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nChapter 39 – Kutan Desert (6)

nSungjin walked around the Oasis alone. The water in the oasis was dirtier than he had imagined.

nIn movies or cartoons, characters are usually depicted running into the water to swim or drink from it, but Sungjin felt no such inclinations.

n‘Maybe if I was dying of thirst…’

nSungjin held the magic waterskin above his head upside down as he walked in circles around the Oasis. The Oasis covered a small area; It took less than 1 minute to walk the circumference of it.

nHe couldn’t spot anything special about it; he had been hoping for clues about the ‘hidden pieces’, but there was nothing.

n‘So… what now?’

nSungjin thought to himself as he gazed into the water. And then suddenly, something sparkly caught his eyes. Sungjin stared at it.

nIn the center of the Oasis, there stood a large palm tree. And on top of the tree sat a grody old lamp.

n‘Found it!’

nSungjin thought, and he stepped into the Oasis. However

n‘Foof’

nSomething popped out from within the murky waters. Sungjin jumped back in surprise. It was a crocodile. An extremely large one at that.

n‘Crocodile? In the desert?’

nSungjin checked the cube. It did not say anything. It wasn’t a hidden boss.

nSungjin shifted his gaze back to the Crocodile. It was preparing to launch a follow-up attack after its failed ambush, but nothing except the hidden boss could possibly give Sungjin trouble.

n“You surprised me, dumb animal!”

nNevertheless, the crocodile died with just a few slashes. Alert, in case there were more crocodiles waiting, Sungjin cautiously made his way deeper into the Oasis.

nThe Oasis was shallow enough to walk into it. And there didn’t appear to be any other Crocodiles. Without further trouble, Sungjin was able to reach the Palm tree growing in the center of the Oasis.

nOnce he was within arm’s reach of the tree, Sungjin returned the ‘Moon Specter’ back into the sheath and climbed the tree.

n‘Hmm… I should try to learn some sort of flight spell.’

nBeing able to fly would be extremely helpful getting around, and searching for the ‘Hidden Boss’ and the ‘Hidden pieces’.

n‘I’ll have to remember to look around the Black market.’

nMaking a mental note for himself for later, Sungjin arrived at the top of the Palm tree. There, the lamp lay gently enshrined in the center of the palm leaves.

nWorn out Lamp

nNormal Ornament

nActive Skill

nRub (I)

nRub the lamp. Effects are unknown.

nA Lamp, worn out due to age and weathering.

nThough, it would have been a work of art at the time of its creation.

n‘Hmm…’

nThe part about ‘Effects are unknown’ caught his attention. Sungjin placed the lamp into his pocket and slid down the Palm tree. He walked out of the oasis and inspected the item.

nThe lamp was caked with dirt and extremely ancient looking. But, in between the scum built up over the years, the sun’s reflection he saw from underneath the grime gave proof of its golden material.

n‘I wonder what it’ll do…’

nSungjin first checked his surroundings, and then began to scrub away at the lamp. Soon, smoke emitting a dim blue light began to billow out of the lamp.

nSungjin recalled the folklore; Legend of Genie in the lamp granting wishes.

n‘Wish… Hmm… What should I wish for?”

nFilled with anticipation, Sungjin watched the smoke build up. But… the smoke continued to billow out for a long while.

n‘Come on… Come on…’

nThe lamp continued to smoke for what felt like an eternity.

n‘What… What’s that?’

nSungjin looked up at the sky and jumped back in surprise. High above, a large gathering of clouds formed the figure of a giant. Only his upper body was done forming, and already it was as tall as a five storey building. He was gargantuan.

nSungjin stared up at the giant.

n‘Yeah… Bigger means he can grant better wishes, right?’

n*

nAfter killing all of his teammates, Igor called out to the Operator.

n“Operator, what is my contribution now?”

nYour contribution is 26.4%

nIt was as he had planned. Munir had 11.4% before he died. Igor had received exactly half of Munir’s contribution upon his death.

nThe other half had most likely gone to the Chinese man. Igor rubbed his sword and shield together.

nAnd for a moment he looked up at the sky. The sun continued to cook his body.

n‘I even took desert simulation training… but the reality is much worse. Wait… is this even real?’

nHe lay against the side of the lizard and closed his eyes. But…

n‘Igor Janović! You must train harder for the sake of our Motherland!’

nA voice inside his head woke him up. Looking up at the sky, he spoke to himself.

n“Why does the Motherland matter in this situation? Does the Motherland even exist anymore?”

nHowever, his superior officer was not here to listen to his complaint. He thought to himself.

n‘Would he be fighting too? Somewhere in this world?’

nHe would have most likely survived. In the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) where Igor received his military training, every man and woman were professionally trained for survival.

nAnd the instructor who mentored Igor was a Specialist among specialists in survival skills and tactics. Unless, of course, he was very unlucky. No, even if he were unlucky with his teammates, he would have still survived somehow.

nHe would have killed all his teammates, like Igor, to take all the reward for himself. Igor asked the Operator for the time.

n“How much time do I have left?”

n1 hour and 5 minutes left in the raid.

n‘I hour and 5 minutes…’

nWith the exception of the mysterious 5% he could never locate, there was still 2.3% left in the raid completion. Igor stood up again.

nPerfection, or the closest to it; his training demanded it of him. Igor moved back into the desert to fulfill his due diligence.

nOccasionally Giant Lizards or Giant Scorpions came attacking Igor, but he could defeat them 1v1 without much difficulty.

nOf course, he did not find it easy when two or three appeared at the same time. But, animals were still animals; these monsters were simply larger and stronger than the earthen kind. Their intelligence level was still low.

nSimple tricks he learned in the Spetsnaz scattered the enemy, and he could resume to facing them one by one with brutal efficiency.

nAfter hunting for a long while, he could not see any more enemies. All he could see intermittently were corpses lying in pieces, scattered about.

nUpon close inspection, all of the corpses showed signs of cuts made by a Japanese katana. The culprit was most certainly the mysterious Chinese man.

n‘…Chinese…’

nHe asked the Operator.

n“Raid Completion level?”

n94.2%

nIgor thought for a moment.

n‘Again… 5% is missing.’

nHe did not understand why he could never fill the completion level to 100%. Even when he made sure that there was nothing left alive, there was always 5% remaining. But that did not stop Igor.

nHe may not understand the requirements to fill the last 5%, but he will try until the very end. That was his training and his philosophy.

nAfter combing the desert for a good long time, finally, he found a lizard aimlessly roaming around, lost and alone. After killing the lizard,

n95%.

nHe finally reached 95% completion. He knew there were no more monsters left to find. After several chapters, he confirmed this as the truth.

n‘…Just where is the last 5%…’

nAnd while he was pondering, somewhere in the distance,

n‘Rumble’

nHe heard something strange. It was familiar, but something he never expected to hear in the desert.

n‘Lightning storm?’

nIgor stared off into the distance. Very far away, he could see that a large cloud had formed. Under it, he could also see a spec of green.

n‘Oasis?’

nHe was planning on resting after hunting the last Lizard, but he immediately made his way towards the Oasis. He felt convinced that whatever was happening over there held answers about the mysterious 5% which had eluded him thus far.

nIgor slapped his shins and spoke a single command.

n“Forced March”

nThe armor on his shins folded outward, clanging away until it covered his feet completely. And with enhanced speed, he ran towards the Oasis.

n*

nThe Giant who emerged from the lamp looked down upon Sungjin and asked,

n“Who has awoken me?”

nFilled with anticipation, Sungjin answered.

n“Me! I have!”

n“Really?”

nThe Giant stared for a moment and began his introduction.

n“I am the most powerful mage to have ever lived in Kutan, Soldamyr*.”

nSungjin nodded. He predicted the follow-up phrase.

n‘Make a wish. I shall grant you anything that your heart desires.’

nBut he was completely wrong. What he heard was

n“I shall test you to see if you have the right to become my master.”

nThe cube, which had stayed quiet when the Sphinx and the Crocodile appeared, suddenly let out an announcement.

nWarning! Hidden boss

nThe Great Genie ‘Soldamyr’ has appeared!

n“What?!”

nSungjin threw away the lamp in surprise and pulled out his sword. But the Genie ‘Soldamyr’ had already began casting his first spell.

n“Murderous thunder, Jump from foe to foe!”

nBright ball of light gathered in his hands and soon poured out towards Sungjin.

n“Chain Lightning!”

nSungjin tumbled away, but the lightning landed on the Oasis, and also struck Sungjin.

n“Ack”

nSungjin couldn’t help but cry out. Even though he dodged the main body of the spell, it was still a powerful strike.

n‘But why?’

nSungjin thought for a moment. Now that he looked at himself, he saw that he was still dripping wet.

nGetting electrocuted despite dodging the spell was probably due to that. Sungjin quickly moved away from the Oasis. Soldamyr changed his spell.

n“Incinerate everything in your Path! Fireball!”

nThe Genie’s fireball was at least twice as thick in diameter. Sungjin retreated while wrapping himself in ‘Sael’s Breath’ and shouted.

n“Solidify!”

n‘Boom’

nThe fireball exploded and lit the surroundings on fire. It was a powerful boss. Incomparable to the bosses he had fought until now.

nSungjin quickly took out the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ from his vest. He had been saving it all this time to try it out on the Hidden boss anyway. It was a great time to test it.

nBut Soldamyr continued to shout incantations.

n“Lance which pierces all! Lightning Bolt!”

nSungjin quickly tumbled away and dodged the spell.

n‘Boom’

nThe sand where it landed was scorched black.

n‘I need an opportunity to read the book…’

nThe only weakness with the ‘books’ was that like magic ‘casting’, it required ‘reading’ time. Sungjin thought of using Cain, but he had already summoned and unsummoned Cain.

n‘What should I do…?’

nSungjin considered his options. The Crocodile corpse came into view.

n“Lightning Bolt!”

nSungjin tumbled away.

n‘Boom’

nHe accidentally held the ‘Moon Specter’ too close to the strike zone, and his right arm went numb. Sungjin gritted his teeth against the pain, pointing towards the Crocodile with his left hand, he shouted an incantation.

n“Awaken and become my slave! Rise of the Dead!”

nThe Crocodile came back alive and began to move. At the same time, Sungjin took out and rang ‘Manyata – Master’s bell’.*

n‘Ring ring’

nAlong with the sound, the Crocodile began to move rapidly. Sungjin’s attempt was successful. Under the effect of Manyata, the Crocodile zombie moved with incredible dexterity.

n“Discard your fangs and become a tame sheep! Polymorph!”

nEven though it was instantly countered before it could launch even a single attack, it gave him the time he needed. Sungjin opened the book.

nThe book was designed to automatically open to the most relevant page. Once the book was open, Sungjin read out loud the content of the book. Quickly, and accurately.

n“Cao Cao’s great army pursued deep into the night and reached the fields of Changban. But he stared down at the army while blocking the bridge. Shaking his lance and glaring most threateningly, he shouted.”

nTL NOTE

nThe name Soldamyr is a parody on one of ‘Heroes of Might and Magic’ hero Solmyr, the djinn Wizard.

nMaster’s bell is kind of a pun. The Word for bell 종 could also mean slave

/servant.

nIt was nice meeting readers on discord ? You also get notifications on chapter release as well there so do join! If you enjoy our work do consider supporting us.

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