“Shh- Hwa-”
Cha Jin-hyuk’s breath is gradually stabilizing.
Is it just my imagination, or does he seem healthier now than when he was alive?
‘He really brought me back to my pre-death state…’
With my heightened senses, I can detect even the slightest differences in the flow of a hunter’s magic power.
The resurrected Cha Jin-hyuk is exactly the same as he was before he died, without a single deviation.
‘The process may have been bizarre, but resurrecting him is real.’
– A miracle has occurred that revived a deceased being!
– Achievement [Reviver] acquired!
‘Oh… I got an achievement.’
[Reviver]
– The ‘Weight of Existence’ increases significantly each time you revive a being that has accumulated enough karma.
– If the revived being dies again, they will be accepted as a minion.
‘Looks like I have another way to raise the Weight of Existence. I like the part where it automatically reverts to me if they die again. Good achievement.’
About five minutes later, Cha Jin-hyuk finally opened his eyes.
“Ugh──!! Hah…!!”
He woke up startled, immediately vomiting a bucket of dark red blood.
“Hah- Hah- What, what is this?! What in the world happened?!”
He clearly had yet to fully grasp what had happened to him.
“Cha Jin-hyuk, how about coming over here for a chat?”
I requested he sit on the stone floor made of Dark Space.
“What?! Who are you?!”
“Oh… right. Maybe he would recognize me if I wore some armor?”
[Flame Armor]
“You, you, you are!!”
As he saw me in armor, Cha Jin-hyuk freaked out, backing away and drawing a weapon from his space.
“Whoa- Calm down.”
Swinging a colossal iron mace that seemed too big for his frame, he approached me, clearly on high alert.
“What did you do to me?! I definitely… died!”
Even his trembling fingers revealed he was thoroughly scared.
‘The power of death…’
No one can easily overlook death, and I pointed my chin at him.
“Hit me.”
“What?”
“Go ahead and hit my face with that mace, you baby. Are you deaf?”
I provoked him, and after a moment of hesitation, he lost grip on the chain of the mace he was swinging.
Bang!!
The mace flew far behind me, missing my face by a mile.
‘Wow… what power— it feels like a Twin Head Ogre has descended.’
The astounding force shattered the boulder on the beach, but the attack was one that didn’t even graze me.
“Ugh… Damn… What’s happening?”
Cha Jin-hyuk seemed panicked by his inability to strike as he wished.
“Hmm… I see. Confirmed.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
A being who has consumed a Life Potion cannot resist me.
To think that even when I urged him to attack, this was the result meant something.
“But Cha Jin-hyuk, why do you keep dropping informal speech? From now on, you must use honorifics with me.”
“What nonsense are you… talking about?!”
Unintentionally, Cha Jin-hyuk had slipped into honorific speech, covering his mouth in shock and hastily retreating.
“Please tell me what you’ve done to me!!”
“Hahaha, that’s funny. You really just do what I say.”
He wasn’t a demon servant or minion, but he had become something along those lines.
Of course, the major difference was that there was no absolute loyalty, which wasn’t such a bad thing; I needed some balance rather than all subordinates being sycophantic.
“Come here.”
“Ugh…!”
Cha Jin-hyuk crawled toward me on all fours as if he were being dragged by someone.
“Get on your knees.”
“Ah, no— Gah…!”
Boom!
The huge figure with the mace knelt before me, trembling in fear.
‘I’d be scary too, I guess.’
Having the person who killed him now right in front of him must have been horrifying.
“First of all, you must not tell anyone about me.”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“…. Yes.”
“You remember that you died, right?”
“…. I remember vividly.”
‘He’s quite quick to comply. He seems a bit calmer now, though. Is this what it’s like when one’s tendencies twist in an unpredictable direction?’
I had expected him to go mad or rampage, but he was surprisingly mild.
“More importantly… how do you feel? From what I see, your combat power seems to have increased by about… 20% compared to before you died.”
This was what I was most curious about.
“…… I can definitely feel… the growth. How on earth is this possible?”
“Don’t you sense anything else aside from your stats?”
“I don’t think there’s anything else… Huh?!”
As he pondered, he thrust his fist forward, and shockingly, his fist shot out from behind my back.
“Oh… What kind of ability is that?”
“I unlocked the ability called [Partial Phase Shift].”
“That sounds badass, right?”
“It is the best gift for a close-combat warrior.”
It’s a skill similar to the one used by the Residue of Chaos, but different skills might have different names depending on how they manifest due to the attributes and nature.
‘It was also noted that when you die and come back, your potential awakens. Acquiring that skill must have required an innate understanding of space, meaning he had potential to develop in that aspect.’
“Well, I’ve checked enough for now. Ah, you are to absolutely obey my commands from now on.”
“…… Why— why should I do that?”
“Will you obey or not?”
“Ugh…”
Cha Jin-hyuk gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut before eventually nodding vigorously.
“Say it out loud. Say you will obey.”
“I will obey…”
“Good, you should also call me ‘Master’ from now on.”
“Yes… Master…”
“And besides doing what I tell you, don’t engage in any usual activities. Especially, all the evil deeds you’ve been up to are strictly forbidden from now on.”
“Evil deeds…?”
But as he quietly mulled over my words, he suddenly started to sob, shaking his shoulders.
“Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Sniff… m-my life has been too dirty and ugly to bear…”
“……??”
It wasn’t entirely surprising given his shifted tendencies.
“Regardless, you’ve been operating in the light. That means you didn’t leave evidence of killing people. Right?”
“As embarrassing as it is, that’s true… So while suspicions exist, the management agency couldn’t touch me. Although, I did flee to Jeju Island upon hearing that there was a hunter who could tell truth from falsehood…”
‘Is he talking about Jeong Hyo-chan?’
In any case, he was planning to attach himself to Cha Jin-hyuk; it wouldn’t do to slander Cha Jin-hyuk’s reputation unnecessarily, so I checked with him.
“You definitely lived a garbage-like life. That’s completely beyond redemption. But you don’t plan to continue living like that, do you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then follow my directives faithfully. Here’s what I plan to do.”
I didn’t need to explain the details of the Orc invasion to the demon servants.
They would trust me no matter what I said.
Of course, if I turned Cha Jin-hyuk into a demon servant, it would be more convenient, and my stats would go up just a little.
However, I needed to observe a human who consumed the Life Potion for an extended period, so I planned to keep an eye on him for now. I’d have Haseirin report on the progress.
“Okay… Honestly, I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I am the one who resurrected a dead person. What is there not to trust?”
“I believe.”
“You have no complaints about me taking your artifacts, right?”
While Cha Jin-hyuk had achieved wonderful growth thanks to me, he was now stripped of all his artifacts.
“It’s simply because I’m weak, so it’s unavoidable.”
Cha Jin-hyuk took it surprisingly well.
“Then go help a hunter named Cha Jin-hyuk and a girl named Haseirin. There should also be a guy named Hwang Tae-wook and a girl named Mari. I need to check out a hidden dungeon, so I can’t go with you.”
“Hmm— Hwang Tae-wook… I understand for now.”
“Support Cha Jin-hyuk well from behind. Haseirin and Hwang Tae-wook are sure to gain influence, but don’t let it get too big.”
“I’m confident in such coordination.”
“Oh… really?”
Cha Jin-hyuk immediately left Jeju Island following my instructions.
‘A person like Cha Jin-hyuk needs to grow into a leader among the Awakened.’
Of course, I couldn’t force this to happen, but among the hunters I’ve seen in this life, he was the only one with strong convictions and a clean background.
He even shows absolute obedience to Yeon-hee, so I can trust him, and he has great potential.
As I watched the bear-sized figure of Cha Jin-hyuk retreat, I called Haseirin.
– Y-Yes? Master?!
“Long time no see. A guy named Cha Jin-hyuk will be coming over soon. He’s much stronger than you guys, so make good use of him.”
– Again? But if it’s Cha Jin-hyuk… are you talking about that gambling, woman-crazed punk?!
Haseirin was so surprised she forgot the joy of our call.
It seemed that Cha Jin-hyuk’s infamy was quite rampant in the hunter community.
Despite that, the fact that he was still roaming around outside means he had impressive skills.
Haseirin showed a reluctant reaction, but as soon as I issued my command, she showed enthusiasm, vowing to get him to cooperate.
– Master~ um, I have a request.
“What now? Don’t tell me the bone I gave you last time is already worn out? What have you been doing with it—”
– N-not that! Um, could you make the shape just a bit lumpier…?
“…… What am I, a sex toy designer? This is ridiculous.”
– But! It’s all because you haven’t come to see me! To ease my loneliness—!
“Well, I feel a bit sorry about that, but… I’ll try to make it when I can.”
– Hehe… Thank you. It would be great if you could send it by courier. By the way, when will we get to meet again—
“We’ll meet soon.”
I soothed Haseirin adequately before heading straight to Udo, where the ‘Hidden’ is located.
No one is forcing me to live busily with a sword drawn, but I’m the one who’s making myself busy.
‘… I should definitely make some more bones for the twins and Mari. I might as well make a bunch now.’
Usually, subordinates are meant to satisfy their master, but something felt off.
However, given that I gained the skill ‘Demon Servant,’ I guess it’s something I must handle.
Still, before entering the ‘Hidden Space,’ I felt much more at ease having secured a good handful of artifacts.
It’s hard to estimate how many artifacts I’ve already gained in just the past week since visiting the Hidden.
Excited, I proceeded to the Hidden dungeon.
[Stealth]
I re-entered the dungeon with the Hidden Space in stealth mode.
“Darn it!!”
Crash! Bang!
As soon as I entered, I witnessed a participant being hurled back, suffering the bitter taste of failure upon entering the Hidden Dungeon.
Just as the next participant was about to approach, I reached out to the Hidden Dungeon first.
– Would you like to enter the ‘Broken Goddess’s Dimension’?
A welcoming message still treated me with great favor.
Vroom──
I leaped in without hesitation, and for a moment, I heard the guide’s shocked scream, but that was short-lived.
‘Grrrr!!’
With a splitting headache, I navigated through numerous shards of dimensions.
Thud─!!
I was unceremoniously tossed onto the grass like a leftover seed.
‘Ugh… my head. Shouldn’t they improve this archaic entering method or something?’
– …….
Shaking off almost immediately, I rose to my feet and stumbled for a bit before regaining my balance and surveying my surroundings.
‘This place is…’
The familiar scent of blue and green embraced me.
As I expanded my sensory waves, it only deepened that feeling.
‘It’s a place where a vast lake continues endlessly… this is definitely…’
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