Chapter 131

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– Everyone, look at the TV right now! A representative of the Celestial Dragon and a spokesman for the Hunter Management Department are being broadcasted! They’re holding a press conference! – What happened there? And why was Seo Jin-Wook found unconscious?

The incident in Cheongdam-dong had heated the media around the world. The public had a keen interest as they had been wondering what the hell happened. However, the government’s response was despondently brief.

– … Wait a minute. They’re going to move on from that after saying something so vague?

The details of the incident I experienced were covered-up in moderation by Celestial Dragon and the government working together. The official announcement was as follows: I witnessed a strange phenomenon while experimenting with the effects of a specific dungeon item near the area. Amid the process, I lost my consciousness for a while due to an unknown effect. Please don’t worry any longer. I have no health problems, and no one else was hurt or affected. I also added that I would be more careful in the future.

– So what the hell was the item?

Naturally, questions asking about the item’s identity poured out, but the government again played out the ‘Keeping Secrets for National Interest’ card as reported before. At that point, most Koreans seemed to have interpreted the meaning of my actions through their own cognitive reasonings. If I were to take the examples of the comments in the related articles in order to describe what the public atmosphere had become…

-No, but can they just cover it up like that or not? What happened to the people’s right to know? ↳ Shh! Read the atmosphere! 1. Seo Jin-Wook. 2. Measures for National interest. Don’t these two words remind you of anything? ↳ I’m sure the other countries are already digging into it with bloodshot eyes. Do you want to give them information unnecessarily? ↳ There is only one thing I am curious about. Is Mr. Seo Jin-Wook well now?

The strange occurrence of terrifying darkness clouding over a restaurant had never been observed in any other country. Even though the exact situation was unknown, everyone sensed that it was unusual just from having watched the video. Therefore, it was only natural for people to express their anxiety and ask for a clear explanation from the government and the Celestial Dragon. However, even in such a situation, many believed that I had accomplished another extraordinary achievement that no one else could.

– It’s enough for me that Seo Jin-Wook has been beneficial to the country and the Koreans so far. He has never done anything wrong before. I doubt that would change. – You’re so right, top commenter. I guess he did something similar to that time that he spread auroras so that the dungeons wouldn’t explode and cause a break. They don’t have to let me know at all at this point. I believe in Seo Jin-Wook. ↳ What? Do you trust Seo Jin-Wook no matter what? There goes the big fanatics. LOL. ↳ Alright, next Chinese, please.

I informed the government of a brief version of the truth.

“What? Alien?!”

Government officials turned pale due to the explanation that the Albanos, an alien species, attempted to kidnap me and the phenomenon occurred in the process of reacting to it. The president and the minister made a fuss and said they would provide national help to protect me, but…

“No, thank you.”

I politely declined. It wasn’t something that was going to be solved by the amount or strength of the forces that they could use anyway. The media focused on my next move as usual.

– Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook was found to have been discharged from the hospital today… There are no reported health issues.

And as soon as I stood up and fixed myself, I started the next screening quest despite the government’s dissuasion.

“In the end, there is no other way but to enter the main quest as quickly as possible.”

That was the conclusion of the conversation exchanged between Adam and me in the hospital room. The tutorial’s end will strengthen Igras-Sho’s influence, but that’s the same for all gods. Until then, no matter what happens, I have to hold on to the two wishes without using them and then erase the scar on my finger by other gods’ power.

“For your own sake, don’t be so complacent about making one more wish and not using the last one! Just erase the existence of the scar from your head!” “Okay. You don’t have to worry about it.”

The process of summoning the Tower of Choice proceeded smoothly. Secretary Kim and others were worried, but I was in a completely fine state. … Oh, but there was a guy whose state got a lot worse. Of course, who else would it be but the devil’s sword?

‘… Please, please, please, I plead you. It’s not to the point of violation of the contract… but if it happens again in the future, please, I beg of you. Put my body on the other side of the planet before you even think about doing it. It wasn’t even an ordinary connection. You were possessed by that being!’

The item’s function returned to normal when the one-time item that the Albanos put on my body, the [Sealing Flame], disappeared. It was also at that moment that the devil’s sword’s cognition, which had been suspended, returned. It was as if it woke up after being asleep for a while. After it came to its senses, it screamed for three whole days.

“Since I had been forcefully possessed… it seems like it left a strong trail even after the god had left my being. On my body, and on the sword I held, that is.”

I was worried that it would go crazy due to that phenomenon, but fortunately, the devil’s sword came back to its senses a few days later.

‘I’ve never heard of someone being possessed by a god in the tutorial world. Who the hell are you?’

Was the heir of the previous generation so profoundly intertwined with gods like Igras-Sho? I had no memory left about them that I was aware of, so the answer remained unknown. In any case, my actions continued with the devil’s sword in my hand since its functions were restored. I considered performing the screening quest as a top priority, but I also did other things in between, considering the situation I wanted didn’t always unfold right away. In addition to essential guild management, there were occasional dungeon breaks that had to be stopped, other big accidents that were experienced in the future which had to be prevented in this timeline, and dungeons that had to be roamed around for items necessary to my plans to be obtained.

– The Celestial Dragon Guild completed the S-Class dungeon that opened in Thailand! The most significant contributor is Seo Jin-Wook, the Guild Master… – The collapse of an instantaneous dungeon in Cape Town, South Africa, ends within a day after the outbreak! The multinational hunters who participated in the event praised the Celestial Dragon Guild and Seo Jin-Wook, the Guild Master. -Celestial Dragon and Danton Corporation’s Joint Venture Company announces the launch schedule of Gen. 2 of the mass-produced artifact! It will be provided in a long-term rental format to developing countries where artifacts are scarce. -(Exclusive) Many of J/V’s senior researchers are known to be currently staying in Korea… and what is the identity of the project underway? There are rumors that it’s an aircraft-carrier-type artifact, but the truth has not been confirmed as of this report… -Breaking news! Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook gets SSS-Class hunter certification from the International Hunter Association! Registered in the Guinness book of record as the youngest and the fastest to be certified as an SSS-Class! -Special Report: ‘Discussing the Celestial Dragon.’ Armed with two SSS-Class hunters, two SS-Class hunters, and several other S-class hunters, how did Korea’s top guild go beyond being a local guild to becoming a guild that caught the attention of the whole world in such a short amount of time…

One day after having spent so many months without a break in that manner… We had a dungeon attack in front of us.

*

[Arta’s Sword Dance!]

Spat!

A fan-shaped storm shattered and swept the front. The dungeon we were roaming at that point in time had sceneries that depicted an abandoned city. It seemed to be a dimensional fragment that parted from the world where they had developed a scientific civilization level similar to Earth. The monsters in it were a mixture of cyborgs, with machines replacing some parts of their bodies, and chimeras, which combined the characteristics of different species.

“Squeal!”

A group of orangutans, with half of their bodies covered in metal, screamed and got crushed. Blood, flesh, and mechanical parts were scattered everywhere.

[Greater Thunderbolt (Rank: SSS)] [Kinetic Blast (Rank: SSS)] [Space Manipulation (Rank: SSS)]

As she wielded the Scepter of Ishad, Hibiki cast simultaneous bursts of spells that ravaged through the bizarre mutant monsters.

Rumble! Buzz!

With a roaring cry from an angry beast, the flash baked and burnt the enemy. Beyond that, there was an intangible energy storm that made everything crumble into porridges. Even monsters that were far away from the chaos couldn’t feel relieved. The attacks ignored the distance in between them, and many were killed instantly. They weren’t given any time to panic because of the sudden surge of lightning shells and waves of force. It was the power of SSS-Class spells that delivered destructive power beyond space itself. To make matters worse for them, they were attacked precisely four times by the same spell. It was the effect of the nested [Duplication].

Kwaaaargh!

“Get rid of that side, too!”

The undead dragon, which flew like a battleship, cast a shadow over the monsters, blocking their retreat path as it annihilated the monsters. The number of zombie troops running like a tide of corpses had also increased significantly from a few months ago. I looked at the status of Hibiki and Nate, who were focused on hunting. Both had significantly reduced their Active Mana. After checking their conditions out, I turned my head to look at the other, and newest, member of the party. The bald woman was watching us fight, a few steps away from the frontline.

“Lunch box, get ready!”

The polymorphed dragon that assumed a human form, Euclid, shouted in an irritated voice.

“Oh, I told you not to call me that!”

Nate rolled his eyes and murmured.

“Well, should I call you external battery then?” “…”

Nate took an item out of his sleeves.

[Skill Lender (Rank: System)] -Item Effect: Lends one of the caster’s skills to another for a certain period. The borrower can use the skill even if one is non-Awakened. ※ Be advised that you cannot lend your unique skill. ※ The same required Mana is consumed when using borrowed skills.

It was also an item that was bought using the experience points that Adam contributed. It seemed like a tremendous function since it allowed Awakened to lend skills to people who hadn’t Awakened, but it was useless if the person didn’t have the Mana needed to activate it in the first place. And there’s no one on Earth who hadn’t Awakened yet still had Active Mana. However, if one were to expand their scope, there were beings like that. Dragons, although they weren’t humans, satisfied its unique conditions. They were a species that had been able to manipulate Mana without being chosen by the system from the beginning.

Whoong!

Nate aimed the item in the shape of a pistol at Euclid.

Euclid spoke unenthusiastically.

“What are you waiting for? Go shoot already.”

“Lending Skill, [Mana Legacy]!”

Paht!

Light shot out of the gun, and I saw a complex flow of Mana transferring from Nate to the dragon. The skill rental had been completed.

“Hmm…”

Euclid exclaimed, raising her hand familiarly.

[Mana Legacy]!

Then the Mana spouted like a fog from her hand and filled the other three’s Mana Capacity to the maximum.

“Phew.” “Do you want a potion?” “No, you said the boss is going to be here soon. It’s okay.”

I didn’t expect much as she had just moved on from being a hatchling, but Euclid indeed didn’t have many spells under her disposal. Even considering that it was magic that could be learned by experiences and experiments and without going through the system’s skill card, the number was too small for a dragon.

‘It must be because she was exiled to the dungeon shortly after she became independent.’

She was also comparable to Nate’s subordinate, the undead dragon, in terms of physical abilities. While thinking about how I could utilize her, I noticed Mana overflowing in her heart.

‘Dragon Heart!’

But I didn’t want to exploit it with [Mana Drain]. It was a matter of course. She would die if I did that. Instead, what we settled was the SSS-Class skill that Nate had learned, [Mana Legacy]. Euclid, which wasn’t an Awakened, couldn’t learn it even if she was given another skill card, but we could change it to through special item that twisted the system’s rules for a certain amount of time.

[Mana Legacy (Rank: SSS)] – Enables the transference of the active Mana of the caster to another Awakened with a 1:1 ratio. There is no limit to the amount of Mana that can be transferred. For as long as the active Mana and the Mana capacity of the person subject to the skill allow it, the transaction would proceed. ※Mana transferred by [Mana Legacy] cannot be re-sent to another being through [Mana Legacy] again.

So Euclid played the role of ‘lunchbox’ in my own words and ‘external battery’ in Nate’s expression for our party.

“It’s the boss!”

A skinny man appeared in front of us who had replaced most of his body with machines. I wasn’t sure if he was originally from an elven species, but his pointed ears had remained among those that were left behind as a trace of his original form. Regardless, it didn’t take that long for an all-out attack to bombard its position. The boss didn’t last long against the level of our abilities.

– The dungeon has been cleared!

Along with that positive message, another window from the system came up.

– QUESTION COMPLETE! – Quest Name: Verification of Qualification (12) – Description: To climb the Tower of Choice, you must prove your qualification as a worthy Awakened. Among the dungeons opened in your world, clear the dungeon in which ‘Mechanic-Neuromancer’ appears as a boss. – Rewards: 3.5 million Experience Points have been awarded to the user!

“Okay.”

After securing the experience points, which were the designated quest rewards, I received the additional rewards from the dungeon. I didn’t gain something huge that time around.

[Slot Activator (Rank: SSS)] – This item allows the user to open four additional skill slots.

“This can be used by Hibiki.”

Throughout the entire journey, she became quite accustomed to the magic spells included in the Seven Masteries. Since she had fully adapted to those spells, I naturally thought it was time to start collecting more powerful Single Unit Spells that were not included in those collections. Such magic spells could only ever manifest their outstanding performance after they ate up one skill slot.

Boosh!

She nodded and smiled after she had confirmed that four more slots had been added to her limit. Nate, who was standing next to me, asked me a question.

“Are you going to share the next screening quest, then?”

I looked at the quest list for a moment, then shook my head.

“No, not right now.” “What do you mean?”

The moment we finished the quest related to the Tower of Choice, the linked quest no longer came up, unlike before when it appeared immediately after confirming our success.

‘It means we need to wait for some time before we can move on to the next level.’

The implications of that were clear. If my current life went on as I remembered it from my previous life…

“If we wait a little longer, the final event to summon the Tower will begin.” “Ah!”

I had already satisfied all the conditions to earn the ‘qualification.’ I looked at Hibiki and Nate, who I conducted the screening quests with. All three of us would be climbing the tower soon enough.

‘It’s fortunate that we don’t have to pay huge amounts of experience points to get ‘Choi Seung-Hyun,’ who had no combat capability, into the tower, unlike in the past life.’

I nodded and continued, confidence clearly brimming in my eyes.

“The final challenge to go to the main quest will begin soon.”