Dhabi Guilds, the Werewolf Clan and the Karaviki Mercenary Corps all received the same invitation. Dorofei had done exactly as Lee Jiwon had asked of him. 234 Chapter 233: The Value of Information Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Pharos Dungeon in Alexandria, Egypt¡­I swung my spear at a Giant Croc and its thick hide was cut through like a hot knife through butter. "Man, I really did get stronger. Too strong." It was my goal to become the strongest since returning to the past, and I was on the right track, but my strength and abilities had noticeably increased in a very short amount of time."I think it all started with Pedro and what he left me." Those 5,000 Stat points helped me get my STR past 20k, and the Avatar of Revenge was no doubt crucial when it increased my STR by another 5,000 points. All the gifts I had received from the Abu Dhabi Guild and from Madun boosted my abilities as well, but this item was definitely the game changer."Item Check."==[The King-Emperor''s Commitment (Rank 10)The King-Emperor''s true treasure.All Stats increased by 1,500 pointsIncrease Mana Conversion skill level by 6Add Blink Skill (Cooldown: 150 seconds, MP Cost: 1, no skill points required. Skill range: 1,000 meter radius)Increase CRIT rate by 29%Increase CRIT damage by 1,000%Increase Penetration by 950 pointsIncrease EXP gain from monsters by 199%DEF 2,000, MDEF 2,000]=="..." I''d checked it again and again countless times since it was upgraded, but I still couldn''t believe it. I doubt even Dorofei could have expected the Commitment''s power to go up this much. At least Amplification had a specific explanation about what it would do. But Upgrade Item Rank just said that there was a chance the effects'' powers would go up, and not by how much. That just showed the difference between Item Ranks, even if it was by just one Rank. It was evident by how much it raised my Mana Conversion level and increased the power of all the other effects. It was just so crazy to believe. The Commitment''s past power was enough to make me probably the strongest in the entire world, and now, I was sure I was the strongest in the world. And I was growing even stronger, thanks to the increased EXP boost that had gone up sixfold.==[You have gained a level.]==A creepy laugh escaped from my mouth. I was always happy whenever I leveled up. It was all a huge success. Then, in the middle of my self-revelation, my Comm Link rang."Hello?" I picked up right away."Young master, tomorrow is the day. It''s time to come home.""Is it that time already?""Yes sir.""I''ll be right there." I hung up the Comm Link. "I guess it''s time to go."Dorofei completed his task to the letter. I had received calls from all my allies, thanking me. We then decided to meet together to discuss what to do about the Judge''s Continent. We had to win this competition, no matter what.------Back at my home in Seoul¡­I could smell the mouth-watering aromas coming from my home base from a few blocks away."Young master! You''re back!" A member of my clan noticed me enter the base grounds and greeted me."It''s busy here.""Yes, sir. We''re preparing for a feast, as per the madam''s request. They always somehow find out, but the other factions have brought over their own cooks and food. It''s going to be one hell of a party."We had decided to use my home as the summit for the meeting, and when I told my family that, they had pulled out all the stops to welcome my allies. While the feast we had earlier was for the victory we had over the NCR Guild, this feast was to be in my name."Hurry on inside! The madam has been saying that the star of the show shouldn''t be late and has been asking for you nonstop."I nodded at the clan member, who seemed as happy as if this party was his, and headed inside. It was nice that they were all doing well since joining under me. I entered my house and met my mother, who was waiting out in the foyer with her apron still on."You''re late, Jiwon! You know full well there are countless guests coming tomorrow. The host should be helping with the preparations.""It''s tomorrow, so it''s fine.""You should still be early in case something happens!" She was nagging, but I wasn''t annoyed or put off by it. I was happy, actually, to have someone looking out for me."Did you eat?""Not yet.""Alright. Go wash up and rest.""Okay."------The next day¡­A huge crowd of people filled Lee Jiwon''s home and the surrounding area. They were all intelligence gatherers from large guilds and information guilds. Today was the day Lee Jiwon and his seven allied factions met all at once in one place."Wow. Even the guild masters are here.""Of course they are. This is the first time they''ve all met together, and at Lee Jiwon''s home at that.""But shouldn''t we be in there, too? Sticking to the strongest side will at least give us a higher chance to survive¡­""Who knows what will happen? They might just end up having to fight the most enemies. There''s a chance they''re the most exposed to danger¡­" a captain of the Messenger Guild''s Intelligence division said to his subordinate, but didn''t finish his sentence.-The rest of us are probably just hoping that they don''t turn to us, since we don''t want to die. We don''t want to have to fight for our lives against enemies that will be doing the same. We just want to hunt the monsters instead, but will that happen?-As much as the weaker guilds and organizations wanted to just stick to hunting the monsters on the Judge''s Continent, they knew that they would still have to end up fighting the enemy. No one would ever let the enemy train right in front of their eyes, after all. This was a battle to the death; there was no easy way to do this. To the Messenger Guild, it was clear: no one wanted to let their world die, but no one was quite yet willing to put their lives on the line.------"It''s great to finally meet you.""Likewise. I wish we could have met earlier and more frequently¡­""Well, it''s good that we still got to meet like this."The guild masters were all greeting each other."It seems we have quite the audience," Lod brought up. Just as he said, there were countless eyes watching them."Oh, let them be. It''s not like we''ll be keeping whatever we decide here a secret from the world," I said, and the guild masters agreed.With that, I and the guild masters with their vice-masters or their highest ranking officers finally moved to the conference room, where the fifteen of us sat around the conference table."I would first like to speak for the Sunbin Guild and express our gratitude to Jiwon for having Dorofei give us this information without cost. We can''t ever repay you fully for this kindness," Song Daechul said and the other guild masters followed suit."Please, I just did what I knew I had to do. Besides, Dorofei has enough clients. He didn''t need to sell to all of you." We started off the meeting in high spirits and each guild disclosed its current situation and how their country was reacting to the Judge''s Continent before moving to prepare for it."Whatever the case, shouldn''t we all stick together?" Baden al Nayan asked, and the other guild masters agreed."We should. It''s better to face danger with friends than alone.""I have to agree with you on that." It was just what I wanted to hear from them. Since we didn''t know what to expect from the Judge''s Continent, it was better to stay together and tackle whatever problem it posed as one."There are a total of eight factions here. What say each faction has one vote when it comes to decide which strategy we have to employ?" Aman Lagus said."If there are only eight votes, there is a chance we may come to a stalemate. How about if Jiwon has two votes instead of one? With nine votes, we can still come to a decision," Song Daechul added."I agree.""Let''s make it so." And with that, the decision was made. I would have two votes while the other seven factions would have one each. We continued our discussion for some time and when we came to a decision, we announced it to the world. The Empire, what we decided to call our alliance, will not hide from our fate and will instead fight only for victory on the Judge''s Continent. It almost sounded like a threat, but it was only because we didn''t want to have to be the only ones to put our lives on the line. All of Earth was in on this, no matter what.------The Messenger Guild''s headquarters in Melbourne, Australia¡­"Hm¡­so that''s what the Empire decided it would do.""Yes, sir."Victor Lucas, the guild master of the Messenger Guild, stroked his chin. "Contact the Empire and get ready to leave Kintore. We''re joining the Empire."The Messenger Guild and four other guilds of Australia made up an alliance known as the Kintore Alliance. That same Kintore Alliance had made the decision to not fully commit to the coming battle the day before. To Victor, this was an extremely foolish and misguided decision. Victor obviously didn''t want to play the hero, but he also didn''t want to see this world end. What would all his treasure and golden rings be worth if there was no world, and no Store to spend his fortune at? He could at least do enough to secure the world''s safety!Victor noticed that his only son, Arthur Lucas, was nowhere in sight and asked his subordinate,"By the way, where did that punk disappear off to?""Well¡­the thing is¡­""What did he do this time?""I should have told you about this first. Lucas broke into Vault 1... and ran off with everything inside.""..." Victor stared at his subordinate in shock. Vault 1 held 10 billion golden rings! "That crazy little shit! What''s he planning this time!?" 235 Chapter 234: The House Centipede Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe entrance of the Shire Guild''s Dark Caster Dungeon¡­"Let''s see what I can do here," I said to myself with a smile. I had never looked forward to hunting this much in the past. It was always a chore for me back then, since I always had to hunt with parties against certain types of monsters and for only a few levels at a time. Now, I could hunt anytime and against whatever monster type I wanted. But most of all, I really wanted to keep using my level 7 Mana Conversion and put my 199% EXP boost to good use."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." I activated my buff skills before I entered the dungeon.==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.Increase ATT by 190%Successful attacks have a 70% chance of inflicting Burn.Increase damage of all Fire-based attacks by 150,000-700,000 pointsThis skill has no cooldown.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==With just two levels, Mana Conversion had seriously upped my combat abilities even further."Let''s do this." I walked into the dungeon. There were many Shire Guild guards protecting this place, but none of them tried to stop me. They actually welcomed me as if I was one of their family members who had just returned after a long trip away from home."Mr. Lee, we''ve been waiting for you! Here, in case you forgot, this map notes all the locations of our FOBs we have set up.""Thanks." I took the map from the guard and entered the dungeon, exuding confidence. I was soon welcomed by a horde of undead monsters on the first floor. "Alright! Let''s play!" I charged at the horde and swung my spear. My Harrier cut through each monster without any resistance and their bodies burned with red flames. 70% was high enough for my Luck to inflict just about each monster I struck with Burn. It took no more than two strikes to kill one undead monster, thanks to their weakness to Fire and my additional Fire damage."I might actually be able to level up faster than I thought," I said to myself. I knew I was right to go with my gut feeling. I began to hunt once more in high spirits. I was going to need every level I could gain until the advent of the Judge''s Continent. It was what I and my allies decided was best for me to do during our three-day long summit. We had to expect the worst, no matter how strong I was in this world. I no longer knew what was going to happen now, this was all new to me. That was why I formed an alliance; because I was greedy and a coward.------Meanwhile, over at the Teleporter Zone in New York City¡­"This is the Shire Guild''s territory. Does that mean he''s gone to the Dark Caster dungeon?" Arthur Lucas, the son of Victor Lucas, had come to the States after getting a lock on Lee Jiwon''s recent Teleport."You''re a real piece of work, Dad. If you were going to join up with Lee Jiwon, you could have at least told me. That way I could have checked to see if he was worth teaming up with." Arthur had heard many things about Lee Jiwon, like anyone else in the world, but he also knew that many of the rumors he heard were exaggerated. Arthur was curious as to what sort of person Lee Jiwon was, but had to hold in that curiosity because of his father."But if you''re going to cut away from the Kintore and join up with Lee Jiwon, then I may as well find out for myself!" That was why Arthur had broken in to Vault 1 and stolen 10 billion golden rings. He had even brought with him all of the golden rings he had saved up. The more money Arthur had, the stronger he became. Money was quite literally power to him.==[House Centipede (1/1), (Passive)The House Centipede was a pet insect that once belonged to Antoine Monet, the richest man in the world, who owned 95% of the world''s wealth. All it was ever fed was stocks and money and was the only thing Antoine Monet cared for, other than money. This story does not have a good ending, however, as many held a grudge against Antoine Monet for monopolizing all that wealth.Antoine Monet had no intention of spreading that wealth to ease his enemies. Instead, he built a great fortress to protect it. Unfortunately for Antoine, that fortress could not protect him as well. Antoine Monet could not find peace in death. All that wealth could not protect him, and so Antoine Monet wished that money and wealth would become the greatest strength in the world. And so, the House Centipede soon followed its master into death, crushed by the boots of the revolutionary soldiers and taking its master''s will with it.Spend golden rings to increase ATT and MATT depending on the amount spent.Spend golden rings to increase DEF and MDEF depending on the amount spent.Spend golden rings to increase skill power, depending on the amount spent.Spent golden rings become feed for the House Centipede and are non-refundable.]=={Translator''s Note: While the Korean word for house centipede here and in the title is used to call the actual arthropod, it also literally means ''money bug'' and can be used to describe someone who only lives for money.}This was Arthur Lucas''s random skill. It was because of this skill that Arthur didn''t fear any of the Seven Monarchs, and even believed that he could take on Lee Jiwon, as long as he had enough money."You''re just too shy, Dad. If you earned all this money for me, you should have just given it to me in the first place. You always have to make me go to this extent." Arthur double-checked that he had 18 billion golden rings in his inventory, and slowly walked out. Arthur knew he would probably never hear the end of it for burning all this money, but he was confident that 18 billion golden rings would be enough to take on Lee Jiwon."Don''t you worry your sweet, bald head, Dad. I''ll personally make sure Lee Jiwon is worth teaming up with." Arthur wanted to knock Lee Jiwon off his high horse. If he did, there was a chance Lee Jiwon would show his true nature.------I cut through hordes of undead monsters mechanically, without even feeling the need to use any other skills."Judge''s Gavel!" I did keep using this skill and Fissure to get their skill levels up, though.==[You have gained a level.]=="I swear I''m such a genius for putting the EXP boost on the Commitment." I just couldn''t get over how great of an idea it was for something I added because I was running out of time. I was getting three times the EXP from one monster. How great was that? I continued to hunt with high spirits as my level continued to rise.------Some distance away from the Dark Caster Dungeon¡­"Hmm¡­ he really does hunt for at least a month or two at a time." It had been ten days since Arthur learned that Lee Jiwon was hunting in this dungeon. It didn''t look like Lee Jiwon wasn''t about to come out anytime soon, Arthur decided to change his plan and go looking for him instead."If I do that, Dad will find out where I am, but that just means I''ve got to find him quickly." The Messenger Guild was considered the richest guild in the world, due to all the money it made running Teleporters around the world. The Shire Guild no doubt maintained a relationship with the Messenger Guild, and knew that Arthur was the heir. Arthur decided to pay the Shire Guild a visit, and the Shire Guild was more than welcoming."I''d like to have a chance to hunt at the Dark Caster Dungeon.""The Dark Caster Dungeon?" Samuel Miller was the one to greet Arthur for his visit, as they were already acquainted. But Samuel was still surprised that the heir to the world''s richest guild would come all the way here to hunt, instead of using one of the two high-grade dungeons in Australia."Yes. My grandfather visited me in my dreams last night and he told me that I had to go hunt in the Dark Caster Dungeon no matter what." It was obviously a lie, and an amusingly half-assed one at that. Samuel knew what sort of person Arthur was. Hell, half the world knew that Arthur was immature at best and prone to making rash decisions. That immaturity didn''t mean that he was a bad kid; he was just too nice to a fault and meant well, but ended up making the wrong decisions almost all the time. He was the kind of guy to get scammed by a bum."Very well. You have our permission. Will you need a guide to get there?""No, I''ll be fine." Arthur rejected Samuel''s offer. Having a guide meant that he couldn''t easily challenge Lee Jiwon to a fight.Samuel also didn''t press the issue any further. He knew that despite Arthur''s naivety, he was still a powerful deva.Entry pass in hand, Arthur left the Shire Guild base and headed straight for the Dark Caster Dungeon. "I should call the Messenger Guild. He looks like he ran away from home." After seeing Arthur off, Samuel headed back inside to call Victor Lucas.------I had been hunting for several hours straight today, too caught up with how fun it was to kill all these monsters with only a couple of hits each. "Alright. That''s enough for today."It had been exactly a month since I entered the dungeon, and I planned to hunt for another month, so I decided to end the hunt for the day and headed for the FOB on the 4th floor. On the way there, I felt the presence of a single person approaching from afar."It¡­ feels familiar." I felt a similar presence before back at the Pharos Dungeon when Kylie van Agassi came to meet me. It could just be someone hunting alone, like I was, but as the presence drew closer, I could tell that this person was searching for me."I wonder who it is." Soon, the person revealed himself as he passed by a large boulder. He was a younger-looking man, someone I had never seen before. I racked my brain to see if I knew him from the past, but came up with nothing."What brings you all the way here?""I''ve come to test you, Lee Jiwon.""Me?" I asked, pointing at myself."That''s right.""Uh¡­" I was taken aback at how confident he was when this was our first time meeting one another. "Okay. We''ll come back to that. Who are you?""I''ll tell you if you pass the test!" He charged at me without warning and I charged back, not inclined to take whatever he was about to do lying down.------The Messenger Guild''s headquarters¡­"What was that?""Arthur has just entered the Dark Caster Dungeon in the States.""Why is he there?" If he was just trying to hunt, he wouldn''t need to go all the way over there. The Messenger Guild had two high-grade dungeons in its territory, and he wouldn''t have to take ten billion golden rings with him just to hunt."The Shire Guild said that Arthur told him his grandfather visited him in his dreams that he had to hunt there¡­""That''s obviously not true." If Arthur was going to keep this up, he was going to have to at least come up with better lies."Right. Well¡­ there is currently someone hunting there as well.""What? Is that person not of the Shire Guild?""No, sir.""Then who is it?""A month ago, Lee Jiwon used Seoul''s Teleporter to warp over to New York City, and he hasn''t used the NYC Teleporter since then. There is a 99.9% chance Lee Jiwon is still in the Dark Caster Dungeon. From what I hear, it is normal for him to hunt for this long at a time.""..." Once again, Victor found himself speechless at his subordinate''s report. He finally figured out why Arthur took ten billion golden rings all the way to the US. "That crazy little shit! Of all people! Bring him back right now! No, I''ll go there myself! Get ready!""Yes, sir!"Victor acknowledged how strong Arthur could become through his random skill. He was proud of his son for being able to obtain such a powerful skill, and made it his personal mission to earn as much money as he could, all for the sake of his son. But Lee Jiwon was dangerous! Ten billion golden rings wasn''t enough to take him on! 236 Chapter 235: The House Centipede Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIt was easy for Arthur to find out Lee Jiwon''s exact location when Lee Jiwon was all the Shire Guild''s hunting parties were talking about---"Damn! Did you see that back there?""Yeah! That was crazy. He cut down the same monsters we''ve been hunting with such finesse and ease.""You know, I think this is the first time I''ve felt this bad for monsters.""Hah! You too?""Yeah. I was actually rooting for them.""Well, the real important part here is that he''s still getting stronger. I was on his team when we raided the Dark Caster boss, and I can tell you that he''s way stronger now.""I noticed that, too. You''re leveling rate is supposed to plateau the higher you level, and it''s really difficult to get all your entire equipment to at least Rank 8, but¡­ Lee Jiwon''s still growing at a faster rate.""That''s why everyone''s calling him the First Emperor. He even shut down the Slayer completely over at Ankara during the Defense Quest.""Yeah. It''s a good thing we''re on the same side.""If Lee Jiwon actually joins up with a large guild¡­yikes! Just thinking about it freaks me out.""He''s on the fourth floor right now, right?""Yeah and it looks like he''s been there for a while. He hunts all day and rests at the fourth floor base.""Damn¡­ solo hunting on a high-grade dungeon''s fourth floor¡­""Only Lee Jiwon is capable of that, so don''t even think about it. You''ll die in an instant.""Do you think I''m stupid or something? I know that much."---Once he learned Lee Jiwon''s location, Arthur quickly headed for the fourth floor. He was beginning to think he should have brought more than 10 billion golden rings after hearing what the Shire Guild members were saying about Lee Jiwon. But it was too late to regret anything now, and Arthur was confident in his own abilities, not just in his Centipede skill.Victor had given Arthur a total allowance of over two billion golden rings so that Arthur could grow stronger, but Arthur had not spent a single golden ring on himself and just continued to save. He did end up having to spend five hundred million golden rings to create a shelter for the homeless and needy of his country, but he still had 1.8 billion golden rings leftover. No one of the Messenger Guild had noticed that Arthur had not been using the House Centipede skill so far. Arthur was just that strong.------The entrance to the fourth floor of the Dark Caster Dungeon¡­"Activate House Centipede ¨C Combat Mode."==[House Centipede ¨C Combat Mode has been activated.Please choose the amount of golden rings you wish to spend to activate Combat Mode.You may only use the golden rings in your inventory.You will be refunded 80% of the golden rings spent when Combat Mode deactivates.Combat Mode will last for 24 hours.Cooldown: 15 days.]=="Seven billion golden rings." If House Centipede was a simple skill that only raised Arthur''s attack power and defensive capabilities, it would have just been considered one of the many buff skills that were out there. But its Combat Mode made it a very unique skill.==[You have spent 7,000,000,000 golden rings and may now use Combat Mode for the next 24 hours.ATT and MATT increased by 700%.DEF and MDEF increased by 700%.STR, AGI, VIT, WIL, INT increased by 700%.HP increased by 7,000,000, MP increased by 700,000.CRIT rate increased by 7%, CRIT damage increased by 700%.Increase CRIT resistance by 700%.You will be refunded 5,600,000,000 golden rings after 24 hours.]==This particular Combat Mode was a buff that cost 1.4 billion golden rings to use and only lasted for 24 hours. It was an expensive buff, but Arthur didn''t care. It was a small price to pay to defeat Lee Jiwon!Once he was ready, he entered the fourth floor and roamed, searching for Lee Jiwon. Not long afterwards, Arthur finally felt Lee Jiwon''s presence, but it was apparent that Lee Jiwon had noticed Arthur as well."Who are you?" Lee Jiwon asked.---This guy was saying that he needed to test me for whatever reason, but one thing was for certain; I didn''t need any tests!"Judge''s Gavel." I didn''t care what reason he had to test me. Whoever this guy was, he was looking down on me, and he would pay for that insolence. I''ll even kill him every time he came knocking. I rushed at the shield and sword-wielding stranger and closed in on him in an instant. I frowned. There were thirty meters between us and I only crossed half that distance when he was right in front of me. He was just as fast as me! It could have been the effect of an item or skill, but I noticed that his reflexes were just as quick. His AGI was probably as high as mine. He was still my enemy, however, and swung my spear at his shield, with full intent to cleave it in half."Manifest: Aegis! Activate ¨C Defense: 100 million golden rings!" The stranger shouted something that didn''t really sound like skills I had heard before, but I ignored him.The giant hammer slammed into the youth''s shield. I expected him to burst into a cloud of smoke and die like all of devas I had killed before, but that didn''t happen with him."Whew¡­you actually broke though Aegis and dealt some damage to me. Impressive." He was too calm, and even though he said he had received some damage, there was not a scratch on him."..." My attacks had never failed like this before. Not even the Monarchs I had defeated so far could stand up to my attacks. Hell, my Penetration was well over 1,000 points, and that was even more shocking. Sure, my Warrior''s Brave Spirit and Howl of the Wolf were both on cooldown, but Mana Conversion was still in effect. The Judge''s Gavel boosted by a Level 7 Mana Conversion could be easily blocked like that?"Who are you?" I asked warily."That''s what I want to ask you.""You know who I am. You''re the one who came looking for me.""Sure, I know of you. You''re Lee Jiwon. But I always wondered how you got this strong¡­""It''s because of all the effort I put in." Well, most of it was from Luck and my experience of my past life, but it was still true. I worked hard to get where I am. I made it my mission to become the strongest in the world, and not once did I stray from it."You and I both know that hard work alone isn''t enough to get strong in this world.""..." He was right. This world wasn''t fair enough to reward hard work alone."Well, I did get lucky a couple of times, too.""It must be nice to be lucky enough to get that strong. But I''m still going to test you to see if you are worthy of that strength!""You took the words right out of my mouth. Altered Equality."==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Sat points, Stat points increased by skills and items, and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]=="Ripped Advance."==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base Stat points will be increased.)Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]==I activated both skills at once. I didn''t want to have to end up winning by a hair, even if it meant losing up to 100 Stat points."How annoying," the stranger said with a frown."I bet it is." I was frowning, too. He should be angry, not annoyed. Everyone else I used Altered Equality on was angry. Something clearly wasn''t right."Fine. Let''s do this.""Agreed.""Assault of the Titan! Activate ¨C Attack: 100 million golden rings, Skill: 100 golden rings!""Rah!"My spear met the stranger''s sword in a deafening clang of metal, and we were both pushed back from the force of the attacks, wincing in pain. We both looked at each other in surprise. My STR right now was well over 70k, but we were both pushed back by four meters. That had to mean our STR was nearly even. I never knew about someone this strong existing in my past life, but I decided I would think about it later and attacked again."Fissure!""Titan Stomp!"He met my AoE attack with one of his own. Both attacks met like two waves of equal size crashing into each other before bursting to the sides. We continued to fight after that, refusing to get pushed back again. What I felt as we fought was clear; his fight style was very similar to mine. He was surprising me more and more.------Arthur Lucas couldn''t believe this was happening. He had actually worried he may have overspent activating Combat Mode, but he quickly realized he should have spent more."Titan''s Roar!""Blink 2.""Titan Slam!" All of his attacks were finding their mark, but they weren''t pushing Lee Jiwon back. Arthur had even boosted his attack and skill power by spending 100 million golden rings each. But there was a limit his actual attacks and skills could be boosted every time he used them.==[3,000,000 golden rings have been used to increase Titan Slam''s attack power by 300%.]====[3,000,000 golden rings have been used to increase Titan Slam''s skill power by 300%.]==If he could spend a hundred million golden rings or more on his attacks and skills'' power each time, he could defeat any opponent in an instant, but he could only spend three million golden rings on them. He had never really felt that limit was ever constraining him before. A three hundred percent boost was more than enough on the enemies he had faced before, but for the first time since he had learned House Centipede, he wished he didn''t have that limit! 237 Chapter 236: The House Centipede Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Shit! Manifest: Aegis! Activate ¨C Defense: 400 million golden rings!""Block this!" I slammed my spear against his shield, trying to break it. I had to admit, whoever this guy was, he was strong. I had also never met anyone who could spend golden rings to increase his attack, defense, and skill power like this. If someone like this existed, I should have heard about him in the past, but I was completely in the dark. Someone this strong could have even defeated a Monarch on their own."I didn''t come this far to fall to the likes of you! Bring all the money you have in the world! I''ll still defeat you!" His abilities reminded me of the pay-to-win people who plagued online games around the world from the way he was just pouring golden rings into his skills. But I had items and skills that no amount of golden rings in this world could ever buy, especially the godly King-Emperor''s Commitment."Gah!" One attack connected with his shield, but the one that followed right after struck his thigh. He was no longer as fast as I was since I used Altered Equality on him. He was still very quick, but was now just a tithe slower than I was, which was enough. That attack also flashed yellow, meaning it inflicted critical damage. I kept up my barrage of attacks after that. I needed to use Reversal Prodigy and get off as many critical hits as possible."Argh!" He still managed to block all of my attacks, even though he was slightly slower than me. But blocks weren''t perfect, and it didn''t mean he wasn''t taking any damage. With one more blow, I managed to force him back a step.------Lee Jiwon began to attack relentlessly and Arthur struggled to block each one. This was getting more unbelievable by the second. His DEF and MDEF were both boosted by 700%, and Aegis was still in effect. His shield was also the Rank 8 Indomitable Nature. He shouldn''t be receiving much damage, but that just wasn''t the case.==[You have received considerable damage from your opponent''s attacks. 270,000 of the golden rings you have invested into defense will be used to absorb the damage.]==A normal attack that struck his shield had dealt nearly 300,000 points of damage. And that wasn''t all!==[You have received considerable damage from your opponent''s attacks. 15,480,000 of the golden rings you have invested into defense will be used to absorb the damage.]=="..." The critical hit that struck his thigh inflicted more than fifteen million points of damage. With all he that had invested into his DEF, that shouldn''t have happened, even if it was a critical hit! Arthur was speechless. He had thought that he could at least stand evenly against Lee Jiwon, and thought that fighting in a similar style would be enough. He thought that if he could beat Lee Jiwon at his own game, it would be the ultimate insult, but now, all that money he had spent on his defense was now almost gone. He was starting to lose HP now.-Was I way in over my head?-Of course he was, but it was too late for regrets now. All he could do was to hurt Lee Jiwon as much as possible. At least his attacks were still working.==[3,000,000 golden rings have been used to increase Assault of the Titan''s attack power by 300%.]====[3,000,000 golden rings have been used to increase Assault of the Titan''s attack power by 300%.]=="Gah!" Lee Jiwon grunted in pain from the blow. It was a sign that his attacks were finding their mark, but Arthur was far from satisfied. Lee Jiwon should be screaming after what he had spent to boost his ATT. Lee Jiwon should be getting thrown back at least ten meters from the force of the attacks, but had yet to take even a single step back. Arthur''s attacks only seemed to make Lee Jiwon attack harder.Lee Jiwon stabbed his spear at Arthur''s chest. Arthur saw the attack coming, but couldn''t raise his shield fast enough to block it. Lee Jiwon had also put his entire weight into the attack."Grah!" Arthur screamed out in pain. It was the most pain he had ever felt. Arthur also noticed that Lee Jiwon inflicted way too many critical hits. Three to four critical hits in a row was not normal at all. Arthur was speechless once again. He had just lost 18,000,000 golden rings from that attack alone. Arthur wasn''t even angry or frustrated at this situation, he was too busy thinking that this couldn''t be real!---That was the most damage I had ever received and I couldn''t help but grunt from the pain. I didn''t back down, however, even as I lost chunks of HP from the stranger''s attacks. I kept up my barrage of attacks and trusted my HP and DEF to keep me alive long enough. I did contemplate if I should switch my fight style against this stranger who was still managing to block most of my attacks, but I decided not to. This was the fighting style I knew best and I noticed that the stranger was flinching more and more."It''s do or die now, punk!" I roared as I kept slamming my spear at his shield, ignoring my Comm Link that was ringing and the crowd that had gathered around us.------The guild master of the Messenger Guild had suddenly visited the Shire Guild, crying that he had to find his son as soon as possible."I''m positive he''s gone to find and fight Lee Jiwon, calling it a test or whatnot!""Why would he do that?" asked Daniel Miller. "He''s got this strong desire to be a hero¡­ Look; we have to find him now!""I understand." Daniel Miller quickly sent word to the hunting parties in the Dark Caster Dungeon to search for Lee Jiwon and Arthur Lucas.------It wasn''t difficult for the Shire Guild''s hunting parties to find the two, since many of the parties knew where Lee Jiwon had been hunting for the past month. But that was the easy part; how were they supposed to stop them from fighting? The two were like demons, forming holes in the dungeon''s walls and craters in the floor every time their attacks connected."Holy¡­""Shit¡­""This is insane¡­"The parties could only look on in amazement. They all had forgotten why they were looking for the two men in the first place."It looks like Lee Jiwon''s still stronger, though.""Do you think so?""Yeah. Look; Lee Jiwon''s slowly pushing forward, and Arthur isn''t holding his ground.""But Arthur''s pretty strong too, isn''t he? It''s impressive that he''s even lasted this long.""That''s true. Whoa! Damn¡­""Oh shit! We forgot to report in!""Oh, right! Hurry up!"------Now that they knew their general location, the leaders of the Messenger and Shire Guilds quickly raced for the Dark Caster Dungeon''s fourth floor. "That foolish boy! I should have made it clear to him that he''s no hero!" Victor swore at his son, but he also realized that he was at fault. He was the one who had seeded the suspicion towards Lee Jiwon in Arthur. Ever since Lee Jiwon''s appearance in Egypt, Victor had kept an eye on him at all times. To Victor, Lee Jiwon was just another rival to overcome.But that changed when news of the Judge''s Continent and the end of the Otatdolon stage spread. Lee Jiwon was no longer an enemy or rival, but a crucial ally the world would need to survive. If Lee Jiwon was to be the hero who was going to save Earth, then the truth of Lee Jiwon''s power or intent was no longer important. But Arthur failed to realize that, and had searched out Lee Jiwon regardless.-Please! You have to stop now. I can''t have the two of you become enemies now, of all times!-"We must hurry!""Yes, let''s go."------"Activate ¨C Attack: 50,000,000 golden rings, Defense: 100,000,000 golden rings, Skill: 50,000,000 golden rings.""It looks like you''re running out of money," I taunted, but I was not in a better position. I had already lost a good chunk of my HP, but I couldn''t let it show. The other guy was obviously looking even worse."Ha¡­ha¡­if I say I''ll end the test here, will you let it go?""I. Don''t. Think. So." I almost wanted to let it go. The Judge''s Continent was drawing nearer each day and the world was going to need someone as strong as him. But I didn''t want to let it go right now. I wanted to register him in Call and kill him at least once to punish him for even provoking me in the first place!I rushed at the now-exhausted youth and quietly activated Register. I feigned my attack, causing him to raise his shield in front of his face, lunged my spear past him, grabbed him by the waist and brought him to the ground in a takedown. "Gah! Get off of me!""Sorry, but I can''t do that quite yet." 238 Chapter 237: The House Centipede Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"That''s enough!" I heard a new voice cry out the same time I received the message confirming that this guy was registered into Call. I didn''t react to that voice, however, and grabbed my spear. There was no way he could ever get away from me now. But then, just when I raised my spear, I heard another, familiar voice call out to me."Stop, Mr. Lee!" It was Daniel Miller''s voice. I hesitated this time. I didn''t need to listen to him, since this guy was the one who attacked me first, but Daniel sounded urgent. If the guild master of the Shire Guild was that concerned, then that meant that whoever this punk was, he was someone important.I looked down at the guy struggling to get out from beneath me. I had him registered in my Call. If he ever messed with me again, I could punish him whenever I wanted. I slowly lowered my spear and got up. It''d be best to do as Daniel asked, especially with all these Shire Guild members around watching."Thank you! Thank you so much!" a well-dressed, middle-aged man standing next to Daniel cried out. He walked right up to me and shook my hand vigorously as he thanked me."What is¡­?" I tried to ask, but I got my answer from the guy on the ground."Dad!" He tossed his sword and shield away, and tearfully hugged the man shaking my hand."..." I was speechless. Not too long ago, he was acting all high and mighty when he challenged me to a fight, and had even given me a hard time with his pay-to-win abilities. He was the one other person I had to admit was stronger than any of the Monarchs, and now he was acting like a seven-year-old kid who was just bullied on the schoolyard."He really beat me up, Dad. Look! He hurt me here and here!""You idiot! Why did you even do this in first place?""But¡­ you were going to join him. We needed to know what kind of person he really is.""Why did that have to be you?""But it had to be me!""Argh! You idiot son!" the older man yelled as he smacked his son on the head."Ow! Dad, stop! I already got beat up!""Die! Just die!"As I watched the friendly scene of a father chastising his son, Daniel walked up to me. "I believe you know of the Messenger Guild...""The Messenger Guild? What about them?" Of course I knew the guild. I knew that it was the richest guild in the world, with all the Teleporters it ran all over."That is Victor Lucas, the guild master of the Messenger Guild, and his son, Arthur Lucas." So he was even more important than I had figured. "So why did Arthur Lucas attack me?""I heard it had something to do with a strong desire to be a hero.""What?""We, the Empire, have taken it upon ourselves to fight for Earth''s fate, and you are the closest figure we have for a commander. Victor wanted to aid us in our endeavors. He knew there was no point in holding out when our world is about to end." Daniel glanced at me before continuing, "And that is why Arthur challenged you; to get to know you! Simply put, he was looking out for his father and guild, and wanted to see if you had the mettle to be a hero.""Huh¡­" That was quite the reason."The boy''s na?ve, but is also good-natured and looks out for weaker devas and mortals."I turned back to the father and son at what Daniel just told me."Ow! Dad! You''re going to kill me!""Good! I hope you die!"It was almost comedic. I no longer saw the dangerously strong deva, and I felt my anger completely subside."Na?ve as he is¡­ he''s strong." He was definitely stronger than a Monarch. "..." Daniel fell silent when I told him that. It seemed that he had not known that.------Ten minutes later¡­"Allow me to extend my deepest apologies. I''ve spoiled and sheltered him too much. He doesn''t quite know how society works.""I''m an adult, Dad! You can''t just say that about me...""Be quiet, you!""Tsk. You always treat me like a child.""..." Just a little while ago, I was full of rage and wanted to kill this kid for provoking me and making me waste Stat points by using Ripped Advance. But the damn comedy skit between father and son was starting to cool my anger. It didn''t mean I was willing to forgive and forget. We had come too far. "I don''t know. This has been a very unpleasant experience for me. Who in their right mind just goes and attacks someone without warning?" I asked coldly, while staring at Arthur."I understand completely. It wasn''t right for him to do that. You, come over here and apologize properly.""But Dad, Jiwon hurt me more than I hurt him! He beat the crap out of me and I lost almost all of my money!""You punk! That''s Mr. Lee to you!""Oh, come on!"I was amazed at how Arthur was so laid back. We had just fought with full intent to kill the other, and I was sure Arthur realized that, but already, he was acting as if I was just one of his buddies. ------That night at the Shire Guild''s headquarters¡­==[House Centipede (1/1), (Passive)The House Centipede was a pet insect that once belonged to Antoine Monet, the richest man in the world who owned 95% of the world''s¡­ taking its master''s will with it.Spend golden rings to increase ATT and MATT depending on the amount spent.Spend golden rings to increase DEF and MDEF depending on the amount spent.Spend golden rings to increase skill power depending on the amount spent.Spent golden rings become feed for the House Centipede and are non-refundable.]=="This is all the Messenger Guild knows about this skill," Victor said. As a part of his apology, Victor explained Arthur''s random skill to me. He also explained about the skill''s Combat Mode which lasted for a full day, but cost a large amount of golden rings to use. "I know we''ve all started off on the wrong foot, but after all things are considered, can''t we start again?""Hmm¡­" Arthur had lost more than 4 billion golden rings during that hour-long fight with me. That had to be a huge blow financially, even for the wealthiest guild in the world. I couldn''t help but feel a bit relieved, knowing that there was a huge price to Arthur''s strength. "I would like the Messenger Guild to join the Empire''s alliance. I don''t want to see my own son die before me. If it will help secure Earth''s victory on the Judge''s Continent in any way, I''m more than willing to put my life and my entire guild''s wealth and manpower on the line.""..." I could tell that Victor was being sincere about this."The Messenger Guild is currently one of the five guilds that make up the Kintore Alliance. Not long ago, the Kintore Alliance decided that we will not be taking a part in the coming Judge''s Continent battle, to minimize our losses as much as possible. Frankly, that decision did not sit well with me at all. It was a foolish and suicidal decision."I could see why he would think so, since he wanted to make sure his only son could actually survive the end of the world."I know that the Messenger Guild is more well-known for its Teleporters, but I have invested heavily in our military strength. That strength was supposed to be the wings on Arthur''s sandals, but I know that the Messenger Guild will not be able to stand alone against the Judge''s Continent. I will give those wings to you instead, but in return, I would like it if you would look kindly upon Arthur before, during, and after you win the battle."I took a moment to contemplate what Victor just said. He wanted me to win for the sake of his son. It was a weird feeling, seeing as how I grew up as an orphan, even though I wasn''t one anymore."I''m afraid I can''t accept those wings of yours," I said. It was burdensome to say the least, and the Empire was big enough already. One thing I''d learned from my guild master friends was that it was not easy running a large guild or organization. Even Song Daechul had to give up on his own growth so that Sunbin could grow instead. I, on the other hand, had no intention of doing so. I was busy enough looking out for my own progress; I didn''t have time to look out for another guild. "However, I will forgive all of Arthur''s misdeeds." I needed someone as strong as Arthur to fight by my side. I was also more than willing to let the Messenger Guild into the Empire and have Victor do whatever he believed was best. My other allies all agreed that having them on our side was a good idea."Thank you. Thank you so much." Victor fervently thanked me again and then pulled something out of his pocket. "If you won''t take what I had prepared for Arthur, I''d like you to have this instead."While an entire guild was burdensome, a measly item was not. "No, you don''t have to¡­" I didn''t take it right away, though. I didn''t want to come off as too easy."Please, take it as a token of gratitude," Victor said as he pushed the item towards me."Very well then. Thank you." I took the purple Rank 10 item right away. "Item Check."==[Necklace of Bortega''s Horn (Rank 10)Bortega''s Horn stands seventeen kilometers tall on the southernmost tip of the world. This necklace was made from a shard that naturally fell from the Horn and is considered to be one of the most valuable items in the world.Increase all Stats by 300 points.Increase STR by 1,000 points.Increase CRIT rate by 5.9%, increase CRIT damage by 250%.Bestows Bortega''s Blessing upon equip. (Gain 0-3 additional levels upon leveling up.)DEF 10,000; MDEF 10,000]==My eyes shot wide open at the Bortega''s Blessing. That was way better than any EXP boost effect out there! It dwarfed the rest of the necklace''s effects, it was that good!"Arthur is currently over level 1200.""..." He was 400 levels higher than me!"He wanted you to have this item."Honestly, this was too much. I would have been content with a Rank 8 item since neither of us came out of the fight that much worse for wear. Losing a hundred Stat points wasn''t all that bad."Tell him I appreciate it, and that I look forward to being friends with him," I said with the utmost sincerity to Victor. 239 Chapter 238: Death Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDA small feast was held in the Shire Guild''s headquarters to honor the new member of the Empire Alliance, the Messenger Guild. We could have thrown a bigger one instead, but we believed it was best to not antagonize the Kintore Alliance and we didn''t want to bring more attention to the Empire. I was really enjoying the simple festivities as well, after Victor had given me the Bortega Necklace and from the message I received the day before.==[Ripped Advance is no longer in effect.You will lose 0-100 stat points randomly from your five Stats.]====[You have lost stat points from the following Stats.STR 0, AGI 0, VIT 0, WIL 0, INT 0]==I didn''t lose a single stat point. Losing even a hundred Stat points would leave barely a dent in my Stats, but it was better to not lose any at all. I had lost nothing from the duel I had with Arthur, and gained so much more. I was so happy that I could almost fully enjoy the party, except for one little problem."You''re so popular, Jiwon!" Arthur had been sticking close to me like a leech and chattered nonstop. It also didn''t help that he was attracting a lot of attention, thanks to the Shire Guild spreading the rumors that he was strong. Because no one had ever heard of him before, it was normal for many people to come asking for him and to others, it was starting to look like Arthur and I were really friendly. Now, I didn''t really think of him as a friend yet, but I didn''t try to push him away or display my displeasure. I made my promise to Victor that I would look kindly on Arthur, so I decided to just let it happen.---Three days later¡­I entered the Dark Caster Dungeon once again. The entire time during the party, I was itching to try out the Bortega''s Horn Necklace. Arthur had told me a little bit about the Necklace and how overpowered it was. He told me that he would gain an average of one extra level each time he leveled up. That was great enough already, but I was confident I could do better. If I could get 3 Shaman Ko Stat points a day, every day, when there was only a 1/100 chance to get it, I could certainly gain three more extra levels! I gave a heavy sigh. Hunting was all I could think about during the party, but now that I was standing in front of monsters, I was getting nervous in case I was wrong. I could be content with an average of one extra level, but I was already expecting so much out of the Necklace that I hated to be let down."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I activated my combat buffs and moved towards a horde of undead monsters. "Fissure!" I yelled as I slammed my spear into the ground. "Judge''s Gavel. Blink 2." And so, I began my fervent hunting, activating my strongest skills every time I could to level them up.After some time, the message I was waiting for finally appeared.==[You have gained a level.]==It took me almost the entire day to gain just one level, but I was well over level 800 since the Defense quest. Gaining one level in a single day was unbelievably quick, but it was possible thanks to the 199% EXP boost on my King-Emperor''s Commitment. Another message appeared soon after.==[You have received Bortega''s Blessing.You will gain 0-3 extra levels.]=="3! 3! 3!"==[You have gained 3 extra levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]=="¡­Yes!" I had gained 4 levels in a single day, even though I was past level 800. This was amazing. I only had a 25% chance of getting three more levels. There was also a 25% of getting 0 levels which was, if you thought about it, quite high. And yet, I had still made it happen and could probably keep getting three extra levels. I turned to another horde of monsters, ready to prove my theory right.------During the same time Lee Jiwon was hunting in high spirits, the rest of the world was slightly panicking. Store 102 in Nairobi, Kenya, was the main Store devas from Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the rest of East Africa went to. That Store had just disappeared. Everyone had believed that Stores were going to stay around forever, but a Store had just completely vanished one morning. The devas of East Africa panicked, unsure of why this had happened, but they were soon silenced when the reason was revealed to them. The Store had disappeared because Earth''s Otadolon stage was coming to an end, and the Judge''s Continent was drawing ever closer. It was revealed that the Store with the lowest score had to pack up and leave. This was the wake-up call for everyone in the world that they were going to lose their superpowers and their ability to resurrect after death. After that, Stores around the world began to disappear one after another, within days of each other.------I cackled as I cut through hordes and hordes of monsters. In two weeks, I had leveled up five times, and each time I had gained 3 extra levels. That was 20 levels in two weeks or about 1.3 levels a day. It was all thanks to my Luck Boost. Honestly, there were times where I thought that I would get unlucky even during the Shaman Ko points, and end up losing 1 point or something. It didn''t matter if I had got 3 SK points every day; I still worried the same about the levels."Whatever! I''ll worry about it when that happens," I said to myself as I continued to kill monsters. Then, while I was mid-hunt, my Comm Link rang and I picked up right away."Young Master!""Yes?""We were going to wait until you finished hunting, but things are getting worse. You need to hear about this now.""What is it?""Stores around the world are leaving.""¡­They''re leaving?""Yes, sir. The Store with the lowest score was the first to go, and around ten more Stores have left so far. They''ve been leaving at a rate of one Store per week.""Huh¡­ I see. I understand. Thank you for telling me.""Yes, sir. We''ll see you when you get home.""Goodbye," I said and hung up. I stared at my Comm Link. "Is this the beginning?" Anton hadn''t told me about any noticeable changes, and I honestly didn''t expect there would be any, but I guess I was wrong. With Stores disappearing left and right, it wouldn''t be long until the Judge''s Continent finally arrived.I put my Comm Link away and gripped my spear before charging in at another horde. I needed to get even stronger.---Shaman Ko was happily going about in his domain with the Dungeon Mole still tied to his body. The Dungeon Mole had seemingly resigned itself to its fate and let itself get bounced around on the ground and didn''t even try to walk on its own four legs. Something else watched them from behind in the shadows... something called Death.Death looked down at itself.==[Death (Possessed by Shaman Ko)The Sovereignty of Death]==Death was now owned by Shaman Ko¡­ owned by that raggedy and shaggy-looking child. Death had done everything it could to escape this place, but it had failed every single escape attempt. It had come close when this domain was somehow connected to the true death it had always sought after. It had thrown itself at the hole that formed in the sky and was able to get a hand out, but that connection lasted less than a second. ==[Death is currently possessed by Shaman Ko.]==The moment Death had placed its hand outside and back into its domain of death, it was pulled right back down into Shaman Ko''s domain. It couldn''t escape, all because it was owned by Shaman Ko.A shiver suddenly ran down Death''s spine, and it looked up to see Shaman Ko glaring at it."How dare you?!" Shaman Ko zoomed over to where Death was and slammed his foot at Death''s head. "You were insulting me again, weren''t you?"Death shook its head. Words meant nothing to Shaman Ko."Hmph. It wasn''t you? I was sure I felt something bad. Be good. I''m always watching you."Death nodded and Shaman Ko finally turned around and went away, dragging the Dungeon Mole behind him.For a split second, Death and the Dungeon Mole locked eyes. They both realized that they were in the same position, but Death was envious of the Dungeon Mole. At least it had some freedom and occasionally left this place. It was always smiling whenever it returned, as if it had taken a well-deserved break. Death dug around the domain every chance it could, in case there was some hole it could hide in, but there was nothing. But it still searched because wherever that hole might be, it would be heaven compared to having to deal with Shaman Ko... 240 Chapter 239: Death Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI had been hunting for three days straight now. But with my VIT currently over 28k, I wasn''t tired at all. It also helped that I could kill all of these monsters in no more than three strikes.==[You have gained a level.]==It was taking me more than three days now to level up.==[You have received Bortega''s Blessing.You will gain 0-3 extra levels.]====[You have gained 3 extra levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]=="Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 901Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 16,090,700/16,090,700MP:602,800/602,800Strength: 34,104 + 5,487Agility: 15,901Vitality: 28,001Willpower: 5,968Intelligence: 5,228Unassigned Stat Points: 7,457 + 264Fatigue: 57Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 136,978Physical Defense: 62,597Magical Attack: 15,954Magical Defense: 41,534]==I started at level 821. It took me a little less than three months to gain eighty levels. Twenty of them were from straight-up hunting, and the other sixty were from the extra levels I got from Bortega''s Blessing. It really was overpowered..."Perfect." I was more than satisfied with the ground I made, but I was also exhausted, as my 57 Fatigue evidenced. I hadn''t taken a single proper break in the past month. I invested all of my unassigned Stat points and closed my Stats Menu. "Let''s go home for now." I had done enough to deserve a two to three-day straight break. I quickly headed for the dungeon exit so that I could take my break and get back to hunting as soon as possible. Level 900 wasn''t enough for me; I wanted to get my AGI up to 20k and hit level 1,000!------I headed straight for the Teleporter in New York City and warped, for free, to Seoul. Now that the Messenger Guild was a part of the Empire, each member of the Empire was allowed to warp for free once a day. It might not sound like much, but that was a very generous favor on Victor''s part, since our numbers were now well into the tens of thousands.When I stepped off Seoul''s Teleporter, I noticed right away that the city was completely jam-packed with devas. Sure, Seoul was always packed with devas, since it had its own Teleporter and Store, but there was so many more today that I barely had enough room to step off the Teleporter. New York City was in a similar situation, actually, but there weren''t this many people. And just about everyone was talking about one thing... the Stores!---"I''ve filled my inventory to the brim with Bread and Beverages but I''m still anxious. Should I just upgrade my inventory while I''m at it, too? And then buy some more¡­""Dude, that''s enough. You have enough to last you years.""Who said it was for me? I might be able to sell them on the Judge''s Continent for whatever price I want.""Hah! Do you think you''re the only one with that idea?""Yeah, man. Everyone knows that the Stores are disappearing, and everyone knows the Judge''s Continent is coming. Everyone here is trying to fill their inventory. Bread and Beverages are probably the most basic items everyone bought.""Then what did you guys get?""I got potions.""I got weapons and armor. There''s a chance equips might be rare on the Continent. I can sell them for at least twice their original price if that''s the case.""I''m buying materials of every single category. I''m positive one of those will sell.""Hmm¡­ should I buy something else then?"---No one knew what would be on the Judge''s Continent, which was why everyone was busy trying to fill their inventory with what they believed would be helpful or would sell the most. I, on the other hand, knew that there was going to be a Store or Stores on the Continent. Anton himself told me, but I didn''t know how different the Store or Stores were going to be from the ones on Earth, Anton wouldn''t say anything about it. It was why I didn''t let Dorofei, Sunbin, Myth, or even Ravi know about it. I didn''t want to tell them something I wasn''t that sure about, and have them blame me if anything went wrong or differently.Bread and Beverages were the most basic items people were stocking up on. I did the same in my past life, before I got my second chance. Doing so at least provided some sense of security that I would be somewhat prepared for whatever. I never got to experience the advent of the Judge''s Continent, however, and I sort of wished I had. If I knew what to expect on the Continent, I could either live up to my title as the First Emperor and secure victory for Earth, or just give up from the beginning.I Blinked away from the crowd and headed home as fast as I could.------Once I got home, I hopped in the shower before wolfing down the meal my mother set out for me, then headed up to my room to throw myself on my bed. There was no better rest than sleep, after all. After a couple of days of just eating and sleeping, I found myself lounging on the sofa on the garden terrace, with the Dungeon Mole in hand. I sipped on my tea as I fed the Mole a piece of candy.------That night, I participated in the meeting my grandfather and three of his officers held nightly for the first time.My grandfather was the first to speak. "I''m not sure if you''ve heard while you were out hunting, but the world is on the brink of chaos with the Stores pulling out.""That''s right, young master. With Stores closing all over the world, many foreigners have been coming to Seoul to visit our Store. That''s why, as I''m sure you''ve noticed, that the city is packed with devas.""Yes. I had the chance to see for myself.""Good. Then I''m sure you know as much as we do. They are here to visit Seoul''s Store. They could be here to just learn skills, or to buy items to sell for later. The biggest problem we''re facing right now is the hoarders."That was what I had gathered was going on when I arrived at Seoul a few days ago."They''re buying items they''re afraid Stores won''t be selling for much longer, or items they believe they can flip for a much higher profit later on."I nodded in agreement."So, the reason I bring this up is that I want to know if there is anything you need. I''m not saying you have to buy anything, but if there is, this might be the best and only time we have.""Hmm¡­" I stroked my chin. I had spent the last few days thinking about this as well, but I had decided to not buy anything. Part of me was the trust I had towards Anton and his advice, but another part of me relied on the experience I had gained from starting from rock bottom and crawling my way to the very top. What I had learned from that experience was that this world system wasn''t half-assed. Whoever was behind this all knew that this would happen and wouldn''t take away important items when the Judge''s Continent was this close. I also doubted they would make Stores that much different from what we were used to. It would defeat the whole purpose of deciding which world was worthy of surviving if the battle boiled down to whoever had the most items or something."I believe it''d be best if we save our golden rings for now.""You don''t want to buy anything?""No, I don''t."My grandfather and the three officers all looked at me wide-eyed in surprise."This world isn''t as simple or as easy as we think it is.""..." They didn''t say anything back. They seemed to understand what I was getting at.------The Sunbin Guild''s headquarters¡­"Are you sure this is enough, Father?""He''s right, master. Other large guilds are stocking up on Bread, Beverages, and even crafting materials. The remaining Stores are actually running low on stock.""We don''t know what to expect from the Judge''s Continent. There''s a chance there won''t be anything there that can help us at all. We need to at least properly prepare, don''t we?"The Sunbin Guild officers had held a meeting once every week once the Stores began to leave, trying to figure out how they should prepare for when all the Stores were gone. Before today''s meeting, the guild had been buying whatever supplies it could until today, when Song Daechul put the brakes on.Song Daechul chuckled as his officers voiced their concerns. "You''re all correct. We should prepare since we don''t know what will happen. But isn''t it pretty obvious?""Sir?""What do you mean?""Everyone else in the world is pouring their golden rings into the Stores right now. No one''s questioning that at all, even though no one knows for sure what''s on the Judge''s Continent."Song Daechul''s officers sat up straight, eyes widened in surprise. It was true. None of them had thought about tha,t and were too busy preparing for something they did not know about."Who knows? Everything we need might actually be all there for us."And so, as per Song Daechul''s orders, the Sunbin Guild changed its tactic to save its golden rings instead. It couldn''t completely change directions, however, since it still had to look out for those under its influence. There were other large guilds that had the same idea, but there were only a few of them.------I put on my hat and sunglasses and headed for Store 72. There was a skill I wanted to learn and I had 5 skill points right now, plenty to learn whatever I needed."What skill should I learn, though?" I thought about this a lot during my break. An active skill that could deal a great amount of damage at once sounded good, but so did a passive skill that could increase my normal attack damage. Well, anything sounded good to learn, so I decided to check out what skills I could learn before making my decision. There was a skill I was leaning towards, though...------Store 72¡­There were considerably less people inside than outside. There were still a lot, but there was enough room to move. I wove through the crowd and went up to the skill shop. There were a lot of customers here, as well. I stood off to the side and looked at Sleng.==[Physical tree, Magic tree, General tree, Random skill (not applicable)]==I opened up the Physical tree for now and looked through the skills, in case there was a skill I didn''t know about. Most skills were open to me now that I had five skill points and four billion golden rings to spare.==[Boost Equipped Item Effects (3/3), (Active)Select one equipped item to temporarily boost its effects. You must wait a cooldown of one month before selecting another item to boost.Level 1: Select 1 item to increase its effects by 5%.Level 2: Select 2 items to increase their effects by 7%.Level 3: Select 3 items to increase their effects by 10%.Skill points required: 1Golden rings required: 1,940,000,000 golden rings]==-Hmm¡­this is a good skill.-At level 3, this skill could increase three of my equipped items'' effects by 10%. 10% might not seem like much, but with my King-Emperor''s Commitment, I could get a lot more out of the skill and the item. There was also Mana Conversion to worry about. A 10% boost meant it would raise Mana Conversion by 6.6 levels but as I had explained earlier, there was no such thing as partial levels. Level 6.6 was the same as level 6.-I''ll save it for now.-I mentally bookmarked the skill and browsed through the other skills, until I came to the Summon skills. I could not learn any of them thanks to Shaman Ko killing them all each time I tried to. I quickly scrolled past the Summons until I came to the last skill in the section. It was a pretty famous skill.==[Summon Chest (1/1), (Active)Inside the Summon Chest resides an unknown Summoned Creature. Open this chest to learn to Summon one of the many Summoned Creatures out there. There is a chance that the Summoned Creature could be extremely rare or legendary.Skill points required: 5Golden rings required: 1,000,000 golden rings.300,000,000 golden rings required to delete this skill.]==This was a complete gamble of a skill, especially for Summoner classes. It was the only way to be able to Summon Phoenixes, Heaven Knights, or Land Turtles. Sure, there were other rare and legendary Summons to be found, but so were Ants, Moths or Caterpillars. There was a chance to waste five whole skill points just to learn a useless Summon skill. It also cost 300 million golden rings just to unlearn the skill, and would cost another million just to try to gamble again. This was a necessary gamble for Summoner classes because of the rare Summon creatures, and I was about to laugh it off and scroll past it when I realized something. All of the Summons I had previously tried to learn were automatically deleted by Shaman Ko and I was refunded the skill points. In other words, I would get the five skill points back and wouldn''t need to spend three hundred million golden rings to delete the skill if I ended up with a dud. I was getting curious. If for some reason, I managed to get a legendary Summon out of this and Shaman Ko didn''t kill it off¡­ Shaman Ko would no doubt do something to it; it''s what he did every time I tried to add some foreign ability. But either way, I was sure I had nothing to lose. It was worth a shot."Learn Summon Chest!" 241 Chapter 240: Death Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[You have chosen to learn Summon Chest.As VIP member of Store 72, the cost to learn this skill is 800,000 golden rings after your 20% discount. Are you sure you wish to learn this skill for 800,000 golden rings?Yes/No]==I selected Yes right away.==[You have learned Summon Chest.Use the command ''Open Summon Chest'' to open the Summon Chest whenever you wish.]==I waited for a moment after learning the skill. Even though it wasn''t an actual Summon Creature, it was still a Summon skill, and I wasn''t sure if Shaman Ko was going to delete it right away or not. But after about ten minutes, I still had the skill."Open Summon Chest." I tried to open the Summon Chest, but was met with a message I didn''t expect.==[Skills cannot be used within Stores.]==Well, I did know that skills were not allowed to be used inside Stores, but I thought it would work since I was technically just opening a Chest. It must have been because it was still considered a skill by the system.I quickly left the Store and used both Blinks to get to Guryong Mountain, the same place I went to assemble the Lightning Boots. It was about four kilometers away from the Store and there wasn''t a mortal or deva in sight."Open Summon Chest!"==[You have opened the Summon Chest.The Summon Chest is randomly selecting a Summon Creature.]==I wondered for a second if it was going to be worth the 800k golden rings I had just spent, even if I got Phoenix or some other legendary Summon. There was still the chance that Shaman Ko could kill it right away, but what''s done was done. I watched the Chest, half-expectant and half-nervous.The Chest finally clicked open, and the lid slowly creaked open before revealing a really small Summon inside. Size didn''t always matter with Chests, since a Land Turtle could be held inside it. But once I saw the Summon, I knew right away that it wasn''t much. The Chest disappeared, leaving only the Summon behind, which was flopping around like a dying fish. I was speechless. The Summon looked so much like something I knew about. "It''s not a¡­penis fish¡­is it?" {TN: look it up. I dare you >:D}==[You have received the Summon: Achilles Tendon.]=="..." The message did nothing to solve my confusion at all. It only served to aggravate me even more."Are you fucking kidding me? How the fuck is this supposed to be a Summon?!" I couldn''t help but swear. Sure, I knew that there were many types of Summons out there, designed to fit in the many combat roles. But there was no way this penis fish-looking thing was supposed to be a Summon. And with a name like Achilles Tendon, it was obvious what its abilities were.I heaved a heavy sigh and decided to at least check for myself what it could do. "Check: Achilles Tendon."==[Achilles Tendon (1/1), (Active)Use this to create a weak point and obtain great strength from that weakness.The greater the weakness you have, the more strength you can obtain.Command: ''Input Weakness'' obtained. Learned by Lee Jiwon.Summon skill that requires 5 skill points.This skill requires 300,000,000 golden rings to be deleted.]=="This is¡­" It was just as I had expected. No, it was beyond what I had expected. No one could have expected this. What Summon required its user to create a weakness just to gain more strength? I hated it. After all the work I put in to get where I am now, I was supposed to weaken myself just to get maybe a little bit stronger? "God damn it! I struck out!" It wasn''t easy to create a weakness on my own, never mind a critical one. There was a chance I could end up like the Achilles from the legends; end up dying to a minor blow all for the sake of getting stronger by an unknown amount. Achilles died from a single poisoned arrow to the heel, while I could stay standing after a thousand poisoned arrows. So basically, it was a dud."It''ll get deleted on its own, right?" I decided to wait until Achilles Tendon got deleted for now.------Shaman Ko was having fun today as well. He spent his time climbing mountains, jumping from tree to tree, petting his Dungeon Mole, and occasionally beating the crap out of the big black thing. Then, right in the middle of his playtime, Shaman Ko felt something weird enter his domain."What now?" Shaman Ko sprinted over to where this new entity was entering his domain. He didn''t like it when things entered unannounced, and killed almost all of them. It didn''t take him long to find the invading entity that was flopping and squirming around."It''s¡­ cute!" Shaman Ko blurted out. He picked up the smooth, fleshy looking thing for a closer look. It was slippery and squishy. Shaman Ko giggled as he squished it and spun it around in his hand. It was fun to play with.Death watched this scene from afar, while keeping its body hidden in the shadows. Death finally saw a vessel it was capable of possessing, but Shaman Ko had gotten to it first. Death was conflicted. It wanted to possess the vessel, but it feared Shaman Ko and it also knew that Shaman Ko was capable of ripping Death out of the vessel with his bare hands. What would follow was even more punishment. Shaman Ko always jealously guarded what was his!Death decided to take its chances. That way, it could get out of this domain just like the Dungeon Mole did. Death quickly made its move and entered the entity in Shaman Ko''s hands."Huh?" Shaman Ko was so completely focused on playing with the Achilles Tendon that there was no way he didn''t notice Death enter it. "Why you little!?" Shaman Ko began to slam the Achilles Tendon on the ground repeatedly in an attempt to force Death out. But once Death possessed the Achilles Tendon, the fleshy color quickly turned black."Hmm¡­" Shaman Ko watched the change happen before bringing the Tendon up to his mouth. "It''s tasty!" Shaman Ko liked the black color for some reason, and it wasn''t like he hated the black thing. It belonged to him, too. He only bothered it because of how timid it acted."Okay! You''re mine too!" Shaman Ko made another rope out of his hair and tied the Tendon to his hip.---Guryong Mountain¡­The minutes ticked by until an hour had passed. I was sweating bullets as no message had appeared yet. Something had gone wrong, horribly wrong."No! I have to spend 300 million golden rings just to delete it!" The damn penis fish even cost me five whole skill points!"Shit! Why are you not deleting it? You''ve done it countless times before, so why not now?" I yelled at Shaman Ko. Sure, it only cost me 800,000 golden rings to learn it in the first place, but it was still a waste of golden rings for a crappy skill like this one."Summon: Penis Fish!"Nothing happened. "Fuck! It looks like a penis fish, so who cares?! Summon: Achilles Tendon!" This time, it appeared... only it looked different now."What is this about now?" The Tendon was black in color now, not its original pink, fleshy color. "Check: Achilles Tendon."==[Achilles Tendon (Possessed by Lee Jiwon and Shaman Ko.)The greater the weakness you have, the more strength you can obtain. Summon skill that requires five skill points.Cannot be deleted.Predation can be used. (Must be Consumed in order for its effects to work.)]=="..." I noticed right away that this skill was now possessed by me and Shaman Ko, and that it could be Consumed by Predation. It also could not be deleted anymore. The command prompt was gone, too. I could only use it after Consuming it."Ha. Haha. Ha¡­" I laughed emptily when another message appeared.==[Achilles Tendon is possessed by Death and its name is now changed to Death''s Achilles Tendon.Achilles Tendon receives Death''s abilities.]=="Death?" I had already received benefits from Death when it gave me Ripped Advance from Pedro. I didn''t expect it to be connected to the Tendon as well.-''I''m free! I''m free!''-"Huh?" I wasn''t really surprised, since I had experienced the Dungeon Mole do the same. "So, it''s you?" I asked, as I brought the Tendon up to eye level.-''Shaman Ko isn''t here! This is heaven! This is my world now!''-"Uh¡­hey. Fishie. Fishie?" One thing about Listen was that only I could listen. The Dungeon Mole and the Tendon could not hear me. The Tendon jiggled on its own in my hand, as if it was bouncing up and down with joy after finally escaping Shaman Ko''s domain. Honestly, that was understandable. The Dungeon Mole was always relieved whenever I Summoned it. Still, I wasn''t happy with this, even if Death somehow possessed the Tendon. I had still lost five skill points. I stared down the Tendon again. "Excuse me? Mr. Death Penis Fish? If your abilities are anything below satisfactory¡­ I swear I won''t ever let you see the light of day ever again." The Tendon obviously couldn''t hear me, and just jiggled."Consume!" 242 Chapter 241: Death Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Predation has been activated.Target: Death''s Achilles TendonTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Create WeaknessCreate a weakness to gain tremendous strength. However, the user will gain the strength while Death''s Achilles Tendon will shoulder the weakness.You can create 1 of the 3 weaknesses below.Slight Weakness: (After creating this weakness, Death''s Achilles Tendon must recover and cannot be Consumed again for 10 days.)Increase Stats by 10,000 pointsIncrease CRIT rate by 5%, increase CRIT damage by 500%Serious Weakness: (After creating this weakness, Death''s Achilles Tendon must recover and cannot be Consumed again for 20 days.)Increase Stats by 20,000 pointsIncrease CRIT rate by 10%, increase CRIT damage by 1000%Critical Weakness: (After creating this weakness, Death''s Achilles Tendon must recover and cannot be Consumed again for 30 days.)Increase Stats by 30,000 pointsIncrease CRIT rate by 15%, increase CRIT damage by 1500%Effect 2: Death''s HarrierDeath has possessed Achilles Tendon, but Achilles Tendon cannot contain all of Death. Death''s leaking aura has enveloped Achilles Tendon and a new ability is born.For 24 hours, your attacks will carry a deathly energy and have a chance to drain enemies'' Stat points.Cooldown: 30 days.]=="..." I hadn''t used Predation on Death''s Achilles Tendon because I expected to get much out of it; I just didn''t want to look at it anymore. But it turns out it had become an amazing weapon. I had nothing to lose from either effect."Activate: Create Critical Weakness." I had just Consumed Death''s Achilles Tendon, so Predation was still in effect. I had to see how much stronger I could become by using the third Weakness.==[Create Critical Weakness has been activated.Increase Stats by 30,000 pointsIncrease CRIT rate by 15%, increase CRIT damage by 1,500%Time applied: 24 hours.After 24 hours, Death''s Achilles Tendon cannot be Consumed for 30 days.]=="Activate: Death''s Harrier." I was more curious about this one.==[Death''s Harrier has been activated.Your attacks now carry a deathly energy and have a chance to drain your enemies'' Stat points.Time applied: 24 hoursCooldown: 30 days.]==With both abilities activated, I took out the Werewolf Clan Badge out from my inventory. The Troll Dungeon was the one place I could quickly get to and hunt monsters."Teleport: Faroe Islands." I was moved to the Werewolf Clan''s home in a single second."Mr. Lee? What''s brings you all the way here?" A couple of Werewolf guards greeted me as soon as they saw me, but I didn''t have time to explain to them. Both abilities only lasted 24 hours, and I had to wait 30 days before I could use them again."I just wanted to do some hunting. Blink 1. Blink 2." I Blinked away after leaving them with a short explanation and quickly arrived at the Troll Dungeon. Once I arrived, I headed inside right away. "Mana Conversion ¨C Ice.Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." I activated my combat buffs like always and charged at a horde of Trolls."Gwah!" Even though it was a critical hit, a single attack was enough to kill the Troll Warrior before me. Troll monsters were the most unpopular type of monsters out there because of their high HP and high HP regen. They could be considered tank-type monsters, but that didn''t mean their attack power was at all weak. Trolls on the second and third floors also traveled in hordes of fifty-plus. These Trolls could be considered the more dangerous dungeon monsters and as such, the Werewolves rarely ever came to this dungeon level to train. Even I favored other high-grade dungeons more than this one. But if I could kill a Troll in one or two hits, then it didn''t matter where I hunted anymore. After I cut down about eleven Troll Warriors, a message appeared.==[You have obtained 3 Stat points from a Troll Warrior cursed by Death.]==I smiled. There was a chance I could get more than 3 Stat points and I swung my spear at the Trolls with vigor. All of my Stats were now increased by 30,000 points. My CRIT damage was raised by 1,500%. No Troll could stand in my way. It didn''t take long for me to clear most of the first floor of Trolls.As I hunted, I started to think back on the Defense Quest and how all those monsters just poured out of that door. "Were there always this few monsters?" It was the first time I felt this way. I didn''t like how it took more time to find monsters than to kill them. I quickly cleared through the second, third and fourth floors, and even made it to the fifth floor.I kept receiving the same type of messages as I cut through the Trolls. I got a message after every thirty monsters I killed, getting at least 1 Stat point and up to 5. The chance of draining Stat points wasn''t particularly high, but I didn''t care, not with how fast I was killing the monsters.The fifth floor had hordes of over a hundred Trolls, but it made no difference to me."Kill! Kill the human!""Attack!""Weaken!""Slow!"To any other normal deva, this giant horde of Troll Warriors, Troll Mages, and Troll Champions was extremely dangerous. These Trolls had higher intelligence than the Trolls of the higher floors, and were able to form strategies.But I was no ordinary deva. I was immune to their Slow and Weaken. Not only was my STR raised by 30,000 points, so was my AGI. I was practically a god now. I cut down the Trolls in front of me fervently, letting their attacks and spells pelt me. I didn''t need to dodge them, not with my HP and VIT this high. I cleared out the horde of a hundred-plus Trolls in a matter of minutes and walked away with barely a scratch.------Twenty four hours later¡­==[You have gained a level.]====[You have obtained 5 Stat points from a Troll Warrior cursed by Death.]====[Critical Weakness has now deactivated.You are unable to use Predation on Death''s Achilles Tendon for the next 30 days.]====[Death''s Harrier has now deactivated.You are unable to use Death''s Harrier for the next 30 days.]==It was only a 24-hour hunt, but I was more than satisfied. I was definitely going to use Death''s Harrier again once it was off its cooldown. "Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 905Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 16,090,700/16,090,700MP: 602,800/602,800Strength: 34,104 + 5,487Agility: 15,901Vitality: 28,001Willpower: 5,968Intelligence: 5,228Unassigned Stat Points: 8937 Fatigue: 33Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 137,770Physical Defense: 62,597Magical Attack: 15,954Magical Defense: 41,534]==I leveled up once, but gained three extra levels thanks to Bortega''s Blessing. I didn''t care much about the levels, however, and instead, my eyes shifted to all of the Stat points I had. I was 9,000 stat points away from getting my AGI up to 20,000."If I had another hour, I could have gotten 9,000 Stat points." I was a little more than 60 points away, even after all that hunting I had done, and my Fatigue was raised to 33 in only 24 hours. It was so close and yet so far. But then again, I only needed about three days to gain one more level. With Bortega''s Blessing, I could gain another three levels and get 80 Stat points in all. I raised my spear and starting hunting again.---Three days later¡­==[You have gained a level.]==Finally. I smiled and laughed to myself as I opened up my Stats Menu and began investing 9,000 points in to AGI.==[Your base AGI has surpassed 20,000 points.Your total AGI points: 24,901Your base AGI points: 20,000AGI points increased by items: 4,600AGI points increased by skills: 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 20,000 points in AGI before anyone else.AGI will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 20,000 points in three Stats (STR, VIT, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==I invested the 2,000 extra Stat points I got, and the remaining 17 points, into STR. My next goal was to get STR to 30k. I had a feeling it wouldn''t take long if Death''s Harrier could just get me almost the same amount of Stat points it got me today. I just had to wait 30 more days. I shivered from the excitement just thinking about it."Great! I''m summoning you every chance I get!" 243 Chapter 242: The Judge’s Continent Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI was back at home, on the terrace garden, petting the Dungeon Mole in my hand. I also had the Achilles Tendon summoned and on the table beside me. The Dungeon Mole squeaked for more candy while the Tendon kept saying that it liked the outside more. I even tried giving the Tendon a piece of candy, but it didn''t seem to care for it."Hmm¡­forty Stores have closed now¡­that should give Store 72 about three months before it has to close as well." All guilds and organizations were keeping track of all the Stores around the world. Everyone knew that once the last Store closed, the Judge''s Continent would finally arrive, marking the end of this era and the start of a new one. It would be just like July 17th, 2023; the day that Earth, or World #1455, entered the Otadolon stage. All past feuds were ended as well. We all had to work together in the coming battle if we wanted Earth to survive. All everyone was doing was hunt and train. Everyone wanted to get as strong as they could before the Continent arrived. I was no different, but I was taking it easy like this because of the Death''s Harrier ability. It was thanks to it that I got my base AGI up to 22k. My base STR was also way past 24k now.It all seemed perfect, except for the fact that I could only have one Predation Scroll in my inventory at a time. If I met a strong opponent, I would use it on Death''s Achilles Tendon and activate Critical Weakness. But what could I do then, if that wasn''t enough? There was probably no way that could happen, but what if? Consuming Shaman Ko instead increased my Stats by tenfold and pretty much turned me into a monster. That was evident from the video I watched of Shaman Ko possessing my body and completely destroying the Reaper. But if I could do that now, I would become more than a monster; I would become a demon."..." My mouth dropped just thinking about it. I knew that it was something that had happened outside of my will, and it had never truly sat well with me, but I did feel safer having a failsafe as strong as that. But I could only have one Predation Scroll with me at a time. I couldn''t Consume Shaman Ko for 24 hours after Consuming the Tendon. I doubted it would ever come to that, but I just couldn''t help but feel anxious about it. But as if answering my prayers, the unthinkable happened.==[You have received a Scroll of Predation.]==I had already received one five days ago since I used one to Consume the Tendon. I should have received 3 SK points like every other time, but I got another Scroll the next day instead. It ended with two Scrolls, but that was enough."Perfect. I guess I''ll get back to hunting then." I got up from my sofa and sent the Dungeon Mole and the Tendon away. I was going to hunt like normal, but I didn''t need to hunt with my life on the line like everyone else. I was fully prepared for the advent of the Continent. I just needed to make sure I was in good shape.------Twenty-five days later¡­"Today''s the day." The Tendon''s Predation was finally off cooldown. I could get back to power leveling again, and frankly, its timing couldn''t have been more perfect. Two more Stores had closed over the past month and at the same time, at that. The change was starting to speed up, meaning the day was drawing ever closer. I wasn''t afraid or nervous though; I was thoroughly prepared and would continue to prepare."Alright. It''s time." I had hunted every day over the past twenty-five days and managed to raise my level by 20. Once I left my house, I saw a group of my clan members waiting for me. "Let us depart, Mr. Lee.""Yes, let''s go." I could only use Death''s Harrier once every thirty days. I had a couple of things to investigate to find the best hunting ground. First, it needed to have a lot of monsters. I needed to kill countless monsters in twenty-four hours to get the most out of the drained Stat points. They didn''t even need to be strong. Second, they needed to be an aggressive type, meaning that they had to attack first when they noticed my presence. That way, I didn''t have to waste time moving from horde to horde.That was it. Those were the only two requirements I needed. I could have carried out the investigation on my own, but I needed it done in a timely manner and thankfully, it wasn''t hard to find helpers. The Myth Guild was very forward about it as well, since they controlled all of Egypt, as well as a good chunk of the Sahara. With their help, I decided on the Sokht Oasis close to the Libya-Egypt border.The monsters there were aggressive-type Sand Lizards. They weren''t even that big either; standing only around a meter tall. And so, with the Myth Guild escort, we headed to Cairo via the Seoul Teleporter. I had already notified the main guild to set up a Warp Zone connecting Cairo and the Sokht Oasis, so it only took us less than a minute to get to the Oasis from Seoul."I''ll be relying on you," I said to Ebonene as I shook his hand."It''s not a problem. We can at least do this much for you," Ebonene said before turning to the three hundred guild members. "Lure the monsters as planned!""Yes sir!" The three hundred soldiers spread out in five-man teams across the Oasis at Ebonene''s order. About ten minutes later, several teams were running my way with hordes of Sand Lizards behind them."I''ll be taking my leave now.""Thank you again." The Myth Guild didn''t once question my sudden request and just accepted it right away. Once I saw that Ebonene was gone, I activated my necessary skills."Summon: Death''s Achilles Tendon." I Consumed it right away. "Activate: Death''s Harrier. Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Death''s Harrier has been activated.Your attacks now carry a deathly energy and have a chance to drain your enemies'' stat points.Time applied: 24 hoursCooldown: 30 days.]==I didn''t feel the need to activate Critical Weakness since the average level of the monsters here was level 400. I just needed to use Fissure and Judge''s Gavel as much as I could to level them up.What followed was complete annihilation. Just touching the Lizards was enough to kill them. And thanks to the hundreds of Lizards the Myth Guild members were luring, I was even able to kill several at a time with one swing of my spear.==[You have obtained 3 Stat points from a Sand Lizard cursed by Death.]====[You have obtained 1 Stat points from a Sand Lizard cursed by Death.]====[You have obtained 4 Stat points from a Sand Lizard cursed by Death.]==I smiled as the messages popped up one after the other. "I''ll be relying on all of you for the entire day! In return, drinks are on me tomorrow!""Yes, sir!""We''ll hold you to that!"---Twenty four hours later¡­==[Death''s Harrier has now deactivated.The power of Death''s Harrier will be lowered for weakening Death''s Achilles Tendon twice in a row.You are unable to use Death''s Harrier for the next 30 days.]=="Huh?" I get that Death''s Harrier wasn''t the Tendon''s original ability and was only granted when Death possessed it, but I couldn''t help but feel my strength leave my body when I learned that it was being weakened. "Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 929Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 16,090,700/16,090,700MP: 602,800/602,800Strength: 36,521 + 5,961Agility: 26,901Vitality: 28,001Willpower: 5,968Intelligence: 5,228Unassigned Stat Points: 2082]==I had gained 2,082 Stat points in a single day. I should be jumping with joy, but I was now too worried about what it would cost me. I didn''t let it show since it was an ability only I knew about and instead shouted to the Myth Guild. "Let''s go! It''s time to have some fun!""Yeaah!"---Thirty days later¡­Once Death''s Harrier''s cooldown was up, I used it for a third time and hunted like before with the Myth Guild. This time, I gained 1,650 Stat points in twenty four hours. That was still a considerable amount, but it was also much less than before. I knew that Death''s Harrier was weakened, but it sucked to actually see it with my own eyes.==[Death''s Harrier has now deactivated.The power of Death''s Harrier will be lowered for weakening Death''s Achilles Tendon three times in a row.You are unable to use Death''s Harrier for the next 30 days.]==It was weakened again, as well. I would probably get even less points the next time I used it. A 400 point difference was big enough as is. I couldn''t complain just yet, however. No one else knew about this ability, and no one needed to know how many Stat points I had. There was no reason to be depressed, not after all I had gotten from it. At least, there was nothing about Critical Weakness.------Another twenty days passed, and only Store 72 remained.------Anton''s office¡­"Tomorrow''s the day.""Already?" I was having tea with Anton."Yup. It''s arriving tomorrow." This was it. I was completely in the dark now."Well, I''m sure you''ll do great.""Thanks.""No, thank you."After a few more words, I bid my final farewells to Anton and Marie and wished them the best of luck in the future.When I got home, I notified all of the Empire''s factions that the Judge''s Continent was arriving.The day after, the same voice from July 17th, 2023 rang across the sky.-Ah. Ah. Can you all hear me?- 244 Chapter 243: The Judge’s Continent, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIt was the same voice that had started the Otadolon stage. It had been ten years, but it did not seem unfamiliar at all.-But I jumped into the Sea of Reset eleven years after the start of the Otadolon Stage. This is pretty much starting a year earlier, isn''t it?-The endgame was definitely starting a year earlier than it had in the past, but I wasn''t sure if that was because of me."So it''s begun.""I wonder what awaits us now¡­" The guild masters and officers of each Empire faction were gathered at my home. None of knew what was about to happen.----I believe you''ve been given enough time now. The time has come to prove if you''ve put that time to good use with your lives on the line. Show me on the Judge''s Continent if you''ve got what it takes to survive.-A message appeared before us after the voice stopped talking.==[Those that have used their token of knowledge will be moved to the Judge''s Continent. Those that have not used their token of knowledge will be left alone on their world while all Stores, dungeons, monsters and Don Gates will be removed from their world. However, those left behind on their world will be given penalties. This is for the following reasons:For not trying hard enough while others who have used their token of knowledge struggled through life and death to get stronger.Those that have used their token of knowledge will be fighting for the fate of their world.The following penalties will be given to those who have not used their token of knowledge.Using their token of knowledge in the future will grant the title ''Tardy Deva'' and will start off with 1 points to each Stat, instead of the normal 20.Using their token of knowledge in the future will grant the title ''Tardy Deva'' and will only receive 5 Stat points upon leveling up, instead of the normal 10.Conversely, those that have already used their token of knowledge and will be moved to the Judge''s Continent will be granted the following bonuses.1,000 bonus Stat points each.Additional bonuses according to individual achievements.]==It was a pretty long message, but it was easy to understand what it meant. Mortals were going to receive a heavy penalty for not using their tokens on time¡­ but it wouldn''t really matter if we lost in the coming battle."There''s a chance mortals may actually wish for us to lose now.""..." It truly was a huge penalty. There would no doubt be countless mortals who felt shorted by this. They all wanted to become devas like the rest of us, but couldn''t. Finding limited Don Gates was hard enough when they were being monopolized by the rich and powerful. Only special people like me were able to be lucky enough to find a Don Gate and use it. But the system was blaming them as if they purposely didn''t become devas. I''d be furious too, if I was still a mortal.Thankfully, I had managed to make everyone in my clan a deva, including my mother. It took some work trying to convince her, but she did it, even though she was still a beginner under level 100. Either way, it was good that she wasn''t going to receive the Tardy Deva title, since we were going to win the battle, no matter what!Just then, another message appeared.==[You will now be moved to the Judge''s Continent.]====[10, 9, 8,¡­]=="This quickly?""Shit!""They''re doing whatever they want to the end!" a few of the officers cried out anxiously."The Otadolon stage started without warning. It''s only natural they do it like this¡­ isn''t it?""..." The officers fell silent and seemed to calm down a bit thanks to my words. There was no need to panic when this was only the beginning.==[4, 3, 2, 1, 0]==I felt a warm light start to exude from my body, and noticed that it wasn''t just me. "I''ll see you all on the Continent." We were only told that we were going to be moved to the Continent; we weren''t told how or where exactly we would be moved to. So, I and the officers agreed that we would meet on the southernmost end of the Continent once we arrived. There was a possibility that we could do better if we acted separately, but we had to prepare for the worst. "Understood. We''ll show them what Earth has to offer.""I hope to see everyone over there.""Same here."We each said our farewells as we were being forcibly teleported away. It was clear that all of us were nervous and afraid. We were quite literally about to face certain death, death we could no longer resurrect from. There was a chance we were never going to see our family and friends again on that Continent. I at least had Call to rely on in case things went south. I made my mother a deva solely because of Call. I could use it to bring my mother and grandfather to me and protect them until we linked up with the rest of the Empire. I had even deleted Cantana and Jose Alejandro and filled Call with more of my comrades. I did still have the Slayer registered, however, since I was going to need his help.-So I guess this means this is the real game, doesn''t it?-It was like we had just finished a really vicious and fierce tutorial part of the game, and were just about to enter the main questline. Well, that didn''t matter. I had completed that tutorial perfectly, and was much more prepared for the main game than anyone else.The light that was now flooding my surroundings soon disappeared, revealing a structure in front of me. It was a Don Gate, but this one was much bigger than the ones back on Earth, at least a hundred times bigger. I heard a voice coming from inside the Don Gate.==[The Otadolon stage of World 1455 has come to an end.You will be rewarded based upon your accomplishmentsLee Jiwon''s level, total Stat points, skills, and items will be calculated into points and compared to all devas and deities of World 1455. (Items obtained to sell will not be counted.)Calculating Lee Jiwon''s points¡­]==All devas and deities were going to be rewarded, as the first message stated. I paid more attention to this part, while everyone else was concerned about the penalty. I was confident I could get first place."Why is it taking so long though?" It took a while for another message to appear.==[Lee Jiwon has earned a total of 387,758,874 points.Congratulations. You have earned the most points of World 1455.]==I knew I would get first place, but I wasn''t sure by how much, as I had nothing else to compare those points to. That is, until another message appeared.==[You are the fourth deva of all Otadolon-completed Worlds to surpass 100,000,000 points. You have reached the pinnacle form. You will now receive your rewards.Rank 10 Random Item Chest.5,000 Stat points.5 skill points.5,000,000,000 golden rings.]==Those were all no doubt tremendous rewards, but they seemed to be the same rewards for 100,000,000 points, while I was well over 300 million. I wished I could get more rewards, since I was 200 million over that requirement, but it wasn''t the case, and there was one else around to listen to my complaints."Hello? Is anyone out there?" ...There was no answer from the Don Gate. ==[You will be moved to the Judge''s Continent.]==The message finally appeared, telling me that there was nothing more to expect when the ground below me opened up, and I fell through. "Fuck! Can''t you send me over peacefully!?"---Section 35 of the Judge''s Continent¡­"You still can''t contact him?" Song Daechul asked his subordinate for the umpteenth time."No sir. I can''t connect to him at all which means¡­""He hasn''t arrived at the Continent yet.""Yes sir. It would seem so.""Hmm¡­it''s been a month and only Jiwon has yet to arrive¡­"The Empire had managed to avoid the worst and almost everyone had gathered to the same place. They panicked at first, but thankfully, their Comm Links worked on the Continent. They were able to contact each other and rendezvous at the southernmost part of the Continent while also learning more about this land.The Continent was divided into 150 sections. Sections 1 to 75 were Earth''s sections, holding 1,375,529,331 Earthling devas. Sections 76 to 150 held 2,138,444,408 enemy devas. It quickly became obvious what they had to do here when a leaderboard was revealed about two weeks ago.==[World 1455Devas/Deities: 1,375,528,344Controlled sections: 75]====[World 1512Devas/Deities: 2,138,442,231Controlled sections: 75]=="Hmm¡­we''ve lost more today.""Yes sir. An hour ago, we lost 107 and the enemy lost 188.""700 million..." Song Daechul whispered to himself. Earth was heavily outnumbered. He knew that numbers weren''t everything, but not when the enemy had 700 million more people. "This is quite cruel, indeed."They were supposed to prove if they were worthy enough to live on, but they weren''t told how to do that. Were they supposed to defeat the enemy when they were outnumbered almost 2:1 or did they just need to take over as many sections as possible?"Father, the Karaviki Mercenary Corps has just arrived at Section 35," Song Myungsoo said."Is that so? Let''s go meet them."The Sunbin, Ravi, and Messenger Guilds, and Lee Jiwon''s clan, had all made it to Section 35. The rest of the Empire had ended up at different sections. They had decided to make Section 35 the base for the Empire as most of the factions were already there and the other factions were slowly making their way over.The biggest problem they faced was that even though Lee Jiwon''s grandfather and mother had landed in Section 35, Lee Jiwon had yet to arrive. No, he wasn''t even on the Continent yet.-It''s not because his points are still being calculated, is it?-Song Daechul had also experienced the giant Don Gate and had his points calculated as well. He had earned 34,000,000 points and received 850 Stat points and 19,000,000 golden rings as a reward.-I doubt I can even compare to Lee Jiwon.- Song Daechul thought as he headed to meet with the Mercenary Corps. At that moment, Earth''s player count had increased by 1, but quickly dropped down again by 1. An Earthling had arrived on the Continent the same time another had died, so no one realized that Lee Jiwon was finally falling his way down to the Continent. 245 Chapter 244: The Judge’s Continent Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[You have arrived at the Judge''s Continent.]=="Open Stats Menu!" I cared more about my reward than the fact that I had arrived at the Continent or the ramparts, which were marked Section 35.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 973Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 16,090,700/16,090,700MP: 602,800/602,800Strength: 41,133 + 6,591Agility: 25,101Vitality: 28,001Willpower: 5,968Intelligence: 5,228Unassigned Stat Points: 6,000 + 3 Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 164,297Physical Defense: 62,597Magical Attack: 15,954Magical Defense: 41,534]==I smiled when I saw that I still had the Luck Boost. I was definitely going to need it in the coming battles, whether it was to get more SK points or when it came to opening my new Random Item Chest. I also noticed the 6,000 stat points I received just from coming to the Continent. My base STR was also exactly 28,982 points; I just needed a little more than 1,000 points to get it to 30k.I took out my Comm Link for now. I had to make sure my grandfather, my mother, and my other comrades registered in Call were okay. But as soon as I took it out, it rang. It was probably my mother or someone from the Empire."Jiwon!" It was my mother."Hi, mom.""It took you long enough! Why didn''t you pick up all this time?""What do you mean? I just arrived.""What? We couldn''t call you for a month!""A month?""Yes, a month!"I looked back at my Stats Menu. I only had 3 SK points, meaning that only a day had passed for me, but my mother wouldn''t lie about that. I then remembered how long I had to wait at the giant Don Gate. That must have had something to do with it. "Okay, we''ll figure out why later. Are you somewhere safe? What about grandpa and the clan?""Yes, we''re fine. Don''t worry. We''re with the Sunbin, Myth, Ravi Guilds and some others from the Empire. We''ve secured a base for now.""Whew¡­ that''s a relief.""Where are you right now?""I am¡­" I looked around me and noticed the ramparts labeled Section 35 off to the distance. "I see a sign that says Section 35, and a lot of Earth devas are around too.""Section 35?""Yeah.""That''s the section where we all are! Come to Center D! That''s where we set up our base!""Great. I''ll be right there.""Okay. Hurry."I hung up, but the second I did, my Comm Link rang again. It was the Sunbin Guild this time, and our conversation was pretty similar to the one I had with my mother. I arrived a month later than everyone else and was also directed to get to Center D as quickly as possible."Well, at least it''s not the worst thing to happen." It was good enough that we weren''t completely separated. But that was good news for others as well. I turned my head to the sky to look at the leaderboard that showed the numbers of each side. We were outnumbered by 700 million. The enemy would like that we were all gathered in one spot."Well, we''ll find out who''s truly disadvantaged once we fight for real." Relieved that my family and comrades were at least safe for now and I knew where they were, I turned back to my Stats Menu and started to increase my STR.==[Your base STR has surpassed 30,000 points.Your total STR points: 42,151Your base STR points: 30,000STR points increased by items: 11,850STR points increased by skills: 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 30,000 points in STR before anyone else.STR will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==I was always happy to see those messages, but I had honestly expected a bit more. "What, I only get 2,000 bonus points now?" I had expected it to go with the pattern and get 3,000 extra STR points! Well, it was probably for balance reasons..."I guess it doesn''t really matter. I got a bonus either way. Now the question is, what do I do with the remaining 4,982 points?" I had planned on going straight for STR after getting my base AGI and VIT to 20k, but I had way too many points to spare now."Should I get STR to 40k first and go from there?" My base STR was now at 32k. I needed 8,000 more points to get to 40k, but I had almost 5000 points remaining. I just needed 3,000 points now and I was confident that it wouldn''t take long to achieve."Alright! Let''s do that then!" I invested my remaining points into STR. Once I was done, I jumped fifty meters down to the bottom of the ramparts. It wasn''t difficult for me to figure out which way was Center D, thanks to all the signs all over the place. There were also a lot of people around, talking to one another.---"Are you sure you want to stay in Section 35?""Of course. This is where the Empire is set up.""Yeah, shouldn''t staying with the Empire be safe enough?"Another deva sighed. "You idiots. Think for a second.""What?""The Empire already announced that they''ll be doing everything they can to ensure Earth''s survival. Do you really think Section 35 is going to stay peaceful for long?""Oh¡­ you think so?""Of course I do. Why do you think Russia''s number 1 guild, D. Nerv, left this place?""Black Moon left the West Gate yesterday, too.""See? They don''t want to get caught up in the Empire''s war.""But we''re just normal devas¡­ do you think the Empire will force us to do anything?""That I don''t know. But all I know that it''s going to get real uncomfortable for us if we stay.""..."---They definitely weren''t wrong and I completely understood why they would think that way. But what I also realized was that not pulling your weight on the Continent meant incurring huge penalties. When the Otadolon stage first started, there was nothing about a requirement to become a deva and doing your best. But now, mortals were being punished and were now called Tardy Devas. Something similar could happen to you if you didn''t fight, especially now that you were on the Continent. There was definitely going to be a reward for those who did their best that would further increase the distance between them and the lazy ones. I then heard someone who had the same idea as me.---"I don''t know about the Black Moon, but from what I heard, D. Nerv left Section 35 because they didn''t want to be pushed around by the Empire before we even catch a glimpse of the enemy.""Yeah, that''s what I heard too.""Besides, you all saw what happened to the mortals before we came here. There''s also the whole point system we encountered at the giant Don Gate.""Whatever we do here on the Continent has to be more important than anything else. I''m positive only those who at least try hard will be rewarded.""Yeah. We''ll get screwed if we get lazy here.""Do you really think so?""I think so. I mean, we only have one life now, so we do have to be careful. But that doesn''t mean we can crawl into a hole and hide until this all blows over.""Hmm¡­ it sure is a tough choice."---As I overheard the conversations, I finally made it to Center D."Oh! Mr. Lee!""Mr. Lee is here!" I was greeted by members of Abu Dhabi first and managed to finally meet with my mother, grandfather, and the officers of the Empire. Once I made sure most of us were all right, we got together to figure out our next step."According to this map, Earth controls Sections 1 to 75 and the enemy controls 76 to 150." A large map was spread out over a large table, illustrating a land mass divided into 150 sections."Where did you get this map?" I had noticed a few weapon, skill, and item shops on the way here, but I was met with the same message each time.==[You cannot use this shop at this time.]==I doubted that they were able to obtain a map of this size by fulfilling whatever requirements in a month''s time."We got it through a quest.""A quest?""Yes. Everyone in Sections 1 to 75 received the same quest, and we managed to obtain three copies.""Ah¡­" That explained enough. The officers continued their explanation about the Continent. Earth controlled the West side of the Continent, while the enemy controlled the East side. Currently, the center border was impassable."We haven''t been able to cross the center border at all.""We''ve tried digging beneath it and tried to climb over it, but an invisible force stops us from going and seeing over. Blink obviously doesn''t work, either."So, no one had seen anyone from World 1512."In my opinion, it''s been blocked off because you had yet to arrive," Taniya said. "The system was probably waiting for all participants to join.""That does sound plausible.""That''s the best theory so far.""If I''m right, then it''s going to begin very soon, as long as they don''t have late arrivals like Mr. Lee.""I hope that''s the case," Song Daechul added.I and the other officers nodded in agreement. We were all sure I was late because of my points. There was no other explanation otherwise. If they had someone arrive later than me, then it could only mean one thing; that person was stronger than me. Either way, we decided to deal with that when the time came, and discussed our next move. We also tried to get more people involved to raise our chances for survival.The next day, the voice spoke again.-Ah. Ah. Ahem. In my 3700 years as Judge, this is the longest time I''ve ever waited. Just how many points did you have to make me wait this long?- 246 Chapter 245: The Judge’s Continent Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED-I''ll explain what you all need to do, so pay attention.-First, you must kill your opponents and steal their Sections. Do so, and I, the Judge, will decide who is the victor and the loser. The victor will come with me, and the loser will be promptly deleted from the system. That includes your so-called mortals that were left behind on your world. Those that show exemplary abilities here on the Judge''s Continent will be rewarded with bonuses that pale what you received before you first came here. So always do your best. Furthermore, I can decide who wins or loses today or tomorrow. In other words, don''t live for tomorrow. Do everything you can today.Second, there is no resurrecting after dying here. Once you die, you''re dead for good. Well, I''m sure you all already knew that before coming here. There were even a few of you who decided to off themselves when monsters, or dungeons, or even your actual enemies appeared. Oh, and I even saw some of you kill your own comrades. It was quite fun to watch, actually.Third, if you''re still afraid of death, leave your side of the Continent and kill an enemy. If you do, you will be rewarded with a tremendous amount of EXP and golden rings, an amount you will never see a monster yield. What, you think there''s nothing to spend your golden rings on? Don''t worry. Once the center barrier disperses, you will be able to access the Stores you see around. You will all know soon enough just how precious golden rings will become.Well, that''s about it. Oh, that''s right. This always happens and it never fails to amuse me, but there are always some of you who decide to stock up on supplies from your World''s Stores. Gahahaha! From this moment on, all items you own are now bound to you. That includes your equips, your normal items and even all those Bread and Beverages you bought. Oh, but don''t worry. Stores here will sell Scrolls that delete bound items. But¡­Hehehe¡­well, I won''t get too into detail. You''ll figure it out on your own soon enough. Well, I wish you all good luck and look forward to a fun show. Hehehehe!-When the voice stopped talking, a message appeared in the sky.==[The barrier sealing the center of the Judge''s Continent will now be removed.The Judge''s Continent''s Stores are now open for use.]=="And so it begins."We all saw the same message. But I did notice that there were some officers that looked like they had just swallowed a lemon, and I knew why. All of those items they had stocked up on were now bound to them. The so-called Judge did say that Stores would sell a way to get rid of those bound items, but from the way he was laughing, we could tell that it was not going to be cheap."Ha¡­ well, we''re off to a great start.""Yes, but it seems some of us managed to make the right call." From their expressions, it seemed that the Shire, Abu Dhabi, and Messenger Guilds, and the Werewolf Clan, had stocked up, while I, the Sunbin, Myth, and Ravi Guilds, and the Mercenary Corps, did not. To be honest, we could have told each other to not buy items like everyone else, but we kept silent for now. We didn''t want it to form a rift between us, now that the real game had finally started.------Thirty minutes later¡­After lifting everyone''s spirits, I had the map taken out again. "It looks like the Americas on their side." The Judge''s Continent was shaped as if you took the Americas, squashed them together a bit and placed them on their side. The Continent was also about 1.5x bigger than the Americas."And we''re located here at Section 35." We were on the west side of the Continent, Section 35 just a bit more inland from the westernmost side. In other words, we were a bit closer to the center."Section 35 will soon be split into twenty Districts. But from what we gathered yesterday, the ten Districts closest to the middle of the Continent are being avoided like the plague.""I doubt anyone is really willing to go there right now. We all have only one life in this land, and those Centers have the highest chance to meet the enemy.""It would seem so." It didn''t matter if the Judge said that cowards were going to incur heavy penalties for not fighting. Fearing absolute death was normal, especially this early in the stage."I''m sure our enemy will be the same. Their lives are on the line, as well. Since they just completed their Otadolon stage, they should have just as much as experience as we do. Although they may outnumber us, I doubt any of them are quite willing to just charge at us blindly. Don''t you think so?" Ebonene asked Madun.Madun nodded. "He''s right. My scouts report that it''s been quiet at the center ever since the barrier disappeared.""I believe the enemy will be slow to mobilize. They will still feel confident about the overwhelming numbers they have over us. They''ll most likely take this chance to hunt monsters to get stronger. That would be their best course of action," Umaru added."Then what should we do? Should we focus on hunting as well?""No. We must take this chance and hurt them while we can. I understand many of us would prefer a much safer route but we, the Empire, must reveal our strength. You all heard what the Judge said. If you want to live, then fight. Fight like there is no tomorrow.""..." The officers were quiet for awhile."I have to agree. Getting as many points as possible while everyone else is busy trying to figure out the mechanics is the smart thing to do in any game," Taniya said, finally breaking the silence. "Besides, what do we have to worry about? We have Lee Jiwon, our champion with the strength of a thousand men, and we have the Messenger Guild, capable of transporting our entire force at once," she added, turning to me and Victor."I like it," Song Daechul said. It was good plan to get us into the upper rankings. We could definitely use the Messenger Guild''s specialized Warp Magic to help us cross this massive Continent in an instant."If we can work with the other guilds'' warp magicians, I believe the Messenger Guild can set up Teleporter Zones in at least three Sections.""We will need to set up a base on this side of Section 35. I''m sure there are some here who are not confident in their abilities, or are too afraid to fight the enemy this soon. They''ll need a place to safely grow stronger.""Hmm¡­ you raise a good point."After a few more discussions, we finally came to a decision. We would set up our main base here at Section 35 and create a place where our weaker comrades could train. We were also going to connect Section 35 with three other Sections with the Messenger Guild''s Teleporters. We then decided that I and some ten thousand other strong devas would form a commando team to start attacking the enemy. Forming the commando team was the most important thing; the stronger we were, the safer everyone else would be."Very well. We have one week! In exactly one week, we will form the commando team and set up the Teleporters before attacking the enemy.""Understood."That ended our first meeting on the Continent. I did think about just going by myself to attack the enemy, but making sure we all worked together would be good for morale. There was a lot for the Empire to do from now on.------That night, I and my family had a hearty dinner at our home that was built in Section 35''s Center D. Apparently, there were places to set up homes in each Section. Food and clothes weren''t provided, but they were sold in Stores. Thanks to my advice to instead sell whatever items we didn''t need, my clan had enough funds to provide for every member.After dinner, I retired to my room and took out the Rank 10 Random Item Chest I was given as a reward for my points. I hadn''t had the time to open it since I arrived at the Continent, with everything getting so busy. It would also be very rude to just open my presents while everyone else was trying to figure out what to do. Now that I finally had some time to myself, I slowly opened the Chest... to reveal a purple item inside! "Item Check."==[Fated Crossroads (Rank 10)There once existed a person envied by all. That person was known as Kodomo. Kodomo had a very special ability that allowed him to spy on fate in a world of devas. This ability prevented Kodomo from ever knowing failure or despair ever again. When the end times came, Kodomo took a small part of his destiny and placed it inside the belt he had on at all times. This gave birth to the Fated Crossroads.Increase all Stats by 1,000 points.Increase CRIT rate by 3.5%, increase CRIT damage by 150%Grants the Fated Crossroads ability.Use this ability to foresee the outcome of a desired event. However, there is a 99% this vision could be true and a 1% chance it could be false.Cooldown: 30-365 days. Cooldown will depend on the value of the vision; the greater the value, the longer the cooldown.DEF 100, MDEF 100]=="¡­All sorts of items exist, don''t they?" I realized this when I got the Achilles Tendon Summon, but every time I thought there couldn''t be anything weirder, I was always proven wrong. "Still, it isn''t bad at all."It wasn''t that great an item in combat for a Rank 10 item, but it wasn''t like I didn''t need the extra CRIT rate and damage. The Stats increase was good enough too, but its value obviously came from its special ability. Just like its description said, it gave me the ability to see into the future. "But that probability though¡­" The 1% chance of getting a false vision didn''t sit well with me at all. It was only 1%, but I knew that it was high enough to screw me over."Well, it''s fine. I''ll just use it as a reference. But with that, I guess all of my equips are at least Rank 8, including my accessories." Most of my accessories were actually either Rank 9 or Rank 10, except for the Bracelet of Eternal Fire, which was Rank 8. But honestly, it could actually be my best item since it pretty much gave me a second life."Well, it''s good enough for me." I took the rest of the night off, as I summoned the Dungeon Mole and the Tendon for company.------The next day¡­I decided to go around Section 35 without concealing my identity. It wasn''t that I wanted to parade myself. Instead, I believed that showing others that I was there to fight alongside them would give them strength and courage."It''s Lee Jiwon!""Alright! He''s here!"As I expected, many were very welcoming and ecstatic when they saw me. Save for a few, that is¡­.------"Ha¡­I think I''m about to lose it.""Fuck! Fuck that Judge piece of shit! It costs 500,000 golden rings to get rid of just one bound item!""Giving someone a single piece of Bread costs 500,000! How the hell does this make any sense?""Shit! I''m screwed. I''m royally screwed!"---It cost 500,000 golden rings to unbind a single bound item. It didn''t matter if it was a piece of Bread that costs 1 golden ring to buy; the price was the same. Another problem was that Stores were selling the same Bread and Beverages and all of the same type of items people were so busy trying to stock up on. Basically, all those who stocked up on items were pretty much broke. I and many others just felt pity for them. No one could have known it would turn out this way. The Judge was right; golden rings were going to become very precious indeed.I weaved through the crowd of people panicking over the money they had lost and entered a Store. There was still some time to continue preparing before I had to fight the enemy. 247 Chapter 246: First Contact Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDOnce I entered Section 35 Center D Store, I passed by the weapon and skill shops and entered the general store first. Many people were already talking about it, but I had to see for it myself. "Welcome to the general store of Section 35 Center D Store.""Show me your wares.""Right away."I was then shown the general store''s Menu, listing everything from Bread to crafting materials. The items were exactly the same as the items sold back on Earth. Even the prices were the same. I scrolled down to see the controversial item.==[Scroll of Item Unbind (No Rank)This Scroll can unbind a bound item. 1 scroll is needed for 1 bound item.500,000 golden rings.]==I scoffed at it, but this wasn''t the item I was looking for. I kept scrolling down to see the item I had started to hear about. "What¡­ it''s real!"==[Stat Point (No Rank)Buy this item to gain extra Stat points.1 extra Stat point costs 1,000,000 golden rings.]==The Store actually sold Stat points, and for a million golden rings each! That was stupidly expensive, but I had a lot of money. I brought five billion golden rings with me from Earth, and was awarded another five at the Don Gate. I had ten billion golden rings in all; I probably had the most out of all solo players!"A million each¡­" I could buy ten thousand Stat points right now, but I decided to not jump the gun yet. There were more items to check out.==[Skill EXP (No Rank)Buy EXP for skills.2,000,000 skill EXP for 1,000,000 golden rings.]==The Store even sold skill EXP! So long as you had the money, you could easily max out the level of any skill you wanted! But it definitely wouldn''t be easy at that price...I opened up my Stats Menu and looked at my STR. I needed exactly 3,018 Stat points to get it to 40,000. It was going to cost about three billion golden rings... "I''ll save it for later." Death''s Harrier was soon going to be off its cooldown, and I still had other places to spend my money on. I left the general store and entered the weapon shop. I scrolled down the menu and stopped at an item.==[Upgrade Weapon Rank (No Rank)Upgrade a weapon''s Rank by 1 Rank. Upgrade cost depends on the Rank.Rank 1 to Rank 230% chance of success100,000,000 golden rings.Rank 2 to Rank 325% chance of success200,000,000 golden rings.::Rank 8 to Rank 93% chance of success800,000,000 golden rings.Rank 9 to Rank 101% chance of success900,000,000 golden rings.]==The Upgrade Item Rank treasure was similar to this, although I didn''t have it anymore after I used it. But that could upgrade all sorts of items, and at a 100% success rate. Conversely, the weapon shop''s version was very stingy with its success rate. The success rate for Rank 8 to Rank 9 was only 3%. The system practically wanted it to fail. The armor and accessory shops had their own versions with the same success rate, but slightly different prices. Still, spending all that money on such low odds was just not worth it."It''s¡­ a real gamble, isn''t it?" It really was as the Judge said; golden rings were so damn important now. We were going to become slaves to golden rings. Our lives literally depended on money now. He had practically scared us to spend almost all of our golden rings by making all the Stores disappear one by one."I have to hand it to him; he''s one shrewd guy." I clicked my tongue at the Judge''s cowardly tactics, but I had to admit, it was going to work out in my favor. Since many had pretty much flushed all of their golden rings down the drain, others like me that had decided to save their golden rings could now become noticeably stronger. Sure, it would be best if everyone got to grow stronger together since our fates were intertwined, but I wanted the Judge to take notice of me. That way, I could get all those rewards he had mentioned, the rewards that were immeasurably better than what we got at the Don Gate. In other words, I was greedy!"I never said I was going to be a hero," I said to myself quietly.I stared at the Upgrade Weapon Rank for a while as I thought about my Luck Boost. I wasn''t sure what to do. Golden rings were precious now, and if I ended up wasting 800 million golden rings on a 3% chance gamble, I would actually come to hate myself. But it was also a fair price to pay if it worked. I also couldn''t walk away from it, because of the Fated Crossroads."Ha¡­ should I use it now?" I had no idea I would end up using it so early, but it was also the perfect time to use it."Okay. I''ll do it. Activate: Fated Crossroads!"==[Fated Crossroads has been activated.You are presented with two paths.Path 1: You attempt to upgrade your Heart''s Blood Harrier to Rank 9.Path 2: You decide to not upgrade your Heart''s Blood Harrier to save your golden rings.]====[Please select one of the two paths.]=="Select first path." A video appeared before me.[Hahaha! I knew my Luck Boost would work!]The video showed me cheering with a huge grin on my face. That was enough to tell me that I had succeeded in upgrading my spear to Rank 9.==[Fated Crossroads has now deactivated.Fated Crossroads will be on cooldown for the next 92 days.]==That was a pretty long cooldown, but I wanted to deal with that later. "I''ll buy the Upgrade Weapon Rank.""Please select the weapon you wish to upgrade. The cost and success rate of the upgrade will depend on the weapon''s Rank." As soon as the clerk finished talking, a window appeared before me, with a slot for me to place a weapon.I took out my Harrier without hesitation and placed it in the slot.==[You have selected a Rank 8 weapon.Upgrading this weapon requires 800,000,000 golden rings and has a 3% chance of success. If the upgrade fails, you will lose the 800,000,000 golden rings. Are you sure you wish to proceed?]==If I didn''t have Fated Crossroads, I probably wouldn''t be attempting this right now, even with my Luck Boost. It also wasn''t like my Harrier had ever let me down so far, so there really wasn''t a need to get it Rank 9. But the signs were good, so I wanted to at least try once. If it didn''t work, then it would be an expensive lesson to not rely on Fated Crossroads ever again."Proceed!" At my command, the Harrier was soon enveloped in countless beams of light. Not long after, the light disappeared and a very nonchalant message appeared before me.==[The Rank 8 Heart''s Blood Harrier has successfully been upgraded to Rank 9.]=="It worked!" I shouted. I knew that it would work, but I couldn''t help but feel nervous about it. I also wasn''t the only one to see my red spear come out of the slot.---"Whoa!""It''s red!""Did he gamble on Rank 7 to Rank 8?""Dude! It''s Lee Jiwon. I bet he started at Rank 8.""Oh, damn. So he just spent 800 million on a 3% gamble? And he succeeded?""Lucky bastard''s always lucky¡­""Dude, he''s right there.""Shit!"---It was clear no one really liked that I had spent that much money on a high-stakes gamble and succeeded, not when people were having a hard time with their money. I couldn''t help but slowly lower my arms and placed my spear back into my inventory. There was no way I was going to go for Rank 10, not with Fated Crossroads on a 92-day cooldown. If I ever was going to attempt it, I needed some sort of reassurance that it would work. I couldn''t just rely on my Luck Boost on a 1% gamble, especially if it was going to cost me 900 million!"Blink 2." Once I left the Store, I Blinked away towards home.------Back at my home¡­"Item Check."[Heart''s Blood Harrier (Rank 9)A spear crafted not for practical use¡­Successful attacks drain 10,000 HP from enemies. Absorbed HP is used to restore wielder''s lost HP. (If no HP is lost, absorbed HP disappears.)AoE HP drain. (Absorb a small amount of HP from enemies within a 25-meter radius. Does not work against undead monsters.)10% chance to ignore enemy DEFIncrease Penetration by 255Increase CRIT chance by 5.7%, increase CRIT damage by 355%Increase STR by 700Increase VIT by 1,000Increase HP by 1,000,000Durability: 1,645,000/1,645,000ATT: 21,500, MATT: 1650]It was definitely worth the 800 million golden rings. At first glance, the Harrier had gained a couple additional effects on top of its boosted effects; the AoE HP drain and the 10% chance to ignore enemy DEF. "It almost reminds me of the Blood Prince." The Blood Prince had an AoE debuff skill known as the Blood Curse. While it didn''t affect me, it had absorbed HP from others, causing considerable damage. Now, I had a similar debuff and coupled that with the King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity, I could cause my enemies a whole lot of grief.I smiled. Now I really wanted to get it to Rank 10 once Fated Crossroads was off its cooldown. I was more than willing to wait the ninety-two days and spend 900 million.I rested the rest of the day, watching my allies gather members to form the strongest assault team and set up Teleporters in three other Sections. I did have to attend meetings whenever they were called. ------The day before the Empire was supposed to attack¡­I returned to the Store''s general store. Tomorrow was the day we decided to attack the enemy. I was more than ready for the coming battle, but I wanted to get my STR to 40k first since I wasn''t that far away now. I wouldn''t have worried about it if there was no way to get more Stat points in the first place, but it was right there. I just needed to spend three billion golden rings!"Fine, let''s do it! It''s better to have more Stat points, anyway! I know I can earn that all back soon, too..." I entered the general store, selected the Stat Point item, and chose to buy 3018 points."Your total comes out to 3,018,000,000 golden rings.""..." I flinched. I knew how much it cost, but it was still three billion. I still took out the money and handed it over to the clerk. Once I had the Stat points, I invested them all into STR andsoon got the message telling me I was the first to reach 40k in STR. I was granted 2,000 more points in STR, and I lost my fear of spending three billion golden rings at once."I guess that finishes my preparation. All I need to do now is leave a good first impression..." 248 Chapter 247: First Contact Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDFour hours before sunrise¡­Thirty thousand people were gathered at a secret place in Center D. Twenty-five thousand of them were members of the Spec Ops battalion, two thousand were Warp Mages, and the other three thousand were the Warp Mages'' guards. I was there too, as the commander of the Spec Ops battalion. I had rejected the position at first, since I knew that strength alone was not enough to lead, but all of my allies had insisted, saying that I was the one who formed the Empire and I would have to fight with everyone on the front lines at least once.I stood at a tall lectern and faced the thirty thousand people. I had pivotal roles in just about all of the battles I had participated in, but I had never stood in front of this many soldiers before. I was slightly nervous for a moment, but quickly shook it off. I had more experience than even the guild master of the largest guild, or the strongest Monarch. With a stoic expression, I looked down at the soldiers."I only have one thing to say as your commander. I will be the first to meet the enemy and will be the last to leave the battle. I will be relying on my officers to lead your men as best as you can." That was it. I did not have the ability to raise the morale of this many soldiers ,but I did have strength."..." I wasn''t met with a hurrah of sorts from the soldiers. It wasn''t because my little speech was boring; it was because we were about to move out without letting any other guild or organization know. We could have been public about our intentions to the rest of Earth''s fighters, but we realized that many of them were not going to like it, thinking that the Empire was just trying to obtain EXP and golden rings sooner than everyone else. Sure, they would be happy if we won, but they were going to be anxious about us all the same. They wouldn''t want to lag behind in their growth.I turned to look at Victor Lucas, who nodded when he caught my gaze. He then led the Warp Mages, who were already connected to a Warp Point at Section 3, one of the Sections that were closest to the center of the Continent. Soon, a bright light shone down on one side of the area, revealing a giant Teleporter Zone. It took three minutes to move all thirty thousand soldiers together.------Section 3¡­"We leave it to you, Jiwon. It''s going to take us at least a month to secure Sections 3, 6, and 7," Song Daechul said to me."I understand."The Sunbin Guild was chosen to secure and control Section 3. The Ravi Guild was to secure and control Section 6, while the Myth Guild was to secure Section 7. I shook hands with the guild masters of each of the three guilds before leading the thirty thousand soldiers to the east.------World 1512; also known as Croot. The inhabitants of Croot had encountered the same voice that appeared in Earth and had their world suddenly changed the same way. The world of Croot reacted and adapted in a way very similar to what Earth had. Croot had also plunged into chaos for a while, before adapting and forming guilds and organizations and the like to combat and survive against the monsters that had appeared.However, there was one thing different between Croot and Earth. Croot was entirely ruled by 114 deities. Croot had the same number of deities as Earth, but these deities were different. Unlike Earth''s deities who tended to distance themselves from each other, besides the Seven Monarchs, Croot''s deities had actually banded together to take over their entire world, calling it their right as God''s descendants. They were met with resistance from Croot''s own 114 Unrivaled devas, but that resistance did not last long. The deities had just become too strong for the Unrivaled devas to handle, and the devas could never hold their ground for very long. It was too late for the devas to surrender and they were completely outnumbered when fellow devas had joined the deities, becoming vultures that fed on the carrion left in the wake of the deities'' destruction. To make matters worse, a deva with the random skill known as the Tracker made life hell for the Unrivaled devas. Thanks to the Tracker, the deities never let the Unrivaled devas have a single day of rest. If they decided to hide, their own families and friends were then targeted. With no other choice, the Unrivaled devas were forced to delete their Unrivaled skills, leaving the deities free reign over Croot.---"Do you think World 1455 is ruled by deities, too?""Shouldn''t it be? If that world is anything like ours, their devas are nothing compared to their deities.""Hmm¡­ that might become a problem for us. It could very well become a war between deities," said Claudia, known as the Time Controller."Hmm¡­""Should we just send out devas at the enemy and use them to gather as much intelligence as we can?""But you heard what the Judge said. If we want to get stronger, we have to kill the enemy ourselves. If we just send out devas, we may just end up feeding the enemy.""That''s true. It''s also a very lazy decision.""What did you just say? Are you calling me lazy!?""Look, you''re the one who thought that was a good idea. If that''s not lazy thinking, what is?""Now, now, that''s enough. There''s no reason to fight amongst ourselves when our enemy is at our doorstep," Claudia quickly stepped in. Considered to be the strongest and the leader of a clique of thirty-three deities, Claudia''s words were absolute,and the other deities quickly quieted down. "It''s obvious we have the numbers. As long as we avoid large-scale battles, we can become stronger as time passes by. In other words, as long as we buy time, the enemy will become restless," Coby, Claudia''s aide, said. "It would be best to establish stability within our own ranks first. We will need time to adapt to the Judge''s Continent, as well.""Sounds good."And so, 114 people had decided what two billion people were to do. But with that many people, it was only normal for there to be those who thought differently...------The next day at Section 108...Skyla, leader of the third biggest clique of thirteen deities, was lost in thought, thinking about the meeting Claudia had led the day before. "Tsk! It''s obvious what she''s really planning. In the end, she wants it all for herself." The excuse Claudia had come up with was almost laughable to Skyla, who had seen Claudia could do over the past ten years."Rocky!" Skyla angrily called for Rocky, her right-hand man.Soon, a three-meter tall and overly-muscular man appeared before her. "Yes, ma''am!""Prepare five hundred thousand men for battle!""But¡­" Rocky was a deity as well, and was at the meeting yesterday. The decision was made to not fight the enemy for the time being."If we do as Claudia says, we''ll get nothing out of this war. She and her people will leave nothing for us!""But they''ll find out soon enough.""I know that. That''s why I''m not going.""So you mean¡­""That''s right.""Then may I suggest using the fifty thousand secret soldiers instead? It''ll be more difficult for Claudia and her people to trace them back to you.""Hmm¡­" Skyla thought about what Rocky suggested."Even if she does manage to find out, we can just say that we did it for the sake of our people.""Fine! We''ll do as you say.""Understood, ma''am. I''ll have them ready within two days." Once Rocky left her alone, Skyla stood up. There was a lot she had to do if she was to prepare her special ability.==[Leech (1/1), (Passive)Skyla''s exclusive skill.This skill gives Skyla the ability to latch on to someone like an actual leech. Once she latches on, it is difficult to remove her. This ability allows Skyla to absorb 50% of her target''s total EXP. However, Skyla can only receive 1% of the absorbed EXP. The remaining EXP is wasted. The Leech also grants Skyla the ability to know how many golden rings and what sort of items her target has.Skyla can use Leech on up to 1,000 targets at the same time.]==Thanks to Leech, Skyla did not have to fight in actual battles to become stronger. She could only receive a small portion of the absorbed EXP, but she didn''t mind as she was able to use it on a thousand people at the same time. If she could gain 144 more levels, she could increase the total number of targets to fifteen hundred!"Just you wait, Claudia! I''ll stick fifteen hundred leeches that you won''t be able to get rid of soon!"As Skyla walked out of her room, a black, slimy object fell from Skyla''s body to the floor. But as if nothing was wrong, the thing crawled back to Skyla''s foot and was absorbed.------Two days later¡­Rocky had gathered the fifty thousand secret soldiers at Section 108. Skyla stepped out in front of the soldiers and raised her hand to the sky. Soon, black raindrops fell from the sky, except the raindrops squirmed..."Gah!" The soldiers cried out in pain as the black leeches falling from the sky bit into them. But no one swatted them away, as they had experienced this many times before.Once she confirmed that her one thousand leeches had attached, she spoke up. "Those chosen by my leeches have the honor to kill the enemy. The rest of you are to protect them with your lives!""Yes ma''am!" the soldiers cried out in unison, but many of them were afraid. They were essentially meat shields for Skyla and the other four deities that owned them."Move out!" At Skyla''s command, Rocky led the soldiers out of Section 108 through an underground tunnel. They could not get caught by Claudia, no matter what. And so, the fifty thousand soldiers moved west, not knowing that the enemy was heading their way, as well! 249 Chapter 248: First Contact Part III Chapter 248: First Contact Part IIITranslator: HunterWEditor: REDI was the first to step over the border separating the east and west sides of the Continent. We were now in enemy territory. I felt myself tense up, as we could be attacked at anytime. "Have the men get into attack formation.""Yes, sir!"Only the twenty-five thousand of the thirty thousand soldiers were assigned combat roles. The remaining five thousand were the Warp Mages and their guards. The only reason I had decided to take the five thousand along even though they weren''t going fight was that the twenty-five thousand soldiers were the best the eight guilds had to offer. Some of them were also the guilds'' heirs, who needed this chance to become stronger. In other words, the twenty-five thousand soldiers needed to stay alive, even if it meant sacrificing the five thousand Warp Mages and guards. They all knew what they signed up for, however, and were all properly compensated.I, on the other hand, was not about to lose anyone today, nor was I going to retreat from battle. My goal here was to secure a foothold into the enemy''s territory. I decided that place would be Section 79. I needed to get the Warp Mages to Section 79 so they could quickly set up a Teleporter Zone that could be quickly abandoned in case it got too dangerous."Let''s move on.""Yes, sir!""Move out!"With the battalion in battle formation, we passed through enemy territory as quickly as possible. We were here without the rest of Earth''s knowledge. We needed to move quickly if we were going to hold on to the element of surprise. But we actually encountered the enemy sooner than we thought. It took us less than a day after we entered enemy territory.------Neither side moved. It seemed the enemy was just as taken aback as we were."Commander¡­" Taniya whispered to me. She was currently my second-in-command. I could clearly hear the tension in her voice. The enemy''s army was twice as big as ours. At a glance, I could tell that they had about fifty thousand soldiers. It was also clear that they were veterans, their eyes focused and ready. I, on the other hand, responded with confidence in my voice. "It''s a perfect way to start the day." I was serious. The enemy army was the right size to face, considering this was the first point of contact. I did worry how our soldiers would do against the enemy, and if they truly were prepared to kill the enemy without hesitation. But that worry disappeared when I realized that the enemy was strong. All I could think about now was that we had to win. Just then, a three-meter tall and overly muscular man stepped forward from the enemy army and addressed us with confidence. "I am Rocky, under the service of Mistress Skyla, the chosen one of Croot! I too, am a chosen one, and would like to meet with a chosen one from your world!""It would seem he is a deity.""He must be searching for a deity from within our ranks as well." It wasn''t hard to tell what that Rocky guy meant by chosen one. Earth''s deities called themselves that, too. It was clear that Croot was ruled by deities, just like Earth from my past life.I slowly walked forward."And you are?" Rocky asked, genuinely confused. Deities had the ability to recognize each other, while devas could not tell the difference between the two. That was actually something I had learned pretty recently. Rocky knew that I wasn''t a deity like him. "Are your deities all cowards or something, to send out a slave deva to do their talking?""Well, I don''t know about that. Our deities are actually pretty lazy. They don''t really like dealing with trivial matters." I didn''t want this Rocky guy or his soldiers to know more than they needed to know. I was going to do my best to kill everyone here, but there was always the chance that a couple could survive this battle. The more we kept hidden from them, the more advantageous it was for us."Gahahaha! You''re a brave slave to have quite the mouth on you! I am a chosen one; don''t you realize that?""That doesn''t mean you were chosen in our world. Wait, did you really expect me to bend the knee to you? I mean, I can if you want.""It looks like I need to teach you a lesson and your masters for spoiling a slave like you this much!""Well, my deity masters just adore me too much. I don''t know if they''ll be willing to listen to you.""I''ll make them listen! Listen up!""Yes sir!""Cut every single one of them down! I grant you all the authority to kill the enemy in my honor!""Yaah!""Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!"I also turned to face my army. "Prepare for battle! Wipe out everyone in front of us! Do not leave a single one of them alive!""Yaah!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!" My soldiers roared louder than the enemy''s army. I had faced worse odds and still came out victorious, and they all knew that. We had faced the enemy sooner than we had expected, but I believed that it could work out for us. I wasn''t sure about the enemy, but we had been on edge since we came to the Continent. Had we encountered them later, there was a chance the enemy could have been too strong for us to face. This could be our best chance."Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf. Ripped Advance."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]====[Ripped Advance has been activated.]==I decided to activate Ripped Advance and take the Stat point loss instead of using Death''s Achilles Tendon. Ripped Advance''s cooldown was only ten days, while Critical Weakness was thirty days. We had encountered the enemy very early, and I wasn''t sure when we were going to fight again. I could always use the golden rings dropped by the enemy to make up for the lost Stat points. I stole a quick glance at my Stats Menu. My STR was at 110,000. How could I not be confident?"Kill them all!""Your EXP and golden rings are ours!"I heard the enemy''s war cries as they prepared to charge, and I did not like that one bit. I did not like that they were so brave just because they fought under a deity and outnumbered us. I took the first step before anyone else and shouted to my army. "We will win today! Show them all why we have never lost a battle, and don''t intend to start now!""Bwahaha! A slave is giving the orders? How amusing! Grant them the death they wish for!" Rocky charged as well, matching my pace and taking out a shield so large that only his head could be seen. It was no doubt a very powerful shield. "Earth Spirit! Grant me your power and protect me!" Each time Rocky took a step forward, an aura seeped from the ground, enveloping him in a hazy armor."Judge''s Gavel!" I cried before pointing to Rocky. "Altered Equality!"==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]==Rocky would need a lot of STR and VIT in order to lug around a shield that big. Altered Equality was going to deal a critical blow to him, now that a good chunk of his STR and VIT were now put into his WIL and INT."Huh?" Rocky suddenly had trouble keeping his shield up."Blink 1." I Blinked right next to Rocky and slammed my Harrier into his giant shield. I was met with a deafening crack of thunder as the giant hammer slammed down atop of Rocky. The force was so great that I was pushed back from the blow."Graah!" I roared as a message appeared before me.==[Your attack has ignored your enemy''s DEF, inflicting maximum damage.]==I looked over at Rocky. While I was pushed back by two meters, Rocky was completely flung backwards. He had lost his shield from the blow and was screaming in pain."Blink 2." I Blinked over to him again and placed my feet over his leg and waist. I gripped my spear with both hands and stabbed down at his chest. The spear blade flashed yellow as it pierced through."Gah!" The spear blade had broke through his earthy armor and pierced through his body, into the ground beneath him. A flash of red lightning struck Rocky as the message appeared, telling me that he was inflicted with Powerful Shock.I pulled my spear back out and stabbed him three times, each attack flashing yellow. All five of my attacks had dealt critical damage and now, his DEF was lowered by 80% for three seconds. I stabbed him one last time and the spear blade flashed yellow again. It was the killing blow.The battlefield had suddenly fallen silent... 250 Chapter 249: First Contact Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe two armies that were charging at each other screaming wildly just a moment ago had stopped dead in their tracks. Even I was stunned into silence, but for a different reason.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]==I leveled up three times from killing one person, when it took me an average of five days of hunting in a high-grade dungeon to level up once. Not to mention I still had Bortega''s Blessing!==[You gained 3 additional levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]==For each level I had just gained, Bortega''s Blessing gave me another three levels. That was twelve levels in all. That wasn''t the end to the messages I was receiving, too. The Judge said killing the enemy was going to be rewarded tremendously.==[You have obtained 64,000,000 gold rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==I didn''t know how many Stat points I was going to lose from Ripped Advance, but worst case scenario, I was going to lose a hundred. I was going to need 100 million golden rings to make up for that, but I had already earned 64% of the funds I would need.I smiled. The EXP and golden rings were nice and all, but I was more satisfied with my abilities. I wasn''t quite sure just how strong this Rocky person was, but he was still the commander of a fifty-thousand strong army, and a perfect tank at that. It only took six attacks to kill him. It did take a few of my strongest abilities to do it, but it was enough to continue to be confident in myself.I looked around me with my grin still on my face. The fifty thousand enemy soldiers were still there, but they didn''t look like people to me. No, they were my prey. My eyes went to the most delectable looking prey here; the four other deities who, but a moment ago, were looking down on me. There was no way I was letting any of them go.I charged in through the enemy''s ranks, aiming for the deities. That stirred my army into action."Don''t just stand there! Attack!""We are here to survive and to grow strong! Do not hesitate and kill the enemy! If you think you can''t handle it, don''t get in your comrades'' way and pull back!" Madun roared at the Commando battalion, and my army resumed its attacks towards the enemy. The enemy''s army, on the other hand, was still shocked and many of them stood frozen, feet glued to the ground."We¡­we still have the numbers on our side!""We can still win this! Stop them!" A few of the enemy officers managed to snap to and ordered their men to defend, not attack. And their focus was me, not the rest of my army. A combination of Fire and Wind Magic flew my way, showing that these soldiers truly were veterans and knew how to work together. That just meant I needed to fight harder."Blink 2." I Blinked to get away from the torrent of spells and teleported right next to the four deities. "What¡­what''s up with his Blink range?" The four deities and the enemy deva soldiers looked at me, horrified. However, in their shock, they had failed to realize that they had bunched together in a futile effort to get away from me. Unfortunately for them, I noticed."Fissure!" The ground beneath the four deities split open and spewed rock and magma. The range of the attack had even caught about a thousand soldiers, inflicting severe damage. An AoE skill wasn''t supposed to deal that much damage, which only served to seed more fear into the enemy soldiers'' hearts."Fuck! Who or what is he?""That''s so much damage from an AoE skill¡­ what do we do?" A thousand dead bodies were left in Fissure''s wake.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]==I leveled up twice more and with Bortega''s Blessing, I had gained a total of eight levels from one attack.==[You have obtained 50,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 90,000 golden rings.]==::==[You have obtained 120,000 golden rings.]==I was met with a seemingly endless stream of messages. Each one paled in comparison to the amount of EXP and golden rings I had obtained from killing a deity, but they were adding up. That was good enough for me."Summon: Sand Warriors!" I summoned my Sand Warriors and charged at the deities.---The officers of Lee Jiwon''s Commando battalion were mainly the Empire''s guilds'' highest ranking Intelligence officers. Strong team leaders were required to properly lead the battalion as a whole, but they were there more at Lee Jiwon''s request. A good commander needed know how to lead and give proper orders. Lee Jiwon and the officers had known from the start that Lee Jiwon was not an experienced leader, and leaving that role to him could actually be suicidal for the entire battalion. But, things weren''t exactly going as expected."The commander''s so strong that it doesn''t seem like we''ll need any special tactics or anything," said Umaru softly, and the other officers silently agreed. Lee Jiwon was doing so well that they just needed to support him."The commander has broken through the enemy''s ranks! Attack!"Many of the commandos were there to grow stronger, but they all had the same fear of dying. But thanks to their commander''s fabulous display of power, the soldiers'' morale had spiked and they charged in at the enemy as one once more. They all remembered what their commander had told them; that he would be the first to go and the last to leave. They had too much respect for their commander to allow him to fight alone, and had completely forgotten about their fear of death."We should fight to the end as well.""I wholeheartedly agree.""It''s been a while since I''ve fought. It''ll be a nice warm-up."The officers couldn''t just sit back either.---"Gah! Shit!""Okay. Let''s say he''s an Unrivaled deva. This power is still not normal! What the hell is this!?"The four deities currently fighting against Lee Jiwon had killed many Unrivaled devas before in their homeworld. Not a single one of them were as strong as him."Why does a lowly deva have an AoE debuff that only deities are supposed to have? We''re supposed to be the chosen ones, not him!"The deities were growing ever more panicked. Nothing about this deva made sense. He not only possessed multiple AoE debuffs, but the traits were similar to those that belonged to deities. That was only the icing on the cake, however, as his damage was truly frightening."Gah!" The pain from the blows they were receiving was the greatest they had ever felt in their lives. To make matters worse, he was not slowing down at all, even with all the attacks the deities and the surrounding devas were pummeling onto him."He''s an anomaly. His damage is too high for a tank, but his DEF and HP are too high for a dealer! And yet, he still killed Rocky in six hits, and he''s still standing after all those attacks¡­""He has to be a cheater!"The Croot deities and devas took a step back each time Lee Jiwon took a step forward.---"Gah!""No!"I swung my spear relentlessly. I was completely surrounded, but I actually preferred it this way. I didn''t need to chase after the enemy, and could just attack like crazy. All I wanted right now were the four deities that were slowly edging away from me."Stop him!""Don''t just stand there, stop him!" They were pushing their deva soldiers in front of me, as if they thought they could actually slow me down. Now I really didn''t like that."Stop running away!" I catapulted myself off the ground and torpedoed towards the deities. Enemy soldiers attempted to get in my way, but my AGI was currently well over 60,000. The only thing faster than me was probably a fighter jet. "Damn¡­it¡­" One deity could not withstand a series of critical attacks and slumped to the ground, uttering one last curse before dying."Shit! Unrivaled devas are supposed to be tanks! It''s clear as day with the abilities you''re showing, so how the hell are you this strong!?""Maybe your Unrivaled is different from ours." That was a lie. They were the same; they had to be if this was supposed to be a fair competition. Still, they seemed to have fallen for it."That can''t be¡­""Why can''t it be?" I taunted as I charged in at another deity. Killing the other one just now netted me two levels and 23,000,000 golden rings. He obviously wasn''t as strong as Rocky, so I didn''t get as much, but it was still enough, enough to want to kill the rest of the deities as soon as possible.------Five hours later¡­The first full-on battle on the Continent had ended with our victory."Group up. I want a head count." We had won a landslide victory, but I knew we still had casualties. As per my order, the officers of each guild gathered their men together and counted how many were left. I could tell at a glance that we had lost quite a few men."Sunbin stands at 4,373 strong!""Myth stands at 2,631 strong!"Each guild sounded off one by one. We had 21,947 soldiers still standing. We had lost 3000 soldiers. It was a small price to pay for wiping out an army fifty thousand strong that had called us lowly slaves, but none of us were happy. They were still our comrades and they were not coming back."We''ll rest for the next couple of days." The soldiers needed time to come to terms with their reality. Now that we had just fought our first real battle, it was going to hit them hard. I had no time to rest, however. I needed to discuss with my officers on how to proceed.---"We lost a lot of good men today, but it''s still a victory to be proud of.""I agree. We''ve all done well today.""Many soldiers have gained at least twenty levels and twenty million golden rings each.""It would seem the Judge was telling the truth.""What''s our next step?" an officer asked me."Well, we''ll need to set up a Teleporter Zone in this part of the Section. It''ll provide a path back to base for anyone who has had enough fighting for the time being. I also want to bring in reinforcements and increase our numbers to 50,000." Twenty-five thousand soldiers were enough, seeing as how we only lost three thousand against an army twice our size, but I wished we had more. If our numbers were even, maybe we could have had fewer casualties."Hmm¡­ you have my vote.""Mine as well."My officers agreed with my decision unanimously. I looked around at them before speaking up. "I want to finish what we''ve started and reach Section 79. I want to take it over if it''s possible, but I am prepared to retreat if it is not.""Yes, sir!""By your orders, commander!"The next goal for the Commando battalion was decided and after resting for four days, we set out deeper into the enemy''s territory. Before we left, I told my soldiers that they were free to return to base if they wished, but no one came forward. They all vowed to follow me to the end. 251 Chapter 250: Section 79 Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 108¡­Skyla was frozen in her seat like a statue for a few hours now. She just couldn''t believe it. Every single of the one thousand leeches she had stuck to her soldiers were all dead. That included Rocky, her right hand man, and four other subordinate deities. If her direct subordinates and a thousand of her strongest soldiers were dead, that meant the forty-nine thousand soldiers were dead as well!"Ha¡­" Skyla finally managed to breathe out a sigh of disbelief. After the first leech had died, it took four hours for the remaining 999 to follow suit. That meant that her entire army was killed in a little more than four hours. "And the enemy''s army was only twenty-five thousand strong¡­" Skyla was notified by Rocky via Comm Link that he had encountered the enemy. The enemy''s army only had twenty-five thousand soldiers, so Skyla just said to quickly kill them and report back when it was over. Skyla then hung up and happily waited for the EXP to start rolling in, but that was the last she had heard from Rocky. Skyla finally rose from her seat. She could not let this go so easily. She has just lost fifty thousand of her most elite soldiers in a matter of hours. Keeping this to herself would be a mistake that could decide the fate of her world. She decided that she had to notify the other deities as soon as possible, before stopping dead in her tracks."It doesn''t matter that I went against what we had decided that day." It didn''t matter to Skyla if she would get singled out by the other deities and be condemned for her selfish actions. "I don''t care if they disgrace me. The foolish decision here would be to keep this from the others, as that would mean the end of Croot."Skyla was suddenly at a crossroads. She obviously had to do whatever she could to ensure Croot''s victory, but even though she had lost a good chunk of her men, Croot still had more than 700 million more people and had other power deities, like Claudia. Croot could still win, and if that was the case, Skyla had to think about the future. She decided what she had to do. She had to make sure Claudia was not to leave the Judge''s Continent alive, or at least with her army intact."Hah¡­" Skyla scoffed a bitter laugh at how low she was stooping. Instead of trying to get to the same level as Claudia, she was going to drag her down to her level. But Skyla believed that this was her best decision for the near future."They were close to Section 79, weren''t they?" Section 79 was the closest to where the battle had taken place, and that was also Claudia''s district. Skyla finally broke out into a smile. "I''ll be content if they at least leave a hole in Claudia''s defenses. Actually, I bet World 1455 could really end up hurting Claudia."Claudia and her people were no doubt the strongest organization of Croot, but if twenty-five thousand soldiers were strong enough to wipe out fifty thousand of her most elite soldiers, who knew what they could do to Claudia. It''d be even better for Skyla if they just killed each other off right now.------Four days later¡­We had just finished sending off our fallen comrades and now, no one had any more tears to shed. Four days were enough to steel our hearts, and many of us had come prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.I walked out to stand in front of the newly reinforced army of one hundred thousand soldiers. 3,500 of them were Warp Mages to run the Teleporter Zone we had just established, along with 7,000 guards. I had, at first, asked for twenty-eight thousand reinforcements to increase our numbers to fifty thousand, but apparently, the Continent was too cunning. The monsters in dungeons here yielded too few EXP and golden rings. The dungeons were as strong as high-grade dungeons, but only yielded about a fifth of the EXP and golden rings than the ones on Earth. Items barely dropped as well. Those that wanted to hunt monsters instead quickly realized that they had to kill the enemy if they wanted to become stronger. The Judge wanted to watch us kill each other, not monsters.News of the first battle had also spread like wildfire. Each soldier had gained an average of 20+ levels, and obtained more than 20,000,000 golden rings each. Even though the people were told that we had lost more than three thousand soldiers that day, many more had volunteered to join us. That number quickly rose to four hundred thousand.As a result, seventy-eight thousand were chosen to join us, bringing our numbers to one hundred thousand. This assault force had initially set out to test the enemy but now, it had turned into a complete invasion force. I turned to face my soldiers. "We lost three thousand of our comrades during the first battle and we will lose more and more. I can promise you all this, however! Those of you that manage to survive; I swear I will turn you all into champions! You will all become heroes of Earth!""Yeaah!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"The soldiers roared so loud that the ground actually trembled. "Let''s move out!""Yes sir!"------And so, we marched out for Section 79, with me in the lead and the Warp Mages and their guards at the rear. We had met the enemy earlier than expected that day, so I had ten teams of three hundred scouts do recon in rotation through the surrounding area. It initially seemed that the Croot inhabitants had properly set themselves up on their side of the Continent. But after about five days of marching, we didn''t see a single trace of anyone anywhere."Hmm¡­they obviously aren''t weak or inexperienced...""True¡­""Truth be told, it was only because of you that we were able to defeat the enemy so quickly. If you weren''t there, we could have incurred heavy losses or..." Taniya trailed off.I and the other officers knew what she was trying to say. The enemy soldiers that day were all veterans and high-leveled. They were also led by five deities, in all. That was a lot of valuable personnel for the enemy to lose. They should have learned by now that those soldiers were dead, but it was just too quiet."Are the rear guards stationing a hundred soldiers every fifty kilometers?""Yes sir. We have all angles of approach covered and each station is still available in Comms," We had eyes all around us, but there was not a single trace of the enemy anywhere. I was beginning to think it would be best to retreat now. If it was this quiet, there was a chance we were walking into a trap. But I and many of our soldiers had gained too much from the first battle to let it all go to waste. Besides, this army was too big to suddenly change direction and retreat. We were too deep behind enemy lines. I and my officers had also made the decision to at least get as close to Section 79 as possible and see what we were to expect before retreating.And so, we continued to march forward, each soldier on high alert and their heads on swivels.Eight days later, we received a report from one of our scout teams that they had encountered giant ramparts labeled Section 79.------I stopped the army some distance away from Section 79 and took a few of my officers to get a closer look."Those walls are huge.""Indeed they are." The walls surrounding each Section were massive, but these walls in particular were much bigger. They looked almost immune to siege."What did the scouts say?""That all is quiet.""Hmm¡­so it seems." It didn''t look like the people inside Section 79 were mobilizing for war or anything. In fact, I could see people and parties going in and out of the gate hunting. I did have our scouts use Sparrow and Fly Summons to get a bird''s eye view over the walls to see if they were doing anything secretly, but there was nothing special to report. By now, it was obvious that the enemy commander, ''Skyla'', had kept the first battle a secret."Do you think it''s because she doesn''t want to be only victim or something?""I can''t say for sure, but it could be possible that this Skyla person and whoever is in charge of Section 79 are in a bit of a competition or rivalry.""Countless guilds and organizations existed on Earth. We set up alliances and rivalries, all for the sake of personal gain. This world has almost twice our population. I would bet that their rivalry is fiercer than ours.""It''d be nice if that''s the case here.""What will you have us do?" Song Haechang asked."Considering our current situation¡­ we might as well invade them, shouldn''t we?" The scouts had reported that there were a lot more people than we had soldiers, but that was better for us. They were just going to become a bigger foothold for us."I''m all for it.""Same here. We''ve come all this way; it''s too late to back down now."And so, we decided we were going to invade Section 79 that night. We had 110,000 soldiers; it would be impossible to keep them hidden for very long. It''d also be rude to waste the element of surprise Skyla had so graciously given us.---That night¡­I faced my soldiers once more and addressed them. "Tonight, we all become merciless executioners. If there''s anyone here who isn''t ready to become one, now''s the time to back out.""..." No answer."Good. Just remember this. We will win this war, and we will survive. Let''s move out."And so, I carefully led my soldiers down to Section 79''s southern gate. There were still a few around the gate, going in and out for night hunting it didn''t matter. The Empire''s guilds had many specialists in assassination. They weren''t necessarily trained to do it; it was more like they enjoyed the hunt. The ten teams of fifty assassins made quick and quiet work of the enemy at the gate, leaving the entrance to Section 79 wide open. 252 Chapter 251: Section 79, Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDCenter A of Section 79¡­Three deities of Claudia''s faction were lounging around talking to each other."What did Mistress Claudia say?""She''ll be planning a large-scale invasion pretty soon.""Ugh, it can''t come soon enough.""Yeah, I know. Damn. Hunting barely gets us any EXP or golden rings. I don''t even remember the last time I saw an item.""We got played by whoever made the Judge''s Continent. He scammed all of us out of so many golden rings." "Well, there isn''t much we can do about that now. We should start making our way to the front lines and see what''s up.""I guess we should. I''ve been bored being cooped up here for so long.""By the way, Command told us to be careful on the front lines and make sure we don''t get caught.""Tsk. What a pain.""There''s nothing we can do about it. Winning the battle on the Continent isn''t our only objective. We have to put as much distance as possible between us and Adora the Demon and Skyla the Leech."During the meeting of Croot''s deities, Claudia had made the decision to not invade the enemy right away and instead take the time to adapt. However, just about everyone knew what her true intentions were. She wanted to use that as an excuse to wait for the right time to attack the enemy and make her own people stronger. And yet, no one stood in her way. Clauda''s faction was no doubt the strongest in all of Croot, and had the best chance to defeat the enemy."Nothing''s happened yet, has it? No one''s gone to meet the enemy or anything?" Ashio, the appointed commander of Section 79, asked the other two deities."It''s been quiet.""They''re all a bunch of cowards, to be afraid of a 700 million difference.""Now, now, don''t say something so scary. The enemy might become our prey, but they have to be strong enough to get rid of Adora and Skyla.""Oh, you''re right. I''ve completely forgotten about that.""Hahaha. I do hope it works out that way!"They did not have any type of information on the enemy, but they were that confident in Claudia''s Time Controller ability. That wasn''t just for Claudia''s faction; the rest of Croot''s deities were the same. For the ten years of their Otadolon stage, they had all lived as kings and queens, just for being deities. Their rivalry was fierce, but they had all acted as one when it came to the treatment of devas. To them, all devas were slaves or as useful as livestock. That was how much stock they put into their existence as deities, and how much they relied on it!-----Outside of Section 79''s western gate¡­"Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf"==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I only activated those three combat buffs. After the battle against Rocky, I had noticed that I had become quite dependent on Ripped Advance and Critical Weakness. It was to the point that I was hoping to meet the enemy after their cooldowns were up. I quickly realized that it was a foolish thing to hope for in the middle of a war, especially when their cooldowns were ten days and thirty days, respectively. That was a lot of time to wait during a war. It was not like I had any control or say as to when I would have to fight the enemy. Besides, I was strong without those two skills, and I realized that I hadn''t really needed them when I fought against Rocky and his fifty thousand soldiers. I decided that for this battle, I would hold off on using them as much as I could. I would only use them if I really had to.{Editor''s Note: The very definition of trump cards¡­}With my thoughts in order, I looked over at the ramparts labeled Section 79. "I''ll see you all there by sunrise tomorrow," I said quietly so that the enemy couldn''t hear, but loud enough for my men to hear."..." My men replied with silence."Move out," I said, before sprinting away. "Blink 1. Blink 2." With both Blinks and a few more bounds, I was up on the fifty-meter tall ramparts in an instant. The stone walls were silent, not because they weren''t manned in the first place, but because the walls were already captured. One of my men revealed himself next to me. "The western gate''s surrounding area has been cleared out. We have at most ten to twenty minutes before the enemy realizes what''s happened." It was Han Kyungchul of the Sunbin Guild."Good work. That''s more than enough time," I said, nodding at his report. I looked out over the outer side of the walls, watching something large and black quietly creeping over to the walls like an ocean wave. It looked like it would reach the walls in about five minutes."Are the deities still over there?""Yes, sir. They are still at the 101st Block of Center A. No one has left yet."I had the scouts ascertain the locations of Section 79''s deities first thing when we arrived. It wasn''t hard; all they had to do was follow the slave devas and find out who was ordering them around. Those deities were my priority targets. From the previous battle, I had discovered that one deity was worth more than a couple of thousand devas.It wasn''t a decision made to just fulfill my greed. These deities were in command here. Cutting off the head of the snake was a quick way to win any war or battle. As a result, my officers had wholeheartedly agreed with my decision and even thanked me for taking it upon myself to take on the deities.-Hmm¡­I might be way in over my head this time, though,- I thought to myself, but didn''t let Han Kyungchul in on my doubts. He didn''t need to know. "Very well. We''ll proceed as planned.""Yes, sir!" Han Kyungchul replied and jumped down the walls into the darkness. He was to lead the battalion attacking the enemy base, and lure out the three deities inside for me to kill. I gave one last look at my army hidden in the shadows as they prepared to move forward, before I heading towards the 101st Block. On the way there, I noticed there were still some enemy soldiers around this late at night. As I saw them, I felt thankful for a second that there were no mortals or children on this Continent. We were all fighting with our lives on the line; we could not for a moment hesitate in the face of the enemy, and could not afford to have mercy. I looked away from the enemy soldiers and quickly headed to the 101st Block.------Five minutes later, the Empire''s battalion stealthily reached Section 79''s western wall. With a gesture from Han Kyungchul who was waiting atop the wall, the soldiers crossed over and soon, the entire western district was full of Terran devas. The Croot devas were stunned at the sight, to say the least. They had thought they were safely nestled within Section 79''s walls!"Huh?""What¡­what is this?""It''s¡­it''s the enemy!"The fifty-meter walls that were supposed to keep the enemy out were completely overrun by their enemy. Section 79 was supposed to be protected by Ashio, the deity hand-picked by Claudia herself. To the devas of Claudia''s faction, it just made it that much harder to believe that the enemy had actually invaded their home, yet it was obvious that they were not here to say hello."Attack!""Triple Shot!""Stalagmite!""Blizzard!""Run!""No! No! Agh!"The Croot devas fell before they could even try to defend or so much as send out a warning to the rest of their base. The invasion of Section 79 was in full swing.------101st Block of Section 79''s Center A¡­"What is that racket?" At first, the sounds were faint and it was late at night, so Ashio didn''t think too much of it. But soon, the sounds were getting louder and louder, to the point that Ashio finally came outside, annoyed. Ashio was sensitive to sounds, thanks to his exclusive ability, Sound Wave Control. His ability allowed Ashio to hear sounds leagues away as if they were right next to him.The moment Ashio stepped outside, he heard another sound. Something was cutting through the air at high speeds. He then heard a male voice softly say "Blink 2!" from behind him. Before he could turn around, he heard something fall towards him from the sky. He looked up to see a giant, red hammer falling towards him. His eyes bulged. Had he noticed the voice earlier, or if the hammer had been at least five meters away from him, Ashio would have had enough time to get away. But the voice was coming in at unimaginable speeds and the hammer had spawned less than a meter away. Ashio had no time to run, and the hammer slammed down right on his forehead."Agh!" Ashio was a ranger-class and consequently had low VIT and DEF. He also didn''t have time to use sound waves to form a shield to protect himself. As a result, he was killed with a single blow.The two other deities had heard Ashio''s cry, and came outside in time to see him die. Ashio was supposed to be the strongest one of the three."..."They were horrified. Ashio wasn''t someone who could be killed with a single blow, and by a lowly deva, at that! And yet, that deva was standing before them, poised to attack! 253 Chapter 252: Section 79, Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDOne of the deities had come outside with a frown. I contemplated for a second if I should at least use Altered Equality on him, but quickly decided against it. I could tell at a glance that he was not a fighting class, meaning that his VIT and HP would be low."Blink 2." I had already activated Judge''s Gavel a moment ago and just Blinked to get close to the deity. I locked eyes with him for a second and saw his horrified expression. I did not stop, however, and slammed my spear into his chest."Agh!" he cried out. That was it. A single attack was all it took to kill him.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]==I leveled up three times and with Bortega''s Blessing, I gained another nine levels. That was twelve levels in all!==[You have received 85,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful opponent.]==I had gained the same amount of levels as I did when I killed Rocky, but gained more than four times the golden rings. This deity must have been stronger than Rocky, but it only took one hit to kill him. My assumption was correct; this deva was not a fighter class like Rocky.I turned away from the dead deity and looked over to my right, to see two other deities. They were stunned after seeing that their comrade had died from one attack."Fissure!" I attacked the two without hesitation, but they were at least more ready than their fallen comrade."Earth Wall!" A wall sprouted out from the ground directly in the path of my attack and was crushed as Fissure broke through."Fuck!" the deity who cast Earth Wall swore. The other deity took that moment to cast what seemed to be a powerful version of Razor Wind at me. But to me, it felt like a fan on a warm, summer day.I smirked before stabbing the deity through the gut."Grah! Mud Geyser!" The Earth Mage deity wasn''t killed from one attack, and managed to spew dirt and mud into my face to get away from me."We need to run! This guy''s a monster. We can''t kill him if he could kill Ashio in one blow!""Uh¡­ right!""Where do you think you''re going?" I extended my hand through the geyser and placed it on the deity''s shoulder."Ah! How¡­?""How? What do you mean, how? Did you really think a bit of dirt was enough to stop me?" The Earth Mage paled and dropped to his knees. I looked over to see that the Wind Mage was scrambling to get away. "I didn''t say you could go. Blink 1." I Blinked over with my hand still tightly gripping the Earth Mage''s shoulder and put my other hand around the Wind Mage''s shoulder."I¡­I don''t want to die here! Blow him away, Zephyr!""I''m sorry to say this, but a breeze like that can''t do anything to me," I remarked as the gust of wind only served to flap my clothes. I threw the Wind Mage to the ground and started stabbing him with my spear."Gah! Shit¡­! How does a deva like you have that much strength!?""It''s a trade secret, sorry," I replied before stabbing him once more, killing him. "And then there was one...""..."I had my arm around this deity and softly registered him in Call, quietly enough that he couldn''t hear. During the first battle, not a single enemy deity or deva had begged for their lives. They may have lost all hope that they could win, but none of them ran away. I didn''t expect to try to get any sort of information out of them, but this deity wanted to run away and tried to flee. He wasn''t willing to stick around even though his devas were fighting against my army, and even though his comrades had just died in front in front him. I could probably get something out of him.------Section 79''s western gate¡­"Kill them all!""The Empire will take over Section 79 no matter what!""Stop them!""We still outnumber them! Reinforcements from Centers B, C, and D are on their way! Hold out until they get here!"Both armies showered each other with powerful skills and spells. Countless soldiers from both sides fell and died as they screamed out their final breaths. We were still in the lead as we had successfully ambushed the enemy, but it wouldn''t last long. The enemy was slowly being reinforced with soldiers fully prepared for battle. With that in mind, I turned to the deity I still held on to. "It looks like it''s your fate to die here today."I couldn''t hold on to him any longer. I did have him registered in Call and could summon him later after letting him go, but that meant revealing Call to not only the enemy but to my allies. Only Jose and Cantana Alejandro knew about its existence. Not even my own mother knew about it."No! I¡­I know many things! I''ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just please, spare me!""Yeah, I know you know things. That''s why I hate to have to kill someone as disloyal as you so easily." I threw the deity to the ground and stepped on him to prevent him from running away. I raised my spear and stabbed him twice."Gah!" he screamed before dying. He only yielded one level and 19 million golden rings."Hmm¡­ maybe they have special deities, like the Monarchs." Not all deities had special abilities. Some were about as normal as devas, with the only thing different about them being their extra Stat points. The Monarchs from Earth, like the Blood Prince and the Predator Duke, had special abilities that tremendously increased their combat power. It seemed that this was the same for Croot. I couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief. I would have a much easier time against just seven special deities, not 114."Oh! I don''t have time to daydream." I quickly dived into the fray to give my army some breathing room.------Croot devas from the other sides of Section 79 had heard the call from the western gate and had quickly gone to support their comrades."Hey, I just killed two enemy devas and gained two levels.""I got 190,000 golden rings.""Damn. This is pretty nice. We could spend an eternity killing monsters here and still not earn half the EXP¡­geez.""I know, right? There''s no way I''m going back to hunting monsters now.""Hey, where are the deities? I haven''t seen them yet.""Right? I would have at least expected Ashio to get here a while ago. He''s supposed to be the commander here!""Well, it doesn''t matter. The later they come, the more for us. Do you think they''ll let us have this much EXP or golden rings if they join in?""Huh, that is true.""Just kill as much as you can before they come. We won''t get another chance like this any time soon.""Sounds good.""Let''s go. Fireball!""Flaming Whip!"------"Gah!""No!"Each enemy deva fell to one attack. "Summon: Sand Warriors!" I summoned my Sand Warriors to help me push the enemy back."Who¡­who is this guy!?""He''s the enemy. Focus your attacks on him!""Slow! Slow!"The enemy devas showered me with debuffs in an attempt to slow me down, but I was an Unrivaled deva. I was immune."Shit! What the hell is this King-Emperor debuff?"""My debuffs aren''t working on him! He''s an Unrivaled deva!""What? How is he this strong, then?""I don''t know, but he can''t take on all of us. Focus your attacks on him first!"A torrent of spells and skills rained down upon me, only to bounce off my skin. "You''re going to need more than that if you want to slow me down." I slashed and slashed again, my attacks flashing yellow at least six times in a row. About fifteen minutes later, the enemy was starting to panic."Shit!""He''s¡­he''s not dying!""What is this guy?"When I had first jumped into the fray, I barely had a meter of space around me. I was completely surrounded by the enemy, but now, I had about thirty meters of empty space around me. Every time I moved right to left and left to right, the enemy soldiers scrambled to get out of my way and those unfortunate to get caught by me were killed instantly. That sight served to boost the morale of my soldiers and give them hope."Leave it to the commander!""He never lets us down!""We can''t let him do all the work! Push forward!""Yes, sir!"Thirty minutes later, my army and I had completely cleared the western gate and Center A of enemy soldiers. I turned around to face my soldiers. "Centers B, C, and D still stand. Do we hold here?""No, sir!""We won''t stop until they''re all dead, sir!""Good! Then follow me!" 254 Chapter 253: Counterattack Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Victory is ours!""We did it!"After clearing Center A, it took us seventeen hours to clear Centers B, C, and D before coming back to Center A. It took some time as we not only killed the enemy soldiers that were trying to stop us, but also any enemy soldiers that were hiding."The enemy''s casualties tally up to around 1.1 million soldiers," Taniya said as she walked up to me."¡­That''s quite a bit," I replied after a moment of silence."If we could have killed the soldiers who ran away, that number could surpass two million.""Let''s do a headcount first.""Yes sir. I''ll notify the guild officers right away."Soon, each guild started a headcount of their remaining soldiers. At the same time, I looked up at the sky to look at the leaderboard. In less than a day, the enemy had lost more than a million people. They would definitely notice now...------Section 115¡­"Where was it?""It happened at Section 79, ma''am."A month ago, Claudia had noticed that Croot had lost tens of thousands of soldiers in a single day. It was a small amount compared to the two billion Croots still on the Continent, but Claudia knew what that that meant. Some idiot deity had gone against her wishes and taken fifty thousand soldiers to attack the enemy, only to be wiped out.Claudia hadn''t thought much about it, and only sneered at whoever was foolish enough to throw away fifty thousand soldiers at the enemy. But this time, Claudia was the fool. She was the fool for losing more than a million soldiers to the enemy!"Who''s the commander of Section 79?""It was Ashio, ma''am. He was assigned Simpson and Bayla to assist.""And what happened to them?""They''re dead, ma''am. All three of them."Claudia scoffed in bewilderment. "How is it that the enemy was allowed to reach all the way to Section 79 uncontested? Why didn''t anyone from Section 79 report that the enemy had invaded?""According to those who managed to flee, Ashio, Simpson, and Bayla were the first to fall. The rest of the soldiers were without orders from the beginning, so¡­" Coby trailed off. He didn''t need to say more."How many soldiers did the enemy have?""Well¡­ we believe they had at most 150,000 soldiers.""Hah¡­that''s it? 150,000 soldiers killed a million of ours, and killed Ashio off first¡­" Ashio was one of the few people Claudia relied on. He was one of her strongest subordinates, with his ability to control sound waves. Losing him and two other deities was a huge blow!"Where is the enemy now?""According to the report we received just ten minutes ago, it seems they are still at Section 79.""Prepare to move out.""Right now, ma''am?""Yes, now. They''ll pay for brandishing their blades at me first.""Understood, ma''am. I''ll ready the soldiers right away," Coby said, before quickly leaving Claudia''s office. He had no time to waste. Coby knew he could not underestimate the enemy. He hadn''t reported it to Claudia, but Coby had seen for himself how strong the enemy was. About a million soldiers had managed to flee Section 79 and many of them had filmed most of the battle. Coby had collected every single video."They''re more than elite soldiers, that''s for sure." Claudia would want to completely destroy the enemy''s army. "I just need two to three days. Hopefully, the enemy will stay in one place for that long." Coby was going to need time if he didn''t want Claudia to fight an evenly matched battle. The rest of Croot was going to find out soon enough that they had just lost a million soldiers in a single day.---Section 79¡­"Have the men rest for now and call in the Warp Mages and their guards waiting outside Section 79. Once the guards arrive, have them set up defensive positions around Center A, in case the enemy comes to retaliate.""Yes sir!" my officers replied strongly, but I could hear a tint of sadness in their voices. We had our own share of casualties. We had lost exactly 18,184 soldiers. It was nothing compared to what the enemy had lost, but they were still our comrades who had left behind friends and family. The soldiers didn''t have the energy to celebrate for long, coupled with the fact that they had spent an entire day fighting. Soon, the Warp Mages and their guards entered Section 79 through the western gate, allowing the remaining eighty thousand soldiers to finally rest. I and my officers, on the other hand, had no time to rest.---"I know we have incurred losses of our own, but today was no doubt a big victory for us.""I agree.""Many of our surviving soldiers have gained up to forty levels each, and earned at least 40 million golden rings. I''d have to agree as well."We had also lost one of our officers, but no one was emotional about it. It was a good trait to have as proper leaders.I thought a little differently, however. "It was only possible because of our fallen comrade, who was not afraid of death and fought at the front before everyone else. I would like to hold a memorial tomorrow in our comrade''s honor.""...""That''s a fine idea. It''s the least we can do.""Now then, shall we discuss the message that appeared before all of us when we were still at Center D about the tower that appeared in the middle of Section 79?"A message had appeared before all of us after we had cut down the last of the enemy soldiers at Center D.==[World 1455 now has control over Section 79.World 1455 will be granted a reward if it can maintain control for the next 24 hours.]=="The system clearly stated that we now had control over Section 79, but we still can''t enter its Stores.""Does that mean they''ll be open to us in 24 hours?""It would seem so. The message didn''t mention anything about Stores, only that we would receive some sort of reward. We''ll have to at least wait 24 hours until we can get some sort of answer.""How much longer do we have?""We have eighteen hours left.""Very well. We''ll wait the eighteen hours.""Understood, sir."------Section 79''s Center B¡­"Gah!""You seem a bit different than the guys from earlier. Are you a fresh scout?""I don''t need to¡­""And I don''t need you to answer me, so don''t you worry," I cut the man I had under my foot off and stabbed him, killing him instantly. "If they''ve sent this many scouts already, then I guess they''ll be counterattacking soon."It was obvious the enemy would react right away after losing an entire Section and a million soldiers, but with this many scouts, they weren''t just going to stop at intel gathering. They were getting ready to counterattack. I had a feeling that it wasn''t something I could easily brush off, either."We have about fifteen hours left, don''t we? I''ll have to do whatever I can for now. Blink 2.""Gah!" I spent that night clearing Centers B, C, and D of enemy scouts...------Fifteen hours later¡­I and my entire army were gathered around the tower that had appeared at the center of Section 79. It was almost time.==[Section 79 is now under full control of World 1455.Those that had a hand in invading Section 79 will now be granted rewards.]====[World 1512 will receive a penalty for losing Section 79 to the enemy.The Stores of World 1512''s remaining Sections will experience a 5% increase in prices.]=="Ho ho. So that''s how it is.""A 5% increase may not be much to a single person, but the enemy has over two billion people. That''s going to add up," Taniya murmured, and I nodded in agreement.Soon, the entire Section 79 began to change. The ground began to rumble as all buildings and structures were sucked into the ground. The people were left alone, however. It took about a minute for everything around us to disappear, leaving us alone in a flat plain."That was quick and clean."That wasn''t the end of it. We still needed to get our rewards.==[Calculating contribution points in the invasion of Section 79¡­]=="Whoa. I got 770 thousand contribution points. I got¡­20 million golden rings and 320 Stat points!""I got 540 thousand points. I got the same amount of golden rings as you, but got 16 levels instead.""I also got 20 million golden rings, but got 1 skill point.""I got 20 million golden rings, and another 5 million golden rings."Everyone seemed to have received 20 million golden rings for taking part in the invasion and received bonuses according to their contribution points. It was a huge win for the Empire."What did you get, Commander?"I felt many pairs of eyes turn to me, but I couldn''t answer right away. My contribution points were still being calculated."I received 20 million golden rings as well. My personal bonus was 1,000 Stat points," I lied. I didn''t tell them that my points were still being calculated."What should we do now?" Taniya asked. The walls surrounding Section 79 that served as defensive structures were gone now, meaning we were out in the open. This was not the ideal place to meet the enemy, especially when we had no idea how many were on the way."Our soldiers have received tremendous rewards and we have killed more than a million enemy soldiers. It''s safe to say we''re in the lead, is it not?""It is, sir.""Then let''s return for now. The rest of the enemy''s Sections will be heavily guarded from now on, so we''ll need more time to prepare.""Agreed. If we''re lucky, the enemy might even come to our side, blinded by anger.""It''d be nice if that''s the case."I almost wanted to meet the enemy''s advance straight on, but Death''s Harrier was finally off its cooldown. I knew I wouldn''t get as many Stat points as before, but I was fully intent on using it until it stopped stealing Stat points for me.I had the Warp Mages set up a Teleporter to move everyone back to base. It was only then that the system finally finished calculating my contribution points... 255 Chapter 254: Counterattack Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 3¡­It had been a month and a half since we had left here for the enemy''s territory. When we returned, we were welcomed by our comrades like soldiers coming home from a victorious wwar."Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!""Long live the Empire!"We had already reported back to base about our victories against Croot and how we had successfully invaded one of their Sections. Well, they would have found out eventually, even if we didn''t tell them, thanks to the leaderboard in the sky.A few familiar people weaved through the dense crowd to meet us. They were Song Daechul, Aman Sandip, and Shin."Good work out there, Jiwon.""He''s right. There''s no greater victory than this.""It was all thanks to those who have fought by my side.""Well, come on then. We can''t leave these heroes out on the streets. We''ve prepared a feast fit for the champions.""After you." I led my soldiers after Song Daechul to Section 3''s Center B, where a massive feast for all the Empire''s guilds was held.------One week later¡­The feast had come to an end and the soldiers were split evenly between Sections 3, 6, and 7 to prepare for the enemy''s counterattack. In that time, each Section was connected to Section 35."We would have been in trouble if we didn''t have the Messenger Guild on our side.""Too true." The Messenger Guild had truly become an invaluable asset, allowing us easy access between the east and west sides of our territory. Not even Croot would be able to move its forces as easily and quickly as we could."Please, you give us too much praise. It''s not like it was free anyway." The Messenger Guild required many golden rings just to run the Teleporter Zones, and to pay the Warp Mages that ran them. It didn''t matter if it was for the greater good; these Warp Mages had to sacrifice their time and energy and needed to be well-compensated."I''ll be returning to Section 35 to meet with my family and take care of some personal issues. Contact me as soon as something happens.""Understood. We''ll let you know if we even so much as see a glimpse of the enemy."I had an appointment the next day with the Sunbin and Myth Guilds, and promised to meet on a monster field at Section 35.---That night¡­"Jiwon!""Young Master! You''re back!" My mother, grandfather, and members of my clan were waiting outside our home to greet me."Hello, everyone.""Are you hurt anywhere?""We heard a lot about what you and the Commandos accomplished!""We''re really proud to be a part of your family, young master!"I had only been gone a little more than a month, but my family welcomed me as if I had been gone for years and would not leave my side. I didn''t mind or hate it, however. They were all worried for and proud of me. That night, I gathered all three hundred clan members and threw a huge dinner party, paid for out of my own pocket. It was the least I could do after all that I had received from taking over Section 79. ---Two weeks ago, I had received the message telling me that my contribution points were calculated just when we were about to head for Section 3. The calculation had taken so much longer compared to everyone else''s. I had already lied that I had received 20 million golden rings and 1000 stat points so I quietly confirmed the message to myself. I did hope for something more than just 1000 stat points, though. It''d be embarrassing if I got something less.==[You have obtained 147,645,974 contribution points.You will receive 20,000,000 golden rings for participating in the full invasion of an enemy''s Section.]====[You have obtained the most contribution points out of all of your comrades.You have gained 11 more levels.You have received 2,950 Stat points.You have received 3 skill points.You have received 4,200,000,000 golden rings.]=="..." I kept my poker face. I told myself to keep it, no matter what I got. But I couldn''t help myself as the corners of my lips went up to form a dumb grin.==[You have gained 3 additional levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]==That message also came up eleven times, meaning I had just gained a total of 44 levels!---After dinner, I headed to my room and opened up my Stats Menu while I was laying on my bed.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1101Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 17,840,700/17,840,700MP: 702,800/702,800Strength: 55,501 + 6,831Agility: 28,201Vitality: 29,501Willpower: 6,968Intelligence: 6,228Unassigned Stat Points: 5,510 + 135 Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 223,847Physical Defense: 64,197Magical Attack: 20,854Magical Defense: 42,634]==The last time I checked my Stats Menu, I was level 973. I had gained 84 levels from the battle against Rocky and his army, and another 44 levels from invading Section 79. That was a total of 128 levels in a matter of a month and half. "With this, I could get my base STR to 50k or my VIT or AGI to 30k pretty soon." My base STR was currently at 42,000 and my base VIT and AGI were at 22,000. I just needed 8,000 more points for any of those three Stats to get the next bonus tier and I could do that any time I wanted to. I had about 11.9 billion golden rings now, even though I had spent nearly 4 billion getting my STR past 40k and upgrading my Harrier''s rank.A chill ran down my spine. Things were going too well. But I quickly shook it off. I had no reason to be afraid. This was good for me, and I just needed to take advantage of it."So tomorrow, I''ll use Death''s Harrier and get as many Stat points as possible. I have to stop by a Store anyway." I had 12 skill points saved up, and had no intention of saving up any more.------The next day, I headed to an area about 150 kilometers away from Section 35."This is it. The monsters that spawn here are known as Red-Clawed Mantises and have an average level of 300. A lot of them spawn at a time, so they should be what you''re looking for.""Thank you for helping me out like this again." I had asked the Myth Guild to help me out again like last time and was grateful they were so willing to do so."Don''t worry about it. I brought over the same guys as before, since you''ve already worked with them." Ebonene waved away my thanks, saying that it wasn''t a big of a deal."Well, let''s begin right away.""Very well.""We''re doing the same as last time! Split into two teams of three hundred, Team 1 will be the first to lure the monsters!""Yes sir!"The Myth Guild soldiers quickly moved as ordered, already knowing what to do. Team 1 soon returned with monsters hot on their heels."Activate: Death''s Harrier."==[Death''s Harrier has been activated.Your attacks now carry a deathly energy and have a chance to drain your enemies'' Stat points.Time applied: 24 hoursCooldown: 30 days.]==Once Death''s Harrier was activated, I activated Mana Conversion, Warrior''s Brave Spirit, and Howl of the Wolf. What followed was complete annihilation. Just touching the Mantises with my spear was enough to kill them. And so, I swung my spear at the monsters without rest. I needed to get the most out of Death''s Harrier today.------The plains where Section 79 once stood¡­"Ha¡­""..."Claudia, thirty of her deity subordinates, and her army of five hundred thousand deva soldiers stood there in stunned silence. There was absolutely nothing waiting for them."This really is where Section 79 is supposed to be, right?""Yes¡­ ma''am," Coby replied hesitantly."So this is what it means to lose a Section." Claudia took a moment to stare at the barren grounds before turning to Coby. "Notify the other higher deities. I want to hold a meeting.""Yes, ma''am."Claudia was beyond furious. She wanted to take her entire army and invade the enemy''s territory if she could, but she knew that they would be waiting for her. They would also be stronger after killing a million of her soldiers. Claudia decided then to buy some more time. The longer she waited, the stronger she could become.------Red-Clawed Mantis hunting grounds by Section 35¡­I was panting lightly. I had not taken a single break for the past 24 hours.==[Death''s Harrier has now deactivated.The power of Death''s Harrier will be lowered for weakening Death''s Achilles Tendon three times in a row.You are unable to use Death''s Harrier for the next 30 days.]=="That''s it. Good work, everybody!" I called out to the Myth Guild soldiers. "Once again, drinks are on me for helping me out all day! Let''s meet up once we get back to base!""Alright!""Let''s go!"I watched as the Myth Guild soldiers cheer and return to Section 35 before checking how many extra Stat points I had. I had 5,510 just the day before... "7,047, eh?" This time, I had gained 1,537 points from Death''s Harrier...I smiled. I had half-expected to get less than 1,500 points, so I was more than satisfied. I closed my Stats Menu and ran to join the Myth Guild soldiers. I still needed to stop by the Store before I treated them all out. 256 Chapter 255: Counterattack Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAfter having a pretty big dinner with the Myth Guild soldiers who had helped me out for an entire day, I headed straight for the Section 35''s Center D store. I was pretty excited. I had 12 skill points to use and more than enough golden rings to spend after buying all the Stat points I would need. I could learn whatever I wanted.For now, I decided to learn another burst damage skill like Judge''s Gavel, and at least two more AoE skills. The reason I wanted to learn two AoE skills was simple; with my power, they could do just as much damage as a burst single-target damage skill. In short, I could pretty much lay waste to my enemies. Sure, Ripped Advance played a huge part, but it still didn''t change the fact that I was arguably the strongest on this Continent.I arrived at the Store in no time while thinking about what skills to learn."Hello and welcome to Section 35''s Center D skill store.""Show me your skills.""Right away, sir."==[Physical tree, Magical tree, General tree, Random Skills (1)]==I was met with a surprise when the skill store menu came up, but I wasn''t sure if it was pleasant. I had only had a marker next to the Random Skills tab once before, and that was when I learned the Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick skill."Is it even possible to learn more than one Random Skill at a time?" I never heard about anyone learning two or more Random Skills. There could have been some out there who managed to keep it a secret, but I couldn''t attest to that. As far as I knew, having only one Random Skill was the norm.I clicked on the Random Skills tab. If the system had another Random Skill for me to learn, what reason did I have to turn it down? I was really nervous as I clicked it, however. My best skill, Selfish Prick, was a Random Skill.It trumped Unrivaled, Mana Conversion, and even Judge''s Gavel. It also gave me access to other people''s exclusive or Random Skills. It truly was overpowered. "I don''t need something as good as Selfish Prick. I''ll be satisfied with something as half as good."==[Lee Jiwon can learn a Random Skill.If this Random Skill is not learned within the next 24 hours after being revealed, the Skill will disappear.Time left to learn: 23 hours 58 minutes 22 seconds]====[Remove Skill Cooldown (1/1), (Passive)Grants the ability to remove the cooldown of a learned skill.Can only work on skills with cooldowns of 1 day or longer, and can lower cooldowns by at most 1 day at a time. However, 1 skill point is required per day. (Lowering a 5-day cooldown to 1 day will require 4 skill points.)Skill points required to learn: 1Golden rings required to learn: 1]=="Huh¡­" It was an unbelievable skill indeed, but it didn''t really appeal to me. Probably because I had clicked on it while thinking about Selfish Prick. "I don''t like. I don''t like it at all. It costs 1 skill points to lower cooldown by a day." I could only think about how disappointed I was with the skill, and just when I was about to close the skill''s description, I remembered one skill. Ripped Advance had a cooldown of 10 days. It doubled my Stats for 24 hours at the cost of losing at most 100 Stat points. It was no doubt one of my strongest skills, even with a penalty."If I lower its cooldown from 10 days to just 1¡­" I shivered. I could use it as much as I wanted to if I did that. I would still lose up to 100 Stat points every time, but that was so little compared to the Stat points I did have. Besides, Stores sold Stat points now."Hah¡­ It''s almost as if the system wants me to spend almost all of my skill points on this skill." I had twelve skill points to use. Learning this skill cost 1, and using it so Ripped Advance would cost 9 to lower its cooldown to one day. That was a total of ten skill points for one skill. I had never heard of a skill that required ten skill points to learn. It almost didn''t seem worth the ten skill points, but my hand kept inching towards the Learn button. The enemy was still out there, and there were more than two billion of them. I was definitely going to need the extra Stat points. "Ah, screw it!" ==[You have learned the Random Skill, Remove Skill Cooldown.]=="Activate: Remove Skill Cooldown."==[Remove Skill Cooldown can lower the cooldown of 3 of your skills.Please select one of the following: Ripped Advance: 10 daysCreate Critical Weakness: 30 daysDeath''s Harrier: 30 days]=="Select: Ripped Advance."==[You have selected Ripped Advance.This skill''s cooldown can be lowered by, at most, 9 days.1 day costs 1 skill point.]==I changed the skill''s cooldown to one day.==[You have chosen to lower Ripped Advance''s cooldown to 1 day.This action requires 9 skill points. Are you sure you wish to proceed?Yes/No]=="Yes!" I shouted with my eyes clenched shut. I had just spent ten skill points on one skill when I had come here ready to learn at least four more skills. Actually, it didn''t even count as a real skill. All it did was change a skill''s cooldown! But I was still satisfied. I kept wishing I could use either Ripped Advance or Critical Weakness more often and now, I finally could."It''s fine. It''ll be worth the ten skill points." I couldn''t bring myself to spend my remaining two skill points just yet, as I wasn''t sure what to expect for next time. I hurriedly left the skill shop and entered the general store to buy 1,000 more Stat points.---Section 115 of the Judge''s Continent¡­Claudia had called a meeting of Croot''s strongest deities, known as the High Council. This meeting, however, had eight empty seats this time. Not coming to a High Council meeting could only mean one thing to the deities. But the biggest issue to them was that two of the missing were Rocky and Ashio, two of the strongest deities of the High Council, and the seconds in command to Skyla and Claudia, respectively."I''m sure all of you are aware," Claudia started in a quiet voice, her anger clear. "Our enemies from World 1455 have dealt us a heavy blow. We have lost one of our Sections and many of our comrades."The members of the High Council frowned. They had called each other comrades only once before, when they had taken over their world and enslaved the devas. They had been rivals and sworn enemies every other time, but no one said anything. It was true they were losing the war."We should take our revenge, shouldn''t we, Skyla?" Claudia singled out Skyla, because she now knew why the enemy had entered Croot''s territory uncontested and unannounced. Skyla had kept to herself the fact she had faced the enemy before and lost. Claudia had no intention of pressing the issue any further, but wanted Skyla to know just how disgusted she was with her.Skyla just smiled as if nothing was wrong, even though she could hear every drop of venom in Claudia''s voice. "Of course we should. It''s the prime time to retaliate, as the enemy should be in a celebratory stupor.""That''s right.""We incurred heavy losses. Now it''s their turn."The other members of the High Council voiced their agreements."Very well. We''ll begin our preparations right away. Our first invading force will consist of one million soldiers. The army''s commander will be¡­" Claudia trailed off and scanned the room before resting her eyes on a single man, "Angel."Angel was quite possibly one of the five strongest members of the High Council. He was also a neutral member of the Council and did not associate himself with the three factions as much as he could."Is it wise to leave such an important duty to someone like me?""I want to show the enemy that we do not have a shred of mercy in us. I think there''s no better choice.""Hahaha. I see. You''ve made a very wise choice, indeed. I understand. I''ll take on the role with honor."After that, one vice-commander was chosen from each faction, and six deities to guard the front lines were asked to join as well."We will invade in seven days. In seven days, Angel will lead the army and invade the enemy''s Section 3.""Understood."---Section 35''s Center D Store¡­"Welcome to Center D''s general store.""Show me your wares.""Right away, sir."Once the shop menu came up, I navigated my way straight to the Stat points. I needed exactly 957 points to get have 8000 extra Stat points.==[Stat Point (No Rank)Buy this item to gain extra Stat points.1 extra Stat point costs 1,000,000 golden rings.]==It really was expensive, but I paid the 957 million golden rings nonetheless. It was easy for me to get more golden rings; I just didn''t want to lose out on becoming the first to reach the Stats milestones. -Where should I invest the points?-That was the toughest decision to make right now. Should I go for STR, or I get AGI and VIT to 30k first? I glanced in my inventory to check how much golden rings I still had left. I still had about 11 billion and when I saw that, I made my decision. I was going to raise all three Stats. I put the 8000 Stat points I had right now into VIT.==[Your base VIT has surpassed 30,000 points.Your total VIT points: 37,501Your base VIT points: 30,000VIT points increased by items: 7200VIT points increased by skills: 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 30,000 points in VIT before anyone else.VIT will be increased by 2000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 30,000 points in two Stats (STR, VIT,) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 1,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==Thanks to the Grand Achievement, I had 1,000 more Stat points to spend. I spent 7 billion golden rings and bought another 7,000 Stat points. In less than a minute, I had 8,000 Stat points again and I invested all of those into AGI. I received the message telling me that I had reached 30k with AGI and gained 2,000 more AGI points.==[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 30,000 points in three Stats (STR, VIT, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==I invested the 2,000 points into STR. Now, my base STR was 44,000. I didn''t have enough golden rings to finish up, but I didn''t mind. It wouldn''t take me long to earn the remainder, and I was already satisfied with my new Ripped Advance. I was leaving the Store with a smile on my face when my Comm Link rang. 257 Chapter 256: Counterattack Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 47 of the Judge''s Continent¡­"You know whose side we have to stand on now, don''t you?""...""..."The Gnosis Guild that had established its base on Section 47 had been using Jay''s Clairvoyance to obtain more information than everyone else, especially about the enemy. They also learned just how strong Lee Jiwon had made the Empire."They first defeated an army twice their size, and then used just over a hundred thousand soldiers to kill an army ten times bigger and destroyed a Section. Look at the other alliances. They felt rushed and tried to invade too, but were pretty much beaten down.""Hmm¡­" Alpha hummed in thought.Frustrated, Jay slammed the table in front of her. "What more do you need to think about? All of you know that the Judge''s Continent is a layover, not our final destination. If we don''t progress properly while we still have the chance, we''ll be nothing compared to everyone else during the next stage!""I have to agree with Jay. We have to acknowledge the fact that the Empire is Earth''s only hope in winning this war. No other alliance or faction can do the same, even if they all band together. There''s no choice to make here, Alpha. We have to join the Empire," X said after being silent the whole time.Alpha finally broke his silence. "Fine. We''ll join the Empire, no matter what it takes.""Tsk! You should have listened to me in the first place," Jay complained, but Alpha ignored her."Did they depart yesterday?""Yeah, with a million veteran and elite soldiers.""The Empire doesn''t know yet?""Of course they don''t. I doubt anyone but us knows. I give them about a week to enter Earth''s territory.""Good. We''ll use that to contact Lee Jiwon. We need to join the Empire through Lee Jiwon if we want them to take us seriously. Make sure we''re properly prepared as soon as possible so that the value of the intel doesn''t drop. Oh, and prepare some gifts as well.""Got it." Four of them answered Alpha as one, while Jay was still busy complaining."Tsk! I told you we should have sucked up to Lee Jiwon while we were still on Earth. If we had, we wouldn''t be struggling like this."------Just like the Gnosis Guild, many of Earth''s guilds, organizations, and alliances became nervous after how well the Empire was doing. In a matter of days, the Empire''s soldiers had gained an average of 50 levels, on top of a fortune of golden rings. Rumors that the Empire''s soldiers who had taken part in the successful invasion of an enemy Section had gained 20 million golden rings each spread like wildfire. Discontent with how little the monsters on the Continent yielded, the rest of Earth''s factions were no doubt envious of the Empire.And so, new alliances were formed between many of Earth''s factions and an army of millions of soldiers was sent to invade the enemy''s territory. However, where the Empire succeeded, the new alliance failed miserably. The new alliance''s army was absolutely decimated. Survivors managed to get away after killing enough of the enemy to gain levels and golden rings, but they made up less 10% of the original army.What resulted was a huge loss of morale in the new alliance, and no other guild or organization ever attempted to invade the enemy again. Death was too close and progress was too far. They would have to be content with leaving the war to the Empire, as capable as it was.---Section 35''s Center D Store¡­When my Comm Link rang, I had just checked that my Fated Crossroads still had forty-five days left on its cooldown and was leaving the general store. I had to suppress my urges to go to the weapon store and attempt to upgrade my Harrier to Rank 10. As much as I wanted to trust my Luck Boost and go all in on a 1% chance, I forced myself to wait. I wanted to use Fated Crossroads at least three times, and if it looked like I was going to succeed all three times, then I would do it. It would mean that my Luck Boost affected Fated Crossroads as well.I quickly came back to reality as I left the general store and picked up my Comm Link."Hello?""Hello, Mr. Lee. My name is Alpha of the Gnosis Guild. We met a few times back on Earth for business.""Ah, yes. I remember.""I was hoping if we could meet. There is something I, no, we of the Gnosis Guild would like to tell you.""To me?""Yes.""Hmm¡­" It was a sudden request, but I didn''t think about it too long. This was the Gnosis Guild. Whatever they had to tell me had to be important and valuable. "Very well.""Thank you. Would it be alright if we come soon?""Today?""Yes.""That''s fine. I''ll see you later." Okay, it definitely was important and urgent. ------Three people came to visit me at my home: Alpha, Jay, and Lim Gina. I remembered them from when I had paid the Gnosis Guild an official visit."Thank you for agreeing to meet us.""Don''t worry about it. Please, have a seat."As soon as they sat down, Lim Gina was the first to speak. "As fellow members of Earth, I thank you for everything the Empire has done. You''ve truly dealt the enemy a heavy blow.""Please, you don''t have to thank us. We only did it to make ourselves stronger.""Well, speaking of which¡­" Alpha carefully spoke."Yes? What is it?""It seems the enemy has been angered quite a bit," he said while producing a Memory Gem that was sold in the general stores. The Memory Gem soon activated, revealing a massive army. "An army of about a million soldiers had just left Section 115 and is heading for Earth. It''ll take them about five to six days to cross the border. We aren''t sure where exactly they are headed, but it would have to be Section 3, 6, or 7 that the Empire controls.""Hmm¡­" I did expect that the enemy would counterattack soon, but I didn''t expect that huge an army. From what I saw, the soldiers were all veterans and elites."To be honest, there are no other places the enemy would head to. Of the nine border Sections, three are controlled by the Empire while the rest are pretty much abandoned." He wasn''t wrong. "The Gnosis Guild wishes for Earth''s victory. We believe that the Empire is Earth''s best chance, which is why we came to you with this as soon as we learned."It was clear that Alpha wanted to come off as selfless, but I could see what his true intentions were. I didn''t say anything, as I did need the Gnosis Guild''s help. "Thank you. I''ll make sure the Gnosis Guild is well compensated for this valuable information.""We did prepare another gift especially for you, Mr. Lee," Alpha said as he placed something on the table before him. Golden rings, and a lot of them. "Golden rings are a valuable commodity these days, which is why we''ve brought three billion."That was a lot of golden rings, especially for the Judge''s Continent. Many had spent most of their fortune back on Earth, but it was clear that the Gnosis Guild had decided to save instead, like me."We of the Gnosis Guild, wish to see you become stronger, Mr. Lee. We would also like to become a reliable factor in the quest to the end.""Thank you." I gladly took the golden rings. I knew very well that it was a bribe and what they wanted. They wanted to help me become stronger to the end. And why not? I could use skilled intel gatherers like them. Knowledge is power, after all. "Welcome to the Empire."------I called an emergency meeting the next day to discuss how to best meet the incoming enemy army."The soldiers will most likely be the most elite they have. It''s what we did when we invaded.""That''s true. I doubt they would want to fail a counterattack, of all things.""We will respond, won''t we?""Of course we will. This isn''t something we can solve by retreating.""Keep the Teleporter Zones of Section 3, 6, and 7 and the one here running around the clock, that way we can move our soldiers at a moment''s notice.""Yes sir. I''ll make sure all of our Teleporter Zones are properly manned," Victor replied.I turned to the Gnosis Guild that joined us today. "Please report the enemy''s movements once a day.""Understood.""What do you think about recruiting from other guilds and organizations?" Taniya asked."What do you mean?""I''ve been getting many requests from other guilds and organizations, asking if we could recruit them as mercenaries to take on the next battle. I doubt I''m the only one who was asked.""That''s right. I was asked, too.""Same here."To be honest, I was asked a lot as well by all of my clan members, except for my mother and grandfather."The enemy is coming with a huge number of soldiers, and I doubt we want to stop at trying to stop them. We need to defeat them again, don''t we?" There was merit in Taniya''s suggestion. We needed to crush them so that we didn''t take as many casualties. It was not a bad idea to bring in other strong soldiers from other factions to help us."I think that''s a fine idea.""If we had the ability to stop the enemy on our own, we wouldn''t need help, but the enemy is coming in with an army of a million strong. Let''s not take needless risks this time.""I have to agree," Song Daechul agreed.With that, all of the guild officers were in agreement. I nodded. "Very well. Let everyone know that we will be recruiting from other guilds and begin our preparations right away. We have five days until the enemy steps over the border and twenty days after that until they come close enough to see.""Yes sir."And with that, the emergency meeting came to an end and we set out to prepare to meet the incoming army of a million soldiers in battle. I had much to do as well...------Section 3''s Center A Store¡­"What a coincidence¡­" I muttered to myself. I had come to the general store of this Section''s Center A to spend the golden rings that the Gnosis Guild had given me. Coincidentally, they had given me the exact amount I needed to buy 6000 Stat points. I bought the points right away and invested them all into my STR, bringing the base up to 52,000, after the bonus. Now, I was ready for battle.---Twenty one days later¡­We were finally able to lay eyes on the enemy army. It was endless, almost like a tidal wave of soldiers. This time, I planned to combine Ripped Advance with Critical Weakness. I shivered at the thought. Critical Weakness raised all of my Stats by 30,000 and Ripped Advance then doubled all that. I almost felt bad for the enemy soldiers who had the misfortune to face me. The only other time I had Stats that high was when I had Consumed Shaman Ko, but I didn''t remember anything after that. This would be my first time wielding this much power. 258 Chapter 257: Angel Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDNear Section 3¡­"Is that it?""Yes sir.""I see they''re quite prepared," Angel said as he scanned the thousands of soldiers patrolling the Section. "It looks like there are about five hundred thousand of them.""Yes sir, it would seem so.""That''s the perfect amount to be our first prey. At a glance, it also looks like many of them are elites," Angel said as he licked his chops."So¡­ about our strategy¡­""Hmph. You know how I fight, so we don''t need a strategy. Just wipe them all out.""Uh¡­yes sir," the deity officer stammered a reply. He knew just how strong Angel was; in fact, all of Croot knew that Angel was one of the top five strongest deities of Croot. The only reason Angel didn''t belong to a faction was he believed that they were all unworthy of him. If Angel ever decided to join the rat race, there would be four factions, not three¡­ or he could just knock Skyla out for good, so that it would just be him, Claudia, and Adora.Angel pointed to a man standing out by the frontlines. "That''s him, isn''t it?""Yes sir. That''s the man the Section 79 survivors claim has immense combat abilities.""He''s the one who killed Ashio," another deity officer added.Angel chuckled. "How amusing to think there''s actually a deva that strong." Angel stared at the man for a while before speaking again. "Leave him to me. I want to find out how much EXP and golden rings he''ll yield. And if I die, make sure to get as far away from me as possible. I don''t want to have to kill you all as well.""Yes sir!" all twelve deity officers replied in chorus. ---"That''s a lot of them." Seeing a million soldiers gathered in one place in formation made me realize just how big of an army it was. I and my Commandos may have killed a million soldiers a little while ago, but it was in sporadic fights, not at once."Yes, there are. They all look strong, too.""It''s their first expedition. Of course they brought their veterans.""I''m beginning to think that maybe we should have used the Section''s walls for defense instead," Kylie said quietly.It was as she said; we left the safety of the walls and brought our army out to the frontlines to meet the enemy. We did consider taking a defensive approach, but hunkering down against an all-out siege wouldn''t secure a victory. Sections 3, 6, and 7 were the only manned Sections; all of the other ones were abandoned. That meant that this was the only line of defense against the enemy; we had to win. We kept a close eye on their movements to predict which Section they were targeting, because we knew what would happen if we lost a Section.We had to count ourselves lucky that they targeted Section 3, or we would have been stretched thin trying to cover all the frontline Sections. We even gave up on using the walls for defense to discourage the enemy from sieging us and then setting their sights on a different Section.A lone man walked out from the enemy''s ranks. Through Jay''s Clairvoyance, we deduced that he was the enemy commander. He exuded confidence just from the way he walked, as if he knew nothing could ever kill him."He either knows no fear, or is strong enough to walk around with all that confidence. And somehow, I doubt think he''s going to stop."It really did look that way. If no one from our side was going to go out to meet him, he might just keep walking all the way up to us.I walked out as well, slowly and as relaxed as possible."Thank you, Jiwon.""We apologize for making you do all the hard stuff." Song Daechul and a few officers whispered to me as I walked out."Activate: Create Critical Weakness," I whispered to myself.==[Create Critical Weakness has been activated.Increase all Stats by 30,000 points.Increase CRIT rate by 15%, increase CRIT damage by 1500%Time applied: 24 hoursAfter deactivation, Death''s Achilles Tendon cannot be Consumed for 30 days.]==It was arguably stronger than Ripped Advance because of its sharp increase to my CRIT Stats. The only downside was that it had a cooldown of thirty days. It was why I just used Ripped Advance, which had a shorter cooldown by twenty days. I never thought of using both at the same time because I was always afraid that something might go wrong and didn''t want to be left up the creek without a paddle. But now, I could use Ripped Advance every day."Activate: Ripped Advance."==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base Stat points will be increased.)Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]=="Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Judge''s Gavel." I opted to not activate Warrior''s Brave Spirit and Howl of the Wolf just yet, as I was sure this battle was going to last a while. I activated Judge''s Gavel to inflict critical damage from the start. That was it to my preparations for now."Open Stats Menu." I had to see for myself just how my Stats had changed this time. ==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1101Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 73,591,200/73,591,200MP: 7,399,600/7,399,600Strength: 193,602 + 7,131Agility: 136,802Vitality: 139,002Willpower: 73,936Intelligence: 72,456]==I was speechless. As I glanced over my Stats, I grew more and more confident with each slow footstep I took. Soon, I was face to face with the enemy commander."How interesting. You really are a deva.""Do you guys have more deities than devas or something? You all really can''t believe that I''m a deva."The enemy commander chuckled. "It''s only because none of the devas we''ve met were as strange as you." He chuckled again before continuing. "Oh, that''s right. The name''s Angel. We might as well know each others'' names since we''re worth so much EXP and golden rings. I expect you to yield a lot of EXP and golden rings, for someone as special as you.""That''s a nice name. I guess I''ll tell you too. My name¡­ you can find in Hell!" I was close enough so I relied on my 130,000 AGI instead of Blink to dash over to Angel while pulling out my Harrier from my inventory in an instant."Gah!" It took less than a second for my spear to stab Angel through the chest. It also took a single blow to kill him, who was supposed to be the enemy commander. I didn''t care if it was cheating. I just frowned at the strange message that appeared before me.==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for killing a powerful enemy.]=="What is this?" I didn''t even gain a single level. It also wasn''t a dummy or substitute since the message clearly stated that I had killed a powerful enemy. Not to mention the fact that it felt pretty real when my spear stabbed him through the heart. I had my answer pretty soon as Angel, who I had just killed, appeared before me again."Hah¡­ the rumors were true about you! You really can kill us with one attack! You''re the first able to kill me so easily!" Angel was making a fuss, but he looked different this time. His eyes were glowing red. But from what I could tell by the way he was shouting, I really did kill him. He just somehow came back to life."Well, fuck," I swore to myself. This always happens. Every time I finally think I''ve adapted to this crazy system, it drops another bomb on me. Whoever made this system was seriously out to get me. And I doubted that this was the end to Angel''s trickery."How many times does this make this?" I asked without outright regarding anything specific, but I was sure that Angel knew what I meant."I don''t know. I never really thought about keeping track," he replied while cackling.I heaved a sigh as I stuck my spear into the ground. "Fine. We''ll find out just how many lives you have today!" If there was something I knew for a fact about the system, it was that no matter how unfair of an advantage it gave to some people, there was always a limit to it. It would be no different for Angel. "Fissure!" I cried as I charged at him.This time, Angel countered. "Come forth! Heap of Enhanced Tentacles!" Fissure quickly broke through the ground towards Angel, but some things suddenly slammed into the ground, stopping Fissure dead in its tracks. They were long, thick black tentacles protruding from Angel''s back. A few of tentacles fell off his body as they were destroyed by the force of Fissure, but more grew to take their place.Even I skidded to a halt at the sight. "Ew." The tentacles squirmed like snakes and even started to come out from his face. He was hideous, uglier than any monster I''ve ever seen.He cackled. "What, you don''t like it? Then I''ll show you something even more disgusting. Transform! Heap of Suctioning Tentacles!"The black tentacles turned red at his command. That was even more disgusting, to be honest. If his appearance could deal damage, I probably would have lost about a million HP.I heaved another heavy sigh and tightened my hold on my spear. This wasn''t a fight I could avoid just because he was gross to look at. I made my decision. I would make it so that I didn''t ever have to see him like this again! 259 Chapter 258: Angel Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED "Blink 2." I got right up next to Angel and stabbed at him with my spear."Enhanced Tentacle Shield." His tentacles intertwined with each other, forming a shield to stop my spear. "Argh!" he cried out when my spear slammed into his wall of tentacles. My STR was well over 200,000. My spear had ripped through his tentacle shield like a hot knife through butter and pierced his body, flashing yellow at the tip.I pulled my spear back out and stabbed again."Wrap my enemy! Sticky Tentacles!" Angel''s tentacles wrapped themselves around my spear. "I have never experienced that much damage before. How did you do it?""You can ask the Devil himself when I send you to him!" I ignored Angel''s horrified expression as I kicked him in the chest with my right foot and used the momentum to pull my spear away. The tentacles practically screamed as they ripped from the pressure, but it only prompted me to pull even harder. Finally, the tentacles gave way as they ripped into pieces, leaving blobs of weird, fleshy parts on my spear. Just looking at them gave me the creeps. I quickly brushed them off and stabbed Angel twice, both attacks flashing yellow.==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==It was the same message as when I first killed Angel, so it wasn''t over yet. The blobs of tentacle flesh that remained on my spear vanished into smoke. I twirled my spear to fan away the smoke and waited until Angel appeared again."Argh! I''ll kill you!""Right back at you!"This time, Angel''s eyes and skin glowed red, but I didn''t have time to think about the change as Angel charged at me like a wild boar with a staff made of tentacle flesh in his right hand. I charged in the same way as before, as I was clearly overpowering him."Huh?" When we slammed into each other, I actually felt a repulsive force as my spear met his staff. It was as if his tentacles were tougher than before.Angel cackled at my surprised expression. "I become stronger every time I die. I''ll be the one to send you to Hell!""Is that right? Let''s see how much stronger you can get." I pulled away and slammed my spear into his tentacle staff repeatedly. After a couple of hits, the staff broke into pieces and I took that moment to stab him in the chest again.---"He said to attack when he dies a third time, didn''t he?""Yes, sir.""Huh¡­but he''s already died twice to one person¡­" one of Claudia''s deities said as she watched the battle in the distance."It looks like he''s about to die again. The army will have to attack soon at this rate," a deity of Adora''s faction added."What''s the highest number of times Angel has died in one battle?""I don''t know.""I do," a deva said after quietly listening."How many times was it?""It was exactly eight times, ma''am. And it was to Master Adora.""Oh! Back then?""Oh, that''s right. Adora did manage to kill him eight times. I remember he had a hard time back then.""No, that''s not what happened. He stopped mid-fight and walked away.""Ahem¡­"The deity fell into an awkward silence for a moment until the deity of Claudia''s faction spoke up as if nothing happened. "Well, either way, from what I remember, Adora could not kill Angel with one attack.""..." Silence enveloped the officers again. That meant that Angel''s current opponent was stronger than Adora."But¡­but Adora has a powerful ability that makes him the most resilient being ever. Adora will never fall so easily.""I know that. Master Adora can''t be defeated so easily, but I can say with confidence that Angel''s opponent is powerful. He''s probably as powerful as Mistress Claudia or Master Adora.""Then what do we do? Angel''s about to die his third death.""We have to attack for now. Angel''s still the strongest out of all of us right now, and he''s only going to get stronger the more he dies.""Sounds good. Everyone, get ready to move! Once Commander Angel falls, we charge at the enemy! Whatever you do, don''t interfere with Commander Angel''s fight if you value your lives!""Yes, sir!"The one million-strong Crootian army prepared to attack. It wouldn''t be long until Angel died again. Their original plan was to have Angel dig deep through the enemy''s ranks and deal enough damage before letting himself get killed, and cause chaos when he came back to life. That plan went up in smoke when Angel''s opponent was stronger than they had expected, but that didn''t mean they could turn back now.The Crootian army waited with bated breath and when Angel finally fell for a third time, the twenty-one deity officers turned to the army, shouting as one."Attack!""Kill the enemy!"------"He did die, right? My eyes aren''t playing tricks on me?""Yeah, he died alright. Commander Lee definitely killed him.""But he''s come back to life twice already.""Yup.""Well, that''s a pain in the ass."Lee Jiwon was definitely in the lead. He was still killing the enemy commander with one attack, even after the enemy commander was somehow coming back to life. On the other hand, the enemy commander couldn''t properly attack Lee Jiwon, even with all those tentacles protruding from his body. The Empire''s army cheered at first, but now the soldiers were getting nervous. The enemy commander was still coming back to life. How many more times could he resurrect himself?"Get it together! Our commander is still in the lead! It''s not over yet, so don''t bring yourselves down!" Madun shouted to the army. The Empire''s soldiers quickly steeled themselves right when the enemy commander fell for a third time, and the enemy army began to move."The enemy is attacking!""We bury those bastards here today!""This is our territory! Victory will be ours once more!""Raah!""Attack!"------After his third death, Angel''s hair turned red as well. He also became much stronger than before. "Grah! You damned slave! I''ll kill you over and over again! Multi-Iron Tentacles!" He also no longer had the same calm, confident tone."Slave this, slave that. Is that all you can come up with?" There were many deities back on Earth who liked calling devas like me slaves and whatnot. They didn''t exist anymore.Stiff, sharp spikes of tentacle flesh flew straight for my chest. I tilted my body to the side and reached out with my left hand to grab a spike that flew past me. I held it under my arm and squeezed, trying to crush it, only to have it squirm under my hold. It did not feel nice."Gahahaha! Transform! Suctioning Tentacle!" The black tentacle turned red, but I ignored it. It could try to absorb as much HP from me as it wanted, but it couldn''t so much as make a dent. I just squeezed harder instead and charged at Angel, my right hand aiming my spear at his head."Razor Sharp Tentacle!" Angel sent a volley of tentacle spikes my way.I didn''t bother to avoid them. "An attack that feeble won''t stop me, fool!" I let the spikes strike my body and I stabbed Angel in return."Gah!"From all the spikes that pierced my body, it looked like I should have been dealt heavy damage but they only managed to scratch the surface of my skin. My spear, on the hand, was sticking out of Angel''s back."Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Heap of Exploding Tentacles!" The tentacle I was holding under my left arm blew up. It dealt the most damage so far, but it barely made a dent in my HP."Is that all you''ve got?" I taunted as I stabbed him again and again. After the second hit, Angel died again.==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==That was his fourth death, but it wasn''t his final one. I didn''t care, however. I was prepared to kill him as many times it would take. I took that moment to look around me. My army and Angel''s army were pummeling each other with skills and spells. It was absolute chaos, but I didn''t move from my spot. Angel reappeared once more."Ahhh! You insolent bastard!"I realized by now that while he did grow stronger every time he died, he also grew ruder. Frankly, I didn''t mind. The angrier he got, the more prone he was to making a mistake. It was fine as long as he focused on me."May my tentacles become the maw of the demon that will consume my enemy''s heart!" The tentacles that were protruding from his body soon ripped to pieces and were replaced by sharp fangs that moved like actual teeth."Wow¡­ you''re full of tricks, aren''t you?" He just kept getting uglier and uglier. I could only sigh at his abominable state. I had faced off against many deities with a variety of special abilities. In fact, I had thought that the Predator Duke was the most hideous out of all of them, but Angel really took the cake. I really wanted to do away with him now, I was getting sick of looking at him. I charged at him again."Tear him apart!" Angel shouted and fired a volley of bone spikes at me.I avoided and deflected what I could and let the ones that I couldn''t dodge hit me. I just needed to attack."Get away! Get away from me, you crazy bastard! Exploding Tentacles!""Why would I do that?" I ignored the exploding bits of tentacles that broke my skin in places and stabbed Angel repeatedly."Fuck! What''s with your damage and all of those critical hits!?""Are you angry? Do you think it''s unfair? Then maybe you should have been born a deva instead." All that talk about being chosen ones¡­ Now maybe he knew what it was like being a deva."Shut up! Fuck you, you shitty deva!""That same shitty deva is kicking your ass, so you shut up." Angel definitely was getting stronger every time he died and came back. Those weird mouths of his were starting to make me bleed as they gnawed at my skin every time I got close. I was losing HP, but it just wasn''t enough to hurt me. "You''re still not strong enough to hurt me. Why don''t I kill you about twenty times to make this fight more interesting?" I taunted as I stabbed him repeatedly.------Angel was growing ever more frustrated. A damn lowly deva had already killed him four times. Now that he was close to dying his fifth death, Angel realized the difference in strength between him and the deva. Angel checked his exclusive ability again, that one that gave him the alias, the Immortal.==[Death After Death (1/1), (Active)Angel''s exclusive skillActivating this skill allows the user to come back to life after death, stronger than before, for 24 hours.Each resurrection will increase the user''s power by 10%-50%. (This effect stacks.)The user has a limit of 13 deaths. The user will die a permanent death after the 13th death.When the skill deactivates after 24 hours, all accumulated power will disappear and the user will return to his previous state.Cooldown: 30 days.]==Angel still had more chances to become stronger, but he still grew angrier by the minute. His opponent was a deva, but was possibly as strong as or stronger than Adora and Claudia! Angel hated being pushed around by a damn deva!"Fuck! Fuck! Gaah! Die! Just die already!" Angel attacked his opponent again and again, but couldn''t slow him down at all.________________Editor''s Note: 1.3^12 average results is 23x Stats after 12 deaths. Suddenly, Jiwon doesn''t look so OP. 260 Chapter 261: Troublemaker Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe soldiers of Skyla''s faction that were chosen to be left behind did not have a shred of hope that they would survive this battle. All they felt was hatred and contempt towards Angel for losing this battle, and for the other soldiers of Claudia''s and Adora''s factions. They especially hated their own deity officers for deciding their fate."Stop them!""If we''re going to die here, then we take as many of them with us!""Fuck! Why do we have to die here?""Fuck this! I''m out of here!""Same here!"Many of them tried to escape. They had lived their lives as devas as slaves; there was no way they were going to willing die for their deity masters. Unfortunately for them, their rebellion was already expected."Rise. Devil''s Roots!" Black, thick roots burst through the ground around the Crootian soldiers, sealing their escape route and holding down those that tried to escape."Just one hour! Just hold them off for one hour!"That''s right. We can retreat after one hour. There are still three hundred thousand of us remaining. We can hold the enemy off for one hour." The Skyla''s deity officers had come down to join their deva soldiers."If you still try to run away then¡­I''ll kill you myself." Proshem, the higher ranking officer, had come down to stand at the rear, with five thousand other deva soldiers. They were ready to attack at once at Proshem''s orders. They were devas as well ,but not all were slaves. They were the devas most loyal to Skyla and her deities, whose role was to keep the lower devas in check."Fuck!""Bastards!"The lesser soldiers swore before turning back to the fight without another word. They knew that it was no idle threat."Think of your families back home and fight for one more hour! Attack!" Proshem shouted to the soldiers, stirring them into battle once more. Unfortunately, it would be all for naught.---"Gah!""No!"I swung my spear without rest, cutting down enemy soldiers left and right. ==[You have obtained 90,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 70,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 160,000 golden rings.]==Each time I earned more golden rings, it gave me the energy to keep going. Not only that, the enemy had seen how strong I was."Run!""He''s coming this way!""Shit! Why here of all places?"They panicked and scrambled to get away whenever they saw me. As they pushed and shoved each other to get out of my range, they ended up grouping up together to become easy prey for my soldiers. The enemy stood no chance against the Empire.---Five hours later¡­"We can''t pursue the enemy any longer.""How many have escaped?""At first, about 320,000 split off and retreated, leaving about 350,000 behind.""Right." I knew that much. 350k enemy soldiers were left behind to hold my army off, but they hadn''t fought to the end. About an hour after the first half of the enemy soldiers had retreated, the remaining two hundred thousand soldiers that had managed to survive turned tail and fled the battlefield at a breakneck pace. Any of them who lagged behind were cut down without mercy. We had chased the fleeing soldiers for the past four hours. Killing as many of the enemy''s elite soldiers was beneficial for us in the long run."We''ve killed about 150k fleeing soldiers, so about fifty thousand more managed to escape.""So that''s 370k soldiers in all.""Yes, sir."The enemy had brought a million soldiers, and left with just a little over a third that."What about our casualties?""We still need an exact headcount, but I would assume about one hundred thousand dead.""Is that right¡­?" Five hundred thousand of our soldiers had fought against a million enemy soldiers. We were heavily outnumbered, but they lost more than six hundred thousand, while we only lost a little more than a hundred thousand. This battle was easily our win.I looked around me and scanned the Empire''s soldiers and the mercenary devas from the other guilds. I could see the euphoria clearly in their faces, but I knew that they still saw the faces of their fallen comrades. They were too busy being depressed to properly celebrate this victory for the time being.I turned to the officer standing next to me. "Let''s throw a party for the soldiers that fought here today. Let''s make it a big one that''ll throw all of their sorrows out the window, at least for a few days.""Yes sir. We''ll get right on it once we get back.""Let''s go home.""Yes sir." The officers turned around to bring the soldiers back to base. Not me, though."I''ll leave it to you guys. I''m going to go get us the money to throw the party.""Sir? What do you mean?""I still need some more exercise and if we''re going to throw a big enough party, we definitely need more golden rings to do it," I said as I turned away from the officers and without waiting for answer, I Blinked away.There were fifty thousand enemy soldiers left. They may have lost all will to fight and would be exhausted, and it was still a lot for me to fight at once. Still, I was confident and there was no way I was going to pass up this big of an opportunity.I sprinted forward while following the enemy''s tracks, using both Blinks each time they were off cooldown. It didn''t take me long to see them in my sights. They were taking a break, seemingly relieved that they had lost their pursuers."Oh, shit!""It''s¡­it''s the enemy!""Fuck! It''s the guy who killed Angel! Run!""Fissure!""Gah!""No! Please!"---Section 115 of the Judge''s Continent¡­A heavy silence had washed over Claudia''s controlled territory. The news of Angel and the invading army had just arrived."Only a third of the army survived? And we lost Angel, too?""Um¡­another fifty thousand managed to¡­""That''s not important right now!" Claudia snapped. Soon, the room fell silent once more, not because Claudia was angered, but because they couldn''t believe what had happened. Angel had died. Not even Adora could have managed such a feat.Claudia sighed. "Where are the retreating soldiers now?""From the check-in we received a few minutes ago, all 320 thousand soldiers have escaped Section 4, while the enemy is still pursuing the remaining fifty thousand soldiers. They''re moving as fast as they can."Claudia sighed again. "Very well. We''ll hold another meeting when they all return. We need to find out as much as we can from them before we can figure out our next step.""Yes, ma''am."And with that, the High Council meeting was adjourned, but none of them knew what was happening to the soldiers who were still in enemy territory.---I panted as I watched the remaining enemy devas move away from me with shaking steps. I thought I could have completely slaughtered all of them while they scrambled to run away from me, but some of them weren''t willing to die that easily."It¡­doesn''t matter if he''s strong! He''s still one man! Get it together! If we work together, we can beat him!" one of them cried out as I cut down more and more enemy soldiers. That voice seemed to stir the hopeless soldiers once more. They all wanted to live. The ones who were still standing grouped up and moved together to surround me. They managed to close in on me even as I cut them down left and right. It was to the point that I couldn''t avoid all of their attacks.If there were only five thousand of them, I probably wouldn''t have taken a single point of damage and killed them all pretty quickly, not to mention the fact that I was alone. Still, there was no way I was going to let any of them go and grit my teeth through their attacks and continued to cut them down.I fought against them for three more hours. Even if I couldn''t kill all of them, I had to kill as many as I could. Finally, I stopped. My HP were getting too low for comfort. I couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed as I watched the surviving enemy soldiers sprint away from me. Once the last soldier disappeared from view, I turned around and headed back to base. I had at least earned enough golden rings and gained more than enough levels.---Section 3¡­When I returned to Section 3, I noticed that the solemn atmosphere I expected wasn''t there. It was the complete opposite, in fact."That''s a lot of people.""Hahaha. They all saw how we defeated the enemy army and caused them to turn tail." That was true. Many people from all over Earth''s Sections had come to Section 3 to watch the battle, while constantly ready to flee if they had to. I didn''t like that part about them, to be honest, but I didn''t say anything. Even if they were weak and couldn''t fight alongside us, at least they wouldn''t end up becoming prey to the enemy."Huh¡­ Well, take this. It''s to help with the costs of the feast." The feast was going to be huge. There were already about four hundred thousand peoplehere at Section 3 and more from the guilds that sent mercenaries were on their way."Oh, don''t worry about it.""Please, take it. I''ve earned a lot today as well." I really did. I did almost bankrupt myself getting my base STR to 50k before the battle started, but I had earned 3.7 billion golden rings in all today."No, really. It''s fine. We received donations from many others.""Really?""Yes sir. The Empire is doing so well that just about all of Earth''s guilds want a foot in our door.""Huh¡­""So don''t worry about the party and go and get some rest. It''s going to get loud and busy tomorrow.""Alright. I''ll leave it to you, then." I said my farewells to the few officers staying at Section 3 and returned to my home at Section 35. I needed to let my family know that I was alright.---Section 115¡­Claudia sighed as she stared at the soldiers who had just arrived. It was bad enough that a third of her army had to run away from battle, but when she found out that only a little more than half of the soldiers of the second wave had survived, Claudia wanted to pull her hair out. She shook her head before turning to the officers who had collected the videos of the battle. She didn''t have time to just sit around; she had to figure out how to prevent this from happening again and how to best get her revenge.As she watched the video, she finally saw the man responsible for this mess."They called him Lee Jiwon. He is also a deva.""..." A grim silence enveloped the conference room. The fact that he was a deva didn''t sit well with anyone."It''s clear that Angel played right into Lee Jiwon''s hands. Lee Jiwon seemed to have figured out that not only did Angel grow stronger after every death, he also lost his grip on his sanity."The bigger problem here is that Lee Jiwon is powerful. According to the videos of the second wave of survivors, they had him completely surrounded and fought back, but¡­" The officer trailed off. He couldn''t bring himself to finish his sentence."So¡­ we were the little fish in the pond¡­" Claudia half mumbled. No one could deny it, not with the video on screen paused on Lee Jiwon. "We lost over 700 thousand elite soldiers. That''s the same as losing hundreds of millions of our people. After all, we are not on the Judge''s Continent to grow stronger; we are here to find out which world best utilized its Otadolon stage."The rules of the Judge''s Continent forced the two worlds to fight. In other words, the world that had become the strongest during the Otadolon stage would be the victor."We were too complacent. Bring the Troublemaker to me. He''s our last hope." 261 Chapter 262: Troublemaker Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 3¡­The party here was in full swing now and was noisy, to say the least."Did you see it? Lee Jiwon practically threw the enemy commander all over the battlefield.""Of course I did. That was some show.""Yeah, it was. The enemy soldiers were so shocked that they started panicking.""Can you blame them? Their own commander lost it in the middle of a battle and started killing them. There''s no coming back from that.""That''s not all. You saw what they were doing after Lee Jiwon killed the enemy commander and turned his attention to them. Pft.""Hah! They were so scared that they practically tripped over each other to get away from Lee Jiwon. I almost felt bad for them.""You know what I thought was cool?""What?""It got to the point where our army couldn''t chase after them any longer. But Lee Jiwon said that he didn''t get enough exercise yet, and still went after them. Damn. I still can''t believe he did that.""Yeah¡­ he was still good to go even after spending so much time fighting the enemy commander. Man¡­""I''m really glad Lee Jiwon is a Terran like us. If he was our enemy instead¡­""...""Don''t joke around like that. I actually got goosebumps from that."All everyone talked about was Lee Jiwon. He was now not only the leader of the Empire, but also the man everyone thought could save Earth from the Judge''s Continent. Countless people from other guilds followed Lee Jiwon around during the entire party, trying to acquaint themselves with the hero. This, of course, didn''t sit well with everyone.---During the party of Section 3, I and the top-ranking officers of the Empire who fought by my side during the battle were gathered in one place. Some guild masters who had sent mercenaries to join us were there as well. As we sat, reveling in our glory, I noticed Zulova walking around aimlessly."Hey, over here," I called out to him with a smile and a wave.Zulova frowned when he saw me, but that didn''t faze me. I only waved harder at him. He really did help me during the battle and I was going to make him help me out more in the future. Zulova stalked over and plopped down on the chair next to me. No one stopped him, as they had all seen him fight against the enemy with me."Are you going to explain to me what happened?""What do you mean?" I knew what he was referring to, but I feigned ignorance for now."How did you bring me over here?""Oh, you meant that. I thought you came here by yourself to help me out. Is that not what happened?"A vein pulsed on Zulova''s forehead at my sarcastic reply."Ah, don''t mind it. I want to talk to you about something else. Have you ever thought about becoming a Diamond Class?"Zulova looked at me in confusion.I leaned over to whisper to him. "Are you still in contact with the other Monarchs? Or do you know anyone else who is almost as strong as you?""What the hell are you talking about?""Ha¡­ okay, I guess you don''t know yet. Zulova, you''re a Silver Class. That means you have to repay me for introducing you to a decent hunting grounds. The rate is usually 50% of what you made, but if you bring in more clients, I''ll bump you all the way up to Diamond Class. You know, like a MLM.""..."I explained to Zulova what awaited him at the highest level of my little pyramid scheme if he did what I asked. "I''m only telling you this so don''t squander this chance." I still had Zulova registered on Call and there was no way I was letting him go."I did say that Silver Classes have to fork over 50% of their earnings, but I''ll just take a hundred million golden rings from you.""What?""You got to earn all of those golden rings thanks to me. You have to at least toss something my way.""..." Zulova stared at me with a horrified expression as he slowly handed over the golden rings. I told him to quickly get up to Diamond Class if he didn''t want to have to pay me each time, and then I returned to the party.---Section 115¡­Every single Crootian on the Judge''s Continent were sullen. They had all found out that the recent expedition to enemy territory had failed spectacularly. The Crootian High Council did its best to keep the news of the failure a secret, but it couldn''t do anything about the leaderboard that was constantly looming over them in the sky. The atmosphere during the current High Council meeting was no different. Finally, Coby broke the silence. "It''s here, ma''am.""Bring it in," Claudia replied.Soon, the door to the conference room opened and ten devas entered, carefully carrying a statue. The devas left the statue at one end of the conference table before leaving. The statue looked so realistic that it could have easily been mistaken as a real person."He still looks exactly the same," one deity said."That''s because I have stolen his time," Claudia replied. Claudia, known also as the Master of Time, was the strongest Crootian deity. She was so powerful that all other deities could never openly contest her authority. It was all thanks to her exclusive ability, which gave her the power to freely control time itself. She couldn''t travel forwards or backwards in time, but she could steal away someone else''s time and add it to her own. She used this power to become stronger at a faster pace than anyone else. To Claudia, time itself was like EXP. But, like all other deities, she had a limit to this power.Claudia pointed a finger at the statue. "I return your time to you, Dunia."Dunia was called many things. Troublemaker, traitor, and cheater were a few of his most well-known nicknames. Soon, the still statue began to stir little by little until its eyes opened, its pupils alternating in red and black colors."If you dare to show those red eyes again, I will take back your time," Claudia said sternly.The statue laughed, its pupils a solid black color now. "Your most humble deva servant thanks Mistress Claudia for her mercy and swears to obey her forever. Oh, what''s this? Why are there so many empty seats here?""You don''t miss anything, do you?"Dunia cackled. He was surrounded by deities, but he didn''t feel intimidated. He promptly made himself at home once he regained control of his body. And strangely enough, the deities who always seemed so keen on oppressing devas didn''t say anything to Dunia. Just about everyone in this room had fallen victim to Dunia''s schemes at least once, including Adora and Skyla."We are no longer on Croot. The Otadolon stage came to an end some time ago.""Is this the Judge''s Continent?""¡­How did you know?" Claudia and the other deities were shocked. Claudia had taken away all of Dunia''s time five years ago."Some idiot couldn''t control his inner thoughts while he was near me." It was an outright lie. The deities knew that Dunia didn''t have the ability to read people''s thoughts, but somehow, he knew things before others, especially well-hidden secrets."Well, it''s fine either way. This is the Judge''s Continent. Money is power here. We don''t need to spend every waking minute trying to level up for Stat points anymore. We can buy them with golden rings. We can also spend golden rings to gamble and try to rank up our items to Rank 10. We can even buy skill points. We don''t even need to worry about leveling anymore. We have 1.3 billion enemies that yield more EXP and golden rings than the strongest monster.""Is this heaven?""Well, I''m not sure if this is heaven or hell. If anything, I want you to make this place our heaven, for all of us.""For all of us, you say¡­Bwahahaha! You expect too much from me.""Is that right? Well, I just want you to do the same as before. Do the same thing you did to us five years ago.""Ah, those were the days. I always regret it to this day. If I wasn''t so ambitious, I wouldn''t have to see your ugly mugs ever again.""Well, it''s a lesson we all learn in the end. Greed gets us nowhere.""Which is why I don''t want to make the same mistake again.""That''s good thinking.""Shall we get to the point? What is it exactly that you want from me?""Yes, let''s talk."---Section 35¡­"Let''s go see what the high-grade dungeons here are like." I had spent the past five days trying to figure out how to spend my time. I had even thought about crossing over to enemy territory on my own. I was confident that I would be fine, but Critical Weakness still had three days left on its cooldown and Fated Crossroads had six days left. I still needed to use Death''s Harrier as much as I could before its effectiveness completely dropped.So, I decided to see what the high-grade dungeons on the Continent were like. I had heard that they yielded dismal amounts of golden rings and EXP compared to their difficulty.I headed for the Ogre Dungeon that was located at the westernmost point of Section 35."There really isn''t anyone around here." On my way here, I passed by many people. But once I arrived at the dungeon, there was nobody in sight. It was an unfamiliar sight compared to the high-grade dungeons back on Earth. Just about all dungeons on Earth were controlled by someone, and were always surrounded by people wanting to hunt inside them. But the Continent''s dungeons were completely empty, meaning that they were that useless to the people here."Well, it doesn''t really matter to me. It''s better than just wasting time doing nothing." Five days of partying was enough time off. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]=="I guess using Ripped Advance here would be overkill, wouldn''t it?" I practically played around in the high-grade dungeons back on Earth when I was a bit weaker than I was now. I probably didn''t need to use Ripped Advance right now and I could at least save it if I really needed it. I walked towards the entrance of the Ogre Dungeon, completely relaxed, and went inside.==[You have entered a high-grade dungeon.]=="Huh?" Messages like that usually didn''t appear just for entering a dungeon. The only time messages ever came up was when dungeons were discovered for the first time. I knew that for a fact, since I had discovered all of the dungeons in South Korea first.When I first came to the Judge''s Continent, many others were curious if we could receive bonuses for discovering dungeons on the Continent. I was curious too, as Anton had told me that there would be dungeons here. I was annoyed when I discovered that I had arrived to the Continent later than everyone else, because I may have lost out on the dungeon bonuses."But there weren''t any." I felt relieved when I found that out because I didn''t want others getting stronger before me. "So, what is this now?" I asked, as more messages appeared. 260 Chapter 259: Angel Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==That was the eighth time already!"Graaah! I''ll tear you to pieces! I''ll kill you if it''s the last thing I''ll do!" Angel roared as he attacked like a rabid beast. His entire body was completely red now, including his pupils, but I''d come too far to be intimidated by a parlor trick.I stared right back into the reds of his eyes. "I''d like to see you try! But I might kill you first!""Argh! Pierce the heart of my enemy, Multi-Tentacle Spear!"A volley of tentacle spikes flew my way and as I deflected them with my spear, I noticed that they carried a lot more force than before. Angel did say that he grew stronger every time he died, and he wasn''t lying. It''s just that there wasn''t a pattern to his growth rate. There were times where he was stronger only by a fraction and other times where his power jumped immensely.Angel cackled when he noticed my befuddled expression. "50%. I''m 50% stronger than I was before.""Is that right? Then I guess I do have to kill you another twenty times for this fight to get a bit more interesting.""Keep running your mouth like that, and see what happens!""Huh? Do you still think you have the advantage? You''re the one who died eight times already, and are about die again," I said before charging in again."Rise! Reinforced Tentacle Bundle!" Numerous sharp tentacles shot my way at high speed."Blink 2.""Fuck!"==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEf are lowered by 80%.]==A bolt of red lightning struck Angel and for a moment, slowed him down. I took that moment to stab him twice in the chest."Fuck! Hardened Tentacle Armor!" In a split second, thick tentacles wrapped themselves around Angel, forming a makeshift suit of armor. It felt like Angel just didn''t get how strong I was, no matter how many times he died to my attacks. I showed him plenty of times already that no form of shield, wall, or armor could ever hold up against my attacks. It didn''t matter how strong or thick he made them; they were all like paper to me.I slashed at his armor twice to make a hole and stabbed him through the chest. Angel couldn''t see it, but my spear had pierced deep into his body and out through his back."Gah!" Angel spat and coughed out blood. "Fuck! Fuck! This isn''t fair! You''ve got to be cheating!""Cheating? Are you dumb?" I sneered as I raised my spear with Angel still impaled on it like a kabob. I raised him up as high as I could before slamming him to the ground with all my might. Angel was flung away like a ragdoll from the force of the blow and rolled across the ground several meters away. I leaped off the ground right away and landed right on top of his body and stabbed him multiple times. After the fourth stab, the message appeared.==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==That was his ninth death, but it still wasn''t the end to him."Hah¡­ let''s not get hasty. As long as I have him focused on me, it''s fine. It''d be better if he actually dies, though." I couldn''t help but occasionally turn my attention to the battle going on around me. My army was fighting an army twice its size, and against elite soldiers at that.Thankfully, my soldiers were pushing ahead and with high morale. The fact that I was beating Angel in one-on-one fight gave my men hope, despite his ability to come back to life each time I killed him. It was getting frustrating, however, that Angel was still growing stronger and that I couldn''t see an end to his resurrections.-Shit!- I couldn''t help but frown and swear to myself. I couldn''t even use Altered Equality or any of my combat buffs, because I had no idea when this fight was going to end.---Soon, Angel revealed himself once again. I quickly wiped away my frown and put on a relaxed expression. "I thought I was going to fall asleep waiting. Did you die so many times that you can''t resurrect in a timely manner anymore?""Son of a bitch, I''ll cut out that insolent tongue of yours!"---"That''s his ninth one, right?""Yes sir.""Damn it! Things aren''t going well, are they?""Fuck. One person is giving us all this trouble¡­" The deities and devas of the invading Crootian army were starting to panic. Angel, their commander, was chosen by Claudia herself to lead this army. He was that strong, among all of the deities of the High Council. It just didn''t make sense that someone like Angel was getting pushed around by a mere deva like that. They had expected Angel to die a few times to fool the enemy and then suddenly grow stronger to throw the enemy into a reversal, but this was already far beyond what they had planned. Angel was dying and resurrecting over and over again, which seemed to only serve to boost the enemy''s morale. Their plan was in shambles, all because of one person."This is the most times Angel''s died now. We''re approaching unfamiliar waters. There''s a chance he might actually die for good next time!""Quiet! Stop overreacting. Nothing''s decided yet. Angel has never revealed his limit of deaths to anyone. He might have more chances than we think.""Shit. This isn''t right!""Instead of wasting your time panicking, tend to your soldiers. This battle isn''t over yet.""Yes sir!"---"Extend and shackle my enemy!" At Angel''s order, multiple tentacles shot out at me as if they had a mind of their own and moved to wrap around me. In order to see how much stronger he became this time, I slowly retreated and swatted away at the tentacles. Angel, on the other hand, matched my pace and charged in at me."Die! Die! Die!"Not only did Angel grow stronger each time he died, he also grew angrier and angrier. I changed directions and headed for the Crootian army, curious to see how he would react. If my assumption was correct, he might just end up screwing himself over."Stop running away from me!" he roared. Good. He was completely focused on me."What...what the-?""Why are they headed this way?""Shit!"I sped up and made sure to stick as close to the Crootian soldiers as possible, causing them to panic. Many of them quickly reacted and attacked to push me away, but their skills and spells just bounced off my skin. I ignored their attacks and moved deeper into the ranks of the Crootian army, cutting down anyone foolish enough to get in my way.==[You have obtained 50,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 90,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 130,000 golden rings.]==It didn''t matter if they were tanks; they all fell from just one attack. And I wasn''t their only problem. Angel''s tentacles, which could only scratch the surface of my skin, were finally piercing through bodies; bodies of his comrades, not mine!"Gah!""Oh, shit!""Run¡­run away!""Get back here! You won''t get away from me!"I chuckled. He was blinded by his desire for revenge. "Oh no! You''re so strong now. No, get away from me," I said in a monotone voice. I wasn''t sure if my shoddy acting would work, but it was enough for Angel."Gahahah! You''re going to run now? I won''t let you! Crush him! Tentacle Prison!"Numerous tentacles came down upon me in a wide array ,but I wasn''t the only one affected."Fuck! Run away!""Why the fuck are they fighting over here!?"I had already gotten out of range of Angel''s attacks, and he only managed to kill dozens of his own soldiers. The fool. I kept running, cutting down more enemy soldiers as I ran past and moved even deeper into the enemy''s ranks. It did seem a waste to have Angel kill all those soldiers when I could have had their EXP and golden rings instead, but I continued on. If it meant one less enemy for my soldiers, it was worth it.---"Fuck! Now what''s going on?""Why do they have to fight there, of all places?"Things were turning for the worse for Croot. After dying nine times in a row, Angel had lost a good chunk of his sanity and all he could think about now was revenge. He no longer saw anything around him except for his target. He didn''t care if his own soldiers were getting caught in the crossfire.The Crootian deity officers did not know what to do. If they tried to intervene, they risked being killed by either the enemy deva or by Angel. They could only watch as the two laid waste to the Crootian army, and the Crootian soldiers quickly lost the will to fight.---"Fissure!" I threw all of my combat skills at Angel whenever they were off cooldown. I even Summoned my Sand Warriors, even though they probably couldn''t do much. Then, I had an idea."Huh? Where am I?""Hi there. Sorry but you don''t have time to just stand around dumbly. Hurry up and attack." I used Call and summoned Zulova the Slayer here. I quickly pushed him towards the enemy and went back to attacking the enemy soldiers and Angel."What the crap? What''s going on?" I heard Zulova from behind. It made me laugh for some reason."What do you think is going on? I brought you over here so you can level up some and earn some golden rings. You don''t have to thank me now. You can always pay me back later.""What?" Zulova asked as I ran past him and attacked Angel.Angel didn''t back down and attacked me as hard as he could, but I was still stronger than him."Fuck!""It looks like you''re not strong enough. Come back when you are." I stabbed him straight through the head, killing him for the tenth time. My Comm Link rang right at that moment, as if someone was waiting for Angel to die. I picked up right away."Who¡­""It''s thirteen!" Alpha shouted before I could finish. I knew right away what he meant. That was Angel''s limit. I had no idea how Alpha found this out, but I didn''t ask. The Gnosis Guild was reliable enough."Thank you," I said before hanging up. Now that I knew what the end was, it was time. "Warrior''s Brave Spirit." I saved Howl of the Wolf for now. I felt confident enough that I could kill Angel three more times with just Warrior''s Brave Spirit. If I couldn''t, then I could use Howl of the Wolf to fall back on. I turned back to Angel, who had just resurrected, with a real grin on my face. 261 Chapter 260: Angel Part IV Translator: HunterW Editor: RED ==[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated. For two hours, raise your ATT by 25%, CRIT chance by 2%, CRIT damage by 100%, movement speed by 10%, and ATT speed by 5%. For two hours, Indomitable Spirit is in effect. (Indomitable Spirit: decrease all damage by 12%, increase DEF and MDEF by 10%.) Fatigue does not rise while this skill is in effect.]== I had a little more than two hours thanks to the item that increased skill effect. A 25% boost in my ATT should be enough to kill Angel for the eleventh time. I did want to play around with him for a little bit, though. "Son of a bitch! Scattered Tentacles." Another volley of tentacles flew my way, but they only served to hurt the Crootian army, not me. "Gah!" "Get out of the way!" "Snap out of it, Angel!" Angel''s tentacles struck more of the Crootian soldiers than struck me. The Crootian soldiers were having a hard enough time trying to kill my soldiers, and now that their own commander was killing them, they were quickly losing the will to fight. It was exactly what I wanted to happen. "Die! Die, you son of a bitch!" "No, I don''t want to. Why don''t you die? You''re the one comfortable with dying. You did it ten times already," I taunted as I attacked him. I still did need to get rid of him in the end. As I fought him, I couldn''t help but smile. He still wasn''t that much stronger from the beginning. --- The Empire''s soldiers were pummeling the Crootian soldiers with a relentless assault of skills and spells. They had been fighting without rest since the battle began and they were showing no signs of exhaustion. In fact, they were still in high spirits since the enemy soldiers were in disarray, all thanks to Lee Jiwon. Lee Jiwon was fighting with the strength of a thousand, no, a hundred thousand men, which was cause for celebration time and time again. But then, something happened that managed to stun the entire army into silence. Zulova had suddenly appeared in the middle of battle. It was no doubt a good thing, but the Empire''s soldiers just didn''t know how to react. "Where did he come from?" "I have no idea. But do you think he''s here to help Commander Lee?" "I think so, from the way he''s attacking the enemy now." "Damn! When did Commander Lee manage to get someone like the Slayer as a comrade? It must have been tough to convince him to fight in a battle as risky as this." "Leave it to Commander Lee. He''s always got something up his sleeve." "That''s true. Come on! We''re getting left behind!" --- "Gah!" ==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]== It took about twenty minutes to kill Angel for the eleventh time. I could have killed him ten minutes ago, but I kept him alive as long as possible on purpose. He was so blinded by anger and revenge that had already killed a good chunk of his own army. At this point, the rest of the Crootian soldiers looked like they were about to cry and run away. As I waited for Angel to come back to life, I heard someone call out to me from behind. "Lee Jiwon!" It was Zulova the Slayer. I turned my head slightly to look at him. He was swinging his Bobocica at the enemy soldiers as he made his way towards me. I smiled when he got close enough. "As I''m sure you know, sharing a decent hunting grounds is usually a sign of good faith. I just want you to know that''s how much I think of you, so if you decide to wash your hands clean of this later on, I won''t let it slide." "What the hell are you talking about?" "Whatever. Just be careful. I''m going to bring the rabid dog over to you now." "What?" Zulova asked incredulously, but I ignored him. Angel was back, redder than ever. "Graaah! Die!" he roared as he charged at me with thick tentacles protruding from his hands. I blocked his attacks with my spear and could tell right away that he was much stronger than he was before, but it still wasn''t enough to overpower me. "Oh, no! You''re so strong! I can''t fight you on my own!" I acted weak again because I knew I could get rid of him anytime I wanted to. It will take a little longer than before but that didn''t matter. I still had Altered Equality, Howl of the Wolf, and Judge''s Gavel that had just became ready to use. I decided to use him a bit more and clear up more of the enemy soldiers. "Grahh! I''ll kill you! You rat bastard!" "No, please! I can''t fight you anymore. You''re too strong." As I ran from Angel, a volley of tentacles flew right at me. But instead of hitting me, they hit more of the Crootian soldiers around us. I could feel their despair clearly now. --- "It''s impossible to command the soldiers properly now." "We''ve completely lost control." "I know. It was over once Angel played into that bastard''s hands." The deity officers of Croot watched helplessly as their soldiers were being decimated by a single person who seemed so laid back in the middle of a battle. "He''s just playing with Angel." "He''s already killed Angel eleven times now¡­ and he still doesn''t look that much worse for wear." "Doesn''t that mean he''s¡­ as strong as Claudia or Adora?" "..." They had to disagree. The enemy commander was a just a lowly deva, but they couldn''t just outright lie to themselves. "Sound¡­sound the retreat," said Faisal, the lieutenant deity of Claudia''s faction. "We can''t afford to fight any longer. We''ve lost too many soldiers already. We can''t lose the rest of them now." Croot still had more than two billion people on the Continent, but the majority of them were beginners. Many of them were under level 300, and had never fought in a large scale battle before. If they lost all of their elite soldiers here today, it would spell the end of Croot. The deity officers were no fools and realized this, but they just couldn''t believe that this was the reality. "The enemy won''t let us retreat that easily. They''ll think something''s up if we retreat this early." "I know. That''s why we need to throw them a bone to distract them." "It has to be big enough if we want them off our ass." "That''s why I''ve brought the two of you here," Faisal said to the other two lieutenant deities of Adora''s and Sklya''s factions. "We''re abandoning the soldiers closest to the frontlines and¡­" Faisal looked the other two deities in the eyes before continuing, "one of us will take their faction''s soldiers and fight on to the end." The other two deities looked at him in shock. "We can''t all die here." "Hah. Good. I like it." "I''m in." The other two lieutenant deities agreed. They each had a one in three chance and to them, that was enough. "If we don''t keep our word¡­" "Then only Death awaits us." --- ==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]== That was his twelfth death. He had one more resurrection left. "Howl of the Wolf." I saved Judge''s Gavel and Altered Equality for now. "Hmm¡­ he has two lives left¡­" I thought for a moment about how to deal with Angel from now on, and made my decision. I would use Angel as much as I could before I killed him again, and after he resurrected for the last time, I would use every single skill I could to kill him as quickly as possible. This battle had gone on long enough. "Gah!" "No!" I didn''t stop killing the enemy soldiers while I waited for Angel to resurrect. During that time, I noticed some strange movements from the enemy. Some soldiers were pushing their way to the frontlines while others slowly moved to the rear. They were getting ready to retreat. Honestly, I would have done the same. By now, it was clear that the Crootian army had lost, and they had to save as many of their soldiers as they could. -Did they decide who gets to live and who has to stay?- They were willing to sacrifice a portion of their army so that the rest could escape with their lives. Those that remained would have to hold us off until their comrades made their escape. -What should I do?- If I and my army were strong enough to easily destroy the enemy''s army, I could give the order to give chase, but that wasn''t the case. I didn''t know how many soldiers they were willing to leave behind, but even if they left behind two hundred thousand soldiers, they would be enough to keep us at bay. Just then, Angel finally resurrected. This time, I charged first. Now that I knew that the enemy was planning to escape, I had to kill as many of them as possible. "You¡­" "I know, I know. I''m a son of a bitch!" I shouted as I swung my spear. It was time now to kill him as quickly as possible. "Die! Exploding Tentacles!" "Ugh!" The tentacles right next to me exploded in my face and I couldn''t help, but grunt from the blow. "Tentacle Barrage!" Tentacles rained down upon my head and shoulders and pummeled me. The force was strong enough that my knees buckled. "Fine! Let''s find out who''s tougher!" It was hard to take another step forward from the rain of attacks, but I didn''t avoid them. I gathered all of my strength and attacked with a flurry of my own. "Gah!" Angel was pushed back several steps from the force of my attacks, making me still the clear winner of the contest of strength. His body was quickly covered in deep wounds from my spear. "You scumbag!" "Yeah, yeah, I know. That''s what all of my victims called me." "Tentacle Prison!" "Blink 2." --- Ten minutes later¡­ ==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]== I finally killed him for the thirteenth time. At that moment, I heard a loud cry. "Soldiers of Claudia, retreat!" "Soldiers of Adora, retreat!" In a split second, hundreds of thousands of soldiers rushed past me, away from the battlefield. As much as I wanted to kill them as they ran, I still had my prey to finish off. I turned away from them and waited for Angel. Once he came back, I activated the skills I had been saving. "Altered Equality." ==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent. Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed. Calculating all Stat points¡­]== ==[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed. The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else. Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]== "Judge''s Gavel." Once I was ready, I charged in first again. I stabbed Angel with my spear without hesitation. "Gah!" The attack wasn''t enough to kill him right away, but he was flung back like a ragdoll from the force of the blow. "Blink 1." I quickly caught up with Angel''s flying body and stabbed him. "Urgh!" Angel''s body was shaking. "It was not a pleasure to meet you and I hope I don''t ever have to see you again!" I stabbed him once more. ==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== I leveled up five times at once, and each level-up message was accompanied with three Bortega''s Blessing levels. ==[You have obtained 1,450,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]== I focused on the retreating enemy soldiers instead of the messages. There were at least three hundred thousand soldiers retreating and about the same left behind. I wondered for a moment if I should chase after them, but pushed it away. As important as it was to kill the enemy, the lives of my own soldiers took priority. I charged at the remaining enemy soldiers. 262 Chapter 261: Troublemaker Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe soldiers of Skyla''s faction that were chosen to be left behind did not have a shred of hope that they would survive this battle. All they felt was hatred and contempt towards Angel for losing this battle, and for the other soldiers of Claudia''s and Adora''s factions. They especially hated their own deity officers for deciding their fate."Stop them!""If we''re going to die here, then we take as many of them with us!""Fuck! Why do we have to die here?""Fuck this! I''m out of here!""Same here!"Many of them tried to escape. They had lived their lives as devas as slaves; there was no way they were going to willing die for their deity masters. Unfortunately for them, their rebellion was already expected."Rise. Devil''s Roots!" Black, thick roots burst through the ground around the Crootian soldiers, sealing their escape route and holding down those that tried to escape."Just one hour! Just hold them off for one hour!"That''s right. We can retreat after one hour. There are still three hundred thousand of us remaining. We can hold the enemy off for one hour." The Skyla''s deity officers had come down to join their deva soldiers."If you still try to run away then¡­I''ll kill you myself." Proshem, the higher ranking officer, had come down to stand at the rear, with five thousand other deva soldiers. They were ready to attack at once at Proshem''s orders. They were devas as well ,but not all were slaves. They were the devas most loyal to Skyla and her deities, whose role was to keep the lower devas in check."Fuck!""Bastards!"The lesser soldiers swore before turning back to the fight without another word. They knew that it was no idle threat."Think of your families back home and fight for one more hour! Attack!" Proshem shouted to the soldiers, stirring them into battle once more. Unfortunately, it would be all for naught.---"Gah!""No!"I swung my spear without rest, cutting down enemy soldiers left and right. ==[You have obtained 90,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 70,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 160,000 golden rings.]==Each time I earned more golden rings, it gave me the energy to keep going. Not only that, the enemy had seen how strong I was."Run!""He''s coming this way!""Shit! Why here of all places?"They panicked and scrambled to get away whenever they saw me. As they pushed and shoved each other to get out of my range, they ended up grouping up together to become easy prey for my soldiers. The enemy stood no chance against the Empire.---Five hours later¡­"We can''t pursue the enemy any longer.""How many have escaped?""At first, about 320,000 split off and retreated, leaving about 350,000 behind.""Right." I knew that much. 350k enemy soldiers were left behind to hold my army off, but they hadn''t fought to the end. About an hour after the first half of the enemy soldiers had retreated, the remaining two hundred thousand soldiers that had managed to survive turned tail and fled the battlefield at a breakneck pace. Any of them who lagged behind were cut down without mercy. We had chased the fleeing soldiers for the past four hours. Killing as many of the enemy''s elite soldiers was beneficial for us in the long run."We''ve killed about 150k fleeing soldiers, so about fifty thousand more managed to escape.""So that''s 370k soldiers in all.""Yes, sir."The enemy had brought a million soldiers, and left with just a little over a third that."What about our casualties?""We still need an exact headcount, but I would assume about one hundred thousand dead.""Is that right¡­?" Five hundred thousand of our soldiers had fought against a million enemy soldiers. We were heavily outnumbered, but they lost more than six hundred thousand, while we only lost a little more than a hundred thousand. This battle was easily our win.I looked around me and scanned the Empire''s soldiers and the mercenary devas from the other guilds. I could see the euphoria clearly in their faces, but I knew that they still saw the faces of their fallen comrades. They were too busy being depressed to properly celebrate this victory for the time being.I turned to the officer standing next to me. "Let''s throw a party for the soldiers that fought here today. Let''s make it a big one that''ll throw all of their sorrows out the window, at least for a few days.""Yes sir. We''ll get right on it once we get back.""Let''s go home.""Yes sir." The officers turned around to bring the soldiers back to base. Not me, though."I''ll leave it to you guys. I''m going to go get us the money to throw the party.""Sir? What do you mean?""I still need some more exercise and if we''re going to throw a big enough party, we definitely need more golden rings to do it," I said as I turned away from the officers and without waiting for answer, I Blinked away.There were fifty thousand enemy soldiers left. They may have lost all will to fight and would be exhausted, and it was still a lot for me to fight at once. Still, I was confident and there was no way I was going to pass up this big of an opportunity.I sprinted forward while following the enemy''s tracks, using both Blinks each time they were off cooldown. It didn''t take me long to see them in my sights. They were taking a break, seemingly relieved that they had lost their pursuers."Oh, shit!""It''s¡­it''s the enemy!""Fuck! It''s the guy who killed Angel! Run!""Fissure!""Gah!""No! Please!"---Section 115 of the Judge''s Continent¡­A heavy silence had washed over Claudia''s controlled territory. The news of Angel and the invading army had just arrived."Only a third of the army survived? And we lost Angel, too?""Um¡­another fifty thousand managed to¡­""That''s not important right now!" Claudia snapped. Soon, the room fell silent once more, not because Claudia was angered, but because they couldn''t believe what had happened. Angel had died. Not even Adora could have managed such a feat.Claudia sighed. "Where are the retreating soldiers now?""From the check-in we received a few minutes ago, all 320 thousand soldiers have escaped Section 4, while the enemy is still pursuing the remaining fifty thousand soldiers. They''re moving as fast as they can."Claudia sighed again. "Very well. We''ll hold another meeting when they all return. We need to find out as much as we can from them before we can figure out our next step.""Yes, ma''am."And with that, the High Council meeting was adjourned, but none of them knew what was happening to the soldiers who were still in enemy territory.---I panted as I watched the remaining enemy devas move away from me with shaking steps. I thought I could have completely slaughtered all of them while they scrambled to run away from me, but some of them weren''t willing to die that easily."It¡­doesn''t matter if he''s strong! He''s still one man! Get it together! If we work together, we can beat him!" one of them cried out as I cut down more and more enemy soldiers. That voice seemed to stir the hopeless soldiers once more. They all wanted to live. The ones who were still standing grouped up and moved together to surround me. They managed to close in on me even as I cut them down left and right. It was to the point that I couldn''t avoid all of their attacks.If there were only five thousand of them, I probably wouldn''t have taken a single point of damage and killed them all pretty quickly, not to mention the fact that I was alone. Still, there was no way I was going to let any of them go and grit my teeth through their attacks and continued to cut them down.I fought against them for three more hours. Even if I couldn''t kill all of them, I had to kill as many as I could. Finally, I stopped. My HP were getting too low for comfort. I couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed as I watched the surviving enemy soldiers sprint away from me. Once the last soldier disappeared from view, I turned around and headed back to base. I had at least earned enough golden rings and gained more than enough levels.---Section 3¡­When I returned to Section 3, I noticed that the solemn atmosphere I expected wasn''t there. It was the complete opposite, in fact."That''s a lot of people.""Hahaha. They all saw how we defeated the enemy army and caused them to turn tail." That was true. Many people from all over Earth''s Sections had come to Section 3 to watch the battle, while constantly ready to flee if they had to. I didn''t like that part about them, to be honest, but I didn''t say anything. Even if they were weak and couldn''t fight alongside us, at least they wouldn''t end up becoming prey to the enemy."Huh¡­ Well, take this. It''s to help with the costs of the feast." The feast was going to be huge. There were already about four hundred thousand peoplehere at Section 3 and more from the guilds that sent mercenaries were on their way."Oh, don''t worry about it.""Please, take it. I''ve earned a lot today as well." I really did. I did almost bankrupt myself getting my base STR to 50k before the battle started, but I had earned 3.7 billion golden rings in all today."No, really. It''s fine. We received donations from many others.""Really?""Yes sir. The Empire is doing so well that just about all of Earth''s guilds want a foot in our door.""Huh¡­""So don''t worry about the party and go and get some rest. It''s going to get loud and busy tomorrow.""Alright. I''ll leave it to you, then." I said my farewells to the few officers staying at Section 3 and returned to my home at Section 35. I needed to let my family know that I was alright.---Section 115¡­Claudia sighed as she stared at the soldiers who had just arrived. It was bad enough that a third of her army had to run away from battle, but when she found out that only a little more than half of the soldiers of the second wave had survived, Claudia wanted to pull her hair out. She shook her head before turning to the officers who had collected the videos of the battle. She didn''t have time to just sit around; she had to figure out how to prevent this from happening again and how to best get her revenge.As she watched the video, she finally saw the man responsible for this mess."They called him Lee Jiwon. He is also a deva.""..." A grim silence enveloped the conference room. The fact that he was a deva didn''t sit well with anyone."It''s clear that Angel played right into Lee Jiwon''s hands. Lee Jiwon seemed to have figured out that not only did Angel grow stronger after every death, he also lost his grip on his sanity."The bigger problem here is that Lee Jiwon is powerful. According to the videos of the second wave of survivors, they had him completely surrounded and fought back, but¡­" The officer trailed off. He couldn''t bring himself to finish his sentence."So¡­ we were the little fish in the pond¡­" Claudia half mumbled. No one could deny it, not with the video on screen paused on Lee Jiwon. "We lost over 700 thousand elite soldiers. That''s the same as losing hundreds of millions of our people. After all, we are not on the Judge''s Continent to grow stronger; we are here to find out which world best utilized its Otadolon stage."The rules of the Judge''s Continent forced the two worlds to fight. In other words, the world that had become the strongest during the Otadolon stage would be the victor."We were too complacent. Bring the Troublemaker to me. He''s our last hope." 263 Chapter 262: Troublemaker Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 3¡­The party here was in full swing now and was noisy, to say the least."Did you see it? Lee Jiwon practically threw the enemy commander all over the battlefield.""Of course I did. That was some show.""Yeah, it was. The enemy soldiers were so shocked that they started panicking.""Can you blame them? Their own commander lost it in the middle of a battle and started killing them. There''s no coming back from that.""That''s not all. You saw what they were doing after Lee Jiwon killed the enemy commander and turned his attention to them. Pft.""Hah! They were so scared that they practically tripped over each other to get away from Lee Jiwon. I almost felt bad for them.""You know what I thought was cool?""What?""It got to the point where our army couldn''t chase after them any longer. But Lee Jiwon said that he didn''t get enough exercise yet, and still went after them. Damn. I still can''t believe he did that.""Yeah¡­ he was still good to go even after spending so much time fighting the enemy commander. Man¡­""I''m really glad Lee Jiwon is a Terran like us. If he was our enemy instead¡­""...""Don''t joke around like that. I actually got goosebumps from that."All everyone talked about was Lee Jiwon. He was now not only the leader of the Empire, but also the man everyone thought could save Earth from the Judge''s Continent. Countless people from other guilds followed Lee Jiwon around during the entire party, trying to acquaint themselves with the hero. This, of course, didn''t sit well with everyone.---During the party of Section 3, I and the top-ranking officers of the Empire who fought by my side during the battle were gathered in one place. Some guild masters who had sent mercenaries to join us were there as well. As we sat, reveling in our glory, I noticed Zulova walking around aimlessly."Hey, over here," I called out to him with a smile and a wave.Zulova frowned when he saw me, but that didn''t faze me. I only waved harder at him. He really did help me during the battle and I was going to make him help me out more in the future. Zulova stalked over and plopped down on the chair next to me. No one stopped him, as they had all seen him fight against the enemy with me."Are you going to explain to me what happened?""What do you mean?" I knew what he was referring to, but I feigned ignorance for now."How did you bring me over here?""Oh, you meant that. I thought you came here by yourself to help me out. Is that not what happened?"A vein pulsed on Zulova''s forehead at my sarcastic reply."Ah, don''t mind it. I want to talk to you about something else. Have you ever thought about becoming a Diamond Class?"Zulova looked at me in confusion.I leaned over to whisper to him. "Are you still in contact with the other Monarchs? Or do you know anyone else who is almost as strong as you?""What the hell are you talking about?""Ha¡­ okay, I guess you don''t know yet. Zulova, you''re a Silver Class. That means you have to repay me for introducing you to a decent hunting grounds. The rate is usually 50% of what you made, but if you bring in more clients, I''ll bump you all the way up to Diamond Class. You know, like a MLM.""..."I explained to Zulova what awaited him at the highest level of my little pyramid scheme if he did what I asked. "I''m only telling you this so don''t squander this chance." I still had Zulova registered on Call and there was no way I was letting him go."I did say that Silver Classes have to fork over 50% of their earnings, but I''ll just take a hundred million golden rings from you.""What?""You got to earn all of those golden rings thanks to me. You have to at least toss something my way.""..." Zulova stared at me with a horrified expression as he slowly handed over the golden rings. I told him to quickly get up to Diamond Class if he didn''t want to have to pay me each time, and then I returned to the party.---Section 115¡­Every single Crootian on the Judge''s Continent were sullen. They had all found out that the recent expedition to enemy territory had failed spectacularly. The Crootian High Council did its best to keep the news of the failure a secret, but it couldn''t do anything about the leaderboard that was constantly looming over them in the sky. The atmosphere during the current High Council meeting was no different. Finally, Coby broke the silence. "It''s here, ma''am.""Bring it in," Claudia replied.Soon, the door to the conference room opened and ten devas entered, carefully carrying a statue. The devas left the statue at one end of the conference table before leaving. The statue looked so realistic that it could have easily been mistaken as a real person."He still looks exactly the same," one deity said."That''s because I have stolen his time," Claudia replied. Claudia, known also as the Master of Time, was the strongest Crootian deity. She was so powerful that all other deities could never openly contest her authority. It was all thanks to her exclusive ability, which gave her the power to freely control time itself. She couldn''t travel forwards or backwards in time, but she could steal away someone else''s time and add it to her own. She used this power to become stronger at a faster pace than anyone else. To Claudia, time itself was like EXP. But, like all other deities, she had a limit to this power.Claudia pointed a finger at the statue. "I return your time to you, Dunia."Dunia was called many things. Troublemaker, traitor, and cheater were a few of his most well-known nicknames. Soon, the still statue began to stir little by little until its eyes opened, its pupils alternating in red and black colors."If you dare to show those red eyes again, I will take back your time," Claudia said sternly.The statue laughed, its pupils a solid black color now. "Your most humble deva servant thanks Mistress Claudia for her mercy and swears to obey her forever. Oh, what''s this? Why are there so many empty seats here?""You don''t miss anything, do you?"Dunia cackled. He was surrounded by deities, but he didn''t feel intimidated. He promptly made himself at home once he regained control of his body. And strangely enough, the deities who always seemed so keen on oppressing devas didn''t say anything to Dunia. Just about everyone in this room had fallen victim to Dunia''s schemes at least once, including Adora and Skyla."We are no longer on Croot. The Otadolon stage came to an end some time ago.""Is this the Judge''s Continent?""¡­How did you know?" Claudia and the other deities were shocked. Claudia had taken away all of Dunia''s time five years ago."Some idiot couldn''t control his inner thoughts while he was near me." It was an outright lie. The deities knew that Dunia didn''t have the ability to read people''s thoughts, but somehow, he knew things before others, especially well-hidden secrets."Well, it''s fine either way. This is the Judge''s Continent. Money is power here. We don''t need to spend every waking minute trying to level up for Stat points anymore. We can buy them with golden rings. We can also spend golden rings to gamble and try to rank up our items to Rank 10. We can even buy skill points. We don''t even need to worry about leveling anymore. We have 1.3 billion enemies that yield more EXP and golden rings than the strongest monster.""Is this heaven?""Well, I''m not sure if this is heaven or hell. If anything, I want you to make this place our heaven, for all of us.""For all of us, you say¡­Bwahahaha! You expect too much from me.""Is that right? Well, I just want you to do the same as before. Do the same thing you did to us five years ago.""Ah, those were the days. I always regret it to this day. If I wasn''t so ambitious, I wouldn''t have to see your ugly mugs ever again.""Well, it''s a lesson we all learn in the end. Greed gets us nowhere.""Which is why I don''t want to make the same mistake again.""That''s good thinking.""Shall we get to the point? What is it exactly that you want from me?""Yes, let''s talk."---Section 35¡­"Let''s go see what the high-grade dungeons here are like." I had spent the past five days trying to figure out how to spend my time. I had even thought about crossing over to enemy territory on my own. I was confident that I would be fine, but Critical Weakness still had three days left on its cooldown and Fated Crossroads had six days left. I still needed to use Death''s Harrier as much as I could before its effectiveness completely dropped.So, I decided to see what the high-grade dungeons on the Continent were like. I had heard that they yielded dismal amounts of golden rings and EXP compared to their difficulty.I headed for the Ogre Dungeon that was located at the westernmost point of Section 35."There really isn''t anyone around here." On my way here, I passed by many people. But once I arrived at the dungeon, there was nobody in sight. It was an unfamiliar sight compared to the high-grade dungeons back on Earth. Just about all dungeons on Earth were controlled by someone, and were always surrounded by people wanting to hunt inside them. But the Continent''s dungeons were completely empty, meaning that they were that useless to the people here."Well, it doesn''t really matter to me. It''s better than just wasting time doing nothing." Five days of partying was enough time off. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Fire Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]=="I guess using Ripped Advance here would be overkill, wouldn''t it?" I practically played around in the high-grade dungeons back on Earth when I was a bit weaker than I was now. I probably didn''t need to use Ripped Advance right now and I could at least save it if I really needed it. I walked towards the entrance of the Ogre Dungeon, completely relaxed, and went inside.==[You have entered a high-grade dungeon.]=="Huh?" Messages like that usually didn''t appear just for entering a dungeon. The only time messages ever came up was when dungeons were discovered for the first time. I knew that for a fact, since I had discovered all of the dungeons in South Korea first.When I first came to the Judge''s Continent, many others were curious if we could receive bonuses for discovering dungeons on the Continent. I was curious too, as Anton had told me that there would be dungeons here. I was annoyed when I discovered that I had arrived to the Continent later than everyone else, because I may have lost out on the dungeon bonuses."But there weren''t any." I felt relieved when I found that out because I didn''t want others getting stronger before me. "So, what is this now?" I asked, as more messages appeared. 264 Chapter 263: Troublemaker Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Lee Jiwon currently holds 387,758,874 points on the Judge''s Continent.You are the fourth deva or deity of all Otadolon-completed Worlds to surpass 100,000,000 points.You have reached the pinnacle form.]==The message didn''t have anything to do with dungeons, and was like the one I received back when I had my points calculated at the giant Don Gate. Another message soon appeared.==[You will be granted the special bonus, Survival!Survive the longest after being the first to enter a dungeon. But remember that you only have one life. You will be allowed to give up, so make sure to not get too greedy and needlessly throw your life away.The dungeon will not yield EXP, golden rings, or item drops during this time. You will be granted your reward after you give up, or after clearing the boss room. The points you have earned during Survival will be converted into EXP, Stat points, skill points, or golden rings. However, giving up will end Survival and only half the points you have earned will be converted.]=="Survival?" What was supposed to be a bonus was more like a quest, but wasn''t an official quest, and not like any other quest I''d ever seen.==[The Ogre Dungeon will now be altered for Lee Jiwon''s Survival.The 1,674 people currently in the Ogre Dungeon will now be forcibly removed outside the dungeon.All dungeon monsters will grow stronger as time passes.All dungeon monsters will notice Lee Jiwon sooner as time passes.No dungeon monsters will respawn after being killed.While spending more time in the dungeon during Survival is an important method to gain points, killing as many monsters as possible is a great way to gain more points.Lee Jiwon''s Survival in the Ogre Dungeon will now begin. Additional points will be awarded. An additional 100% will be added to the final sum of points.]=="Huh¡­" For a second there, I wondered if it was the right decision to come to a high-grade dungeon. If I could clear it and get the 100% bonus points, then it''d definitely be the right decision, but if I somehow had to give up midway, I''d be losing out on some serious goodies.I smiled. I could Make It Be the right decision. I turned to a massive Ogre lumbering around. The message clearly stated that killing as many monsters as possible was a great way to get points. "Judge''s Gavel!" I said as I charged at the Ogre.The three-meter tall Ogre noticed me pretty quickly and barreled its massive body towards me. It was a pretty intimidating sight."But you''re too slow!" Well, it did move fast compared to how big it was, but my AGI was well over 38,000. Hell, my AGI had more points alone than possibly 90% of the people on this Continent had in total. Before the Ogre could even swing its giant club, I jumped up close to it and stabbed it in the chest."Graah!" The Ogre bellowed in pain as the massive, red hammer slammed down atop of its head. It died before it fell to its knees."Now that I''m off to a great start, it''s time to have some fun." I charged at another Ogre immediately. It did react faster than most high-grade dungeon monsters, but my spear pierced its heart faster than it could raise its club to attack. It only took two critical hits to kill this one.I continued to hunt like that for a while. As the Ogres fell before me easily after only few attacks, I was beginning to realize that this was easier than I first thought. I had never been to this dungeon before and I was doing better than when I hunted in high-grade dungeons back on Earth. Then again, I was a lot stronger now.To be honest, that didn''t sit well with me. Before I had come to the Continent, I had noticed that my growth rate had hit a plateau. Yeah, it was still faster than others of my level, but it had definitely slowed down in the past several months. Here, I was growing stronger at a faster rate now, gaining more levels at once and being able to earn more Stat points at a time. That scared me. That only meant that I was going to plateau again, and I didn''t want that. I wanted to keep growing stronger faster. I didn''t want to stop growing stronger. "That only means that I''ve got to clear this event perfectly if I don''t want that to happen!" ---Thirty days after Lee Jiwon had entered the Ogre Dungeon¡­"Whew¡­" Dunia had crossed into Earth''s territory and headed to where Lee Jiwon was. How? He just did. Dunia had the ability to know whatever he wanted to know. Well, to be exact, he couldn''t know everything. He could only know things up to a certain point in time, and they were revealed to him in a vague way. Things that were out of his ability''s reach were kept unknown to him forever. But that was enough for Dunia to cause trouble, especially with his ruby-red eyes, which seeded a deep trust into his targets'' hearts. Dunia set out to find out about Lee Jiwon as much as he could. Thankfully, there were countless videos that captured his image. Had the two been on the same side, Dunia would have had no qualms in calling Lee Jiwon a hero. But they were enemies and to Dunia, Lee Jiwon was a demon. Still, Dunia had spent ten days watching videos of Lee Jiwon over and over again. He burned Lee Jiwon''s image into his mind so that he could spot the demon in a crowd of a million people.At first, Dunia didn''t want to have to go to this extent, but when he watched the first video, he quickly realized that he had no choice. The more his red eyes examined his target, the more he could learn about him. After Dunia memorized Lee Jiwon''s appearance and form, he wished to learn Lee Jiwon''s location. With one simple wish, Dunia learned that Lee Jiwon was currently in a high-grade dungeon located at the westernmost point of Section 35. Dunia set out right away, excited to make friends with someone that strong.==[Lee Jiwon is currently in the middle of a special event in this high-grade dungeon. No one else is currently allowed inside this dungeon.]==Dunia was surprised. He never heard about a dungeon that only allowed one person inside at a time. All dungeons were supposed to be open to the public. He was actually jealous. Lee Jiwon was given a special event and had an entire dungeon altered specifically for him! Out of jealousy, Dunia tried everything he could to get inside, but his efforts were in vain. Dunia wanted to become friends with Lee Jiwon even more!But now, Dunia had been waiting for Lee Jiwon to come out for thirty days! "Fuck! Why won''t he come out already?" Dunia kicked the outer dungeon wall in anger. He had never had to wait on someone this long before. "And why can''t I learn more about him?" Dunia didn''t just sit on his hands while waiting for Lee Jiwon. He tried to use his ability to learn more about Lee Jiwon, but nothing came up. This wasn''t the first time this had happened, so Dunia didn''t mind it at first. His ability only served to sate his curiosity, not to look into the future. It was why he couldn''t prevent Claudia from stealing away all of his time. If Dunia couldn''t learn anything specific about Lee Jiwon, then he could just use roundabout ways to find out what he wanted. If he couldn''t learn Lee Jiwon''s age, then he could wish to learn about his birthday, or even just the year he was born. "But why can''t I find out anything about him?" Dunia could learn indirect information about Lee Jiwon, like his location. But any direct or personal information about Lee Jiwon was unobtainable. He couldn''t find out Lee Jiwon''s level, the items he used, or even any skills he knew. It was like that information was covered by some sort of veil."No¡­ it''s something more than just a veil." It was like Lee Jiwon''s personal information was protected by a thick, steel wall. Every time Dunia used his ability, he kept running into that wall headfirst, frustrating and angering him each time. But Dunia didn''t give up and kept waiting. "Ha¡­fine. I''ll make it so that he has no choice but to come out, even if it means I have to cause trouble like Claudia wants me to!"---Inside the Ogre Dungeon on the fourth floor¡­"Grah!"After wiping out a horde of about fifty Ogres, I plopped down on the floor. I wasn''t tired, but I knew that it was a good idea to rest whenever I could. "But it''s tough to even find time to rest after a month in here." This was the first time I had experienced monsters actually moving to other floors. At first, I had to go looking around for Ogres to kill so that I could get as many points as possible. When I reached the second floor, I had noticed Ogres of different classes were starting to appear. When I reached the third floor, I realized that those Ogres had come from the third floor, looking for me."I''m just about done with the fourth floor¡­it might take me another month or so before I reach the end. I hope nothing happens in the meantime." Thankfully, my Comm Link still worked fine here, and I had contacted my clan and let them know that I wouldn''t be home for at least a couple of months. They didn''t mind since I had done the same back on Earth. My mother did call every day, telling me to be careful each time.I got up. I had rested long enough. "Okay. Time to get back at it again." Like the message stated, the monsters were getting stronger as time went on. They didn''t double in strength or anything, but I was getting worried about the boss monster. If the monsters were getting stronger by one percent each day, it meant the boss monster was going to be a real pain in the ass to deal with. I was confident that I could beat it, but I didn''t want to get careless and end up failing after coming this far. 265 Chapter 264: Troublemaker Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 35¡­Two men were walking down a road in Center B, shoulder to shoulder and chattering like old friends. "That really happened?""Yeah, man. The Blood Prince and the Predator Duke completely lost all of their authority. They couldn''t recover at all.""Wow. That''s pretty awesome.""I know, right? Some people thought that maybe he overdid it, but honestly, that got him recognized. He made sure his enemies didn''t have a chance at revenge. The most recent organization he did that to was Mexico''s NCR Guild.""Then has Lee Jiwon destroyed all of his enemies so far?""No, not all.""Really? Who managed to survive?""Hmm¡­ they weren''t outright enemies but the two people that really don''t like Lee Jiwon are Wai Chung of the Cheng Long Guild and Okamoto of the Nayuta Guild. Then again, the guilds of South Korea, China, and Japan never really did like each other. The whole world knew that.""Huh¡­ are they strong?""China''s Cheng Long Guild used to be one of the world''s strongest guilds. They''re not what they used to be, but I''d say they''re still strong. And from what I remember, the Nayuta Guild was pretty average.""Huh¡­ is that right?"Dunia''s pupils were now a deep red and the member of the Abu Dhabi Guild was answering Dunia''s questions without hesitation. "Oh!" The Abu Dhabi deva shouted as if he had just remembered something."What is it?" Dunia asked."I forgot about Great Britain. There''s a guild called the Windsor Guard. It''s pretty hush-hush, but I''m pretty sure that they hate Lee Jiwon more than anyone else. Just about everyone knows that they fought each other for whatever reason, but the Windsor Guard really got messed up. They had to withdraw the soldiers they lent to the NCR Guild. They definitely hate Lee Jiwon more than Wai Chung or Okamoto.""Wow. But doesn''t that make them pretty weak, to be defeated just by Lee Jiwon?""Not at all. The Windsor Guard is still a pretty strong guild. I''d say they''re on par with Cheng Long. Lee Jiwon is just way too powerful.""Really?""Yeah. The Windsor Guard hated that they had to surrender to Lee Jiwon. They couldn''t waste all of their manpower and resources against one single person; they had no choice."Huh¡­so Lee Jiwon really is that strong.""That''s what I''ve been saying. I still remember the guild battle between my guild and Astes. I will never forget what Lee Jiwon looked like, fighting thousands of enemy soldiers by himself. He was a legend. You probably don''t know this, but the Reaper was there too.""I''m curious about one thing, though. How did a deva ever get that powerful?""That''s still the biggest mystery. I think it was about four years after the Otadolon stage started? That was when Lee Jiwon first appeared on everyone''s radar. It was like he just appeared out of nowhere. No one ever heard about him before then.""But how does that make sense? It''s not like he was strong from the start, right? Someone should have noticed how fast he was growing strong.""But that''s the truth. There was no record of him anywhere. There were rumors that he had spent those four years sleeping in the Sunbin Guild, but I don''t think they''re true. How can someone become that strong just from sleeping for four years?""You are right. It is a mystery.""Yup and it still is. But it''s not like it matters anymore. He''s our commander who will lead us to victory.""I see." After that, Dunia continued to talk to his new best friend, asking more about the Cheng Long Guild, the Nayuta Guild, and the Windsor Guard.------The outskirts of the rampart walls of Section 35''s Center B¡­Dunia was going over the information about the three guilds he got out from the Abu Dhabi Guild member he had hypnotized. He was going to need to use them to stir some trouble, but his mind kept wandering. The very existence of Lee Jiwon bothered him."How is he this perfect?" The more Dunia learned about Lee Jiwon, the more he came to like him. Dunia was a loser. He couldn''t kill off his world''s deities like he had planned, and ended up losing all of his time to Claudia. As a result, he was imprisoned for years, unable to do anything. But he was just as surprised at Lee Jiwon''s existence as he respected Lee Jiwon''s past deeds. Lee Jiwon had never failed or lost once. Dunia expected Lee Jiwon to be some arrogant or prideful fool, but Dunia saw none of those traits."Is this his second life or something? He''s done everything perfectly and cleanly." Dunia couldn''t find anyone on Earth who was willing to turn on Lee Jiwon and the Empire, save for Cheng Long, Nayuta, and the Winsor Guard. "Those three aren''t nearly enough. And there''s no one from the Empire I can steal away." Dunia quickly realized that all members of the Empire were fiercely loyal to Lee Jiwon. Making Lee Jiwon an enemy meant making the Empire an enemy as well. It meant that no other faction was willing to make an enemy out of either of them, it would spell certain death. If Dunia somehow managed to hypnotize all of the guild masters of the guilds that were not part of the Empire and told them to attack the Empire, there was only one outcome that would happen. The guilds'' officers would think their guild masters had either gone mad or were under some sort of spell.No matter which way Dunia looked at this, there was less than a 0.000000001% of that working. If Dunia could hypnotize entire guilds, it might be possible, but if he was able to do that in the first place, he would have gotten rid of his world''s deities and become the ruler of Croot himself. He could only use his hypnotic abilities on few people at a time, which was why he wanted to find and meet Lee Jiwon face to face."Well, since Lee Jiwon still isn''t about to come out of the dungeon any time soon, I might as well head to that place." The Abu Dhabi guild member had no idea when Lee Jiwon was going to emerge from the dungeon. He said that Lee Jiwon usually spent months at a time in dungeons."I just wish Cheng Long, Nayuta, and Windsor hated Lee Jiwon more than I think they do." Dunia quickly left Section 35 and headed to where those three factions resided.------Ninth floor of the Ogre Dungeon¡­I plopped down on to the floor, panting hard. I was completely exhausted. "Shit. What am I supposed to do if the elite monsters are crawling their way up here, too?" I didn''t expect the elite monsters would also leave their floor to come find me as well. As a result, I hadn''t caught a wink of sleep for the past thirteen days. It was like the monsters were equipped with radar and found me every time I tried to hide."Well, it''s not all bad." The one good thing about it was that I didn''t have to waste time trying to find all of the monsters in the dungeon while Death''s Harrier was in effect. With the dungeon monsters coming to me on their own, I was able to get the most out of Death''s Harrier after using it twice. In the end, I received 1,370 Stat points from the first time I used it and 1,248 Stat points from the second time. It wasn''t bad, considering the fact that I was here alone and didn''t have the Myth Guild to lure the monsters to me.Still, one thing was clear; not a single one of these monsters yielded any sort of EXP, golden rings, or items. I was three months into Survival, and I was sick and tired of the hunting now. "But all that''s left is the boss monster, now that all of the elite monsters are dead." I felt a little relieved now that I could finally see the end to this damn event. I was really looking forward to finishing the event; I had cleared all of the monsters in this dungeon and had probably collected the most amounts of points possible."Alright! Let''s get some rest for now." My Fatigue had gone up to 85. I couldn''t remember the last time my Fatigue had gone up that high."Blink 1. Blink 2." I Blinked away as far from the boss room''s direction as possible, in case the boss monster somehow escaped its room and found me. Once I was far enough, I promptly fell to the floor and fell fast asleep.------Section 18 of the Judge''s Continent¡­It wasn''t difficult for Dunia to cross into Section 18, which was controlled by the Cheng Long Guild. All he did was announce himself as the Information Hunter and he was allowed in; he didn''t even need to use his red eyes.When Dunia came face to face to Wai Chung, the guild master of Cheng Long, Dunia shook his head slightly so that no one would notice. Dunia noticed right away that not only was Wai Chung extremely proud, he was also very distrusting. Dunia did manage to find out that Wai Chung had a very strong desire to be on top of everyone else. Dunia just needed to utilize that trait, but from his experience, it would be a long and arduous process, and there was a high chance that he could fail. The risks were too high for the amount of effort needed, so Dunia decided that he would give up on Cheng Long."Now then, what is this information you''ve come to sell?""I have intel on the enemy deities.""Is that right¡­?"Wai Chung wasn''t going to believe him right away, and it wasn''t like Dunia had any sort of loyalty to his world''s deities, so Dunia told Wai Chung everything he knew about Claudia, Adora, and Skyla."And how am I supposed to believe any this is true? I''ve never met you before.""Is that so important? You should care more about what I just told you.""Yes, that is true, but I can''t bring myself to believe anything you told me just yet.""Well, that''s your problem, isn''t it? I''m fine as long as I get paid.""Hmm¡­one thousand golden rings. That''s how much I think your information is worth. Of course, if it comes out that your information is true, I''ll make sure to repay you properly.""I understand." Dunia didn''t care. He had given up on Wai Chung and Cheng Long. After receiving the one thousand golden rings, Dunia left the Cheng Long base as quickly as he could. He heaved a heavy sigh before continuing on. At least he still had Nayuta and the Windsor Guard to turn to.-Things aren''t looking good for Croot¡­-, he thought to himself. As much as he hated Claudia and the other deities, he was still a Crootian. He had to secure victory for his world somehow...------Section 25¡­"Ho ho. That''s a tempting offer." Elizabeth truly found Dunia''s offer appealing. She still hadn''t forgotten what Lee Jiwon had done to her guild."We did incur heavy losses, but we still have more than eighty deities and two billion devas. And as I have mentioned, our strongest deities have yet to reveal themselves on the battlefield. I just hope you make the right decision and stand with the winning side." Dunia practically jumped for joy when he met Queen Elizabeth. She was still furious at Lee Jiwon and wanted to see him dead. "Croot is willing to accept as many of your people as you wish to send to us. In other words, Croot''s victory becomes your victory. We just need you to hurt Lee Jiwon from the inside," Dunia said to Elizabeth, his eyes shining bright red."And not to worry; we won''t just welcome you with empty words. If you help us attain victory, I will personally make sure you are given at least fifty billion golden rings and a Rank 10 item." Of course, Dunia didn''t have the ability to officially bring the enemy over to join Croot, as he was just a deva, but he only needed Elizabeth to believe that he could. He was also glad that the Windsor Guard was fiercely loyal to Elizabeth; it made less work for him! He just needed to hypnotize N and Glavis as well...After he secured the Windsor Guard, Dunia left Section 25 and headed for Section 59, his last destination and where the Nayuta Guild was located. There, Dunia was able to easily bring Okamoto over to his side. Okamoto and his entire guild truly despised Lee Jiwon and the Sunbin Guild. All it took was a few sweetened words and promises that they could finally have their revenge against the Koreans.Finally, Dunia had all he needed to lure Lee Jiwon out of his dungeon! 266 Chapter 265: What’s Got You So Curious? Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThankfully, the boss monster hadn''t left its room and come looking for me while I slept. I stood in front of the door to the boss room and started stretching for the battle ahead."Will Ripped Advance be enough, or should I use Critical Weakness too, and end it quickly?" It had been exactly three months and twenty one days since I had started Survival in the Ogre Dungeon. Just like the message had stated, the monsters grew stronger by the day. They hadn''t become elite monsters in a matter of a couple of days, but the boss monster was a completely different matter. It would be at least three or four times stronger by now. I was confident I could still win, but I didn''t want to waste any more time. My Fatigue might be at 0, but I was still mentally exhausted from hunting more than three months straight."Alright. Let''s end this quickly. Create Critical Weakness!"==[Create Critical Weakness has been activated.]=="Ripped Advance."==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base Stat points will be increased.)Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]== "That boss monster better be strong." Just a moment ago, l was hoping that the boss monster would be weak enough so that I could get this over with and quickly rest properly. But now that I had just activated two of my strongest buffs, I was hoping that it would at least be strong enough that I didn''t just waste activating them."Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." After activating my other buffs, I stepped through the door to the boss room. Inside, I saw the boss monster desperately trying to leave its room, most likely because of me."Raaah!" When the Ogre King finally saw me, the source of its aggression, it charged, savagely swinging its massive club."Judge''s Gavel," I quietly said, before meeting the Ogre King''s charge head-on. As expected of a boss monster, it moved at incredibly high-speed, especially considering it had a massive build over seven-meters tall. But I was faster. Before it could swing its club at me, my spear had already pierced deep into its chest."Grah!" The Ogre King bellowed in pain as the Judge''s hammer slammed down on its head. Even I was thrown back ten meters from the force of the blow. I quickly got back up and looked at where the Ogre King was."Good. At least you didn''t die from a single blow." Even after all of my buffs, the Ogre King was still alive. It was still the boss monster of a high-grade dungeon that had grown stronger by the day for the past three and a half months. That wasn''t to say that my attack didn''t do anything to it. The Ogre King was covered in blood and open wounds, and it struggled to get back to its feet."Blink 2." I moved right next to it and slammed my spear into the ground. "Fissure!" As the ground beneath the Ogre King split, I pulled my spear out of the ground and charged at it once more."Raah!" The Ogre King slammed its massive club down. Instead of aiming at me, it had slammed its club into the ground that was being split by Fissure, stopping the skill from advancing any farther. It was no doubt an incredible feat, but it wasn''t enough to surprise me. In fact, it gave me an opening to get off a couple more clean hits."Good. There should be this much resistance." My STR was currently well over 200,000 and I could confidently say that my Penetration was incomparably high. And yet, I noticed that it took more energy to pierce through the monster''s flesh¡­ but only just a little more. My spear blade could still cleanly slice into its body."Graah!" The Ogre King bellowed out in pain each time I attacked and swung its club at me nonstop."Blink 1." I Blinked right on top of the Ogre King''s nape. I firmly placed my feet atop the monster''s shoulders and grabbed a handful of its hair. I raised my spear with my other hand and stabbed down at the Ogre King''s head repeatedly. Instead of the same sound of metal slicing through flesh, I was rewarded with the resounding clang of metal beating against something hard. Undeterred, I continued to slam my spear into the monster''s head, fully intending to split its skull in half."Gak! Gak!" The Ogre King croaked out cries of pain and staggered on its feet. It swung its hands towards it head to try to swat me away, but slowly. I was still on its head and I could tell that it was being careful to not hit itself. That was good for me. I continued to stab at its head, occasionally ducking whenever its hands got too close to me."Graaah!""Yeah, you must be pretty mad. I totally get it." I would have stayed on its head longer, but the monster started to rub its hands all over its head and nape. I had no choice but to dismount. I had done enough damage anyway. Just about half of the attacks I had inflicted on it were critical hits. There was a huge hole in its skull, evidence that I had inflicted considerable damage. As I continued my onslaught of attacks, I began to notice one thing: I had come far since my days in the Bukhan Mountain Dungeon. That was the last time I had faced a dungeon boss monster on my own, and I had a hard time against it then. This boss monster lived in a high-grade dungeon and had supposedly grown stronger every day, but could do nothing to me. ==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF and MDEf are lowered by 80%.]==As I had pummeled the Ogre King, my trademark red lightning finally struck the boss monster square on its head. It was the perfect timing for a finale. The Ogre King gave one last croak and collapsed to the floor with a resounding thud, dead. I stared at its dead body. The fight was easier than I had expected it to be, even though I had pretty much thrown my entire skill list at it.==[Lee Jiwon has cleared the bonus event, Survival.Calculating your points¡­This bonus event has taken place in a high-grade dungeon. 100% more points will be granted.All monsters inside the dungeon have been killed. 150% more points will be granted.The dungeon boss monster has been killed after it gained a 370% boost to its power. 37% more points will be granted.You have cleared Survival for the first time in a high-grade dungeon. 50% more points will be granted.You have cleared Survival without giving up. 20% more points will be granted.]====[Congratulations. You have obtained a total of 1,595,470,200 points in Survival.]==I had obtained almost 1.6 billion points, but just like the points from the giant Don Gate, I had nothing to compare those points to. I just had to accept the fact that they were a lot of points. I was curious as to where I placed, but I would be content as long as I got a lot of rewards, just like when I arrived at the Continent.==[You will now receive your rewards for clearing Survival.Your level will raised by 47.You have received 12,070 Stat points.You have received 3 skill points.You have received 11,875,000,000 golden rings.]==I was speechless. That was far beyond my expectations. I had honestly only expected about two thousand Stat points and two billion golden rings at most. I thought that was enough considering how difficult this event was. Well, I did wish for more, but I didn''t want to disappoint myself and told myself that I didn''t need more. ==[You have gained 3 additional levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]==That message came up forty seven times. That was 188 levels in all! "Is this okay?" That was way too much, even for me. Sure, I had done a lot for the past three months and a half, but this was just insane.I wrapped my arms around my shivering body. "This is all for my hard work. That''s all it is," I told myself as I headed for the safe room. There was one thing that slightly disappointed me. I didn''t get a random chest for clearing this dungeon. But I could live without it.==[You have defeated the boss monster during the Survival bonus event.You will not receive a dungeon blessing.]==I had honestly forgotten about it, as I had not raided a dungeon boss monster in a while. I closed the message and sat down by the safety crystals. "Open Stats Menu."I had wanted to head straight home after defeating the boss monster to sleep, but I was wide awake now.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1289Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 23,840,700/23,840,700MP: 702,800/702,800Strength: 67,801 + 7,341Agility: 38,601Vitality: 39,501Willpower: 6,968Intelligence: 6,228Unassigned Stat Points: 18,448 + 336Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 262,947Physical Defense: 74,197Magical Attack: 20,854Magical Defense: 42,634]=="..." I already knew that I had a lot of unassigned Stat points from all those levels and the event rewards, but looking at them with my own eyes was something else."My base STR is 52k, base AGI and VIT both 32k¡­" The last time I had invested points into those Stats, I had planned on putting whatever points I got into STR. As good as it was to raise both AGI and VIT, I had believed that it would be difficult to get enough points to balance those three Stats at once. But I could now. I could get both AGI and VIT to 42k each and have leftover points to get my STR pretty close to 60k. I raised my AGI by 8,000 points right away.==[Your base AGI has surpassed 40,000 points.Your total AGI points: 46,601Your base AGI points: 40,000AGI points increased by items: 6300AGI points increased by skills: 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 40,000 points in AGI before anyone else.AGI will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 40,000 points in two Stats (STR, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 1,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==Once that was done, I invested another 8,000 into VIT.==[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 40,000 points in three Stats (STR, VIT, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]=="Let''s see, now. I had 2,448 Stat points remaining after spending 16,000 points, and got another 3,000 from the Grand Achievement, so that means I have 5,448 I can use." I only needed 2,552 to get my base STR to 60k."Hehehehe!" I couldn''t help but chuckle to myself. I had more than 15 billion golden rings. I could even get it up to 70k!"Let''s go to the Store for now. I need to use Fated Crossroads, too." Excited that I could also potentially upgrade my Harrier to Rank 10, I walked over to the Crystals. 267 Chapter 266: What’s Got You So Curious? Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDOn the way to Section 35''s Center D Store¡­"Yeah, I''ll be home soon.""Okay. I''ll make a lot of your favorites so hurry home!""I will."As I made my way to the general store, my Comm Link rang and I happily picked it up. After letting my mother know that I would be home soon, I entered the Store and went up to the general store."Welcome to Section 35''s Center D general store.""Show me your items.""Right away, sir."The store''s menu came up soon. I scrolled all the way down to the Stat points. I selected exactly 2,552 for now."Your total comes out to 2,552,000,000 golden rings."That was a hefty price, but I handed the golden rings over without hesitation. I had already made my decision on my way here. I invested the 8,000 Stat points I now had into STR.==[Your base STR has surpassed 60,000 points.Your total STR points: 83,478Your base STR points: 60,000STR points increased by items: 15,500STR points increased by skills: 7,677 (Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick), 300 (King-Emperor''s Grand Dignity), 1 (Kiran''s Stat point.)]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 60,000 points in STR before anyone else.STR will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==With the bonus STR points, I now had a base STR of 62k. I just needed 8 billion more golden rings to make it 70k, 72k with its bonus points. And I still had 12.5 golden rings to spend!"Let''s do it! I''m going to do it sooner or later, so I might as well do it now." I was only saving up golden rings to spend them on Stat points anyway. This war wasn''t over, so I needed more Stat points to get stronger. I didn''t want to push it off and end up regretting that decision. If Earth ended up losing a Section to the enemy, the Store prices were going to go up by 5%. I had no intention of letting that happen, but it wasn''t like I could outright control fate.I bought another 8,000 Stat points right away."Your total comes out to 8,000,000,000 golden rings."As I handed over the golden rings, I started to miss the 20% VIP discount I had at Anton''s Store. Maybe I was starting to miss Anton and Marie, too. Either way, I invested the 8,000 Stat points into STR right away. After receiving the bonus messages, I opened my Stats Menu.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1289Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 29,140,700/29,140,700MP: 702,800/702,800Strength: 87,801 + 7,677Agility: 48,601Vitality: 49,501Willpower: 6,968Intelligence: 6,228Unassigned Stat Points: 0Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 322,947Physical Defense: 84,197Magical Attack: 20,854Magical Defense: 42,634]=="..." It was so beautiful. I took a moment to stare at it and bask in all its glory. After a while, I finally came back to reality and left the general store. Fated Crossroads was finally off its cooldown and I was planning on using it at the weapon shop, but I had something to take care of first. An annoying fly was buzzing around since I had left the dungeon.I leisurely walked over to a man who was standing off to the side. "Just what is it that you want to know so badly?""!!!" The man with red irises stared at me in shock at my question.I brought my pinky finger to my ear to scratch it. "God, you were so noisy and annoying with your incessant buzzing. What, donn''t you have something to ask me? If you''re not going to say anything, then come back when you''re ready. That is, if you can." I had pulled out my spear before I finished talking, and I stabbed the red-eyed man. I had also already activated Mana Conversion, Warrior''s Brave Spirit, Howl of the Wolf, and Judge''s Gavel before leaving the general store. I attacked him so fast he didn''t have time to react.==[You have obtained 0 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]=="Tsk. How despicable." I really did kill him. There was no way any ordinary deva could withstand all that attack power. And like the message said, that attack had killed him, but since I didn''t get any golden rings, it wasn''t a clean death. He had some sort of ability like Angel."What is up with that? It''s so annoying." I doubted he could resurrect thirteen times like Angel, but it was frustrating regardless. Why couldn''t they just die normally?"But his eyes¡­they''re bothering me¡­" I had known of his existence for a while now, ever since I had started Survival at the Ogre Dungeon.==[What skills do you know?Will you reveal this information?]====[What level are you now?Will you reveal this information?]====[How many Stat points do you have?Will you reveal this information?]====[What''s your goal?Will you reveal this information?]====[What secrets do you have? What are your weaknesses?Will you reveal this information?]==The fact that these messages kept appearing was confusing, but they all asked for my permission. I rejected all of the ones that I could. There were some that I couldn''t and they mostly had to do with external information about me, like my location and whatnot.Still, I gathered that this was happening because of my Listen passive skill. I had thought that it was a dud skill after opening the Random Skill Chest at 0 skill points, and still did up until recently. All it did was allow me to hear Shaman Ko, the Dungeon Mole, and Death''s Achilles Tendon. But for the first time ever, Listen was actually useful."But it doesn''t change the fact that that guy''s still around!" I had ignored him on purpose, biding my time to get the jump on him. I pulled my Comm Link out and called someone from the Empire."How can I help, commander?""I''d like you to find someone for me. He has red irises, black hair, on the good-looking side, stands at about 187 centimeters, and should weigh about 75 kilograms.""Is he from Earth?""..." I didn''t know how to answer for a moment, but my instincts screamed that he was an enemy. The system had also told me that he was an enemy when I killed him."No, he''s from Croot.""I see. I''ll get right on it, sir."After hearing the officer''s reply, I hung up, but I didn''t move from my spot right away. He was definitely my enemy; all of the evidence pointed to that he was, which was why I attacked him without hesitation. But for some reason, I had hesitated when I tried to answer the officer. It was only for a moment, but it was bugging me because it wasn''t normal."Hmm¡­ there''s something wrong here¡­" No matter which way I looked at it, it wasn''t right, but I couldn''t figure out why. I tightened my hold on my spear. I was not going to let him go the next time I saw him...------Section 92 of the Judge''s Continent¡­Dunia was panting heavily, his face beet red. He really had just died. He took out an item shining with a white light from his inventory.==[Resurrection Crystal (Rank 8)This is a crystal imbued with resurrection magic. You will receive its effects as long as it remains in your inventory.Increase all Stats by 100 points. (No effect)Increase VIT by 200 points. (No effect)You will be asked to resurrect with no penalties upon death. (No effect)Choosing to resurrect will cause the Resurrection Crystal to lose all of its effects.]==Dunia had thought that this item was useless. All it did was protect him from one death penalty. To Dunia, a single death penalty was nothing to worry about. Dunia had believed that it wasn''t worth being Rank 8. Still, he didn''t want to sell it to deities who feared death more than devas, so no matter how much they offered he had just kept it in his inventory all this time. He could at least do with the increase in his Stat points. But it had just saved his hide here on the Judge''s Continent. He frowned now that his one insurance policy was gone."Fine. I can acknowledge that you can kill me with one attack. I knew that when I saw you fight Angel. But how the hell did you know?" He didn''t care that he died instantly. He wasn''t very strong, thanks to Claudia, and he had seen Lee Jiwon kill Angel with just a couple of swings. But the way Lee Jiwon had just casually walked up to him and asked what it was that he wanted to know so badly had freaked Dunia out. No one on Croot knew about Dunia''s ability, so no one on Earth should know, either!"But Absolute Trust didn''t work on him, either." It was only for a moment, but his red eyes had locked on to Lee Jiwon''s. He had used Absolute Trust in that short amount of time. He had to, no matter how surprised he was. But all he received in return was a stab through the heart without hesitation."Fuck¡­" Dunia was afraid. The three insurance policies that could keep him alive against Lee Jiwon were all gone. Dunia no longer had an escape route for the next time they met."Just what in the world are you, Lee Jiwon?" Dunia stayed rooted in place for a while, thinking about the mystery that was Lee Jiwon.------Section 35''s Center D weapon shop¡­"Activate: Fated Crossroads." My heart was beating hard in my chest. I was about to attempt to upgrade my Harrier to Rank 10. ==[Fated Crossroads has been activated.You are presented with two paths.Path 1: You attempt to upgrade your Heart''s Blood Harrier to Rank 10.Path 2: You decide to not upgrade your Heart''s Blood Harrier to save your golden rings.]====[Please select one of the two paths.]==It was the same message as last time and I made the same choice as well."Select first path!" A video appeared before me. 268 Chapter 267: What’s Got You So Curious? Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Haha! Nice! But doesn''t this pretty much mean I''ll succeed every time? I don''t even need to wait for Fated Crossroads.]====[Fated Crossroads has now deactivated.Fated Crossroads will be on cooldown for the next 147 days.]==The me inside the video was grinning from ear to ear. That was enough for me. The cooldown was a lot longer than the last, but I didn''t care about that. Upgrading my Harrier to Rank 10 was more important."I''ll buy a Weapon Rank Upgrade.""Please select the weapon you wish to upgrade. The cost and success rate of the upgrade will depend on the weapon''s Rank."The same system window from last time appeared and I placed my Harrier into the slot without hesitation.==[You have selected a Rank 9 weapon.Upgrading this weapon requires 900,000,000 golden rings and has a 1% chance of success. If the upgrade fails, you will lose the 900,000,000 golden rings. Are you sure you wish to proceed?]=="Proceed!" There was still the voice in the back of my head that told me not to trust in Fated Crossroads so much. Like its description said, there was a 99% chance it was telling the truth and a 1% chance it was lying. But I still believed that it was worth betting on those odds. Besides, it was only 900 million golden rings. It was chump change to me now.Still, my heart was beating out of my chest. A Rank 8 or Rank 9 weapon was nothing compared to a Rank 10. That was why Rank 8 and Rank 9 items shone red while Rank 10 items alone shone purple. Soon, a message appeared before me rather simply while I was stressing out.==[The Rank 9 Heart''s Blood Harrier has successfully been upgraded to Rank 10.]=="..." Just a moment ago, my Harrier was still oozing a red haze, but in the blink of an eye, it shone with a bright purple light. And I wasn''t the only one who saw it."Whoa!""It''s¡­purple!""It''s a Rank 10 weapon!""Someone actually spent 900 million golden rings on a 1% chance¡­?""It''s Lee Jiwon. Lee Jiwon just upgraded his Rank 9 weapon to Rank 10!""I saw him succeed last time, too.""Yeah, I did too. He successfully upgraded his Rank 8 spear to Rank 9. But he did it again? Without fail?""That''s just crazy¡­""Who does that¡­?"The gossiping and whispering were getting loud enough for me to hear. I completely understood their disbelief; I''d be the same way. I picked up my Harrier and put it back in my inventory. I could check it at home. It wasn''t like it was going to drop back down to Rank 9 if I checked it later. I had to upgrade my accessories'' Ranks first. I had initially planned to do it after using Fated Crossroads one more time. If it showed me succeed a total of three times, then I was sure that I could succeed each time. But right now, Fated Crossroads had a cooldown of 147 days, almost five months! I couldn''t wait that long. I just had to believe in my Luck Boost.I entered the accessory shop and a huge crowd followed. They had all seen me successfully upgrade to Rank 10."Welcome to Section 35''s Center D accessory shop.""Show me your accessories.""Right away, sir."The store menu came up, revealing a variety of accessories, but I ignored them all and scrolled all the way down."I''ll buy an Accessory Rank Upgrade."Soon, a similar window with a slot like the weapon upgrade appeared. I had originally planned on upgrading the Reversal Prodigy first. It was thanks to that item that I could get off six to eight critical hits in a row. But I had changed my mind just a few minutes ago.==[Bracelet of Eternal Fire (Rank 8)A bracelet holding the wick of an ever-burning candle. All that remains is the wick, but the flame never goes out.Increase all stats by 100 pointsIncrease VIT by 500 pointsWhen HP reaches 0, HP is restored back to 35%. (Eternal Fire''s Last Breath): Once activated, user must wait 30 days before being able to use effect again.]==This one didn''t have critical boosts like other accessories and only had two Stat boost effects. A 500 point-boost to VIT wasn''t anything to scoff at, but it still lacked for a Rank 8 accessory, especially with the Eternal Fire''s Last Breath effect.-It''d be great if upgrading it to Rank 9 adds another Last Breath effect!-Of course, I had too high of HP and VIT to be able to die easily, but I wanted extra lives after facing off against Angel and the red-eyed stranger. I wanted more lives than the extra one the Bracelet of Eternal Fire had right now. I placed the Bracelet into the upgrade slot.==[You have selected a Rank 8 accessory.Upgrading this weapon requires 1,400,000,000 golden rings and has a 1-3% chance of success. If the upgrade fails, you will lose the 1,400,000,000 golden rings. Are you sure you wish to proceed?]==Upgrading accessories was almost twice as expensive as upgrading weapons, even though the rate of success was the same. That seemed to be the norm for accessories."Proceed!"==[The Rank 8 Bracelet of Eternal Fire has failed to be upgraded to Rank 9.The 1,400,000,000 golden rings will not be returned to you.]=="..." I fell into a different silence than when I had successfully upgraded my weapon. 1.4 billion golden rings was 1,400 Stat points. I quickly snapped to and returned the Bracelet to my inventory. I turned around and left the shop with a poker face. I didn''t want to cause a scene here of all places. Once I left the Store, I Blinked away.---Back at my home in Center D¡­"Hmm¡­did my Luck Boost not work that time? Maybe attempting 3% right after 1% was too much for it¡­" I was still angry about it, especially after being that confident I would succeed. I had to suppress my urge to shout out, since it wasn''t like anyone could understand if I complained to them about my Luck Boost. It was a secret I had to take to the grave.I laid down on my bed and summoned the Dungeon Mole and the Achilles Tendon for the first time in a while. I at least got to upgrade my spear to Rank 10, and got so much out of Survival that I could rest comfortably. "Item Check."[Heart''s Blood Harrier (Rank 10)A spear crafted not for practical use¡­Successful attacks drain 50,000 HP from enemies. Absorbed HP is used to restore wielder''s lost HP. (If no HP is lost, absorbed HP disappears.)AoE HP drain. (Absorb a moderate amount of HP from enemies within a 50-meter radius. Does not work against undead monsters.)20% chance to ignore enemy DEF.If the wielder''s HP is higher than the enemy''s HP, the wielder''s combat abilities increase by 10% and the enemy''s decrease by 20%.Increase Penetration by 550.Increase CRIT chance by 8.8%, increase CRIT damage by 555%.Increase STR by 1,000.Increase VIT by 2,000.Increase HP by 5,000,000.Durability: 3,945,000/3,945,000ATT: 58,900, MATT: 4500]"Damn." I couldn''t help but feel amazed no matter how many times I looked at it. "That''s quite the difference¡­" It was a completely different weapon now. It wasn''t the same Harrier I had found in Egypt, especially with its new effect. It now increased my combat abilities by 10% while lowering my enemy''s by 20%, as long as I had more HP."And I doubt there''s anyone out there who has more HP than me." That was one of my aspects I could confidently say was true. My VIT and HP had never let me down since I had started my second life in the Otadolon stage. The Harrier also raised my HP by another five million points. There was no way I could lose when it came to HP. The more I looked at the Harrier''s description, the more my anger about failing the Bracelet disappeared. It didn''t matter to me anymore that I had lost out on 1.4 billion golden rings. The Harrier itself was probably worth 20 or 30 billion golden rings. Then again, it wasn''t like I was ever going to sell it.I picked up my Comm Link and called my mother."What is it, Jiwon?""Mom, let''s throw a feast.""Why all of a sudden?""Well, it''s been almost four months since I''ve been home. Let''s get the family together for a feast.""Sure, if that''s what my boy wants, then I should make it happen."--------One week later, during a weekly Empire meeting¡­"So, you''re saying that the red-eyed stranger was seen being friendly with a member of the Abu Dhabi Guild?""Yes sir. But that Abu Dhabi member has no recollection of that day or that man.""He remembers nothing at all?""No sir. It''s strange; there are many witnesses who saw the two walking down the streets of Center B, which was how we were able to put together this sketch of the red-eyed man. But the Abu Dhabi deva says he had never seen him in his life."A sketch of a man was placed before me. It was him, the man with red irises."Is that all the information on his movements?""No sir. We were able to confirm that he had met with Cheng Long, Nayuta, and the Windsor Guard after that day.""..." From that, I knew right away that whoever this guy was, he was planning some sort of attack or a coup. None of those three guilds liked me very much, nor did I like them."It would seem that he''s either an Information or Curse-type ability user. It was only for a moment, but I wasn''t able to see him as an enemy." I decided to reveal what I had felt that day. They had to know that as well."So that means¡­""Seeing as how our man couldn''t remember him, it doesn''t seem so far-fetched," Taniya agreed."Should we deal with this preemptively?" Baden asked. He seemed guilty since it was a member of his guild who became involved."No, we mustn''t," Taniya said. "Keep in mind that this was is a team game. It''s Earth versus Croot. If the Empire decides to make those three Earth guild''s the enemy, it''ll cause chaos among the other Earth guilds. I''m sure that is what the enemy wishes to happen.""She''s right. We''re currently the strongest Earth alliance. It''ll look like we''re bullying the three guilds for not joining us. No one is going to like that very much.""I have to agree. It doesn''t matter how much evidence we have; it''ll be hard to convince the other guilds to forgive us if we act rashly."I nodded in agreement. If it were up to me, I would have crushed those three guilds for conspiring with the enemy, but it wasn''t like we had enough evidence."Move Cheng Long, Nayuta, and the Winsor Guard up to priority one and keep track of their movements closely. I''ll leave it to you, Alpha.""Yes sir. Leave it to us. It''s our specialty, after all," Alpha replied with a smile. 269 Chapter 268: Excursion Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"I''m thinking about entering the enemy''s territory again.""Alone?" My officers looked at me wide-eyed in surprise."Yes.""It''s too dangerous.""He''s right. Warp Scrolls don''t work on the Continent, so if you get surrounded by the enemy¡­" The two biggest items that became worthless here on the Judge''s Continent were Warp Scrolls and Death Penalty Restoration Gems. The Gems no longer worked since there were no more death penalties, resurrections now being a thing of the past. Warp Scrolls could not record any location on the Continent, rendering them useless. It was not like they could take us back to Earth, anyway."If you still insist on going, why not take a couple of Warp Mages and an escort with you?""There''s an idea. Besides, didn''t we decide to invade the enemy in less than two months with an army of a million soldiers, anyway? If something happens to you during that time, everything we''ve planned will be for naught.""Earth can''t lose you, sir."After the first few battles against Croot, it was clear that I was Earth''s only shot at victory. It was why my officers were so worried. But I didn''t say that I was going for no reason."Thank you all for your concerns. But I''m afraid going with anyone else will slow me down. And I''m not going because I want to prove something. You don''t need to worry about anything.""But still¡­""If something happens¡­" The Empire''s guild masters and officers still voiced their concerns. Just then, Song Daechul cut in."I believe in our commander. I doubt an enemy force of even a million soldiers could ever defeat Jiwon.""I agree with Master Song. Besides, I''m sure we can use whatever information the commander brings back to help with the planned invasion in two months time," Madun added.After that, no one else disagreed with my decision. They just made me promise to retreat if things got too dangerous, and to report home as often as I could.------On the way to the Center D Store¡­When I had said that I wanted to enter the enemy''s territory on my own, I had many of the officers tell me I was being too curious and too confident. I just laughed in response, because I knew just how much of a coward I was. I honestly wouldn''t have made the suggestion if I hadn''t completed Survival and upgraded my spear to Rank 10. I just would have spent time wondering how to spend the next two months.But not only were my rewards from Survival and my new spear so outstanding, I also had 8 skill points to use. It hadn''t been long since I had spent 10 points to learn Remove Skill Cooldown but thanks to Survival and all of those levels I had gained, I could learn another skill this quickly. This time, I was definitely going to learn more AoE combat skills. Just about all of the battles I''d fought here on the Continent have been full-scale battles with armies. I needed more AoE combat skills if I wanted to inflict maximum damage against enemy armies.I entered the Store''s skill shop."Welcome to Section 35''s Center D skill shop.""Show me your skills.""Right away, sir."Soon, I was shown the same skill store menu as the one on Earth. I looked over to the Random Skills tab, hoping that there was another random skill I could learn, but there was none. Slightly disappointed, I opened up the Physical Skill tree tab and searched for AoE skills. As I scrolled through, one skill caught my eye.==[Scorching Rage (3/3), (Active)Summons a giant weapon from the sky and slams it deep into the ground. Inflicts massive damage to enemies in a 15-meter radius. (Skill''s range increases according to the user''s STR Stat.)Inflicts additional damage according to the user''s Weapon Rank.Rank 7: 3% increase in damageRank 8: 5% increase in damageRank 9: 10% increase in damageRank 10: 20% increase in damageRequirements to learn: STR 13,000/WIL 3000Level 1: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 120% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Decreases enemies'' DEF and MDEF by 10% for 30 seconds.Level 2: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 150% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Decreases enemies'' DEF and MDEF by 20% for 30 seconds.Level 3: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 200% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Decreases enemies'' DEF and MDEF by 30% for 30 seconds.Skill points required: 3Golden rings required: 640,000,000]==Right away, I liked the part where it inflicted additional damage according to Weapon Rank, since my Harrier was now Rank 10. I also liked that my STR increased its range. Everything about it was better than Fissure. That was probably why it was a hundred times more expensive to learn."Learn: Scorching Rage!" I decided to learn it right away. I didn''t need to be concerned about golden rings here on the Continent anymore. Then again, I was still feeling pretty bitter about the 1.4 billion golden rings I had lost the other day...I still had 5 skill points to use. I scrolled through the list of AoE skills and noticed a familiar skill.==[Titan Stomp (3/3), (Active)A legendary Titan stomps on the ground to inflict severe damage in a range of seven meters. The higher the user''s STR, the deeper the crater the Titan can form in the earth.Requirements to learn: STR 10,000Level 1: 300 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 70% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Inflicts additional damage according to user''s STR.Level 2: 300 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 100% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Inflicts additional damage according to user''s STR.Level 1: 300 second cooldown. Inflicts base damage and additional 150% of user''s ATT to enemies in skill''s range. Inflicts additional damage according to user''s STR.Skill points required: 3Golden rings required: 110,000,000]==This was the skill Arthur Lucas had once used on me. He actually used a lot of Titan-related skills, and used this one the most. It didn''t really inflict that much damage to me. It did get annoying at times, thanks to the uniqueness of the House Centipede skill. It did fall short compared to Scorched Rage with its shorter range and without the increased damage to weapon Rank. But I did like that it inflicted more damage according to its user''s STR. It could easily turn the tides of a battle. "Alright. I''ll learn this one. I need a skill that will benefit from my STR. Learn: Titan Stomp!"==[You have learned Titan Stomp.]==Now I still had 2 skill points to use. I couldn''t learn any more AoE skills since they mostly required 3 or more skill points. I switched over to single target skills, but I didn''t see a single one I liked. As good Judge''s Gavel was, my normal attacks were just too powerful compared to skills."Hmm¡­" I kept searching for twenty minutes, but came up with nothing. I thought about saving a few more skill points and learning another single target skill that was as strong as Judge''s Gavel. It wasn''t like I felt I was getting much utility out of more single target skills, anyway. Then, just when I was about to give up, a certain skill caught my eye.==[Increase Blink Range (1/1), (Passive)Increases Blink range by 50%Requirements to learn: BlinkSkill points required: 1Golden rings required: 1,000,000]==I currently knew two Blink skills with differing effects. The Blink from the Lightning Boots had a range of 500 meters, while the other had a range of 1,000 meters. The first Blink had a cooldown of 300 seconds, while the other had half that. That was the difference the Rank 10 King-Emperor''s Commitment had after being Amplified. If I learned this skill, I could easily give chase to fleeing enemies, or get myself out of any hairy situation."Learn: Increase Blink Range!" It was a cheap skill to learn, anyway.That ended my shopping there. I had spent 750 million golden rings just to learn a few skills, but it didn''t feel like a waste at all. "Let''s see here¡­I have 1.8 billion golden rings left¡­should I try again?" I was still bitter about the Bracelet upgrade, if that wasn''t clear already. I wanted to try to beat the system, but I quickly stopped myself. I wasn''t desperate enough for extra lives to get that hung up over it. Besides, I had lost the 1.4 billion golden rings after being so confident that it would work. I didn''t want to let myself down that hard again."I''ll leave that for later. No, I''ll leave all upgrades for later." I decided to save my money for now and to wait for Fated Crossroads first. "That just leaves one last thing now." I headed home for now, to finish up my preparations for my little excursion. ------Section 115¡­Dunia was meeting with Claudia."Is that all you''ve done so far? It''s not much coming from you.""Yeah, I know," Dunia replied as he raised his hands in surrender."I doubt causing only that much trouble will do much against the enemy.""I agree. It won''t amount to much without outside help." Dunia didn''t try to defend himself after all the work he put in. He had heard so much about Lee Jiwon''s strength from the enemy soldiers he had hypnotized into becoming his friends. He also heard about the strength of the Empire Guild that backed Lee Jiwon, and was backed by Lee Jiwon. If the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild decide to attack the Empire, they were going to get destroyed in less than a day."The Empire alliance stands at the pinnacle of Earth''s entire strength. Remember that it was the Empire that destroyed Section 79, killed Angel and wiped out two-thirds of your invading army. It''s a miracle that those two guilds still hate Lee Jiwon.""Fine. Be that as it may, what''s happened to Lee Jiwon?""..." The biggest problem was Lee Jiwon, not causing dissent in the enemy''s ranks. Dunia''s priority target was Lee Jiwon. If he could have forced Lee Jiwon to become his ally, it would have solved so many problems for Croot. He wouldn''t even need to rely on the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild. But Lee Jiwon was cut from a different cloth than Dunia''s past enemies. Dunia couldn''t learn anything personal about him, nor could he hypnotize him. It was the first time Dunia had felt this afraid tof anyone."Nothing worked on Lee Jiwon.""What?""It''s exactly as I said. Not a single one of my abilities worked on him, not even my red eyes.""Will you make sense? You''ve used those abilities on countless Unrivaled devas before. Lee Jiwon is also an Unrivaled deva. There''s no way you can fail." Claudia couldn''t really believe Dunia. He was the one who had caused her and the other Crootian deities so much grief.Dunia took something out of his inventory. It was a faded crystal. "Will this be enough?"Claudia knew what that item once was, Dunia''s Resurrection Crystal. It was an item that all deities wanted. She knew what Dunia meant when she saw that it had lost its light."Fine. I''ll believe you." Death was absolute on the Judge''s Continent. She knew that Dunia would never squander an item that valuable, so she decided to not press the issue. "What do you plan to do now?""If we need to cause trouble from outside, then let''s cause trouble from outside," Claudia replied in a soft voice, ending their conversation there. 270 Chapter 269: Excursion Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDBack at my home in Center D, I was lounging on my sofa while sipping on some tea. I put down my cup, looked at the space in front of me, and whispered, "Call: Zulova!"In a matter of seconds, Zulova appeared before me. Confused, he whipped his head left and right to check his surroundings."What are you, a meerkat? Why are you so on edge? It''s not like it''s the first time it''s happened.""Why, you¡­!""Sorry. Were you in the middle of dinner? What were you eating? I like anything with meat, personally," I said nonchalantly when I noticed that Zulova was still holding a knife and a fork in his hands. "So, why haven''t I heard from you these days? Don''t you want to go up to Diamond Class? You really should. I told you before; if you bring any one of the other Monarchs or anyone just as strong, I''ll bump you all the way up to Diamond Class. You won''t get another chance like this.""What¡­ you were serious?" Zulova asked without a trace of his anger."Then what, did you think I was joking after I was being so sincere about it?" I replied with a straight face. "And I''m thinking about going on an excursion to the enemy territory pretty soon. If I find a lot of prey over there, I''ll even summon you over. You remember the one million enemy soldiers from last time, right? It''s not easy to find that many in one place.""...""You can hunt however much prey you want; I won''t butt in. I won''t even care if you bite off more than you can chew and end up getting overrun. So you better bring some friends. I''m serious; don''t make me say any more. That last battle should have been enough to convince you."Call was so useful these days. I was pretty sure that it wasn''t meant to be used this way, but I didn''t care now that I basically had Zulova at my beck and call. I did have many others registered in Call now, like Madun Yatekin, Lagus Aman, and Arthur Lucas, but I needed to look out for them to the end if I did ever summon them. There was no way I could let important members of the Empire die on my watch, and I was always too busy looking out for myself in battle. That was why I needed someone as strong as Zulova, but just as expendable. I had to admit, I was as bad as street thugs in this aspect, but I didn''t care. If I had maybe five more Zulovas, I could use them to get out of any hairy situation.-Ah!-I had just realized something so simple that I almost shouted out loud. I could also register a Warp Mage to help me get to places quickly. I smiled to myself as I turned back to Zulova. "This is your last chance to skip Gold and Emerald and jump all the way to Diamond Class. If you lose out on this chance, I''m going to offer it to someone else. Don''t make that expression. You''re making me look like a bad guy. All Korean pyramid schemes are like this. Once you''re in, you can''t get out."Zulova kept silent for a moment with his lips sealed shut before speaking again. "¡­Are you serious about this?""Huh? About what?""If I really bring others to you¡­you''ll bump me up to Diamond Class?""Of course I am. If you get up to Diamond Class, that means I''ll summon others to use as meat shields in dangerous situations, and I''ll summon you first if I find any good hunting spots. I''ll even split the golden rings the lower Classes bring in with you. So it''s in your best interest to bring in as many as you can.""Ha¡­fine. Just wait a few days. I''ll contact you soon.""Sure, I''ll wait. Do your best!" After sharing a few more words, I sent Zulova on his way with his fork and knife."Oh, Master Zulova! I see you came to see the young master.""You two really must be good friends!""Thank you for fighting by the young master''s side that day, even though it was dangerous. Please, eat with us before you go."On his way out, Zulova was stopped by a few members of my clan who thanked him profusely.I cackled at the sight as Zulova grimaced, trying to push his way out.------The next day¡­I didn''t need to go far since there were some Warp Mages among my three hundred clan members on the Continent. They were weaker than the Warp Mages of the Messenger Guild, but they were strong enough to be allowed to run a Teleporter Zone here at Section 35. That was enough for me to rely on."Register," I said as I held the mage''s hand for a minute.==[You have successfully registered your target into Call.Yang Kitae: Deva]=="Did it work, sir?""Yes, it did. I do hope I don''t ever have to resort to it.""Don''t worry about it, sir. Call me anytime you need me.""Thanks."That completed my preparations for today. I headed over to one of the many Teleporter Zones here at Section 35 to head to Section 3. ------Section 3¡­Since I had already told the Empire''s officers that I would be going on an excursion into the enemy''s territory, Song Daechul, Song Haechang, and Song Haein were already by Section 3''s Teleporter Zone waiting for me. I saw Song Daechul often during meetings, and Song Haechang had fought with me in just about almost all of the battles on the Continent. On the other hand, it had been a while since I had last seen Haein."Be careful out there, oppa.""I will. Thanks." I felt a little awkward. I knew about Haein''s feelings by now, especially after the events in the King-Emperor''s Tomb and during the whole fiasco with Song Haechang. I wasn''t a dense male character of some cheesy K-drama, so I caught on pretty quickly, but I had also never dated before. I couldn''t help putting my guard up when I was around her, and all I had cared about then was getting stronger. It wasn''t like I could start dating or think about love here on the Judge''s Continent of all places.After saying an awkward goodbye to Haein, I turned around and headed for the enemy''s territory.------Standing alone atop Section 3''s ramparts, Song Haein watched Lee Jiwon head to the enemy''s territory alone. The sight reminded Song Haein of the first time she had met Lee Jiwon at Seoul''s Store 72. He exuded confidence even though something unbelievable had happened to Earth. He had left such an impression on her that she was fully intent on keeping tabs on him even before her grandfather had ordered her to. Then, after Lee Jiwon had helped her and her family out, he had suddenly fallen into a deep, mysterious sleep. Song Haein worried about him. She thought that maybe Lee Jiwon was being punished for helping when he wasn''t supposed to. And so, Song Haein had taken it upon herself to look after him, especially after the Sunbin Guild had become one of the world''s most famous guilds using the information Lee Jiwon had given them. After looking after Lee Jiwon every day for four years, it was only natural for Song Haein to develop feelings for him. After Lee Jiwon awoke from his sleep, Song Haein began to hear so many great stories about his heroics, and she constantly hoped that he would continue to succeed. She always wanted to meet him again, but when they finally did, she knew right away just how disappointed and hurt Lee Jiwon had felt towards the Sunbin Guild.Song Haein had felt so guilty about what her family had done to him that she decided to help him as much as she could. Song Haein was the one who told Song Daechul to give Lee Jiwon the King-Emperor''s Helm and the King-Emperor''s Mantle. She had even half-threatened her grandfather that if he didn''t, she would stop leveling up and avoid all Sunbin Guild activities. She wanted to be the sacrifice of the Tomb instead, and it was her idea to provide Lee Jiwon with the location of the hidden dungeon in India. That was all she could do for him. Then, when Lee Jiwon had risen to the point that she could no longer help him, she hoped that Lee Jiwon would continue to rise up because that was what he wanted to do.-Be careful, oppa...-Song Haein remained in that spot on the ramparts long after Lee Jiwon had disappeared into the horizon.------"Hmm¡­where should I go?" Ever since the first time we had crossed into enemy lines, we had scouts and small infiltration teams perform reconnaissance of the enemy''s territory. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to map out eight of the closest of the enemy''s Sections."Should I start with the outermost Sections?" Section 81 to the right caught my eye so I decided to hit that place first. I didn''t plan on doing much during this little excursion in the first place. I just didn''t want to have to spend the next two months on mere monsters, and I was curious about what my new skills and Rank 10 spear could do."Blink 1. Blink 2."------Ten days later, I could finally see Section 81. I came to a spot where I could see the paths that led into the Section."Did that guy stop caring about me or something?" After I had killed that red-eyed stranger, I no longer received any more questions about me. I knew he was still alive, though."Well, it doesn''t matter much to me." It wasn''t like I could do anything about him, so I decided to not think about it. I waited for night to come and used both Blinks to get on top of the fifty-meter tall walls, then scanned the insides. At a glance, I could tell that it was quiet. It was like with us; the Empire only controlled Sections 3, 6, and 7 and abandoned the rest of the frontline Sections. The enemy did still have a lot more manpower, so this Section was still manned, but I could easily tell that there weren''t as much compared to Section 79."Did Angel''s loss hurt them that much?" I secretly moved through the Section''s Centers in case there were any hidden soldiers. It was pretty easy to move undetected thanks to the increase to Blinks'' range and my heightened AGI. In about three days, I had a complete tally of Section 81. There were two deities and about three hundred thousand soldiers. That was definitely a lot to handle alone, since there was not a single rookie deva among the soldiers. But I couldn''t say that they were all veterans or elites."Should I or should I not?" The numbers made me hesitate, but only for a moment. I had already made my decision to attack before coming here. It was the whole point of my excursion, anyway!I carefully made my way to Center B for now. My first targets were the two deities. Not only did they yield the most EXP and golden rings, they also posed the biggest threat."Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf." I activated my basic buffs first."Activate: Ripped Advance." ==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base Stat points will be increased.)Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]==I did think that I could take both deities on without Ripped Advance, but I activated it anyway. It was only a loss of 100 Stat points at most. It didn''t cost much to make it up and it was a small price to pay to bring out the most of the Harrier, Scorched Rage, and Titan Stomp.Soon, I could see the two deities off in the distance. One of them wielded a bow and the other had a shield on his back. My first target was obviously the deity with the bow. I could definitely kill an archer in a single blow."Judge''s Gavel. Blink 1. Blink 2." I crossed the two kilometers between us in an instant and revealed myself to the deities. They just stood there when they saw me, unable to believe that I was actually there, and I took that chance to stab the archer with my spear."Gah!" he cried out the same time the Judge''s Gavel slammed down on his head. Just as I had predicted, the single attack killed him.==[You have gained a level.]==It was only one level up, but I wasn''t disappointed thanks to Bortega''s Blessing.==[You have obtained 41,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==The golden rings message appeared, but I was already turning towards the shield deity who was still standing there in shock. I stabbed him twice, both attacks flashing yellow."Gah!" The deity didn''t even have time to grab his shield on his back or activate any skills. I didn''t say anything to him, either. I was just grateful he stood there, letting me get more EXP and golden rings easily. I stabbed him twice more, killing him.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained 3 additional levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]====[You have obtained 38,500,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==I had gained a total of eight levels and about eighty million golden rings just from killing two deities. I still needed twenty million more golden rings to make up for the 100 Stat points I could possibly lose for activating Ripped Advance."Hey there!" I greeted the enemy soldiers staring at me like deer caught in the headlights, and I charged at them. This was just the beginning! 271 Chapter 270: Excursion Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Gah!""Help!"Each enemy soldier took exactly one attack to kill, including their tanks that scrambled to stop my advances. They all did do their best to counterattack, since I was just one man."Slow! Slow!""I curse thee with Weakness!""Imprison my enemy! Iron Shackles!""Burst before me, Fire Barrier!""Piercing Power Shot!""Razor Wind!"They started with debuffs and a volley of powerful skills and spells. Of course, debuffs didn''t work on me, since I had status immunity from my Unrivaled status."You idiot! The High Council already deduced that he''s an Unrivaled! Don''t waste your energy on debuffs!""Just attack! Attack him with everything you''ve got!""Where are the deities?""They''re dead.""What?""He killed them first.""...""Fuck! Shouldn''t we be running instead?""He''s right! He''s the guy who destroyed Section 79 and Angel and his army!""Shut up! He''s still one man. I already reported the situation to Mistress Skyla, so we make our stand here no matter what! Reinforcements from the other Centers are on their way as well.""Shit. Why this Section, of all places¡­?"Maybe it was because they were veterans chosen to defend the frontlines, but they still kept up their counterattacks the entire time they complained. But it wasn''t like their attacks meant anything to me. I just avoided the clumps of attacks and let the rest bounce off my skin. With just a swing of my Harrier, I could easily restore the small amount of HP I lost from their attacks. I made sure to stay as close to the enemy soldiers as possible, so that more were within range of the Harrier''s HP absorb and the King-Emperor''s Dignity debuff. It resulted in the enemy soldiers clumping together. "Scorching Rage!" I cried and at that moment, a giant spear manifested. I didn''t know a spear would appear, possibly because I used a spear, since the skill''s description only said that it would be a weapon. Anyway, that giant spear came crashing down on the very spot I was pointing at.The skill''s description stated that its base range was fifteen meters, but the range would increase according to my STR Stat. When the giant spear crashed into the ground, it created a shockwave more than forty meters across. The skill also had an effect that increased its base damage according to Weapon Rank, meaning it had just inflicted twenty percent more damage against all the soldiers caught in the shockwave."..." Even I was speechless at the damage Scorching Rage had just left. The area that just had about three thousand soldiers standing in one place was left with maybe about ten left, all of them tanks. They hd to be be pretty strong tanks to withstand all that damage.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have obtained 50,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 90,000 golden rings.]== : :==[You have obtained 130,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 110,000 golden rings.]==This was still the middle of a battlefield. I didn''t have time to pay attention to each message that came up since there were still more enemy soldiers to fight, and more on their way."Titan Stomp!" I yelled as I turned towards another clump of soldiers. There was no grand entrance like Scorching Rage, but there was another big difference to this skill."Gah!""Ahh!"This time, I heard the cries and screams of pain from the enemy soldiers, and a giant sinkhole in the shape of a giant footprint suddenly slammed down around them. The enemy soldiers screamed and screamed as they were sucked into the ground, to never be seen from again. At the same time, I received a smaller wave of just EXP and golden ring messages. It didn''t inflict as much damage as Scorching Rage, but it was still leagues better than Fissure."Holy shit¡­""This is Hell¡­it has to be!""This can''t be happening¡­!""He''s not strong¡­he''s a goddamn monster. Fuck this!""I''m getting out of here!""Fuck! There''s no chance we''re going to survive here so why the fuck are we still here!?""Screw this, I''m out!"The enemy''s morale had plummeted after just two attacks, and they turned tail. But unfortunately for them, there was no way I was letting them go that easily."Fissure!"That was the last straw for the enemy soldiers. As the earth in front of me split apart, sending a few unfortunate souls into the ground, the enemy soldiers broke rank and ran. Most of them were the tanks that stood in my way and as they ran, they had opened up a straight path for Fissure towards the healers and supporters in the rear lines. The skill didn''t inflict as much damage as the other two skills, but it did enough. Every single enemy soldier that had surrounded me was now climbing over one another to get away from me. For a second there, I wondered if it was a bad idea to use all three of my AoE skills. It would be time-consuming to chase each escaping soldier. But there were far too many of them, and they couldn''t all get away in time. I charged the nearest clump of soldiers.------Section 35¡­The officers of the nine guilds of the Empire alliance were gathered together, watching a video of a battle shown by Jay''s Clairvoyance."...""...""..."A stunned silence filled the officers for a while after the video ended."Wow¡­""I don''t know what to say about that.""What we just saw¡­was real, wasn''t it?"A few officers spoke out quietly, unable to readily believe that what they had just seen was true. But these officers had gathered here today for a different reason; to keep a close eye on Lee Jiwon, now that he was behind enemy lines alone. Lee Jiwon was the one pillar keeping the Empire strong, not to mention the fact that he was Earth''s only hope of getting out of the Judge''s Continent alive. So, while the Empire was keeping close tabs on Cheng Long, Nayuta, and the Windsor Guard, it also kept an eye on Lee Jiwon. They had Lee Jiwon''s permission, of course, and Lee Jiwon had gone without his Stop Watching Me so that Jay''s Clairvoyance skill could work on him. But now that the officers had seen what Lee Jiwon had just done to Section 81, they realized that they had needlessly worried about their commander.It wasn''t to say that the enemy soldiers were weak. They had reacted like professionals and done everything right in terms of defensive tactics and counterattacks, but their opponent was Lee Jiwon. All of their efforts were in vain, and it was only natural to run away from, for a lack of a better term, a freak of nature. Even the Empire''s officers who knew the most about Lee Jiwon''s combat prowess felt a slight fear towards Lee Jiwon, especially after the appearance of his new AoE skills."There''s a good chance the commander might just destroy Section 81 on his own," Madun said, and no one denied it. It really did look that way."What about the enemy''s movements?" Song Haein asked carefully. The enemy had Warp Mages of their own, so there was a chance reinforcements could arrive at any time and surround Lee Jiwon again.Jay scanned the air in front of her before answering. "It doesn''t look like the enemy''s main force has caught on yet. But I also can''t use Clairvoyance to see enemy soldiers moving via Teleportation.""Then show us the entirety of Section 81. We need to be able to let the commander know if reinforcements arrive suddenly.""Right away."------Section 108¡­Skyla had just received the report that Section 81 which was under her control, was being invaded."The enemy''s invaded?""Yes ma''am.""How did they get this close without setting off any alarms? Just how shoddily were the defenses set up? It hasn''t even been that long since Section 79!" Skyla roared at her subordinate. All of the Crootian deities knew what it meant to lose a Section now."It''s one person, ma''am."Skyla gave her subordinate with an incredulous stare. "It''s Lee Jiwon, ma''am. Lee Jiwon came alone and attacked Section 81. Tomon and Kyla, who you had sent to Section 81 are¡­ dead."Skyla coughed in shock. She had already lost five of her deities during the first contact and three more during Angel''s invasion. Now, she had just lost another two. There were thirteen deities in her faction, including her, but she had lost a total of nine in a matter of a few months."This is a Memory Gem that holds the image of Lee Jiwon."Skyla took the Gem from her subordinate with a shaky hand. "Play."The Gem soon played a video showing Section 81 where Lee Jiwon was fighting."This Gem was activated after Tomon and Kyla were killed. From the report I received, they were the first to die. They were both killed instantly.""..." Skyla remained silent and just watched the video the Gem was playing. Pagini, Skyla''s most trusted advisor, finally spoke up after watching the video with her."I know we have a team of Warp Mages and 250 thousand elite soldiers on standby, but I advise against sending them to Section 81.""¡­ Even though the High Council decided that we are to protect our Sections, no matter what?" Skyla asked after a moment of silence."Is that important? We need to survive. We can''t afford to take any more losses. If we do, we may as well give up on our future."Skyla didn''t say anything and just continued to remain focused on the Gem''s video. She finally broke her silence after a while. "Abandon Section 81 and get as many of our soldiers out of there as you can. Empty Section 82 as well," Skyla said, cradling her face in her hands. She had lost to one person, and couldn''t even send help to her soldiers."Contact Claudia. She should be done synchronizing her time with the time of the Judge''s Continent.""Yes, ma''am."Skyla would have gone herself to kill Lee Jiwon if she could. But he was the one who killed Angel. Skyla knew very well that she would lose a one-on-one fight against Angel; what the hell could she do against the man who had tossed Angel to the side, as if he was rubbish? Skyla just continued to stare at the Gem''s video as her subordinates left her alone in her office. 272 Chapter 271: Excursion Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Gwah!""Shit!"I cut, slashed, and stabbed at the enemy soldiers mercilessly, even as they screamed in fear all around me. The thought that I was too savage towards these poor soldiers had crossed my mind, but only for a second. The experience and instincts I had gained over the past eleven years of my life told me that I had no time to pity them. They told me to swing my spear even harder and faster, to kill at least another fleeing enemy soldier.==[Spear Mastery has gained a level.]====[Level 1: Increase ATT, ATT speed, CRIT rate of equipped spear by 1% and CRIT damage by 30%.Level 2:Increase ATT, ATT speed, CRIT rate of equipped spear by 3% and CRIT damage by 60%.]==There wasn''t much of a difference from a single level-up, especially since the skill didn''t have any special requirements and only cost 10,000 golden rings. Still, I was happy that it did, as it made me stronger. It wasn''t the only skill to level up, either.==[Increase CRIT Rate has gained a level.]====[Level 1: Increase CRIT rate by 1%Level 2: Increase CRIT rate by 3%.]==I had learned this passive skill the same time I had learned Spear Mastery, at a higher cost. The 2% increase didn''t seem like much compared to the CRIT effects on my Rank 9 and 10 items, but I wasn''t at 100% yet. 2% was 2%; I''d take what I could get.-All that''s left is to level up Fissure now.-I had learned Fissure the same time as those other two skills, but it still hadn''t leveled up yet. Then again, passive skills did level up faster than active skills. Either way, I did just get stronger, and I went back to slaying the fleeing enemy soldiers with heightened spirits.-----Fifteen hours later, behind a building outside Center B of Section 81¡­"If I were you, I would have run as far away as I could instead of hiding here.""Shit!"''I let the enemy soldiers who had managed to escape Section 81''s borders go, and set off to find every single one who had chosen to hide instead. Three hours ago, the same message I had received at Section 79 had appeared here.==[World 1455 now has control over Section 81.World 1455 will be granted a reward if it can maintain control for the next 24 hours.]==Back when Section 79 was taken over by the Empire, it was destroyed after we maintained control for 24 hours. Then, with my contribution points of almost 150,000,000 points, I had received some great rewards. This time, I had taken over Section 81 on my own, so I was looking forward to the rewards I was going to receive this time. I moved quickly to find and kill all of the hidden enemy soldiers before the enemy''s reinforcements came to take back Section 81. ------Twenty-four hours later¡­I scoured every single corner in Section 81. I really must have killed every single enemy soldier hidden there, because there was no message telling me that Croot had taken back Section 81.==[Section 81 is now under full control of World 1455.Those who had a hand in invading Section 81 will now be granted their rewards.]=="Huh¡­it really did work." I had started this little excursion on my own, thinking I would just do some hit-and-run battles, just enough to hurt the enemy and get out if things got too dicey. But my newly-turned Rank 10 spear and new AoE skills had allowed me to completely take over a Section on my own.==[World 1512 will receive a penalty for losing Section 81 to the enemy.The Stores of World 1512''s remaining Sections will experience a 5% increase in prices.]==Now, Croot''s Store prices were 10% higher than when this war started. That was a huge blow to the enemy''s economy. As I watched, the buildings of Section 81 were sucked into the ground. I had already seen it happen at Section 79, so I wasn''t surprised by it.==[Calculating contribution points in the invasion of Section 81¡­]==The message came up, but I didn''t wait for it to finish calculating nor was I worried about my points. It was going to take more than a day to finish anyway, and I knew it was going to be well over 150 million points."Should I go to neighboring Section, too?" It hadn''t been a month since I had left Earth''s territory, so it was too early to return home. It would take another month or so for the Empire to finish putting together the one million soldiers for the coming invasion. Besides, I had a Warp Mage at my beck and call, so I wouldn''t need to worry about the time it would take to return home."Let''s go to Section 82."------ Section 115¡­Claudia was holding a meeting with her subordinate deities. "I''m sure you all know by now, but Croot has lost yet another Section.""..." No one said anything out of embarrassment. Section 81 was part of Skyla''s territory, but it was too huge of a blow to just blame it all on Skyla. "I''ve decided to lead the next battle," Claudia said."Have you gotten hold of the Continent''s flow of time?""I have. Synchronization is complete.""Alright!""Finally!" The twenty eight subordinate deities all cheered. They could finally make their move against the enemy. This was the whole reason Claudia had decided that Croot would not attack the enemy right away during the first High Council meeting on the Judge''s Continent. Claudia needed to synchronize with the time that flowed on the Continent. If she did, she would have the power to wipe out millions of enemy soldiers on her own. Claudia turned to face Dunia who was there as well. "Leave the outside trouble to me. You just take that chance and hit them from the inside.""Got it.""Hmph. You''re compliant today.""Well, now that you''re done with the Continent''s time, you''re basically untouchable. I wanted to get rid of you before then, but I guess I can''t now.""How unfortunate.""It sure is. But since we''re in this together, I''ll be cheering you on. But I bet Adora will be pretty bitter once he finds out you''ve finished your synch. If you weren''t in the picture, he''d be Croot''s number one.""I told you that if you show those red eyes of yours in front of me again, I will steal back your time. Did you think that was an idle threat?""Oh, sorry. That''s my bad. I couldn''t help myself now that you''re at full strength. Hehe!"Claudia knew Dunia was just taunting her into doing something she would regret, but she did not let herself get angry at him. It was the least she expected he would do, and she couldn''t kill someone as useful as him... yet. "Let''s see just how long you''ll keep that smart mouth on you," Claudia said to Dunia quietly, before turning back to the other deities. "Make your preparations. We will destroy both Lee Jiwon and his Empire.""Yes ma''am!"------On the road to Section 82¡­==[The system has finished calculating your contribution points.]=="Eh?" I was surprised when the message appeared before me. I knew by now that the more points I had, the longer it took the system to calculate them, but it hadn''t been an entire day since I had left Section 81. That only meant that I hadn''t earned more points than when I had taken over Section 79.==[You have obtained 77,325,551 contribution points. You will receive 20,000,000 golden rings for participating in the full invasion of an enemy''s Section.]=="..." It was half the points I had earned from Section 79. I couldn''t accept it right away. I had expected that I earned way more points since I had taken over Section 81 on my own. But I didn''t have anyone to ask why this was. Then, I remembered the biggest difference the two Sections. Section 79 had more than two million soldiers manning it, and we had killed more than half that number. The rest had managed to get away. But Section 81 was only manned by three hundred thousand soldiers, and I couldn''t kill all of them."But hold on. Shouldn''t I still get more points? I took over a Section on my own; that''s more difficult than invading a larger Section with a small army."But the next message appeared, as if it didn''t care about my complaints.==[You have obtained the most contribution points out of all of your comrades.You have gained 7 levelsYou have received 1405 Stat points.You have received 1 skill point.You have received 2,700,000,000 golden rings]=="What do you mean my comrades? I did it on my own!" The rewards were definitely really good. With Bortega''s Blessing, I had gained a total of 32 levels and received a total of 1.8 billion golden rings just from killing enemy soldiers. Still, I had expected a lot more."Hmm¡­ so in the end, there needs to be more soldiers manning a Section," I said to myself, before resuming my journey to Section 82. Whatever the case, I needed there to be more enemy soldiers guarding a Section, for me at least. While the 5% penalty Croot received for losing a Section was good for Earth as a whole, I cared more about my own rewards.When I got there, I noticed right away that it was completely empty. There was not a single person in sight. The moment I stepped over Section 82''s border, a message appeared before me.==[World 1455 now has control over Section 82.World 1455 will be granted a reward if it can maintain control for the next 24 hours.]== 273 Chapter 272: Excursion Part V Translator: HunterWEditor: REDIf Section 82 was being taken over just by me stepping foot on it, it only meant one thing; it was completely empty. "Huh¡­ did they all run away?"It was definitely not a bad thing. The enemy was going to lose another Section and receive another 5% hike in prices. It was also a good chance for me to act a little generous."Call: Zulova, Yang Kitae.""..." Zulova remained calm, since this was already his third time being Called like this, while my clan member was visibly confused."Where are we, sir?""This is Section 82. Did the both of you receive the message about it?""Yes, sir. Earth had started the takeover of Section 82 and in 24 hours¡­""That''s right. We''ll be granted rewards. And you don''t need to worry. There are no enemies here.""Ah¡­" Yang Kitae sighed and seemed to calm down.I turned to Zulova standing off to the side, who spoke up first. "Are you going to let us in on the 20 million golden rings?""Yeah! How''d you know?""It wasn''t just a few soldiers who invaded Section 79 that day. Just about everyone on Earth knows about the twenty million you get just for participating. And it''s not like the Empire tried to keep that hidden.""Well, you''re not wrong. But that''s why I brought you here specially.""Shouldn''t you be saying that before you already destroyed an enemy Section?""Erk." He got me there, to be honest. "That''s¡­ because I was too busy! Do you know how many enemy soldiers there were on Section 81? More than three hundred thousand! And there were two deities like you! It was absolute chaos!""Sure, whatever you say.""I''m telling you the truth!"Zulova brushed off Lee Jiwon''s excuses, but didn''t press the issue. He didn''t make it obvious, but he was absolutely terrified. In the end, Lee Jiwon had killed two deities and defeated an army of three hundred thousand soldiers on his own!"I''m serious! I had such a hard time. Have you fought against three hundred thousand people alone? They were also veteran soldiers chosen specifically to protect a frontline Section!""..." Zulova didn''t say any more. He didn''t know what to say to this monster.---When Zulova stopped talking altogether, I turned away from him and let him do his own thing, while I took out my Comm Link to contact base."Hello?""It''s Lee Jiwon.""Oh! Yes, sir!""I''m in the process of taking over the enemy''s Section 82. We have exactly twenty-four hours left. I also have a Warp Mage here with me and we''re about to set up a Teleporter Zone.""Are¡­ you thinking what I think you''re thinking?""I am. I want you to send over as many of our soldiers over here as possible, so they can receive the twenty million.""Yes, sir! I''ll report it to the officers right away!""Thank you." I hadn''t exactly planned on doing this, but it was the perfect chance to share the wealth, nonetheless. I returned my Comm Link into my inventory and turned to the Warp Mage. He must have overheard enough of my conversation that when he noticed my gaze, he nodded. "Leave it to me, sir.""Thanks."Yang Kitae made himself busy right away. It wasn''t easy to set up a Teleporter Zone, and alone at that. It took him about thirty minutes to finish, and soon after more Warp Mages crossed over from base. They took up their positions around the Teleporter Zone to help stabilize it and ready it for the coming mass of Empire soldiers. In a matter of minutes, thousands and thousands had crossed over, including my mother, grandfather, and many of my clan members. A chance to obtain twenty million golden rings for free was too good to pass up, after all.When they had all crossed over, the Empire''s officers lined up around me."Thank you, Commander Lee.""You really are something, Jiwon. To think you''ve taken over two Sections on your own¡­""Please, you don''t need to thank me. I only did what was necessary for all of us to become stronger together." That was a pretty decent answer, if I say so myself. Sure, I was going to keep the rewards for taking over Section 82 if they were going to be as good as what I got from Section 81. But after taking over Section 81, I now knew that there needed to be a lot of enemy soldiers to get decent rewards. Since there was nobody here at Section 82, I might as well take that chance to make sure my soldiers could get one up on the enemy as well. I had base send more soldiers and more Warp Mages to stabilize the Teleporter Zone here. By the end of the twenty-four hours, we had moved over four hundred thousand soldiers to Section 82.==[World 1512 will receive a penalty for losing Section 82 to the enemy.The Stores of World 1512''s remaining Sections will experience a 5% increase in prices.]=="Alright!""That''s our third one already!"The soldiers that had come over to Section 82 cheered loudly together as Section 82 was destroyed around them. Not only was the enemy going to receive another 5% price hike, our soldiers had also each received twenty million golden rings. For some of them, it was the most money they''d seen since coming to the Judge''s Continent.==[You have obtained 1 contribution point. You will receive 20,000,000 golden rings for participating in the full invasion of an enemy''s Section.]====[You have obtained 10 golden rings for 1 contribution point.]==I frowned at the messages I received. Ten golden rings for one contribution point. That was so little! But I quickly wiped the frown away as I heard my name being chanted in a hurrah."Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!" It was so loud that I felt the ground trembling from the sound.I raised both my arms to accept their cheer. If I hadn''t, I was sure they wouldn''t stop until I did."How shall we return home?""Let''s walk it. The Warp Mages have kept the Teleporter stable without rest for the past twenty-four hours," I said as I glanced over to the Warp Mages. They were all completely exhausted.-------A fortnight later¡­It took us a little more than two weeks to get back to Section 3 from Section 82. Once we arrived, I took my family and clan members back to Section 35. It wouldn''t be long until the invasion began, and I needed to rest up before then. That night, I received a several visitors. Song Daechul and the other guild masters had come together to see me."What brings you all here?""We want you to have this." Song Daechul, who stood out in front, handing something over.When I accepted it, I noticed that it was golden rings, and a tremendous amount, at that."The golden rings the Empire made from Section 82 is all thanks to you, Jiwon.""Please, I haven''t done much this time. It was empty, anyway.""You''re the reason it was empty in first place, after what you did to Section 81.""..." He wasn''t wrong there."This was the most we could come up with. Ten billion golden rings. I''m sure it''s not much compared to what you can make on your own, but we hope you will still accept this gift of ours.""No, it''s more than enough; too much, in fact¡­" More than four hundred thousand Empire soldiers had obtained twenty million golden rings each two weeks ago. That was no small amount, that was for sure. Not to mention the fact that those golden rings were the only golden rings the soldiers could trade. The golden rings they earned from hunting monsters here or the golden rings they brought from Earth were bound to them. The soldiers who came to Section 82 were also veterans and elites who needed those golden rings badly. This was just how highly they thought of me. I had to use the money wisely.------Three days later¡­While I was taking it easy at my home, I received a call from the Empire''s officers to come to an emergency meeting. At the caller''s urgent tone, I quickly headed over to the base in Section 35. When I arrived at the conference room, I saw that there were already many officers and guild masters of other Earth guilds already there. Something was definitely wrong. I quickly took my seat at the head of the table.Baden al Nayan of the Abu Dhabi Guild was the first to speak. "Our scouts have reported that the Crootians are sending another large army our way.""Really?""Yes, sir. Their numbers exceed two million this time.""Huh¡­ it hasn''t been more than a few months since Angel came with a million soldiers and to send that many more soldiers this soon¡­ they really are taking advantage of their population," I said, clicking my tongue. Those soldiers were most likely veterans, as well. I was still confident we could win and actually looked forward to fighting them. It was another chance to gain more golden rings and levels, not to mention I was much stronger than when I fought against Angel."This invading force is much different than their previous armies.""What do you mean?""According to the reports, this is Croot''s strongest force yet.""Hooo¡­""Furthermore, this army is led by none other than Claudia, Croot''s strongest deity. We know her as the Time Controller.""Time Controller¡­ Sounds serious." If she could really control time itself, we could not afford to underestimate her."Yes, sir.We had the Gnosis Guild and all of our Intelligence divisions focus on gathering more information on her, but the only thing they could find out about her was that she was called the Time Controller. She''s heavily guarded as well, especially since their recent losing streak. But we can say with confidence that she carries the most influence in all of Croot. There are rumors that she can easily lay waste to millions of enemy soldiers.""If she is that strong, I wonder why she hasn''t revealed herself sooner. Losing streak aside, Croot has already lost three Sections.""We can''t say for sure why. But it''s clear she is the final boss, for better or worse. There''s a good chance this next battle will decide the outcome of this war.""..." If she really was the final boss, then it was too early for her to enter the fight. It had only been a little over a year since we entered the Judge''s Continent. I felt that I could have grown stronger if she revealed herself a little later, but that wasn''t always a good thing.Victor Lucas of the Messenger Guild stood up to address the room. "Now that we''re all here, I suggest we start the meeting. I will take this chance to thank the Gnosis Guild once more for bringing us this valuable intel.""Don''t mention it. We were only doing our duty," Alpha said. With that out of the way, we began to discuss how to best meet the enemy in battle. Every single one of us took this seriously. Even I could tell that this coming battle was not going to be easy. 274 Chapter 273: Claudia Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"So to recap, the enemy is sending an invasion force of two million soldiers and there''s a high possibility they can bring more. The enemy army is also led by this Claudia, who is considered to be the strongest Crootian deity, and has the ability to control time.""Time Controller¡­""How horrifying¡­"a few officers muttered as Victor went over again the intel the Gnosis Guild had gathered."We don''t know what her exact powers are, but we do know that she can wipe out millions on her own. She also has thirty other deities under her command. Seeing as she''s the strongest of Croot, there''s a good chance her soldiers are stronger than the soldiers Angel brought with him. In other words, they may arrive sooner than we expect and the coming battle may just be the deciding battle of the Continent," Victor continued coolly, but his words hung heavily in the air. "If they''ve brought out their strongest weapon already, then that means they''re feeling confident. They have to be, because they''re going all in. If they lose even after bringing out their strongest weapon, it''s the end for them.""..." A heavy silence enveloped the room after what I said. There was another problem, however. Taniya spoke up next, as if she knew what I was thinking. "Don''t forget about the Cheng Long Guild, the Nayuta Guild, and the Windsor Guard that the red-eyed man had met. Thanks to the Gnosis Guild, it would seem that the Cheng Long Guild is staying out of this, but Nayuta and the Windsor Guard are suspiciously mobilizing their armies.""Tsk. So we''re surrounded.""Wouldn''t it be better to deal with the two traitor guilds before the enemy gets here?""I agree with that idea. It''s dangerous to leave enemies at our rear when powerful enemies are coming down on us." A few officers suggested we deal with the traitor guilds, but only a few. The rest thought differently."We absolutely must not do that. It''s exactly what the enemy wants us to do.""She''s right. Say we do decide to deal with the traitors; Nayuta won''t be a problem, but the commander himself would have to step in to deal with the Windsor Guard. Commander Lee is now considered to be Earth''s hero; if he suddenly turns on two Earth guilds, it will confuse the other Earth guilds.""Furthermore, we''re the only ones who know about the red-eyed stranger''s existence. We risk sparking a civil war if we act without sufficient evidence.""Tsk. So does that mean we have to wait for Nayuta and Windsor to act first?""Yes, we have to. But only because we''re not blinded by what''s in front of us," Taniya said. With that, we made the decision to not attack the traitors first, but to stay on guard, as dangerous as it was.Once that was decided, everything else fell into place. We decided to abandon Section 6, 7, and 35 and focus on defending Section 3. While it was important to not needlessly stretch our forces thin over territories they wouldn''t be able to properly protect, we also wanted to show the enemy that we were not going to back down. We did have to split our forces nine to one. The majority of our soldiers were chosen to fight against the coming Crootian army and the remainder were chosen to stay at Section 3 to defend against Nayuta and the Windsor Guard if they really did attack us from the rear. Then, as we continued our preparations, we started to recruit from the rest of the Earth guilds, making it clear that we weren''t taking them over but proposing an equal alliance. We needed to bolster our ranks, even if meant they were mostly average Tom, Dick, and Harries. Either way, I began to make my preparations too. I had to get stronger in every way possible if I didn''t want to lose to anyone.---Section 3''s Center B Store¡­"Hmm¡­" I stood with my back to the general store and the accessory shop and thought to myself. I currently had 21 billion golden rings. They included the golden rings I had earned from my excursion to Section 81 and 82, and the golden rings I had received from the Empire''s guild masters. They also included five billion golden rings from my grandfather, who half threw them my way. I asked him what it was for, but he just said to use them on whatever I wanted and left. He had to have heard from the rumors that were spreading that the enemy this time was strong, and that we had traitors to look out for. Either way, I had more golden rings than I knew what to do with, and I stood there for a while trying to decide if I should safely get more Stat points or risk another item upgrade. I wanted to do try upgrading my accessories again, but I was still traumatized after failing and losing 1.4 billion golden rings all at once.-Alright. Let''s do that then.-After rolling the ideas in my head for a little longer, I made my decision. I had more than enough golden rings to attempt it. I moved my feet towards my destination.------Section 133¡­"Hmm¡­ have they departed already?""Yes sir. Claudia left with her twenty-nine deities and a force of about 2.3 million soldiers not too long ago."The three-meter tall overly muscular man frowned at his subordinate''s report. "So it was true.""Yes, sir. It would seem Claudia had finished synchronizing her time with the flow of time of the Continent."Adora, also known as the Monster of Croot, closed his eyes to think. After several minutes, he spoke with his eyes still closed. "Hmm¡­ I did think about killing her before she finished her synch. Then again, I knew there was only a 30% or less chance I could.""..." Navana, the subordinate who made the report, and also Adora''s right hand man, stayed silent. He already knew that Adora was thinking about it."Well, there''s nothing I can do now since she''s done. But the heavens really are cruel for putting me on the same world as her. I can never escape her shadow." Adora knew for a fact that if it weren''t for Claudia, he would be the one ruling over Croot. How? Because he did rule Croot the entire time Claudia was still synchronizing with Croot''s flow of time. He didn''t stand a chance against her. Time was on her side, after all. He no longer had the time to attack, defend, or even run away from her. Adora hated that he had lost all of his influence and authority so quickly. Claudia''s powers weren''t fair, to be put simply. It just didn''t matter how strong or great his abilities were; Claudia had rendered him weak in an instant."It really isn''t fair, you know? Her powers are so unbalanced; no amount of hard work could ever let me catch up to her.""But there is a chance this Lee Jiwon person could defeat her, isn''t there?" Navana said carefully."Lee Jiwon? Sure, he''s powerful. To be honest, I still can''t believe a deva like him was able to become that strong.""He does know the Unrivaled skill, which is a deity''s greatest weakness.""Pft. Unrivaled skill? Who cares about that? You and I both know that it''s only appealing from the outside. Only the devas still think that it''s a good skill.""But¡­""I know, I know," Adora said, waving his hand to cut Navana off. "Lee Jiwon broke Skyla''s authority to pieces, and killed many of our deities and countless devas. Angel fell to his hands as well. But Claudia''s different. Lee Jiwon won''t be able to do anything against her. You know what happened back on Croot.""..." Navana didn''t say anything. He was there when Claudia had taken over Croot from Adora. He knew full well just how badly they had lost to Claudia''s overpowered abilities."We just need to wait and see. Our chance will come soon.""Yes, sir."Adora raised his head and stared into the air in front of him, imagining how strong Claudia would become after this battle. At the same time, he did wiant Lee Jiwon to kill Claudia, as impossible as it seemed.------Section 3''s Center B general store¡­In the end, I decided to go to the general store. I had so many golden rings that I could easily afford to bump up my base STR, AGI, and VIT by ten thousand points each. I honestly just wasn''t ready to trust in my Luck Boost again and reattempt an accessory upgrade. I wanted to be safe for now."Welcome to Section 3''s Center B general store.""Show me your wares.""Right away, sir."The store menu appeared before me, and I scrolled all the way down to Stat Points. I bought 5,395 for now since I had 2,605 points from destroying Sections 81 and 82. With that, I had 8,000 Stat points to use, and I invested them all into AGI first. I quickly received the 2,000 AGI points for being the first to get AGI to 50k, and another 1,000 Stat points for getting both STR and AGI to 50k. I then bought another 7,000 points and invested all of my Stat points into VIT.==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 50,000 points in VIT before anyone else.VIT will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 50,000 points in three Stats (STR, VIT, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==I bought 6,000 more Stat points and invested all of my unassigned into STR this time, bringing my base STR to 80k. After receiving the extra 2,000 STR points, I checked how many golden rings I had just spent. After spending 18.4 billion golden rings, I had about 2.6 billion left. I had enough for one more attempt."Open Stats Menu." I opened my Stats Menu first, since I had just raised my STR, VIT, and AGI by 10,000 points in a matter of a minutes. 275 Chapter 274: Claudia Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1349Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 39,740,700/39,740,700MP: 702,800/702,800Strength: 98,201 + 8,127Agility: 58,601Vitality: 60,501Willpower: 6,968Intelligence: 6,228Unassigned Stat Points: 0Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 395,747Physical Defense: 95,797Magical Attack: 23,154Magical Defense: 42,634]=="..." I still could not get over how easy it was to quickly raise my Stats like this. It had only been two months since I had last updated my Stats, and my STR was getting that much close to 100,000. If I used Critical Weakness, it could easily surpass 130k ,and if I used Ripped Advance on top of that, I could have a STR of over 260,000 for twenty-four hours. That would be the highest my STR ever was, even higher than when I had Consumed Shaman Ko. And with my increased AGI and VIT, I could confidently say that I could defeat any opponent who stood in my way.But I couldn''t shake the anxious feeling that was creeping up all over my body just from the title "Time Controller". I had faced several enemies who had some really overpowered abilities, like the Blood Prince, the Predator Duke, and the Grim Reaper. Hell, I could be included, too. I was the first to become a deva, the first to learn Unrivaled and at level 0 no less, and even had the overpowered Luck Boost. Those overpowered enemies had some really crazy special abilities that gave me a really hard time dealing with them, but I had still managed to overpower them and defeat them. But I still felt this tinge of fear at the coming battle, even though I had come so far.Fated Crossroads still had seventy-three days left on its cooldown. I wished it wasn''t, so I could use it on this Claudia person and give myself some peace of mind, even if I couldn''t believe it completely. It could at least give me a sense of what her abilities really were.-Whatever. There''s nothing I can do about it anyway.-I shook my head, left the general store, and entered the accessory shop. I could use my remaining 2.6 billion golden rings to get my total STR all the way up to 100k, but it wasn''t like another 2,000 points would make much of a difference. If I somehow managed to successfully upgrade my accessory''s Rank this time, I had full intentions to borrow more golden rings to attempt another one. "Welcome to Section 3''s Center B accessory shop.""Show me your wares.""Right away, sir."When the store menu popped up, I scrolled all the way down to Accessory Upgrade and selected it. Once again, I placed my Bracelet of Eternal Fire into the slot. I wanted to redeem myself, and really wanted to get some extra lives.==[You have selected a Rank 8 accessory.Upgrading this weapon requires 1,400,000,000 golden rings and has a 1-3% chance of success. If the upgrade fails, you will lose the 1,400,000,000 golden rings. Are you sure you wish to proceed?]==I heaved a nervous sigh before saying, "Proceed!" Soon, the Bracelet shone brightly for a moment before returning to its former state.==[The Rank 8 Bracelet of Eternal Fire has failed to be upgraded to Rank 9.The 1,400,000,000 golden rings will not be returned to you.]=="..." It failed twice. I almost screamed in anger. I selected Accessory Upgrade again and placed my Bracelet back into the slot when another message appeared.==[You do not have enough golden rings to upgrade this accessory.]==After failing the previous attempt, I was left with 1.2 billion golden rings. Of course I didn''t have enough golden rings to try again. The message quickly snapped me back to reality and I felt a wave of bitterness come over me. I didn''t need to get that angry just because it failed. I had already put most of my golden rings to good use by sharply increasing my Stats. This was just something to put my remaining golden rings towards. If it worked, great; if it didn''t, I should have moved on. I walked out of the accessory shop with a bitter smile and headed over to where my clan was set up at Section 3. I was finished with my preparations, and I just needed to wait for the enemy to arrive. When I got home, I Summoned the Dungeon Mole and the Achilles Tendon like always as I put my feet up. I did try to Summon Shaman Ko, too, but nothing happened... as expected. I didn''t mind it.------Ten days later¡­An emergency meeting was called for the Empire."That''s them challenging us to meet them halfway, isn''t it?"About 2.3 million soldiers; there was a good chance they all knew how to walk. They had come to a stop exactly halfway between Croot to Earth, and it had been three days already."It would seem so.""This¡­ is going to get annoying."We had planned on using Section 3''s walls to take a defensive approach. There were too many enemy soldiers for us to take on directly, especially since the enemy was led by their strongest deity, the Time Controller. That left eight of our frontlines Sections open for the enemy to come and destroy but we did it anyway. It was better to lose Sections than to lose the war entirely."I thought their strongest deity would charge straight in, but I guess that''s not the case anymore.""That poses a bigger problem. She''s pulling out all the stops.""Then what should we do? Should we just wait out the siege?""I don''t know."With the enemy acting outside of our expectations, we were in disarray and not in a good way. The enemy was clearly challenging us to a full-on battle away from the safety of our walls, and if ignored it, we would become cowards. "Shit! Why did we end up having to deal with this in Earth''s stead?""Because we''re the strongest," I answered the officer''s complaint in a low tone. "Making the rabble fight instead only serves to strengthen the enemy. The same goes for them as well. That''s why they''ve sent out their strongest already. They don''t want to lose anymore," Song Daechul added."We have to accept their challenge, even if we don''t like it. We have to fight for Earth''s victory," agreed Madun."He''s right. The only way to win the war of the Judge''s Continent is to fight and kill the enemy. Anyone who wishes to stay away from the fight will inevitably become the loser," Alpha finished."My apologies. I know what you all mean, but I just felt so lost and burdened," the complaining officer said in a quiet voice."Don''t worry about it. I completely understand how you feel," I agreed, before we returned to our discussion.For now, we were split on two differing opinions. One side wanted to meet the enemy, while the other wanted to continue to hold our defenses. Our raiding army was made up of about two million elite soldiers from the Empire and other Earth guilds, all fully prepared to invade the enemy''s territory. Furthermore, the devas that currently resided in Section 3 totaled nearly ten million. They were family members of the raiding army and others who wanted to watch the coming battle. They were also prepared to back up the raiding army at any time. The side who wanted to fight also argued that we would have to fight the enemy eventually, and a long wait within the safety of our walls during a siege would definitely cause our soldiers'' morale to plummet."This is also the enemy''s strongest deity. We need to defeat her before she gets any stronger. We destroyed three of the enemy''s Sections, and we''re the ones who with the winning streak.""That''s right. We also have an army of two million elite soldiers. We''re going to have to fight them eventually. There is no such thing as a draw on the Continent. There are only winners and losers. Just as Madun said, we need to attack while our soldiers'' morale is still high," Daniel Miller of the Shire Guild added.After Madun and Daniel made their cases, the other officers were starting to all lean towards accepting Croot''s challenge. Then, I noticed that their eyes moved to me. In the end, the final decision came down to me. I didn''t feel annoyed or angry about it. It was obvious. I would be the one who had to do most of the fighting anyway. I was the strongest person of Earth and wanted to be the strongest on the Continent."Let''s go and fight. Like you all said, we need to fight them eventually. I don''t want to have to fight with our backs to the walls against stronger enemies because we were too afraid to fight when we were properly prepared," I said quietly. I made my decision. I did want to hole up behind Section 3''s walls too, but the enemy had caused a great fuss in the three days they waited for us. "If we win here, we win the war of the Judge''s Continent," I added."Understood, commander.""Let''s show these bastards what it means to challenge the Empire!""Ready the soldiers. We move out in three days. And make sure everyone knows what we''ve decided here today. Let''s make it a magnificent sortie.""Yes, sir.""We''ll make it so.""Oh, and are we keeping close tabs on the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild that just arrived at Section 3?""Yes sir. We know where they are right now and have constant eyes on them. We are ready to intercept them the moment they move.""Good. Make sure they don''t get through. We can''t have the soldiers on the front lines fearing the rear.""Yes sir."---Three days later¡­A massive crowd of people was waiting by Section 3''s Center D eastern gate. Two million of them were the soldiers of the raiding party, and the others were the spectators who had come to see us off.As the raiding army''s commander, I came out to stand in front of them and faced the endless sea of soldiers. "We have won time and time again, and we will win this battle as well," I said confidently, looking into the eyes of my soldiers. "Let''s go. Victory is waiting for us," I said, before turning about face and marching out the eastern gate, leading the two million soldiers close behind me.------Seven days later, we met the enemy''s army, who was waiting for us with open arms. 276 Chapter 275: Claudia Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDWe purposefully took our time walking, because there was a chance the enemy would charge at us the moment they saw us. But the endless sea of enemy soldiers did not make a move as we approached. It was like they were telling us to do our best, because it wouldn''t be enough to defeat them!When I halted my army and had them stand in formation, someone stepped forward from the enemy army to address us. It was Claudia, the Time Controller."I was beginning to think you were going to hole up behind your walls like rats, but I see you all finally managed to crawl out.""We were thinking about it. We''re the ones who won three times in a row. We were going to just sit comfortably on our thrones and wait for you, but it looked like you guys were frozen in fear. You guys just didn''t seem to want to come any closer, so we decided to come down ourselves," I taunted as I stepped forward to meet Claudia halfway. There was no way I was backing down from this battle of nerves."Hah¡­" It looked like it worked, as Claudia struggled to find her words. "You''re insane!" "What do you mean? You already lost three of your Sections, while we haven''t lost a single one. We also won every single battle against you. Isn''t that why you''re here? To take revenge?""Grr! Let''s see how long you keep talking like that! Listen up!""Yes ma''am!""Slaughter these pigs you see in front of you! Spare no one! Kill them all and show them what it means to anger us!""Yes, ma''am!" The Crootian soldiers replied as one, so loudly that the ground rumbled beneath me. From that, it was clear that these soldiers carried more confidence than the past enemy soldiers. But they weren''t the only ones."Empire!""Yes, sir!" My soldiers shouted their replies so loud that it put the Crootian army to shame, even though they outnumbered us by at least three hundred thousand."Victory today will be ours, just like before! I will fight on the front lines, just like before! Believe in me and follow me!""Yes, sir!""We will follow you to the ends of Hell, sir!"This battle was the deciding battle of the Judge''s Continent. There was no need to say anymore. Claudia and I both returned to our respective armies."Activate: Create Critical Weakness. Activate: Ripped Advance."==[Create Critical Weakness has been activated.]====[Ripped Advance has been activated.]=="Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Ice Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==After activating all of my buffs, I opened up my Stats Menu.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1349Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First DevaHP: 99,991,200/99,991,200MP: 7,399,600 /7,399,600Strength: 256,402 + 8,127Agility: 177,202Vitality: 181,002Willpower: 73,936Intelligence: 72,456]==My Stats were the highest they had ever been. I turned towards the charging enemy soldiers and shouted, "Attack!""Raaah!""For Earth! For the glory of the Empire! Attack!"My priority target was obviously Claudia, and I was confident I could defeat her, even if she was surrounded by enemy soldiers. But Claudia was quicker than me."I command the time of this world to bend to my will! SEVERED TIME!" In an instant, a curtain of white light erupted from Claudia and enveloped the entire land. It shot past the battlefield and headed for the horizon."Cooommmaaaanderrr Leeee!""Whaaat''s goooing oooon?" I heard voices call out to me from behind and turned my head towards them. What I saw was a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie. My soldiers were clearly trying to take a step forward, but their feet kept returning to their original positions. It was like they were caught in an endless loop caused by a broken tape. "Eeeeach sseeecooond iiisss reeepeeeating Iiitseeeelf buuutt oouurrr mmiinnddsss rreemaaiinn thee ssaaamme.""Buuut whyyy iis thee commaannderr unnaffffeeected?" Madun, Song Haechang, and Arthur Lucas all turned to look at me in shock. But every time they turned their heads, their heads snapped back to their original positions. So this was Claudia''s ability to control time. She trapped my soldiers'' bodies in a timeframe of one second while their minds remained unaffected. Her soldiers were caught in her ability, too. Both armies had stopped mid-charge and were standing still. The only people unaffected were Claudia and I.We both looked at each other in confusion. I could understand why Claudia was surprised, but I was just as shocked. I could walk normally. Was it because of my Unrivaled skill? No, there were plenty of Unrivaled devas in my army, but they were caught in her time web as well. "Lee Jiwon¡­ you¡­ what timeline do you even exist on?""What the hell are you talking about?" I had no idea what Claudia was trying to say. I didn''t even get a message explaining why her ability didn''t work on me, so of course I had no idea why I was unaffected. "Why¡­ why do you exist on a different timeline?""Go ask the Devil instead!" I was curious too, but I couldn''t figure that out, just like her, so I charged at her instead, activating Altered Equality at the same time.==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]==Claudia continued to stand there with a dumb expression on her face, even after Altered Equality had worked her over. But that was all the better for me."Judge''s Gavel. Blink 1. Blink 2."---Claudia was horrified as Lee Jiwon moved freely through her Severed Time. There were three timelines that flowed here on the Judge''s Continent. One belonged to the Continent, one belonged to Croot, and the other belonged to Earth. Because those three timelines were too tangled up with one another, it was impossible for Claudia to synch with them separately. So, she had decided to synch with all three timelines at the same time. It required a lot more time to do so, and forced her to remain deep behind Croot''s defenses until the synchronization completed. Still, she managed to succeed, and gained control of Earth''s time. She was able to bring the two million Terran soldiers to a halt... but somehow, Lee Jiwon was unaffected, even though he was a Terran, too!"Is he¡­ not from Earth?" Claudia asked, but she couldn''t find the answer to the question as Lee Jiwon suddenly disappeared from view. She knew enough about Lee Jiwon''s combat style and reacted instantly. "Protect me! Time Barrier!" Claudia formed a barrier around herself because she had no idea where Lee Jiwon was going to reveal himself next. She was confident that her Time Barrier was strong enough to withstand Lee Jiwon''s attacks. It boasted a higher DEF Stat than even the strongest Earth-type barrier spell. She had even poured thirty years into her Time Barrier to fully level it up. The next thing Claudia heard was her Barrier shattering into pieces around her, just before she felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder. Claudia cried out in pain and looked over. Lee Jiwon''s famed red spear had cut cleanly through her Barrier. Claudia felt panic creeping through her. Nothing was going as she had planned. Even her own soldiers were caught in her Severed Time and couldn''t move, just like the enemy soldiers. Her soldiers were closer to the source and would regain their control over their own time sooner than the enemy. To be more precise, they would have a 20-30 second head start, but that was enough to kill countless enemy soldiers that couldn''t defend themselves. It was all thanks to this overpowered ability that she had defeated Adora, Skyla, and even Dunia, and given her control over Croot. This was the first time her abilities had not worked on someone!"Fuck! This¡­this just doesn''t make sense!"---"Tsk!" Judge''s Gavel did manage to break through her Barrier and inflict severe damage, but it only half-worked."Are you really a Terran?""Of course I am, you idiot. There are two worlds on the Judge''s Continent, Earth and Croot! If I''m not a Terran, does that make me a Crootian?""But how¡­?""But what? If you don''t know, then how am I supposed to know? Scorched Rage!" Claudia might be my priority target, but there were helpless enemy soldiers all around me. It was the perfect chance to use my strongest AoE skills. A massive spear appeared in the sky and came crashing down. Weirdly enough, the enemy soldiers did manage to react."Shieeeld.""Meeega Shieeeld.""Bliiiink.""Bloooock iiiit.""Shiiiiit."The soldiers drawled out their spells like they were in a slow-motion film, but their spells didn''t even activate and the giant spear crashed down uncontested.==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== ==[You have gained a level.]== Like always, I gained three more levels for each level-up. The level-up messages were then followed up by countless messages that appeared so fast that I couldn''t keep up with all of them.==[You have obtained 160,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 120,000 golden rings.]==::==[You have obtained 230,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 180,000 golden rings.]==From the golden rings I was obtaining, I could tell that all of the enemy soldiers I had just killed were all elites, but in the end, they were all nothing more than cannon fodder."Titan Stomp! Fissure!" I used my other two AoE skills, as they would inflict maximum damage against defenseless devas."Summon: Sand Warriors. Call: Zulova!" I summoned my Sand Warriors and even Zulova to get some more help, but that was a mistake."Whaaat''s gooooing ooon heeerrre?""Huh¡­ I guess Summon Creatures and newcomers are also affected by her ability." From that, I realized that Claudia''s Severed Time ability was a truly powerful skill. I had a guess as to why her ability didn''t work on me: I had come back to the past. Claudia had asked why only I existed on a different time, and it was the only explanation I could come up with. I really did exist on a different timeline, because I was sent back in time. I wasn''t sure if that really was the explanation, but either way, I had the advantage.I tightened my grip on my spear, and charged at Claudia again."Gaaaahh.""Noooooo."I made sure to also cut down as many trapped enemy soldiers as possible on the way! 277 Chapter 276: Claudia Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"Shit! Flooding Time!" Claudia gathered all of the time she had stolen and accumulated and poured it all into the attacks she threw at Lee Jiwon. She even used the time she had stolen from her fellow Crootians, but it was all in vain. The time she had stolen came from the three timelines of the Judge''s Continent she had synched with. In other words, Lee Jiwon needed to exist on one of those timelines for her attacks to work! It wasn''t that she could use time to force her opponents to suddenly grow old and kill them. Her ability instead could sharply raise her opponents'' Fatigue instantly. Having a Fatigue as high as 90, or even 80, sharply decreased one''s combat abilities. Lee Jiwon, however, was perfectly fine!"Fuck!" He shouldn''t be fine after taking Flooding Time head on like that. All her past opponents that had fallen victim to the Skill were shocked at how their Fatigue had suddenly risen by at least 30, but nothing changed with Lee Jiwon. Claudia realized that Flooding Time also didn''t work on Lee Jiwon, just like Severed Time. Claudia could only think of one word to describe Lee Jiwon: Nemesis! Lee Jiwon was the inescapable agent of Croot''s downfall. But Claudia didn''t have any more time to think, as Lee Jiwon continued to cut down her helpless soldiers like a madman. Her army had already suffered countless casualties from Lee Jiwon''s three AoE skills; she couldn''t let him use them again."Shit! I bring the Severed Time to one timeline! Combined Time!" Claudia had no choice but to deactivate Severed Time, but only for her soldiers. "Attack! Focus all of your attacks at Lee Jiwon!" Claudia cried at her freed soldiers, but as she gave the order, she felt a sense of hopelessness. She desperately wanted to ask someone, anyone, why only Lee Jiwon was immune to her control of time!---"Stalagmite!""Blizzard!""Iron Body!""Dancing Fire Sparks!"::"Razor Wind Storm!""Billowing Flame Pillars!""Razor Wind!"A volley of powerful spells was fired at me by the enemy soldiers the moment they were freed from Severed Time, but I was not afraid of their attacks. I only had Claudia the Time Controller to worry about. She was no doubt a powerful enemy, with the ability to hold down more than four million strong deva soldiers at the same time. Overpowered wasn''t enough to describe her abilities, but either way, they were useless against me. That fact alone gave me the strength to fight harder.The spells and Skills finally found their mark and crashed into me. I didn''t even try to avoid them, and let my unnaturally high HP deal with them. I only lost a few hundred thousand points, which was quickly healed back through my Harrier''s HP absorb effect. I also made sure to pay them back tenfold."Gah!""No!"I landed critical hit after critical hit, and the enemy soldiers were clumped together. Each time I swung or stabbed my spear, I killed two to three soldiers at a time."Follow the commander!""Don''t let the commander fight alone!""Yaaah!"My soldiers, also freed from Claudia''s Severed Time now, roared and charged forth to catch up to me."Earth Armor, Brilliant Blessing, Roar of Rage!""Fatal Blows!"==[You have received the effects of Earth Armor.Penetration Resistance increased by 120 points.DEF increased by 15%, MDEF increased by 12% while this skill is in effect.]====[You have received the effects of Brilliant Blessing.All Stats increased by 1,000 points while this skill is in effect.]====[You have received the effects of Roar of Rage.ATT and MATT increased by 9.5% while this skill is in effect.]====[You have received the effects of Fatal Blows.CRIT rate increased by 5.5%, CRIT damage increased by 350% while this skill is in effect.]==I was showered by buffs that increased my combat abilities around 10%. A 10% increase to someone like me could inflict tremendous damage."Gah!""Gurk!"But seeing as how I was already killing the enemy soldiers with one attack already, I unfortunately couldn''t really notice the effects of the buffs heaped upon me."Shit! Stop him! Someone, please stop him!""He''s killing the tanks with one hit, too! How the hell is he getting all those critical hits so easily?""The deities! Where the hell are the deities, and what are they doing?"It was pure chaos for the enemy''s army. I kept my eye on Claudia as I mercilessly killed the Crootian soldiers around me, who scrambled over one another to get away from my spear''s range. This battle would end with her death!---Section 3¡­"Hmph. So it''s begun." When Dunia learned that the battle between Croot and Earth had finally begun, Dunia made his move. It was time to use the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild to attack the Empire from the rear. Dunia already knew by this point that his plans had been uncovered by the Empire, thanks to his ability to learn whatever he wanted. But Dunia went ahead with his plans anyway, since the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild were expendable resources. He didn''t expect much from Claudia in the first place. "Well, I''ll be content if I can at least destroy their morale," Dunia said to himself, taking out his Comm Link to tell the two guilds to make their move.---Dunia may have had the ability to learn most of what he wanted to know, but Lee Jiwon had somehow escaped his grasp. As a result, Dunia did not know that Claudia had placed herself into the maw of the lion. No, it was more accurate to say that Dunia did not expect Lee Jiwon, of all people, to be able to stand up against Claudia in the first place. Dunia had truly believed that Claudia was the stronger of the two, since Dunia knew all about her abilities.As Dunia made his way to begin his part of the invasion, he decided to stop paying attention to the battle between the two worlds. This turned out to be Dunia''s gravest mistake, but he did not know that yet.---Claudia had lost the will to continue when Severed Time failed to do anything to the enemy army. This was the first and only time it had failed her. But now the battle was in full swing, so it was hard to say which side was in the lead.Claudia also caught herself thinking about retreat instead of trying to figure out how to recover. Each time Lee Jiwon crept closer to her, Claudia unconsciously took a step back. When she realized this, she had to force herself to stop, and glared at Lee Jiwon with her teeth clenched. He was the first ever to teach her what fear was, but at the same time, he was someone she absolutely had to kill. He was Croot''s one and only nemesis!Claudia made her decision; she had to kill Lee Jiwon, no matter what it cost! There was no way Earth had someone else as special as him!"Open Stats Menu." When Claudia opened her Stats Menu, she finally realized the damage Lee Jiwon''s Altered Equality had done to her. "Tsk. There''s a Skill for everything," she muttered to herself. Claudia''s strongest Stats were INT, VIT, and WIL, but now all of her Stat points were distributed equally to all five of her Stats. She quickly brushed it off and closed her Stats Menu. It didn''t matter anymore, thanks to the Skill she was about to activate."Time Absorption: Maximum!"==[Your appropriated time will now be used to increase your five Stats.This effect will last for 24 hours. After that, the time used will vanish.]==When Claudia had first gained her Time Control ability, she busily used up all of the time she stole from others. But as she grew stronger, she began saving up all of the time she took from her enemies. Still, she was strong in terms of levels, items, and Skills, even without taking all of the time she had absorbed into account. But Claudia knew that this was no time for arrogance, with Lee Jiwon right in front of her. He was powerful, more powerful than Angel. She could not underestimate him. "I''m beginning to think Adora should have faced Lee Jiwon, not me," Claudia said with self-regret, but she knew that it was too late for such thoughts. If Adora realized that Lee Jiwon was Claudia''s perfect nemesis, he would happily throw down his weapons. That was how much Adora hated Claudia and wanted to usurp her."Alright! Let''s end it here!" Once her Time Absorption was completed, Claudia drew her Atlas greatsword and charged at Lee Jiwon."Lee Jiwon is my target! Back away from him and attack him from a distance!" Claudia ordered her soldiers as she headed Lee Jiwon''s way. There was no way she was going to fight Lee Jiwon alone.---"Gah!""Erk!"I wished I had at least one more AoE Skill. It was definitely harder to fight against an army of two million than when I fought against Angel''s army. I at least had a crazy Angel who could no longer tell friend from foe to use to distract his army, but these soldiers were completely focused on me. While my AoE skills were definitely some of the strongest out there, their cooldowns were just as long. I was starting to get annoyed, as there was no end to the Crootian soldiers and Claudia continued to back away from me. But just when I was about to shout out in frustration, I noticed Claudia suddenly charging at me, wielding a sword too big for her.I quickly shifted my attention from the enemy soldiers and charged at Claudia. This battle, this war, ended with her death. When we drew close enough to each other, Claudia swung her massive greatsword at my head. I raised my spear to block the attack and was rewarded with a greater force than I had expected. I couldn''t help, but jump back from the force of the blow."What is this? Were you a fighter class?" I could figure out what my opponents'' combat styles were just by fighting them. The Empire had presumed Claudia to be a ranged class, and that was what I was expecting when I first encountered her today. But Claudia didn''t stick around to humor me."What are you all doing? Don''t give Lee Jiwon any breathing room! Lee Jiwon dies here today!""Yes, ma''am!"Claudia just outright ignored my question, as if she was annoyed that I hadn''t answered her questions a few minutes ago. "Hmph! Fine, let''s see who outlasts who!"If this was going to be a melee fight, then I was more than confident I could win. I raised my spear and charged at Claudia again, thrusting at her chest as hard and fast as I could."Tsk!" Unfortunately, I was instead rewarded with a clanging of metal as Claudia had just as quickly brought her sword around to block my attack with her giant blade. "Huh. Would you look at that?" Not only was my STR over 270k, my AGI was well over 180k. It was impossible for anyone to block my attack, but Claudia barely got away with it. But, she didn''t get away from my attack cleanly. She frowned heavily and was pushed back a few meters from the force of the blow."Fuck! Just how high are your Stats?!" Claudia complained angrily."That''s what I want ask!" I knew that my Stats were definitely higher, but hers definitely didn''t lag behind much!"Shit!" 278 Chapter 277: Claudia Part V Translator: HunterWEditor: REDClaudia grunted in pain as my spear left a shallow slice on her side. To be honest, I was pretty surprised at how well Claudia was defending against my attacks. It was clear that her Stats were almost as high as mine, but only almost. Her defense wasn''t perfect, and I managed to slip past it and occasionally wound her."Fuck! How did a deva like you ever get this strong?""To tell you the truth, I''m not a deva.""What?" Claudia eyes widened when I said that. "Don''t¡­don''t screw with me! There''s no way you''re a deity!""You''re right. I''m not a deity either.""What?""There''s another class called prophet." I was obviously lying. I came up with it just now to confuse Claudia a bit more¡­ and it looked like it actually worked!"So¡­ that''s your secret to your strength?"I really hoped Claudia would believe that lie. Honestly, if she thought about what I said a little bit more, she could figure out I was lying. It was so obvious that prophets weren''t a thing in the Otadolon stage, so when Claudia believed my lie without any suspicions, I couldn''t help but grin. It showed just how panicked she was.I gripped my spear tightly and charged at her again. I still needed to kill her here. As expected of the highest ranking Crootian deity, she reacted almost instantly."Shackle my foe! Time Embedded Chains!" Silver chains suddenly appeared in thin air and shot out to wrap around me. These chains were no doubt reinforced by Claudia''s time and were visibly stronger than the other chain skills I''d had used on me before. But like those other chain skills, when I flexed my arms, the silver chains started to crack from the pressure. It didn''t take long for them to break altogether."Fuck!""Titan Stomp!" I cried, pointing at the grimacing Claudia. I could have used the skill on her soldiers that were off to side to inflict maximum damage instead, but I pointed at Claudia specifically. As long as she died here, I could afford to even spare the enemy soldiers. Besides, plenty of them were in range anyway."Gah!""Shit! What is with these debuffs? He''s got stronger debuffs than a supporter main, and they''re AoE at that! This doesn''t make sense!"The enemy soldiers were clamoring, but so were my soldiers."Shit! I can''t move properly because of Claudia''s Time Curse!""She''s definitely stronger than the Terran Monarch deities. It''d be weird if she didn''t have an AoE debuff like this."Claudia had ordered her soldiers to focus their attacks on me. In return, the Empire''s soldiers attacked the Crootian soldiers to give me more breathing room, allowing me to stay focused on Claudia. At first, both armies were an arm''s distance from my fight with Claudia, but as time went on, the soldiers of both sides inched away from us more and more to get away from our debuffs. That definitely wasn''t a bad thing. I might not be able to absorb more HP from the enemy soldiers, but I could at least stay focused on Claudia now."Explode: Time Bomb!" Claudia set off an explosion right beside me. The attack definitely dealt more damage than all of Claudia''s other attacks, but it wasn''t enough to slow me down. As the flames from the explosion streaked across my face, I continued my charge and lunged at Claudia."Gah!"Both Blinks were off cooldown now, but I was saving them for whenever Claudia retreated from me."Argh! I don''t care if you''re a prophet or whatever! I''m going to kill you where you stand! Unleashing Time!"That was yet another one of Claudia''s skills that I did not know about. There was nothing I could do about it since she wasn''t a Terran, and there wasn''t much information about her. But either way, this was better than her running off. I was confident I could win, no matter what she did."Not if I kill you first!" I shouted as I charged at Claudia, who had suddenly grown to twice her original size.---The Empire''s base of operations at Section 3¡­"They''ve begun to move.""Both guilds?""Yes.""Then it''s time we make our move, as well. We must not let our comrades who are fighting for their lives and ours on the front lines down.""Understood.""Oh, and stay wary of the red-eyed stranger. We don''t know when he will reveal himself," Song Daechul said."Understood," Lagus Aman replied. Lagus had taken upon himself to volunteer his and his guild''s soldiers to repel the traitors'' attacks. The Empire''s strongest soldiers were sent to the front lines, and fighting other Terran soldiers wouldn''t yield any golden rings or EXP. Still, Lagus made his choice as he knew someone had to do it. Soon, Lagus took his soldiers and entered a secret tunnel. They already knew where the traitors were headed.---Just outside of the Empire''s base of operations¡­"There they are," Okamoto said to Glavis, who nodded in response."All in one place."Behind them, a red-eyed man suddenly materialized out of thin air. It was Dunia. "It''s obviously a trap waiting for us, but that doesn''t matter, right? Our true prize lies just beyond it.""Bwahaha! If we take the Empire''s soldier''s families hostage, isn''t that automatically our win?""Of course it is. That''s how important your roles are today," Dunia said, praising Okamoto, but he was secretly scoffing at the old man. Claudia was fighting on the front lines. It was obvious she was going to win, not Earth. The only reason Dunia was going through with his part of the plan was because he had promised he would lower the Empire''s morale. A true hunter never underestimated his prey."Here they come," Dunia said, as he pointed to the field in front of them. And just as he said, a large army revealed itself in front of the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild, with Lagus Aman at its front.Dunia had already made the decision to give this battle his full attention, and used his red eyes on Lagus Aman. However, he noticed right away that he couldn''t hypnotize him. This wasn''t like how he couldn''t hypnotize Wai Chung. Wai Chung was a man full of suspicion, the only person he trusted was himself. Lagus was different. Lagus was a man of conviction and faith, which meant he was even harder to turn.Dunia closed his eyes. "This won''t be easy."---Claudia''s Unleashing Time boosted her combat abilities even more. She was now even closer to me in terms of strength and power. But I still outclassed her in CRIT rate and CRIT damage. When my attacks found their mark, I made my decision to forgo defending and just focused on attacking.Every time Claudia''s greatsword struck my side, I stuck my spear into her side. We continued to trade blows like that for a while, but as time went on, Claudia was panting heavily with a deep frown on her face, while I hadn''t broken a sweat yet."Argh! Fuck! Why? Why!? Why are so many of your attacks critical hits? And what is with your damage?¡­"Claudia''s attacks were all normal attacks, but mine were just about all critical hits. It only made sense that she received more damage than me. Not to mention I still had a couple more tricks up my sleeve.==[Your opponent has been struck by Powerful Shock. 100,000 points of damage has been inflicted. For three seconds, your opponent''s movement speed, attack speed, DEF, and MDEF are lowered by 80%.]====[Your attack has ignored your enemy''s defense to inflict maximum damage.]==I still had my Lightning Boots'' Powerful Shock, which was like my trademark effect by now. My Rank 10 Harrier also had a 20% chance to ignore Claudia''s DEF to inflict maximum damage and as long as I had more HP than her, my combat abilities grew by 10% while hers decreased by 10%. "I told you, I''m a prophet. Prophets have high base CRIT stats." A child wouldn''t believe that bold-faced lie, but it worked on Claudia."Argh! You son of a bitch!" Claudia roared in rage as she charged at me again and swung her massive greatsword.I didn''t even bother blocking or avoiding the attack. I raised my left shoulder to take the blow and thrust my spear into her chest."Gah!" Claudia cried out in pain and staggered back, barely holding onto her sword. Again, my attack flashed yellow.With my three AoE skills and Judge''s Gavel off their cooldown, I almost wanted to use them all on Claudia at once. I felt that all of that damage would be enough to kill Claudia right now, but I suppressed the urge. I wanted to use them in tandem with both Blinks once Claudia turned tail. And I knew for a fact that even without those skills, I was still stronger than Claudia.---Coby and Claudia''s other subordinate deities watched Claudia''s fight against Lee Jiwon in shock."This¡­ was over from the beginning.""I think you''re right. The battle was over once Severed Time didn''t work on that Lee Jiwon bastard.""Mistress Claudia definitely synched with Earth''s time. You saw how the Terran soldiers were trapped in time. But only Lee Jiwon was unaffected.""Yeah¡­ Claudia lost the battle at that point. She''s had to resort to using her skills that don''t rely on synchronization. She basically wasted all that time synchronizing with the time on the Continent.""Fuck! How did he get that strong? It just doesn''t make sense. Claudia''s attacks don''t even faze him!""That''s enough. Listen to me carefully," Coby interjected. "The fight between Lee Jiwon and Claudia is already over. Lee Jiwon is clearly the victor. What we need to focus on now is getting Mistress Claudia out of there alive, even if it means abandoning everyone here.""..." The other deities didn''t say anything. ''Everyone'' included them, as well."In other words, we need to hold Lee Jiwon long enough to buy Claudia time to get away. That is a task impossible for the deva soldiers alone. I doubt they will be that willing to meet their own maker. Five of us will take deva soldiers and attack Lee Jiwon long enough to distract him."The other deities quietly turned to look at Lee Jiwon after hearing Coby''s suggestion. None of them were quite willing to volunteer themselves yet."We''ll decide who goes using straws. Don''t worry, I''ll participate as well. We''re running out of time, so let''s hurry this up."The twenty-nine deities gathered around to pull the straws Coby had prepared. Soon, the five unfortunate deities were chosen. Coby wasn''t among them. 279 Chapter 278: Claudia Part VI Translator: HunterWEditor: REDFrom the outside, it looked like we were fighting on equal footing, but Claudia and I both knew that I was stronger. I even had the occasional chance to check my surroundings. I noticed that the twenty-nine deities that came with Claudia were gathered together, chattering to each other about something. They were probably thinking of ways to get Claudia out of the battle alive, since I doubted they were planning on abandoning their commander just to save themselves."Gah!" Even though we were still trading blows, only Claudia ever cried out in pain. I had to suppress the urge to kill her right then and there. The end was almost here. Besides, it didn''t matter if they sent hundreds or thousands of their people at me just to get Claudia out. I was saving all of my Skills for that moment. It didn''t take long for them to do exactly what I expected."Blink!""Blink!""Teleport!""Lightning Step!""If you''re fast enough, move! Don''t stop!"Countless enemy soldiers and deities soon appeared between me and Claudia. A few of them quickly activated their Skills."Exude! Blinding Fog!""Materialize! Pitch-black Darkness!"The enemy soldiers knew that I was immune to debilitating status effects, so they used environmental Skills to blind me. It was a pretty decent strategy, but I had too much experience under my belt to be tripped up by that. I didn''t save all of my Skills just to squander away this chance. Before the environmental Skills could fully materialize, I was already high in the air above Claudia and the enemy soldiers, casting Scorching Rage."Gah!""No!"Countless enemy soldiers screamed as they were killed or severely hurt by the powerful Skill, but unfortunately for them, I still had more for them."Fissure! Titan Stomp!" I shouted as I slammed my spear into the ground.The ground around Claudia slammed down, forming a crater in the shape of a footprint. The force of the attack drove Claudia to her knees, unable to avoid the splitting ground as Fissure barreled towards her."Judge''s Gavel!" I charged at Claudia as I received two level-up messages, each accompanied by three Bortega''s Blessing levels and countless golden ring messages.==[You have obtained 140,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 170,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 97,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==::==[You have obtained 230,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 310,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 169,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==The messages told me that I had also killed a few powerful enemies. They were obviously deities, but the amount of golden rings wasn''t enough. Killing Claudia wouldn''t yield just 100 million golden rings. Claudia was still alive!I quickly Blinked to the crater formed by Titan Stomp, where Fissure was still laying waste to enemy soldiers. Then, I suddenly received another wave of level-up messages.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]==I had suddenly gained another three levels, but I didn''t have time to pay attention to the Bortega''s Blessing levels as another message appeared.==[You have obtained 3,495,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]=="..." I had just received 2.5 billion more golden rings than when I had killed Angel. That had to mean it came from Claudia!I felt a bit of energy leave my body. I had killed Croot''s highest ranking deity without even needing to use Judge''s Gavel! I honestly felt a little empty inside. As strong as my three AoE skills were, they didn''t inflict as much damage as Judge''s Gavel. Sure, Scorching Earth inflicted more damage based on my weapon''s Rank, but in the end, it meant that my regular attacks had done the most damage to her."I guess I was tricked, too." From the way Claudia acted, I was tricked into thinking that she was a bit more resilient, when I could have killed her off a lot sooner. Still, I had killed her, so this battle was over.I shifted my attention to the twenty-something deities standing off in the distance. I still had Judge''s Gavel activated and I didn''t want to waste it on a deva soldier. I also saw them all talking to one specific deity, who was probably Claudia''s second."Blink 1." I Blinked right into the middle of the crowd of deities and could clearly see their horrified expressions. They also knew by now that Claudia was dead. "Don''t worry. I''ll send you all to her soon," I informed them before attacking."Gah!" The first deity was killed with one strike, which I had expected. He obviously wasn''t a melee class.==[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained 3 additional levels from Bortega''s Blessing.]====[You have obtained 537,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==Still, five hundred million golden rings was a lot for dying in one hit. The most I had gotten from killing a deity, besides Angel and Claudia, was two hundred million."And the rest of you should follow suit," I said to the other deities, who were all staring at me with their mouths wide open in horror. "Gah!""Run for it!""Shit! Claudia and Coby are both dead!""It''s all over! Run!"When I drove my spear into another deity, the others finally snapped back to reality and turned tail as fast as they could. There were too many of them for me to chase them all, but I gave chase anyway, and killed whoever I could catch up to. ---"Claudia''s dead!""Coby¡­ he killed Coby, too!""The other deities are running away!""Fuck! Fuck them for leaving us and saving themselves! I''m running for it too!""Me too. If Claudia''s dead, I''m not risking my life any longer!""It was over when Severed Time didn''t work. We lost!""Hey! Wait for me! I don''t want to die here either!"---The enemy soldiers scrambled over one another to run away from the battlefield. It was absolute chaos; all that was left to do was to clean up.It seemed the Empire''s officers were thinking the same thing."Commander Lee has killed the enemy commander!""Don''t let a single fleeing enemy soldier escape! Chase them to the end!""The enemy is broken! Attack! Kill them all!""Yes sir!""Charge!"------Outside of the Empire''s base of operations at Section 3¡­Dunia was locked in a fierce battle against Lagus Aman. As he fought against Lagus, he was surprised at how strong Lagus was for a deva. Dunia may have been imprisoned by Claudia for several years, unable to spend that time growing stronger, but he could still say confidently that he was one of Croot''s strongest devas. But Lagus was a lot stronger than Dunia had expected. In fact, Dunia was actually getting pushed back. Right about then, a message appeared before Dunia that did not bode well at all.==[All of your stolen time has been returned.]=="Huh?" The time that had been stolen from him was suddenly returned to him. That could only mean one thing: Claudia had let go of the time she had stolen from him, something he knew she would never willingly do. So, Dunia wanted to know why Claudia had done that and what was happening at the battle in the middle of the Judge''s Continent. What he wanted to know, he learned quickly¡­---"..." Croot had completely and utterly lost the battle because Claudia was dead. Croot''s strongest deity, the woman who could control Time, was dead. So was Coby, Claudia''s right hand man, and ten other deities!"Uh¡­" Dunia just stood there in shock, even as Lagus stabbed cleanly through his gut. Dunia had been 100% sure that Claudia was going to win. As strong as Lee Jiwon was, Dunia had believed that Claudia was stronger."We¡­ Croot¡­ might just lose the war¡­" Dunia looked over at the battle that was taking place around him. They were evenly matched, but Dunia couldn''t pay attention to the battle for long. This battle was useless with Claudia''s death. The Empire''s main force was going to return soon to clean up the traitor guilds.Dunia quickly turned away from Lagus and slipped away. The one thing Dunia was second to none at was running away.As strong as Lagus was, he couldn''t keep track of Dunia when Dunia vanished from sight. With Dunia gone, the tide of the battle turned completely in favor of Lagus''s army. Lagus was, after all, the Demon Lord who once seeded fear into the hearts of deities.------Section 133¡­Croot''s strongest deities and devas all shared a similar experience; they had all had time stolen away by Claudia. As a result, they could never usurp her rule over Croot. They didn''t want to be imprisoned in time like Dunia. One of them was Adora the Monster, who had ruled Croot before Claudia. That same Adora was keeping close tabs on the battle between Earth and Croot, even though he was sure Claudia would win. He was also suddenly greeted with an unexpected message.==[All of your stolen time has been returned.]==Adora''s time had been helplessly stolen from him when he was trapped inside Claudia''s Severed Time. Claudia had then blackmailed Adora with that stolen time and taken away his throne, and Adora had no choice but to give it up. When Adora learned that his time had been returned to him, he froze in place, thinking something had gone wrong. He would have stayed like that, if it weren''t for Navana, who had also had his time stolen from him."It¡­ would seem Claudia was killed by Lee Jiwon, along with Coby and ten other deities!""...." Adora almost scoffed at what Navana had said. There was no way that could happen. But when Adora realized that Navana was telling the truth, he felt conflicted. He was glad that the woman who had stolen his time and his throne was finally dead, but the man who had killed Claudia was also his enemy!"Bring me a recording of Lee Jiwon''s and Claudia''s fight, along with Claudia''s surviving deities.""Yes, sir."Eighteen of Claudia''s deities had survived the battle. If Claudia was still alive, he wouldn''t be able to order them around, but now that she was dead. Adora needed to know what they knew about Lee Jiwon, and just how exactly Claudia had lost."Haa¡­ did we just lose the war?" Adora had first thought of the Judge''s Continent as Croot''s playground. He had so many strong deities by his side, and there were over two billion Croot devas on the Continent. But Angle and Claudia were both dead. Skyla had lost so many soldiers that she was pretty much rendered useless. Croot was on the verge of defeat. Adora didn''t know what to think."Lee Jiwon¡­ just what in the hell are you?" The source of all of Croot''s problems was Lee Jiwon. As Adora tried to figure out Lee Jiwon''s existence, he got up from his seat and went outside. He was the only one still standing in Lee Jiwon''s way. "Hahahaha! So why am I laughing like this?" Adora continued to laugh for a while. In the end, he was finally free of his shackles, and he just needed to kill Lee Jiwon. He knew he could. He was always powerful, after all... 280 Chapter 279: Dibs Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDWe continued chasing the fleeing soldiers. We kept our guard up, as there was a chance the enemy was leading us into a trap, but from the way the soldiers were running away like panicked chickens, it seemed we didn''t need to worry. The Crootian soldiers had come truly believing they were going to win this battle, which was supposed to decide the victor of this war on the Judge''s Continent. Confident that the enemy hadn''t come with any escape plans or the like, I and my officers ordered our soldiers to pursue and kill as many enemy soldiers as possible. We didn''t see any of the deities that had come with Claudia anymore, either. A message we received mid-chase gave us the energy to keep going.[We have successfully repelled the traitors'' attack. It was difficult at first thanks to the red-eyed stranger, but we persevered and when he suddenly left the battle, we were able to make quick work of them.]==The battle against Claudia was obviously the Empire''s first priority and as a result, we had no choice but to leave our base of operations with a smaller force to repel the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild. Even with Lagus Aman leading the smaller army, it was very risky and yet, he did it. He had defeated the traitor guilds with little to no casualties. That only served to raise the morale of our soldiers even more. Their families and friends were now safe, and the thought of it had given us the energy to chase the enemy for well over a day now.It was getting hard to keep up the chase now, though. With Critical Weakness and Ripped Advance both deactivated, my Fatigue was starting to rise. But still, we didn''t stop. It was too good a chance to pass up. ------Only three days after Claudia was killed did we finally come to a stop. The enemy soldiers had managed to escape deep into the enemy''s territory, and only about eighty thousand of us had managed to come this far. The rest of the soldiers had to stop giving chase when their Fatigue was too high for them to continue.As I watched the enemy soldiers disappear off into the horizon and out of my view, I turned back to my soldiers. I saw the tired backs of Madun Yatekin, Song Haechang, and Arthur Lucas, and they all seemed chipper than the rest of the soldiers."Let''s set camp here. Don''t worry about keeping guard. I''ll keep watch until our comrades arrive!" I shouted to the soldiers.The soldiers sat down from where they stood. "Alright!""We did it! We won!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"Some still had some energy to cheer my name while others fell fast asleep from exhaustion."Shouldn''t you get some rest too, commander?" Song Haechang asked. He kept up the formalities, as our advance into enemy territory wasn''t over yet."I''m fine. You go and rest with the others before the reinforcements get here.""Understood."During our chase, I had kept in constant contact with the soldiers behind us, discussing where we should stop giving chase. We decided that we should keep advancing instead. Many wanted to keep going because Croot''s strongest player was out of the game, and it would be waste to just stop after only three days. The enemy was too busy trying to recover from their losses. As such, we decided to destroy the enemy''s remaining six frontline Sections, since they weren''t going to be able to do anything about it.------The next day¡­The soldiers who were left behind finally caught up with us, but we didn''t move out yet. We had the luxury to rest a few more days. Once they were all here, I met with my officers to get a handle on our current situation."From what we can tell, about five hundred thousand enemy soldiers have managed to escape. That means we killed about 1.8 million enemy soldiers.""Whoa! 1.8 million?""We killed most of them during the three-day chase. Many of them didn''t have any transportation skills or abilities, and were not fast enough to get away from us. This was all possible thanks to the commander killing Claudia.""I concur. And especially with Claudia''s Severed Time ability¡­" the officer trailed off and the atmosphere around the meeting chilled. I saw a few shiver."The intel that said that Claudia had the ability to wipe out millions was true, without a doubt. If it weren''t for Commander Lee, she would have wiped us out, too.""Hmm¡­ and what about our casualties?""We have lost about two hundred thousand soldiers.""Two hundred¡­" The enemy had lost 1.8 million soldiers. If we had only lost two hundred thousand, it was clearly our win, but I couldn''t help but feel regretful. Those two hundred thousand soldiers were not only the Empire''s elites, but also Earth''s elites. Knowing this, the officers fell back into silence."Very well. We''ll honor their service and sacrifice when we return to base. We''re not done yet," I said as I turned back to Alpha."Yes, sir. Once the enemy soldiers managed to escape us, we started constantly checking the status of Croot''s frontline Sections. This video is from a few hours ago." Alpha took out a Memory Gem, which played back a video of the enemy''s frontline Sections, except for Sections 79, 81, and 82. Very quickly, we noticed a similarity between all of them."They''re empty." There was not a single Crootian in the Sections."Correct. Claudia''s influence must have been greater than we have thought. This Memory Gem doesn''t show it, but when news of Claudia''s death reached the Crootians, it''s safe to say they panicked. As a result, the Crootians that were in the frontline Sections have all left, leaving them abandoned."We did expect them to react like that. That was why we waited until all of the soldiers who were left behind caught up with us, so that they could all get the twenty million golden rings for destroying each enemy Section."Very well. We''ll move out at first light tomorrow and destroy the enemy''s frontline Sections, starting with Section 76.""Yes sir!""Make the necessary arrangements."------That ended the meeting and we all left to rest for the coming journey. There were some differing opinions during the meeting. Some wanted to evenly split the 1.8 million soldiers and invade the six enemy Sections all at once, instead of going altogether. But if we did that, the soldiers would only get twenty million golden rings once. Sure, it took a lot more time and would leave us unable to run away from the enemy if they somehow recovered and counter-attacked, but from what the Gnosis Guild had gathered, the enemy was still in a panic. There was a good chance they wouldn''t even think about attacking for the time being. And so, we made the decision to take one Section at a time, even if it did take more time. We even set up a Teleporter Zone here to bring in Lagus and his soldiers so that they could also take advantage of the golden rings. They were, after all, the ones who had protected our friends and family from the traitors; it was only fair that they should be rewarded as well!------ The next morning, I led my soldiers out into the enemy''s territory once again, gradually increasing our numbers with the occasional Teleporter Zone on the way. We were able to destroy Sections 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, and 84 completely uncontested. Including the three Sections I had destroyed some time ago, the enemy had now lost a total of nine Sections. Since the Sections weren''t manned, we didn''t get any contribution points, but it honestly wasn''t a big deal at this point. ==[World 1512 will receive a penalty for losing Section 84 to the enemy.The Stores of World 1512''s remaining Sections will experience a 5% increase in prices.]====[You have obtained 1 contribution point. You will receive 20,000,000 golden rings for participating in the full invasion of an enemy''s Section.]====[You have obtained 10 golden rings for 1 contribution point.]==With nine destroyed Sections, the enemy was going to experience a total of a 45% price hike in Stores. That was a huge penalty for the enemy, as it made it much harder for each Crootian to grow any stronger. Conversely, our soldiers had gained more golden rings to invest into themselves¡­ and unfortunately for Croot, we weren''t done yet. We still had the ability to watch their movements."The Crootians are still in a panic. I believe we can take a few more Sections," Alpha advised me. Knowing I could always trust in the Gnosis Guild''s intel, I quickly led my army deeper into enemy territory. There was no way we could let this chance go.------Two months later¡­I was leading an army of more than 2.5 million Empire soldiers back to Section 3. During the last two months, we had destroyed a total of twelve enemy Sections completely uncontested. That and all the golden rings the soldiers earned were amazing results."Should we hold a feast when we get back?""Of course we should! Let''s hold a magnificent one.""I have to agree with that," a few officers said to me, smiling broadly."You''re right. Let''s have a party. We should since they''re all waiting for us," I agreed with a smile of my own.During our invasion of the enemy''s territory, I had received occasional reports from the Empire''s base of operations. Song Daechul was tasked with the responsibility of looking after it while the Empire''s main force was out, and he did his job and more. He had completely shut down the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild with the help of Lagus, and completely destroyed the two guilds for their treachery. Apparently, the Windsor Guard had surrendered to him, but when the Nayuta Guild refused, Song Daechul had Okamoto killed, rapidly ending that nonsense. Some Earth guilds had voiced their concerns, wondering if the punishment was too severe, but I and Song Daechul made it clear: Terrans shared the same fate on the Judge''s Continent. Putting the lives of our comrades at risk was far more dangerous than enemy soldiers. It answered and silenced any more complaints.Finally, we saw the walls of Section 3, which were lined with so many people. When they saw us, they all cheered."Long live the Empire!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"Their cheers were loud enough to shake the ground beneath us. We entered Section 3, heads held high from all the cheering, and joined the party that was already taking place. More than three million people were invited, making this weeklong feast the most expensive we''d thrown so far, but we didn''t worry. It was mostly funded by the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild, anyway.------One month later, at Section 35¡­We had returned the Empire to its original positions. We went back to defending Sections 3, 6, and 7 like before, and returned our base of operations back to Section 35. I also returned my clan back to Section 35, where I took some well-deserved time off. But as I was lounging around at my home, I noticed the presence of some people coming this way. I noticed right away that they were Song Daechul and some other guild masters."You have some visitors, young master.""Let them in.""Yes sir."Soon, Song Daechul and the other guild masters entered my drawing room."I apologize for bothering you when you should be resting, Jiwon.""Don''t worry about it, I''ve rested enough already. What brings you all here?"All of the Empire was taking it easy these days. While our casualties weren''t as great as Croot''s, many had lost family members and friends during the battle, so they needed time to mourn. With Croot losing its strongest players, we at least had the luxury to let our guard down for a little longer."We would like you to have this," Song Daechul said, as he handed me a large bunch of golden rings. "We couldn''t take away the traitors'' equipped items since they were bound, but we did seize all other items we could. These are the leftover golden rings after throwing the feast and compensating the family members of the fallen.""Why are you¡­?"Song Daechul chuckled. "You''re the hero who won us this battle, are you not? No, hero doesn''t truly do you justice. I saw the video. If it weren''t for you, we would have lost not only the battle, but the war. So take them, please. You most certainly deserved it. We won''t take no for an answer.""Take it, Mr. Lee. We owe our lives to you," Shin chimed in.With all of the guild masters around me imploring me, I took the golden rings, accepting the bundle from Song Daechul''s hands. It was a total of 14.5 billion golden rings. It was quite a lot, considering that it was supposed to be the leftovers."Thank you.""Hahaha. You don''t need to thank us. We only wish we could give you more after what you''ve done for us!"------After a few more words with the guild masters, they left me alone in my drawing room. I returned to my room and sat down on my sofa, summoning the Dungeon Mole and the Achilles Tendon like always. I set down the Tendon on the table beside me and gave the Mole a piece of candy while petting its soft fur. I even decided to pet the Tendon today for a change. These two had truly helped me out so much, especially Death''s Tendon."I''ll be relying on you both in the future. And you; hang in there a little longer, would you? I''m getting fewer Stat points each time," I said to the Tendon, but it just groaned in response."But now that I think about it, I haven''t Consumed the Mole ever since I came to the Judge''s Continent." There was no reason to, really. There was nothing to gain from hunting in dungeons, nor did I get any points towards Dungeon Seeker. But I remembered that the Dungeon Mole gave me the ability to teleport to dungeons I''d been to. I stared at the Dungeon Mole that was fervently eating its candy."Consume!" 281 Chapter 280: Dibs Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 133¡­Croot''s High Council meetings had been held in Section 115 before today, since that was Claudia''s main Section. But today''s meeting was held in Section 133, Adora''s main Section. Today, Adora was seated at the head of the table."Play it.""Yes, sir," replied Navana, placing a Memory Gem on the table in front of them. "Activate." The Gem soon shone and played a video, starting from the point where Claudia was screaming about something being overpowered in the middle of a fight. When the video focused, it revealed two people moving freely, while more than four million soldiers were frozen in time: Lee Jiwon and Claudia. "How is this possible? Claudia clearly successfully synched with the time on the Continent, seeing as how the Terrans are trapped in time.""I¡­am afraid I don''t know, sir. Claudia''s deities sitting over there and the surviving devas all told me they were shocked when Lee Jiwon was unaffected by Claudia''s Severed Time. They couldn''t believe it, either.""Hmm¡­ so Claudia didn''t expect that to happen either¡­" Adora said, staring at the deities that had abandoned their commander and soldiers."..." They hung their heads low and remained silent. Adora turned away from them. Punishing them would yield nothing of favor to him. He watched the video that was still playing. Claudia had to resort to using Skills that did not rely on her synchronized time. Adora knew firsthand how powerful those Skills were, but Lee Jiwon walked right through them, as if they were soft snowballs."His¡­his critical Stats pose the greater threat.""He can land critical hit after critical hit; it''s safe to assume that all of his attacks will be critical." "Ho ho¡­" When Claudia''s deities finally raised their heads and spoke up, Adora paid closer attention to the fight. He noticed right away that Lee Jiwon''s attacks really did flash yellow almost every time."Not only was his CRIT rate unnaturally high, so was his CRIT damage. As you can see, no one could withstand more than two of his attacks, including our strongest tanks.""His AoE skills are dangerous, as well. Normally, AoE skills are supposed to do less damage in exchange for their increased range, but¡­""Lee Jiwon really, really is¡­ a monster." Someone else besides Adora the Monster was called a monster. The room went cold almost instantly. This was Adora''s Section, and the meeting room was filled with Adora''s deities.Then, Adora suddenly burst out laughing. "How amusing. A battle between two monsters; wouldn''t that be a sight to behold? Which one of us will be more of a monster?""..." Silence answered Adora.Zoltak, the strongest of Claudia''s eighteen surviving deities, broke the silence. "I know Master Adora will win. As much of a monster Lee Jiwon seems, I know he won''t be anything compared to the real thing."Claudia''s eighteen surviving deities hadn''t come to this meeting out of fear of Adora the Monster. They themselves knew that the only person on Croot who could defeat Lee Jiwon now was Adora. It had to be Adora, because of Adora''s three special abilities, one of which was perfect for Lee Jiwon.==[Immunity to all critical hits.]==Claudia''s deities weren''t the only ones to realize this. The video of Lee Jiwon''s and Claudia''s fight quickly spread all throughout Croot and soon, all eyes were on Adora. Adora was completely immune to all critical hits. High critical stats were important to just about all damage-type devas and deities. It gave them the ability to inflict more damage with just their normal attacks. That was why they heavily sought accessories that would increase their critical stats by even just 0.1%. But Adora rendered all of that work useless. Zoltak continued on. " Master Adora has the Unrivaled skill even though he''s a deity, does he not? He has four times the levels of the average deva and twice the levels of the average deity, not to mention his immunity to all debilitating status effects¡­" Zoltak trailed off and gave a cautious glance at Adora before continuing on. "Master Adora will also render Lee Jiwon''s powerful debuffs useless."Adora''s second ability was possibly the worst kept secret in all of Croot:==[Grants the Unrivaled skill.]==Just about every Crootian knew that Adora knew the Unrivaled skill even though he was a deity, but no one knew how he was able to learn it. Either way, it made him much stronger than the rest of the Crootian deities. He couldn''t do anything against Claudia''s abilities, but that wasn''t a problem anymore."And with Master Adora''s final ability, I am positive Master Adora will defeat Lee Jiwon. All of us deities have come together like this to offer you our fealty.""Bwahaha! You do know how to sweet talk someone! I don''t know how you managed to last that long under Coby.""I only speak the truth, milord.""Good. So, what are they up to now?" Adora asked Navana."After they destroyed twelve of our Sections, they returned to their side of the Continent. We''ve now lost a total of fifteen Sections to Earth.""Tsk. They sure did a lot.""And now, a different alliance of Earth guilds has sent an army of nine hundred thousand and destroyed another Section. That army is heading towards another Section.""They think of us as fools," Adora growled. "Prepare your men. Our first target is that second army. This will be Croot''s first victory.""Yes sir."------Center B of Section 35¡­When I excitedly Consumed the Dungeon Mole, I was reminded of the message I had received at the giant Don Gate before arriving at the Continent.==[Stores, dungeons, monsters and Don Gates will be removed from the Otadolon world. Those that were not able to use their token of knowledge will be called ''Tardy Devas''.]==It was the same message everyone got."Haa¡­ that means Earth''s dungeons are all gone." There was no way the system was lying, and no Warp Scrolls could take anyone back to Earth. Still, the message confirming that I had Consumed the Dungeon Mole appeared. ==[You have consumed your target.Target: Dungeon MoleTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Dungeon Teleport (Can be used 3 times a day.)Effect 2: Dungeon Search (Can be used once a day, two additional uses available)]=="Dungeon Teleport," I said, expecting to see only the dungeon I went to on the Continent.==[You may Teleport to any of the following dungeons.Judge''s Continent''s 19th high-grade dungeon (Ogre Dungeon.)]=="Tsk." I only lost out on three SK points, but I couldn''t help but feel disappointed. I must have been really hoping I had found a loophole in the system and could get off this godforsaken rock. I moved my hand to close the menu in front me. I didn''t need to go to the Ogre Dungeon. But then, another message appeared.==[One of Kazunari''s created dungeons will now be added to your list.Kazunari''s 27th created dungeon (Terra)]=="Huh?" I knew Kazunari quite well. He was one of the Seven Monarchs and also known as the Dungeon Creator. He was the one who ''gave'' me the Dungeon Mole. I was confused when the system suddenly told me that I could Teleport to one of Kazunari''s created dungeons. It was most likely the dungeon Kazunari had thrown me into."Dungeon Teleport: Kazunari''s 27th created dungeon!" Since the Ogre Dungeon was in my list of dungeons I could Teleport to, I had a way back to the Judge''s Continent. And so, I made my decision to see if I really could go back to Earth and see what its condition was. ==[You will now Teleport to Kazunari''s 27th created dungeon.You will be moved to a random place on the dungeon''s floor.]==A bright, white light washed over me and I felt my body lift off the ground, like when I used Teleporter Zones."..." I didn''t know where exactly I was now, but I knew that this was definitely inside a dungeon. Then, another message appeared before me.==[You have achieved an Impossible Achievement.You have stepped foot on World 1455. World 1455 is currently without an owner and is awaiting its fate of either survival or destruction.World 1455 will now accept Lee Jiwon as its new owner.]=="Huh? Earth''s owner? Me!?" Earth was World 1455, but the message was saying that I was its owner now?! Another message followed.==[You will be awarded a bonus for the Impossible Achievement.All Stats increased by 30,000 points.All learned Skills will be raised to their max levels. (Already maxed Skills are unaffected.)]=="Whoa¡­" I only received two rewards, but they were amazing. I couldn''t shut my mouth at how amazing they were. The 30,000 Stat point increase was great and all, but I cared more about the one with the skill levels. I knew that the Continent''s Stores also sold skill EXP like Stat points, but I had never decided to buy them. Each Skill EXP cost too much, and my Skills required way too much EXP for it to be a worthwhile investment. Besides, my passive Skills gained EXP as long as I fought, and my active Skills gained EXP as long as I kept using them. It just seemed a waste of golden rings.But still, every time I went to the Continent''s general stores to buy Stat points, I always left with a sense of disappointment. Judge''s Gavel had a max level of 3, and it took five years to gain 1 level, even though I used it every time it was off cooldown. The same went for my other skills. Hell, Warrior''s Brave Spirit was still on level 2. Most Skills took about ten years to gain one level. That was how hard it was to max out just one Skill!"Open Skills Menu." I had to see for myself how much my Skills had changed. 282 Chapter 281: Dibs Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Skill MenuUnassigned Skill points: 3Passive Skills:Unrivaled (First Unrivaled), (1/1)Shaman Ko''s Selfish Prick (1/1)Spear Mastery (3/3)Increase CRIT Rate (3/3)Listen (1/1)Increase Blink Range (1/1)Active Skills:Warrior''s Brave Spirit (3/3)Mana Conversion (7/1)Judge''s Gavel (3/3)Fissure (3/3)Summon: Death''s Achilles Tendon (1/1)Remove Skill Cooldown (1/1)Scorching Rage (3/3)Titan Stomp (3/3)Miscellaneous Skills:Blink 1 (Azazel''s Lightning Boots)Blink 2 (King-Emperor''s Commitment)Altered Equality (Shaman Ko)Howl of the Wolf (Werewolf Clan Badge)Ripped Advance (Death):]==Below Ripped Advance were my other Miscellaneous Skills, like the Sand Warriors Summon and Create Weakness, but I didn''t really care about those because they didn''t have levels. I cared more about my passive and active Skills. As I looked through my Skills, I actually felt slightly disappointed."Why do I have so many max level 1 Skills?" Rewards that maxed out Skill levels like this were extremely rare. Actually, they didn''t exist at all. I couldn''t help but feel more disappointed at that. I had even obtained three more Skill levels after leveling up from the fight against Claudia. I had so many chances to learn another Skill during my break.I heaved a deep sigh to calm myself down. As disappointed as I was, a good amount of my Skills definitely benefited from the Achievement reward. Warrior''s Brave Spirit had finally reached level 3. "I also just learned Scorching Rage and Titan Stomp, but they''re both max level now, too..."Spear Mastery and Increase CRIT Rate had both reached level 2 not too long ago, but Fissure, that I had learned at the same time as those two passive Skills, had still been at level 1. As I knew, passive Skills required fewer EXP than active skills, so I honestly didn''t expect to see Fissure or even the other two AoE Skills level up any time soon. Even Judge''s Gavel, the one Skill I tried so hard to level up, was finally at its max level.A shiver ran down my spine. If all of my Skills were at max level like this before I fought Claudia, the outcome definitely would have been different. "I definitely could have killed thousands more." I licked my lips as I wondered about how many more golden rings I could have gotten."But as great as my passive and active skills are now, my Miscellaneous Skills really take the cake, don''t'' they?" Each Miscellaneous Skill was about as good, if not better, than my level 3 Skills, especially Ripped Advance and Create Critical Weakness. I stared at my Skills Menu with a huge grin on my face. I would have kept staring if it weren''t for the chain of messages that started to come up.==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 90,000 points in STR before anyone else.STR will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 100,000 points in STR before anyone else.STR will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]== ==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 110,000 points in STR before anyone else.]====[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 60,000 points in AGI before anyone else.]====[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 70,000 points in AGI before anyone else.]==:==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 60,000 points in VIT before anyone else.]==:All of my Stats were increased by 30,000 points. My base STR was raised all the way to 110,000, while my AGI and VIT were raised all the way to 80,000. Then they received an additional 2000 points every 10,000 points, like always. And then there was the Grand Achievement, as well.==[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 60,000 points in two Stats (STR, AGI) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 1,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]====[You have obtained a Grand Achievement.]You have reached 60,000 points in three Stats (STR, AGI, VIT) before anyone else.You will be awarded a bonus of 2,000 extra Stat points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==::I received the Grand Achievement messages a total of six times; twice for 60k, twice for 70k and twice for 80k."This is so not right." I thought the same when I wiped out half the enemy soldiers guarding Section 79, and when I had cleared Survival at the Ogre Dungeon. Even I thought that I was way too overpowered, and was way too lucky with these rewards. Every single reward or bonus I''d received just made things way too unfair for my enemies.I couldn''t help, but smile. I still had two more Stats that were raised by 30,000 points.==[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 20,000 points in WIL before anyone else.]====[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 30,000 points in WIL before anyone else.]====[You will be awarded a bonus for surpassing 30,000 points in INT before anyone else.INT will be increased by 2,000 points.This bonus is awarded to the first person to accomplish this achievement.]==I only got bonuses for getting my base WIL past 20k and 30k and my INT past 30k. That meant that there was someone out there with 10k in WIL and with 20k in INT. Whoever that was, they''d probably be horrified when they didn''t receive their bonus for getting their INT to 30k. Either way, I gained another 4,000 points in WIL, another 2,000 in INT and I waited for the next messages to come."Huh?" I was expecting to get the Grand Achievements since I had surpassed 30k points in both WIL and INT. I thought I would get more Stat points now that all five of my Stats had passed 30k but after about five minutes, nothing happened."What''s going on? Does the Grand Achievement only work up to three Stats or something?" I wanted to know, so I asked into the air in front of me, but I was answered with a deafening silence.I didn''t mind too much, since I wasn''t going to invest any more points into WIL and INT, but I was still disappointed. I thought I was going to get a few thousand more Stat points from the Achievement. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. "Hmm¡­ it does give a lot of bonus Stat points. Maybe it stops at three Stat points for balance reasons?"I let my disappointment go. I wasn''t going to get an answer no matter how many times I thought about it. Besides, I had received too much to be disappointed about anything. "Open Stats Menu."==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1393Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First Deva, The Keeper of TerraHP: 57,740,700/57,740,700MP: 4,102,800/4,102,800Strength: 135,201 + 8,427Agility: 94,601Vitality: 96,501Willpower: 40,968Intelligence: 38,228Unassigned Stat Points: 9,000 + 126Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 513,747Physical Defense: 138,767Magical Attack: 119,154Magical Defense: 78,634]=="...This is crazy," was all I could say as I stared at my Stats Menu. There just wasn''t any other way I could think of to describe it. Then my eyes drifted down to the 9,000 Stat points I had just received from all the recent Grand Achievements."Alright. Let''s go all the way!" My base STR was actually at 118,000, while my base VIT and AGI were both at 88,000. So basically, those three Stats needed 2,000 more Stat points to reach the next milestone. And that''s what I did. I raised all three Stats by another 2,000 points each, leaving me with a total of 6,000 unassigned Stat points, thanks to the three Grand Achievements that popped up afterwards."I''ll save them for now!" I could buy another 2,000 Stat points, get unassigned Stat points back up to 8,000, and get another one of my Stats past another milestone. I had Stat points for days."Let''s get going." I was still curious what Earth was like without devas, deities, and monsters. As I walked through the dungeon, I thought to myself. I had never really owned anything during my life on Earth. I rented the rooftop room I used to live in. But the message told me that I now owned all of Earth. I wasn''t sure if it was because of that message or because I was now Earth''s new owner, I felt a strange feeling wash over me every time I took a step forward. I never felt this feeling before but I liked it. I smiled to myself as I quickened my pace. ---Section 104 of the Judge''s Continent¡­Another alliance of four of Earth''s strongest guilds had formed a raiding army and sent it to attack Croot. Those guilds included Cheng Long of China, Chambord of France, Ponferrada of Spain, and even the Spencer Guild of America. They were inspired by the recent efforts of the Empire, but were also getting impatient. They wanted to join the Empire even if it cost them an arm and a leg, but they knew that they were already too late. They knew that they would never amount to anything compared to the current nine guilds that made up the Empire. But these guilds were led by proud guild masters who couldn''t accept that they were any less than the Empire. They truly wanted to knock the Empire down a peg and prove to the rest of Earth''s people that it didn''t have to rely only on the Empire."We''re off to a good start.""I know what you mean. If it was this easy, I don''t know why we didn''t do this earlier¡­" John William, the guild master of the Spencer Guild, replied confidently to Wai Chung."I think this is more like fishing in troubled waters. It''s easy because of Lee Jiwon," Jes¨²s, the guild master of the Ponferrada Guild, added quietly. An awkward silence was shared between the guild masters. Even Joel, the guild master of Chambord, didn''t know what to say."My apologies. It seems I''ve soured the atmosphere.""Well, you''re not wrong. We should all acknowledge what''s true. But troubled waters or not, it is also true that we were able to destroy Section 103.""He''s right. We made our move while others were too busy being careful around the Empire. I know it''s not much, but at least we''re doing something.""You''re right. Maybe I was just thinking too much into it. It''s just, after all the Empire and Lee Jiwon have done¡­""What they do is their business, and what we do is our business, is it not?""I agree. We don''t need to compare ourselves to them. We just need to do what we think we need to do.""Let''s move on. Section 104 is waiting for us.""Agreed. Let''s continue on."And so, this new Earth alliance army quickly headed for Section 104, where they encountered an enemy army a third their size. 283 Chapter 282: I Guess You Haven’t Heard. Earth is Mine! Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"There it is." It wasn''t hard to find the dungeon''s entrance, seeing as how Kazunari''s 27th dungeon was pretty small. And as soon I left the dungeon, I was greeted with a message.==[Kazunari''s 27th Created Dungeon has expended all of its available time.This dungeon will now be completely destroyed.]==The dungeon entrance fell apart behind me, as if it was waiting for me to leave the dungeon. Another message soon followed.==[Kazunari''s 27th Created Dungeon that acted as a medium between Lee Jiwon and World 1455 has now been destroyed.A deva/deity is not allowed to stay on World 1455 while it awaits its survival or destruction.Lee Jiwon will be forcibly removed from World 1455 and returned to the Judge''s Continent in three days.]=="So that''s how it is." I didn''t expect this to happen but I didn''t feel disappointed about it or anything. I already gotten so much out of this little experiment, and I wasn''t planning on staying here for the three days, anyway."So, Earth no longer has any devas, deities, or monsters, and is now back to being a world full of mortals¡­" Earth was back to its natural state, and even though I used to live in that normal world, I couldn''t imagine what it was like anymore. Including the time I had spent on the Judge''s Continent, it had been thirteen years since the world changed. With the time I spent in the Otadolon stage during my past life, I had spent almost twenty-four years as a deva. Even though many modern technologies and services, like cars and cell phones, still worked, I had just gotten too used to killing monsters and going to dungeons to survive."Huh¡­ this must have been how Alice felt when she fell through the rabbit hole." I could finally put into words the feeling I had in the dungeon now that the dungeon was destroyed. It definitely wasn''t a bad feeling. I was currently the only superhuman on Earth, with nothing to fear. I cackled as I sprinted forward.------Five minutes later¡­"I guess I''m in Japan." I knew right away that the people around me were all Japanese. It made sense; Kazunari was Japanese, and must have created his 27th dungeon here in Japan. But as I observed the people around me, I couldn''t help but feel confused."Why are they all so skinny? They''re all skin and bones, and dressed in rags. Why are they dressed in rags?" All monsters, dungeons, and Stores were all gone now. Earth should have returned to its natural state. And with devas, deities, and Don Gates all gone too, Earth should be experiencing a time of peace now. But these people all looked miserable, like they were slaves or refugees. Curious, I made my way towards them.------I crossed the distance and came up next to a group of people digging into the ground. When they saw me, they threw down their tools and prostrated themselves on the ground before me; every single one of them. Then, an old man crawled forward on his knees and addressed me. "We paid you off less than a month ago, but what brings you back so soon¡­?" The elder barely lifted his head and avoided my eyes and spoke in a voice trembling with fear. From that, I had my suspicions of what the situation was like here."That was all we had. We don''t even have enough for the children to eat anymore. Please, give us more time. I swear we''ll have next month''s offerings in full so please¡­""Ahem. Raise your head, sir.""What?""I think you''ve mistaken me for someone else so please, raise your head."The elder, finally noticing something was off, raised his head to meet my eyes. When he realized that I was not who he thought he was, the elder breathed a sigh of relief, free of the fear and anxiety that had gripped him just a moment ago. The others around us followed suit and sat up."Who¡­who are you?""I''m just a tourist who happened to pass by.""Hah¡­a tourist in this day and age¡­" the elder scoffed at my answer."So, what was all that about?""It''s just¡­when we saw your luxurious clothes¡­"I looked down at my clothes. As he said, my clothes were definitely on the expensive side that my mother had bought for me. I often gave my mother bundles of golden rings to use, but the only things she used them on were clothes and the like for me. She always told me that I was the face of the Empire now, and needed to dress the part.I shook my head and turned back to the elder. I didn''t come to talk to him about what he thought about my clothes. "I feel like I''m in the Middle Ages or something. The devas, deities, monsters and Stores are all gone; why are you all living like this?" I really thought that now that the superhumans were all gone, the mortals would pick themselves up and start anew. {TN: you na?ve fool¡­this is why the comment section hates you.} I really thought that they''d be ecstatic that their oppressors were gone; this was really not what I had expected to see.The elder narrowed his eyes at my question, as if he couldn''t believe I had asked that question in the first place."I lived as a mountain nomad for a little too long. I just don''t know what''s happened to the world these days." That was too weak of an excuse, even for me, but I doubled down.The elder, sensing that that was the best I was going to offer, didn''t press the issue. "After the devas, deities, monsters and Stores all disappeared, we were happy. We were afraid of what the future had in store for us because of the Tardy Deva title we all received, but we were content. Our oppressors were gone. But that happiness didn''t last long, thanks to someone who called himself the Liberator, and the Saviors that followed him.""The Liberator and the Saviors?" I could say with confidence that there was no thing as a Liberator. Anyone who called themselves the Liberator was not a Liberator. I scoffed at the very idea."Yes. The Liberator told us that he was the one who chased out all of the devas and deities. He also vowed to return Earth to us humans again. And somehow, we believed him." The elder closed his eyes before continuing. "It didn''t take long for him to gain a massive following. It was great at first. We welcomed the change after all the hardship we went through as mortals. But we were fooled. Not long after, the Liberator declared Earth as his and that everything on Earth now belonged to him and his followers.""...""And so, he began to divide us up into Ranks, like items. The lower Ranked humans could not disobey higher Ranked humans, even if they were ordered to die. If they did disobey¡­ then they were executed immediately. Ha¡­ it''s Hell on Earth. I welcome the days of devas and deities. At least we had security and order then."After the elder stopped speaking, he and some of the people around us began to sob. I knew from that just how horribly they had been treated the past two years. I pitied them, but I didn''t want to destroy this Liberator and his Saviors for their horrible treatment. I wasn''t a savior or hero, but I was pissed off. I truly believed that with devas and deities no longer on Earth, the mortals would band together and make a better life for themselves. They did, after all, go through the same hardships under the oppression of devas and deities. But now, they were being treated even worse by another mortal.But one other thing really ticked me off.-I''m supposed to be Earth''s owner but someone is out there calling themselves that?-Even my Stats Menu called me ''The Keeper of Terra.'' I wasn''t really going to give much thought about being the owner of the Earth, but I didn''t like that someone else messing around with my possession like that. Still, I wasn''t going to just go find him right away and kill him. I could at least hear him out first. Innocent until proven guilty, right?"Can you tell me where they are right now?"The elder looked up at me, tears staining his leathered face. After staring at me for a while, he finally answered, "Brazil. They made Sao Paolo, Brazil their home.""Thank you," I said before walking off. I only had three days on Earth. I needed to meet with this Liberator and decide what his and his Saviors'' fates were.---Section 104 of the Judge''s Continent¡­"The enemy army has less than half our numbers but seeing as how they''re not using Section 104''s walls and were waiting for us out in the open doesn''t sit well with me," Jesus muttered.Wai Chung, Joel, and John shared his sentiments. It hadn''t been that long since the Crootians had experienced heavy losses against Lee Jiwon, but the four Terran guild masters did not expect the enemy soldiers to be waiting for them so confidently, and with only about three hundred thousand troops. The Terran army outnumbered them threefold, and they had chosen their most elite soldiers to show the rest of Earth that they were as good as the Empire. That was why the four guild masters did not shy away after seeing the enemy army and brought their army face to face with the Crootians. They couldn''t have an army of nine hundred thousand soldiers run away from a smaller army."We need to, don''t we?" Joel asked."We have to. The time to turn back has long passed.""I know we didn''t expect the enemy to reveal themselves this early, but it''s not like we weren''t prepared.""You''re right. We heavily outnumber them as well."The four guild masters were worried about the enemy''s sudden appearance, but they couldn''t retreat just because they were worried. They prepared their soldiers for battle, believing that their larger army would be enough to destroy the enemy soldiers.But the Crootians were the first to act. More specifically, it was just one Crootian who walked out from the enemy soldiers'' ranks without hesitation. At first, the four Terran guild masters thought that the lone Crootian was a messenger and sent out one of their subordinates to meet the Crootian. Soon, the two met in the middle of the battlefield, but something happened that the four Terran guild masters did not expect.The Crootian suddenly attacked the Terran messenger, killing the man instantly. The four Terran guild masters stared in shock at what just happened, but only for a moment. When they were about to give the order to attack, the Crootian they believed to be a messenger did not turn back and instead calmly continued forward."Grr! Get ready to attack!""Kill that bastard first, then surround the army behind him and slaughter them all!""Yes sir!"As dumbstruck as they were at the Crootian''s actions, the Terran soldiers were also just as hyped after destroying Section 103. At their guild masters'' orders, the Terran soldiers roared a war cry in unison before charging, firing a volley of Skills at the lone enemy soldier."Triple Shot!""Stalagmite!""Blizzard!":"Dancing Fire Sparks!""Razor Wind Storm!""Ice Ring!"The great volley of Skills and spells was launched at the lone Crootian and struck him dead on."What the¡­?""He didn''t even bother dodging or blocking them?""He really is crazy."The four Terran guild masters clicked their tongues at how strangely the lone Crootian acted and how easily he was defeated. Now, they had to shift their attention to the three hundred thousand enemy soldiers."Charge!""Let''s show them that there''s more to the Empire that Earth has to offer!""Yes sir!""Raaah!"The Terran soldiers thundered towards the Crootian army, running through the cloud of smoke caused by the spells and Skills that landed where the lone Crootian stood. Every single Crootian soldier believed that the Crootian could not have survived the attacks."Gah!" The Terran soldier that charged first into the cloud of smoke was suddenly flung back out. The cloud of smoke soon dissipated, revealing the Crootian still standing there."Did you really think that was enough to kill me?" 284 Chapter 283: I Guess You Haven’t Heard. Earth is Mine! Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSao Paolo, Brazil¡­It wasn''t difficult to get to Sao Paolo from Japan. There were still flights flying out of Tokyo''s Narita Airport for Sao Paolo. Golden rings were useless on Earth now and I didn''t have any paper currency on me anymore, but none of that mattered. I was basically a god compared to everyone else. I didn''t even need to use both Blinks to jump over the airport''s outer walls and stand atop a hangar overlooking the tarmac. When I found the plane with a flight plan for Sao Paolo, I jumped the sixty-meter distance between us in a single bound. I landed as softly as a butterfly behind the flight attendants before they closed the plane''s door and slipped past unnoticed."Did you feel that gust of wind?""Yeah. I didn''t hear any wind warnings for today''s takeoff, though..."There were other ways to get to Brazil instead of flying. I could have sprinted over the Pacific Ocean or just swam the entire distance. But why would I, when flying was so much more comfortable? A few minutes later, the plane finally took off. I quickly realized that I didn''t need to stay hidden throughout the flight. From what I could tell, the plane was filled with passengers of Rank 3 and higher. In other words, the flight attendants could not do much to the passengers. They were more careful to not get singled out by the passengers.I found an empty seat in the first-class cabin and ordered a glass of whiskey and a packet of peanuts. Soon, a flight attendant politely brought over the drink and peanuts."Please let us know if you need anything else.""I will." After seeing how the passengers were treating the flight attendants, I also acted arrogantly. It also looked like the flight attendants did not suspect me at all. As luxurious as my clothes were, I exuded confidence from the way I walked and carried myself. And I wasn''t worried about getting caught; I could blow this plane up anytime I wanted. {TN: Uhh, NSA? Interpol? Somebody stop this man!}"Hello." Just as I was settled in my seat and enjoying my whiskey and peanuts, a man walked up next to me and greeted me. I knew that this stranger had his eyes on me the moment I sat down, but I just didn''t care about him."Uh, hi," I replied with a small nod. I made it clear that I didn''t care who he was, but he must not have picked up on it."I don''t think we''ve met before. I''m Frederic Jansen, a Rank 2 human. I was recently tasked with an important mission by the Saviors, which is why I''m heading to Brazil."There was a good chance I was about to have my cover blown, but I wasn''t afraid. What the hell was he going to do about it? I leaned farther back in my chair and glared at him. "Rank 2? You want me to shake hands with a Rank 2 human? I hope you brought hand sanitizer.""..." As soon as Frederic Jansen approached me, the entire first-class cabin was focused on us. A heavy silence filled the cabin after what I just said.But Frederic reacted faster than the silence. "I¡­I''m very sorry! I must have taken leave of my senses. I just noticed that your clothes were similar to the ones sold only by Stores and wanted to acquaint myself with you. I apologize for insulting you with my presence!" Frederic practically threw himself to the floor, and shouted his words for everyone in the cabin to hear. My cover was safe for now, thanks to the clothes my mother had bought me."That''s enough. Get back up.""Thank you!"After things calmed down, even the captain came over to greet me. From that, I had a vague idea of how this Rank system had taken root in less than two years. I could only scoff at how unbelievable it was."So, you''ve been accepted into the Saviors?" I asked Frederic out of boredom."Yes sir. I was recommended to become the captain of the Fourth Security Office.""You''re moving up.""Thank you, sir! This is all¡­" Frederic trailed off and looked at me.I knew what he meant and answered. "The name''s Lee Jiwon.""Oh! Yes sir. This is all thanks to Rank 1 humans like Master Lee for making Earth a better place to live. I am always grateful to you all."The amount of brown-nosing he was doing almost made the plane stink and so I wanted to ask him about the Liberator. The elderly man back at Japan couldn''t tell me much about him, but I held my tongue. I was going to find out for myself soon enough and didn''t want to needlessly put Frederic in an awkward position."But your name sounds very similar¡­ you share the same name as someone closely related to the Liberator.""Well, I do hear that a lot. But it''s not like I can just change my name because of it.""Yes, I see your point."I spent the flight talking to Frederic about Earth''s current affairs and before I knew it, we had reached Sao Paolo. {TN: Really? No connecting flight from Japan to South America? Must be nice.}"Allow me to escort you, Master Lee.""Sure. After you." I followed Frederic to the Savior''s base. I wanted to take care of this here and now. Besides, there was a luxury brand car waiting for Frederic at the airport. He was, after all, now the Captain of the Savior''s Fourth Security Office. During the car ride, I half-listened to Frederic talking about this and that and I could only think of one thing as I watched him.-Let''s see how perfect of a trap you have waiting for me.-I knew what Frederic Jansen was playing at. I knew from the moment he laid eyes on me. I had to give it to him; his acting was perfect. But I was a superhuman, remember? A mere mortal couldn''t hope to fool me. That was the real reason I didn''t ask him about the Liberator. I didn''t want to spring the trap prematurely.------One hour later¡­"There it is," Frederic said as he pointed out the window to an imposing building, decorated by amazing and detailed sculptures and statues on its outer walls. "That''s the home of the Liberator, who freed us humans from the evil grasps of the demonic devas and deities.""I see.""Yes, sir. If it weren''t for the Liberator, us humans would have continued to live under the tyranny of devas and deities. They were worse than actual monsters. It only took the Liberator two years to heal our wounds and restore humanity to its former glory. It was all thanks to the Liberator.""Is that right? Then I don''t see why humans had to be divided into Ranks like animals.""Hahaha. There are crazies all over the world, aren''t there? There used to be deva and deity loyalists, and the Liberator tried to accept them all, but there were just so many of them that it just couldn''t be helped. That was why the Liberator created the Rank system, to punish the loyalists. The Liberator always welcomed them with open arms, as long as they abandoned their ways." Frederic spoke of the Liberator as if he was worshipping a god.I didn''t believe him for a second, not after how I saw the Rank 10 humans were treated. They weren''t loyalists of devas and deities. But I held my tongue. I was about to meet this Liberator soon anyway.Soon, the car entered through an iron gate that opened up for us and we entered the Savior''s base."I must go now to greet the Liberator and officers. What will you¡­?""Let''s go together. I need to see them as well.""Well, I''m sure a Rank 1 human is allowed to meet the Liberator anytime they wish. Allow me to escort you. I know the way quite well after meeting with several Savior officers.""Very well." I walked out with Frederic and six Savior guards. I knew the building was huge, but I realized as we walked that we were heading deep inside the building. It was almost laughable. The building was surrounded by walls that were several meters thick, but I knew that I could easily break through them.After several minutes of walking, we came up to a set of giant arched doors that seemed to have been built in the Middle Ages. "We''re here.""Good. Let''s head inside.""Yes sir."Soon, the arched doors opened and Frederic and I walked in. I saw that there were six men and one woman seated around a large table in front of us. I knew who the woman was. Hell, I had even introduced myself and shook hands with her. There was no way she was a mortal."Hah¡­" I scoffed. The woman smiled when she noticed me. "So it was true. I wasn''t sure, to be honest. No, I outright didn''t believe it. It just wasn''t possible.""Honestly, I''m just as surprised. Then again, I thought it was weird that I never heard from Luana, the ruler of South America, on the Judge''s Continent."The woman sitting in front of me was none other than Luana, the queen of South America. She had ruled all of the nations south of Costa Rica. Her guild was so powerful that the NCR Guild could never cross the border into Panama. I had first met her at Toh''s and Wanhu''s Auction House in Macao. The last time we spoke, she had wanted me to come visit her if I ever came to Brazil."Hahaha. So, you actually kept your promise and came to see me now that you''ve come to Brazil. Hmph. Now that I think about it, I regret even bringing it up to you. I doubt this is a visit of good intentions.""Is that right? I''m grateful I got to see you again. After all, you did help me out back in Macao when you decided to help me instead of Toh and Wanhu.""Oh, it wasn''t much.""No, no. I''m very thankful. I''m just sorry I accepted your invitation so late. I should have come earlier." I could see now why I never heard about her back on the Judge''s Continent. She wasn''t there in the first place."Anyway, you must have some luck. How did you remain on Earth? As far as I know, anyone who used their token of knowledge was forcibly taken to the Continent. You don''t have more than one, do you?""Well, that''s a secret only for me to know. I will tell you that I''m the only one who managed to remain on Earth. But now there are two of us. How did that happen?""That''s my secret. You can''t expect me to reveal everything when you won''t." I had a little more than two days left before I would be forcibly taken back to the Continent, but Luana didn''t need to know that yet."Well, that''s fine. Now, I doubt you came all this way for lunch¡­why don''t we get to the point?""Sounds great to me. I''ve got places to be," I said as I slowly walked forward. I pulled out the chair opposite Luana and sat down, making myself comfortable. "Are you the Liberator?" I asked her.In response, one of the six men slammed the table in front of him and shouted, "Watch your tongue! Who do you think you are to address Mistress Luana¡­""Shut up. Now." Luana interrupted the man in a cold, low voice."..." The man who had made the outburst closed his mouth immediately and sat back down.The room was filled with a heavy silence, but I didn''t care and just leaned back in my chair with my feet propped up on the table, staring at Luana. They were all mortals; I could kill them with my pinky, so I didn''t care what they did.Finally, Luana broke the silence, speaking as informally as I had. {TN: Just a side note, Lee Jiwon was speaking down to Luana this whole time while Luana was speaking in a formal tone. Now, she''s doing the same.} "You''re right. I''m the Liberator."I wasn''t surprised by her answer. It was pretty obvious at this point. "Were you that bored? What made you do all this? You should have just come to the Judge''s Continent instead. It''s so dynamic up there. There was even a battle of four million people not too long ago. I even faced off against people with abilities I have never heard about. You''ve never been, have you?""Hah¡­ you''re right. I should have gone. I''m beginning to regret it now.""It''s not too late. Come with me.""No, I still like it here very much. I made the Earth you see now with my own two hands.""Well, if you''re that adamant about it, I won''t force you. But you should know¡­" I took my feet off the table and sat up with my arms crossed. "I don''t like what Earth has become. I never expected Earth to become a utopia, but this Rank business¡­that really doesn''t sit well with me."I clearly remembered my experience with Muskan and the people of the lower castes in India. I hated how the higher castes treated them like cattle where they had no say about their lives and fate. I grew up during the 21st century. I couldn''t stand seeing people being treated as slaves or livestock."It''s not your place to decide, Lee Jiwon. Earth became mine the moment all of the other devas and deities disappeared, and left me alone on this godforsaken planet," Luana said as she stood up and pointed a finger at me. She then muttered quietly, "I, Luana, declare Lee Jiwon banished from Earth!" 285 Chapter 284: I Guess You Haven’t Heard. Earth is Mine! Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAt first, Luana found it hard to believe that there was now another person who had not used their token on Earth. But after receiving the numerous reports that evidenced this person''s existence, she decided to wait, still dubious. Now that this person was now sitting in front of her, she had to acknowledge that she wasn''t alone. But of all people, it just had to be Lee Jiwon. It was no lie that she was surprised and baffled to see him again, now of all times. Up until yesterday, she was the only deva on Earth.Like all other devas and deities, she was also forcibly taken to the Judge''s Continent. She also came face to face to the same giant Don Gate and received the same message that calculated her points that she had earned during the Otadolon stage. Luana took that moment to decide that she didn''t want to go to the Judge''s Continent and wanted to return to Earth. While the system calculated her points, Luana used her random Skill that she had never used before, on herself.==[Banish (Active), (1/1)Luana''s exclusive SkillBanishes the target from the target''s current location to the target''s previous location.Cooldown: 90 days]==Luana had thought this Skill was completely useless, as it never worked whenever she tried to use it.==[The target''s current and previous location is Earth.Banish does not work on this target.]==She cursed the Skill endlessly. Obviously, she could only use Banish on fellow Terrans, even if they were devas or deities. But with the advent of the Judge''s Continent, Luana finally realized that was why Banish existed. Luana, faced with another path, thought over what to do again and again. When Luana was brought before the giant Don Gate, Luana made her decision; to stay on Earth and used Banish on herself.==[Banish has been activated.You will be Banished from your current location and forcibly returned to Earth.]==Luana returned to Earth, the only deva in a world void of other devas and deities. She was now in a world of mortals. Luana had become a god, and had the power to make Earth her own. Luana immediately made the decision to save and lead the mortals on Earth, and made it happen.Then, Lee Jiwon suddenly reappeared on Earth. As surprised and baffled as she was, Luana was not afraid. The last place Lee Jiwon was at was the Judge''s Continent. If he threatened her rule, she could just Banish him back to the Continent. And so, she did. "I, Luana, declare Lee Jiwon Banished from Earth!"------Luana had decided to Banish herself back to Earth before the giant Don Gate had finished calculating her points. Had she Banished herself after setting foot on the Judge''s Continent itself, there was a good chance, no, she WOULD have become the Keeper of Terra. The system would have accepted her as the owner of Earth, instead of Lee Jiwon. But Luana was impatient and Banished herself before arriving on the actual Continent, while she was still connected to Earth. As the system was not able to complete its calculation of Luana''s points and completely sever her ties with Earth, Luana was not acknowledged by the system on Earth as its Keeper.Luana had also returned to Earth without the rewards for her achievements during the Otadolon stage. It was quite unfortunate, as Luana had been the ruler of South America and one of Earth''s strongest devas. But Luana did not stay long enough to know about the rewards, so she wasn''t disappointed about what she had no knowledge of.------Luana pointed at me and said that I was banished from Earth. That really took me off guard, to be honest, especially with how confident she was. A message appeared before me.==[Luana''s Random Skill, Banish, has been activated.You have been Banished from Earth and will be returned to your previous location, the Judge''s Continent.]=="What the¡­? Banish?""That''s right. I Banish you back to the Judge''s Continent. Well, not exactly the Continent, but back to that giant Don Gate. That''s how you got back to Earth, isn''t it?"I couldn''t help smile at Luana''s unexpected Skill. There was a Skill for everything. I did feel pretty bitter, though. If I was kicked out of Earth now, I wouldn''t be able to come back for a while. Kazunari''s Created Dungeon was the only medium that connected me to Earth, but it was now destroyed.Then again, I could come back to Earth once I won the war on the Judge''s Continent, but I did feel disappointed that I couldn''t prevent Luana from doing anything more to Earth during that time. Then, just when I was about to activate Judge''s Gavel and charge at her, another message appeared.==[Lee Jiwon is the current Keeper of Terra.Earth''s Keeper cannot be chased out by a citizen of Earth.Luana''s Random Skill, Banish, is not applicable here.]=="Huh?""Eh?"Luana and I looked at each other in confusion. Luana should have gotten the same message, since it was her Skill that failed to activate just now.My shocked expression turned into a beaming smile. "Oh, I see you didn''t know. I didn''t tell you? I''m now the owner of Earth. And, not like the way you went around self-proclaiming it, but officially. So, naturally the guest can''t go around kicking out the owner, right?""That''s¡­impossible!""Of course it''s possible." I stood up from my seat and slowly walked over to Luana."I Banish Lee Jiwon from Earth! I Banish you, damn it!"==[Lee Jiwon is the current Keeper of Terra.Earth''s Keeper cannot be chased out by a citizen of Earth.Luana''s Random Skill, Banish, is not applicable here.]==Every time Luana tried to Banish me, the same message appeared before us."Why? Why? How did you become Earth''s Keeper? I didn''t go to the Judge''s Continent and stayed on Earth all this time! Earth''s Keeper should be me! Me! Not you! Me!""Who knows? Maybe Earth likes me more than you," I said, but I really didn''t know for sure. Everything I knew was from the message that told me that I had set foot on Earth that was awaiting its fate, and it currently didn''t have an owner. Then, I became its owner. So ,really, how the heck was I supposed to know?"I''ll kill you and steal it away from you! Then I''ll become Earth''s true owner!""Hah." I scoffed at Luana''s threat. Luana hadn''t tasted a single EXP for years, since she didn''t even step foot on the Continent. She basically left herself behind. She was in way over her head to be challenging me."How dare you laugh at me? I am Luana! I am the ruler of South America! I was once called the Iron Maiden! No one ever dared bare their fangs at me, not even the Seven Monarchs!" Luana screeched with rage when she heard me laugh."I know. Everyone knew. But that was all in the past. No one remembers you anymore.""Grr! I''ll show you what it means to look down on me. Razor Whirlwind!" Luana''s patented Wind Magic that granted her the title of Iron Maiden; there was virtually no one who could withstand that Skill. But that was a thing of the past. Gusts of sharp, cold wind blew out from Luana''s fingertips and blasted towards me.Luana was definitely considered to be as strong as the Seven Monarchs. If I had fought her before the Judge''s Continent, I would have won, but it would have taken a long time. Most of my battles against the Monarchs were in a similar fashion. But I had spent two years on the Judge''s Continent, and was ten times stronger than the last time I was on Otadolon Earth.The most Luana''s Wind Magic could do to me was just flap my clothes and flutter my hair. "You don''t know what it''s like on the Continent, do you? It''s amazing. There are places where you can earn up to thirty billion golden rings in a single night, and you can use those golden rings to buy Stat points and increase your item Ranks in Stores. Ugh, it''s like heaven, except for the fact that you''re at war.""Don''t screw with me! I Summon Zephyr''s Rage! Razor Hurricane!" A swirling twister of high-speed winds formed around Luana''s hand and blew towards me.The wind blew right past me and crashed into the wall behind me. "Ha¡­ it''s such a pity to think the Iron Maiden''s Wind Magic has become this weak. Actually, no. Your magic is the same, I think. I must have just gotten too strong.""No¡­no, this can''t be¡­" She only attacked me twice, but those were her strongest spells. It was only normal for her to be horrified that neither of those skills had even made a scratch in my HP.I took another step forward. "This can''t be happening? The evidence is right in front of you, and you still can''t accept it? You made the mistake of not coming to the Judge''s Continent and decided to stay on Earth. Ruler of South America? The Iron Maiden? Don''t make me laugh! The Continent is now FILLED with devas as strong as or stronger than you!" I almost yelled at Luana as she stared back at me, her eyes trembling in fear. I took out my spear without hesitation and said quietly, "Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Ice has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 3 has been activated.Level 3: 8 hour cooldown. For three hours, your ATT is increased by 30%, CRIT chance by 3%, CRIT damage by 150%, movement speed by 15%, and ATT speed by 7.5%. For one hour, Heroic Indomitable Spirit effect is placed (Heroic Indomitable Spirit decreases chance to avoid damage by 15%, increases DEF and MDEF by10% and all Stats by 500 points). Fatigue does not rise while skill is in effect.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I never expected to see Warrior''s Brave Spirit reach level 3 before the end of war of the Continent, but there it was. It only raised my Stats by a few percent, but it was enough for me. I saved my Judge''s Gavel and my AoE Skills that were also level 3 now since there was a chance I could kill her in a single strike. I walked closer and closer to Luana."Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I am Luana! Luana! Obliterate my foe! Thor''s Hammer!" I wasn''t sure if it was in despair or rage, but Luana''s eyes flashed with bloodthirst as she shouted and cast a powerful spell that filled the room with wind and lightning."Run¡­run away!""We''ll die if we get caught in the gusts!""Run!"The six men who sat with Luana grabbed Frederic and his guards and ran out of the room, screaming in terror. This spell was strong enough to kill most average devas, so it was obviously fatal for mortals."Are you daft? I told you, you''re nothing compared to the devas on the Continent now. What makes you think your spells can hurt me? You might as well turn on that old ceiling fan of yours. If it fell off and hit my head, it would do more damage than your magic." Luana''s magic threw chairs and furniture all over the room, but I continued to walk through the wind, completely unaffected.I came to a stop and stood right in front of her, looking down at her. She was now on her behind, shaking uncontrollably. "You disappoint me, Luana. You could have been so much more." The famous Luana of the past was gone now. I couldn''t help my disappointment. She was powerful and had rivaled the Monarchs in strength. I actually looked up to her. She was one of the few powerful female devas in our world, and didn''t take shit from anyone. "Were you always such a coward? Or was it all one huge mistake? I''m beginning to think that Banish Skill of yours was a trap given to you by God. He must have really wanted you to mess up.""..." Luana didn''t answer me. As much as I hoped she had come to the Continent with the rest of us, it was just too late to help her. Well, I could bring her with me, but I didn''t have any reason to, especially after what she did to the humans. Besides, I had already defeated the enemy''s strongest player, Claudia. I had no use for Luana.Her Banish Skill also didn''t sit well with me. She could use that Skill and Banish my mother or grandfather to someplace I did not know and take advantage of my weakness. That was why I gave up the idea of registering her in Call and having her at my beck and call like Zulova.She was also now my enemy. I never had mercy for my enemies. The only thing that awaited my enemies was death, like always. I had never regretted that decision.I stared coldly into Luana''s frightened eyes as I quietly and clearly said, "Judge''s Gavel." 286 Chapter 285: I Guess You Haven’t Heard. Earth is Mine! Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDSection 104 of the Judge''s Continent¡­"Attack!""He''s just one man! Resume your attacks!""Yes sir!""Ice Ring!""Power Shot!""Lava Burst!""Hellfire!" : :"Lightning Storm!""Razor Wind Storm!""Chain Lightning!"Cheng Long, Chambord, Ponferrada, and the Spencer Guild were four of Earth''s strongest guilds. In other words, their soldiers were some of the best elite veterans Earth had to offer, and they quickly resumed their attacks even though this lone Crootian should have been killed instantly from all the previous attacks. This time, they didn''t stop their attacks, fully intent on killing him this time.The endless stream of spells and Skills seemed too much for a single enemy soldier, but the Terrans didn''t stop. As veterans, it was shocking to see a single man remain standing after being pelted by a wave of thousands of powerful spells and Skills. The Crootian looked like he had barely received any damage from the Terrans'' attacks. That was impossible, even if he was a powerful tank class. As the second wave of attacks reached into the tens of thousands, the Terran soldiers finally received the order to cease fire, and waited for the smoke to clear. This time, they were confident the Crootian was dead. Not even Lee Jiwon could have walked out of that wave of attacks scot-free."Gahahaha. My, my, I thought I was going to die from how ticklish your attacks were." The Crootian walked out of the cloud of dust and smoke, his clothes still intact and not a scratch on him. Again, he hadn''t taken a single point of damage from their attacks."Was that all?""...""...""..."No one replied to the Crootian''s taunt. Even the four Terran guild masters were stunned into silence."What''s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Is it my turn now? Rah!" The Crootian suddenly began to gather energy in his body, bloating his veins and arteries. It looked like giant worms were snaking all through his body beneath his skin. In a matter of seconds, he had grown into a ten-meter tall mass of pure muscle. He looked even bigger than a certain famous green comic hero.{TN: The Hulk. The author is talking about the Hulk.}The transformed Crootian then raised his head and spoke in a booming, deep voice. "Others of my world took calling me a monster; Adora the Monster. You guys have a monster too, right? I want to fight him once. Well, I can always do that later. Let''s have some fun first!"Adora the Monster began his attack and charged like an offensive linemen. It was a simple attack that had disastrous results for the Terran army."Gah!""Ahh!""Shit¡­! Run away!"The Terran soldiers were helpless against Adora''s charge, and were either thrown several meters into the air or were trampled beneath Adora''s massive body and crushed to death. Unfortunately for the Terrans, that wasn''t the end to Adora''s attack. He began kicking the Terran soldiers around like they were soccer balls, and he was a striker trying to score the winning goal during the World Cup. Each kick sent hundreds of Terrans flying into the air, killing almost all of them instantly.The way Adora had charged without any weapons fooled the Terrans into thinking that his damage output wouldn''t be as high, but from the way their fellow soldiers were screaming in pain and dying, they quickly realized they were gravely mistaken. Furthermore, these elite veteran soldiers had never fought against an enemy that fought like Adora the Monster. It was only normal that they were absolutely panicking against such an enemy.Soon, Adora the Monster reached deep inside the Terran army''s ranks. Adora was now completely surrounded by the Terran army."Rraaah!" The ten-meter tall giant jumped seventy to eighty meters into the air and came crashing down upon the Terran soldiers. The shockwave Adora formed was so great and powerful that the other Crootian soldiers were also caught in the area of effect."Gah!""Ahh!"A mere jump had done the same amount of damage as a powerful Skill. But that wasn''t all Adora did. Adora laid down on his side and began to roll over like a steam roller over asphalt, crushing even more Terran soldiers unfortunate enough to be standing in his way."Gyah!""Ahhh!""Fuck!""What the hell are we supposed to do?""Who attacks like that¡­?"The Terran soldiers swore at the hopeless situation in front of them, but they didn''t just stand there and let themselves get pushed around."Tanks! Get the tanks up front!""All healers and supporters are to focus on all of our tanks! I want thirty of you on one tank!""He''s a deity! Debuff! Debuff him, damn it!""Yes sir!""Slow! Slow!""I imbue thy spirit with the Sin of Sloth!""Imprison my foe! Iron Shackles!"Adora was pelted with countless debuff spells but the supporters who cast them quickly learned that their spells were ineffective."It''s¡­it''s not working!""He''s unaffected by debuffs!""What do you mean?""It''s¡­almost¡­as if he has immunity to status effects through the Unrivaled Skill.""Bwahahaha!" Adora cackled. "How pitiful! Fine, I''ll tell you! I''m immune to all status effects!""How does a deity¡­?" It was common knowledge that deities could not learn the Unrivaled Skill. The four Terran guild masters were horrified. This monster existed outside of common sense."Focus all of our firepower on him. He''s just one man; just one! As long as we focus on him, we can win!""Yes sir!"Their strongest enemy was just one man. It was for this reason that no one had thought about retreat yet. As long as they could pummel Adora with endless attacks, they could defeat him. ------Navana and the other seventy-two deities watched as Adora take on the Terran army alone. Adora didn''t even bother avoiding or blocking against the enemy''s attacks. It only made sense that Adora should soon fall, but not a single Crootian deity seemed worried. They all knew about Adora''s third ability.==[One Kill, One Shot.]==Not one shot, one kill as the saying usually known. While the commonly used saying meant kill one enemy with one shot, Adora''s ability of One Kill, One Shot meant that Adora could only be killed by a single attack. That attack had to deal enough damage to deplete Adora''s HP all at once. Adora was immune to any other attack that couldn''t deal that much damage."The last time Adora revealed his HP to me, he had over two million health points. But I don''t even remember how long ago that was, so I have no idea how much higher it is now," Navanasaid quietly."Hahaha. I remember those days," another deity replied."Seeing him fight like this again just makes me realize just how unbelievable his abilities are.""He''s practically untouchable thanks to his immunity to critical hits and the One Kill One Shot ability. It''s impossible to deal enough damage to kill him without the help of critical hits.""Hmph. Maybe. Even if critical hits did work, would it still be possible to kill him?""...""..." No one replied to Navana. It was definitely impossible for them."Claudia; only she was a special enough case.""Alright. It''s time we made our move as well, before they call for reinforcements.""Understood."The seventy-three deities began to slowly move their three hundred thousand soldiers to surround the Terran army.---Adora the Monster was having fun, pummeling the Terran army into submission. The Terrans were losing hundreds of soldiers as the seconds ticked on and their attacks were useless against him.==[You have received 59,570 points of damage. You have more HP than the damage dealt.You will not receive any damage at this time.]==The four Terran guild masters did know why their soldiers'' attacks weren''t working. They did think that it was strange, however. Not a single one of their soldiers'' attacks had flashed yellow. But no one pressed the issue. They were too focused on trying to kill this single enemy.-----Sao Paolo, Brazil¡­"It''s¡­not like I didn''t want to go to the Continent. I wasn''t afraid of it, either. I just wanted to see what would happen if I used it. I never knew what it could do before then.""You fell right into the trap. Or maybe God just hated you so much that he gave you that useless Skill." I couldn''t come up with any other explanation about the Banish Random Skill."Is the Judge''s Continent that dynamic as you say?""Yeah, it''s great. You would have liked it.""Hah¡­ how disappointing.""I feel the same," I said as I raised my spear, poised to plunge it into Luana right away. But before I could, Luana spoke once more."Do you know what I thought about when I was left alone on Earth?"I was ready to attack her in case Luana had any ulterior motives, but I stayed my hand. I could tell from her eyes that she had given up completely."I don''t know. But I had fun, that''s for sure. I was like a god on Earth.""Yeah, that''s how I felt, too. That''s why I put on the mask of the Liberator and did whatever I wanted. But now¡­ I understand why gods have become extinct.""...""All of Earth''s creatures can only accept whatever is similar to them. Of course gods were soon hated. What gave them the right to be almighty and all-knowing? That''s why so many people abandoned their gods throughout history. That was probably why we devas and deities left the mortals on Earth. We can never go back to living like them ever again." Luana stopped to take a breath. I let her continue."Every time I came across a mortal, I realized that they were all toys to me; toys that I could break at any time. Do you know how I felt when I realized that? Why do I have to do anything for them? Why do I need to make a better world for toys? I could just toss them to one corner of the room and take one out to play with if I ever got bored. If they ever broke, I could just buy another one.""I see," I finally replied, as I brought my spear down to Luana''s chest and pushed down."Gah!" Luana coughed as the spear blade pierced through without resistance. That wasn''t the end. Soon, the Judge''s hammer revealed itself, bigger than ever before, and slammed down upon Luana. As the dust settled, Luana was gone, dead."Check Call List." I hadn''t listened to Luana''s speech just because I was bored. When I had readied my spear to kill Luana, I remembered that Earth was still in its Otadolon stage. That was what the message had told me when I left Kazunari''s dungeon. There was a chance Luana could resurrect, since we weren''t on the Judge''s Continent.I had listened to Luana''s last words long enough to register her into Call, but when I opened up my Call List again, I saw that her name had been removed. In other words, she was completely dead, as if she had died on the Continent.I turned around as I scratched my ear. "Who knew she would be this stupid? Why act like a god if she couldn''t truly ascend as one?"I gave one last look at the spot where Luana once was and left. It was time to show these Saviors who the real Keeper of Earth was. 287 Chapter 286: Adora the Monster Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDAs I left the room where I had killed Luana, I saw the mortals that had fled the room out in the hall, huddled together and trembling. They had just seen their exalted Liberator meet her end.The same man who got angry with me for asking Luana if she was the Liberator got up and glared at me, still trembling in fear. "Our¡­Liberator¡­cannot¡­" He didn''t get to finish as I stabbed him through the chest. He slumped to the floor dead, eyes wide open in shock and without even a scream. Blood poured from the open wound. This was only the second time I had killed a mortal."Anyone else got something to say?""..."I tasted the same bitter bile from when I had killed Oh Hyungjae, but I swallowed through it. I didn''t have any other way to convince them to listen to me, nor did I have the time. At least it looked like it worked."Call every single broadcasting station on Earth and have them send their reporters here. You have ten hours. Call newspaper reporters if you have to.""..." They didn''t reply.I raised my spear and slammed the spearhead into the ground, creating a deep crack into the stone floor of the hallway. "If you want to see the same demon that killed your Liberator, keep looking at me like that. I''ll start with you," I said in a low voice and pointed to one of the guards."Yes¡­yes sir!""We''ll do as you say. We''ll¡­ contact them right away!" Frederic cried."Oh, and it would be a good idea to not think about running away. I will find you if you do, even if I have to search all of Earth.""What¡­whatever do you mean? We won''t run away. If we use the Saviors'' authority, we can bring everyone here in five hours, not ten.""Don''t make promises you can''t keep. You have ten hours.""Yes sir," the five guards and Frederic said in unison as they scrambled away.------I entered Luana''s private study and threw myself into an expensive-looking armchair to get my thoughts in order. I could just disappear from Earth now, but I had already drawn the sword, and used it to kill Luana and a mortal. I made my decision to see this through to the end and reveal the truth to everything.-----Ten hours later, in the Savior''s press room¡­"So what the heck is going on?""I don''t know. They just told me to come.""It must be pretty important if the Liberator''s own officials sounded that urgent¡­""Do you think so, too?""Of course I do. They''re the only Rank 1 humans on Earth. I never saw them act so hastily before.""Huh¡­whatever it is, it can''t be good.""But am I the only one here who felt it?""You too?""Me too.""I felt it too. It''s so depressing here, but it''s not like I can actually ask them directly."------The closer I approached the press room, the more I could hear the whispering coming from it, but that was only me. The five officials who followed me to the press room had their heads hung low and remained quiet. When we got to the press room, I sent the officials in first. When they entered, the reporters inside the press room settled down almost instantly. Once the room was quiet, I entered the press room as well. As I walked in, I saw that a few of the reporters recognized me."Isn''t that¡­ Lee Jiwon?""I think it is.""How is he here?""I thought all of the devas and deities, except for the Liberator, were all sent to the Judge''s Continent.""Silence!" One of the officials shouted. "This is¡­""You be quiet," I said curtly. I knew that he was trying to suck up to me. "I don''t mind if this goes out live. Actually, let''s make this live." Almost instantly, all cameras and microphones were focused onto me."I am Lee Jiwon. Yes, I am the same Lee Jiwon, the deva who was taken to the Judge''s Continent about two years ago. But I have come back to Earth. How you might ask? It''s simple; Earth has just about won the war on the Continent." I looked at the cameras before continuing. "But, when I came back to Earth, I noticed something. Someone was calling themselves the Liberator and doing some really stupid shit. That''s why I killed her. Earlier today, in fact, and with my own hands."I saw the shocked and horrified expressions of the reporters in the press room. Unfazed, I calmly continued on. "We will be back soon. All of us. Why? Because as I just said, we have almost won the war. We will win the war. Earth will survive. In other words, you lot will become Tardy Devas. So there''s no reason to divide yourselves up into Ranks and argue who''s better and who''s worse. You will all become Tardy Devas.""..." They seemed more shocked from that than when they heard their exalted leader was now dead."The devas and deities on the Continent are now a hundred times stronger than they were when we left. So you don''t need to fight amongst yourselves. You''re all equally shit. We will be back and Earth will return to the way it was before. So stop with this nonsense and just get ready to welcome us."I had wondered about what to say while I waited in Luana''s private study for the past ten hours. I wondered if I should break the news nicely, but I decided not to. There was no reason to sugarcoat reality. What I told them was all true. They were going to return to the lives they lived as mortals under the service of devas and deities. Those devas and deities who had literally fought with their lives on the lines were going to come back to Earth much stronger than before. "That''s all I have for you all. Try to live the best life you can in a world without the Liberator and wait for the second coming." If after all that, they still had a Rank system, I wasn''t going to care anymore. I did the best I could for them and whatever they did afterwards was up to them.I slowly walked out of the press room, ignoring the five officials following me like stray dogs. Once I was out, I quickly Blinked out of there.------Three days later¡­"Nothing beats pork belly," I said with a burp. When I left the Savior''s base, I went all around the world as much as I could. Coming back to Earth after two years felt like a homecoming, so I went around, eating whatever I wanted while doing some hardcore sightseeing. I had taken a good chunk of cash from Luana''s private study, so I didn''t need to worry about that.A lot did happen during those three days. The Savior''s base was completely destroyed and abandoned and the Rank system had just about disappeared overnight. The mortals just worried about how to welcome the devas and deities that were supposed to return soon.When I had about one hour left on Earth, I decided to wait in peace. When the time came, a message appeared before me.==[The 3 days you have been allowed to stay on World 1455 have come to an end.You will now be forcibly returned to the Judge''s Continent.]==The same light that had enveloped me when I was first taken to the Continent shone around me again. This time, I wasn''t taken by surprise or afraid. Soon, I found myself in front of the giant Don Gate again.==[You will be rewarded a bonus based on your accomplishmentsLee Jiwon''s level, total stat points, skills, and items will be calculated into points and compared to all devas and deities of World 1455. (Items obtained to sell will not be counted.)Calculating Lee Jiwon''s points¡­]=="Eh?" I didn''t expect this message to appear. I had already received it when I had first arrived in front of the giant Don Gate two years ago, and gotten some amazing rewards from it. I was taken aback, but only for a moment as I smiled. This meant I was going to get more rewards."Hehehe." I knew it was going to take the system some time to calculate all of my points, but I didn''t care. I knew it was going to be worth it. A few hours later, the message I was waiting for finally appeared.==[Lee Jiwon has earned a total of 4,218,856,392 points.Congratulations. You have earned the most points of World 1455.]=="Whoa¡­" I remembered my first points. I had earned more than three hundred million points, but those points went up by tenfold.==[You are the fifth deva of all Otadolon-completed Worlds to surpass 100,000,000 points. You have reached the pinnacle form. You will now receive your rewards.Rank 10 Random Item Chest.5000 Stat points.5 skill points.5,000,000,000 golden rings.]====[Congratulations for becoming the best in your Otadolon-stage world. An even better reward awaits you if you keep up the good work. Good luck out there, Lee Jiwon!]=="Tsk." The rewards were the same as before. It seemed a waste of points, but I shook off my disappointment. It was time to go back to the Continent.==[You will be moved to the Judge''s Continent.]=="It was a perfect little vacation." I was pretty satisfied with the three-day break. I really had to thank the Dungeon Mole for allowing this to happen. "I''ll give you all the banana candies you want once we get back," I said to myself with a small smile as I felt myself get moved to the Continent.-----Section 35 of the Judge''s Continent¡­I landed hard on the ground. When I got back up, I noticed that I was back at Section 35. "It looks like nothing''s changed." It looked just how I had left it."Huh?" But I felt a strange aura flowing around the Section and realized right away the source of the problem. Section 35 was where the Empire''s base was located. It was the safest Section of all of Earth''s territories, so anyone who lived here were usually full of pep and joy, especially after the Empire''s string of victories. But I barely saw anyone walking down the streets of Section 35, making the whole place eerily quiet.Just then, my Comm Link rang. It didn''t ring back on Earth. I tried using it, but it didn''t connect there. I quickly picked it up, since I was just about to call my mother and the Empire."Hello.""Commander Lee!" the person on the other end shouted. "Commander Lee! Is that really you?""Yes, it''s me, Taniya," I replied, noticing that the person calling was Taniya."Where have you been all this time? Why couldn''t we connect to your Comm Link?""I¡­ went on a short vacation." She was going to find out for herself once Earth won the war, but I didn''t want to explain everything on the spot."We''ve been looking everywhere for you. Where are you now? Surely you aren''t far, right?""I just arrived at Section 35.""Whew¡­ please hurry back. Hurry!""I will." Taniya''s voice sounded very urgent. That was enough to tell me that something bad had happened. But I would find out for myself later, and quickly called my mother."Hello?""Mom.""Jiwon? Is that you?""Yeah.""You little shit! Where have you been all this time? Why couldn''t anyone contact you?""I¡­ well¡­ I had to go someplace far away.""You still should have called!""I''m sorry. I wanted to, but my Comm Link didn''t work there¡­""Where are you now?""Section 35. I just got here. I''m about to return to base. I''ll be home once I talk to them.""Okay. Make sure you come straight home from there.""I will." I knew I had only stayed three days on Earth, but the problem was the Don Gate. Last time, I had arrived much later than everyone else, so the same must have happened this time."But it looks like something had happened during that time." I used both Blinks and quickly headed for the Empire''s base. I was curious, but I was also confident I could fix whatever it was, especially after what I had earned from my little trip to Earth.---The Empire''s headquarters at Section 35¡­A huge crowd was waiting for me outside the base''s gates. When they saw me, the Empire''s guild masters and officers all ran out to meet me."Where have you been the past three months, Jiwon?" Song Daechul asked."Every time we tried to contact you, we were told by the system that you were out of range. Where did you go?""There can''t be somewhere outside Comm Link range here on the Continent. Just what¡­?"I was shocked at their questions. I was gone for three months? I did not see that one coming! "Let''s head inside for now." 288 Chapter 287: Adora the Monster Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDInside the Empire''s conference room¡­"I''d like to first extend my deepest apologies. I wanted to stay in contact but I wasn''t able to," I said to everyone in the room as I deeply bowed. I was not a normal guild member of the Empire. I was the commander and the face of this alliance. I had the same responsibilities as a guild master, and being out of contact for three months straight was no simple mistake. But I noticed that many still couldn''t calm down and were on the edges of their seats."It must be more serious than I thought."Song Daechul sighed. "Yes, you thought right, Jiwon.""I know we always give you the hardest job, and I''m sorry that we do, but¡­ a very powerful enemy has appeared.""Stronger than Claudia?" I had thought that Claudia the Time Controller was Croot''s strongest deity, and boasted truly overpowered abilities. Had I not come back to the past, no one on Earth would have been able to stop her."He might¡­ be stronger than Claudia. No, he is stronger.""Huh¡­" After what the officer said, a heavy silence came down upon the conference room. No one denied it, meaning they all felt the same. But I didn''t feel threatened yet. I was not the same as I was three months ago."Would you like to see for yourself?""Yes, please," I replied with a nod. A Memory Gem was placed on the conference table and was soon turned on. "Hmm? Those aren''t our soldiers, are they?""The Empire was eventually attacked¡­ but this video shows the enemy''s first appearance and has good shots of the enemy''s abilities.""I see.""This army was put together by an alliance of Cheng Long, Chambord, Ponferrada, and the Spencer Guilds, made up of nine hundred thousand of their most elite and veteran soldiers.""That''s a powerful alliance." I knew each of the four guilds. They were the strongest guilds of their respective countries. The soldiers shown in the video seemed extremely confident and steely. Then, when they arrived at Section 104, they encountered three hundred thousand soldiers of the Crootian army. Soon, a single Crootian walked out alone. I knew right away that he was the powerful enemy that everyone was talking about.I watched as he killed the Terran soldier sent out to meet him instantly and continued to walk towards the Terran army. I watched as he was pummeled by a volley of attacks, but walked out with not a single scratch on him. Even his clothes were untouched by the dust cloud formed by the attacks. He must have not taken a single point damage from the attacks and my assumptions were proved correct by Arthur Miller."During this entire battle, that man did not take a single point of damage.""Huh¡­" He must have been attacked by thousands of Skills and spells. No tank could walk out perfectly fine after all those attacks, no matter how strong they were. But I had more to be surprised about."He''s¡­ a monster." He had suddenly grown into a ten-meter tall, grotesque beast of pure muscle. Monster was the only word I could come up with to describe him. The transformation marked the beginning of the slaughter of the Terran soldiers. I never saw someone fight like that. His entire body was a weapon. Then again, I never fought against an enemy that was ten meters tall.Being that massive was also a weakness; he became the sole target of the Terran army. I watched as every single Terran soldier still standing fired off their most powerful attacks. Not even a dungeon boss monster could stay standing after all those attacks."Is that not his real body? Or does he have a Skill that makes him immune to all attacks for some amount of time? Or does he have a high regen ability like the Blood Prince?" I couldn''t think of any other explanation. That monster just wasn''t receiving any damage at all."No, that is his real body. It''s hard to say that it''s a Skill, seeing as how he could use that ability whenever he wants to. Furthermore, he''s apparently a deity who knows the Unrivaled Skill. The only fortunate thing we''ve discovered is that he does not seem to possess any AoE debuffs.""..." I focused more on the video after I found my assumptions were incorrect. I also found it hard to believe that a deity actually knew the Unrivaled Skill. I continued to watch the video in silence for the next couple of hours. As I watched, I couldn''t help, but scoff. I could now see what made them so depressed. After I activated Critical Weakness and Ripped Advance, my HP rose to almost one hundred million points. My DEF and MDEF are also increased incredibly high, allowing me to rush deep into an enemy army''s ranks and attack. But attacks from enemies still hurt me, which was why I had to dodge or block whatever I could and let my body handle whatever I couldn''t. But this monster of a man didn''t even bother blocking or dodging the attacks that hit him. He just let them strike his body... and it worked. I was actually pretty envious of his ability to just shrug off thousands of attacks at once. His attack output was just as amazing. He was so strong that he made the four Terran guilds look weak. Soon, the Crootian army had made its way behind the Terran army and surrounded them, as if that was their plan all along. The Terran army was quickly wiped out."Only a hundred and forty thousand Terran soldiers survived the battle. It was a huge blow, considering that Terran army was made up of elites and veterans.""What a monster.""Yes, he is. In fact, he said so himself. He was called Adora the Monster on his home world.""By the way¡­did I see that right? I think he had another ability." Not a single one of the thousands and thousands of attacks that hit him were critical hits."Yes, you did. Critical hits do not work on him.""Hmm¡­" That piece of information hit me the hardest. My greatest weapon was my ability to get off critical hits over and over again, and inflict tremendous damage through them. That was how I was able to kill Angel and Claudia easily. After the video ended, the officers began to tell me more about what they learned of Adora the Monster after the Empire fought him while losing twenty-four Sections to him, including all nine of our frontlines Sections. His immunity to critical hits and his Unrivaled Skill weren''t the biggest problems; his immunity to all damage was."We have no idea if his immunity to damage has a limit of if he''s just immune to all types of damage.""If he is immune to all types of damage¡­""...""We are assuming he has a limit to his immunity. There is always a balance to all Skills and abilities here on the Judge''s Continent, and back during the Otadolon stage. And¡­we hope that''s the case."After hearing what Alpha had to say, I leaned my head back and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I had thought that killing Claudia was the end of this war. That was why I had said all that back on Earth but now, an even more powerful enemy stood in my way. I was still confident that I wasn''t going to lose, since there was no way the system would allow Adora to be completely immune to all types of damage. I just knew that it took a lot of damage to hurt him; it only looked like he was immune to damage. I was also curious. Judge''s Gavel had a 100% chance to inflict critical damage. I wondered what would happen if a weapon that always inflicted critical damage struck a shield that was immune to critical damage.We continued the meeting for another three hours, but couldn''t come to a unanimous decision. In the end, there was still so much we didn''t know about Adora the Monster. Still, now that I was home, the officers seemed to brighten up some. I hadn''t lost a single battle yet, nor did I have any intention of starting now.---After the meeting, I headed straight for my home. My mother, grandfather, and all three hundred of my clan members were waiting outside, and when they all saw me, they tearfully ran over."Where have you been, young master?""When a powerful enemy appeared right when we lost contact with you, we thought¡­we thought¡­""We thought something had happened to you!"I was honestly surprised that they had waited for me this late into the night, but I understood how they felt. While it had only been three days for me, to them, I was gone for three months."Still, we''re glad you''re okay." Because I had contacted my mother beforehand, my clan members calmed down sooner."Let''s go inside," I said, leading my family back inside our home.------I went up to my private room and lay down on the same sofa I used whenever I took a break. It was late, but I didn''t feel tired after my little vacation on Earth."Summon: Dungeon Mole, Death''s Achilles Tendon."-''Banana candy?''--''Yes! I''m back outside!''-I set the Tendon off to the side since it did fine on its own, and gave the Mole ten pieces of candy.-''Banana candy! Banana candy!''-"Eat up. I got a lot out of you this time," I said, as I petted the Dungeon Mole while it did its best to eat all of the candy in front of it."Now, as big of a deal Adora is, I still need to open this bad boy up." I took out the Rank 10 Random Item Chest. The last time I opened one, I had gotten the Fated Crossroads."Hmm¡­ I was going to use it at the Store later¡­ should I use it now?" Fated Crossroads was now off its cooldown, and I could use it again. I was planning on using it before re-attempting an accessory upgrade."No. It''s going to be a Rank 10 item regardless. I shouldn''t waste it on this." I opened the Item Chest right away, revealing an item shining with a purple light.------The next day, just when I was about to leave for the Store at Center B, Song Daechul and the other guild masters came to visit me."What brings you all here?""We want you to have this." Song Daechul suddenly handed me another bundle of golden rings."Why?""We have a conscience, too. When we fought against Adora the Monster, we quickly realized that only you had a chance against him.""It''s not right to make you shoulder this burden each time, but you''re all we have.""..." I looked at the miserable expressions on each of the guild masters'' faces. They had experienced heavy losses against Adora, which prompted them to go this far. I didn''t turn them down, however. I just needed to defeat Adora in exchange for all these golden rings, right?"Thank you," I said, as I accepted the bundle of golden rings. 289 Chapter 288: Adora the Monster Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDI stood in front of the general store and the accessory shop of Section 35''s Center D Store. I had way too many golden rings to know what to do with them all. The last time I came to the Store, I was left with about 1.2 billion golden rings. Then, I had earned 11.7 billion golden rings after the battle against Claudia and her army. Then, Song Daechul and the Empire''s guild masters had given me 14.5 billion golden rings, leftover from the golden rings we had taken from the Windsor Guard and the Nayuta Guild. After my trip from Earth, I came back to the Continent with 5 billion more golden rings in my pocket. By that point, I had a total of 32.4 billion golden rings.Then, there were the golden rings that Song Daechul and the guild masters brought me last night. Those totaled up to 94.7 billion golden rings. That amount was all they were able to scrape together. They told me that they were initially going to give that amount to someone else. They had considered Aman Lagus, Arthur Miller, and even Zulova. That was just how well they did against Adora during the three months I was gone. When I finally returned to the Continent, the guild masters unanimously decided to give me the golden rings instead. Even Aman and Arthur wanted the golden rings to go to me. So now, I had a chance to become even stronger, except for the fact that Earth had lost twenty four Sections. Store prices were now up by 120%; they had more than doubled. One Stat point now cost 2.2 million golden rings to buy."Alright. I''ll go to the accessory shop first." I turned right and entered the accessory shop."Welcome to Section 35''s Center D accessory shop.""Show me your wares."Soon, the shop''s menu appeared before me. I scrolled all the way down to the bottom. "I''ll buy an Accessory Rank Upgrade.""Yes, sir."A new window appeared, with a slot for me to place my item in. This time, I took out the Reversal Prodigy and placed it inside. I did still want extra lives like Angel and Dunia, but I had gotten so much from my visit to Earth. It seemed a waste to spend the golden rings when I was hard to kill already, thanks to Critical Weakness and Ripped Advance. Since Adora was supposed to be immune to critical hits, that just made me want to raise my critical Stats even more.==[You have selected a Rank 9 accessory.Upgrading this accessory requires 3,960,000,000 golden rings and has a 1% chance of success. If the upgrade fails, you will lose the 3,960,000,000 golden rings. Are you sure you wish to proceed?]=="..." Upgrading a Rank 9 accessory used to cost 1.8 billion golden rings but with that 120% price hike, it now cost more than 3.9 billion golden rings. I was stunned speechless from seeing the actual price with my own two eyes, and I hesitated. I was going to save Fated Crossroads, since I had so many more golden rings than I knew what to do with, but realizing that one upgrade was going to cost almost four billion golden rings made it hard to proceed without some sense of security. Just trying to upgrade the accessory two or three times was going to cost almost ten billion golden rings."Meh. Activate: Fated Crossroads!"==[Fated Crossroads has been activated.You are presented with two paths.Path 1: You attempt to upgrade your Reversal Prodigy to Rank 10.Path 2: You decide to not upgrade your Reversal Prodigy to save your golden rings.]====[Please select one of the two paths.]=="Select first path." A video appeared before me.==[At this point, I''m going to always succeed as long as I use Fated Crossroads.]==The me in the video didn''t celebrate for long. But I had celebrated, meaning I had succeeded, which was enough for me."Proceed."==[The Rank 9 Reversal Prodigy has successfully been upgraded to Rank 10.]==This was my fifth time upgrading an item. I had succeeded three times out of five and I had used Fated Crossroads before those three times. The two times I had failed, I hadn''t used Fated Crossroads. That had to mean something. I took out the Reversal Prodigy and replaced it with the Rank 9 Desert King''s Resolve and the Bracelet of Eternal Fire. I had to know for sure. I paid the necessary golden rings for each accessory upgrade.==[The Rank 9 Desert King''s Resolve has failed to be upgraded to Rank 10.The 3,960,000,000 golden rings will not be returned to you.]====[The Rank 8 Bracelet of Eternal Fire has failed to be upgraded to Rank 8The 3,080,000,000 golden rings will not be returned to you.]==They had both failed. Now, I was confident that Item Rank Upgrades were only going to work after I use Fated Crossroads. I used up about 9.4 golden rings just to know for sure."That just makes Fated Crossroads that much more valuable, so what''s up with this item?" I thought back to the item I had received from the second Rank 10 Random Item Chest."It looks pretty much useless¡­" The item seemed so bad when I checked it that it was basically a dud."Oh well. Item Check!"==[The Reversal Prodigy (Rank 9)These are the earrings that once belonged to Paolini, known as the Reversal Prodigy.Paolini fought in countless battles and as a veteran commander, in battles that seemed impossible for him to win. But Paolini only needed a 0.1% chance of survival. As long as he had that, Paolini was able to turn the tables around even when all seemed lost.Increase all Stats by 300 points.Increase AGI by 1,000 points.Increase WIL by 2,000 points.Increase CRIT rate by 0.1%, increase CRIT damage by 1,000%After a successful critical hit, there is a 40% chance the next attack is a critical hit. (Successful critical hits increase CRIT damage by 1,000%.)Absolute Critical Hit: If every seventh attack does not inflict critical damage, the next attack will absolutely be a critical hit. (This critical hit will increase CRIT damage by 1000%.)Increase skill EXP gain by 20%. DEF 3500, MDEF 3500]==It had now been upgraded quite heavily all around. It gained a new effect that raised my AGI by 1,000 points and increased its base CRIT damage boost to 1,000% from 200%. Its CRIT rate boost was still the same but the Absolute Critical Hit made up for it. If my seventh attack wasn''t a critical hit, then my next attack was absolutely going to inflict critical damage. I now had two chances to always inflict critical damage, the other being Judge''s Gavel.-Will this be enough?,- I thought to myself, but I still didn''t know for sure if I would be able to pierce through Adora''s immunity to critical hits.-Well, it''s not like thinking about it is going to give me an answer.-Satisfied, I left the accessory shop. Now that Fated Crossroads had a cooldown of 153 days, I wouldn''t be back for a while.---Once I left the accessory shop, I entered the Skill shop next door. The moment I had set foot on Earth, I had gained 3 skill points and the moment I came back to the Continent, I had gained another five. I had eight Skill points to burn."Welcome to Section 35''s Center D Skill shop.""Show me your wares.""Right away, sir."I looked at the skill shop menu that came up before me, hoping I could learn another Random Skill, but the tab was empty this time as well.-Hmm¡­should I look at some single target Skills this time?-Before, I needed more AoE skills, since my main goal was to kill as many Crootian soldiers as possible. But with the appearance of Adora the Monster, I quickly realized that I needed single target Skills capable of dealing massive amounts of burst damage. He was going to be my sole target in the coming battle; that''s what he wanted, I wanted, and the Empire wanted.I searched up single-target Skills, looking for any other skills that could always inflict critical damage like Judge''s Gavel. But as I had expected, no other skill existed. Still, I did manage to find a single target Skill that increased damage based on weapon Rank, like Scorched Rage.==[Spirit Strike (3/3), (Active)Gather your spirit energy into one powerful strike against your enemy.Damage can increase according to weapon Rank:Rank 7: Increase damage by 3%.Rank 8: Increase damage by 5%.Rank 9: Increase damage by 10%.Rank 10: Increase damage by 20%.Level 1: 600 second cooldown. Base damage of 30,000. Inflicts 200% of user''s ATT as additional damage. 10% to cause Panic upon enemy. (Panic: Decreases DEF and MDEF by 30%.)Level 2: 600 second cooldown. Base damage of 40,000. Inflicts 250% of user''s ATT as additional damage. 20% to cause Panic upon enemy. (Panic: Decreases DEF and MDEF by 30%.)Level 3: 600 second cooldown. Base damage of 50,000. Inflicts 300% of user''s ATT as additional damage. 30% to cause Panic upon enemy. (Panic: Decreases DEF and MDEF by 30%.)Skill points required: 3Golden rings required: 450,000,000This Store is experiencing a 120% increase in prices. This Skill requires 990,000,000 golden rings to learn.]==It didn''t seem much compared to Judge''s Gavel, especially since Judge''s Gavel was already maxed out. It didn''t compare at all in the first place. Still, I decided to learn it without hesitation, since it did more damage according to my weapon''s Rank. "Learn."==[You have learned Spirit Strike.]==I went back to the list of Skills, where I discovered another special-looking Skill.==[Backstab (3/3), (Active)Attack the enemy unexpectedly to inflict additional damage.Attack from the side to inflict 50% additional damage.Attack from the back to inflict 100% additional damage.Level 1: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 200% of user''s ATT as additional damage.Level 2: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 250% of user''s ATT as additional damage.Level 3: 600 second cooldown. Inflicts 300% of user''s ATT as additional damage.Skill points required: 3Golden rings required: 320,000,000This Store is experiencing a 120% increase in prices. This Skill requires 740,000,000 golden rings to learn.]==I definitely always had the chance to attack an enemy from the side or from the back, but I never did. Attacking from the front didn''t do less or more damage than attacking from another direction. But I thought that Backstab might be pretty useful against Adora. Besides, I still had plenty of golden rings to spend and if it didn''t live up to my expectations, I could always delete it at anytime."Learn: Backstab." ==[You have learned Backstab.]=="Hmm¡­now I have two Skill points left." Most of the more useful Skills cost two points to learn, so I wasn''t sure what to do with the points I had left. As I looked through the Skill list, I found something that seemed alright.==[Create Weakness (3/3), (Active)Create a weakness on a random location of an enemy.Level 1: 20 minute cooldown. Attack the created Weakness within 5 seconds to inflict 50% additional damage.Level 2: 20 minute cooldown. Attack the created Weakness within 5 seconds to inflict 70% additional damage.Level 3: 20 minute cooldown. Attack the created Weakness within 5 seconds to inflict 100% additional damage.Skill points required: 2Golden rings required: 100,000This Store is experiencing a 120% increase in prices. This Skill requires 220,000 golden rings to learn.]=="Learn: Create Weakness."==[You have learned Create Weakness.]==With all eight Skill points used, I left the Skill shop. The longer I stayed, the more I felt disappointed. If I had these Skills when I went to Earth, they could all been maxed out. Then again, I did only have three Skill points on me at that time.I went over to the general store to buy some more Stat points, fully prepared to spend all of the 113 billion golden rings I had left. Still, as I walked in, I trembled. I wasn''t going to get 113,000 Stat points from those golden rings. No, I was only going to get less than half; exactly 51,363 Stat points. That was all I was going to get. I hesitated for a second and thought it might be better to just save the golden rings, in case I could use them at a Store that didn''t have the penalty once the war on the Judge''s Continent was over."No¡­ if we lose because I decided to save¡­ I can''t have that happen. That would be incredibly foolish. Besides, the nine guilds gave me these golden rings so that I can secure victory."Adora the Monster I had seen on video was truly a monster. I couldn''t keep the golden rings the Empire had given me so that I could defeat him for myself. If I lost, then Earth lost. Not only were the Terrans on the Continent going to die, but so were the mortals stuck on Earth.I closed my eyes tight and bought the 51,363 Stat points.==[Are you sure you wish to buy 51,363 Stat points for 112,998,600,000 golden rings?]=="..." I froze for a moment. That was a LOT of golden rings. I shook my head numbly."Yes!"==[You have bought 51,363 Stat points.]=="Open Stats Menu." Once my Stats Menu came up, I looked at all of the unassigned Stat points I had now. Altogether, I had 62,363 points."What do I put them into?" I said to myself, but I didn''t need to think long. I just needed to put them into STR, AGI, and VIT, like always.-My base STR is at 122k, base AGI and VIT are at 92k¡­-I began splitting up my unassigned Stat points into those three Stats. I let all of the messages about bonus Stat points and Grand Achievements come up and looked at my Stats Menu one last time. ==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1393Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First Deva, The Keeper of TerraHP: 69,740,700/69,740,700MP: 4,102,800/4,102,800Strength: 179,301 + 8,853Agility: 119,701Vitality: 120,601Willpower: 42,568Intelligence: 38,328Unassigned Stat Points: 4,363Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 655,747Physical Defense: 172,767Magical Attack: 139,154Magical Defense: 89,734]==I had just spent 58,000 Stat points to increase STR by 40k and AGI and VIT by 20k. At first glance, it didn''t seem possible, since it looked like I didn''t have enough Stat points, but it was only possible thanks to the bonus Stat points from each 10,000-point milestone and from the Grand Achievement Stat points. I was now almost as strong as when I had used Ripped Advance and Critical Weakness against Claudia. If I used those buffs now¡­I shivered at the thought. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to inflict enough damage against Adora the Monster. I invested the remaining 4,363 Stat points into STR to increase my ATT as much as I could. Once I was done, my Comm Link rang."Hello?""Commander Lee! Adora¡­Adora the Monster has begun his attack!""..." Perfect timing."Good. I didn''t need to wait long." 290 Chapter 289: Adora the Monster Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: REDPeople were panicking over the news that Adora the Monster had begun his next attack. The memory of Earth losing twenty-four Sections to him without being able to put up much of a fight was still fresh in their minds. Obviously enough, Adora the Monster wasn''t alone. He was bringing seven million soldiers. That only meant one thing; he was fully intent on destroying Earth and ending this war through this invasion.Every single Terran was panicking, even the rookie devas who hadn''t cared much about battles before. No one knew how to stop him. As such, it was time to for me to step in and show that I, the man who had yet to lose a single battle, was back on the Judge''s Continent. I couldn''t let Earth go into the coming battle in low spirits. I traveled through all fifty-one remaining Terran Sections like a politician during a campaign tour. There was still time to spare; it would take a while for Adora to move an army that large.It also wasn''t a pointless decision, at least for me."We''ll be relying on you, Lee Jiwon!""We''re just¡­too afraid to¡­""We know we can''t be of much help during the battle, so we want you to have this instead.""I know it''s not right to run from the fight behind a few golden rings. You can insult us; we won''t hold it against you¡­ but we''re sorry."Many citizens of the other Sections came up to me with their support and patronage. Many couldn''t give too much at a time, but everyone had something to give, which quickly added up to a lot.------Two weeks later¡­"We''ve gathered a total of 119.5 billion golden rings.""Most were from individuals, while a good amount was sent by quite a few guilds.""Even the Cheng Long, Chambord, Ponferrada, and the Spencer Guilds, that first encountered Adora, each sent ten billion golden rings.""¡­That''s quite a lot."At first, we hadn''t asked for anyone to send in their funds to support us. We didn''t think that far, nor did we want to. But as far as I could tell, our fellow Terrans needed a reason to come out of their moping and to band together, and that reason was me. That was why I had the Empire start campaigning for donations. In the end, we had received almost 120 billion golden rings. Even I was surprised to receive all that at once. As expected, the Empire''s guild officers pushed all of those golden rings onto me. I at least had a conscience and turned them down at first."They donated these golden rings thinking of you, commander.""That''s right. Everyone knows¡­ that you''re the only one on Earth capable of defeating that monster.""Commander, you''re the Empire''s, no, Earth''s last hope of survival."When the nine guilds of the Empire had scraped together the one hundred billion golden rings and gave them to me, I was so ecstatic that I couldn''t sit still. But this time, I couldn''t help but feel a bit worried. No matter how small each donation was, I knew why they were sent in."Ha¡­I understand. Thank you," I said as I accepted the golden rings. As worried as I was, I still really wanted to accept the golden rings. My greed wasn''t going to go anywhere, obviously. So, that same day, I went straight to the general store and spent all 119.5 billion golden rings on Stat points. I didn''t stop there. I still had Death''s Harrier available. I couldn''t get more than 1,000 Stat points now, but I was going to need as much as I could get.I recruited the assistance of the Myth Guild again and hunted low-level monsters all day. This time, I was able to kill each horde of monsters faster than before, thanks to my increased arsenal of AoE Skills. After the hunt, I returned to my home and rested until the Empire finished gathering its forces.------One month later¡­"Jiwon, my son¡­if it gets too¡­promise me¡­" My mother trailed off and couldn''t bring herself to finish her sentence. I knew what she wanted to say; if it got too dangerous, she wanted me to run away and not look back. My mother heard more than me about the destruction Adora left in his wake."I will. I promise," I whispered in her ear as I gave her a small hug. That wasn''t something for everyone else, which was also one reason my mother couldn''t finish her sentence.I said my farewells to my grandfather and my clan members, and turned around. I wasn''t sure if it was a good or bad thing, but not a single person here was strong enough to join the five million soldiers of the Empire''s defense force.There was a good chance this was going to be the final battle, which was why the Empire had recruited five million of Earth''s strongest devas. We could have recruited more, about five million more to outnumber the enemy''s army, but they would just have ended up becoming cannon fodder, and lowered our soldiers'' will to fight.That same defense force surrounded Section 35, waiting for me, its commander. As I arrived at Section 35''s southern gate, I saw the endless sea of soldiers. I quickly made my way to the front and faced them. There were more soldiers today then the army that faced Claudia and her soldiers. If this army lost, then Earth was going to be destroyed. I put on a solemn face and spoke to the soldiers in a loud enough voice for all to hear."I will kill Adora the Monster. No matter what, I will kill him." That was all I had to say. I didn''t need to say anymore, since that was what every single Terran expected of me. "Let''s go!" I shouted as I turned around and marched forward."Yaaah!""Lee Jiwon! Lee Jiwon!"I heard a huge roar in response and the thundering footsteps as the five million soldiers followed close behind. Our destination was the Plain of Creation, a four days'' march away. We decided on that place on purpose. It was a named place, which was the perfect spot to fight the deciding battle and the wide, open ground was good enough to see the enemy coming. And so, I and my army quickly marched for the Plain of Creation, to get there before Adora and his army did.---Four days later¡­Because we kept constant tabs of the enemy''s movements, we were able to arrive at the Plain before the Crootians. If our timeline was correct, we could expect Adora and his soldiers to arrive in three days. We set up camp on the Plain to wait and to bring up our tension.Just as we had expected, the enemy army arrived after three days. Each enemy soldier exuded confidence. Common sense would have told us to attack them right away, since they had traveled nonstop for two months. But that only made sense against mortals. These enemy soldiers were devas and deities, and wouldn''t be fatigued after a journey like that, especially since they took their time getting here. So, we waited for them to make the first move.Soon, a single man stepped out of the enemy soldiers'' ranks. It was the same man from the countless videos I had watched. He was none other than Adora the Monster, and he moved as if he was out on a leisurely walk through a park. I stepped out as well, matching Adora''s leisurely pace. I was, of course, already prepared to kill him in a single strike before he transformed into that monsterish form."Activate: Create Critical Weakness. Activate: Ripped Advance."==[Create Critical Weakness has been activated.]== ==[Ripped Advance has been activated.All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours.Once this Skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.Cooldown: 24 hours.]==I didn''t stop there. "Mana Conversion ¨C Ice. Warrior''s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf."==[Mana Conversion ¨C Ice Level 7 has been activated.]====[Warrior''s Brave Spirit Level 3 has been activated.]====[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==I still had Judge''s Gavel and Create Weakness to use, but I saved them. Create Weakness only lasted for five seconds and I needed to use it tandem with Judge''s Gavel. Besides, I first needed to use Altered Equality on Adora, which I really looked forwards to. It was clear that Adora''s highest Stats could only be STR and VIT. I assumed his AGI, INT, and WIL had to be much lower in comparison. I wanted to see what sort of expression Adora would make when he notices that his STR and VIT were lowered along with his ATT and HP.Adora kept walking at the same leisurely pace and I continued to match that pace, to not let it seem that I was impatient. Even though I had completed my preparations, there was still a considerable distance between us."Open Stats Menu," I said quietly. I wanted to see for myself just how much my Stats had gone up, especially after the Stat points I had recently bought and the Stat points I had received from Death''s Harrier.==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1393Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First Deva, The Keeper of TerraHP: 180,041,200/180,041,200MP: 14,659,622 /14,659,622Strength: 499,304 + 9,039Agility: 339,402Vitality: 341,202Willpower: 145,136Intelligence: 136,656]==I grinned. Adora the Monster was still walking towards me and countless soldiers on both sides were watching me. To be honest, I was feeling a tad worried, but all that had disappeared once I laid eyes on my Stats. They had more than doubled since my fight against Claudia. Not to mention, most of my Skills were now maxed out.Soon, I finally came face to face with Adora the Monster."Ho ho. You should have kept hiding in your hole, like the rat that you are.""Ho ho. Have you ever seen a rat as big as me?" I taunted right back. I also noticed almost immediately that he really did have the Unrivaled Skill. Once he was in range, the system notified me that my Harrier''s HP absorb didn''t work, as well as the 10% decrease to his combat abilities, even though my HP was well over 180 million points. I strongly doubted he more HP without any buffs. If he did¡­ then this was definitely going to be a hard fight. Still, I would only know for sure once we fought."Bwahaha! Good, good. You need to have that much fighting spirit to make this battle between monsters that much more interesting. And that will only make the shock of your loss that much greater." Adora laughed at my taunt, completely unfazed.That was why I immediately shouted, "Altered Equality! Create Weakness!"==[You have activated Altered Equality ¨C Altered Equal Stats on your opponent.Your opponent''s base Stat points, Stat points increased by skills and items and Stat points granted by specials will all be redistributed.Calculating all Stat points¡­]====[Your opponent''s Stats have been redistributed.The effects of Altered Equality will last for the next 24 hours and you must wait that time before using Altered Equality on someone else.Stat points received for Kiran will be set to 0 as payment for using Altered Equality.]====[You have activated Create Weakness on your opponent.Created Weakness location: center of opponent''s chest.If you do not successfully attack the Created Weakness, the Created Weakness will disappear.You must wait 20 minutes before Creating a new Weakness.]==I charged at Adora immediately. I had already activated Judge''s Gavel right before I came face to face with Adora. I still had both Blinks available, but opted to not use them. My AGI,currently over 340k got me close to Adora faster than using Blink. I thrust my spear right towards the glowing red spot that had formed in the center of his chest.Cheating? Bad manners? Who cared about that? He was my enemy, who I had to kill as quickly as possible!I felt my spear strike something, and was rewarded with a deafening crash that was nonetheless far quieter than normal. 291 Chapter 290: Adora the Monster Part V Translator: HunterWEditor: REDMy spear made a crashing sound as it struck Adora square in the chest, but the giant Judge''s hammer did not appear. My spearhead also didn''t flash yellow, which always happened whenever Judge''s Gavel was activated."Wow¡­you really are a monster. How are you able to inflict that much damage? It wasn''t even a critical hit, even if it was a Skill attack." Adora was complimenting me, eyes open wide with genuine surprise, but I wasn''t happy about it. I lost. My unstoppable spear was stopped by his immovable defense against critical hits. "Hey now, don''t be so sad. No one has ever been able to inflict that much damage on me. Angel? Claudia? They couldn''t do half of what you did just now. You should be jumping with joy to hear such praise from me.""Cut the crap," I spat at him. This was a huge blow to me, to be honest. That was the strongest attack I could give right now, buffed by not only my strongest buffs, but also by supporters before I had walked out to meet Adora. I had really hoped I could kill Adora with that one strike."Whoa, whoa. Was that your strongest attack? Oh, well that''s disappointing. You almost did enough. Bwahaha. Almost. I actually thought I was going to die there.""Crazy motherfucker. Who goes all in on the first hand? I was just testing your mettle." I wasn''t sure if Adora was telling the truth, but I could tell from the expression he made that I really did get close. That just made it all the more disappointing. If only critical hits worked on him, I could have killed him. But I did my best to not let it show."Oh, really? Good, then it''s my turn! Raah!" Adora roared as his veins swelled to the size of snakes. In an instant, he had grown into that ten-meter tall monster I had seen so many times on video. He was a lot bigger, now that I saw it in person, but I didn''t just stand there, I got ready to attack. My level 3 Judge''s Gavel may have not inflicted enough damage, but it was still too early to give up."Scorching Rage!" A giant spear appeared in the sky. It was bigger than Scorching Rage at level 1, about five times the size. The massive spear came crashing down on the beastly Adora and stabbed into his back."Ouch! That pinches!""..." Okay, I had to admit it; as strong as the Skill was, it was an AoE Skill. But it couldn''t just pinch, especially not with my current Stats. But that was it. It pinched him."That really hurt. I don''t think I ever felt that much pain before."-Fuck,- I whispered to swear to myself, quietly enough so he couldn''t hear. If I didn''t, I would have probably lost it."Gahahaha! Now it''s my turn to return the favor!"For a moment there, I had thought that the sun had suddenly set and it was already night, due to the massive shadow that Adora''s raised foot cast. He was a faster than I expected, a lot faster. It was most likely because of Altered Equality raising his AGI."Rat bastard," he said, as I quickly moved out the way and his foot missed me by leagues."Did you really think I''d let myself get caught by that slow attack?" Adora was way too slow to catch me. I slashed at his calves with lightning speed, the spearhead cutting through his flesh without much resistance. That told me that his DEF wasn''t that high, and that my ATT was much higher. So the only problem I had to worry about was his immunity to damage, and I was positive he wasn''t completely immune as well."Fine! I''ll show you!"He had to be immune to damage in one of two ways: he was either immune to damage up to a certain threshold, or he was immune to cumulative damage up to a certain threshold. I hoped it was the second way, since my level 3 Judge''s Gavel failed to inflict enough damage in one go. "Grr! Stand still, damn it!" Adora roared as I danced between his feet.He was one hell of a meat shield. It was almost horrifying, but I knew one thing for sure; he had no chance of even touching a hair on my head. Then, a message from the now Rank 10 Reversal Prodigy came up.==[Your seventh consecutive attack was not a critical hit.Your next attack has a 100% chance of being a critical hit.This next attack will have its critical damage increased by 1000%.]==I normally would have jumped for joy, but I was dubious since Judge''s Gavel had failed. I had been really pissed when that happened. Judge''s Gavel was in no way a normal Skill. It was the same Skill that made Anton fall out of his chair and prompted him to gift me 1,000 Stat points just for learning it. But that same amazing Skill was blocked by this guy''s shield against critical hits. Still, this was a rare chance that I had to utilize."Backstab! Blink 1!" Spirit Strike was also a good choice here, but I used Backstab instead. If this attack was going to be a critical hit, the extra 100% additional damage could really hurt him. I Blinked right behind Adora and thrust my spear at the base of his skull."Gah."==[You have successfully attacked your opponent from the back to inflict 100% additional damage.]==Backstab did work as the message evidenced but again, my attack hadn''t flashed yellow."Fuck," I said out loud. Both of my weapons were useless against his shield. It was official; my unbelievably high CRIT rate and CRIT damage were useless against Adora. I was pissed."Wow¡­ that really is surprising. How is that even possible? Just what are you?" Adora said as he rubbed the back of his head and turned towards me.That was what I wanted to ask him. I wanted to ask how the hell a deity learned the Unrivaled Skill, and where he got his damage and critical immunity, but I stayed quiet. It wasn''t like he was going to give me a straight answer if I did. I just did what I could do."Titan Stomp!" I attacked with my spear and used whatever Skills I had, even though I couldn''t inflict enough damage.He did counterattack while ignoring my attacks, but his punches and kicks never found their mark and just swung aimlessly over my head. Honestly, I didn''t like that I was able to attack him like this while he missed. I knew it meant that I wasn''t doing anything to him, either."Spirit Strike!" I didn''t stop, however. It was all I could do and there were too many people relying on me to give up now.------Thirty minutes had passed since the fight between the two monsters had begun and the Empire''s army watched from afar."Hmm¡­""Should we take solace in the fact that he''s not being pushed back?""It''s amazing that he can go toe to toe with Adora the Monster like that, but I don''t think he''s inflicting enough damage."At first glance, it would seem that Lee Jiwon had the upper hand, but from Adora''s expression, the Empire''s officers knew that it wasn''t the case.''Was that all to that attack? I expected more. Come on. Try your best.''If the Empire''s officers could read minds, they were sure that was what Adora was thinking. His expression was the same he had whenever he fought the Empire before."It''s too early to tell. Even Claudia had the same expression up until the moment she died.""That''s right. The commander was also fighting Adora alone, when thousands of us couldn''t do anything to him.""The enemy officers over there seem quite shocked as well," one officer mentioned, and the others turned their attention to the enemy army. It was hard to see, but they did notice that the enemy officers were huddled together and looking at each other with serious expressions. This was probably their first time seeing their commander getting stopped by one person like this as well."Get ready. The enemy is making their move.""Yes sir!"Regardless, Adora the Monster was going to be too preoccupied to pay attention to the Empire''s army. The Empire''s five million soldiers moved out to meet the Crootians in battle.------"His power is real.""So it wasn''t through luck that he was able to kill Angel and Claudia.""I ''ve never seen anyone hold up against Master Adora like that."The Crootian officers were confident that Adora wasn''t going to lose, especially with his abilities, but they never thought that the Terran would be able to fight on equal ground against Adora."Those Terrans spent the same time in the Otadolon stage as us. It only makes sense that they would have people as strong as Claudia or Adora. Lee Jiwon is that type of Terran," Navana said, and the other officers nodded in agreement. "But it''s still hopeless for them. God has favored Master Adora more. That is why Lee Jiwon was able to kill Claudia, but is unable to kill Master Adora that easily.""...""..."Claudia, who Adora was hopeless against, met her nemesis here on the Judge''s Continent. That nemesis, who was somehow immune to her Time abilities, was none other than Lee Jiwon. It was quite profound to watch Adora, who was freed by Lee Jiwon, now trying to kill him."Get ready. It''s time for us to attack.""Yes sir."By Navana''s order, the seven million Crootian soldiers began their attack, letting their commander know that it was time to take his fight seriously.------We had been fighting for the past thirty minutes and I was still in the lead. For now."Man, you really are a monster. I think I know now just how you were able to kill Angel and Claudia. Not only do you have the highest ATT and DEF of all my enemies, you''re also just as fast. Just what are you not good at?" Adora sounded like he was actually in awe of me, but I wasn''t happy about it at all.Those were the words the victor said to the loser. It was like he was saying that he knew that I was strong, but he was still stronger and that he had won the fight by a hair. Hearing those words from Adora pissed me off even more. He was being haughty about it, and it also meant that I wasn''t doing any more than all of the other Terrans he had fought before."Don''t make me laugh. You haven''t even hit me once yet. I''m beginning to think I''m fighting against a slug!""Bwahahaha! A slug, he says! Gahahaha! That''s a first!" Adora laughed as I continued to attack. I couldn''t stop. If I did, then nothing was definitely going to change."Really? Then I''ll tell you again. Slowpoke. You''re so slow, you''ll never touch me." I wasn''t sure what the point was to keep taunting, but at least it kept him focused on me. Both armies had made their moves now."Fine. It''s time I got serious then. Rah!" His veins bulged again and he transformed once more. Only he was now just short of three meters.I sighed at the sight. "What are you, some kind of transforming robot?" 292 Chapter 291: Adora the Monster Part VI Translator: HunterWEditor: REDDuring the thirty minute fight against the ten-meter tall Adora, I had let him hit me three times. I wanted to see just how much damage output he was capable of. From those three hits, I noticed that while his attacks definitely had some power to them, I could still easily stand up to them. I was also strong enough to be called a monster. But that didn''t mean I let him hit me every time. I was more than fast enough to avoid all of his attacks, and I didn''t want to let him feel good about himself.But Adora, who was now just short of three meters tall, was a lot different, especially his speed. I was still able to stay out of range of his kicks, though."Wow! You are amazing, Lee Jiwon! I still can''t attack you in this form. How the hell did you become what you are?""¡­That''s what I want to ask you? Are you some sort of transforming robot or something?""Gahahaha. That''s a nice comparison. Transforming robot¡­pfft.""You''re immune to critical hits and you have the status effect immunity from the Unrivaled Skill. Okay, I can understand up to there. But that damage immunity of yours¡­ just what exactly is its limit?" This fight has been going on for almost forty minutes now. My ATT was high enough to kill most devas without critical hits. Hell, I could kill Angel and Claudia in half the time with my current strength. But I knew for a fact that Adora hadn''t received a single point of damage. I didn''t let it show, but I was at my wit''s end.Adora cackled. "Are you curious?""Yeah, very." I really was. Not knowing was making me more and more impatient. I had to know, even if I wanted to give up.Adora cackled again. "Fine, I''ll tell you. I think I know by now that your first attack was your strongest.""..." I didn''t say anything back. He was right."So, about my damage immunity¡­"My body tensed as I waited for his answer."I am completely immune to all damage. No sort of attack is capable of even inflicting a single point of damage on me. Gahahaha! So all you need to do is die here in horror!" Adora cried as he charged me. He may have shrunk down to a quarter of his massive size, his combat style hadn''t changed. He also didn''t even bother dodging or blocking my attacks. It reminded me of how I used to fight.I thrust my spear into Adora''s side and his fist struck my temple. I could have avoided his attack. He was a lot faster than when he was in his hulking form, but his attack speed was still slower than my movement speed. But if I dodged, I wouldn''t be able to attack him, due to how much stronger and faster Adora had become. Besides, his attack power wasn''t even that much higher, anyway."I''m going to break through your god damn immunity. Fissure!""Gahahaha! Sure, try as much as you can. I want to see your despairing expression when you realize you can do nothing to me!"The level 3 Fissure split the ground beneath Adora, dragging him deep into the earth."How interesting. How are all of your Skills capable of dealing so much damage? Did you somehow get them all to max level?""What do you mean? They''re all level 1. Aren''t you just too weak?"Adora chuckled. "At least you still have your sense of humor."Adora continued to swing and kick at me. His damage output definitely wasn''t anything special. The only problem was his damage immunity, but the only thing I could do was to keep attacking him and try to break through it, even if it meant losing all of my HP. And what if I still couldn''t break through it then?"..." I brushed away the thought. Only an hour had passed since our fight began. There were still twenty-three hours left on Critical Weakness and Ripped Advance.------"Charge!""Help the commander!""Commander Lee still has his Dignity debuff and AoE HP drain, but Adora the Monster does not have any debuffs. It''ll be easier for us to fight in the middle than the enemy''s army!""Yes, sir!"The Terran army charged without hesitation towards the middle of the battlefield where the two monsters were fighting, knowing that this was the deciding battle. Of course, the Crootian army had similar thoughts."Don''t get close to the middle fight. Lee Jiwon possesses powerful debuffs. Leave the two be and destroy the enemy''s army!""Yes sir!"The two armies approached each other in different ways, but still engaged nonetheless."Triple Shot!""Stalagmite!""Sheer Cold!" "Iron Body!"::"Dancing Fire Sparks!""Razor Wind Storm!""Thorns of Pain!""Earth Lance!""Billowing Flame Pillar!"Both armies fired volleys of countless Skills and spells and each other. Both sides had just lost countless more deva soldiers from the first wave of attacks but no one paid attention to them. Death was now the norm on this land.---"Homing Skill: Hellfire Arrow!""Homing Skill: Frostbitten Arrow!":"Homing Skill: Power Shot!"Thousands of Skill arrows whizzed past my head and struck Adora. I was in their flight path, but they were shot through Homing Skill, allowing them to home in."Damn flies," Adora muttered as he swatted at the arrows. Honestly, I didn''t like seeing the arrows. It honestly hurt my pride since this was a one-on-one fight, and I had never needed help from anyone before. But I couldn''t really do anything about it. I needed all the help I could get to break through his damage immunity."Spirit Strike!" I kept up my attacks, using my all of my Skills whenever they were off cooldown.---Two hours later¡­"Argh! You''re so annoying!" The one thousand Terran archers behind me were all completely locked on Adora. The rest of the Empire''s soldiers were also locked in an even battle against the seven million Crootian soldiers. Adora likely didn''t like that, but the same went for me. I was still nowhere closer to killing him. Seriously, no one should be that imbalanced..."That''s what I want to say! God, why won''t you die?" I shouted in annoyance as I attacked and attacked. Time was no longer on my side.Then, Adora suddenly started to pant heavily. That made me nervous. He probably had another trick up his sleeve."Fine, I''ll admit it. You, Lee Jiwon, are strong. Honestly, I never expected my attacks to be this useless against you," Adora said, scorning himself. "You have made me resort to this method. I didn''t want to use it because of its penalty, but now, I have to. I don''t see any other way to kill you.""..." He was already strong enough. The fact that he had more rendered me speechless. I had nothing else to use. The only thing I had was Shaman Ko, but I couldn''t control him. He did somehow help me in dire times, but it was too dangerous to rely on him."Graaah!" Adora roared again, just like whenever he transformed."Scorching Rage! Titan Stomp! Fissure!" I used all of the Skills I had to try to stop his transformation. Unfortunately, they didn''t stop him. He just stood there and let the attacks hit him.Adora was now at the same height he was when I first met him. He had lost his bulked-up muscles but he exuded a more dangerous aura."Everyone thinks I only have three abilities: critical hit immunity, Unrivaled Skill, and the damage immunity that you love so much. I actually have another ability, but I have never revealed it before. Do you know why? I didn''t need to. I did plan on using it on Claudia, but when she ensnared me in her Time, I forever lost the chance to. Still, I''ll show it to you so be honored, Lee Jiwon. You''re the first to see my greatest ability firsthand. 100x Duplicated Focus ¨C Attack."Adora activated his Skill, but remained glued to his spot."Create Weakness."==[You have activated Create Weakness on your opponent.Created Weakness location: center of opponent''s chest.If you do not successfully attack the Created Weakness, the Created Weakness will disappear.You must wait a cooldown of 20 minutes before Creating a new Weakness.]=="Blink 1. Backstab." He could blabber on about whatever for as long as he wanted; the only thing I needed to do was to keep up my attacks. I Blinked behind him and stabbed my spear into the red circle that formed on his right calf.==[You have successfully attacked your opponent from the back to inflict 100% additional damage.]==The attack worked again but I wasn''t excited about it. This wasn''t the first time it succeeded. I attacked his back again and again but Adora remained still. He didn''t even grunt in pain. Then, in a blink of an eye, Adora spun around and punched me square in the chest."Gah!" I felt an immense pain as my chest felt like it was about to cave in. I had the air knocked completely out of me. This was the most pain I''d ever felt in all of my years as a deva. I was thrown back and rolled over the ground by ten meters. I used the momentum to get back up and quickly checked my HP. In a single hit, I had lost 40 million HP."Hoo! You survived it. But you don''t seem that much worse for wear than I expected. Just how high are your DEF and HP? Do you really have more than 100 million HP?""..." I couldn''t reply to his awestruck remark. I was shocked. My DEF was well over 400 thousand. Even when my DEF was 200 thousand points lower, most of my enemies couldn''t inflict much damage to me. And yet, he had broken through my DEF and MDEF and dealt that much damage to me. I was horrified."Well, fine. I hope this next attack will be a critical hit. 100x Duplicated Focus ¨C Attack." Adora took his statue-like stance again.I felt lost. I never expected to encounter an enemy as strong as him. Even if I did, I don''t think could have planned how to deal with his damage immunity.Then, Adora began to move, as if he had finished his preparations."Blin¡­gah!" I definitely saw him move with his fist raised. I tried to use Blink to get away, but he was faster, much faster. I felt the same immense pain wash over me again."Man, aren''t you lucky? My attack wasn''t a critical hit again. And if you''re wondering why I keep bringing it up, it''s because my Focus ¨C Attack has a 99% CRIT rate. So, yeah. You really are lucky."I lost 42 million HP from that attack this time. "Fuck." I''d had my fair share of difficult opponents. I was even killed by the Predator Duke and the Grim Reaper, and was only saved by my Bracelet of Eternal Fire each time. But back then, I didn''t feel that my attack power was lacking in any way. I just couldn''t do ANYTHING to Adora and now, I couldn''t even avoid his attacks."Are you frustrated? I felt the same towards that bitch, Claudia. So I am sincerely grateful to you for killing her. Gahahaha! If I could, I''d hug you and kiss you all day."I wanted to rip that mouth off of his face. "Shut up, you son of a bitch!" I snarled as I charged."Good. Let''s see if you can survive a third time. 100x Duplicated Focus ¨C Attack!""Spirit Strike!" I attacked as many times as I could while Adora took the same stance again. "Fuck! Just die!"Adora didn''t move as I stabbed him again and again. He should have died from all those attacks, or at least had his Focus broken. But Adora just stood there expressionlessly. Then, when it looked like he was about to move, I quickly jumped as far away as I could.Adora cackled. "Do you think you can avoid my attack? You can''t because I can home in on you, like those archers of yours. Homing Strike!"I saw where he aimed his fist and quickly moved to the left, but he was telling the truth."Gah!" I definitely moved before him, but his fist still struck me square in the chest."Wow¡­I couldn''t deal critical damage for a third time? Just how lucky can you get?"As I heard Adora''s voice, I began to think that I should be running away. If not, I really needed Shaman Ko to come out just about now. 293 Chapter 292: Adora the Monster Part VII Translator: HunterWEditor: REDEvery time Adora used his unbelievably powerful Focus attack, he remained rooted to wherever he was standing. I wasn''t the only one who attacked him every time he stayed still. Every chance the Empire''s soldiers got, they attacked Adora with a volley of their most powerful Skills and spells. But Adora still possessed his damage immunity. He let the attacks hit his body, opened his eyes and threw his fist at me."Gah!" I couldn''t hope to block or avoid that attack."What, no critical hits four times in a row? I just don''t get you, Lee Jiwon."I silently gnashed my teeth at his surprised expression. In just four hits, I had lost 160 million HP. My regen abilities were quickly restoring my HP, but I knew for sure that even if Adora''s next attack wasn''t a critical hit, it was going to end me. It wasn''t going to kill me completely, since I still had my Bracelet of Eternal Fire, but I didn''t want to die.I even thought about running away. I actually would have if there was even a slight chance of a rematch, but there was none. This was the final battle. If I ran, the five million soldiers behind me were going to get slaughtered. I looked up and glared at Adora, the real monster. It was all I could do. "Hmm¡­ will this be the end?" Adora asked, reading my expression. "Then again, you were pretty amazing to stay standing after four hits. You did all you could do and more, so you may die with honor. 100x Duplicated Focus ¨C Attack."I was at a crossroads. I didn''t need to waste the Bracelet''s ability here since I would die again anyway but I couldn''t just run and leave the Empire''s soldiers. I couldn''t help but shout, "Come out already, Shaman Ko!"The ratty-looking boy had never appeared whenever I called for him, but he always revealed himself in dire times, in more ways than one. I shouted for him again here, since this was definitely a dangerous situation.I heard something pop in front of me and looked up. Shaman Ko was standing in front of me with the Dungeon Mole tied to his waist by a rope made out of hair. He looked the same as when I first saw him in Abu Dhabi, except this time, he also had the Achilles Tendon tied to his waist as well. Shaman Ko stared at me as if nothing was wrong. I was so grateful to see him, but I had to express that gratitude later. I pointed my finger at Shaman Ko and shouted, "Consume: Shaman Ko!"==[You have consumed your target.Target: Shaman KoTime applied: 24 hoursEffect 1: Increase Shaman Ko''s Stat Points two hundredfold.Your currently invested 9,039 Shaman Ko Stat points will be increased by two hundredfold.Effect 2: Increase all Stat points besides Shaman Ko''s Stat Points by tenfold.All invested Stat points besides Shaman Ko''s Stat Points increase by tenfold. (This only applies to base Stat points)You may choose one of these two effectsEffect 1/Effect 2]=="Select Effect 2!" Effect 1 might increase my STR to 1,807,200 in an instant, but I had invested heavily into STR, AGI, and VIT. I needed to increase all of my Stats to fight properly.==[You have received the effects of Effect 2.The 30,000-point increase to all Stats of Create Critical Weakness will be removed. (The 15% increase to CRIT rate and 1500% increase to CRIT damage will be maintained.The 2x increase to all Stats of Ripped Advance will be removed.]== ==[Name: Lee JiwonLevel: 1393Death Count: 0Title: Earth''s First Deva, The Keeper of TerraHP: 752,440,700/752,440,700MP: 42,624,000/42,624,000Strength: 2,196,520 + 9,039Agility: 1,397,000Vitality: 1,406,000Willpower: 425,680Intelligence: 383,280Unassigned Stat Points: 0Fatigue: 0Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+1), immune to all Status effects, Dungeon Seeker 14 pointsPhysical Attack: 6,707,404Physical Defense: 1,459,327Magical Attack: 1,174,010Magical Defense: 472,846]=="...." My HP, down over 160 million, were now completely restored, and so was my MP. My Fatigue that had risen over the past few minutes was now back to 0.Before I could turn away from my Stats Menu, I felt Adora''s powerful punch strike me in the chest. I still felt tremendous pain from the attack ,and was also pushed back several meters from the force of the blow ,but I couldn''t help but smile. The attack didn''t hurt as much as before, and I had only lost ten million points to my health."..." Adora was the first to notice the change in my demeanor. He no longer had the confident smile, and instead looked at me with a confused expression. "You''ve changed," Adora said after a moment.I looked back at him. "Yeah, I did. You may be a transforming robot ,but I''m like a morphing robot," I said before charging him right away. Judge''s Gavel and Create Weakness were now both off of their cooldowns.----Adora the Monster knew that Lee Jiwon had changed just by touching him. Lee Jiwon''s power had suddenly surged, prompting him to charge in with renewed vigor. Adora had to think for a moment if he should ignore the attacks like before. No, Adora told himself. His HP were well over 100 million; he didn''t need to mind Lee Jiwon''s attacks. But for some reason, Adora felt uneasy. The last time he ignored this feeling of uneasiness, he ended being enslaved by Claudia. Adora quickly made the decision to not focus on attack."10x Focus ¨C Rising Combat Prowess!" Lee Jiwon was coming in too fast for Adora to use 100x Focus. No, Adora couldn''t even keep track of Lee Jiwon''s movements. Adora had to use the 10x Focus, which charged faster. He doubted that Lee Jiwon would be able to break through his One Kill One Shot ability, but he didn''t want to regret anything. Besides, Rising Combat Prowess also raised his DEF.Focus came with three sub-abilities: Attack, Defense, and Combat Prowess, but Adora had deleted the Defense sub-ability, choosing to rely on his One Kill One Shot ability instead. Focus''s description did tell him that if he got rid of one of the three abilities, the other two would increase in effectiveness.As soon as Adora finished charging his ability, he saw Lee Jiwon suddenly appear in front of him, as if he had used Blink."Gah!" Adora felt the most pain in his life from Lee Jiwon''s attack. Adora was thrown backwards into the air by several meters. When he hit the ground, the force of the attack had slammed him into the ground a couple of feet. Adora dragged himself out and checked his HP. The attack hurt so much that it felt like his soul was leaving his body.But from the message that appeared before him, Adora knew that it was a good thing he had raised his Combat Prowess. If he hadn''t, that attack would have broken through his One Kill One Shot, even though it wasn''t a critical hit. He had 1,499 left in his HP, which quickly recovered."How¡­how did he do that? He didn''t just get stronger¡­" Adora was horrified. His unbreakable shield had just cracked.---"Tsk!" I hoped that by Consuming Shaman Ko, I would have inflicted critical damage this time but I didn''t see the yellow flash. But I did see Adora''s gawky face, telling me just how shocked he was from the attack. That was why I didn''t stop. I just needed to keep attacking.I bounded off the ground and charged at Adora as he was getting himself up. I didn''t even need to use Blink, I appeared next to Adora that fast. I slammed my spearhead into Adora."Gah!" After making all those haughty laughs, Adora finally screamed out in pain. "Shit! 100x Focus ¨C Rising Combat Prowess!""That''s right. Try as hard as you can!" I didn''t care how much stronger Adora made himself, since I would always be stronger. But I did worry about one thing. Create Weakness and Judge''s Gavel both weren''t enough to deal enough damage. But I could deal with that when the time came."Fuck! Die, you monster!"I smiled when Adora called me a monster. In the end, Adora had to admit that I was threatening to him. So began the second round of our fight."Gah!" Adora was definitely a lot stronger all around, but 100x Focus still wasn''t enough to stave off my damage output."Is that all you got? I think you''re going to need more than 100x Focus.""Fuck you! Don''t get full of yourself! You still aren''t dealing any lasting damage to me. Fine. You wanted to know, right? You wanted to know how to break through my damage immunity? Kekeke. I''ll tell you. I''ll tell you so I can see the despairing look when you realize you can''t do anything. Reveal!"==[One Kill, One Shot]=="Kekekeke. Don''t compare it to something as trivial as damage immunity. This is the only way you can kill me. You have to deal enough damage in one attack to bring my HP to -1, not 0. Any other attack won''t ever affect me! I noticed that your attack a few minutes ago was your strongest one. What will you do now? I think you failed. My Combat Prowess has been increased by 100 times. You can never break through it now. You will never be able to hurt me!""...." I didn''t expect him to have ability like that. It was an outright cheat skill! I was definitely annoyed, but I didn''t let it show. I at least knew everything about his abilities now. I could come up with an answer, somehow. "You must be getting impatient to reveal your last hidden card now. I might not be able to deplete your HP in one go, but I can at least make it really painful for you.""....""I''ll show what real pain is. I''ll make you beg me to kill you." I charged at Adora who had a triumphant expression, while activating Spirit Strike."Gak! Fuck!" Adora screamed in pain from every single one of my attacks, getting thrown back from the force of the blows each time. "Fuck! Lee Jiwon, you bastard! Fine! Let''s see which of us lasts to the end! Remove Attack Focus, Accept 10x Penalties!" Adora shouted, face red with anger."Activate! 1000x Focus ¨C Rising Combat Prowess!" A red smoke soon rose from Adora''s body. "I''ll show you hell for making me get rid of Attack!"Adora was now ten times stronger than he was a few minutes ago, and it showed in his speed. But I was a lot stronger than before as well, and I matched his charge.-----The Terran and Crootian armies were locked in a fierce battle this whole time. This battle was going to decide which world was going to survive the war, so each soldier fought with full intent to kill the enemy in front of them. But as time went on, the soldiers of both sides couldn''t help but focus on the duel that was happening in the middle of the battlefield. They all knew that it wasn''t their battle that was going to decide their fate, but the fight of the two monsters.Each soldier felt hollow inside. They didn''t have a reason to fight with their lives on the line like this. The fate of their worlds rested on their champions, not on the foot soldiers. Soon, both armies pulled away from each other and returned to their original positions, no longer willing to fight a meaningless fight."Did they really spend the same time during the Otadolon stage as us?" one officer asked Madun."..." Madun and the other officers couldn''t reply. They themselves did not know the answer, and did not want to know. They, too, couldn''t believe that Lee Jiwon and Adora were capable of such power.The Crootian officers felt the same way. Only Navana knew about Adora''s fourth ability. He looked on in disbelief when his liege had to resort to such measures. "We completely underestimated Lee Jiwon. I actually don''t know what''s going to happen. It wouldn''t be weird to see him break through Master Adora''s One Kill One Shot ability now."------We had now been fighting for almost twenty four hours straight. We were both panting heavily from fighting all day, but the victor still hadn''t been decided yet. That meant I was about to lose since I wasn''t able to break through Adora''s One Shot One Kill, even after Consuming Shaman Ko.I took out an item from my inventory. It was the Rank 10 item I had thought was a dud, known as Escape: Dead End. I really needed the Absolute Destruction that Muskan had left me some time ago. It was the same Absolute Destruction I had lost to the Predator Duke when his Predation ability consumed a part of it and Shaman Ko ended up eating up the rest. It was because of that that Absolute Destruction was now on Shaman Ko''s Roulette Wheel like Predation. But I had never gotten it; the Wheel only landed on Predation, and only after I obtained the Dungeon Mole.Then, when I obtained Death''s Achilles Tendon, Absolute Destruction had gained another section on the Wheel. That meant that as long as I met the requirements, I could obtain Absolute Destruction, but the damn Wheel never landed on it. It never got close. I ended up giving up on ever getting a taste of Absolute Destruction, since I never felt the need to get too hung up on it. I never felt the need to have it when I had faced Angel and Claudia, but now, I really, really wanted it. It was my last hope.-Activate! Escape: Dead End!- 294 Chapter 293: The Choice Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: RED==[Escape: Dead End (Rank 10)When trapped in a dark and desperate situation with no visible way out, this item breaks through that darkness and reveals an escape route. However, the decision to use that escape route is up to the user.Consumed after one use.]==It was no doubt a Rank 10 item, but it did not boost a single one of my Stats. Its description was so measly-sounding, which was why I''d thought of it as a dud. I thought that it wasn''t going to help in the fight against Adora, but now, I desperately needed to use it.==[Are you sure you wish to use Escape: Dead End?This item will be consumed upon use.]=="Activate!" I quickly activated the item. Shaman Ko''s boost wasn''t going to last much longer.==[Current available escape route: Sacrifice.A person who is immediately willing to sacrifice themselves for the user is required.The volunteer will have to live the rest of their lives in immense pain and cannot be saved.If the volunteer hesitates even for a moment, that person will not be sacrificed.A successful sacrifice is required for the user to obtain the following item.]====[One Scroll of Absolute Destruction will be provided.]=="..." I stared dumbly at the message before me. When the realization sank in, my mouth dropped and my eyes shot wide open with shock. I didn''t expect Escape would be used this way. It was utter nonsense.But then, I thought of one person; my mother. If it were my mother, she could sacrifice herself without a shred of hesitation. And the thought that I wanted to live even if it meant selling out my mother pissed me off even more."Fuck!" I vehemently swore. I had to, because if I didn''t, I would have become less than trash and actually might have gone through with it. I had desperately wanted Absolute Destruction, which prompted me to use Escape, but this cursed item just left me with a fucked-up decision to make."Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I spat out. The thought of my mother just didn''t leave my mind."What''s wrong with you? Are your Skills almost out of time?""Shut up, you piece of shit!" I roared as I charged at him. If it wasn''t for his damned One Kill One Shot ability, I wouldn''t be faced with this decision in the first place.As I charged him, I also remembered the faces of the Monarchs I had destroyed; the Blood Prince, the Predator Duke, the Grim Reaper, and the Dungeon Creator. With those four wiped off the face of the Earth, the remaining three had lost almost all of their influence. This allowed devas to rule over the Earth, unlike Croot, where deities ruled. If I had known that we would have to band together on the Judge''s Continent like this, I would have at least tried to find a more peaceable solution against the deities. It didn''t matter if we were enemies; they would have needed to survive on the Continent as well. But I hadn''t known. None of us did. Still, I just couldn''t help but think that I and Earth would have had an easier time if all of the Monarchs except for Kazunari had progressed almost as well as I had. The Predator Duke would have especially shone here with his Absolute Predation. Even if Adora couldn''t be digested, he could at least be imprisoned by the Duke for the rest of his damn life. The Duke was Adora''s perfect nemesis.But they weren''t here. The Predator Duke, the Blood Prince, and the Grim Reaper weren''t on the Continent. I didn''t regret destroying them; I was just disappointed. I had only done what was necessary to get stronger and now, all that effort just wasn''t enough against this bastard."Die! Die! Just die, you bastard!""Ho ho, looks like you''re out of time." The angrier I grew, the calmer Adora became. Even though I knew that, I didn''t stop attacking. If I didn''t take out my anger like this, I was going to go mad from the thought of my mother that just wouldn''t leave the corner of my mind.---Ten minutes later, the message finally appeared.==[You have lost the effects of Consuming Shaman Ko.Your Stats will now return to normal.]==The twenty-four hour long desperate fight had come to an end, with me as the loser. Adora still had his 1000x Focus activated.I still had the option that Escape had given me. I also still had my mother registered on Call, but I just couldn''t bring myself to say her name. But while the words wouldn''t leave my mouth, the excuse was still there in the back of my mind, ready to take over at any time. It kept telling me that it was for the fate of Earth, not me; that I had to make the sacrifice for everyone else to live. But even I knew that it was a cowardly excuse."Ho ho, is that powerful Skill of yours finally over? Kekeke. I really didn''t expect you had something strong enough to make me get rid of Focus Attack." Adora was completely exhausted from the fight too, but he was beaming, confident that he had victory at his fingertips."I''ll send you off quickly. It''s the least I can do for my greatest opponent." Adora charged at me.I opened my mouth to say the words. I wasn''t ready to die yet, even if it meant I was going to regret this decision for the rest of my life. Even if it meant the whole world was going to curse me till the day I die. I was that much of a coward. "Call: Sung Soo¡­""Gah!" Because I knew that I still had the Bracelet of Eternal Fire that would keep me alive for a little while longer and because of the guilt that sat heavily in my heart, I couldn''t finish saying my mother''s name. But in that moment, I saw someone step in between me and Adora and take Adora''s attack in my stead. I knew her quite well. She was also the first to become a deva after me: Song Haein."Jiwon oppa! Get out of here. I¡­I can''t stop another attack!" It was a miracle that Haein was able to stay standing after taking Adora''s attack. No, she might be the only one who could, as Earth''s strongest tank."Ho ho. That''s impressive. Let''s see you withstand another one!""Oppa! Hurry!"In that moment, I had completely forgotten about Escape and about its escape route. All I could see was Haein''s tears. I watched as Adora''s fist flew at Haein''s back as she stood over me."Thank you and I''m sorry about everything, Jiwon oppa. And I¡­" Haein couldn''t finish her sentence as Adora''s fist burst through her chest from the back. Haein disappeared from my eyes. The two teardrops that fell from her face vanished before inches away from me.Adora cackled. "Was she your lover? What a tear-jerking moment. But don''t worry. I''ll send you to her soon enough.""..." I was shocked and horrified at what had just happened, but a message appeared before me, not caring about how I felt.==[A successful sacrifice has been invoked.You will now receive a one-use Scroll of Absolute Destruction.]==Adora continued to natter on about something. I didn''t really hear what he was saying, but I slowly got up and took out the Scroll from my inventory.==[You have activated a one-use Scroll of Absolute Destruction.Your next attack has a 100% chance of inflicting Absolute Destruction.]==I turned to look at Adora."Why get back up when this fight is over? Are you going to try to avenge your lover?" Adora cackled. "What an eyesore. Just die. Struggling any more will just be wasted effort."I didn''t reply to Adora and just walked forward. As I slowly walked towards him, I opened my mouth. "Have you ever experienced something so unbelievable in your life?""What nonsense are you spouting now?""I had so many experiences. So many that no one would ever believe me if I told them." My second chance at life, my four-year-long sleep, my reunion with my mother and grandfather, and even my recent trip back to Earth where I was able to meet Luana again. I had so many unbelievable experiences, but I could say with confidence that this was the most shocking event of my life."Ha¡­ did you love her that much that it drove you mad?""I wish that was the case. I wish I could shed tears for her. I wish I could scream in despair for her. That''s the least I could do for her. But do you know how I really feel right now?""..." Adora didn''t reply, but I continued on."I want to shout for joy and shout that I survived, that I am still alive. That infuriates me even more. I hate myself for feeling that, for thinking that. It frustrates me that I think that way even though she sacrificed herself selflessly to save me!""You really have lost it. Just die already.""Yeah, one of us will die," I said simply, as I stabbed Adora through the chest."What is this?" Adora spouted, unable to hide his surprise.I didn''t say anything though, as it worked.==[Absolute Destruction has been activated.]==I wasn''t the only one to receive that message."Gaaah!" Adora screamed as he slumped to the ground and vanished.==[You have obtained 7,974,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful opponent.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]== :==[You have gained a level.]==I had obtained so many golden rings and leveled up eleven times, each with Bortega''s Blessing, but I barely paid any attention to the messages. I slumped to my knees, my heart filled with a mix of anger, guilt, and grief."Argh¡­.Fuck! Fuck!" After fighting for a whole day, my Fatigue was through the roof, especially since Shaman Ko''s boost was off."Activate! Ripped Advance!" But I couldn''t walk away now, not while I felt this trapped. I activated Ripped Advance, which was now off its cooldown and charged at the Crootian soldiers. I didn''t feel fear or pressure. All I knew was that I couldn''t keep still. If I stopped moving, I was going to lose it.------The battle was just about over. Song Daechul had decided to lead the Empire''s soldiers into one last stand. Even though he was weaker compared to the other Terrans, he was still the guild master of Earth''s strongest guild. The other guild masters also knew that Earth had lost and followed Song Daechul into battle. Lee Jiwon was no doubt the most powerful Terran, but Adora was just too strong. He was just so strong that no one could bring themselves to hate Lee Jiwon for losing.Then, just when Lee Jiwon was about to fall, Song Haein suddenly broke away and headed straight for the duel. No one, not even her own family, expected her to use her Blink Ring to intervene in a battle between gods.When the Songs saw Song Haein die after just two hits, they came to an abrupt halt in shock. As much as they knew what dying on the Continent entailed, they had lost one of their own precious family members.Song Daechul knew that he couldn''t take his Sunbin soldiers to attack Adora, even if he had just lost his only granddaughter. He stood there, in silent rage, while holding in his tears. He knew that he couldn''t hate Lee Jiwon, either.But then, the tables were suddenly turned when Lee Jiwon slowly walked over to Adora and killed him in one attack. It was like Song Haein''s death had opened up a way to kill Adora. Then, when Song Daechul saw Lee Jiwon charge at the Crootian soldiers even after fighting all day, he turned to the Terran soldiers. He now had a change to avenge his granddaughter."Follow the commander! Kill every single enemy soldier! We end this battle now!"Every single Empire soldier knew who Song Haein was. She was the greatest tank, the one that had put South Korea and the Sunbin Guild on the map. She died to save Lee Jiwon, their champion, and her death somehow allowed Lee Jiwon to kill Adora. The Terran soldiers were now of the same mind as Song Daechul. They all wanted to kill every single Crootian before them."Yes sir!""Charge! Fight to the end! Don''t let anyone of them get away!" 295 Chapter 294: The Choice Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: RED"¡­What the hell just happened?" Navana quietly asked, but no one replied to him. The other Crootian deities also couldn''t believe what had just transpired before them.Victory was right at their fingertips. But some woman had suddenly intervened and after that woman died, Lee Jiwon slowly and weakly attacked Adora. That same weak attack killed Adora, who was perfectly fine just a moment ago. It probably would have made more sense if Adora was killed in the middle of a fierce duel, but Adora was able to withstand all of Lee Jiwon''s previous attacks, meaning Adora''s One Kill One Shot ability was still working. In other words, Adora was still at full HP, which made it that much harder to understand and accept that Lee Jiwon''s weak attack had actually killed him.But they didn''t have time to keep trying to understand the impossible. Lee Jiwon, the monster that killed Adora the Monster, was now charging at them at a breakneck pace. Behind him was also the entirety of the Terran army. All eyes were now on Navana, who was now in charge of the Crootian army, expecting him to do something. But Navana let them down."Fuck. We''re screwed." It was completely irresponsible, but no one said otherwise. He was right; they were screwed.And so began the Crootians'' great escape. Even though they all knew that they were still going to die if they lost the war, they all wanted to live at least a day longer. No one wanted to die here. The deities were the first to run, and they did so without even looking back, leaving just ten of their comrades behind. It didn''t take long for the Crootian devas to follow suit.---"Fuck. Adora''s dead and now the deities are all running away!""It''s over! It''s all over!""I¡­I don''t want to die¡­""Please, take us with you! You dragged us all here in the first place!""Hey! Get it together!"It was absolute chaos, but there was no one who could control the pandemonium. The only one who could was Navana, but he just stood there, dumbly watching Lee Jiwon as he drew closer.---"Gah!""No!"Each attack flashed yellow again and again, almost as if all of the critical hits I was supposed to unleash all day were all coming out at once. But I was far from satisfied and charged in deeper to where the deities were all clumped together. Only ten of them had stayed behind."Scorching Earth! Titan Stomp! Fissure!" I fired all of my AoE Skills at them in quick succession. A huge crater was formed in the earth around me as the Skills unleashed their tremendous power.==[You have obtained 611,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful opponent.]====[You have obtained 154,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful opponent.]==:==[You have obtained 243,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful opponent.]====[You have obtained 270,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 130,000 golden rings.]==:==[You have obtained 190,000 golden rings.]====[You have obtained 310,000 golden rings.]====[You have gained a level.]====[You have gained a level.]== :==[You have gained a level.]==Countless messages came up one after the other and just as the messages said, there was not a single person remaining where the three AoE Skills went off. It was a complete massacre, but I didn''t stop. There were still more enemy soldiers around and I was still enraged.---Three weeks later¡­"Stop, Commander Lee!""They''re all gone, sir!""They''re right, Jiwon. It''s time to stop."I had chased after the enemy soldiers nonstop, Blinking after them whenever I could and killing anyone in my sight. Three weeks had already passed, but I still didn''t want to stop because I still didn''t know what to say. I didn''t know how to face Song Daechul, Song Myungsoo, and Song Haechang. But when Song Daechul himself grabbed me by the arm, I stopped running."Thank you, Jiwon. You did everything you could as our commander. Earth has survived, thanks to you." Song Daechul didn''t mention Haein."I''m sorry.""No, you have nothing to apologize for. It''s probably not what happened, but if Haein helped in some way to allow you to kill Adora, then that''s good enough for me.""...""My father''s right, Jiwon," Song Myungsoo said as he came up next to me.I couldn''t bring myself to say anything. Haein was the ONLY reason I was able to kill Adora.And so, I finally stopped chasing the Crootians, since there weren''t any more of them in sight. We decided to take that moment to rest for a bit while we waited for reinforcements to arrive.---The next day¡­An unexpected person paid us a visit. Hell, we never even saw him in person, so I and the Empire''s officers were all on guard when he suddenly revealed himself as none other than the Judge."There''s no need to be so nervous," he said with a chuckle. He was two meters tall and dressed all in black. He was smiling, but that put us even more on edge. Why was he here?"I''m not supposed to reveal myself until the contest is completely over, but this was really the best one so far, especially because of a certain someone," the Judge said, looking straight at me."I''m going to postpone the end of the contest. Do you all know what that means? Once this contest is over, it''s over. You won''t be able to destroy any more Sections or kill any more enemies. But, since you''ve all made this contest so much more interesting, I''ll postpone the end to three months later. So use that time wisely, because you won''t get another chance."The Crootians still possessed over fifty Sections and there were still more than two billion of them left. Most of them were rookies but there were still a lot of them to kill."Now then, I''ll see you all again in three months." That was all he said before he vanished right before our eyes."If he decided to end the contest now, it''d be really unfair, wouldn''t it?""You got that right. Now, we just need to collect our spoils of war."It was quite figuratively a gift from the gods. As several officers finally breathed a sigh of relief now that we had a chance, I turned to address them."Let everyone know that we will be moving deeper into the enemy''s territory.""Yes sir."There was no time to show mercy to the enemy. I was planning on tearing every single Crootian on this damn rock to pieces. They were all going to die anyway, and I was still furious that Adora and the Crootians had forced Haein to make that decision. I was also just as disappointed in myself for letting it come to that. I was going to kill them all, and become stronger so that I would never make the same mistake ever again. And so, I led the army and began the true and final invasion of Croot. The remaining sixty deities and two billion devas were unable to stop us at all. In this war, this contest was already decided, and they knew that. It actually took us fewer than three months to destroy all of Croot''s Sections and kill hundreds of millions of Crootians. The rest fled into dungeons or killed themselves. When the last visible Crootian fell, every single person still on the Continent received the same message.==[The victor of the contest between Earth and Croot will now be decided.]==The leaderboard that was always high up in the sky suddenly shined brightly.==[World 1455Devas/Deities: 953,300,875Controlled Sections: 51]====[World 1512Devas/Deities: 557,206,308Controlled Sections: 0]====[Earth has won the contest.]==The message was way too simple for such a fierce war that had lasted years.==[You will now be granted a reward based on your accomplishments.]==A bright, white light enveloped me. I wasn''t the only one, either. Song Haechang, Aman Lagus, Madun Yateking, and many others of our greatest warriors were enveloped in the same light. Soon, I felt myself getting taken somewhere.---I found myself back in front of the same giant Don Gate I was taken to when we were first taken to the Judge''s Continent. This was my third time receiving rewards from it, so I was pretty excited, to say the least. But this time, someone was standing beneath the Don Gate. It was the Judge I had met three months ago. He greeted me like we were long lost brothers."Whew¡­I''ve been a Judge of the Judge''s Continent for several thousand years, but I have never seen this many points. They''re incomparable. I bet the next time we meet, you''ll be at a higher position than me," the Judge said with a chuckle. "I look forward to working with you in the future, since I did give you three extra months. Now then, let''s start, shall we?"Not waiting for my reply, the Judge turned around and placed a hand on the Don Gate. The moment he did, the Don Gate began to glow red."Whoa! It already turned red! I''ll always like that color, no matter how many times I see it." Soon, the Don Gate had completely changed into a deeper hue of red."Wow. Something like this also existed? I think this is my first time seeing it in all my years as Judge." Soon, the Judge stepped away from the Don Gate and walked towards me. "Well, it''s yours now, Lee Jiwon. I never saw it myself, so I can''t tell you much about it. The choice is yours, though," the Judge said as he nonchalantly tossed something my way. It wasn''t an item, but a message.==[You have accomplished phenomenal achievements on the Judge''s Continent.You will be granted a hidden reward.]====[This hidden reward will grant the ability to return Earth to its state before the Otadolon stage.Once Earth returns to its previous state, it will never enter the Otadolon stage again.Everything pertaining to the Otadolon stage will be removed. (Devas, Deities, abilities, items, etc.)Yes/No]=="As I said, the choice is yours. I really didn''t know that a reward like that existed.""There''s something I want to ask.""Sure, go ahead. I can answer whatever questions you have.""I¡­I came back in time." It was the one secret I could never reveal to anyone else, but I was always curious as to why I was the one sent back in time, without any explanation or warning. Afraid of what might happen, I never told or asked anyone about it, but the man before me was the Judge. He had to know something."I know.""Eh?" It was a huge decision for me to ask him that question, but he just replied so simply. It was almost as if he didn''t get why I was asking a really simple question."Wait; do you still not know?"Of course I didn''t know."I see you''ve got a slow side to you. That regression in time; well, it''s¡­"I pricked my ears, waiting for his answer."It''s a Random Skill.""What?""It''s a Random Skill.""I¡­I never learned a Skill like that!" I existed on the lowest class during my past life. I never had the chance to learn a Random Skill."Of course you didn''t. The Random Skill known as Regression; it''s just how it works. If you were given a second chance at life, would you keep living your current life?""..." No, I definitely wouldn''t. If I could live two lives, I would definitely make my second one my best life ever. I would use my first life to learn and gain as many experiences as I could, just so I could live my perfect life during the second one."That''s exactly why once you learn the Regression Random Skill, you forget you ever learned it.""But I lived as a bottom feeder. I didn''t possess any special trait, so how did I even¡­?""Well, you''re the first person I met who got to learn it. As for as I know, there was only one other person who learned it, so I guess out of everyone in the entire universe, only two people ever obtained that Skill.""What happened to him?""Hmm¡­should I tell you?" The Judge waited a moment for suspense before replying. "That guy committed suicide the moment he realized what happened. He was a hero of his world, strong enough to destroy everything with just his pinky finger. But, like you, he was sent back in time when he died, which was why the first thing he did was commit suicide," the Judge said, ending with that chuckle of his. "...""Hmm¡­ you probably didn''t kill yourself because you already tasted rock bottom. Anyway, hurry up and make your decision. You need to choose first before you can get your other rewards. And trust me, they''re pretty amazing."I turned back to the message that was still up in front of me.==[This hidden reward will grant the ability to return Earth to its state before the Otadolon stage.Once Earth returns to its previous state, it will never enter the Otadolon stage again.Everything pertaining to the Otadolon stage will be removed. (Devas, Deities, abilities, items, etc.)Yes/No]==I hesitated as thousands of thoughts raced through my mind. Noticing that I was still hesitating, the Judge spoke up again."Come to Mamon, the next stage. If it''s you, Lee Jiwon, you can do it. You can become an even greater hero than me, or the other guy who learned Regression.""..." I still couldn''t bring myself to say anything."Well, I guess you''re still pretty traumatized by Adora''s crazy abilities. But I can promise you that you can gain even stronger abilities. After all, you were one of the best to come out of the Continent alive.""I choose¡­" I made my decision."Kekeke. Good. I knew you would." 296 Chapter 295: Lee Jiwon Part I Translator: HunterWEditor: REDEarth. July 17th, 2023; 10 AM¡­The clanging of machines and presses churning their gears echoed through the large factory."Good. Hold it tight there, Jiwon.""Okay." Mr. Seo and I were on both sides of the compression press, carefully collecting and assembling the products that were steadily churned out."Oof. Hey, Mr. Jung, come on down. Let''s take a break.""You got it, boss.""You too, Jiwon.""Yes sir."I followed the owner into the small break room next to the mold press.The owner sat down next to me and said, "Do you have anything else you can do after quitting this job? You''ve been here for the past two years, and even began to learn how to fix the machines. You''ll be putting all that skill to waste.""Sorry, boss."The owner sighed. "It''s alright. If that''s what you want to do, I won''t stop you."I had already told the owner of the factory a month ago that I would be leaving due to personal reasons. But because the factory had gotten a request for a new product and was short on hands, I said that today would be my last day. Thankfully, today was going to be the last day we were going to assemble the product."Let''s have a company dinner tonight to celebrate a job well done, and to say goodbye to Jiwon.""Of course, sir."That afternoon, with all orders completed, the owner took us to a nearby barbecue restaurant as he promised. After dinner, I slowly walked back to my rooftop room, with my paycheck and a ?500,000 bonus for all my hard work.---10 PM¡­I sat down on a raggedy old chair outside my rooftop room, sipping on a can of beer. From the way the moonlight gently washed over me, it was like I was at a rooftop caf¨¦. It was a perfectly normal day but I couldn''t help, but feel restless because today was supposed to be that day. ''I want more banana candy!''Kyuu! Kyuu!''This place is interesting. Hehehe!''I couldn''t enjoy the night thanks to the Dungeon Mole and the Achilles Tendon chattering on next to me. This time, they had a new friend, a really big friend. Was it Shaman Ko? No, this guy was way bigger.''Hey! Mr. Master. Do something about all that radiation!''I couldn''t hold a conversation with either the Dungeon Mole or the Achilles Tendon, I could only hear what they said. But I could talk to this guy. It was probably because those two weren''t born on Earth, while I was."Hey, I heard that radiation comes from Earth, too. Do you really hate it that much?"''Crazy son of a¡­ what the hell are you saying? Would you like it if the shit you crap gets stuck on you? It''s your shit, isn''t it?''"..." He had a point there.''If you''re a master now, take better care of your Summons!''"Why don''t you treat me like a master first?"''Why don''t you act like a master first?''"Ugh. Alright, alright. I get it." I noticed a while ago but Earth was a real brat. And unfortunately, Earth wasn''t the only child I had to look after.Shaman Ko suddenly materialized before me."Hey, he''s back." ''It''s¡­Shaman Ko!''''No!''Shaman Ko picked up the Dungeon Mole and the Tendon and looked at me. He reached up to brush away his untamable hair, revealing his childish face."Leave them alone, will you?""Hmph!" Shaman Ko hid the Mole and the Tendon away. I knew that I couldn''t communicate with the Mole and the Tendon and honestly, I wasn''t sure if Shaman Ko even understood me. It did feel like it, though.I sent away Shaman Ko, the Mole, and the Tendon and entered my room. I was going to be busy tomorrow.--------The next day¡­"This should be enough."''You better pay me back!''"I know, I know. I''m not going to steal from you," I said to Earth as I picked up an orb the size of a bowling ball. The orb wasn''t just any orb; it was solid gold that I told Earth to give to me. I had squeezed all of the gold down to the size of a bowling ball and put it inside a backpack. There was someone I needed to give this to.{Ed. Note: Gold is heavy. Bowling ball 5,447 cu cm, gold 19.3 gram/cu cm = 105 kg. We''ll just... roll with it.}I left my rooftop room and hailed a cab to head to Oh Hyungjae''s office in Gangnam.------"It''s still here," I said as I stood outside an old five-story building at the outskirts of Gangnam. I walked up the small, outer staircase to the fourth floor, where his office was located. Two burly men stood outside the door to the fourth floor. Grunts."Hey bro. What brings you here?""I want to borrow some money from Hyungjae Loans.""Oh yeah? But we don''t lend to just anyone," the grunt said, as he looked me up and down.I also looked down at the clothes I was wearing. They were pretty shabby, but I didn''t care. I just tapped the bag I was carrying. "I brought collateral, too.""Kekeke. Fine. Go on ahead. We''re not a pawnshop, but you look like you really need the money.""Hey, what if the boss yells at us for letting some rat in?""What do you mean? The boss yelled at us last time for turning away that bum. He said everyone''s got something we can squeeze out.""Kekeke! You''re still holding a grudge about that?""I''m not a holding a grudge. I''m just following the boss''s orders to the tee. Hey, bro. Hurry up and go inside. Go borrow a couple of bucks and buy yourself a drink.""Thank you." I passed the two grunts and entered the fourth floor. I passed by Pig Loans and The Best Loans and entered Hyungjae Loans, located at the very end of the hall."Welcome," a female employee greeted me. She was the same woman whose kneecap I had smashed. It happened ten years ago, but I remembered it like it was yesterday."I''m here to borrow some money.""I understand. Manager Kim can see you right now.""Thank you."Soon, I met the same Manager Kim again. He was the guy who had answered my call back then."Welcome to Hyungjae Loans. Everyone here is ready to help you out, like brothers at your side." He said the same thing he told me on the phone last time.I sat down on the sofa he gestured to and told him that I wanted to borrow one hundred million Won, the same amount I stole from them, as I placed the seventy kilogram ball of gold on the table with a thud.---Oh Hyungjae wasn''t in a good mood these days, ever since those shop owners began to stand up to him and his boys. He showed them what would happen if they kept refusing to pay up but every time he did, it was at a loss. Those shop owners were his source of income; he couldn''t hurt them to the point that they couldn''t work or even kill them."Hmm¡­ I need to do something about those pricks over at Seonggil Fishery, but the moment I touch them, I''m going to have an uprising in my hands." President Park of Seonggil Fishery was the man behind this headache.Then, while Oh Hyungjae was deep in his thoughts as he sat in his expensive office, Manager Lee burst through the door. "What is it, you prick? You scared me.""Boss! I¡­I think you need to come out here right now.""Why?""Some guy came in asking for a hundred million.""What does he look like?""Well¡­ he looks pretty poor.""You stupid bastard. Do we look like the type of guys to deal with bums? Get rid of him, retard!""But¡­ he brought collateral.""Fuck. When did we become a pawnshop? Fine. Let''s say we take it. Is it enough to lend him a hundred million?""It''s gold.""Eh?" Oh Hyungjae''s eyes widened in surprise. Gold was better than cash. But there needed to be a lot of gold for a hundred million Won. "How many bars of gold did he bring?"At current rates, one bar was equivalent to ?170,000, so Oh Hyungjae expected to hear at least a thousand bars. He needed to make as much profit as he could."Well¡­ I don''t know about bars, but it looks to be at least several kilograms.""Eh?" Oh Hyungjae thought he had misheard Manager Kim or maybe Manager Kim was too stupid to know the difference between bars and kilograms."Move, you dumbass," Oh Hyungjae said as he got up from his chair. Either way, gold was enough to make Oh Hyungjae get off his butt.---"..." Oh Hyungjae had spent many years in the underground. He had seen and experienced many unspeakable things, and even had a hand in them himself. He also had a few chances to see gold in his lifetime, and even had several bars of his own. So he knew right away that what he saw was real gold. He pressed his thumb into the orb of gold, leaving a small imprint."Call¡­ Mr. Baek.""Do you mean the jewelry guy on the other side of town?""Yes, him!"Yes, sir."It really was gold, Oh Hyungjae was sure of that. But he just couldn''t bring himself to believe it. He had never seen that much gold in one chunk before. Three billion? No, it had to be much more than that.Oh Hyungjae occasionally glanced over at the sad-looking youth sitting to the side, thinking of everything he could do. He wanted to steal it right now. He could kill the youth and bury his body where no one would ever find it. But Oh Hyungjae''s experience told him that the man didn''t steal or find the gold. He was also very calm. Oh Hyungjae didn''t see a single trace of fear or nervousness. There was a chance he was on an errand for someone very powerful. Oh Hyungjae had to be careful. One hundred million Won was a small price to pay for all that gold.---Ten minutes later, Mr. Baek arrived at Hyungjae Loans. Mr. Baek spent half his life touching and appraising precious metals and gems, but this was his first time seeing so much pure gold in one solid chunk. No technique existed in this world that could produce such a masterpiece. Mr. Baek slowly turned to Oh Hyungjae and nodded. It was pure gold and weighed exactly seventy-nine kilograms.{Ed. Note: $41.62 per gram, x 79,000 grams. 3 million dollars or so, 3 billion won.}Oh Hyungjae smiled at Mr. Baek''s approval and turned to the young man. "Oh dear. You must really need the cash to bring something so precious. As you may know, we of Hyungjae Loans are known for our reliability and our sincerity towards our clients. We''ve never had a scandal or an accident.""One hundred million.""Oh, of course! We can definitely do that. Hey! Hurry up and bring the money!""Huh? Oh! Yes sir!"Everyone working at Hyungjae Loans had never seen that much gold at once. The employees scrambled at Oh Hyungjae''s shout. Soon, stacks of stiff ?50,000 bills were placed on the table."Now, if you take a look at this contract, you will see just why we are so reliable and sincere¡­" As Oh Hyungjae pushed the contract to the young man, he paid close attention to the fellow''s eyes. The contract had an interest rate of 14,700%.But before Oh Hyungjae could even finish explaining, the young man began to sign the contract. Once he was done, Oh Hyungjae practically ripped away the contract and put it away, not forgetting to brownnose."My, my. You have such a great name too, Mr. Lee!""Are we done here?""Of course.""Then I''ll be going now.""What? Already?""You said we''re done.""I¡­I did." Lee Jiwon was too cool, but nonetheless, Oh Hyungjae walked Lee Jiwon out himself. "Thank you for coming to Hyungjae Loans. Our doors are always open so please, feel free to come back anytime," Oh Hyungjae said as he bowed deeply.Oh Hyungjae watched as Lee Jiwon went out the door to the stairwell and quickly went back to the ball of gold. He turned to Mr. Baek who was still closely inspecting it. "Mr. Baek, you know what to do, right?""Ah¡­ of course I do. Man¡­ I''ve just never seen this much gold in one place before.""Yeah, I know what you mean. Thanks for coming. You can go now. Hey, give him some money for the cab ride.""Yes, sir."After sending Mr. Baek on his way, Oh Hyungjae picked up the heavy ball of gold and barely managed to bring it into his office. He dropped it onto the table with a loud thud and stared at it. "Maybe this will be my luckiest year. What a jackpot!"Oh Hyungjae then took out his phone and made a call. "It''s me.""Yes, boss.""You know that ratty looking guy who just left, right?""Yes sir.""Empty his pockets.""You got it, boss."Oh Hyungjae wanted to keep this chunk of gold without any loose ends. If Lee Jiwon was clean, then he was going to get rid of him. No one was going to take this gold away from him.---With the money in my bag, I slowly walked out of the office building. I knew that I had tail on me the moment I left, but I didn''t care. The poor guy didn''t know anything about what was about to happen. Even if he did, it didn''t matter."It''s my gift to you. Enjoy the time you have left." I never forgot about him. He was my first murder victim. This time, I was going to make his entire life hell, but I wanted to let him have some good days first.Once I was a good distance away from the building, I quickened my pace and headed for a nearby mall. I needed to look my best if I was going to meet Haein. 297 Chapter 296: Lee Jiwon Part II Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe mall located at the very hub of Gangnam was the same mall I had bought the really nice suit from. It cost me a blistering fourteen million Won, the most I had ever spent on any one thing. Thankfully, the luxury clothes store still had the same suit. Manager Park Soohui, the same woman who looked down on me, was working there as well.I walked right up to her. "Have you ever had that happen to you?""Excuse me?" Park Soohui was surprised that I, of all people, came up to talk to her."You know, those crazy situations where your customers who were dressed in shabby clothes turned out to be either rich or heirs to conglomerates.""...""Well, it''s not easy to have that happen to anyone. But that''s why I''m giving you, Manager Park, a chance to experience it."Park Soohui didn''t say anything for a moment, before putting on a warm smile. "What do you think about this suit? I think it would fit perfectly on you." She pointed to the suit I wanted."Hmm¡­ I like it," I replied with a smile of my own. So this time around, I bought the suit through Park Soohui instead of the employee who was cleaning at the back of the store. Again, I bought a shirt, a pair of shoes, and a belt to go with the suit."Thank you.""Please, come again soon!" Park Soohui and the middle-aged regional manager bid me farewell as I left the store. Sharply dressed, I exited the mall.------I headed straight back to my rooftop room from the mall. It was a piece of cake for me to cross several kilometers in a matter of minutes.''Hey, you shitty master! When are you going to get rid of all this radiation? You took my precious gold, so do something already!''"Will you wait? I need to get hired first." I had a week left until the Sunbin Group''s special recruiting workshop ended. I didn''t know exactly how I was going to meet Haein and my mother, but I wanted to meet them as a real member of society.I did check on them already and had watched over them for a few days. The twenty-seven year old Song Haein was doing her best at her grandfather''s company, while my mother was still doing kitchen work to punish herself. I really wanted to meet them, but I held in the urge. It wasn''t the time yet."Should I go to Mexico first?" I had spent a total of twenty years on Earth during the Otadolon stage, thanks to Regression. But thanks to that time, I now knew that the world''s strongest guilds and organizations had all stemmed from powerful and rich businesses and organizations, like how the Sunbin Group became the Sunbin Guild. The Shire and Abu Dhabi Guilds and the Werewolf Clan all had similar pasts."Hey, Earth. You like it if there are fewer people doing drugs and killing each other, right? I felt the same before I became your owner."''Hmph. Get rid of all the radiation first.'' "It''s easier said than done. Do you want me to sink the Japanese Isles or something?"''You can just go educate them properly!''"Ugh, okay, okay. I''ll do it after I get hired, start dating, and meet my mom. I promise."''Tsk! Screw you!''"Hey!"''...''------Mexico City, Mexico¡­It was easy to find the NCR cartel since it controlled 55% of the drug trade in this country. There were drug dealers everywhere in the slums of Mexico City."Buenos d¨ªas, amigos. Quiero drogas." (Good morning, friends. I want to get drugs.) These guys obviously spoke Spanish, but so did I. I didn''t know if it was an aftereffect from knowing Genenian, but I was now able to speak any and all languages. But, to be honest, I didn''t know why I didn''t lose this ability. Hell, I still had every single ability and Skill. I was pretty shocked about it, but elated at the same time. I had more to show off to Haein and my mother."Get the fuck out of here, crazy bastard." {TN: They''re still speaking Spanish, just so ya know.}"Just tell me where to go. I''m looking to buy a lot.""Hah! Fine, follow me. You got balls for an Asian," another shabbily dressed Mexican said.I knew very well that they were going to do something bad to me if I followed them, especially since I was an Asian. But that was a danger only for normal people. I followed them without a care in the world. The Mexican led me to a small cave."What do you want?""Kekeke. This crazy bastard wants to buy some drugs.""The Asian?""Yeah."The people inside the cave looked me up and down. "Just take his money and chase him away."I expected as much so I addressed the people inside. "You guys are from the NCR Cartel, right? Or are you guys just their pack mules?""What did he just say?""Kill him!""Don''t shoot him. It''s a waste of a bullet.""Fine." One man pulled out a machete and came towards me."Hmm¡­ if you really want to live the rest of your life as a cripple, which one do you want to lose first? Your arm or your leg?""What the hell is this guy saying?""Just kill him already.""If you''re not going to answer, I''ll be taking your left knee then." It took me less than a minute to smash all seven guys'' left knees."Gah!""Ahh!""Fucking¡­!""Shh. If you keep jabbering on, I''m going to take your other knee.""Son of a bitch!""What did he just do!?""Shoot! Shoot him!"Even though they had all lost a knee each, they were able to react. It must have been because of their hard lives down here in the slumps. The nasty crack of gunfire echoed through the cave."What the hell¡­ is this bastard?""What the fuck¡­?"I had caught all of the bullets that were fired at my chest and head with my left hand. I let the ten bullets drop to the ground. "I thought you said it was a waste of bullets.""..." Finally, they decided to shut up."Good. Now we can talk. Are you or are you not from the NCR cartel?""No¡­no, we''re not. We''re just mules and street dealers.""Then where do I need to go?""The Marka Hotel in the city belongs to the cartel. Big buys always take place there. The police and prosecutors can''t touch it.""Really? Thanks."I quickly left the slums, since I no longer had a reason to deal with these guys anymore. I knew that they were going to contact the cartel, but that was what I wanted them to do. That way, I could meet with them faster.I quickly found the hotel and entered the lobby. The moment I walked through the door, I was approached by glaring men dressed in black."Is it you?""Yup, it''s me." It was just as I had expected. He was waiting for me."Follow me.""Right behind you." I followed the man closely. "I shouldn''t expect to see Jos¨¦ Alejandro where we''re going, right?""Hah. You''re funny and got a lot of balls to ask for Jos¨¦ Alejandro like that.""Yeah, I''m hearing that a lot these days."The man led me through the hotel''s back door. Jos¨¦ Alejandro was definitely not there. Instead, thirty guys were waiting for me, equipped with rifles and machine guns. One guy was even holding an RPG-7. It was tough to see all that firepower outside of a military force. It seemed the mules had made enough of a fuss, or maybe they were just that careful in the first place."Who are you?""Someone who would like to meet with Jos¨¦ Alejandro.""Se?or Alejandro has told us he has never seen you before." They must have gotten the report the moment I had stepped inside the lobby, thanks to all the security cameras everywhere.""Did he forget about me already? Jos¨¦ doesn''t have hair growing on his right armpit. He also a skull and bones tattoo on his back that he says is to cover up a bullet wound when he actually didn''t get shot there.""What the hell are you saying?""Oh, did you not know? My bad. I guess you aren''t that close to Jos¨¦." I knew every inch of Jos¨¦ Alejandro from when I had him imprisoned for a whole month. Well, almost every inch. I also knew all of his secrets. The Abu Dhabi guys were really good at their job."Well, let''s get this over with. I''ve got places to be, people to meet.""Fire!"The guys fired their rifles, machine guns and the RPG as well. The rapid pops and cracks echoed in the alleyway and when their weapons clicked empty, the only sound that could be heard were the clinks of the final shells falling to the floor. The sheer amount of high-caliber bullets would have shredded a normal person to pieces. But they may as well have been BB pellets to me."I know we''re behind the hotel, but to fire those guns in the middle of a city¡­ you guys really are something.""...""..."I had caught the grenade with my right hand, and had caught a good chunk of the bullets with my left. I let them all fall to the ground in a pile at my feet. "Ugh. That smell of gunpowder. I hated it when I was in the army, and I hate it now. By the way, did the mules tell you how I broke their knees, too?"It took me three seconds."Gah!""Fuuuck!"After breaking their left knees, I returned to my original position before turning to the guy who brought me here in the first place. "It was Guadaloupe, right? The one closer to Guatemala?" That was where the NCR cartel produced and stored most of their drugs. It was also where Pedro the Avenger lived, and had his family taken away from him."I''m going to go there and raze the place to the ground. It will also be my first and only warning. If Jos¨¦ Alejandro still doesn''t show himself, I will go all around Mexico and destroy his precious cartel. That will also be the day Jos¨¦ Alejandro dies. I won''t just stop by just breaking his knee. So you make sure he understands. And show him the security footage." I raised my foot and smashed his other knee. I stomped so hard that I could feel the eight-story tall hotel shake."I''ll be seeing you." I jumped high into the air and landed on the hotel''s roof. "Is it that way?"------Guadaloupe, Mexico, the southernmost Mexican state, bordering Guatemala¡­This certain Mexican state was the most heavily guarded province in the entire country, as the NCR cartel had also bought the Mexican military. But the normally quiet state was now abuzz with activity, ever since the call that came through the hotline from the capital city. At first, the military thought that it was an attack from the US, but the call from the hotline was even more shocking."Some sort of superhuman is heading your way!""Use all the tanks and short range missiles you have!""Sortie the helos and whatever large armaments you have!"---The orders didn''t make any sense at all to Hugo, but he followed them to the letter, because the call was made by Jos¨¦ Alejandro himself. And just as the boss said, a lone Asian man soon revealed himself."Attack!""The tanks and helos too?""No shit! Why else would I have ordered them to dust off? Attack him now!" Hugo wasn''t sure about the orders he received, but he would ask questions later."Yes sir!"All tanks, short range missiles, rifles, and gun turrets were fired on one person. It was like a full-scale war had just broken out in the small province. But it didn''t matter; this wouldn''t even show up in the papers around the country. The soldiers soon realized that they shouldn''t be worrying about news articles, and instead about the actual superhuman that stood in front of them."What¡­ the fuck?""Is he¡­ real?" The soldiers were shocked to see their target walk out of the fire and black smoke alive, with not a single scratch on him. That was only a thing of movies, not real life!"Don''t¡­don''t let up! Fire all weapons again!"Again, the soldiers fired their powerful weapons at the lone man, but the second volley didn''t last very long, as they all knew by now that they couldn''t hurt him.---"It''s a good thing I wore cheap clothes today." I think I knew now why all the heroes in movies all had closets full of the same outfits. They needed the extras because of all those explosions they had to deal with.The high-caliber bullets and missiles and tank shells didn''t hurt me, but my clothes weren''t safe from harm. I had to turn my body to try to at least save my pants. I could have just avoided those slow projectiles of doom in the first place, but there was someone filming this whole thing. That video was definitely going to be taken to Jos¨¦. I could have also just destroyed the Marka Hotel to force him to meet me faster, but I didn''t want to become a mass murderer. This was the only choice I had.Now these soldiers pretty much knew that they couldn''t kill me, I jumped on top of a tank in one leap. I bent the main gun of the tank with one hand and tied it like a butterfly knot. I did the same to the other ten tanks in less than a minute.There were still thousands of soldiers all equipped with enough firepower to invade a small country, but I ignored all of them and calmly walked over to one person. "Your name was Hugo, right?" He was the guy who had managed to hide himself as the NCR Guild imploded on itself. I also knew him as the right hand man of Jos¨¦ Alejandro.Hugo abruptly fell to his knees and prostrated himself before me. When he spoke, I didn''t hear single trace of fear in his voice. "Yes. My name is Hugo.""I don''t like this place. I want to get rid of it. I want to uproot every single poppy plant." "Whatever you want, we can make it happen.""I also want to free everyone you have enslaved and forced to work for you.""I can make that happen, as well.""I''m glad you''re easy to talk to. Oh, and make sure to provide the proper reparations to them. You guys made a lot off of them, right?""I will personally make sure none of them ever know hunger and hardship for the rest of their lives.""Good. Finally, tell Jos¨¦ to come here. If he doesn''t, I can go find him. If he makes me do that, then that''s the day he dies.""Understood. I''ll make it happen.""Good. Well, go on already. I''m a busy man.""Yes, sir."Hugo was a lot more diligent than I expected. It didn''t take long for him to have the cartel members cease all production and distribution of drugs, and to free all of their enslaved workers. True to his word, he made sure they were all paid handsomely. I also got to see Pedro among the workers, huddled together with his family, crying."Your reward and Ripped Advance helped me out a lot. So now, we''re even. Have a good life, kid." I had ordered Hugo to help Pedro and his family get settled comfortably, telling him that their hardship and struggle was their greatest weapon. {TN: The "proverb" the author uses here only comes up in another Korean novel called Dream Rider, so I''m not sure if I conveyed the right message, but that was the best I could come up with.}Finally, I met Jos¨¦ Alejandro, who trembled in fear as I drew closer. "Hey! It''s been a while." 298 Chapter 297: Lee Jiwon Part III Translator: HunterWEditor: REDThe Sunbin Group''s special recruiting program was aiming to hire two hundred people by the end, but over seventy-five thousand people had applied. Everyone wanted to work at the Sunbin Group. It was not only the largest corporation of South Korea, but also one of the largest in the global market. Heck, just being employed by the Sunbin Group could bring someone up to top rank on matchmaking sites. The competition to get hired by the Sunbin Group was as high as 375 to 1. Since the available positions of the program were all white-collar jobs, just about all applicants were all fresh graduates straight out of SKY {Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei Universities}. The HR team that ran the program had members who were graduates of not only SKY, but also Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and other top universities around the globe. Song Daechul didn''t want to leave the recruitment process to computer programs, saying that it wasn''t right to ignore the potential recruits'' hard work."Man, I''m about to lose it. It''s going to take forever to check each application," Lee Woogeun said as he tousled his hair in frustration."Ha¡­ what can we do about it? If they tell us to do it, we do it. If they tell us to jump, we ask how high," Kim Jongmin, another member of the HR team, replied, just as frustrated. They weren''t the only two at their wits'' end. Everyone on the same team was using the same archaic method during the 21st century, where technology reigned. But no one else voiced their complaints too loudly. Song Daechul had told them to think of it as welcoming new members to the family, and that computers didn''t have the ability to find the diamonds in the rough."Diamonds, my ass. No one goes from rags to riches anymore. That well dried up ages ago.""Dude, you''re too loud.""Ahem¡­" Lee Woogeun looked around before quieting himself. As much as he didn''t like the chairman''s orders, he wasn''t brave enough to go against them. And so, the Sunbin Group''s HR team prepared themselves to work overtime for the diamond in the rough their beloved chairman wanted so much. There were only six days left until they were going to stop accepting applications.------Mexico¡­Jos¨¦ Alejandro sat down in front to me with a calm and collected expression, but I could clearly see he was trembling. It was only normal for a mortal."If the NCR cartel suddenly disappears, it''s only obvious that another cartel will take its place, right?""Well¡­ I¡­ guess¡­" Jos¨¦ struggled to reply as his voice trembled too much."Ugh, whatever. Hugo, right? You answer my question." Unlike Jos¨¦ and the other lieutenants of the NCR cartel, Hugo did not tremble in fear, nor did he avoid my eyes."Yes, sir, you are correct. The NCR cartel may control about sixty percent of Mexico, but once we''re gone, the Valentino cartel that controls twenty-two percent of the country will take our place. Those guys will do everything in their power to assume total control." Unlike Jos¨¦, Hugo did not hesitate to answer."Ha¡­ I suppose you''re right." I knew that the world wasn''t pretty. Cut off the head of a hydra and another will grow to take its place. Replace it with a good guy, and soon he''ll become a snake, as well."Fine, I''ll let the NCR cartel live. But I want you to ease up on your activities. Whether it''s murder, kidnapping, drugs, or violence, lower all your activities by three percent every year. And try to increase your territory to weaken other cartels.""...""...""Yes sir!" Only Hugo replied. Jos¨¦ and the other lieutenants were all stunned into silence.I pulled my Harrier out of thin air in an instant and stabbed Jos¨¦ in the chest. "Mana Conversion ¨C Fire." Jos¨¦ was killed before he could scream, and his body burned away, leaving only ashes in his place.The other lieutenants and the Mexican soldiers all stared at what just happened with mouths agape but Hugo still remained calm."I''ll leave the cartel in your hands, Hugo.""Thank you, sir! Your wish is my command!""Anyone against my decision, step forth.""...""I''ll take your silence that you accept," I said as I got up from my seat, prompting the cartel lieutenants to do the same. I walked outside, followed by everyone else. All I could see in front of me were the vast fields of poppy plants, with small shacks off to the side where the workers were supposed to live. I didn''t like the sight of it all and wanted to erase it all. It would also make a great example."Scorching Rage," I whispered and pointed forward. Soon, the giant spear appeared in the sky and came crashing down on the poppy fields. A deafening crash filled the air, louder than the tanks from earlier. All that was left was a massive crater, big and deep enough to hold a lake."...""Ah¡­ much better. I didn''t like the smell of poppy burning. Now, if it rains, you''ll have a nice lake to enjoy." And right on cue, it began to rain, but there was not a single cloud in sight.''Hehehe.'' I suddenly heard Earth laugh in my ear. I just couldn''t understand it. If it could make it rain this easily, it could just as easily get rid of its radiation without my help. But at least it made an impact."Oh¡­ay dios mio¡­""We''ll¡­ do as you say.""Please¡­ forgive us." Every single lieutenant, officer, and even the lowly workers of the cartel bowed deeply to me.I only came to Mexico for Pedro to repay what he did for me, but things were starting to get out of hand. I even ended up killing Jos¨¦. I struggled greatly with myself if I really should have stabbed him with my spear, but in the end, I knew I had to. I may not be their God, but I was the owner of the Earth they lived on. Killing one person to better the lives of thousands or millions was a necessary sacrifice."I''ll be watching you," I said, before jumping high into the air. Then, when I was high enough, I spoke into the empty air before me. "I want to fly."I didn''t have the actual ability to fly, although I could make it look like I could. But I wanted to fly, thanks to Earth.''Ugh. You''re too heavy.''"Let''s go back. I still need to receive the letter of recommendation for my application."------I was only a graduate of a vocational high school, and I also graduated at the bottom twenty percent of my class. I knew that it was impossible to get hired by the Sunbin Group with just those specifications. I wouldn''t even get accepted as an intern. Hell, not even a mid-range corporation would take me. I had just turned thirty, as well. What I needed was a letter of recommendation from someone that even the Sunbin Group couldn''t ignore. That letter had to come from either the Shire Group, America''s richest corporation specializinigin petrochemistry and oil, or from Baden al Nayan, the president of the UAE.There were other places I could go to, like Egypt or Europe, and I knew I could get their help. I knew what their circumstances were after all those years I had spent closely with them during the Otadolon stage and on the Judge''s Continent. I had so many places to go in so little time. They weren''t going to believe me right away, but then I could just show them my abilities. I had never intended to keep them a secret anyway.------The Sunbin Group''s HR team continued to accept applications until the very last day and made the final count of the applicants. They had to choose two hundred applicants out of 117,500; a sifting rate of 587 to 1. With all applications sent in, the HR team went to work, spending days sifting through the carbon-copy applications. As important as qualifications were, they needed to find the special someone. As Lee Woogeun went through his stack of applications as quickly and as carefully as he could, he came across an application, who was only a high school graduate and from a vocational school, at that. "Tsk. Did he apply as a prank? He''s thirty years old; doesn''t he have anything better to do?" There was still a sense of hierarchy in society, and businesses were a good example of that. Age was very important to corporations. No one wanted to accept new hires that were much older than them. Lee Woogeun placed the application into the rejected pile immediately, not thinking there was going to be anything more to it. But this one was stapled to several more sheets of paper, each filled to the margins with writing."What the hell is this?" Lee Woogeun flipped through the pages in annoyance. As average as the applicant''s qualifications were, the introduction was just as lacking."Tsk tsk tsk. He could have done a quick internet search to find proper ways to write an introduction. Huh?" Lee Woogeun blinked when he came to the specialties section. This applicant wrote that he could speak not only Korean but English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Russian, and Turkish as well."Is this guy insane? Who does he think he is to play a prank like this on the Sunbin Group?""What''s wrong?" asked Kim Jongmin."Some crazy guy who only came out of high school sent in an application, and it''s a real eyesore. He barely has an education, didn''t even get foreign language training, and he says he''s fluent in ten languages. Ten! Okay, eleven if you count Korean.""What? Even if he was a language genius, it''s almost impossible to be fluent in eleven languages at once.""But that''s what he wrote. Crazy bastard, wasting our time like this." Pissed, Lee Woogeun threw Lee Jiwon''s application back into the rejected pile. He didn''t want to look at it anymore.Kim Jongmin then picked up the application."What''s up?" asked Lee Woogeun."Nothing. I''m just curious who would actually lie when a company like the Sunbin Group could easily pick up on a lie that blatant.""He probably did it on purpose. A normal person would have just written two and would have at least had a good chance to get a first-round interview. Someone like that has no shame.""Alright, alright. You don''t need to get so mad," Kim Jongmin said, brushing off his coworker as he continued to flip through Lee Jiwon''s application. This person really didn''t have that many qualifications. Kim Jongmin actually thought this guy was pretty brave to go through with it, even if he didn''t expect Lee Jiwon to pass. As Kim Jongmin scanned through the languages that were written, he began to understand how his coworker felt. They were too busy sifting through thousands of applications to find a prank like this funny. Still, Kim Jongmin continued to flip through the pages. The application was thicker than the others. He then came across the letter of recommendation that was stapled behind the introduction."Do applicants send letters of rec these days? They''re usually detrimental." In the past, people only sent in letters of recommendation if they had some serious backing in the company or the government. Now, companies didn''t want to accept applications with letters of rec anymore. There were too many cases where they ended up passing on potential stellar employees just to satisfy some big wig."Dude, he''s got more than a few. Does he not know what letters of rec are?" There were still times where letters of recommendation helped make applicants stand out, usually detailing the applicants'' real world skills and personality that wouldn''t be well-explained in a simple application. As such, such letters weren''t written by anyone."He really is crazy. Or maybe he''s just dumb." Kim Jongmin looked at the first letter. The first thing that surprised him was that this letter was written completely in English. He suspected that maybe Lee Jiwon had used Google Translate to try and pass it off, but Kim Jongmin quickly realized that whoever wrote the letter was well-educated and a native speaker. Kim Jongmin looked at the header, and saw the logo of America''s Shire Group."This is complete fraud." Lying on a resume and application was fine. But forging a letter of recommendation was considered fraud and highly illegal, especially since the name America''s richest corporation was used. The letter even had the famous Daniel Miller''s signature down at the bottom.Kim Jongmin clicked his tongue and flipped to the next letter. "Ha¡­it gets worse." He had never seen the signature of a president of a foreign nation, let alone on a new hire''s application. The signature belonged to Baden al Nayan, the president of the UAE. Kim Jongmin tore out the letter and looked over it. The letter''s border looked like it was gilded. He scratched the gold lining and saw that it left a small imprint."Is that real gold?" It was well-known that the UAE gilded their official papers, so Kim Jongmin wasn''t so sure now. Well, he knew that everything was a lie, but he just couldn''t believe that anyone would actually go through this extent for a lie.He read the next letter. This letter was from Egypt''s Asyut Group, who owned the Bank of Alexandria and was the producer of the eighty percent of the world''s natural gas. The letter behind that was from the Chloe Group, Australia''s largest corporation. There were two others after that as well, both from equally famous corporations."What¡­" Kim Jongmin looked over the six letters again and again, trying to find any hint of forgery. But each letter was written on immaculate stationary and spoke highly of Lee Jiwon. But it was still hard to believe that they were real.Kim Jongmin laughed. "If just one of these is real, we''d have one hell of a new hire on our hands." He picked up the letter from the one from the Shire Group and looked at the international number written by the header."There''s even an international number. This guy went all out." Kim Jongmin took out his phone and dialed the number. He knew that it was fake, but he wanted to know for sure. Then, someone picked up and answered in perfect English."Good morning. Shire Group corporate office. Grace speaking. How may I help you?""..." If this applicant really was insane enough to prepare this far, he''d actually be a psychopath. But was it possible to forge an international number just for a prank? Kim Jongmin broke out in a cold sweat. Even though the office he was in had the A/C on at full blast, his back was suddenly drenched. He realized that this probably wasn''t a prank. No, it definitely was real.He quickly hung up and gathered all of the pages from Lee Jiwon''s application. He couldn''t make the final decision on this new hire. With the application in hand, he quickly ran over to his boss, Yoo Kyungsup."Hey, Jongmin! Where are you taking that trash to?" Lee Woogeun asked, but Kim Jongmin didn''t even turn around. 299 Chapter 298: Lee Jiwon Part IV Translator: HunterWEditor: RED''Thief,'' I heard Earth call me as I sat around in my rooftop room, but I paid it no mind. I really did receive so much more from the Shire Group, Abu Dhabi''s royal family, the Chloe Group, and the Asyut Group, on top of the letters of recommendation. But I hadn''t gone to them to try and take more from them, like the way Earth had so kindly put it. I went to go help them and only asked for a letter in return. These organizations were my comrades for at least three years during the Otadolon stage. I didn''t tell them that, since they weren''t going to believe me in the first place. I just showed them what my abilities were and that I would be a great asset to them.When I did that, each organization wrote me a splendid letter on their best stationary and ink and dumped a pile of gifts in my arms. I tried to turn them all down, but they insisted. They tried not to show it, but they were very afraid of me. I completely understood why, since I would have been the same if I were in their shoes. Only time could fix that."Should I move?" This small, cramped rooftop room had been my home for thirty years of my life. It was the one place I could rest at, it separated me from the rest of the world. I always missed it, to the point that I had even visited its ruins when I made that small trip to Earth from the Continent. But when I came back to the rooftop room that was restored to its previous sad state, I realized that I had brainwashed myself into thinking I had good memories here¡­ or maybe I had just become too big for it."Let''s move!" I made my decision."Move?" Shaman Ko suddenly appeared and asked me, with the Dungeon Mole and the Tendon in his hands."Yeah, let''s move to a huge place big enough for you to run around in with your Mole and Tendon," I replied, undeterred. This was the first time Shaman Ko actually talked to me, but I wasn''t surprised. I had been waiting for it to happen.''Me too! I want to move to a big house, too!''"..." I didn''t reply to Earth. It was impossible to find a house big enough for Earth to run around in. Ignoring Earth, I reached into my pocket and took out six cards. They were limitless bank cards given to me by the six conglomerates I had visited a few days ago. Still, I was probably the richest man on Earth without these cards. I hadn''t realized it when I had borrowed the gold from Earth, but I still had billions of golden rings in my inventory. Each one was made out of solid gold and from what Earth had told me, I had more gold than existed naturally on Earth. ''Give me my gold already!''"Alright, alright. Here, take it." I pulled out a handful of golden rings and stuck my hand out in front of me. In an instant, the golden rings vanished from my hand.''Give¡­no, plus interest!''"Ugh, fine. Take them." I took out another handful of golden rings.''Hmph. I feel like I lost out on something.''"I have no idea what you mean." I leaned back, thinking about what sort of house to move into."I should get an interview after all those letters, right?" I had gotten offers from all six conglomerates to join their company when I told them I wanted to work for the Sunbin Group, promising me a high position. But I turned them all down. I had a reason I put in all this work."Well, since there''s some time until the interviews, I should go see them. They''re the perfect people to have as assistants." The Gnosis Guild was the last guild to join the Empire. I had the chance to talk a lot with Alpha, the guild''s master. He told me that he ran a private detective agency in Seoul before the Otadolon stage. He also told me that he was the son of a USFK soldier and a Korean woman, and was raised alone by his mother. He also told me about his anger and disappointment towards the father he had never met."I can hire him to look into my grandfather''s company. I guess India is all that''s left." Repaying Pedro was easy, I just needed to deal with the NCR cartel that was oppressing him and his family. But it was going to be difficult to help Lagus and Muskan in India. To help them, I was going to need economic power. Then again, I had all the economic power I needed in my pocket.------The Sunbin Group''s board of directors was in a panic over the application of one new hire. It attracted so much attention that Song Daechul and Song Myungsoo had to intervene."They''re all real?" asked Song Myungsoo."Yes sir, every single one of them. It was hard to believe that the Shire and Chloe Groups were among them, but the UAE even sent the ambassador from their embassy to confirm it. The ambassador told us that Lee Jiwon was considered a member of the royal family."Song Myungsoo stared at the head of Strategic Planning in silent surprise. The embassy didn''t just send a liaison; they had sent the ambassador himself! That meant the Sunbin Group no longer had a reason to doubt Lee Jiwon any longer."Why does someone like this want to join the Sunbin Group?" He was thirty years old, too old to be a new hire and he didn''t have enough qualifications, but who cared about that? He had enough connections to get letters of recommendation from CEOs and the president of a foreign nation directly. He was set for life! Furthermore, from the conversations the Sunbin Group had with the foreign companies, it was clear that they all highly respected Lee Jiwon. They lauded him. That confused the Sunbin Group even more. All Lee Jiwon had to his name was the small rooftop room he lived in. There was also no reason to think that he was a corporate spy or anything. He had provided all of his legal information and the Sunbin Group had already done a thorough background check."All of this information is true?""Yes sir. We checked and double-checked. We even went to the factory he used to work at."Song Myungsoo held the file on Lee Jiwon in his hand. He was an orphan and lived in poverty most of his life. There was nothing about him that could get him all of those letters."Should we bring him to the first round of interviews?" Bang Manho, the head of Strategic Planning asked."Of course we should. He''s connected with the Shire Group. We can establish an avenue to approach the American company and open up more trade into the US." The Sunbin Group carried more than a hundred years of perfect business experience and had spent the last ten to twenty years as the forerunner of IT in South Korea. Song Myungsoo was not going to easily let this chance go. "He is also well connected to the Abu Dhabi royal family and the Asyut Group of Egypt. If we play our cards right¡­we can obtain an easier tap on natural gas.""Will it be possible?""I don''t know. But if we can try just by hiring one new employee¡­I''d say it''s an obvious choice, wouldn''t you?""..." No one replied to Song Myungsoo. It was a chance they knew they had to take.There was one person whose eyes were lit up the entire time. It was Song Haein, who had begged her father to attend the meeting as well.------The next day, I headed to Dongdaemun District. It was pretty easy to find Alpha, no, Hong Dukbae''s private eye office. Alpha had told me back then exactly where his office was located."Welcome! What problems do you have for me to fix today?" The office was located on the other side of Seoul, but it was just as rundown as Oh Hyungjae''s office. When I went inside, I saw the same five people that had led the Gnosis Guild. Jay, the Clairvoyant, was also a bastard child of a USKF soldier and a Korean woman. Sharing a similar past, Jay and Alpha had stuck together since their childhood days. Jay had a slightly better life, though, consistently receiving money from the father in America who she had never seen. Lim Gina and the other two guys were inside as well, but I passed them and sat down on and old sofa. I seemed out of place, wearing a 1.5 million won suit."Do you not serve your clients a cup of tea or anything?""Uh, all we have is coffee mix¡­""I like coffee mix, too.""Right. Just a sec." The five people working at this detective agency were visibly nervous. They knew how much my clothes cost.I accepted the cup of coffee and took a sip. "Ah¡­there''s no better coffee than coffee made from coffee mix.""Ah. Haha. Ha." Hong Dukbae awkwardly laughed.I set my paper cup down on the table before me and looked at him. "How much do you make in one year?" I knew that they only made enough to put food on the table, that is, if Alpha was telling the truth back then. But somehow, I knew that they barely even had enough to feed themselves."Excuse me?"I pointed to everyone in the room. "How much do all of you make in one year? Combined."Hong Dukbae didn''t say anything for a moment and I waited quietly. "We make enough to feed ourselves. And we don''t accept illegal requests, no matter what you offer us," Hong Dukbae said to me finally, almost glaring at me. I wasn''t sure if he was telling the truth, but I knew for a fact that the Gnosis Guild had carried out several illegal requests during the Otadolon stage. They had to, to have become one of the three greatest Intelligence guilds of the world. Then again, it wasn''t like laws were still a big deal during the Otadolon stage. So frankly, I didn''t care if they did or didn''t. I still wanted their help."I don''t like illegal stuff, either. And I wasn''t going to make you do anything like that. Anyway, would a hundred million each be enough to feed you for a year?"All five of them looked at me with jaw-dropping surprise. A hundred million Won for a year was always a faraway dream for them."Hmm¡­ we need a contract to get down to business, but I don''t see one in front of me," I said as I took out the card I had received from Baden al Nayan. "Anyway, I don''t like the sad excuse of an office you have, so I''ll make several contracts with you lot. I''ll offer two hundred million each. That''s one billion in all, right? I''m sorry, but can you take it out of this card? The passcode''s 0000.""You''re not worried we''ll take the money and run?"If I were in Hong Dukbae''s shoes, I''d be just as dumbfounded at the situation, but I did like his question. He was truly wondered if I trusted them with all of that money.I replied with a smile. "Well, at least you''ll get the money, right? I don''t care if you take a hundred million or a billion each. Anyway, it''s been a while since I had coffee mix. It''s pretty good. Can I get another cup?"I didn''t care if they ran with the money. A billion Won wasn''t enough to repay the Gnosis Guild for all they did for me.---Five minutes later, stacks of stiff ?50,000 bills were laid out neatly on the table in front of us. I honestly worried something might happen when the bank teller was told to withdraw a billion Won from a card she had never seen before, especially since Hong Dukbae didn''t exactly look like he owned the card. I even ended up getting a call from the UAE embassy. From the call, it seemed that the bank was in real panic and obviously, Hong Dukbae and Lim Gina were there to see for themselves what was going on. That had really kicked them all into high gear, since they had to know just how rich the Abu Dhabi royal family was."So what did you want us to¡­?""It''s nothing serious. I just want you to go to Sojung Construction over at Gongju, Chungcheong in my stead." I took a sip of coffee before continuing, "Tell them I want to build a villa, a really big villa. I want one big enough that they would hesitate to take the job. Give them enough time and enough money. Put all expenses on that card," I said, pointing to the UAE card."Oh, and I''ll tell you where I want the villa to be built later. Can you do it?""¡­Yes, we can.""Good. Well, I expect good work out of all of you. It''s hard to work for me, but I can just as easily toss you back on to the streets.""We won''t let you down.""Good.""Before you go, how would you like us to call you?""Hmm¡­you can call me President Lee Jiwon.""Understood, Mr. President.""Oh, and move to a better office. Like, a really nice office.""We''ll need more¡­""Ten billion Won should be enough, right? Go ahead. Just put it on the card.""..." Silence filled the private eye office."Well, I''ll be going now." I got up and left the office. I had received a text on my phone while I was drinking coffee, telling me that I had been accepted to the first round of interviews."Hmm¡­ I never had an interview in my life¡­ what do I do?" I was more worried about the interviews than about the money. 300 Chapter 299: Lee Jiwon Part V Final Chapter Translator: HunterWEditor: REDNever in my life had I gone to an interview. Everything I knew about interviews came from movies and TV shows, but those were pretty close to the real thing, right? So I was beginning to suspect that this interview I was at right now was not a normal one. Somehow, I doubted normal interviews were conducted by top ranking members of the board, but they were sitting right in front of me: Song Daechul, Song Myungsoo, Han Kyungchul, and Park Manho. The Sunbin Group wasn''t a small company for the owner to conduct the interview himself. Oh, and I was the only one being interviewed, too."Interviewee Lee Jiwon," Song Daechul called my name."Yes?""In your mind, do you think you''re qualified enough to work for the Sunbin Group?" It was a broad question, but it was asked because I only graduated from a vocational high school in the bottom twenty percent of my class. It was obvious I was very lacking for the company, but¡­"I think I''m overqualified." A hundred Sunbin Groups weren''t enough for someone like me."I see you''re very confident in yourself.""It''s the truth.""Do you mean what''s written on these six letters of recommendation?""No. Those letters were just to get me past the application process.""Then do you mean to say that you possess something more that separates you from the other applicants, something far greater than what is on the letters?""I do," I replied, looking straight at Song Daechul. Song Daechul chuckled at my response. "Then let me rephrase my question. Why would someone as great as yourself choose the Sunbin Group?""Because it''s the Sunbin Group." I always knew that the Sunbin Group the nation''s biggest philanthropic corporation, but Song Haein was actually the biggest reason behind my desire to enter the company."Thank you. I think that''s all the questions we have for you today. We will call you with the results a week from now.""So that''s it?""Yes."I was a bit surprised from that. They only asked me two questions and the interview itself only lasted for about three minutes. But I couldn''t rightly tell them to ask me more questions when they said it was ove,r so I got up and left the room. Out in the hall, I saw Song Haein, who was clearly waiting for me."Hello. My name is Lee Jiwon." Back then, Haein had introduced herself first at Store 72, but this time, I wanted to approach her first."Oh, hello. I''m Song Haein. Did you need something from me?""Hmm¡­did I make a mistake? I thought you had some interest in me. And I had some interest in you, too."In the past, Haein always had a bright and unbending personality, but that changed when she met me. It all started when her own brother, who was the pillar of the Sunbin Guild, fell into a twisted hole, and the guild and I had a falling out. It also didn''t help that I continued to ignore her feelings the entire time.After all that, I just didn''t know how to approach Haein. I had never dated anyone before. But I didn''t think about it for too long. No matter how much I thought about how to approach her, I wasn''t going to find out the answer. If I didn''t know the answer, I just had to show my sincerity. It would have been nice if she had blushed from my answer, but Haein barely reacted. It was almost as if she was wondering if I was crazy or something. But thankfully, she didn''t completely turn me down."Well, I am interested in you, but probably not in the way you think.""I''m glad. Anyway, can I call you Sunbae the next time we meet?" {TN: Sunbae is the Korean equivalent to Senpai.}"Did your interview go that well, that you think you already passed the interview?""Yes, it did. I''m very satisfied with how it went. Anyway, do you have time for a cup of coffee?""Hmm¡­sure, I do."------Three months later¡­"Oppa.""What is it?""Are you some sort of god?""Hmm¡­I''m not really a god, but more like I own the Earth." Haein and I were currently heading towards India, riding on a flying carpet. It was possible, of course, with Earth''s help.''Tsk! Always making me do this kind of stuff¡­''-Hey, I got rid of all that radiation in Japan last month like I promised. I even made them increase their national budget to three hundred trillion so they can enforce their new regulations.-After all the nagging Earth gave me to clean up the radiation, I did as it asked by kidnapping Japan''s prime minister and his entire cabinet and bringing them to Bentin-jima off the coast of Hokkaido. There, I showed them my powers and completely submerged the deserted island below sea level. Then, I had Earth blow off some steam by creating a fifty-meter tall tsunami.That was enough. The next day, they had increased their national budget to three hundred trillion Yen just to clean up the radiation."By the way, is this child your son?" Haein had a sleeping Shaman Ko in her arms and was brushing his hair. The Dungeon Mole and the Tendon weren''t too far from Shaman Ko, either."Hmm¡­ yeah, he''s like my son.""Oh yeah? Does that mean you had a wife too?""No! I said he''s ''like'' my son."And like that, Haein and I enjoyed a nice picnic in the air. As I ate from Haein''s packed lunch, I looked over to my left. We had just passed the Himalayas. We were getting close.Soon, we finally landed in India and headed straight for the company I had set up not too long ago. It was a company that the Sunbin, Shire, Chloe, Asyut Groups and the Abu Dhabi royal family all had equal shares in, and was worth thirty billion dollars, with me as its president.I used this company to start investing in the Ravi Group, owned by Lagus Aman and his father, to help the Dalit caste. The first thing I had them do was form stable jobs for them. There was a lot of pushback at first. Even if they said that their society was getting better, many of their laws and traditions were still deeply rooted in the caste system. The founding members of the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds caused the most trouble, but it was easy to get them out of the picture by using Earth''s power to make them fall ill."Welcome, Mr. President," Lagus greeted me when I entered my office. Lagus was originally supposed to help his father with the Ravi Group, but he entered my company at my behest as my executive assistant."How are things in India?""Things are going well. We''re still keeping close tabs on the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. The shady mines and factories have now all fallen in line with our regulations.""That''s good to hear."As I continued to talk with Lagus about the state of the country, Lagus''s personal assistant entered my office with coffee in hand. I turned to her and asked, "When''s the wedding?"Muskan, Lagus''s assistant, was also his fianc¨¦e. Honestly, I didn''t try to make the two meet, since Lagus was still a Vaishya and had lived a completely different world than Muskan. But they just somehow ended up meeting and grew very close."It is two months and a week from now, Mr. President.""Oh, it''s getting close. You guys better invite me," I said with a small laugh."Shouldn''t you be worrying about yourself first, sir?"Haein grew red at what Lagus said.I laughed instead. "I suppose so. I better tie down my other half before she runs away."------That night¡­"When are you going to go meet your mother?""..." I had told Haein about my family situation, not wanting to hide it from her. But even though I had just about transferred the managing duties to Lagus and Muskan, I still hadn''t sought out my mother yet. Well, I did secretly go see her about ten times to see how she was doing. I even had Earth bolster her vitality a few times."I should go¡­""That''s what you said last time, and the time before, but you still haven''t gone.""I know. I''m going to, for sure this time." I had already visited the von Agassi clan in Norway and Madun Yatekin in Turkey, and helped them out. Now, all I had left to take care of was my mother. I wanted to talk to her every time I secretly went to go see her, but I kept remembering how I had almost sacrificed her to save myself. In the end, I couldn''t bring myself to do it, which ended up killing Haein instead, but I could never forgive myself for even thinking about it.I kept pushing it off over and over again, but now I no longer had an excuse. I had finished paying back everyone who had ever helped me during the Otadolon stage. I was going to go see her even if Haein didn''t bring it up again. I couldn''t rightly ignore my own mother forever."You promise?""Yeah, I promise. I''ll go with an armful of gifts.""Me too! Let me help.""You too?""Of course! It''s the least I could do as her future daughter-in-law.""..." I felt myself tear up a little. I hugged Haein tightly and whispered, "Thanks."------A week later¡­"Will this be enough, Jiwon?""Yes, thank you. But you really didn''t need to go this far.""Don''t worry about it. It''s the least I can do as your father-in-law," Song Myungsoo replied with a chuckle"Father, your real son is standing right here. Will you quit it?" Song Haechang said, jokingly."Hahaha. Thank you. And I know how you really feel, bro.""Stop it, you''re creeping me out.""Dad, oppa, that''s enough already! We''re short on time as it is." Haein finally stepped in and ended our little bantering.Once we were ready, we departed, with gifts from all organizations in tow. I purposely told them I was going to show my mother that the son she thought was dead had become this successful. ------Outside the small-scale construction site of Jugong Apartments at Kyungju City, Chuncheong Province¡­"Mrs. Sung, your complexion is getting better every day! What''s your secret?""Oh, you!" Sung Sooyeon was sent to the construction site the company was working on to make food for the construction workers. She wasn''t paid, and was only a part of the company solely because she was the company owner''s daughter-in-law.Suddenly, about twenty luxury sedans entered the construction site. Only presidents of large companies traveled like that. Curious, the construction workers forgot about their lunch break and gathered around their foreman. Sung Sooyeon followed the workers and managed to find a spot that had a good look of the people exiting the cars. A young couple exited from the middle car. Sung Sooyeon thought the woman was quite pretty before turning to the man, and then she dropped the tray she was carrying.---I slowly walked forward. Every step I took, the people in front of me moved out of the way to make a path. I kept walking until I met her; my mother who was silently sobbing at the sight of me. I carefully hugged her."I''m sorry it took so long to find you, mom. I never got to say it but¡­ I love you."Finally, I was happy. 301 Chapter 300: The Alternate Ending And the Author’s Comments Translator: HunterWEditor: REDOutside the ninety-seven story Sunbin Group office building in Gangnam, Seoul¡­"Huh¡­it''s smaller than I remember." I had to bend my head all the way back to get a glimpse of the top of the building, but for some reason, it looked really small. I looked back down and around me. Today was the day of the interviews for those who had passed the preliminary screening of the Sunbin Group''s special recruiting program. All around me were hopeful applicants who all had the same serious and nervous looks on their faces. I slowly followed them into the building. Inside the first floor lobby, I saw a large sign that greeted us.[Welcome, Interviewees, to the Second Stage of the Sunbin Group''s 2023 Special Recruiting Program!] I gave the sign a quick glance and walked over to the front desk."Welcome. Are you here for the interviews?""Yes.""Can I have your registration number and your ID?"I handed over the proper documents."Thank you. Okay, you''re all set. Here''s your number. Keep it around your neck at all times and head down that way."I took the name tag, which had a picture of me and the number 115, and put it on before heading up to the auditorium on the third floor. The auditorium was almost as big as half a stadium. Inside, about a hundred people were already seated. They were all clearly elites. From all the news articles about the annual recruiting program I had read up on, more than a hundred thousand people applied and only two hundred were chosen. Each applicant was either a graduate of a SKY university or from a famous foreign university. I was most likely the only high school graduate here, but I didn''t care. I wasn''t a normal high school graduate.I walked over the seat that had my number on it and sat down, making myself comfortable. The moment I sat down, applicant 114 on my left leaned over to me."I guess you couldn''t keep living off your parents'' backs.""Excuse me?""I''m the same. I wanted to just enter my father''s company and eventually take it over, but he told me to get hired by the Sunbin Group and work for them for at least three years first. If I didn''t, then I would be cut off completely. He even took my freaking credit card," he said as wiped the face of his expensive watch."Anyway, have you already given up on the interview?""What''s that supposed to mean?""I mean, you can''t come to a new hire interview in a suit that expensive. Honestly, I was going to do the same, but my father forced me into this cheap suit. I barely got him to let me wear my watch."I looked down at my clothes. It was a suit the Shire Group had sent me, wishing me luck with the interview."Wow¡­you have those shoes? They''re from the limited edition line that came out this year from that Italian company, right? They actually got imported to Korea? Man, that''s crazy."The shoes were also sent from the Shire Group as a set."Do you have time after the interview? I''ve never seen you around before, so I''m guessing you just came back to Korea. I''ll take you to a really fun place. They''ve got all the girls and drugs you want. Kekeke," the man said with bleary eyes and a half-smile.I didn''t like this guy one bit, but he didn''t seem to care and kept talking. "They don''t let anyone in, but you and I aren''t the types to get too hung about an interview process like this, right? Besides, if you come, I''m sure you can make some sweet connections. Everyone from this country''s upper class hangs out there.""Hah." I couldn''t help but laugh. I never had someone show that much of interest in me before; well, besides the time during the Otadolon stage and the Continent."I''m sorry. I''ve got a pile of things to do later. You''re going to have to go to that fun place by yourself.""..." When I completely rejected him, the guy''s face dropped. When I continued to ignore him, he stopped talking to me. Not long afterwards, he got up and left.------The auditorium was filled with the whispers of the interviewees, worrying if they should have prepared for more interview questions. No one was able to hear the shutter sound of someone taking a picture with their phone... except for me, that is.-Was I too harsh?-I may have spent most of my time during the Otadolon stage and the Continent in the spotlight, but I had lived a pretty normal life before all that. I didn''t like using women and drugs just to have some fun. I also didn''t like that affluent lifestyle, just because he was born to the right parents. Well, then again, had he been slightly more respectful, I might have gone with him. I was always curious about how the upper class had fun.Anyway, I knew that he had taken a picture of me, but I ignored him.---"Motherfucker. You tell me off, of all people? I don''t know what hole you crawled out of or whose backing you used, but no one treats me like that," Choi Kyungman swore. He was the only son of Choi Taesuk, the president of Sungjin Bio, South Korea''s leading Biociences Company. No one ever looked down on him like that.Choi Kyungman sent the photo he just took to a friend. Choi Kyungman would have just confronted the guy to his face, but this was the headquarters of the Sunbin Group. Furthermore, the guy clearly wasn''t an easy target. The clothes, shoes, and accessories he had on were easily worth more than a billion Won altogether. Choi Kyungman also noticed the tie pin that was embedded with at least a hundred small diamonds. Only three of those existed, and each cost seven hundred thousand dollars."Fuck. Where the fuck did this bastard even come from?" After sending the photo, Choi Kyungman called his friend right away. This friend, Lee Weechul, knew everyone who was anyone of the upper class."Hey, bro. What''s up? Why are you calling? Shouldn''t you be at the Sunbin Group interview by now?""Who cares about that? Did you get the photo I sent you?""Yeah.""Do you know who that is?""Nope. I never saw him before.""Look carefully. He''s got some threads on his back. The shoes and the tie pin he has aren''t exactly easy buys, either.""Huh¡­ give me a second."Choi Kyungman waited. Soon, he heard his friend get back on the phone."Dude, you know that I know the top fifty richest people in the country, right? But I seriously never saw this guy before. But you''re right. Those are some serious threads. There are only three of those tie pins in the world, right?""Yeah.""Damn¡­ I should know who he is if he''s that rich¡­ did you meet him at the interview?" "Of course I did. Where else would I have?""Do you think he''s new money?""Are you crazy? No matter how rich anyone is, it''s almost impossible to find those accessories. And he definitely doesn''t carry himself like new money. Fuck. I thought I was looking at my pops." Choi Kyungman only felt that aura from those richer or more powerful than his father. No one from new money carried that much confidence."Wow. I wonder who this guy is for you feel that way and to escape my radar. Bro, invite him to one of our hangouts.""I already did, and he blew me off. He actually looked down on me. Fuck. If this wasn''t the Sunbin''s building, I would have beaten the crap out of him.""Shit. It''s that bad?""Fucking yeah, it is. He probably thinks he''s royalty or some shit. Hey, don''t you know someone on the Sunbin''s HR team?""Oh yeah! Jin Sungyul. He came to one of our outings once for a little bit. But not long after that, his dad''s business sank, and so did he.""See what you can learn from him.""You don''t like him that much?""Fuck. No one talks to me like that, not in Korea.""Okay, okay. I''ll see what I can find out and call you right back.""Thanks. Hurry.""Yeah."After hanging up, Choi Kyungman turned around and glared holes into the back of the bastard''s head. "Just you wait. Once I find out you''re beneath me, I''m going to break that bloated skull of yours," Choi Kyungman muttered before pocketing his phone and heading to the bathroom. There was still some time left until the interviews started.---Ten minutes later¡­Choi Kyungman''s phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw his friend''s name on the screen. He smiled. Choi Kyungman stole a glance over at the guy to his right before getting up and leaving the auditorium. Once he was out, he answered."Yeah. Did you find out anything?""Bro. Is Lee Jiwon the guy''s name?""Yeah, that''s right. Lee Jiwon, number 115.""Huh¡­""What? What is it that you can''t tell me right away? Is he Song Daechul''s hidden grandson or something?" Realizing that he had almost shouted the question out, Choi Kyungman quickly glanced around to make sure no one was around him. As rich and powerful his father''s company was, it still fell behind the Sunbin Group."Well¡­ he''s an orphan and is only a high school graduate.""What?""You heard me. He''s also wasn''t adopted by some rich family, either. He went straight to high school from his orphanage, then entered the army right away and came out as a sergeant. And then, that''s it. He''s practically a bum.""Are you sure you got the right guy?" Lee Jiwon did not carry the aura and confidence of a bum. This guy clearly had years of experience under his belt. Choi Kyungman found it hard to believe that he was only a high school graduate."I''m sure. I found it hard to believe too, so I had Sungyul take a picture of the guy''s entire application and resume. I''ll send it to you right now, hold on."Soon, Choi Kyungman received several photos on his phone. He quickly scanned over the pictures which confirmed his friend''s story."Did you see them?""Yeah¡­" The evidence was right in front of him. "Then who the hell is this guy? Are they fake? Can I not tell the difference between real and fake anymore? No, they''re real alright.""He and you are going to get interviewed together, right? You''re number 114 and he''s number 115.""That''s right.""Then you can find out then. The interviewers are definitely going to have the same questions as you.""Yeah, you''re right. Thanks.""Don''t worry about it. Just worry about your interview. Your dad''s going to be furious if you get dropped.""Ugh, I swear to God, the old man''s killing me.""Kekeke. Good luck. And promise me you''ll tell me about this Lee Jiwon guy.""Yeah, I will."After he hung up, Choi Kyungman looked over the photos again, in case his eyes were playing tricks on him. But he was right; there was nothing special about this guy."Tsk. Who the fuck is this guy?"------Lee Jiwon''s letters of recommendation were removed from his application and resume by Kim Jongmin of the HR team before anyone else on the team learned about them. Lee Jiwon''s specialties were also all erased completely, which was why Choi Kyungman, Lee Weechul, and Jin Sungyul, who had just committed a felony, did not know about Lee Jiwon''s uniqueness.------"Hmph, Sunbin needs to keep their people on a shorter leash." I heard everything he and his friend were talking about. The auditorium was pretty noisy with everyone worrying about the coming interviews, but I could hear what he was saying as if he was right next to me. I didn''t mind all the insults he threw my way, since I had insulted him first by looking down on and ignoring him. I mean, I only did it because of the distance between our statuses.I just didn''t like how easily my personal information was leaked. I wasn''t embarrassed about my orphaned past or my education, but he found out without my permission. Besides, I wasn''t really an orphan.Then, as I was thinking of ways to punish this Choi Kyungman guy, the doors to the auditorium opened and a group of people walked in. From their confident gaits, I could tell that they weren''t interviewees. Soon, one of them walked up to the podium on the stage and addressed us."Uh, hello everyone. My name is Kim Jongmin of the Sunbin Group''s HR team. I would like to first off thank everyone for putting in the great effort to wish to work at our company. I sincerely hope everyone gets to pass so I can become everyone''s respectable sunbae. Don''t worry, I promise I won''t become your slave driver."Laughter echoed from the interviewees at Kim Jongmin''s small joke. It was probably the reaction he wanted."I will now explain how the interview process will work. The interviews will take place at the meeting room next door and teams of five will enter at a time. Each team will take at most thirty minutes. So, that should be about five to six minutes per person. So, you all can relax. Even if anyone makes a mistake, none of the interviewers will tear you apart. Just make sure to answer the questions as best you can so that you won''t regret anything. Now then, we will begin with the first team in ten minutes. Numbers 1 to 5, please stand up and follow us¡­." ____________________________________________Author''s comments:I decided to end the story with the previous chapter. But then, I found myself starting the third and final arc to the story. I was going to dive deeper into Lee Jiwon''s life as a salaryman, his journey up the corporate ladder and about his love life with Song Haein, then how he tackled Earth''s problem¡­But then, I realized that it would just drag the story along too much. So, I made the decision to end it here and scrapped everything else. This part of the story was going to take place in a completely different timeline and world. Honestly, if I had decided to keep going, the story arcs would have looked something like this:Otadolon EarthThe Judge''s ContinentKeeper of TerraI didn''t really want to end it just like that. If I was going to keep going, I would have had to continue the story into a fourth arc and actually have to take Lee Jiwon into the Mamon stage. I had to convince myself to just scrap it and start a new, fresh story.Seriously, had I added the chapter above, the story really would have gone into a third arc.Basso77_______________________And so the novel ends. Thanks to all our readers from me, RED, the editor, and HunterW, your translator for these 300 chapters of the Novel. I hope you enjoyed them for what they are, and didn''t hold the lucky, not-so-bright MC, against us.Hunter is going to be taking up real life, so he probably won''t be translating another novel in the short term. It has been my pleasure to work with him, and I wish him best of luck in his new career of court recording/translating in the Santa Barbara area! Perhaps he''ll take up the pen for some beer and pretzel money in the future.If you want another novel to peruse, I''m posting an original I update a chapter a day, The Power of Ten: Sama Rantha. Check it out if you like some video game in your fantasy novels!Sincerely,RED