Category: I Never Run Out of Mana

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72. The Land Where None Have Stepped On (2)

The dungeon I entered was like a track field covered in a layer of snow.

The walls and ceiling too. It was almost as if someone painted everything in pure white.

It was to the point where it was hard to believe that any monsters were in here.

I couldn’t even tell where it ended.

Since the walls and floor wasn’t distinctly separated, I wouldn’t be able to tell that this was the entrance without touching the wall behind me.

-CRASH!

-BOOM! BOOM!

I spammed fire attribute magic such as Explosion and Meteor around the entrance.

It served the same purpose as the bread crumbs in Hansel and Gretel.

Soot and blackened dirt were left at the entrance because I really did think I could possibly lose my way in this dungeon.

The current situation was that I had zero intel on this level 34 portal.

Firstly, I headed towards the 9 o’clock bearing relative to the entrance in order to check the strength of the monsters.

Since it was highly dangerous to run forward recklessly and aggro a bunch of monsters to herd them before taking them down without a plan, I planned to check the strength of the monsters before coming up with a course of action.

Casting the instant cast Explosion around me, I continued forward.

It was also to confirm one end of this dungeon, where a wall would be.

-BOOM!

“Hm? Did I already reach it?”

It didn’t even take 3 minutes before Explosion is burning on the wall in front of me.

Despite being only a short distance and time, I wondered how come I didn’t see a single monster.

I guess the level 18 dungeon was similar with the griffon and poison naga, only 20 monsters or so appearing inside the dungeon.

My suspicion lasted only a moment, and I continued to head deeper into the dungeon.

****

Towards 12 o’clock. Then turning to 3 o’clock.

Like that, I went full circle back to the marked entrance after covering a square piece of the dungeon.

Despite going in a circle for 15 minutes, not only did I not see a single monster, but I couldn’t even hear their howling either.

I felt like something was off.

“Perhaps…..”

The worry I felt made me wonder if it was possible for the monsters to be stealthed.

Because of that, I’ve been casting single fire magic continuously until now.

All the stealth skills used by the Awakened become undone when hit by attacks or the duration runs out.

The monsters up to now haven’t used any stealth skills, but I didn’t know what could happen here.

I casted Eye of Insight.

“I had my doubts, but it’s true.”

The center of the dungeon.

A lot of red dots were there.

Eye of Insight showed stealthed targets, but when used on monsters, it also showed their weaknesses.

All those red spots that I could see must be their weaknesses displayed to me.

And since they were stealthed, their form would become visible to me as well.

I ran forward to the center where they were gathered.

In the center, monsters were moving in pairs of 2 to 3.

They didn’t move in any predictable patterns, resembling feathers swaying in the wind.

I looked at them carefully.

“What should I call them…?”

Keeping a sufficient amount of distance, the form I gazed upon was something so vague that it was hard to describe with words.

It didn’t have a solid form, and it was hard to call it a lifeform of any kind.

If I have to put it into words, something that looks similar to the oval portal I’ve entered through?

Yeah. They looked like sky blue pastel colored portals, floating in the air.

I couldn’t feel any threatening pressure from them.

On top of that, they seemed to go along with the dungeon’s background so well that I felt like they were ornaments.

The red dots were on the center of their bodies.

It was the weakness that the Eye of Insight was showing me.

If I focused my attacks on that location, I should be able to take them down faster.

“Shall I see how well you fight?”

I casted Lightning Spray towards 3 monsters separated from the main group.

-ZAAP!

Lightning Spray hit dead center.

The enormous amount of electricity not only hit them, but was flowing through them.

However, it didn’t seem that it took much damage.

Afterwards, they began to head towards me.

However, they moved at speeds far slower than what anyone could have imagined.

They flew towards me at the speed of a trolley.

Every time they moved, they gave off a static like sound that would get on one’s nerves.

Looking at how they moved, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not sure who made you, but they must’ve dozed off when they did.”

They had finally arrived near me.

Then.

-ZAAP!

“What the!”

My Mana Shield shook violently.

A massive amount of electricity had poured towards me.

It was the exact same Lightning Spray that I had casted moments ago.

Also, its form was that of a level 200 Lightning Spray.

“It copies the attack it receives?”

Unless they copied an attack that was beyond ranking, it wouldn’t go through Mana Shield.

To understand more about them, I began to follow up with stronger attack skills.

I used Explosion and Holy Missile once each on them.

-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

 

The result was the same.

They fired back the attack they received.

“You passed up to A ranking single fire attacks. How about this one?”

The surround area was covered in a transparent fire.

Perfect for disposing corpses… I mean, a high damage spell called Fire Shock.

The egotistical lizardmen that possessed immunity towards physical damage and even a little magical resistance had received massive amounts of damage by Fire Shock.

However, not only did they received it with their whole body, but they were absorbing it, making some kind of screeching scream.

“KEERIIICK!”

“Oho? Looks like this one hurt? And their size shrunk a bit.”

Their height, which was similar to mine, seemed to shrink by a bit.

It seemed that the more damage they took, the smaller they became.

“So they aren’t able to reflect attacks beyond A ranking AoE attack ski-…”

-WOOSH!

As if making fun of me and ignoring my words, massive amounts of fire poured down on me.

“Aren’t they a taunting bunch? I don’t think I’ll be satisfied until I crush them. Time to stop playing around. It’s time for total annihilation!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

My strongest attack skill, Meteor Call. I spammed it down on them.

The pure white dungeon was covered in black flames.

Everywhere, chunks of the intense flames were scattered about.

“KE-KE-KEERICK.”

Once again, they emitted a sound similar to that of mice.

Around 6 to 7 Meteors later, their sizes shrunk to that of peas.

My guess was that the next Meteor would be the last one I needed to cast before they were annihilated.

-CRASH!

Just as I predicted, they returned 3 times the amount of presents I gave them.

My Mana Shield shook more than any attack I’ve received with it so far.

Mana Shield depleted mana instead of health equivalent to the damage taken.

It was okay because my mana was infinite, but if it wasn’t, even Yoon Jong-sun would be annihilated on the spot if he was to receive this kind of attack.

The damage from the level 200 Meteor Call that hasn’t existed in this world before was absolutely insane after all.

Then.

[Experience 2,000,000 obtained.]

[Experience 2,000,000 obtained.]

[Experience 2,000,000 obtained.]

“Wait. Why are there so many zeroes? One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand……. Millions?”

“Wait a min. How many are there?”

Roughly 30 red dots were present.

Each gave out 2,000,000 experience?

60,000,000 experience if I get all the monsters in the dungeon?

I remembered the saying ‘The dungeon is large and the experience is amazing.’

Currently my level was 315.

Like a snowball rolled atop of a hill adding up as it went down, the experience pool I required to level had reached to the point of requiring 230,000,000.

However, each time I defeat all the monsters in here, I gain 60,000,000.

Thus, I would be able to level up once by clearing this dungeon 4 times.

“Guess I’m not sleeping today.”

****

I defeated all the monsters inside and exited.

All of them were gathered in the center.

When I cleared the dungeon, an exit had appeared in the center of the dungeon.

I saw Jong Ho and Ho Jin sitting in front of the portal, letting out smoke from their cigars.

Seeing me appear, Jong Ho fanned away the smoke with his hand and spoke.

“Came out faster than I expected.”

“What. Why do you sound like you weren’t worried at all?”

“Huh! What are you saying. I was definitely worried.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Hey! I was very worried for the monsters inside. The monster butcherer had entered, so how could I not be worried for them?”

“Hohoho. I was also hoping that you wouldn’t be covered in too much blood as well when you came out.”

“I didn’t do that. Not at all! Also, the dungeon here is a lot cleaner than I thought.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Not a drop of blood even after hitting the monsters until they are annihilated. And of course, they still drop bloodstones.”

“Oho… How are the monsters? Do you think they’ve become a lot stronger?”

“Hm… I think it’ll be best if you two come in first and see for yourselves.”

Taking a step backwards, Ho Jin spoke.

“… Do I have to go as well?”

“Of course mister, you have to come as well!”

“Then… let me make one phone call to someone at home… Ahh!”

I pulled Jong Ho and Ho Jin by their hands.

Since the portal was cleared already, the shape was changed to that of a dungeon entrance.

However, I could enter it right away since there was no intercom or a fingerprint scanner I’d have to go through.

It was equivalent to a theme park that didn’t require an entry ticket.

Just like that, the three of us entered.

****

“Is this okay like this?”

“My words…..”

“Did you level up a lot?”

“After 27 years, I have reached level 100.”

“Oh! I just hit level 100 as well.”

In just 3 hours, both mid-level 80s had reached level 100.

Despite the experience being split between three people, each clear gave 20,000,000.

20,000,000 experience every 10 min. It was an amount that was hard to believe even for me, so I was wondering how these two felt.

Looking at how these two were staring blankly into space as if they had lost all awareness, I had a feeling that I understood a little bit.

“Hey. Min-Cheol. You told us to stay put so I’m doing that but I have to ask. I only see the explosive Meteors and I don’t see anything, but why are we obtaining a ridiculous amount of experience?”

“Same here. I can’t see the monsters.”

“The monsters here are stealthed. Even if I use Eye of Insight, hyung and mister aren’t able to see them.”

“A monster that uses stealth? But it looks like you’re the only one attacking. Aren’t these monsters weak?”

“Ah, that’s probably because you can only see the Meteor. They perfectly copy the skills I use and return the attack. Even the skill level is copied.”

“Wow… If I get closer to spectate, I don’t think I could stand up due to my fear.”

“Right. Mister! You said that you would call your wife?”

“Ah. Nope. No news is good news.”

“Pfft. Since you already came out all the way here with me, collect some rewards before you go.”

“I’m always thankful. But Min-Cheol, I don’t think I can pass this up.”

“I-I will also be in your care for a bit.”

“Now you two sound like real people! Let’s go!”

Just like that, a crazy leveling spree unlike anything in the world began.

---

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71. The Land Where None Have Stepped On

-yawn~

-CRASH!

-CRACK!

“KWAAAKK!”

The continued clears of the level 28 dungeon made me yawn.

The anxiety I had before was nowhere to be found.

It was a sad story for the lizardmen that were being annihilated without a trace before me, but it was at the point where it was annoying me.

They were being evaporated instantly by the constant barrage of level 200 Meteors.

With just Mana Shield, I didn’t even need to think about defending.

It was as if I went back to the past to solve math problems at elementary school.

I was obtaining sufficient amounts of experience, but I wasn’t satisfied with just this.

Humans are a type of animal that constantly seeks new and thrilling experiences.

And soon, I’d have to return to school.

My time for hunting would decrease.

That was why I felt greed for something beyond the level 28 dungeon.

Despite the time required to hunt decreasing, I was searching for something that would let me grow even faster.

After I finished hunting, I was planning to head to the succubi dungeon where Jong Ho and Ho Jin were waiting.

There was something I wanted to ask the two of them.

Recently, I had visited the level 30 dungeon.

I already knew that physical attacks do not affect monsters in the level 28 to level 30 dungeons.

Mankind had made it to the level 30 dungeon where magical attacks still worked.

Perhaps my hopes were too high, but it was a huge letdown.

The number of monsters, drops, and even experience were all less than the level 28 dungeon despite the monsters being bigger and stronger.

I learned the reason why magician rankers preferred the level 28 dungeon.

Thus I planned to go to dungeons level 31 and beyond.

If possible, a dungeon level 34 and above where magic attacks worked!

Humankind had set up dungeons up to level 32, so there was a lot of information regarding the monsters and drops for them.

However, there was no information regarding all the dungeons beyond that, no, even on the portals beyond that.

I was taking the first step into uncharted territory that no one has been to before.

****

I poured the blood stones that filled my backpack into the counter machine.

In just a single day, I had gathered this much.

To avoid suspicion, I went through many different stores.

By the time I returned to the first store I visited, I could tell that a month had passed.

While selling Awakened essences, something of interest occurred.

“Guess it’s bothersome to visit every day?”

“Yes. It’s a lot more convenient to sell a month’s worth in one go.”

“A lot of people do that. Here. The statement of accounts.”

“Thank you. By the way, do you sell anything similar to a marble?”

“A marble….”

I was trying to obtain information regarding the transparent marble.

Even Ho Jin, who had been in the association for a long time, could not obtain information regarding it.

With the help of his ex-subordinate, he said that he was continuing to look through the files.

After a long period of thinking, the store owner opened his mouth.

“Are you talking about the stat resetting marble?”

“Oh? Can you show it to me?”

“Whew. Despite running this shop here for 22 years, I have never seen it myself. It does exist, but it’s so rare that it might as well not exist.”

‘Is it like a girlfriend or something?’

Immediately I searched for stat resetting marble on my smartphone.

However, I was disappointed by the few images that appeared.

From the search result, all it showed was a marble with a deep shade of purple.

“Ah… is there anything else than this?”

“Yes. From what I know, there isn’t anything else like it.”

“I understand. Farewell then.”

“Yes. Come back soon.”

While I was heading to the succubi dungeon, I was fumbling with the marble in my pocket.

I had even thought about just consuming it.

However, it could be something that Joker planned to use to suicide so he could avoid interrogation by torture.

My bet was that it was for some kind of recovery buff, but until I had reliable information, I couldn’t just put it in my mouth.

On top of that, it could be something that you don’t eat.

“Today’s a dead end too.”

While taking in the fresh night air, I arrived at the dungeon.

Despite how late it was, many warrior class Awakened were gathered.

Of course, a few of the royalty tanker and healer classes were there too. ¹

Far away, I could spot Jong Ho and Ho Jin walking together towards me.

“What’s up!”

“Yo! Hyung! Hello mister.”

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yes. Shall we go to a deserted location first?”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

“Hey, do you not even wear armor while you hunt now?”

Looking around my surroundings, I answered with a whisper.

“I don’t even need to in the level 28 dungeon. Does hyung or mister want to wear it instead?”

“Aigo, no way. You’ll be going to places beyond that soon.”

“I’ll pass as well.”

I found myself thinking that these two are similar to the point of being scary.

It was almost like a union of the sweet potatoes.

One good thing out of this was that it seemed neither of them would get tired of each other’s personalities.

We headed for what has now become our base of operations, the midget’s office.

****

“Dark Lady……”

The radical faction’s overboss, Zekill.

He spoke as he pressed firmly on his temples.

In front of him stood Dark Lady, who had taken the first place in the radical faction in the struggle for dominance with the success of the portal explosion experiment.

At Zekill’s call was the immediately reply of Dark Lady.

“Yes!”

“Have you not found Joker’s whereabouts yet?”

“Yes. He left on a personal errand and has not established contact as of yet. It’s been that way for a while.”

“What’s the chance that Joker has been done in by someone?”

“Highly unlikely. For someone like Joker who has that much power, it would take a majority of the association’s ranker hunters to take him down. Without that much manpower being deployed, it would be too difficult to fight against him. But from what I learned, the association has not made any moves.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes. The association’s president himself has reported to me.”

“I see.”

“There is one thing I am suspicious of…..”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been using Necklace of Searching that I own every three hours in an attempt to locate Joker.”

“…..”

“However, Joker was not found. Even until now, after I’ve used up all the Necklace of Searching, not once was he found.”

Necklace of Searching.

It was a single use equipment that when worn, it would locate the Awakened that the user thought of on a map.

With a ridiculously low drop rate and a onetime use restriction on it, it was an item with an enormous value.

There was a skill in the executioner class that gave off the same effect, but the class was incredibly rare and the mana expenditure was incredibly high, so it was rarely used.

As if annoyed by her talks that danced around the main point, Zekill raised his voice and asked.

“So what are you trying to say!”

“As I have told you, the chance that Joker was done in by someone is zero. The only possibility left would be…”

“Are you saying that he went in there?”

“Yes. That’s correct. Looking at the current situation so far, there is no other explanation.”

A dungeon and portal that’s completely in another world.

If he was in another world, it was impossible for any skill or item to pinpoint his location.

Restraining his boiling temper, Zekill quietly muttered to himself.

“What were you thinking, Joker…..”

“…..”

“Did he tell you that he was heading there?”

“No. I’ve heard no such thing.”

“Damn… I’ll order Ghost to supply you with more Necklaces of Searching. Continue so that you can locate his position.”

“Yes, Lord Zekill!”

“Despite the additional task, do not stray away from the current project at hand.”

“Of course.”

“Dark Lady… Soon, the world will change. To the new world that’s approaching, I will not forget your accomplishments towards it.”

Finishing the conversation, Zekill headed for the Warp that was formed in the corner of Dark Lady’s home office.

Until Zekill’s form completely disappeared, Dark Lady did not raise her head and continued to pay her respects.

‘Joker… You fool. Was all you could think to do was to go in there?’

****

At last, we arrived at the midget’s office.

It seemed that there was not a better place to talk in secret than here.

Three men were laid back in a relaxed manner on the sofa.

After taking a rare break, I spoke first.

“A level 34 would be difficult, right?”

“Yikes! Why are you saying that suddenly?”

“Well, I’m trying to find a location that would help me grow stronger faster than the level 28 dungeon.”

“But why are you trying to suddenly skip all the way to a level 34 dungeon?”

“I own way more magic skills than physical attack skills. Also the area of effect is far larger, and the damage is superior.”

“Even so, there are only dungeons up to level 32. Isn’t that true, mister?”

“Ah… That’s right. Humankind has only set up dungeons up to level 32 portals.”

“I already know that. But there has to be portals even if there are no dungeons. Doesn’t it work out if I clear those portals and turn them into dungeons?”

“Whew. You’re a scary one. You’re right, but it’s probably going to be very difficult to find such a portal. There’s no way that portals that hid for 34 years are common.”

“Hm… Unless it’s in the abyss of the sea or deep in the mountains, it would be difficult to find, right?”

“With all that you’ve done, now you want to dive and hike to hunt?”

“Guess I have to go all the way to Yangpyeong to search….”

It was then. I saw a crafty look in Ho Jin’s eyes.

It was definitely a look that said that he knew something.

I faced towards Ho Jin and gave him the expression of a child looking at cotton candy.

“Mister! You do know something, right?”

“Aigo, guess I wasn’t able to hide my facial expression.”

“Do you know? Where a level 34 portal would be?”

“Hoho. Just as you’ve guessed, I do know the location of a level 34 portal. I’ve seen it reported in a classified document that can be only accessed by department heads and above.”

“Oho. Where would that be?”

“The place you mentioned before, in Yangpyeong.”

“As expected. That’s why the citizens were evacuated and the association building was put out of commission?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”
“Hyung, do you have a lot of fuel in the car?”

“Hey! I’m aging because of you. Alright, let’s get going.”

“I’ll go home real quick to equip my gear and come back.”

****

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

We’ve arrived at Yangpyeong. In front of us was an abandoned mine shaft.

The entrance of the mine was completely blocked off by someone’s previous efforts.

Without any hesitation, I pried open the entrance.

-CREEEAK!

It was an incredibly thick sheet of sturdy metal, but for me, it was as difficult as folding paper.

Since I needed to repair it later as to not leave any traces, I pried it just enough to get through.

Jong Ho’s car was covered with a black sheet as to hide it, and we continued forward.

“Let’s go!”

“Yep. Come back soon.”

“Hoho……”

“Huh? Please accompany me at least to the interior of the mine. It’s dark and scary.”

“Ah. Alright. We can do that.”

“Mister, hyung, let’s go.”

“Yes. Let’s do so.”

The moment Ho Jin and Jong Ho entered the mine shaft…

-CREEEAK!

“Hey! Why are you closing that!”

“Kuku. Since we all came here already, the three of us should go together.”

“This is crazy. Really.”

It didn’t take long after entering the abandoned mine shaft to find the portal.

An oval shaped purple portal. There were exactly 34 growth rings. Thus, it was definitely a level 34 portal.

Lastly, I opened up my status window to check on my equipment.

“I’ll go in first. Since we don’t have any information, it could be dangerous.”

“Isn’t it dangerous for you too?”

“I’ll probably be fine?”
“Well, I admit you probably would be. Be careful though.”

“Yes.”

-whoosh

“Oho…. Looks like it’ll be a good time?”

---

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70. Loot from Joker Hunting(?)

Ending the call with Jong ho, I took a moment to re-organize my thoughts.

I had arrived at Yangpyeong’s association building late at night.

After the battle with Joker, it had already become dusk.

A cloudless greyish blue sky.

It wasn’t quite winter yet, slightly making my breath foggy.

“Shall I get going?”

I casted Warp to the midget’s office.

The Warp skill was very useful, connecting any place the caster has been to.

Other than the fact that you can’t go back and forth with one cast, this skill could be considered one of the best skills.

Jong Ho should have arrived there already.

Even during the call with me, it sounded as though he was getting ready to leave.

Picking up the loot that I got from Joker, I jumped into the warp spell.

****

I always conjure the warp gate in a small storage room next to the bathroom.

The feeling I get as I step through the gate is like this.

It’s that feeling you get when you put your foot out, thinking that there is another step to the stairs you are climbing.

It’s a strange and dizzy feeling that’s hard to describe.

And then my view changes to where I wanted to go.

The midget felt my presence and spoke to Jong Ho.

“Looks like he’s here?”

“Is that the room?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

-click

Jong Ho couldn’t wait and opened the door.

The sight before him wasn’t the same as when I left for Yangpyeong.

Places where my armor didn’t cover my body were covered in terrible scars.

I treated the wounds with the low ranking Heal, but it wasn’t possible to completely recover.

On top of that, the Lich King armor set that was originally black was glowing red as if someone stamped me with a red seal.

Probably due to the blood that spilled out from Joker and the avatars hardening on me.

I already cleaned off most of the blood on my face and body.

However, Jong Ho’s eyes were filled with regret and sadness as he looked at me.

Jong Ho couldn’t meet my eyes.

Covering his eyes with his hands, he spoke quietly.

“Holy shit… You’ve been through a lot.”

“Why? Don’t I look okay?”

“No… You look okay. Very okay. Did you finish tending to your wounds?”

“Yes. There’s no bleeding or pain. But…..”

I pulled the gauntlet off my left hand.

Guess the blood didn’t harden properly, because it was pretty sticky.

The hand came out with a sickening sticky sound.

The thumb was cut off, and the index finger was missing entirely.

On top of that, the back of the hand was dug in like a crater, almost to the point where the bones and muscles were showing. A new bright pink flesh was barely covering it.

When I stabbed the sword in Joker and pushed him away, the hand that was closest must’ve blown off.

Showing my left hand to Jong Ho, I gave an awkward smile.

“Somehow it became like this?”

“…..”

“So what happened to the Status Negation ² skill I asked for?”

“Don’t worry, Seokgyu just went out to get it.”

“Aha. It’s been only 10 minutes since I asked for it, I guess?”

“Just in case we can’t get it, I told him that money isn’t the issue and instead get a healer who can cast it, so let’s wait for a bit longer.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“Whew. I can’t look at you. Since there’s hot water here, you should go wash off. While you do that, I’ll go call them.”

“Yes.”

****

“What kind of an office has a shower?”

While grumbling to myself, I cleaned off my body.

The armor that I wore, as well as Joker’s armor and twin swords were taken in.

I wasn’t expecting much from them since Joker had taken my Formless Sword Aura with his body.

The condition of the armor should be its worst state possible especially since it was stabbed and cut through countless times.

However, as if to prove my expectations wrong, the armor didn’t even have a single scratch on it.

Almost as if the armor repaired itself.

I put the armor and the swords in the corner of the shower room.

After changing into the clothes that Jong Ho brought to me, I headed back into the office.

“Are you done cleaning off?”

“Yes. I feel alive now.”

-Yo! Drop the beat. Shake shake~

“Wait a minute.”

To fill the space that Jong Ho left as he went to take the call, the midget asked me.

“Where did you get a severe wound like this?”

“Ah. While I was hunting, I ran out of mana.”

“Oho.. That could’ve been really bad.”

“Yes.. That’s right.”

“No matter how fast your regen in, you have to be careful.”

“Yes, yes.”

After giving half-baked answers, I ended the conversation with the midget.

Jong Ho was continuing to talk on the phone next to me.

“Yes. Yes. You can come up now.”

By listening in for a bit, I could tell that someone had arrived near here.

‘Has Seokgyu already returned?’

My question didn’t last long.

From the hallway, I could hear urgent footsteps.

The door opened, and in came Ho Jin.

Looking at his face, I felt that I had talent for meeting good people.

Jong Ho and Ho Jin. These two should know what the weapon and armor Joker wore do, shouldn’t they.

There was a high chance that these two would also have information on this transparent pearl.

Well, I could find out about the sword and armor by wearing them myself.

What I was really curious about was the pearl that Joker tried to find desperately.

It was obvious that it had something extraordinary about it.

After he came in, I gave him the look before he could talk to me.

And I guess he could read the situation, because he confirmed that the midget and the employees here were present.

Coming near me and sitting on the sofa, Ho Jin spoke.

“Did the hunt go well?”

“Yes. It was clean. A full clear, and I brought back all the loot.”

“Looking at your wounds, I’m guessing that it wasn’t an easy dungeon.”

“Yes. I was surprised that I made it out alive.”

“You’ve suffered a lot.”

“Yes. Now I think I’m ready to receive it with pride.”

“Ah! The ID, right?”

“Yes. Did you bring it with you?”

“Of course!”

Ho Jin pulled out the ID from his inside pocket.

And with a smile that could brighten up the world, he handed it to me.

“Here.”

“I’m glad that I’m able to receive this.”

“Hoho! You’ve accomplished something very big.”

“I only cleared a dungeon. It’s whatever.”

-click

While in the midst of my conversation with Ho Jin was taking place, Seokgyu, who had left to get the Status Negation, had returned.

It looked as though he wasn’t able to get the skill book.

A man was being guided in.

The man looked to be blind.

Even while holding onto Seokgyu’s hand, he was using the other hand to fumble around with the wall.

“Due to today being a market day³, there isn’t any items on the market. So I brought someone who can cast it instead.”

“Sorry to call you past midnight. It must be hard on you.”

“Oh. It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

The healer Seokgyu came in together with spoke.

“Who will be the one receiving treatment?”

“Ah! That would be me.”

“How long since the injury?”

“Hm… Around 4 hours ago.”

“As you can tell, I cannot see, so it is difficult for me to revert special injuries. Because of that, I’ll be casting Status Negation to the time before you received the injury. Is that okay?”

“Yes. Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Then…..”

****

Status Negation could be used once every 24 hours.

Matching the long cool down, the effect was satisfying.

Just like how I received treatment from Park Hyun before, my body recovered to its state 4 hours ago.

Noticing how their duty was fulfilled, the midgets and the employees left the office while handing me the keys.

The midget had quite the good sense to have everyone leave with him, noticing that the others still had more to talk about.

The office now only had Jong Ho, Ho Jin and me in it.

I put the weapon and armor that I took from Joker on the table with a clatter.

It was expected that they would be very surprised when they’re explaining the items to me.

But.

“What is this? Armor?”

“Is this what you got from Joker?”

‘Huh? This isn’t what I was expecting?’

They were asking me with eyes that told me they’ve never seen these items before.

“Is this the first time you two are seeing something like this?”

“Yep.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I can find out by wearing these. What about this?”

I put the marble on the table. ⁴

Looking at it again from a brightly lit area, it really was a very transparent marble, almost to the point where you couldn’t recognize its shape unless the light reflected off of it.

Both their gazes shifted to the marble.

However, neither of them was talking.

“This as well… Is it the first time you’re seeing this?”

“I think they sell a lot of them at the stationery store.”

“Hoho. I used to fight a lot with this when I was young. The fond memories are coming back to me”

‘No! You people, I didn’t bring this here so you can relive your fond memories!’

“Hyung. You don’t know? And you too, mister?”

Jong Ho flung the marble while speaking.

“It’s just a marble.”

“Same here. It looks just like that, nothing more.”

It appeared that I wouldn’t be getting any information.

I stood up and put on the armor as I explained.

“This is a marble that I took from Joker. He used it when he was about to die… Woah!”

“What? Why are you suddenly doing that?”

“What is this!”

“What’s the matter?”

Wearing the armor, I couldn’t help but be astonished.

It was because of the armor’s ability.

I couldn’t help but stare at my status window blankly for a while.

 

Level: 301

Exp: [11%]

Class: Magician

Special Trait: Mana does not run out.

Strength: 610+300

Mana: ∞

Dexterity: 10+300

Stamina: 910+300

All damage taken reduced by 40%.

“N-No way.”

Look at this crazy armor.

Not only did it raise all stats by 300, but it also reduced all damage taken by 40%.

It wasn’t as if I was wearing a full armor set, but this was happening all from a single piece of armor.

Even during Fire Shock’s intense flames, this armor survived while everything else was disintegrated into oblivion.

Still, to be this good.

It had the capability of wearing the full Lich King armor set, which included the helm and a full suit of armor.

‘If this armor piece was part of a set, I had to obtain them no matter what.’

If I put this unknown Joker’s armor with Lich King set’s helm, and then add the Lizardman Gauntlet?

It would be 60% physical resistance with 80% magic resistance.

The reason Joker was able to last so long despite putting all his points into strength was probably due to this armor’s amazing capabilities.

Calming down, I spoke.

“Hyung. Mister.”

“What? What’s up?”

“Did the recovery not go as planned?”

“This armor gives 300 points to all stats and has a 40% damage reduction.”

“Hey. This guy is joking around the moment he comes back to life. You goofball!”

“Despite working for the association for 20 years, I never heard of such powerful defensive equipment.”

“It’s hard for me to believe too, but it’s the truth.”

****

Since they didn’t believe till the end, I ended up lending the armor for them to wear.

Only after that did Jong Ho and Ho Jin had their mouths opened in awe.

Due to the expectations from the armor piece set, I excitedly held the twin sword.

But despite holding onto Joker’s twin sword, no stat points rose.

It wasn’t just for me, but the same case for these two sitting next to me.

It was just like when I tried to learn the skill beyond ranking and it didn’t respond.

I asked Jong Ho and Ho Jin to find information regarding the twin sword and marble.

If it’s these two, they should be able to ask around to find something at least similar to these.

I got lucky killing Joker and now I had this armor in my possession.

As I promised myself before when I steeled my resolve, I was going to get stronger to the point where it I can beat luck itself.

I had just barely gone over this mountain called Joker just now.

With this ID that would let me in anywhere and the fly that was bothering me gone, I was going to focus only on hunting.

“From tomorrow on, it’s hunting time!”

---

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69. Final Battle with Joker (3)

-BOOM!

Almost as if his body was a bomb, he exploded.

The impact was strong enough to not only destroy the floor, but all the walls of the battlefield.

After the explosion, I looked far worse off than the battlefield.

My left arm, as well as my body that I turned away were ripped in half and blown away from the explosion.

The Lizardmen Gauntlet was sprawled out on the floor.

On top of that, the nape of my neck was branded with an unknown symbol.

‘Damn it…..’

It was a special ability from the executioner’s class that Joker possessed, known as ‘Isolation’.

Unlike what I heard from Jin, I was anxious because he wasn’t using his ability.

I was even looking down on him because I thought his attacks only reached at this level even with the ability.

But who knew he’d select his target for the ability like this.

Isolation, an ability that increased damage taken by the target. It was an ability that shined even more during 1v1s.

There aren’t many who could receive this kind of explosion and his attacks with the ability.

A massive ringing filled my ears.

Also.

“Urrgh!”

A pain filled moan came out naturally.

In my vision, now filled with splatters of red, Joker was slowly regenerating himself.

His form that had exploded was slowly coming back together, similar to the liquid human from terminator.

I had my Mana Shield, with 2 ranking shields casted on top of them.

It could’ve been a skill beyond ranking, but the self-destruct could only be explained by the passive he had.

It happened while I was casting heal on myself.

Perhaps he had recovered fully already, he began to mock me in a smug tone.

“Kuha! To think I’d have to use Isolation.”

“Urgh! I really stepped on shit this time.”

“It looks like you’re in a lot of pain. Yes.. that expression. That expression is the one that suits you the best!”

“…ugh, ur….”

‘Just a few fingers blown off… I can recover using Status Denial after I beat him down and leave… For now, let’s focus on recovering. No, first I have to prepare against his attacks.’

Continuing to cast Heal, I picked up the gauntlet and Banwol Jincheon that fell to the floor.

The bleeding nearly stopped, but the damage would take a long time to heal with a recovery skill that was of low ranking like Heal.

Even during the fight against Park Hyun where my stomach was cut open from an attack by Jin, it didn’t take this long to recover.

Perhaps it was due to the attack being used with his ability?

The gauntlet that I put my hand back in was giving off an emerald hue, mixing with the blood that was still smearing out.

-Drip. Drip.

Pain continued from the hand that held the sword.

Think about it. Despite not realizing the importance of it, just how much you’d be distracted even from a small papercut.

Now you know how important it is.

However, right now my fingers weren’t cut or ripped off, but blown off.

The overwhelming pain was enough to break my concentration.

-Stomp. Stomp.

Joker was walking towards me with his dual swords pulled out.

It’s already been a while ago since the cuts on his neck and shoulder were gone without a trace.

Even the damage from the Formless Sword Aura that he took with his whole body was gone.

I needed to buy time to recover.

Since he was going to attack again, I needed to get away from him.

If I could disappear from his sight completely so I can buy time to heal my wounds, there would be another chance.

A skill that’s perfect for this situation exists.

‘Mass Stealth Jutsu.’

Instantly, I disappeared from view.

Quickly, I casted Flash and hid myself in a corner of the ruined battlefield.

I even used Silent to hide the sound of my breathing.

Mana Shield and Reflect Shield.

I used one hand for Heal while keeping a lookout for him.

Looking at the spot where I was before, he mumbled to himself.

“Stealth… and he covered up the sound he makes.”

“Ugh.”

“At this rate, it would be difficult to find him. But…”

Joker had a smile on his face.

Almost like a predator that found its prey drinking water by the pond without any suspicion.

Once more, red smoke began to rise from his body.

Then closing his eyes, he spoke.

“But you know. Guess you don’t have any skills to cover up this heavy scent of blood. Oraa!”

-SLICE!

He turned his body towards the exact location I was stealthed at, throwing both the twin swords at me.

As the swords left his hands, it was covered in dark red flames, flying straight towards me.

It didn’t have any spin and it didn’t shake in the slightest, as the throw had an incredible amount of speed and power.

At this rate, it was going to skewer me before I had time to even prepare to react.

It would be over in a moment.

Both of his twin swords arrived right in front of my eyes.

Looking at the swords, I froze.

Even my eyes that should’ve automatically closed due to reflex stayed open.

There’s a saying that before you die, the life you lived comes all back to you in a flash.

I realized that it was true.

It was a short life of 18 years, but all the memories I lived began to pass me right before my eyes.

All the way up until the last film of a movie projector.

It was vivid, almost as if I was viewing from the sidelines.

As I returned to the present hoping that my situation had changed, I felt more hopeless than before.

Almost as if it was a slow motion video, Joker’s swords clashed with my shields.

Who would have known that this weak looking weapon toss skill would be a skill beyond ranking.

Without being able to resist at all, my Mana Shield crumpled.

Almost as if fighting to be the first, both twin swords came in at the same time.

And finally.

“……”

Without realizing, I had closed my eyes, thinking that this was the end. However, much time had passed.

One thing that consoled me was that the swords impaling my head would hurt less than my fingers did right now, but I had to accept that this was death.

Guess it’s true about what they say, that death’s door closes the slowest.

I heard a noise from where Joker was at.

“URRRK!”

‘Is that his disgusting laugh again? I had to kill him at least before dying….’

“KUUUHHH!”

‘He’s being really lou…. Wait! That’s not the sound of laughter?’

After accepting my end and letting everything go, now I gathered my resolve once more.

The pain I felt through the end of my hand. And the vivid sounds of his screams.

Opening my eyes, what I saw was enough to surprise me.

Both his twin swords had pierced his chest, straight through his heart.

With his face contorted, I saw Joker screaming as he tried to pull out the swords.

Each time he pulled at the hooked swords, sticky blood spurted out like a fountain.

It was a stupid thought, but just a moment ago, I thought I was dead for sure.

But how did it come to this.

Suddenly an idea came to me.

That was it.

“Reflect Shield…..”

That’s right. The skill he used on me was blocked by the counter effect from the Reflect Shield.

The attack had flown back towards him.

Since it was a level 200 Reflect Shield, the reflection chance was 50%.

The reflected damage was 70%.

He probably attacked me while using his Isolation ability, so the attack did twice the damage.

Not knowing that it would come back to him, that is.

It didn’t matter how this situation came to be, because it was my chance.

The pain from my fingers? Pain from my charred blown up body?

I didn’t feel anything from these petty injuries.

Another chance had found me.

Firstly, I had to finish off Joker, who was critically wounded.

“Oraaa!”

I cast an attack buff.

Due to the attack I received, Louver’s Bracelet was fully charged for an empowered skill.

Dashing towards him, I began to throw out my Formless Sword Aura.

Pulling out his swords from his body, Joker began to swing his swords wildly.

Due to the extended fight, it appeared that he was running out of mana.

He wasn’t even using the most basic executioner class skill that strengthened his body.

He was only swinging his swords with just his bare strength.

I wasn’t sure if it was only due to chance, but he was blocking few of the invisible Formless Sword Aura attacks.

Each time he moved though, Joker was bleeding out more and more.

Some time passed like that.

“Huff… Huff. You dare! Someone like you!”

His breathing was heavy.

I wasn’t sure if he was screaming or roaring, but his loud voice filled the battlefield.

He had already received several Formless Sword Aura attacks with his body.

Blood leaked out from in between his grey armor, forming a pool on the floor.

His eyes were already unfocused and body limp, and he was no longer capable of combat.

Despite all that, he still held his sword and continued to stumble towards me.

-slice!

In one swing, I cut his arm that held the twin swords.

His arm, as well as the sword that was held, clattered to the floor.

Joker was trying to put his remaining arm into his armor.

Was it his last attempt? It looked as though he was trying to find something.

“Tenacious bastard.”

“Ku… Kuuk…. I, to be defeated by the likes of you….”

“A class and ability that are specialized in killing people. I shouldn’t stay alive.”

“It’s not over y…”

-slice!

-thud

The crescent Banwol Jincheon cleanly separated his head from his body.

Blood spilled forth from his neck, and the head had a twisted expression as it collided on the ground.

There was no information I needed from him.

To be honest, he probably had lots of information.

But I didn’t want to hear anything from him anymore.

The rage I felt against him suddenly blew up.

And that’s how Joker died.

****

I covered Joker’s corpse with Fire Shock.

It was to make sure that no evidence remained.

Even if this was a restricted area that no longer gets visitors, it didn’t hurt to be thorough.

Meteor gave out very powerful flames, but no skill can compare to this one when it comes to incinerating things to oblivion.

“Whew….”

After getting rid of the evidence, I focused solely on recovery.

Perhaps due to the injury I received being quite serious, a few levels of the Heal spell rose during the process.

The corpse was incinerated without a trace left, with only the grey armor and sword remaining.

The weapon and armor could withstand the fierce flames of Fire Shock.

I was sure that it was worth a vast fortune.

“I’ll take care of them well, Joker.”

It happened when I lifted his armor.

-clang.

Something that was in the armor fell to the floor.

The size was similar to an Awakened Essence, but the shape and color was completely different.

A transparent pearl that was perfectly spherical.

I remembered that Joker was trying to find something with his amputated arm before he died.

I couldn’t help but think that this was what he was looking for.

Since I didn’t know what ability this pearl possessed, I carelessly shoved it into my pocket.

With that, I gathered all the items and exited the association building.

****

“81 missed calls? People would believe it if I told them that this was my lover.”

-riiiiing. riiiiiing.

Even in that short span of time, another call came.

Just as I thought, it was Jong Ho.

“Hel…”

“Hey you! Are you okay?”

“Of course. I’m fine.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Hm…. Status Denial. Can I get it immediately through the midget?”

“What. Is it serious? Where and how is the injury!”

“It’s not that serious. Don’t worry.”

“When will you come back? What about Joker? What happened with Joker?”

“I killed him. In about 10 minutes, I’ll take Warp to get to the midget’s office. I’ll see you there, hyung.”

“Ok. I’ll head there right now and wait for you. You have to come straight away, okay?”

“Yes.”

Ending the call, I was engrossed in my thoughts.

I only survived this battle with pure luck.

It was also pure luck that I won this battle.

A 50% chance to reflect.

If Reflect Shield wasn’t able to successfully counter?

Obviously the role of the winner and loser in this battle would be swapped.

“Luck… I can’t depend on luck for my life.”

I couldn’t hope to get lucky every time.

I needed to obtain more power for the days ahead.

---

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68. Final Battle with Joker (2)

“The kitten has now become the tiger…”

It already has become a habit to cover myself with Mana Shield.

On top of that, Reflect Shield, Frozen Shield, and Spirit Armor encompassed me as well.

There was a gap between my shields due to the cooldown being longer than their duration.

To cover this gap, I was saving Iron Skin and Holy Block.

And if I did receive his attack, Louver’s set should absorb the mana to form a shield.

The gray armor that covered Joker began to emit a glow.

Almost as if his form was boiling, smoke began to rise from him.

The effect must be from an attack buff skill of the executioner class.

Stomping towards me, he spoke.

“I’m relieved that I can take you down now instead of later…”

“You think it’s possible by yourself? You should’ve at least brought one person who could take your corpse.”

“I wonder how long your confidence will last.”

-SLICE!

The shock wave seemed to cut apart the very ground, making my ears ring.

For a second, I could not follow his movements.

In a blink of an eye, his attack struck me.

He was behind me.

However, since my shield seemed fine, I figured it wasn’t an attack that was beyond ranking.

My Mana Shield was quaking like ripples of a pond after a stone was tossed in.

On top of that, with that single attack, Louver’s Bracelet was fully charged.

It was an attack that had its damage reduced by the defensive equipment I wore, which included 40% physical damage reduction and 60% magic damage reduction.

‘Even with the reduction, for the damage to be this much…”

It just showed how much power was behind that attack.

The bracelet glowed blue, almost as if asking me to hurry up and cast an empowered skill.

However, it would be useless as of now against him.

The defensive skill blocked a certain number of attacks, so it wasn’t damage I needed.

“Mana Shield….”

“Oraaaa!”

-BOOM! BOOM!

I spammed Explosion and Holy Shock at him.

I didn’t know how many attacks Dodge Aura could block, but it would eventually wear out.

And my Mana is endless.

However, he was easily avoiding my single cast attacks as if mocking me.

Power and speed.

Having both, it was as if I was looking at a wild beast.

Out of the two Banwol Jincheons that spewed out constant fire, one stopped.

And in a brief moment…

-whoosh

A frozen field enough to cover the entire battlefield formed.

I had cast ‘Glacial Field’.

It doesn’t do a lot of damage, but since it is a wide range magic attack, it should constantly hit him.

To top that off, I used Gravity Laser as well.

Before, when I used it on Jin, the attack was stopped because I could not find his location.

This time however, I used this skill after casting Eye of Insight, so it would hit him even if he went into stealth.

After allowing me to attack him constantly, he suddenly started to move again.

Joker slammed his sword into the ground.

It was as if he was laughing at the attacks coming towards him.

Despite the floor being made of nano material, his swords easily went through.

I guess it’s only possible because he did put all his stats into strength.

After that, Joker pulled his swords out of the ground and put them back into each of their scabbards at his waist.

I didn’t know what skill would be coming out.

It was then.

A dark hole formed behind him.

It looked like a black hole, but didn’t appear to be sucking in anything.

After forming, swords same as the ones he held came out of the hole, floating into formation.

It was an effect just like using Piercing Sword.

Immediately, he raised his hand towards me.

“Take this!”

Receiving his command, the swords poured towards me at a frightening speed.

In an instant, my head began to run at full speed.

It definitely wasn’t a warrior skill.

And it wasn’t amongst the executioner class skills that Jong Ho showed me. I haven’t seen any skills with that kind of effect.

It was highly likely that the skill was beyond ranking.

‘If that’s the case…!’

-CRACK!

Instead of trying to avoid the attack, I cast Iceberg in front of me.

A massive iceberg appeared through the ground below.

The transparent iceberg had become tinted with purple after reaching level 200, and sparkled as if it was chiseled obsidian, blocking the path in front of me.

This skill was definitely for attacking.

The skill explanation even said that it was an A+ ranking attack skill.

But right now, Iceberg was being used to block his attack as a defensive measure.

I understood that a skill’s use wasn’t limited by its rank or type, but the user’s sense of when and where is the right time to use it.

Joker’s attack that flew in began to embed itself into the iceberg.

Its destructive force caused the block of ice that was tough as steel to crumble.

My guess wasn’t wrong.

It was definitely an attack skill beyond ranking.

I stopped my attack to cast an additional Iceberg.

Seeing that his attack became useless due to being blocked, Joker couldn’t contain his rage.

“You little… Where’d you learn such tricks!”

“I think my shield is saying hi to you. What about you?”

“What! AHHH!”

Unsheathing his twin swords, Joker charged again.

Each time his feet struck the ground, I could feel the earth shake.

He allowed me to continue attacking him as he charged towards me.

He charged until he was close to me.

Canceling the shields that ran out of their duration time, I cast Iron Skin and Holy Block.

My grip on the Banwol Jincheons tightened.

He would probably continue sticking onto me at melee range with a close-quarters combat attack.

If that’s the case, I should meet him with my own.

“Come at me!”

‘Piercing Sword’

-CLANG!

Without a doubt, Joker was very powerful.

He was blocking or evading most of the countless swords pouring out.

However, it was near impossible to defend against all of them perfectly.

Like the skill beyond ranking that Joker used, thousands of swords followed my orders and flew at him.

It was enough to wonder if there was a skill better suited to getting rid of his shield.

I was casting Piercing Swords with both hands.

Thanks to Dual Casting, I was able to cast skills with a third hand.

If I gave up on Mana Shield, I should be able to end his life even faster.

However, I was not going to make the same mistake I did before.

I was already pouring a cheat-like attack towards him anyways.

“Let’s see how long you can dodge!”

“You!”

It was then.

‘It pierced!’

The cut from the Banwol Jincheon was left clearly on his shoulder.

Not missing this chance, I stopped casting Piercing Sword from one hand.

Then I cast S ranking attack skill Formless Sword Aura.

Through Formless Sword Aura, I naturally obtained the art of the sword, allowing me to strike down his neck with perfect precision.

Despite the count decreasing by half, it was taking everything Joker had to block Piercing Sword.

“Ku-uck!”

I could feel it through the sword.

It was an attack with enough force easily slices through his hide.

Surprisingly, Joker pulled his body back quickly, preventing the sword from cutting in deep.

However, the important thing wasn’t that I was unable to take him out in one hit.

It was that his Dodge Aura had run out of dodges.

He shouldn’t be able to avoid the next attack.

After a successful attack from Formless Sword Aura, the attacks that follow after cannot be defended against.

No matter how good his senses were, I thought that it would be difficult to avoid the sword aura attacks that he didn’t know where it was coming from.

“Ku-uh….”

“I’ll finish you. Joker.”

It was then.

He moved his hands like before, entering stealth.

“I think the one pulling dirty tricks is you, not me.”

“Kuha. Do you think it would be over like this. You weakling.”

“I’ll show you that what you’re doing now will only amount to buying time!”

-Clang!

‘Wha… What the!’

I had already found his position using Eye of Insight.

To close the distance once more, I rushed him.

However, as I was running, I ran into solid darkness as if a wall was blocking the way and couldn’t continue forward.

I definitely had status effect immunity due to the Titan Boots I was wearing.

It wasn’t a type of bind or illusion, but probably a very strong defensive skill.

I was blocked in from all sides by walls roughly 10 meters wide.

No matter how much I swung my sword, the walls did not break.

-Clang! Clang!

“Kuhaha!”

My surprise for his sudden unexpected attack was short lived, because something bigger happened after.

From the 4 walls that surrounded me, 3 black holes Joker cast before appeared.

The size was also different from last time.

It was big enough to cover up each wall.

“This is crazy!”

I could only cast two Icebergs.

If I gave up on Mana Shield, I’d be vulnerable to his attacks.

Blocking it with Piercing Sword?

No. It wouldn’t be enough to try to block a skill beyond ranking with Joker’s power on top with just brute force.

As if suffocating me, countless Joker’s twin blades formed.

It was obvious that no matter what shields I used, it would be difficult to even stay alive.

The sound of friction between metal. And the fear from the surrounding view.

It was brief, but the pressure was immense.

“Whew… If I meet an executioner class ahead in the future, I’d be shaking.”

“Is that really your last words? The word ‘ahead’ doesn’t seem to fit you.”

“Pfft.”

-CRACK!

Casting Iceberg to each my sides, I cast Devil Avatar for the remaining side.

Giant creatures befitting of a level 200 skill spawned.

Being in a small room with 3 giant monsters, I felt more suffocated to be honest.

“KUWAAA!”

“Grr….”

‘Loud voice and look at that size. Perfect for a meatshield. Joker’s skill lasts for roughly 1 minute. Just hold out until then.’

“Defend. Block the attack with your whole body, with your lives!”

“KUWUHHH!”

Understanding my command, the avatars blocked the black hole with their bodies.

On top of that, the Iceberg I cast on both sides made his attacks useless.

All around me were covered with the blood from the avatars.

It was true that they had great defensive capabilities, but it looked useless in front of Joker’s attack.

Shattered bits from both icebergs joined the fray as well.

“Just have to block for a bit longer!”

“KUWAACK.”

The three avatars lost their lives with pierced bodies at the same time the black hole ceased.

I felt sorry for them as they were butchered pathetically, but in a situation where my life was in danger, that kind of compassion was useless.

“You did well.”

As soon as I said those words, the darkness the trapped me cleared.

Joker had approached me already.

The end of his sword was bent.

Using that as if it was a hook, he latched onto me.

It wasn’t a skill, but instead brute force he used to bind me.

Since I had my shield, I didn’t receive any damage, but it was an insane amount of power.

At the same time, my Formless Sword Aura began to cut him apart.

“Ku.. KU-URK!”

Joker was letting a terrifying scream out while leaning in next to my ear.

However, it didn’t seem like he had any thoughts of letting go.

Suddenly feeling worried, I cast all of my shields.

And with all my strength, I pierced his heart with my sword and pushed him away with my left arm.

Then.

-BOOM!

“KUWAAK!”

---

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67. Final Battle with Joker

That day was nearing.

The day Joker spoke about.

Due to my fast leveling, I distributed all the stat points that have been piling up.

It’s true that I didn’t bother with it much because the stats really wouldn’t affect my hunting speed.

I even put on the skeleton ring with its +20 strength that has long become obsolete to me.

Both hands held tightly onto the Banwol Jincheons that were returned to me by Jong Ho.

 

Strength: 1788

Mana: ∞

Dexterity: 10

Stamina: 910

 

It was kind of disappointing that I did not have any armor or gear that would raise my Stamina or Dexterity.

However. I had an item that makes one immune to all status effects, Titan Boots.

Louver’s set, which allows me to cast empowered skills and turns absorbed mana into a shield.

Lich King’s armor set, which reduces all damage taken by 40%.

And lastly, an item that I recently received, the Lizard Gauntlet that reduces magic damage taken by 20%.

I had obtained as much as I could in the short time I had.

These weren’t all of it.

Meteor and Iceberg were both level 200, which allowed me to cast them endlessly.

Countless shield skills, all of which were Awakened.

Reflect, Groggy, and Holy Damage. Powerful S ranking shields with additional effects.

First, I checked if there were any gear I forgot to equip.

After that, I opened up the stat window to look at all the skills I’ve obtained and Awakened.

No matter how well I was equipped with the best skills, if I wasn’t able to use them at will, it would be as useless as not learning them in the first place.

Noticing how nervous I was, it finally sunk in that the fight with him was near.

****

It was around the time when the sun is about to set.

“Thank you for the dinner.”

“Oh? Why are you saying that all of a sudden. Did you mature?”

“The stew’s deep taste of beef broth really moved me.”

“Hoho! Did you taste it? I didn’t think you’d notice it.”

“What! Was it really from the beef broth?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not bad for you.”

“After 18 years, Mrs. Park’s secret recipe is stolen. Looks like it’ll make the headlines tomorrow?”

Being serious isn’t really my style.

If worse comes to worse, this could be my last goodbye.

With that, I told her that I was off to hunt and left the house.

Surprising, he had come to my exact location before.

If he had information about me, he would’ve waited in front of my house. Instead, we met for the first time at the midget’s office.

It was possible that he used the executioner’s class skill ‘Searching Eye’ or used the unique accessory ‘Searching Necklace’.

No matter where I was, he was going to find me anyways.

This wasn’t a fight between just any run of the mill Awakened.

No matter where we fought, the shockwave and the sound of destruction would fill the surrounding areas.

Just like the fight with the Noblesse before, I wanted to fight in a separate battlefield that was already prepared.

There would be no benefit to drawing attention, after all.

With that reason, I left home and decided to head for Yangpyeong.

It was an area with lots of mountains, with a high chance that there were hidden portals in the valleys.

Because of the dangerously high possibility of portal explosions from the hidden portals, it wasn’t an area fit for people to reside in.

It was so dangerous that the Awakened association in the area was dissolved, and all the residents were forced to relocate.

I headed for the abandoned association building to use the battlefield that was located underground.

In front of the house, Jong Ho’s car was waiting.

The ruins of Yangpyeong was an area that even taxis feared to tread.

And since I was never there before, it wasn’t possible for me to use Warp.

Jong Ho was leaning on the car, smoking a cigarette.

At his feet, there were at least 10 cigarette butts.

Seeing me, Jong Ho quickly stamped out his cigarette and spoke.

“So you’re here?”

“Yep.”

“Both morning and evenings are rather cold. Only a few days ago, it felt too hot.”

“I guess so.”

“Guess it’s true that spring and fall are going away.”

As if we were awkward with one another when alone together, he was only giving me polite greetings that strayed away from the main subject.

It was like him to do that, so in this situation, I thought this was better than for him to give me pity or encouragement.

I would probably do the same as well.

Picking up the cigarette butts, he got in the car.

“Whew. It’s cold, let’s get in quick.”

“….”

I went in Jong Ho’s car as well.

In the backseat, Ho Jin was already there.

“Oh? What if surveillance followed you here?”

“It’s okay. Shouldn’t have one today. Seems that Se-Jin isn’t mediocre at his job.”

“Ah. I see. Guess I should at least treat him to a nice dinner later.”

“Of course. Haha.”

Just in case, I used Eye of Insight, but just like Ho Jin said, there was no surveillance on him.

Ho Jin and Jong Ho. They knew each other well already due to party hunting together.

That’s why, today, Ho Jin had contacted him ahead of time to meet together.

As the car started, a silence settled for a long time.

It seemed that it was a difficult situation for anyone to speak up.

I was the first one to break the silence.

“Old man.”

“Yes.”

“If I lose to Joker, will you tell everything to the world like you said before?”

“That’s unlikely, but if it really does happen, I plan to do so.”

“Do you think things will change?”

“Huh?”

“If you do that, do you think the world would change?”

“That….”

“Truth be told, I’m going there to take care of personal business. I’m not going there for some noble reason like taking down one of the radical faction leaders because they possess a threat to South Korea.”

“I’m aware. However, whatever the reason may be, it has to be starting point for the world to change. If it is possible with my life, I would sacrifice myself hundreds and thousands of times to make it possible.”

There was a glint in Ho Jin’s eyes, just like the time when he was giving his all to catch me.

Eyes that were clear and determined, looking directly at his goal.

For some reason, I couldn’t help but trust him.

“I see. You’re holding onto the Awakened ID, right? I’ll be back for it soon.”

“Yes. You have to.”

As the heavy air in the car dissipated a bit, Jong Ho asked.

“Hey, did you plan to meet him at this hour?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Then I hope that Joker doesn’t appear even after we arrive.”

“Do you think that makes any sense? Old man, is there any reports of Joker having a serious case of forgetfulness?”

“N.. No. No reports like that…”

“Hyung. It seems we can’t hope for that?.”

On my left was an exemplary model citizen even without laws, who couldn’t throw away a single cigarette butt without disposing of it properly.

Behind me was an ex department head of the association who burned with righteousness.

It almost felt like I was the bad guy.

A long drive later, we arrived at Yangpyeong.

There were checkpoints set up on the way to Yangpyeong that prevented vehicles from passing, but with the use of Mass Stealth and Silent, we were able to pass without any issues.

If that battle here ends, all I would have to do is use the Warp skill.

To the two who said they’ll wait in front of the building, I turned them around saying they could take collateral damage.

Once again, Jong Ho took a long whiff of his smoke.

His expression was filled with many conflicting emotions.

“Then, we’ll be going. Call me after it’s over.”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me and take care on the way back. Ah! What about the checkpoints?”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“Don’t worry about that. We just need to get some grass in a bag and it’ll be solved. A lot of herbalists come to dig up herbs here.”

“As I heard from rumors, the association really works hard. Security is tight too.”

“… I’m ashamed.”

“Then, please take care.”

With that, the two left.

****

There wasn’t a single flicker of light in the association building of Yangpyeong.

I was heading towards the battlefield underground, sure that Joker would be coming there.

The hallways rang loudly with my footsteps.

It was then, while I was traversing through the empty dark hallway.

-thud thud

.

.

-thud thud

-thud thud

In the hallway where I could only hear my footsteps, I suddenly felt his presence.

And the presence kept closing in.

Joker, without any warning or making any sound, was next to me.

“As expected, you found me? Joker.”

“Kuhuhu. It seems this kid has a lot more secrets than I expected. Even making me travel this to this remote location to find you.”

“It’s because I’m very shy.”

“Seems like you chose this place for battle. Since you came all the way here, I guess I can take your answer as a no?”

“We just have to go down one more level, you know? I’ll give you the answer you want without leaving room for regrets down there. Let’s stop talking up here and go down.”

With Joker, we were heading for the same place.

A short time passed, and we were in the underground battlefield.

Without any words, Joker and I faced towards each other.

The light coming off from each of our swords were the only indication of where we were.

Then.

-CRACK!

As Joker snapped his fingers, the dark battlefield was lit brightly.

The darkness was similar to a dungeon.

There was nothing that gave off light, but you could still see each other clearly.

I could tell that the skill was similar to the one he used to pull me into complete darkness before.

Joker spoke.

“You chose death. Why?”

“….”

“Don’t you feel that it is unfair how those with incredible power are treated as the same with those regular humans? If you come to me, we could step on them and command them at will.”

“This is a famous saying in a movie, and it feels like it was made so I can use it here. I’ll only say it once, so listen well.”

“….”

“How can a wolf cub go under a dog? You dog shit!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

In a split second, a massive black condensed ball of flame headed towards Joker.

Meteor Call had reached level 200.

The intense flames that were red before had now completely turned black.

Two Meteors that I casted with each of my hand struck him directly without any delay.

With that massive impact, the floor of the battlefield, which was made of nano material, was now a massive crater.

It was a destructive force that not even rankers that represented their nations could reproduce.

The surrounding area was burning in black flames.

However, he walked out from the intense flames swinging his dual blades, as if nothing was wrong.

As expected, he has a shield that isn’t affected by how much damage it takes.

With a sinister smile, Joke spoke to me.

“Kuhaha! Did you cast the skill while walking over here? I’ll applaud you on hiding the casting motion from me. But that’s too bad. Out of all the skills you have, it’s probably the strongest right? Now, what will you do?”

Ignoring him, I asked him.

“How did you come here?”

“…”

“Did you use Warp? If you run away later using Warp, I think I’ll be very angry.”

“Running away? Pfft! Do you think I’ll give you time to cast another Mete…!”

-CRASH!

-BOOM!

“Did you not notice it yet?”

The Banwol in my right hand was pointing at the flames he walked past.

Even he wouldn’t have any information regarding a Meteor Call that had reached level 200.

It was because no one had reached this skill level yet.

He looked towards the black flames.

“No… No way…”

“Isn’t it surprising? It’s magic, shithead!”

His expression was filled with shock as I continued to rain down Meteor.

Of course, he hadn’t taken any damage yet, but it would be the first time he has seen a level 200 Meteor.

Suddenly, the smile on his face disappeared.

Then, Joke fixed his posture and gripped his dual swords tightly.

“Even if you say you want to come under me now, I’ll decline! Your grave will be here!”

---

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66. Joker

“I need those swords again.”

Hearing my words, Jong Ho remained silent for a while.

I could not even hear the sound of breathing over the phone.

“What. Did the call end? Hello?”

“Has it begun?”

His voice was far heavier than all the times when he declined the rare items I was offering to him.

It was almost as if I was talking to someone else entirely.

“Hm… I guess so?”

“You probably wouldn’t go after them if you don’t know where they are and you aren’t ready to do so.”

“Yes. After meeting with Mr. Kim Ho Jin, I was heading to the midget’s office to use Warp when he came to me.”

“Joker?”

“Yes. Since he himself appeared, it doesn’t look like it’ll end until I settle things once and for all.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course. I have a strategy that would shock even Zhuge Liang.”

“Pfft. What’s the point of asking. Your plan probably amounts only to something like ‘Go in and kill them all,’ or something like that. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Correct! You already know well. If there is one thing you got wrong, it’s that the plan is more like ‘Kill all those that come to me,’ or so? Thanks to Proof of Oath, my mother should be safe. It’ll be tough for you to take them on, so I don’t really have anything to ask of you.”

“Let’s have dinner together today at least. I’ll finish up hunting early today and contact you.”

“Perhaps… the final supper?”

“You’re a real piece of work. Cracking a joke at a time like this. Sigh….”

“What about you hyung? You’re so cruel! Trying to send me off right away, I guess I don’t need to worry about the funeral.”

“Shut up! Don’t say stuff like that! I’ll see you later. I’ll bring the swords.”

“Yes. Gotcha.”

I pretended that I was carefree as best I could in front of Jong Ho, but in reality I was slightly worried.

One of the three leaders of the radical faction who even has a subclass, Joker.

I had fought the Noblesse guild as well as Jin.

It was obvious that he was going to incomparably tougher compared to what I’ve faced before.

In case this happened, I poured effort in many ways, and grew as strong as I could. However, I couldn’t know how strong he was until I fought with him.

If there is one good news, it’s that the only person who knows of my existence is Joker.

Not sure what made him seek me out in such a hurry though.

If I can take care of him cleanly, I shouldn’t be bothered for a while.

****

The next day, I received a call from Ho Jin.

With a promise of becoming allies, I was satisfied.

After receiving his call, I immediately headed towards him.

Since the fight with Joker will be tomorrow, I needed every bit of useful information I could obtain.

Since he was in the association for 20 years, I was sure that he’d have some useful advice at least.

After meeting him, I entered stealth with him and headed for the level 13 dungeon.

Using the fake IDs, of course.

“Whew. Finally, away from prying eyes.”

“Guess you’re quite upset.”

“Yes. I think I’ll be holding onto this grudge for a while. Here is what you requested of me from before.”

Ho Jin brought out an Awakened ID.

He had already left the association, but by using his contacts, he was able to obtain it with great difficulty from Se-Jin.

This ID looked identical to a normal ID, but it wouldn’t send data to the association even after scanning it on the scanners located in front of the dungeons.

It also did not require any fingerprints, so you could think of it as a universal key, really.

“With this, you should be able to enter any dungeon of any level as you please. Without leaving a trace, of course.”

“Thank you.”

“It was made to test out the scanners when they malfunction, and there are only a few of them in existence. This could cause Se-Jin problems, as they do regular inspections. Whenever that happens, please lend it back to us for the brief duration of the inspection.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll do as you say.”

“Here. Take it.”

“Hm… This proof of our alliance, I’ll take it two days from now. I don’t think I’ll need it right now. Or it could be that I won’t need it at all.”

“What do you mean?”

It’s already decided that we’re on the same boat.

There was no reason to hide it from him.

There’s a saying, two heads are better than one.

I continued to speak.

“I’ll be meeting with the radical faction. To fight them, of course.”

“What….”

“You probably know already, but there are 3 leaders underneath the overboss in the radical faction.”

“……”

“Out of them, a person named Joker is gunning for me. To be concise, he wants my ability.”

“Ability?”

“Yes. I’ll reveal it to you after this.”

“I also know Joker as well. Back when I-jin Han was the president of the association, my primary task was to investigate Joker of the radical faction.”

Previously, I received a text that the association was purchasing Manticore’s Soulstone that dropped from the level 12 dungeon.

On the text, the name I-jin Han was on there.

It’s been only a few months, but I guess a new association president took office.

“Joker, Ghost, and Dark Lady. Only a few in the association and government know of their existence. The previous president I mentioned before, he was planning an attack on them before they attacked first. However, before his plan could be carried out, he went missing, and some rotten man by the name of Choi Man Seo took office.”

“The classified mission that targeted the radical faction was canceled, and the president of the association that pushed for it disappeared? Doesn’t it look like the radical faction had a hand in this?”

“Yes, I think so as well. Seeing that many association members tried to gloss over his disappearance, I couldn’t even predict just how many of the radical faction members were hidden in here.”

“I see. Can you tell me more about Joker?”

Then Ho Jin told me information I already knew.

Out of the three leaders, he had the greatest combat capabilities, with the rare executioner class to boot.

However, the information he told after that, seemed like it’ll be useful in the fight to come.

“Joker is a person who only focused on his offensive capabilities. It shows that he has no talent for any defensive abilities.”

“What do you mean?”

“From the information I gathered back then, I was able to learn that the three leaders fight amongst one another to determine who is on top.”

“Strength is political power. Seems exactly like something they would do.”

“That’s right. And this was decided by the overboss, so there’s nothing more to add. There is no information on Ghost, as far as I know. He really is a ghost. Not even his ability… That leaves Dark Lady and Joker.”

“…..”

“Dark Lady, like the other leaders, also has a secondary class. Tanker, as well as the assassin class.”

“Defense and offense. Not lacking in any field.”

“Yes. But the important thing is that Joker was able to get through her iron clad defense. Not sure if she wanted to look good in front of her boss, but she used a lot more assassin class skills rather than tanker skills. Guess she wanted to show the boss her offensive capabilities.”

“…..”

“However, unlike Dark Lady who was a mess after taking countless hits, Joker didn’t receive any damage. Even though Dark Lady gave up on defense to go on the offensive, she could not inflict any damage on Joker. It was because he used the Dodge Aura skill from the executioner class. Seeing that, she began to focus on her defense. Her offensive capability would go down, but she was aiming for an extended fight. It was also to recover the damage she took, most likely.”

Listening to his explanation, instead of finding out the weaknesses, I was only learning about his strengths.

It was as if he was trying to cut down my fighting spirit even before the fight began.

Stopping him, I asked a question.

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you say his defense was weak? From what you told me about Joker so far, doesn’t he sound like someone who is strong in both offense and defense?”

“Sorry. My explanation was too long. The point is that the shield Joker uses is different from regular shields.”

“Does it not have a cooldown and cast time?”

“No. It doesn’t get affected by the amount of damage absorbed. It blocks a certain number of attacks.”

Regular shields break apart faster the stronger the attack it absorbs.

To increase the amount absorbed, the shield skill would need to be leveled up.

But from what Ho Jin was telling me, Joker’s Dodge Aura did not have a cap on the damage it could block.

No matter how powerful that attack was, it would be counted as a single block of an attack.

Ho Jin continued.

“Even though there is not much information out there about the executioner class, information on most of the skills the executioner class has can be found in the association. However, I could not find any information or any similar skills to his Dodge Aura.”

“I see.”

“Since their fight ended in less than 5 min, I do not know if he has any more hidden skills.”

“Definitely a tough one to face against.”

“However, Dark Lady’s continuous attacks towards Joker eventually went past the Dodge Aura’s number of dodges, and when it did, apparently Joker took a massive amount of damage, even though Dark Lady focused more on defense so that the attack wasn’t particularly strong. Thus, I cannot figure out what the hidden skill is, but I know that he only put stat points into strength.”

“Now I understand what Jin meant. An ability solely focused on 1v1.”

“Huh? Jin?”

“Ah. Nothing.”

“Are you really going to respond to Joker’s taunt tomorrow?”

“That’s right. I have the information I need to take him down, so I should face him.”

“There are some rankers with righteousness similar to General Yoon Jong-sun, but they aren’t strong enough to face them. That’s why I’m counting on you.”

“I understand what you mean. The day after tomorrow, I’ll be back safely to receive this ID.”

“Okay. I’ll hold onto it well until then. Please be careful.”
“Then, I’ll be off.”

Entering stealth, I left the dungeon.

There was nothing else to prepare.

I had to face off against him at some point, but the time to do so had just arrived a little bit earlier.

Clearing my head, I headed home.

****

In the room filled with darkness like the skill he used, Joker was deep in thought.

He was thinking about making Min-Cheol submit so that he can use him for the dungeon portal explosion project.

He did not even think of the possibility of defeat.

Even if he had infinite mana, he had a few skills beyond ranking that could penetrate the mana shield after all.

It would only be a matter of time before he could win back the trust of Zekill that he lost to Dark Lady.

It was then that someone knocked on his door.

“Enter.”

“Sir Joker. It’s 21:00, as you said.”

“Right. It’s already time.”

Joker grabbed his weapon.

As if to prove his class, each hand held Executioner’s Sword.

Twin swords known for their smooth curves.

The edge on each sword had teeth like a shark’s.

In front of the swords that chilled most blue with fear, it seemed that no one could stand in front of them without cowering.

Unless it’s something serious, he usually does not bring weapons with him.

Seeing as he did now, his subordinate became tense as he spoke.

“We’ll follow. Should we ready up about 20 of our members?”

“I’m fine. Take care of your individual tasks.”

“Yes, Joker.”

The subordinate left the room.

Joker planned to use Min-Cheol solely as a mana tank.

If Zekill found out about Min-Cheol’s existence, he would see the unlimited potential he has and would probably raise him as a leader.

With a crazed smile, Joker grabbed onto the handles of his swords.

---

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65. Ally? Foe? Ally!

Report of Kim Ho Jin after 5 days of surveillance.

-06:30 Wakes up.

-After waking up, feeds pet: Dumpling. (Not very cute for a dog.)

-07:20 Personal care before leaving. (The type to eat breakfast no matter what.)

-07:30 Says goodbye to daughter Kim Jeong-yeon and wife before leaving. (Wakes up earlier than expected. Guess the entire family is one of those morning people types.)

-08:00 Arrives at the level 13 dungeon to find a party to join.

-Afternoon. Until Jong Ho and his group of members arrive, tags along with other Awakened who seem decent enough to hunt. (Hunts for over 12 hours, like I do. Seems he has some goal in mind.)

-20:00 Finishes hunting, returns home.

-22:00 Sleep. (This looks more like how a soldier lives.)

“What the. Did he really leave the association?”

Too much time had passed to call it a vacation period given from the association.

It was nearly 2 weeks since he had hunted with Jong Ho, after all.

Eavesdropping on Ho Jin and his wife, I was able to confirm that he really did quit.

While I was keeping up surveillance on Ho Jin, Jong Ho informed me that Ho Jin asked about me.

Following my instructions, Jong Ho avoided the questions by changing the topic or made up stories about me as needed.

For very specific personal questions, he just replied that he didn’t know.

From what I’ve seen so far, Kim Ho Jin appeared to have left the association and was living the life of an average Awakened.

That’s why today, I’ll be appearing in front of him.

It was for the information I wanted from him.

And it seemed that he was hoping for me to appear before him anyways, so there was no reason to delay.

The hunting was finished deep into the night due to the delay cause by the surveillance I kept on Ho Jin.

Obtaining information and an ally is important, but growing stronger took priority.

Like keeping a knife sharp, I kept up my daily hunting routine to the dot.

After a short nap, I headed towards Ho Jin’s house so I can meet him as he left for his daily hunting.

I could see him leaving his apartment.

-beep

He was walking towards a white SUV.

‘Why is an Awakened using a vehicle to get to the hunting grounds?’

I myself had used a similar method until recently, but he could just use the Warp skill to get there.

Ho Jin stopped walking towards the vehicle, and facepalmed.

A monologue followed.

“Ah. I’m out of it… This is why habits are scary.”

“Mr. Kim Ho Jin.”

While he was looking blankly at the vehicle, I went towards him and spoke.

Turning his head to where he heard the voice, he didn’t seem that surprised seeing me standing there.

But hiding his expression again, he played stupid.

“Who…?”

“It’s Kim Min-Cheol. We met at the level 13 dungeon before.”

“Ah! Now I remember. Sorry about that. My memory isn’t the best. What business brought you here, I wonder…”

“We also met at the level 28 dungeon, right?”

Seeing my smirk, there were beads of sweat running down his face.

“Huh? Haha… No way. Since I Awakened later than others, I’ve just started to run the level 13 dungeon, you know?”

“Drop the acting please. You don’t seem to have any talent in doing so. Don’t have time to waste either.”

“W… What do you mean…”

“Sorry to say this now, but I’ve been watching you for the past few days.”

“….”

“Let’s change locations. Looks like a fly is amidst us.”

Looking through the Eye of Insight I casted beforehand, I was able to find someone using a stealth skill to spy on us.

The radical faction?

No. There was no way that they’d put someone as green as this person to a target that had taken out Jin.

Probably to keep tabs on Kim Ho Jin.

Perhaps he had also noticed, because he nodded his head and followed me to the alleyway next to the entrance of the apartment complex.

Turning the corner to get out of the line of sight of the spy, I casted Mass Stealth Jutsu and Silent.

The range was enough to cover both Ho Jin and me.

“Now we can proceed. Let’s continue talking. What do you want from me? Why are you trying to find out about me?”

Ho Jin let out a heavy sigh, and then began to speak with a serious expression.

“Whew… Before I answer your question, let me first talk. I don’t know who you are. The only thing I know is that you can hunt things over your level. Not sure what ability you have, or how strong you are, I have no clue. And…”

He paused a moment as if to gather his thoughts.

As if coming to a decision, his words were heavy.

Perhaps it was a form of resignation.

But for some reason, his expression looked different, almost calm.

“I’m not sure which side you are on.”

“You are saying that you don’t know if I’m with the radical faction, right? Perhaps even hoping that I am?”

“Haha. Glad you’re straightforward. That’s right. I’ll speak without hiding anything. There was something I decided on this morning as I left the house.”

“What would that be?”

“I was on my way to expose the truth behind the association. The truth that the association is aware of the radical faction, yet all they’re trying to do is to turn a blind eye to the whole thing. Both association and the government.”

“If that’s the truth, and I was of the radical faction? You could be killed here right now, without a sound. Is that your choice? No regrets?”

“If I can stand proudly in front of my family, and if it is just my life, I do not have any, not in the slightest.”

I could tell from the surveillance I’ve carried out so far, but now I was sure that he had nothing to do with the radical faction.

And I just realized today that the association is keeping tabs on him too.

He’s probably similar to Yoon Jong-sun, a man of righteousness.

“I understand your resolve, but please think of your family when you’re risking your life. I understand. First off, I’m not of the radical faction. Actually, I’m more like a threat to them?”

“Really?”

From his eyes, I could feel desperation.

“Yes. I think I answered your question well. Now can I expect you to answer mine?”

“What I want from you is… strength.”

“Strength? I expected as much, but for what do you need it?”

“Currently, most of those who hold power in this country are connected to the radical faction.”

“I knew it…”

“If they continue to hide the truth from the national organization as well the citizens, something big is going happen for sure.”

“So you’re asking me to give you the strength to smash the radical faction?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“What can you do for me then? You know that a one way trade is unfair.”

“That…..”

To Ho Jin, who was mumbling, I spoke with gusto.

“Information. I need all the information you have on them, as well as how to prevent the association from knowing about my growth as well. Is that possible?”

****

I finished our conversation that continued on for a while.

To avoid being discovered by the association’s assassin, he headed for the level 13 dungeon using Warp.

I planned to head to the hunting grounds myself as usual.

If Ho Jin agrees to my plan and finds a way for me to enter the dungeons without any data being sent back to the association, I was planning to head to dungeons above the level 28 dungeon.

If the dungeons didn’t work, I was planning to enter even if I had to smash open the portals.

Until I was able to achieve the level of strength I wanted.

I moved towards the midget’s office to use the portal and head to the hunting grounds.

I rushed to catch a taxi, and was able to arrive quickly.

-beep. Ending ride.

“It’s 14,000 won.”

“Okay.”

Paying my dues, I left the taxi.

Then.

-glop

I heard a mushy glopping noise that seemed to echo through a small alleyway, giving me the chills.

The world around me began to turn dark.

Pitch black darkness covered my vision.

Almost as if in a room completely isolated in darkness, I could not see in front of me as there was not a speck of light coming in.

In that short time, I was trapped.

“What….”

I casted my shield spells out of instinct, and then casted spells with both hands so I could see with the light coming off of them.

But I still couldn’t see anything.

I didn’t know where I was or what happened, so I looked about.

A man’s voice began to reverberate from all directions.

The voice echoed as it would in a cave, so I could not tell exactly where the voice was coming from.

“It was you, you bastard. The one who killed Jin.”

Hearing his words, I could immediately tell who it was.

Joker, one of the three leaders of the radical faction, had appeared before me.

Knowing my existence as well as Jin’s, I was sure it was him.

 

“Joker? Oh boy. I got to meet a lot of people today. Did you come here because you wanted end up like Jin?”

“Funny. This is your last chance. Lend your strength to me.”

“Did any of you lend your strength to me? Stop talking shit and get over here.”

“2 days. I’ll be back in 2 days. Think carefully about your answer. Submit or die. One of these two answers will be the equivalent to anything you spit out, after all.”

‘Eye of Insight.’

From far away, I could see his form.

However, the distance was too far to see anything but a red dot.

Too far for me to attack.

“ORAAA!”

I began to run at full speed so I could take him down.

I felt that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I smash Meteor on his face at the least.

However.

-glop

I heard the same sound from when I exited the taxi, and the darkness cleared.

The red dot I saw was no longer there.

“Crap….”

After leaving the darkness, my vision was filled with light again.

My regret of letting him escape only lasted a moment, as the taxi was still next to me.

It was the same taxi that I rode to get here after finishing my talk to Ho Jin.

Looking at it carefully, I could see that the driver was still counting the money I handed to him.

I was sure that at least 3 hours passed since I was surrounded in darkness.

But this scene, it was same as the moment I handed the driver the money.

‘Did he stop time or something?’

It seemed that he teleported me to another dimension that was not affected by time.

It was likely that it was an executioner class ability.

“Two days….”

Joker was moving faster than what Jin told me.

Turning away from the direction of the midget’s office, I began to walk.

I called Jong Ho on the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, hyung.”

“Yeah. Did you meet with Mr. Kim Ho Jin?”

“Yes. Just finished talking with him.”

“How did it go? Pretty sure he did quit the association. What about the other thing? Do you think he’ll help out?”

“Not a hundred percent sure, but he did want something from me, so it looks like it’s likely to happen.”

“Glad it went smoothly”

“Yeah. Things did work out smoothly.”

Perhaps he noticed that something was off, because Jong Ho asked me.

“What’s up? Why are you sounding so glum?”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah. You can tell me.”

Banwol Jincheon. I had lent them to Jong Ho.

I was planning to take them back when I had to face Joker and the radical faction again.

Jong Ho knew it as well.

Mustering up as much of a serious voice I could, I spoke.

“I need those swords again.”

---

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64. Enemy? Ally?

Hot air blew, matching the desert like theme of the dungeon.

Meteor Call and Iceberg no longer had cooldowns.

The floor of the dungeon was covered in flames.

If there was one thing, I was kind of disappointed with what happens when I used both skills together.

When both skills met, they cancelled each other out entirely.

It dealt no damage.

But that didn’t really matter.

As long as I continued to cast one of the two skills repeatedly, all monsters would be completely wiped out without any traces left.

The clear time of my hunting was fast enough as it was, but now it became incomparably faster.

I could pretty much clear the dungeon in the time it takes me to run to the end of it.

This clear speed could not be reached even with a 10 man party.

I loved this growth speed, but it worried me that the association would catch on again.

Without any time between each run, they would become suspicious of this party.

The solution I came up with was to purchase a ton of IDs.

I categorized each ID by class and level, dividing it into 4 different groups.

Each time I ran the dungeon, I swapped these four groups around.

With this, they would not become suspicious from just the data alone.

‘Guess I studied hard to come up with great schemes like this.’

Two days ago.

I went to the level 13 succubus dungeon to meet up with Jong Ho.

This was where I met him in the first place.

The level 13 portal that exploded then had become a dungeon, a treasure trove that filled the bellies of the Awakened.

Back then, it took 30 minutes borrowing Jong Ho’s car to get here from the restaurant.

It was an unlit hiking trail before.

However, now the area had restaurants and stores.

Parking lots were a given, and they even had a specific zone for the warp gates.

“Wow. It used to be just a hiking trail with nothing of note… but it developed like this.”

The surrounding area had changed to the point where I couldn’t even recognize it anymore.

Jong Ho and his party group were walking out after clearing the dungeon.

Including Jong Ho, the party consisted of 6 members.

Out of them all, it couldn’t be helped that Jong Ho’s weapons and armor were sticking out like a sore thumb.

In each hand was a Banwol Jincheon, as well as an emerald Lizardman’s Gauntlet that covered his wrist.

Ah. The gauntlet was a gift to him in repayment for all the gauntlets he helped me sell each weekend.

I already had obtained a gauntlet that gave me 20% magic resistance.

That’s why I gave him the one I was wearing before, which gave 18%.

True to his character, he did not put it on until I said I was ‘lending’ him the gauntlet.

Looking from the outside, he looked like a tanker that was running the dungeon to help the other members level up.

I called Jong Ho, who was busy selling the loot after the hunt.

“Hyung!”

“Yo! Bro.”

“Armor suits you a lot better than your regular clothes.”

“Do you have to laugh while saying that?”

“I can’t cry though. Do you go on dinner dates while dressed like this?”

“Can’t help but laugh thanks to you.”

I went towards Jong Ho, greeting all of his party members that hunted with him.

“Hello. I’m Jong Ho hyung’s dongsaeng.” ⁵

“Nice to meet you.”

“I heard many things about you. My name is Hee Park.”

While I was greeting everyone, a man I was familiar with came into view.

A man in his mid 40s.

He was looking at me, with the faintest of smiles on his face.

A man who seemed too old to be running a level 13 dungeon.

Most people become Awakened before they hit their 20s.

Most people gathered here were in their early to mid 20s.

‘Did he Awaken late?’

Well, there are cases like hyung who was doing managerial work until Awakening late.

This wasn’t about when he was Awakened, or what his appearance was like.

It was because I felt like I saw him somewhere before.

‘Where did I see him before….?’

Jong Ho finished dividing up the loot, and was ready to leave.

Saying farewells to the party members, we distanced ourselves from the group.

‘Silent’

I wasn’t sure what was happening, so I casted a spell that prevented us from behind overheard.

“Hyung. Who is that man in his 40s?”

“Ah, someone I’ve been hunting with for a week. Why?”

“I have a feeling that I’ve seen him somewhere before…”

“He said he used to work for the association. You sure you’re not confusing him with someone who looks similar?”

“No. It’s definitely someone I know. I’m sure of it.”

“No way. It doesn’t look like he knows you.”

“…..”

Wait, Ho Jin?

That was when I remembered his name and face.

Department head of the Awakened special control unit, Kim Ho Jin.

I was sure of it.

He was the one who brought all the association hunters, as well the as cleric ranker to wait for me.

No. He was trying to catch me.

‘What is this. Are they hiding around here?’

My head was filled with possibilities.

A member of the association was clearing a dungeon.

And since he was able to go in and out of the dungeon as he wished, it meant he was an Awakened.

‘An Awakened that works at the association? That’s something mothers would be bragging about to others about her son.’

It was someone I could not understand.

“You said he used to work at the association?”

“Yes. He didn’t go into detail about it, but he said he quit due to a quarrel with his boss.”

“Hyung. Remember how I told you that I wasn’t able to hunt for some time thanks to all those hunters from the association showing up?”

“Yeah, that’s when your fake ID got suspended, right?”

“Yes. The man who is responsible for that is Kim Ho Jin.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure either on why he’s here right now. It could be that he approached you on purpose because you have a connection with me, or it was a coincidence while he was trying to live the life of an Awakened after quitting the association.”

“What, seriously. Just what is happening?”

“I think he also recognized my face.”

“Of course. Just by looking up your ID, your face would come up.”

“Yes. But back then, I was stealthed, so there is no way he can recognize me. I think I’m just paranoid, thinking that he recognized me.”

“What should we do? Should we change the party members?”

“No. If he left the association completely, he should have nothing to do with me, but if he didn’t, then doing so would only make him more suspicious. Just hunt with him like you usually do.”

“After that?”

“Just hunt as much as you can.”

“What?”

“Until I find out his identity and what’s really going on, please act normally as you usually do.”

“How will you find out? How can you reveal his agenda?”

“I can stealth. Even if it slows down my hunting, I need to find out.”

“Alright. For now, I get it. Fate really is fickle.”

“If he really did leave the association…..”

****

Leaving the conference room, Kim Ho Jin was cursing and swearing all sorts of profanities while heading to his office.

This act of corruption by his superior happened right before his eyes.

He couldn’t just stand there and watch the president lead the country down a path of ruin.

Those who worked with him gazed at Ho Jin.

However, he was quietly packing up his belongings in silence.

“Greedily taking tax money from the country. But if you are too busy only caring about your life, how can this country run properly!”

27 years ago. He had Awakened at the age of 18, just like Min-cheol did.

However, instead of wanting to live a cozy life, he decided to become a member of the association.

This was before the radical faction showed, and a time of recovery after the attacks of the portal explosions occurring all over the place.

You could say that mankind was finally stabilizing towards peace after the attacks from the monsters paused.

On the other side of the coin though, the Awakened began causing trouble all over the place, to the point where they could not be handled.

It was because there was no laws clearly set for Awakened, as well as a way to enforce those rules.

This was why he thought he needed to join the association.

It didn’t take him long for him to pack, almost as if confirming that those 20 years were worth nothing.

Half of his entire life was spent dedicated to the association.

But he let go of his title without any hesitation.

The only thing he could do now was to grow stronger.

It was late, far too late for him to trying growing strong enough to fight against the radical faction.

But he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

He couldn’t just watch his country and humanity as whole be slowly destroyed from the inside out any further.

Before going out on his first day of hunting, an idea that had come to him hundreds of times over came again.

Telling this juicy story to those crocodiles in the swamp, the reporters of the press.

He wanted to tell the truth.

To the entire world.

But, for someone who has been in the association for 20 years, there was no way they weren’t aware of all the dirty work they do behind the scenes.

He knew that whoever they put on him for surveillance would get rid of him the moment he did anything rash.

If he was the only one who’d suffer, it wouldn’t matter.

If that was the case, he could accept the consequences of doing so.

However, thinking about his wife and daughter, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“I’m just the same as them, looking out for my life… How pathetic of me…..”

And so a week had passed hunting.

In between his association work, he leveled whenever he could, reaching level 85.

Well, for someone who has been Awakened for 27 years, he was a very low level.

He was hunting at the level 13 dungeon that was appropriate for his level, forming up a party.

His hunting for the day was nearly finished, and that’s when it happened.

“Hyung!”

“Yo. Bro.”

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was Kim Min-cheol.

The person who, within two months of being Awakened, clearing dungeons of great difficulty and level by himself, had appeared before him just like that.

It appeared as though he was friendly with Jong Ho, who had first approached him to form a party together.

He couldn’t help but smile.

‘A man of that caliber….. He might be able to change the world.’

Of course, he didn’t know much about him.

He could be part of the radical faction.

But it felt as though he was the only hope left he could bet on.

‘Who are you, Kim Min-cheol.’

****

‘Mass Stealth Jutsu’

Pausing my regular hunting routine, I began to spy on Kim Ho Jin.

I already had learned of his address by following him back on the day we met at the level 13 dungeon.

If I used Silent and Mass Stealth Jutsu, I should be able to get the information I need without being exposed by anyone.

“Where is the entrance to the girls’ onsen… just kidding. I think it was the 3rd floor of this apartment.”

-click

I finally caught him, just as he was about to leave for work.

I was going to watch him for a while, but if he headed for the association right now, that would mean that he approached Jong Ho and me on purpose.

As Ho Jin was putting on his shoes, his spouse spoke.

“Whew. You are old now. You should just rest at home.”

“I’m a little restless, you know.”

“Even after marriage, I don’t see you staying at home even once. Well, do take care. Keep your promise to stay here at least on the weekends! Jeong-yeon, you should go say bye to papa, right?”

“Daddy. Bye.”

“Haha. Alright. I’ll be heading out now, honey.”

‘Hmm…. Did he really leave the association?’

The reason why I was interested in him was for the information he possessed.

Jong Ho was very knowledgeable in monsters, hunting, dungeons, and the loot dropped.

Unlike him, Kim Ho Jin had stayed in the association for a long period of time.

If I was able to obtain information regarding the radical faction and the government, it would be like obtaining a thousand units for reinforcement.

That was a good reason to keep him under surveillance for a bit longer.

‘Kim Ho Jin, who are you?’

---

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63. Age of Chaos

It’s been a week since the level 29 portal exploded.

After that incident, a level 28 portal and a level 29 portal exploded in a row.

This strange incident was occurring only in Korea, and thus all eyes of the world were on Korea.

All the areas where the portals were exploding were in the abyss of the sea.

Using the epicenter of the earthquakes caused by the portal explosions, they could trace the general location of the portal. However, finding the exact location still proved to be difficult.

Currently, the International Awakened Organization had made plans to hire professionals to assist in the investigation efforts.

40 years ago when the monsters first appeared to the present time, many nations fell to the monsters.

Most countries did not last the first two years, disappearing into the chapters of history.

Currently, only 80 countries remained, and most of them were in the International Awakened Organization.

The organization was able to do its job starting 12 years ago when the portal explosions stopped at the level 28 dungeon.

The goal of the organization was to research on the portals and monsters, and to prevent further damage against the monsters that have taken over those fallen nations.

They also used the bloodstones and item drops obtained from the monsters to convert them into a source of energy.

The Portal Erasure Test project was rushed into action by the organization, as each of the nations contributed.

In a week, the members deployed from the organization would be arriving here.

They’ll probably form investigation teams and start searching for the reason of the explosions.

If a situation like this occurs, all the nations would not hesitate on using all their resources to help out, as the situation could go out of control and turn into a massive crisis that could affect them as well.

At the same time.

President of the Awakened association Choi Man Seo called all the department heads.

It wasn’t to provide assistance to the organization, but avoid taking the blame for the incident.

The reason was the following.

Each nation had their own radical faction that disagreed with the way the government ran the nation, dreaming about unrealistic ideals instead.

However, there wasn’t such a deeply rooted radical faction as the one in Korea.

The world suspected that it only came to be like this because of how corrupt the government in Korea really was.

After the Central Plant Center exploded, many terrorist attacks followed, but none caused any serious damage.

Without treating the infection and thinking that it’ll just heal on its own, many years had passed.

If the radical forces are to blame for these explosions due to them stepping up their game and they are not stopped, it was obvious that Korea would be expelled from the International Awakened Organization.

Since this group was a threat against humanity, the nation of Korea that harbored them would be completely cut off and isolated, rotting away until its complete disappearance.

And if the radical faction still was a threat against the world, brute force would be used to destroy this small little country.

The president of the association Choi Man Seo spoke.

“I’m sure everyone is already aware of this, but within a week, members from the IAO will arrive.”

“…..”

“….”

“But here is the thing. If they find out the real reason for the portals exploding, what do you think would happen? Oi. Department head Kim Ho Jin. Been looking gloomy for a while. What do you think?”

The president as well as subordinates already knew that the culprit was the radical faction.

However, instead of discussing it with the government, they were too busy keeping it all hushed up.

To his question, Ho Jin replied with the same disapproving frown as he kept his stance on the matter.

“If the tooth is rotten, you can still pull it out!”

“As expected. If people like you were born earlier in the past, you would’ve left quite the name. But you won’t live for long. There’s even an ad about this. How when everyone says yes, you are the type of person to say no.”

“President, you already know how big their group is! If you say nothing and try to keep this silent, this will blow up into something huge…”

“Enough. Find the portal location within a week. And write it on the report that you’ve taken down some of the portals around the area. Understood? Right now, the citizens of Korea are praising the association that contained 3 portal explosions. Don’t go ruining it for us. Do you think I’m the only one covering my eyes and ears to live?”

“Then what will you do when the radical faction comes to attack us? 6 years ago after the attack on the Center Plant Center, the attacks from the radical faction continued, and it wasn’t just a few cases! At this rate, we will be kicked from the International Awakened Association without a doubt, and it’ll only be a matter of time before this nation is destroyed not by monsters, but by war.”

“Hold up. Did I hear that correctly? Radical what? Radical Faction? Does anyone here know what is this Radical Faction he’s talking about?”

To the president’s inquiry, everyone rolled their eyes about and remained silent.

Jumping up from his seat, he charged Choi Man Seo as if to kill him.

“Do what you want! You disgusting figurehead!” ⁶

“Oh ho! Take this bastard away immediately! Do you think that mighty radical faction only exists in this small little country like Korea? Stop acting out when you don’t know anything at all. What are you doing! Take him away now.”

As the Awakened guards were dragging Ho Jin out of the conference room, he did not stop cursing out at the president.

Because he knew that this situation with the radical faction only came to be due to people like the president taking care of situations like this.

“And you call yourself the president of the association! It wouldn’t be a stretch to call you a subordinate of the radical faction! I’ll get you for this, and you’ll pay!”

“Well aren’t you out of your mind. Really giving out your resignation statement spectacularly. Get rid of his desk immediately, and have people supervise him so that he can’t even as much as squeak! Everyone, you understand what I said today, right? Let’s stop for today. One week. Forget about going home and focus on getting this resolved quickly.”

“Yes….”

Department head Kim Ho Jin’s furious yelling could be still heard clearly, despite being too far to be loud anymore.

“All of you in there are the same, you bastards!”

****

“Dark Lady….”

“Yes, master.”

“So you did it. I thank you for your loyalty.”

“You humble me, master.”

“I asked Ghost to find a portal that’s level 30 or above. Once the portal is found, you can proceed without any issues, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good…. Thanks to you, that day can come a little bit quicker.”

Radical faction’s boss. Master Zekill.

He commanded all three of the leaders to gather at Incheon, where Dark Lady ran the city in order to formulate a plan for the mass chaos would be ensuing soon.

He planned to have the currently government collapse, and did not hesitate on his goal to raise a new rule.

The strong obtains power and political control, and rule over the weak.

His first goal was to blow up the portals, because that would cause the expulsion from the International Awakened Organization.

If that happened, no one would care if this country is taken over or devoured by them.

A complete isolation from the organization.

After that, it would be time to take over the entire country and use it as a base of operations to increase the strength of the radical faction around the world.

“Joker.”

“Yes, master.”

“Lend Dark Lady your strength.”

“Yes… master.”

Joker was the best of the three leaders before, but now having lost his spot, was seething in rage.

It was fact that he wasn’t getting recognized by the boss. And now he had to role of being a support for someone who was weaker than him.

Looking downwards, he briefly paused to calm down.

However, it was interrupted by Zekill speaking.

“I heard of a strange rumor.”

“What would that be…”

“I heard that Park Hyun, one of our financial backers, died due to a single Awakened. Is that true Joker?”

“Yes. That is the truth. He had quite the ability, so I tried to capture him, but since he fiercely declined the offer, I already took care of him.”

“Is that so.”

Joker lied to hide the fact that he was trying to use Min-Cheol, who had infinite mana, for his own use.

He could reveal Min-Cheol’s existence to him right now, but since Dark Lady had succeeded in the portal explosion, it would look disloyal if it was found out that Joker had tried to do this on his own.

There was nothing to gain from speaking up.

He swallowed his saliva as Zekill continued.

“One month. Within one month, everything will change. We’ll be in the center of it all. For that day…”

“Yes, master.”

“Yes, master.”

Finishing, Zekill hid from view once more.

After that, Dark Lady went towards Joker and started to taunt him.

“You heard what the master said, right?”

“…..”

“I think I need more mana. Send 200 magicians to me, Joker.”

“You little bitch, running your mouth without any concern. Dark Lady….”

“Pfft. So, it seems the rage of a male lion chased out from his own pack isn’t anything to be afraid of.”

“… I’ll follow his orders. But soon, you’ll regret saying those words.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Joker Gen-er-al~.”

Leaving the room, Joker began to quietly murmur to himself.

“Seems… Seems my only option is that boy.”

****

“Whew. Finally all that tedious hunting is over. But why is my ear so itchy? Is someone talking about me?”

For me who had been only focusing on growing stronger physically, something more important happened.

It was selling the Lizardman’s Gauntlet each weekend.

It wasn’t for the money.

For a magician class, more important that their physical prowess was the skill level of their skills as well as their MP amount.

This wonderful, amazing essence maker was enough to get rid of the stress of Awakening the skills I possessed.

It was too wasteful to Awaken a C ranking shield?

It was true that I used to think like that up until recently.

It only took a few hours for me to realize that it was incorrect.

It was a week after selling the 5 gauntlets.

The amount of essences I had never fell below 5.

Other than the Frost Orb that I got at level 1, all shields, buffs, and debuffs were already Awakened.

The moment they hit level 100, I immediately Awakened them using the essences.

No matter how low the skill ranking was, by Awakening them and leveling them enough, both the destructive capability as well as the usefulness was ridiculous.

For example, I could use Lightning Spray again.

It really shined on low level dungeons, but as dungeon levels increased, it didn’t do much. However, after Awakening it, it succeeded on causing small amounts of damage to even level 28 dungeon monsters.

And the monster was a lizardman, who boasted almost unfair amounts of physical and magical resistances.

“It wouldn’t be that bad to become an essence collector.”

I obtained Iron Skin, as well as the other skill that Jong Ho obtained for me.

Both were S ranking shields with the same cooldown and duration.

The one difference was that while Iron Skin could possibly cause the enemy to become immobilized, the new skill Holy Block inflicted holy element damage, which was hard to defend against, even with high magic resistances.

Of course, it had a low chance to activate the secondary effect.

Let’s say that I use three of these shields at the same time.

Then my attackers could be hit with the reflected damage, immobilized, and holy elemental damage.

At least one of the shields would activate its secondary effect.

I thought that my Mana Shield was everything I needed, but I was pleasantly surprised at these shields that I never knew existed in the first place.

My level was now nearly 300, and my main attacking spells Meteor Call and Iceberg were nearing level 200.

The cooldown would be zero.

‘Have you seen a hunter who spammed Meteor without a care? That’s me.’

---

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