CH 281

In the past, I was in the same situation as Ryuichi during Act Two, Stage Two. I had mainly gone around the F-class dungeons as a member of a squad operated by a C-class captain. Therefore, the first time I experienced a D-class dungeon wasn’t in Act Two, Stage Two, and I barely managed to get through the E-class dungeons until I reached Act Three, Stage Two.

Instead, I only experienced a D-class dungeon during the time I had served as a guild member in North America, which occurred after I had survived through the Day of Advent and military days. Prior to that, I had only heard rumors about the fearsome nature of a D-class dungeon. Unfortunately, my captain had led the team in the dungeon but he died when the Dean of Barba pierced his heart. Despite being an A-class (Master-class) Awakened, he couldn’t shake off the persistence of the boss monster. Therefore, I had to recognize Seong-Il’s achievement in defeating the D-class dungeon.

Anyway, the baron of the Maruka clan reminded me of the Dean of Barba and the bodies of Maka monsters that I had killed. It was obvious that the baron was trying to take me with it somehow. However, it was definitely not a match for me.

[Attack Squad: You have completed ‘One Master of the Deep Sea.’]

[* All the attackers other than you are unable to fight.]

[You have obtained 20,000 XP.]

[XP (Level 534): 1,134,002 / 4,680,836 ]

[You have obtained a diamond box for being the first one to complete the quest.]

[You have obtained ‘Physical Healing.’]

Out of the original twenty-five, only six Awakened were left. In addition, I was the only one unscathed, and the others were unconscious with their limbs cut off. A linked quest was about to start on the captain’s window, but he was under the tentacles. Large bubbles came out from the baron’s mouth as if it was blowing bubble gum, and parasites popped out from them. This time, five came out from one bubble. It seemed like they had been cultivated steadily in the baron’s body.

Swoosh!

They flew after me at once, but fell to the ground immediately before touching me. They were moving quickly in search of bodies to infect. Since I had blocked their paths to members of my team with my lightning, the parasites burrowed into the decapitated baron and the monsters it had created.

[You have used Devi’s Sword.]

Sheeeek-

Once again, the black energy was concentrated on the captain, but that wasn’t the end of the linked quest as more bugs crawled out and more energy went to him. The process repeated endlessly and became more intense. Also, the captain’s multiple linked quests were carried out at once in a single spot.

***

The captain came to his senses first. Several linked quests had been completed while he was unconscious, but he wasn’t in a state to notice that now. It was impressive that he didn’t even scream. As soon as he woke up, tentacles grew from his shoulder where his arms were severed, then they stretched out toward his face as if they wanted to pierce his brain. I wondered if that was a curse or the clan’s trait. It was common in the land where the intellectuals of the Maruka clan stayed.

The moment the tentacles were about to stab his face, I grabbed and pulled them out. Only then did a scream burst from his mouth as blood gushed from where his arms used to be.

“Aaaaargh!”

It was my responsibility to clean up his mess as he was busy getting reoriented. Only the three of them, the captain, the bald guy, and Ryuichi, managed to hold on to their sanity until the very end. I chose to heal Ryuichi first. I eyed the others while I regenerated his severed legs using the insignia I had just acquired. I also relieved his pain.

His pupils cleared, and his face quickly became ghastly pale as if he could finally see the surroundings. He had been one of the squad members who had cheered as if that had been the happiest he’d ever been when we had finished the E-class dungeon. However, there was no joy on his face now.

Blood dripped down onto the tops of our heads. They were coming from the tentacles that were cut off and had been hung in the ceiling. Since blood was oozing from all the bodies buried in the mud, there was blood everywhere. At that moment, Ryuichi suddenly crawled back, frightened by the severed tentacle that had touched his body.

While carrying the girl and the captain on my shoulders I asked, “Are you not going?”

Then, Ryuichi finally found the other two and carried them on his shoulders.

“D…Did you finish this… by yourself?”

I heard him ask from behind me. His voice was still shaking with dread even though it was all over, and it was the first time he had spoken to me in such a formal way.

He continued, stuttering, “I… I… I… I don’t know how to explain this, but I knew you were from the association.”

Even he knew that the others were not fully aware enough to listen to our conversation.

“Did you upgrade your level?” I asked.

He responded immediately, “Yes.”

“Platinum?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and then said, “Go find Lee Tae-Han as soon as you leave this dungeon.”

He suddenly stopped walking for a moment. He looked so puzzled that he actually looked like a hopeless puppy. He hurriedly bent his waist so quickly that the bald guy and one of the attackers he was carrying were thrown into the mud.

I continued bluntly, “There is no need for you to come back. Report what happened here to Lee Tae-Han, and just tell him that I sent you.”

Suddenly, the guy who was only showing me to the top of his head began to sob like a child. Not even the hell created by the Maruka clan made him tremble this much.

“オーディン(Odin)... I… I…”

Only he knew how he truly felt, but I was certain that it wasn’t fear that made him shiver like that.

***

Even an offensive team operated by A-class (Master-class) Awakened with high-quality traits, skills and items couldn’t guarantee that they’d be able to conquer a D-class dungeon. That was the reason why so many Awakened in the past avoided dungeons or only targeted dungeons much lower than their level.

Unlike gate battles that didn’t have restrictions on membership, a maximum of twenty-five people could participate in a single dungeon attack. In addition, these people also had to wander around for dozens of days in a limited space in the dark. This previous constraint had now been removed, but in the past, the Awakened had to either conquer the dungeon and live or just die there instead.

What about those who no longer had the desire to get stronger and were willing to get called cowards for not going into the dungeons? What if these people somehow participated in the gate battle instead? They would still be far behind those who did the dungeons, but they could also focus on their growth and enjoy false wealth as an Awakened. Basically, dungeon invasions were more difficult than gate battles. If a gate battle felt like fighting a war against an alien civilization, then attacking a dungeon felt like wandering in the hell of a different world because the dungeons were the monsters’ mainland and territory.

If the gate battle was a defensive match, then the dungeon attack was like guerrilla warfare where we wiped out the enemy unexpectedly. Act Two, Stage Two was where the Awakened had to play such a role, but it wasn’t a very good situation for me. Perhaps it was because the System had to take into account the firepower of its soldiers into consideration, but the highest dungeon we could attack right now was D-class. In other words, the Awakened would gain far fewer XP on this stage compared to the time they had destroyed the light pillars and went through night raids in Act Two, Stage One.

Yeon-Hee and I had already conquered B-class dungeons as a duo before I entered Round Two. Thus, I believed that I could defeat an A-class dungeon alone now if I activated the Man Who Overcomes Adversity and Passion at the same time. In addition, I had to be thrown into high-level dungeons to get enough XP quickly.

The total amount of XP the System distributed in Act Two, Stage Two was very limited as it was fully exploiting the Awakened, its soldiers, who had grown up to this point. That was why I wondered: ‘If the System didn’t interrupt the top stages, would the class of the dungeons in Act Two, Stage Two be a little higher than it is now and in the past?’

[Guild: Sakura Corps’ Tetsuya Attack Squad has destroyed the dungeon (Maruka clan, D-class).]

Ryuichi left for the association’s headquarters. That night, a senior healer from the association had hurriedly rushed over to where we were.

***

The man from the Sakura Corps sent us the news on the day the captain’s treatment was over. People were crowded in front of the building where the captain’s office was located. His fame was at its peak, and yes, he was now a superstar. It wasn’t only the Japanese, but Awakened from various nationalities were all there, except for the Chinese. I could hear people speaking Korean among them. Most of the Korean Awakened knew what I looked like, so I used the way that Seong-Il had used to come into my room previously. I threw myself into the window from the roof of the building across the street. The captain and the woman raised their upper bodies in reflex before lying down again.

“Mr. Kwon… The monsters…”

Sayaka’s eyes instantly became sunken as if she was horrified just to think of them again.

I snorted. “Keuk. Do you think it’s possible for me to fight against the noble of the Maruka clan? Nah, that’s impossible. Also, I have constantly warned you.”

She whimpered, “It happened without me knowing. Back then…”

Everyone was engulfed in fear, and they tried running away as soon as they saw the intellectual monsters of the Maruka clan and the scene of the room. It wasn’t because of the monsters’ mental skills. This meant they couldn’t keep their heads on straight under high pressure even though they knew that they would die.

I was going to make up the story anyway, so I didn’t want to make it ramble for too long.

I deftly lied, “It was certainly the quest related to Seven Demon Kings. We were able to survive, thanks to those things that came out of your body. All of us would have died there.”

The captain lowered his head toward his chest.

“Did the quests go on while I was unconscious?” he asked.

He was too ashamed to look at me, so he looked absurd at the same time. However, nothing was strange with the power of the quest, so he seemed to be convinced.

He finally asked, “What should we say to the corps and association? They think we have conquered the dungeon on our own.”

I advised, “There is only one way out of this: completing the quest as soon as possible and gaining strength. Then, no one will question us. Tell me more about your next quest. What else is it leading to?”

He hesitated before finally answering, “...You are wrong. This quest wasn’t something I could be greedy about in the first place.”

He seemed to have already talked to the woman as she couldn’t make eye contact with me either

Tetsuya continued, “I will repay you for what you have done for me until I die, but I think we should stop working together.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Stop saying nonsense.”

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If he showed any signs of giving up the quest, I was ready to grab his neck immediately. In fact, I was about to drag him along even if I had to put chains on his neck as Seong-Il had suggested. Tetsuya was acting weirdly, so I grabbed him so tightly that it looked like I wanted to crush his neck. His Adam’s apple jutted into my palm, and the salty smell of the Maruka clan wafted out his mouth as he made a stifled noise.

When I released him, a ball covered with saliva came out. It was an aggregation of weird substances that were a little smaller than a fist and held together with dark energy.

Srrr-

Then, it quickly turned into a black key. The captain vomited several times, but he smiled at the key he had spat out.

[Key of the Duke (Quest Item)

It’s the key to access the bedroom of the greatest noble of the Maruka Clan, Grand Duke Amon.

* The user who receives the item can use it at the entrance of the dungeon of the Maruka clan.

* When the item is used, the dungeon will be converted into an A-class. Be fully prepared.

Winner: Tetsuya Yamamoto]

This quest aimed to complete Doom Entegasto’s Life Vessel. Interestingly enough, it continued to be associated with the Maruka clan.

“The D-class dungeon was hell, so an A-class dungeon will be…” He stroked his neck and continued, “That place… will be the worst hell ever. I can’t even imagine. No one will be able to get in there.”

I had approached him in disguise as he had the authority to give up the quest, so I was being extra careful. However, it seemed like the time to put a chain on his neck had come. He wouldn’t be able to give up the quest and deny what we had been through at this point.

I told him, “There is one person.”

Tetsuya shook his head. “Even Kwon Seong-Il won’t be able to…”

“The guy above him.”

Then, he stammered with a pale face, “A… are you crazy?”

I smiled grimly. “You are the one who is crazy. What made you covet something that was mine?”