Chapter 48

Chapter 48.

 

The Mana Amplification effect seeped through Ha-kyung’s entire body.

Then his stiffened body seemed to loosen slightly.

Ha-kyung slowly moved his feet.

Although he was standing on slippery vines, he advanced without paying them any mind.

Slowly, but steadily.

There was only one reason Ha-kyung could do this.

It was because he was using Wall-Walking Steps.

Step! Step! Step! Step!

—Gwoooaagh! Gwoooaagh!

As the distance between them gradually narrowed, the Green Warden’s grotesque cries rang out.

It sounded as though it was screaming at him not to come closer.

Of course, Ha-kyung had no intention of stopping.

He crossed the vines and climbed the stem.

And when he finally reached the place he guessed to be the Green Warden’s face,

[Remaining Time: 10 seconds]

the Time Attack was racing toward its end.

The situation was urgent, but Ha-kyung sank into thought.

‘Which side is the real one?’

Because his movements had slowed, he had only one chance to attack.

The Green Warden also seemed well aware of that fact.

A wicked laugh lingered in his ears.

—...Kkikikikiki!

However, he sensed it hesitate slightly.

Ha-kyung immediately saw through his opponent’s mind.

‘This bastard is nervous too.’

Was this not a gamble where its life rested on a fifty-percent chance?

His blade shifted faintly from side to side.

Flinch!

When it moved to the right,

the Green Warden’s body, hidden inside the red glow, trembled.

Ha-kyung was about to thrust his karambit in at once.

But then a thought flashed through his mind.

‘But is this really true?’

His opponent was a highly intelligent monster capable of speaking with people.

It had even lied that the Raid Party was already dead.

If so, could it not also wage psychological warfare in a situation like this?

The instant Ha-kyung stopped moving, [Remaining Time: 3 seconds] the situation had reached the verge of ending.

The Green Warden’s true body was reflected in the red glow.

The little tree monster gave a bloody smile.

At that very moment, Ha-kyung realized it.

‘This is a trap. In that case?’

He recalled the moment the Green Warden had appeared.

Had countless tree monsters not gathered and surrounded it?

The creature was clearly one being.

So why had it been reflected separately in both red glows?

His mind grew complicated.

Then, at that very moment, [‘Soul Brand’ detects a strange presence] a violet shadow shimmered before Ha-kyung’s eyes.

Not inside the red glow where the little tree monster’s form was reflected,

but directly in front of him.

In a meaningless spot surrounded by thick bark.

Without even the slightest hesitation, Ha-kyung thrust his karambit.

SPLURT—!

[Dungeon boss, Green Warden, has been slain]
[‘Arresting Wand’ is given as a reward]

The little tree monster met its death with a face full of shock.

Its eyes looked as though it simply could not believe it.

Ha-kyung raised the corners of his mouth.

‘When it comes to cheating, I am no pushover either.’

Ding!

Just as he was smiling in satisfaction,

the Green Warden’s Ultimate,

Lockdown Field, was released, and Ha-kyung began to fall.

He quickly turned his body.

It was to land properly somehow.

However, his arms and legs did not move as they should.

It seemed that, after pushing himself so far, Mana Exhaustion had finally set in.

As he fell in a defenseless state, a welcome voice reached him.

“Hey, Bro. Why do I always have to be the one who comes to catch you?”

“Because I put on a performance that was that damn incredible?”

“Wow! I cannot argue with that.”

The one who had thrown his entire body forward to catch Ha-kyung was John.

Even while swinging his flail like a madman, he seemed to have kept a careful eye on Ha-kyung’s situation.

It was not something one could do unless he truly considered the other person a comrade.

That was why Ha-kyung was truly grateful to John.

After all, he was someone who had forced his way into Ha-kyung’s closed-off world and offered him a hand.

Soon, voices of the team members came from every direction.

“Leader, are you all right?”

“Healers, hurry over here! Please check on the leader first!”

“First, remove his armor and check whether he is breathing.”

In truth, they should have been more worried about John than Ha-kyung.

After all, he was the one who had caught Ha-kyung with a diving catch.

However, the team members treated Ha-kyung as though he were a critically ill patient.

He struggled to wave his arm.

“I am fine. It is just a little Mana Exhaustion.”

“No, you rotten Koreans. Do you not see me underneath him? Ugly Korean behavior is insane.”

Just then, Ma Do-hyuk, who had arrived at the perfect time, said,

“This uncle has thick bones, so he will probably be fine unless it is something serious. Let us move Mr. Ha-kyung over there. We need to collect the Loot here.”

“Let us do that.”

Without paying any mind to John’s shout, the team members moved in perfect order.

At that, John looked at Ha-kyung and said, “That jackass bastard really fucking hates me.”

In truth, the two of them had no choice but to become sworn enemies.

Ma Do-hyuk had once been greatly toyed with by John’s schemes.

Even so, they did not openly hate each other the way Ha-kyung and Choi Hyun-ki did.

It was more like Tom and Jerry constantly trying to mess with each other.

Ha-kyung chuckled and entrusted his body to the team members’ hands.

‘It feels like I have become prey being dragged away by cannibals.’

***

Ha-kyung’s first formation of a Raid Party ended in success.

It was certainly far more exhausting than working as a Guest Member.

It was probably because the sense of responsibility was different.

So Ha-kyung took a somewhat longer rest.

Of course, it was not the peaceful everyday life he usually had.

Crash!

“Holy moly! Holy cow! Holy shiiiiiit!”

It was because John appeared while shouting one “holy” after another.

Soon, a tablet screen was thrust before Ha-kyung’s eyes.

“What is it this time?”

“Hey! Hey! Bro. Do not keep leaving all the emotion out of your words. It makes me sad.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“You should say something like, ‘What has startled you so much?’ That is the proper level.”

“That sounds even more emotionless, as if I were reading from a textbook.”

“Does it? Anyway, look at this.”

When John fluttered around and pestered him, Ha-kyung shook his head.

Even so, he moved his gaze to the tablet screen.

[AI Raid] Super play by the Undying One, Lee Ha-kyung, in the Massive Unknown Grade dungeon, Abyss of Pursuit.

—Did you see the video? It was basically the same as him carrying the whole thing alone. Even more incredible than the Fusion Abyss!

└No, the thing is, the contents usually differ a little in each AI video, right? But this one is all the same.

└That means only one thing. Every team member acknowledged the Undying One’s performance.

└But it is Unknown Grade, so that is a little...

└This guy is insane. Look at the scale. It is Massive. That place is harder than most Unfathomable-grade dungeons.

└But a lot of people can enter, though.

└Do you think this is some Field Boss where everyone can just swarm in and beat it down? Does Time Attack look like a joke to you?

It seemed the raid video of the Abyss of Pursuit had become quite popular.

Ha-kyung no longer made an embarrassed expression.

Of course, inwardly, he was still bewildered.

He simply did not show it.

When he only read the comments, John shrugged.

“No reaction again.”

“The video is more sophisticated than the ones I saw before.”

“Come on, Bro. I keep telling you, that is not what people want. They want an arrogant hero who poses like crazy and looks cool...”

“Are you trying to ruin someone’s life?”

“What? So you do have that much discernment?”

“Are you confusing me with Mr. Ma Do-hyuk?”

“There is no way.”

Ha-kyung looked at John as though he found the whole thing absurd.

Until now, he had shown nothing but a perfect appearance.

He had delivered overwhelming performances every time.

Had he not even succeeded in leading a Raid Party?

And yet John was saying that he lacked discernment.

What kind of nonsense was that?

Then John spread both arms and said,

“Look at this place, Bro.”

“It is my ordinary house.”

“No, what kind of person lives completely alone in a mansion that is roughly 23,000 square meters? Without even one person to manage the buildings?” 

“A cleaning company comes once a week.”

“What about meals?”

“Why are you asking when you already know? I order delivery or buy meal kits.”

“That right there is the problem! The problem!”

In the end, what John wanted to say was that the food was not good.

In truth, Ha-kyung was not someone who cared much about taste.

As long as he could eat quickly,

and as long as it was reasonably edible, that was enough.

However, John was unexpectedly quite a gourmet.

“The only delivery that comes here is rice soup every single time.”

“That is because the only restaurant that delivers around here is that place.”

“And the meal kits are all meat!”

“Ah, I do not eat seafood.”

“Nwaaaagh! To think the food here is worse than what my wife prepares! Does this make any sense?”

“...?”

Ha-kyung merely sat still and blinked.

At that, John asked with a puzzled expression.

“What kind of reaction is that?”

“What is it that you want in the end?”

“Let us change the food. Hire a live-in chef. What are you going to do after making so much money? This is the kind of thing you spend it on, Bro.”

“Then how about half and half?”

“Come on. How can you say something so outrageous to a married man who lives on an allowance?”

“Ah? So you intend to keep freeloading?”

“Ahem! Ahem! When did I only freeload? I buy meal kits sometimes.”

“They have seafood in them anyway, so only you eat them.”

“I have no rebuttal to that, but anyway, a chef!”

Instead of answering, Ha-kyung merely fiddled with his cell phone.

Then he showed John the screen of a social media app.

“What is this?”

“I sent what you just said to your wife exactly as you said it.”

“What did I say?”

“You said, ‘To think the food here is worse than what my wife prepares! Does this make any sense?’”

“Wow! I am screwed, am I not?”

“Wow! A corpse can talk?”

“......”

John fidgeted anxiously, then soon began speaking on the phone with someone.

From what Ha-kyung could roughly hear, it seemed his wife had called.

After repeatedly bowing his head and saying only, “Yes,” John returned with a sullen expression.

“Seriously, is that not too much? Is a wife attack allowed or not?”

“I simply relayed the facts.”

“That is not the way of the martial world!”

“In any case, you got what you wanted.”

“What?”

“Your wife said to hire a chef. She said she would cover the cost.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Did she say anything else?”

“She said, ‘Thank you for taking care of my useless husband.’”

“Ffffucking shit! That is insane.”

Although she had called him a useless husband, John was not offended at all.

He simply looked purely excited.

It seemed he heard things like that quite often.

Then again, he was such a mischievous man.

While John bounded around in excitement, Ha-kyung quickly turned on the television.

It was an attempt to cancel out that commotion with a loud sound.

However, just then, the screen changed on its own, and the news began playing.

—This is breaking news. A short while ago, it was confirmed that a Break Phenomenon has begun at the Abyss Gate near Daejeon. The authorities have switched to a high-risk response posture and are currently assembling Awakened personnel.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

Ha-kyung and John’s cell phones began ringing at the same time.

The two looked at each other silently for a while.

It was because they could not understand what kind of situation had suddenly occurred.

Soon, John opened his mouth first.

“Was Korea not a country with extremely good Gate management? I have never once heard of a Gate Break occurring here until now.”

“That is true. This is my first time as well.”

“For now, let us each take our calls, Bro.”

“Yes.”

Ha-kyung immediately answered the phone.

Then an urgent voice came through.

—Mr. Lee Ha-kyung, are you available?

“Yes, I am.”

—I am Bae Jong-hyun, Emergency Response Team Leader of the Awakened Association. Have you checked the news by any chance?

“I just saw it.”

—Then this will be quick. Mr. Lee Ha-kyung, you have been assigned as the Captain of the Eastern Defense Unit at the Gate.

“Pardon?”