18. To Higher Places (5)

[Gained 800 exp.]

[Gained 800 exp.]

After the whirling of blades, what once was an endless stream was noticeably reduced.

When I turned around, the 12 Awakened were giving their all to protect the rear.

Even the fas.h.i.+on terrorist, squeezing out all the strength he had left, fought against the remaining 3 revival succubi.

I couldn’t bear to look at the fas.h.i.+on, but his skill seemed pa.s.sable.

And that’s a how a little bit of time pa.s.sed by.

“Is it over?”

No more monsters came out of the portal.

Only those three were left.

I advanced towards them, casting Piercing Sword ceaselessly.

Piercing Sword’s attack did not go towards the surrounding Awakened.

The attacks only went towards those I determined as enemies.

[Gained 1500 exp.]

It didn’t take long for them to meet the ground.

Even after 20 minutes had pa.s.sed, not even shadows of the a.s.sociation’s hunters were found.

The surviving Awakened cursed the a.s.sociation, wheezing and heavily breathing.

“Ha… Ha…..”

“Those b.a.s.t.a.r.d a.s.sociation hunters!”

It only lasted a moment. Everyone hurriedly started to leave.

That’s right. The portal still wasn’t closed. It meant there were more to come.

“Quickly, get in the car! Hurry up!”

From afar, the fas.h.i.+on terrorist shouted at me while urgently starting the ignition to the car.

Everyone else had left long ago.

It was time for the boss I came for to appear.

It was then.

Somewhere I heard a terrifying laughter.

When I turned towards where the noise came from, I saw a creature similar to a succubus near the portal.

The one who came out of the portal was an ‘incubus’.

The floor was drenched in blood, and corpses disfigured to the point where it was nearly unrecognizable were strewn about.

The hands that held the sword and halberd tightened.

Besides me, a loud horn and yelling continued, but I had no plans of running.

“I only came here to see your face, but now I have to kill you.”

Finis.h.i.+ng my words, I was determined.

Because I knew what would happen immediately after.

Without a doubt, as the incubus raised his hand to the sky, all 200 fallen succubi and revival succubi arose at once.

The s.h.i.+tty situation was repeating again.

But there was no need to be surprised since I knew already.

The boss had no combat abilities. His only role was to use all his mana to revive all his subordinates.

“Zombie like b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.”

The succubi let out a piercing scream and flooded towards me, but in front of the powerful skill, they were like paper being ripped to shreds.

If a warrior cla.s.s cast Piercing Sword, the limit would be 10 times, but since I did not have that limit, I was able to maintain both offense and defense by casting it continuously.

And the destructive power doubled since I was able to cast it separately from each hand.

All swords and halberds that slain the succubi flew towards the incubus simultaneously.

It had no offensive ability, but had high defensive ability like that of a boss.

So I poured my attacks without respite.

And then.

Helplessly allowing all the attacks to hit, with a scream, he swiftly fell, pierced all over.

My body was covered in blood.

And as if the make that blood brighter, the blood stones from the mobs floated.

Seems the drops only came out after the boss was defeated.

All combat ended when the glowing hue became a blinding light cover the area.

Watching from afar, the man came running out of the car asking questions.

“Wha… what the? How did you do it?”

“…..”

Collecting all the stones, I threw the weapons on the floor and headed to the car.

If the night hunting and morning portal defense wasn’t enough, the pain and exhaustion from seeing people dying came all at once.

‘Ah… I have to go to school…..’

To me who was keeping silent, the man continued to talk without stopping.

“How did you do it? You said you were a magician but what was that skill, and why did it continuously cast? Answer me!”

“Ah, whatever! What’s your name hyung?”

“Uh? Uh. My name is Yi Jong Ho. So answer me. How did you do it!”

“Jong Ho-hyung, why did you keep watching me?”

“When? When the succubus came out? I was looking to see if you were dead or alive.”

“When they revived and also when the boss came out… it was you who told me to run, right?”

“Well it would be a waste to have someone so young die. That’s all there is to it.”

It seemed he was an okay guy.

Just like SangMin and his party, this man too. His strange first impression was already forgotten.

But it seems I’m still far from looking at his clothing style.

Seems though that the power and money weren’t the only things I earned.

I wasn’t trying to get something as pathetic as networking through dangerous combat like this.

But ‘earning extra while doing the same thing’ idea isn’t so bad, isn’t it?

“When are the a.s.sociation guys arriving? I need to get the money quickly and leave for school, and change my clothes as well.”

“So you really won’t say? My words were too harsh, wasn’t it? Sorry.”

It was then, as he was about to continue to hara.s.s me, a car rolled up and stopped nearby.

“Everyone, report the damages of the situation.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Seems those a.s.sociation b.a.s.t.a.r.ds finally arrived.

‘It’s like asking for chopsticks after I’ve cooked the ramen for them?’

Ten of those who seemed to be hunters from the a.s.sociation went towards the scene, while a cleanly dressed a.s.sociation employee was taking account of the situation.

Since there was no one other than the two of us near the portal, the a.s.sociation members that were sent out walked towards us.

“Hail! Thank you for your hard work. We were watching from 10 minutes ago via drone, but please do explain in detail.”

Due to the corpses lying about, it was possible the situation could be misunderstood as the Awakened fighting for drops, so these a.s.sociation b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were watching via drone ahead of time.

They were expecting an exhausted person to explain to the situation after arriving late.

I did not want to speak with them at all.

I looked at Jong Ho with eyes that said ‘the most tired person ever’ and spoke.

“Jong Ho-hyung, go.”

“Uh? Uh uhm okay.”

Jong Ho left the car and explained the situation.

Since I was holding onto all the drops, after the conversation finished, the a.s.sociation member walked towards me.

“I’ve heard the full story. Please show me your ‘Awakened ID’.”

It was something I looked forward to more than lunch – the time to collect the money.

After pa.s.sing my ID, I was trying to estimate how much I earned.

‘A C rank stone and 13 D rank stone is mine, and I wonder how much will they pay out?’

Next to the car, while the a.s.sociation member was busy looking for something, I asked Jong Ho quietly as to not be overheard.

“How much do they give out in cases like this, hyung?”

“Hm… Since it’s a level 13 gate, 260 million won?”

“Hey, stop joking around and tell me.”

“260 million! I’m telling you that it’s correct?”

‘100 million isn’t like the casual name of your neighbor, you shouldn’t just go around saying it because you’re bored! Are they really giving me this much money for getting one?’

However since it did not look like Jong Ho was joking, I continued.

“Then if I received the money, how much should I give you?”

“To me? Why?”

When he received my question, his eyes became wide with a childlike expression.

“It’s something we all worked hard to get. Since you were the only one still here, at least I should give some to hyung.”

“Ah, no need. Why would someone who hid in a corner deserve anything else than embarra.s.sment? Hyung may be without money, but he still has a conscience. When I grow stronger, I’ll be hunting it solo and receiving the money with pride.”

“But…..”

It was then the a.s.sociation personnel handed me the terminal device and spoke.

“Here it is. Please confirm the 260 million won.”

“Yes? Okay…..”

“Please sign here as well.”

“Yes.”

“You probably know already but this is only fake money. We’ll give you the actual money when you visit the a.s.sociation and confirm your ident.i.ty. However, you have to visit within a month.”

“……”

When a portal explodes, you are able to prevent a ridiculous amount of damage if you stop the situation from getting out of hand.

Because of that, the a.s.sociation determined the reward with the level of the portal, and paid out appropriately.

After buying the skill book and ring, I found out my Awakened credit balance was nil.

But with the amount the a.s.sociation gave me, the balance showed 260 million won being added next to my 3 million won.

Hearing his explanation though, it seemed that I could not use that 260 million won currently.

Ah, these are good people…..

In a single moment, the ‘b.a.s.t.a.r.d a.s.sociation members’ became ‘a.s.sociation members that I thank and owe my grat.i.tude’.

“Thank you for your hard work. Then, we’ll be going.”

Since the Awakened balance panel did not include my cla.s.s, the a.s.sociation member spoke without any doubts.

After finis.h.i.+ng the conversation and walking away, he suddenly turned back around.

“Ah, are you perhaps the Awakened known for clearing level 12 dungeons solo within just a couple days of becoming Awakened? Your name is the same. The a.s.sociation told me to take special care of that person…..”

How should I answer, do I need to tell the truth? If I did so I’d lose time and of course, my ability would be exposed.

It wasn’t that bad to have my ability exposed, but I would probably be offered to be the protector of justice or something.

While I was deep in thought, it was then.

“Eh, you aren’t him, right? Since he was a magician cla.s.s, there would be no reason for him to be here. Well, thank you for your hard work.”

I was thankful at the a.s.sociation member who answered himself so gleefully.

I wondered how he was able to be a government worker with that kind of a head on his shoulders.

It seems as though entering dungeons are tracked via terminal, and records are kept by the a.s.sociation.

‘This could become annoying. For now, let’s rest.’

After finis.h.i.+ng my thoughts, I spoke to Jong Ho who silently observed the situation.

“Hyung, I’m sorry but could you take me home?”

“Yes! Yes! Let’s go! We need to go! Let’s talk while we go. If you’re going back for clothes, should I lend you hyung’s?”

‘…..’

I was struck from fear greater than meeting the incubus.

‘Ah goose b.u.mps! I don’t think I could even go takeout food waste and trash in these clothes’ was what I wanted to reply with, but I did not since I liked Jong Ho.

“Ah, haha. No it’s fine. It’s really, really fine. Haha…”