“Hmm… I guess there’s no need to kill painfully.”
From what I’ve seen, other people didn’t seem that unfortunate either.
“Still, I should use everything I can and dispose of it.”
“Ugh? Huh?!”
First, I handed a healing potion to the guy gasping like he was about to die.
As I passed him the brown bottle filled with Irmana’s lake water, he shot me a suspicious glare before squeezing his eyes shut and downing the contents in one go.
After a short while, the blood that had been pouring from the wound slowly began to stop, and his pale face started to return to normal.
Of course, it couldn’t heal the injuries I had inflicted all at once, but he would have definitely died if I left him as he was, so now he had a chance to live.
He looked at me with wide eyes, clearly surprised by the effects of the water.
I casually averted his gaze and took advantage of this rare opportunity to level up my skill.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
“What, what are you doing? Stop-”
I hit his head with a wooden stick dozens of times while using my [Sneaky Drain].
Once again, I managed to level up my skill.
=====
Stagnant Sneaky Drain Lv.4
– Temporarily absorbs one random stat of the target you’ve damaged.
– Applies the status effect [Stagnation] to the damaged target.
– Absorption amount: 2-3
– Magic power cost: 8
– Duration: 13 minutes
=====
“Wow… It leveled up again? Why is it leveling up so fast? Is it because it was merged once before? Hmmm…”
Although the level increased, there was no change besides the duration extending. But since it’s not easy to level up skills, I was quite satisfied.
“Grr… Please save me…”
“So, how does it feel to be under a status effect? Is it painful?”
The drained Nam Yong-seok was making a show of licking the floor while groaning.
After prodding him a few times, I was able to hear about the evil deeds he had committed.
Nam Yong-seok had already worked on over five hundred people with his abilities.
Those who had become his complete minions lived by gradually losing their vitality, and he explained that if he called them, they would rush to him regardless of how far away they were.
“Ha, what an absurd skill. With this level, it’s almost top-tier, right? No wonder he could grow that big with such a skill.”
Just hearing the skill description made my mouth water, but I could only steal from monsters with [Thievery], so it was a bit disappointing.
“Clap, clap, clap…”
“Oh no, stop it!”
After finishing my business, I activated stealth, pulled out my dagger, and pushed it deep into the guy’s exposed neck.
Squish- Crunch-
The dagger tore through flesh and muscle, soon crashing into the vertebrae, and the sound drowned the silence of the empty basement.
“Gaaah…! Ugh…”
Thud-
“That was a bit anticlimactic. Kind of leaves a bad taste.”
It felt like I hadn’t quite wiped myself, but as soon as he fell, a message popped up and that feeling disappeared.
Yet the content of the message was distinctly different from what I had seen before.
– You have eradicated the leader of a sinister group threatening the safety of this world!
– Cut the roots of the [Black Church], which would surely have caused great chaos in this country!
– Achievement [Purifier of the Korean Peninsula] acquired!
“Huh?! What? This is totally different! What’s this Purifier of the Korean Peninsula business? How unusual.”
Unlike milestones like [Beginner Miner] or [Orc Competitor], this seemed to be an achievement limited to a specific region. I’ve never heard of this type before.
“Anyway, that’s a relief. An independent organization, huh.”
Contrary to my expectations, Nam Yong-seok wasn’t part of the Blue-eyed organization or any entity related to Evolution Stones. He was from another independent organization, and I had just taken out its leader.
“Is it really like this… Well, he did have quite a formidable organization when he grew up later. But still, it doesn’t seem comparable to the Blue-eyed.”
Anyway, while using [Imitation], I realized that there are other large forces out there that are nothing like the Blue-eyed.
With this, maybe I don’t have to be overly fearful regarding organizations related to Evolution Stones. Thinking another organization exists at the level of the Blue-eyed had me feeling despair before; now, there was a little hope.
“Hmm… a villain on the level of the Black Church… That means there are probably quite a few like him, huh?”
Villains aren’t just in our country. Despite not knowing the locations, they’re lurking all around the world. What if I take down a villain in Japan? Would I get an achievement like ‘Purifier of the Japanese Archipelago’?
While I was lost in thought, the sounds of people awakening from pain began to echo.
– Ugh… My head…
– Ugh, huh…? Where am I…?
People who had fallen under Nam Yong-seok’s spell were starting to wake up one by one. Fortunately, it seemed they didn’t remember what they had done.
I first placed Nam Yong-seok’s corpse into my inventory and then carefully checked the bodies of those waking using my sensory waves.
“Hmm… There’s still some lingering effects, but it seems like the other messy stuff has worn off? I guess once the host disappears, the effects fade as well.”
At this rate, I thought I could leave them to sort things out by themselves. I didn’t need to get involved further.
Swoosh-
I quickly left the basement and headed home. It had turned out to be an unexpected harvest. I thought I could possibly raise my stats by one point per day, but there was a bigger reward.
Of course, it’s not often that one catches a villain with a promising future, but who knows?
“Now, I’ve got one more reason to use [Imitation] regularly.”
I need to use it every 24-hour cooldown and somehow capitalize on the gains.
As the reward message flickered in my mind, that thought solidified even more.
– You will gain a significant stat boost as a reward for defeating the ‘Great Evil One’!
– Health +30, Resistance +30
– Your level has risen!
– Choose three stats to increase!
“Oh…! The stat boost from the kill isn’t just one but a whopping 60?! I even leveled up! Wow… is this the lottery?”
I quickly calmed my excited heart and checked the achievement I gained from taking down Nam Yong-seok.
=====
[Purifier of the Korean Peninsula]
– Eliminate ‘Great Evils’ that bring great chaos to this country, and recover the special abilities they possess!
[Elimination List]
1. Nam Yong-seok, leader of the Black Church
Skill: Demon Servant
– Creates an intangible space to raise demon servants.
– This breeding ground is filled with powerful stimulants.
– Any human-type being that breathes in the stimulant aroma for an hour inside this breeding space becomes a demon servant that obeys the caster’s command.
– A demon servant receives an additional 1% of the caster’s physical abilities.
– The caster’s physical abilities (Strength, Agility, Health) increase by 1 for each demon servant they hold.
– Demon Servants 0/10
Acquisition Condition: “Eliminate a ‘Great Evil’.
=====
“…… Wow! Holy crap!”
It was astonishingly incredible recognition that made me curse without realizing it.
Although I don’t gain the skill immediately, if I eliminate just one more ‘Great Evil’, I can possess Nam Yong-seok’s skill.
“Just from the description, it doesn’t seem like much, but when I level up, it could unleash powerful effects just like Nam Yong-seok.”
The ability to create minions that obey my every command? Heheh, I can’t resist that.
The effort I put into using Sneaky Drain to drain energy from Nam Yong-seok would’ve been wasted if I can unlock it through an achievement like this. Sure, it means I have to take down another villain of the ‘Great Evil’ caliber, but still!
“I’d be able to fuse it with my leveled-up Sneaky Drain too. Irrespective of how I think about it, I desperately want to acquire it.”
Nam Yong-seok, Nam Yong-seok… Who else was like him? Ugh… my memory is blurry. Next time I use [Imitation], I definitely need to transform into my own self. That way, I can focus on remembering the information.
The skill: Demon Servant. Just by looking at the name, it’s not a typical power.
What’s fortunate is that I can create demon servants without establishing a relationship like with Nam Yong-seok.
It seems that gathering together with others wasn’t for the sake of gaining power after all, but just his personal preference.
“If it required a relationship to work, it would’ve been a rotten deal. There’s no way I could do that with another person…”
With this form, a woman? Ugh, definitely not. What sin did women commit?
Suddenly, I found myself questioning if I actually couldn’t do it.
Swoosh-
Looking down, there was nothing symbolizing a male inside my bone armor—only the leather of Big Boar filled it.
“… Am I… a eunuch?”
What I once had, which I was somewhat proud of, had now faded into a distant memory.
“At least, while using [Imitation], I might be able to mimic it. Hmph—what a lunatic thought.”
Anyway, the skill of Demon Servant just required me to not let the subject escape during the breeding session. Depending on how I see it, that isn’t too hard either.
However, to achieve that, I either need to be overwhelmingly stronger than the target or possess the ability to incapacitate the target for a certain amount of time, which isn’t an easy feat. Still, with [Stagnation], I at least had some possibility there.
“Nonetheless, having a means to increase my subordinates is a good thing. The more subordinates I gain, the higher my stats will go. Wow… this is seriously amazing.”
For the first time in a long while, I leveled up. I was stuck at level 50, but now I finally took a step forward.
With the stat rewards from leveling up, I decided to invest in Sense, Agility, and Wisdom—the three stats I had intended to keep raising.
Wisdom felt a bit lacking regarding the bomb’s attack power used for my initiation, so I added a bit there.
=====
[Skeleton Mage Il-wol – Lv.51]
Strength: 197(+10) Agility: 182(+13)
Health: 163(+40) Wisdom: 170(+3)
Magic Power: 161(+10) Resistance: 45(+30)
Sense: 74(+3) Recovery: 55(+10)
(* Irmana’s Blessing (Imperfect) applied: Strength, Agility, Health, Magic Power, Recovery +10)
=====
With the significantly increased stats in Health and Resistance, which had been comparatively low, my overall abilities became quite balanced. I felt very satisfied.
I was a bit disappointed that Resistance, which arguably had the least utility, rose, but considering I took down a C-grade boss and gained 60 stats from it, it was a complete win.
As I slowly glided home, various thoughts filled my head.
“The fact that it said I’m certain to bring chaos to this world… is a bit chilling.”
I don’t want to attach too much significance to the message, but isn’t it possible that the system has everything recorded already about what’s going to happen in the future?
Or maybe it can predict events based on current happenings to some extent? Either way, it’s a spine-chilling notion.
“Then again… there’s that Jo Gi-man chap who’s lived seven lives. It’s a world where nothing’s impossible.”
Clunk—
Upon entering my house, Yeon-hee and my summoned creatures welcomed me in the living room. What’s she doing awake at this hour?
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