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nChapter 6. Creation of a Clan, Part III

nTranslator: Khan

nEditor: RED

n4.

nKim put a red gem in his mouth and swallowed it. His breath, after he swallowed it and breathed out, smelled of blood.

nThrough the bloody smell, Kim Tae-hoon put in another red gem.

n“Whew…” Behind him, Bang Hyun-wook’s long sigh came out. “I can’t eat anymore… I can’t eat.”

nFollowing the sigh came a short speech. He was not really talking to himself.

nThey were words spoken to let Kim Tae-hoon know.

nKim Tae-hoon swallowed another red jewel, instead of answering. He was like a machine.

nBang Hyun-wook, watching him, stuck his tongue out.

n‘You’re a great brother. I’ve hardly eaten thirty, and you’ve almost finished with more than eighty.’

nBang Hyun-wook recollected what had just happened.

nAfter finishing the Mud Troll hunting, Kim Tae-hoon declared the creation of the clan on the spot and received applicants.

nOf course, the applicants were forced.

nThere was not a single person who wanted to be thrown into a world full of monsters.

nAfter that, Kim Tae-hoon took the nearby church as a base camp and started collecting monster stones.

nThe monster corpses were everywhere. It was hard to collect all the monster corpses in a short time.

nAlso, the number of monsters still surviving on the base was not small in number, so only the monster corpses were collected.

nNevertheless, the number of monster stones collected exceeded a hundred.

nKim Tae-hoon ate most of the monster stones collected.

nIt was a monopoly.

nNo matter who looked at it, Kim Tae-hoon’s greed was beyond excessive, and they could not help but think that it was too much.

nKim Tae-hoon knew that well.

nGulp!

nA strong smell of blood rose from his gut. There was always some left on the stone after digging it out of the corpse of a Goblin. They hadn’t really bothered to clean them properly after collecting them.

nKim Tae-hoon closed his mouth to endure his rising disgust. He looked around with his mouth clamped shut.

nSoldiers resting in the church … He felt the gaze of those who had become his subordinates now.

nWhen Kim Tae-hoon tried to meet their eyes, they hurriedly avoided his gaze.

nIt was only a moment later when they exchanged glances. But it was not hard to read their gazes.

n‘They see me as a greedy monster.’

nHe was sure that his men did not see him as a great leader who they could trust, follow, and respect.

nThat was why he could be confident.

nTheir new leader, in their eyes, was skilled, but a greedy dictator. It was normal to see it that way.

nSo far, Kim Tae-hoon’s actions had been self-righteous, and right now Kim Tae-hoon was right to be greedy.

n‘This will be a risk someday, but…’

nThe reason why Kim Tae-hoon was greedy, even though he knows it was disturbing, was because he was assessing the situation more realistically than anyone else.

nGulp!

n‘I can’t help it, for now.’

nKim Tae-hoon took the last jewel into his hand, and snapshot his hand with a smartphone camera.

n——

nBasic Abilities

n– Strength: 60

n– Health: 42

nSpecial Abilities

n– Energy: E Rank

n– Mana: E Rank

n– Telekinesis: A Rank

n– Defense: E Rank

n– Mana Resistance: E Rank

nAchieved abilities

n– Black Skin (Grade 6)

n– The vitality of Troll (Grade 6): The power of the Mud Troll consumes Energy to increase recovery speed.

n——

nHe saw his Strength had exceeded 60 points and the ability, Vitality of Troll he had newly acquired.

nKim Tae-hoon clenched his fist after confirming the data.

n‘This is great.’

nHe knew, even without breaking anything, that his power was already beyond human.

nAt least now, Kim Tae-hoon would be able to show enough power that he will not lose even if he fought the beasts with his body.

nThis was the result of a monopoly!

nIf Kim Tae-hoon had shared the monster stones according to a fair or very reasonable calculation like someone else, there would not have been such a result.

nOf course, it was not bad to distribute monster stones fairly and rationally. No one hates rationality. Most things must be treated reasonably, because what is not rational is eventually distorted, and one day it will collapse.

nThe problem is that the situation in which he was in now was a state of insane reason.

n‘But it’s still a long way short.’

nHumanity now faced a new enemy called monsters, and Awakeners had appeared to deal with such monsters.

nSimply put, it meant that when the Awakeners hunted monsters, mankind could survive.

nOf course, the Awakeners must get rid of them.

n‘The Dragon… This much power to deal with…’

nThe dragon. A monster that scared all living creatures just by being present.

nIf Kim Tae-hoon had not experienced the appearance of the dragon, he would have planned to build a balanced power rather than a monopoly.

nBy collecting Awakeners and then improving the overall power, he would have created an efficient monster hunter group.

nThe monster stones that were secured immediately would have been distributed under the concept of the right man in the right place.

nBut now, if he ran such an efficient group, it might take more than ten years to build the power and capacity to kill the dragon.

nIn the meanwhile, there is no guarantee that the dragon would remain silent.

n‘… at this level, it is not just not enough, but far from enough.’

nAnd there was no guarantee that there would be only one dragon, and there was no guarantee that there would not be a monster more terrible than the dragon.

nTherefore, what was needed in this situation was not an efficient solution.

nSomething extreme was needed!

nNot hundreds or thousands of well-made arrows, but an extremely sharp spear was needed. It was necessary!

nThe clan, founded by Kim Tae-hoon, was a tool for making such an extreme sharp spear.

n‘This amount is not enough.’

nOf course, Kim Tae-hoon would take most of the monster stones the clan acquired!

nNaturally, if the army functioned properly, Kim Tae-hoon did not have to worry about this, nor would he have to do this.

n‘We can’t expect the help of the nation right now.’

nKim Tae-hoon had completely abandoned any expectations from the military.

n‘If the Capital Defense Command has collapsed, most of the rear units will have collapsed, and only the front line will have survived the battle with the monsters, but it will be isolated. It will be hard to hold on for a month if they don’t get supplies.’

nWe must abandon expectations and assume the worst. If the front line collapses in that situation… It is the worst of all.

n‘… if the monsters that destroyed North Korea come down, and the moment the front line collapses, it will be actually on the edge of a cliff.’

nKim Tae-hoon, who had assumed the worst of all, once again looked at the mark on his right hand, the Mark of an Awakener.

n‘The only way to survive on that cliff… is to climb the cliff.’

nThere was something Kim Tae-hoon had realized as he came and went on a myriad of battlefields.

nThere was nothing as meaningless as praying for something to reach out and save you.

nIf someone wanted a hero of legend to appear and save the world, it was just like expecting a lottery win when not buying a ticket.

n‘If I want to live, I have to make a way to live!’

nSo Kim Tae-hoon got up.

n“Attention.”

nAt the words of Kim Tae-hoon, the attention of those who had avoided his eyes focused on him.

n“We’ll clean up the monsters in the base in two hours. Our first destination is an arsenal. After securing the arsenal, we’ll finish supplying. The second is to sweep the rest of the monsters in the base. After eliminating the monsters, we will secure the monster stones from the monster corpses we have killed. Then we will take a rest.”

nAfter completing the one-sided notice, Kim Tae-hoon looked at Ahn Sun-mi.

n“Ahn Sun-mi, how are the conditions of the injured?”

nAhn Sun-mi, who was checking the wounds of the injured, replied with some disbelief, “There’s no problem moving them.”

nEven while speaking, Ahn Sun-mi could not believe what she had seen.

nThe fact was that men who had their flesh torn off, been hurt with injuries they’d have for the rest of their lives, and those who would be out of action for months… had been treated neatly by the monster’s flesh, making the medical arts she had learned by dedicating most of her life a minor skill.

nOf course, her thoughts were not considered by Kim Tae-hoon.

n“Lieutenant Kim Soo-ji, what about the key to the arsenal?”

n“I have it.”

n“Are there any questions?” Kim Tae-hoon gave them the right to ask questions for the first time.

nNo one raised their hand. They were soldiers.

nThere are no questions for soldiers. There are only two things: orders, and action!

nIf someone raised his hand and asked questions in this situation, he was not a soldier.

n“I have a question: what about our plans after we secure the arsenal, clean up the rest of the unit, and rest?”

n“There is nothing decided yet.”

n“Why don’t we go to Bucheon Stadium?”

n“Why?”

n“There’s a museum there, and if there’s anything like the boss has said… I can call you boss, right? Anyway, isn’t it very likely that the relics that the boss mentioned are there? For your information, there is also a bow museum!”

nKim Tae-hoon studied the person who had asked the question.

nA small figure, a mouse-like appearance, the face of a man in his early or mid-twenties with a look to be wary of, rather than a favorable impression.

n“What’s your name?”

n“I’m Jang Sung-hoon, and I’m twenty-two now that the New Year has passed.”

nHis name was Jang Sung-hoon.

n“What did you do in society?”

n“Ah, I did a little this and that… but I did not have only one exact job…”

n“Tell me three things you did in society.”

n“I have forged art, stolen goods, and smuggled them.”

nHis job was being a criminal!

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