n

n

nChapter 55 – Out Of The Way! An Unwelcome Guest Of The Dungeon Comes. (2)

nI obtained the skill book and new ID, as well as the thumb to go along with it.

nBy thumb I mean one that’s made of silicone for thumbprints.

nInstead of taking a week, it only took 4 days instead.

nThey said they were able to get it easier than they expected.

nWho knew the very goons that I hated so much would be this useful to me.

nIt seemed that fate can give benefits far beyond one’s imagination.

nFrom Jong Ho, I asked for additional information regarding the executioner class.

nSince it was a rare class, the information of their skills could not be found on the app or on the internet.

nThe fight would be easier if I could, at least to some degree, predict his attacks.

nMost of the skills for the executioner used martial arts, especially hand to hand combat for single targets.

nA human weapon, literally speaking.

nOther than the skills that were beyond ranking, I was able to get the gist of them.

n* * * *

nRunning around the level 23 dungeon, I continued to use the Mass Stealth Jutsu on the ghouls.

nThe faster the skill level rose, the faster I could get back to my secretive growth regime.

nHowever, the more I used it, the more I thought that this skill was broken.

nA skill that made all living organisms within a certain radius vanishes from view.

nMost skills other than attack skills cannot be used on monsters usually.

nHeal, buffs, or enchant type spells could not be casted on them.

nThe only form of skills that worked were the ones that inflicted harm on them.

nBut oddly enough, the Mass Stealth Jutsu worked on monsters as well.

nInside the dungeon, hundreds of ghouls were present.

nA little flicker above their heads appeared, and then suddenly all of them vanished from view.

nI was still easily able to see them using Eye of Insight, however.

nThanks to this mechanic, I was able to level it up to level 105 in 4 days.

nIt was only possible because I gave up sleep and leveling to invest in this skill.

nI even used the remaining Awakened Essence on this.

nThe Awakened Mass Stealth Jutsu could not be identified by the Eye of Insight.

nIt was a skill I used, but due to how high level the stealth ability was, I could not see it anymore.

nThankfully, the hidden targets would be revealed if they tried to attack me.

nThe ghouls appeared once more as they tried to attack me.

nThe Eye of Insight was an aoe skill, so someone from the association could be level 100 with it.

nTo be undiscoverable, the price of one essence shouldn’t be that much.

nNo cool down or cast time, but with the mana cost of 1500 per use.

nThe Mass Stealth Jutsu could be said to be a skill just for me.

n“Skill book, ID, and information on the skills done. Guess the only thing left is to hunt?”

nWhat I needed most right now was my defensive capabilities.

nIf he was at the tier of a major, he would definitely have skills above ranking.

nThe Mana Shield that I thought was the ultimate shield becoming useless. Who would’ve thought.

nMy offensive capabilities on the other hand, I had enough as both Meteor and Iceberg was nearly level 200.

nAh! Almost forgot my Formless Sword Aura.

nThere were some skills and defensive items that I was eyeing for.

nTo find them, I headed towards the level 28 dungeon.

nEveryone remembers. Korean Choi So-Hyeon was the first person to solo clear a dungeon, and it was the level 28 dungeon.

nHowever, humanity could fight up to the level 30 dungeons if with a party.

nNo information exists on the dungeons beyond though.

nAccording to the information I received, there was a reason why it was so difficult to solo clear dungeons beyond level 28.

nIt was due to the sheer size of the dungeon!

nAnd the amount of monsters to match it.

nOf course, the toughness of the monsters was part of the reason why.

nNo matter how strong an Awakened might be, there is a limit to their mana.

nWhat about a warrior who doesn’t require mana to do basic attacks charge forward?

nNo. Within the level 28 dungeon, physical attacks do not work.

nMonsters that drop insane amounts of experience points.

nAnd the chance for some rare loot to drop from the boss.

nThere was no reason to hesitate at all.

nI scanned my ID card.

nFollowing that, I used the silicone thumbprint to finish the identification process.

n-Dungeon is being activated.-

n* * * *

n“Report.”

nJoker’s angry voice filled the dark room, giving it a heavy atmosphere.

nThis was to be expected, since Jin was one of his top ten subordinates.

nHe trusted him obviously, and his skill wasn’t that bad to boot.

nBut that Jin he trusted could not be contacted for 3 days.

nThat was after he left to take care of Min-Cheol.

nSuppressed by Joker’s aura, he quaked in fear as he continued his report.

n“Yes! Joker. We were still unable to find any traces of Jin.”

n“UAHHHH!”

nThe S ranking bloodstone that Joker was holding in his hand.

nIt’s a stone that most blacksmiths would have difficulty processing.

nHowever, in Joker’s hand, the stone was ground to dust like tofu.

nThe glow of the stone illuminated one side of the room, and the reporting subordinate laid on the ground, groveling and trembling in fear.

n“I apologize! I’ll call in additional members to find him for su..”

n“Begone.”

n“…..”

n“Just like what you’re thinking, Jin is dead. Guess the tiger cub has gotten a lot stronger than we thought.”

n“What do you mean…”

nJoker’s face was painted with rage as he spoke.

nBut with it, there was an unfathomable smile with it.

nAnd he continued.

n“Assign someone new to lead the group that Jin once led.”

n“Yes! Joker!”

n“Soon, the one will be moving soon. I will judge the one who killed Jin after.”

n“Understood! Joker!”

nAfter that, the messenger fled the room.

nThen.

n“Ku.. KUHAA..KUAHAHAHA!”

nJoker laughed with insanity.

nThe rage that filled him was nowhere to be found.

nHe spoke as he looked at the powder of what used to be a bloodstone.

n“Yes..more! Be further drunk in your strength! When the day comes to fight, I will be offering you as a sacrifice to the one!”

n* * * *

nThe association’s Awakened special governing sector suddenly became chaotic.

nIt was because data was received that someone had entered the level 28 dungeon.

nHowever, this happened from time to time, so there wasn’t much of a panic.

nIt could just a simple data error, or perhaps malfunctions with the scanner.

nAfter 40 minutes later, yelling mixed with cursing filled the room.

nThe Awakened with the same ID had re-entered the dungeon.

n“Ah **! What is this?”

n“It’s gotta be an error with the scanner?”

nThen. One of the many people standing by the computers yelled.

n“The data does not match with Choi So-Hyeon.”

nThey had compared the data with the only solo clearer of dungeon level 28.

nAnother responded after hearing that.

n“What kind of insane person would be clearing a level 28 dungeon in 40 minutes?”

n“No way. Lots of rain fell this week. I’ll contact that maintenance team.”

nThroughout the chaos, the department head Kim Ho Jin quietly observed the situation from the end of his table.

nOnly for a moment though. Then he spoke.

n“Contact the association hunters.”

n“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better to check if it is a machine error, chief…”

n“That could be the case if the data for re-entry didn’t come. Perhaps someone with a death wish going into his last dungeon.”

n“First, we’ll be contacting the other association members near the area.”

n“Hunters first! I’ll be going to the scene as well.”

n“Yes!”

n“And hey! Se-Jin Kim, come to my room.”

nFocusing only on the task at hand at his post, Se-Jin Kim stood up at once and replied to the summons of the chief.

n“Yes! Understood.”

nAfter entering the room, Se-Jin was busy trying to read the mood of the room.

nA new blood who just came in, how many times would they talk with the department head…

nChief Ho Jin broke the silence.

n“How are you doing recently?”

n“Yes. I’m getting used to it quickly.”

n“Good. It must be quite the confusing for you right now. Glad to see you’re giving it your best.”

n“Oh ahaha. Thank you.”

n“But I heard you were taking the Kim Min-Cheol case?”

n“Yes. That’s correct. I am taking care of that.”

n“Nothing strange to note with that?”

nHo Jin was asking Se-Jin with a different look in his eyes.

nIt wasn’t the look of a high ranking official looking at their employed.

nIt was the look of a prosecutor asking a criminal.

nTo his question, Se-Jin replied with an awkward smile.

n“Yes. For now… I have only observed him entering the dungeons, and there was nothing special to note.”

n“Really? What does it look like to you? Do you think he has a fake ID?”

n“From what I saw, other than the unusual speed in growth, there was nothing else to note…”

n“Do you know the ruckus going outside?”

n“Yes. About the level 28 dungeon?”

n“Yep. But you know. I feel like the two of them are the same person.”

n“Huh? Kim Min-Cheol and the person entering the level 28 dungeon?”

n“Of course. Well, we can confirm it when we get there.”

n“….”

n“Please continue to do your best. Even if the civilians continue to swear and ignore us, if the association continues to change, we’ll be able to receive acknowledgement someday.”

n“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

n“Okay. You can leave now.”

nLeaving the room, Se-Jin could tell.

nThat chief Kim Ho Jin already knew what Se-Jin knew about Min-Cheol.

nHe didn’t ask directly, but Se-Jin could feel it.

nThat this short talk wasn’t an encouragement between fellow workers, but a warning.

n* * * *

n“We’re almost there.”

n“Okay.”

nAs the level of the dungeon rose, the amount of dungeons lessened.

nA level 28 dungeon meant that it was not discovered for 28 years while it stayed in place.

nKim Ho Jin and his escorts met with the hunters, deploying en mass to the level 28 dungeon entrance.

nThe data continued to arrive from there.

n“I requested for about 20 or so, but how did it go?”

n“Yes. They’re on their way.”

n“He could be in stealth. How about the summons for a cleric ranker?”

n“Lady Hwang Young Hee is coming along as well.”

n“Good. It’s a dungeon with low entrance rate. Far from the association. And he’s incredibly skilled. Focus on keeping yourselves alive only.”

n“Yes.”

nThey drove up the long mountain trail for quite a while.

nFinally, the vehicle arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.

nWith a cigar in his mouth, Ho Jin spoke.

n“How long since he entered again?”

n“Entered at 14:21. 30 minutes has passed.”

n“Okay. In 10 minutes, we should be able to see him.”

nAs Ho Jin finished speaking, the association hunters as well as cleric ranker Hwang Young Hee arrived.

n“Lady, thank you for coming.”

n“Ohoho. Mr. Ho Jin, it’s been awhile.”

n“Hope you’ve been well?”

n“An old woman like me passes time without knowing how much time has passed.”

nHwang Young Hee was a level 520 cleric ranker, ranking 3rd out of all Awakened.

nUnlike the simple neighborly grandma she appeared to be, she was a skilled cleric who mastered 7 different cleric skills.

nThe reason why she was summoned was to use the Eye of Insight.

nOne of the first generation of Awakened, she was nearing the time to use the Awakened essence for it.

nOut of all the Awakened in existence, it is said that no stealth skill could go past her.

nIt was then.

n“Chief! It’s 14:30. He’s about to come out.”

n“Okay. Lady, we’re counting on you.”

n“Oho. Of course.”

nFinishing her reply, her expression turned serious as she casted the skill.

n‘Eye of Insight.’

n