“So Jo Gi-man… did all that just to be recognized by people? That’s too much! I can’t forgive that!”
“Right?”
“Yep!”
Right before I died, that guy was reaching out not just to nearby countries but also to Europe and America. I can vaguely recall Jo Gi-man’s expression, as he helped them out and received cheers, a corner of his mouth subtly lifting.
‘… I can’t believe that all those actions were just to feel superior all by himself. There must have been some reward he was getting.’
Still, I don’t think Jo Gi-man would have done something like that without any thoughts behind it.
It’s known that the System likes overcoming obstacles.
If someone performs astonishingly when the world is on the brink of collapse, they could reap tremendous rewards.
“Anyway, what we need to do is prepare for that time that’s coming soon. Thankfully, we have quite a few cards up our sleeves.”
“You mean you know the future?”
“That’s the biggest one, but we’ll also have practical responses. The blood of the orc bastards that’s coming will corrode weapons surprisingly fast.”
“Kadinite!!”
“Exactly. I’m counting on weapons made of Kadinite to help us overcome that trouble. And…”
“And?”
‘I haven’t heard any thoughts on Killbard yet. Is that okay?’
Even if the materials we get from monsters are abnormal, they are drugs that increase physical abilities. When the Ilseom Guild’s hunters used them, the effects didn’t look significant, but nobody knows what the long-term results will be.
After some hesitation, I brought it up too.
Then Yeon-hee started pondering while fiddling with her lips.
“Killbard… do you think it’ll be okay?”
“Using any drug in excess isn’t good. But isn’t it better than just dying right now?”
“Yeah… that’s true. Do you think it would work on summoned creatures too?”
“Well, I guess we won’t know until we try. Summoned creatures could have the opposite effect as well.”
“Hmm…”
Yeon-hee’s reaction was better than I expected.
The issue is that to proceed with all this we need a force to help us.
It would be pointless to make weapons and not be able to distribute them.
“Still… the only person I can think of is Yeon-su unni. I can trust Ma Jang-ro, but since his main job is over there, it might not align with this. I’m not sure about the Chairman Choi Gang-han and Examiner Maeng Seong-yong yet.”
“Kang Yeon-su… I haven’t seen her in a while. Why not give her a call?”
“Um… is that really okay? She looked pretty exhausted back then…”
After some deliberation, Yeon-hee contacted Yeon-su, and fortunately, Yeon-su responded with a bright voice.
[Wait just 30 minutes. I’ll be there right away.]
A little while later.
“Long time no see— oh unni.”
“Aww— look at those cute cheeks.”
As soon as Yeon-su arrived, she rubbed Yeon-hee’s cheeks and sat down, staring at me intently.
“Hello, Il-wol! Did you miss me?”
‘That childlike lisp doesn’t suit her…’
“Well…”
“Sniff… I wanted to see you, but your reaction is so cold. Yeon-hee, scold Il-wol a bit!”
“Hehe…”
“Why do you like Yeon-hee?!”
Kang Yeon-su looks even brighter than before.
‘She doesn’t seem to be in bad shape. Her mental state surely looks good. Even after going through that ordeal with Escalon…’
I hear that Hyun Il-hwan and Hyun Woo-seok from Ilseom are still missing, but Yeon-su has a strong will.
“Right, why did you call me?”
I still feel hesitant to share everything I told Yeon-hee.
“It’s a bit complicated, but I got to know someone with foresight…”
“Ha! You just happened to meet someone with foresight? Well, alright. What’s the story?”
‘Sounds like she doesn’t believe it at all. Then again, saying you suddenly found out about the future does sound strange. I’m glad she isn’t digging deeper.’
It seemed like Yeon-su was aware that Yeon-hee was hiding something.
But she didn’t press further and focused on the immediate problem.
“Orcs…”
“Yes, I’m preparing for whenever those bastards invade. But I can’t do it alone. Just letting people know is a burden.”
“That’s definitely true…”
Yeon-su calmly absorbed the talk about the hell that’s about to unfold soon.
‘The association is even thinking about going to another dimension, so Yeon-su must have some serious intel too.’
But when it came to the topic of needing weapons made from Kadinite minerals, her expression shifted dramatically, leaning forward.
“Is that for real? Blood that has corrosive properties… even an artifact-grade weapon can’t be an exception?”
“Yes, probably.”
“Wow— what the hell did they do to give orcs such abilities? Are you sure your source is reliable? This isn’t something to joke about. Yeon-hee.”
“I-I’m positive. At least, that’s what I believe.”
“Hmm…”
Of course, Yeon-su wouldn’t be able to trust it 100%. It’s only natural since I didn’t reveal the story’s source.
But when Yeon-hee, who possesses mysterious powers, speaks so seriously, it can’t be easily dismissed.
‘We’ve seen large orc squads summoned from the Lizard Swamp too. Just connecting a few dots would show our talk is closer to the truth.’
“I’ve heard of Kadinite before. But I heard the mining amounts have sharply decreased lately? With superior mineral ‘Eternium’ being a great substitute… then again, isn’t that too expensive for mass production? Anyway, so you sent it to the smith?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like it would cost quite a bit. Yeon-hee… you’ve truly been working towards world peace, haven’t you?”
“Hehe…”
The world peace venture Yeon-hee mentioned after winning a tournament.
I thought it was just a young girl saying naive things, but Yeon-hee meant it sincerely.
“Alright. I’ll talk to some trustworthy people. Do you mind if we skip writing a pact?”
“Yes, I trust you, unni.”
“Oh my— will it really be okay? I’m not as righteous as you think!”
‘I know. But among the people I know, you’re probably the best one.’
Yeon-su replied teasingly, but I could see her ears slightly redden at Yeon-hee’s words of trust.
“But unni, are you okay?”
“Me? How do I look?”
‘I mean you look totally fine.’
“You look good.”
“Yeah, that’s how it is. Honestly, I was shocked after dealing with Escalon, but I’ve learned a lot because of that.”
Kang Yeon-su has recently been defeated multiple times by different great beasts.
She faced a battle between whether to be defeated or overcome it, and it seems she has brilliantly crossed that barrier.
‘Perhaps her greatest strength is her mental fortitude.’
“Anyway, I’ll look into that matter. But there’s something that’s been bothering me more, so I may need to calm that first.”
“What is it…?”
“I’m thinking of focusing on monitoring Jo Gi-man for a while. That guy… since he came back, the vibe has been off. Something… has changed. Before, it was merely annoying, but now it’s… definitely… giving off a villainous aura.”
“Ah… okay.”
I briefly pondered whether I should tell her what Jo Gi-man’s clone had done.
‘If I let her know, knowing Yeon-su, she might form a coalition to strike Jo Gi-man immediately. That would plunge us into uncontrollable chaos.’
I should wait until I strengthen myself, and when I think we can surely take him down alongside Kang Yeon-su, Hyun Joong-gil, and Inessa of ‘Do’.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s been quiet for Inessa lately. It would be troublesome if that evil woman became active.’
I can only hope she stays quiet for a little while.
* * *
The next day.
We finally resumed our dungeon exploration with our companions.
– Entering ‘The Fallen City of the Moon’.
– During a full moon, all attributes of the Moon race increase by 30%.
– Experience points increase by 30% when defeating the Moon race during a full moon.
“Ugh— I hope we’ll be okay. It’s exactly the full moon period right now.”
“Ha! Ah-rin? You’re part of the Great Beast Hunt members. Are you really getting scared of just a C-rank monster?”
“It’s not just any C-rank!”
As soon as they entered, Ah-rin showed her worries over the message that popped up, but Joo-ah looked full of confidence.
“This’ll be a piece of cake!! Let’s go!!”
“Hahaha, I’ve leveled up so much this time. I’ll freeze them all, so don’t worry!”
The other companions weren’t too different from Joo-ah’s confidence. All had surpassed level 80 during the Escalon hunt, and with their newly acquired abilities, it was highly understandable.
Moreover, they had a privilege of skipping the Hunter promotion battles.
The government gave out a hefty prize too, making this an unbeatable time.
‘Don’t underestimate the Werewolves.’
(Sounds like it’s gonna be tough.)
Azraelon seems to share the same thought.
‘Azra, do you see it that way too?’
(Yes. Don’t get too cocky just because they’ve made some progress— tsk tsk. Look at our Eun-young. So calm and collected.)
“Ugh, I feel like I can skip two ranks and still make it…”
(… Two ranks? How does that even make sense all of a sudden? Eun-young, what are you saying!)
‘Everyone’s just been through a major hurdle, so we should understand.’
Azraelon and I watched them, hoping they would exceed our expectations as we settled into a casual observation mode.
And 30 minutes later.
The first battle wrapped up, and the companions looked pale.
“Haah— haah— why is this so tough?!”
“Didn’t they have [Invincible] for a brief moment? Am I seeing things right?”
“It seems like it. The message appeared, so it has to be true. But we initially had no information about this.”
“This is moving way too fast!”
“Forget the speed; there’s something absurdly hard about them. Was their teamwork really this good?”
“During a full moon, Werewolves supposedly regain their intelligence. They may look like werewolves, but they essentially match against B-rank hunters.”
The first pack of Werewolves we encountered consisted of about fifteen of them.
Thinking it would be easy to take them down, our companions braved forward, but they were greatly taken aback by the significantly enhanced combat strength of the Werewolves and struggled considerably.
‘Usually, using [Invincible] as a skill during a full moon was the domain of higher-ranked Werewolves… why is it suddenly like this? Or are these truly higher beings?’
No matter how you look at it, they seem like C-ranked Werewolves, but something felt off.
Yet the enemies’ defensive skills had long cooldowns, so it wasn’t enough to significantly sway the battle.
‘The fact that all attributes increase by 30% is shocking, but it’s truly the tactical maneuvers that pose the biggest challenge.’
It would be more appropriate to conduct the battle as if they were entirely different entities.
“From now on, I’ll join battles right from the start!”
“I think that’s a must. It seems impossible to do it without Yeon-hee.”
After draining most of her magic during the first fight, Joo-ah gulped down Irmana’s water.
The summoned creatures Yeon-hee possesses, excluding me, Castle, and Sword Dragon, hold combat capabilities that surpass C-rank, so I had restrained them for the sake of the companions’ growth.
But now that it’s proved unnecessary, everyone began to unleash their full strength in the next skirmishes.
Shiriririck—
Kwaaaak—
“Spy! Great job!”
Yeon-hee continued the fight with her newly summoned creatures.
While the ogre still needed time to integrate, it boasted sheer power and tanking capability.
Katopas’ [Breath of Stone] and Tarantula’s [Corrosive Vines] were more than enough to restrain multiple enemies.
“These guys surely pack a punch! The Red-haired Dire Wolf, of course, but even Lukrakota is surprisingly useful!”
Yeon-hee seemed happy with the powers of her new summons, leading the charge enthusiastically.
[Fireball]
Fwoom—
Of course, I wasn’t just sitting back either.
– Defeated a Werewolf!
– Trait [Thievery] is triggered.
– Acquired Trait [Wolf’s Sense]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] is activated!
– All attributes increase by 1!
– Trait [Wolf’s Sense] incorporates into the body, enhancing sensory abilities!
– Sense: 372(+30)
‘Nice!’
The sensory trait acquired from defeating the Werewolf may have vanished instantly, but it boosted my sense stat by a whopping 30!
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