Chapter 119 – What Must Be Done (2)

I sent Boss a message last Friday night that I wanted to negotiate. Boss went silent for a week until today. Her message contained a coordinate to an intermediate rank danger zone on the outskirts of Gyeonggido.

“Huh?”

I spotted an abandoned house in the middle of a forest when I arrived. It looked like the houses that often appeared in horror movies with faded bricks covered in moss and vines. I went inside as my footsteps echoed in the darkness. Goosebumps rose on my skin every time a chilly wind blew.

“Hello?”

Something large dropped from the ceiling the moment I spoke. Evandel’s ghost wolf shot out from my chest as I grasped the situation.

“A bat?”

Fenrir crushed the flying nightmare. Er, wait. I was Fenrir.

— Krrrr! Krrrr!

— Guaaaa!

The giant bat struggled until its neck twisted like a stringless puppet. The flying nightmare should’ve been an intermediate rank, grade 6 monster.

“I guess I’ll leave close combat to him.”

I could shoot from long range as the wolf took care of anything that approached. It seemed like the perfect combination.

Kiiiik—

The door behind me opened as small footsteps resounded. I turned around and saw Boss. She looked back and forth between the dead bat and the wolf.

“Is that your pet?”

“Yes? Ah, yes, something like that.”

“It’s cute. Take a seat.”

Boss pointed at the table, which was the only furniture. I sat with the wolf next to me. Then I asked Boss.

“Did you leave the bat here on purpose?”

“No, many monsters live around here. It must’ve entered on its own. Anyways, I heard you wanted to negotiate?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hear it. What condition didn’t you like?”

Boss took out the official mercenary contract. It offered a great salary, which mercenaries rarely received. However, what I wanted couldn’t be included in any contract.

“I liked the conditions.”

“Then what?”

“I’d like to make a request.”

Boss tilted her head. I told her what must be done.

“I need you to help me kill someone.”

Silence descended. I couldn’t even hear Boss’ breathing. I had done my research and concluded that it was impossible to kill Chae Jinyoon alone. Daehyun Hospital’s VIP ward couldn’t be underestimated. Each room resembled a fortress that could withstand a full-powered attack from high-intermediate rank heroes. Three powerful mercenaries protected Chae Jinyoon’s room in shifts. Still, the security had lessened compared to the beginning. A high-intermediate rank hero used to guard him. Regardless, I had no way of penetrating their defense. My identity would certainly be discovered. The Chae clan could easily use Yoo Jinhyuk and I couldn’t avoid his gift.

I knew it was selfish, but I still wanted to remain with the few comrades I made.

“You want to… kill someone?”

“Yes.”

I gave Boss an envelope with a stiff expression. Boss stared at it for a moment before grabbing it with a sigh. Then she opened it as pictures and details of Chae Jinyoon fell out. Boss’ expression immediately changed. She looked at me with wide eyes.

“Is there a specific reason?”

I nodded.

“What is it?”

“Mmm… for the sake of world peace.”

I told her the truth, but Boss made a sullen face. I didn’t have a personal grudge against him.

“…”

Boss remained silent. Chae Jinyoon was undoubtedly a difficult target. To be more precise, the Chae clan posed a problem.

“I’ll be the one to kill him. You just have to create the opportunity.”

I didn’t plan on asking anyone else to do the deed. I added a secret word as she remained silent.

“Boss.”

I purposely avoided calling her Boss for this day. Her eyebrows twitched. She tried to maintain an imposing attitude, but I could see the corner of her lips curling.

***

The group that went to the past, except for Kim Hajin, met at a coffee shop. Yoo Yeonha was the only one actually studying for the final exams. Even Kim Suho busily texted on his smartwatch. Chae Nayun stared at him suspiciously.

“Kim Suho, you’re texting Seung-Ah unni, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“I knew it. That’s why she kept asking about you.”

Kim Suho flinched.

“Uh… we’re just talking normally.”

Yoo Yeonha interrupted, “Isn’t that even stranger? A cadet casually talking with a guild’s vice-leader? She’s currently the most popular hero too.”

“Eh? Ah, no, it’s not like that…”

Kim Suho began to ramble. Luckily for him, the subject quickly changed as Yi Yeonghan teased Chae Nayun.

“Why are you so quiet? Are you thinking about Kim Hajin?”

“Why would Chae Nayun be thinking about that idiot?” Shin Jonghak reacted strongly as Yoo Yeonha frowned at his language.

“Jonghak, don’t call him an idiot. He’s rank 1 in theory.”

“Right, Jonghak. Didn’t you ask him for help yesterday?”

“What? Don’t make things up, Kim Suho. Have you finally gone crazy?”

“I saw you ordering Kim Horak to ask for you.”

Kim Suho remembered seeing Shin Jonghak awkwardly hand his notebook to Kim Horak. Then Kim Horak went to Kim Hajin with it.

“That was just him asking what he didn’t understand.”

“What nonsense is that…”

“Shut up! Stop being so loud. I’m tired and annoyed from my hellish training.”

Chae Nayun quickly suppressed them. Yoo Yeonha smiled bitterly and closed her textbook. No one seemed interested in studying.

“So, all three of you are attending Yoo Sihyuk’s camp? You’ll be a league above the rest once you finish.”

“Yeah, we’ll return in early March.”

“Hm… then when should we go on our trip?”

The best part about being a student was going on trips with friends. Chae Nayun’s mood lightened after Yoo Yeonha brought it up.

“A week after finals on December 17.”

“Oh, that day doesn’t work for me. I have plans with Hajin.”

“What?” Chae Nayun’s eyes widened at Kim Suho’s unexpected words. “W-W-What plans?”

“Uh, we’re going…”

Kim Suho paused. Kim Hajin had discovered a dungeon last week and invited him. Kim Suho felt that he shouldn’t reveal it to others.

“... We’re going on a drive together.”

“A drive?”

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been wanting to ride his bike.”

“Pft, what a fitting duo.”

Shin Jonghak sneered while Chae Nayun banged her head against the back of a couch.

“Ha, haha, I can’t believe this. Ha, haha.”

Chae Nayun suddenly shot up after repeating this woodpecker-like motion.

“Hey, I’m leaving first.”

“Where are you going?” Kim Suho asked.

“Training. I’m going to train. Don’t follow me, Shin Jonghak.”

“Cough.”

Shin Jonghak sat back down.

Koong, koong. Chae Nayun angrily stomped away for no reason.

***

I met with Rachel at 9 P.M. after meeting with Boss. We trained one-on-one like usual.

“By the way, why did you ask me to help you with barrier? I’m only rank 334.”

I suddenly grew curious and asked. Rachel looked at me before speaking with a sheepish smile.

“I’m not that stupid. I already know you’re staying at that rank on purpose.”

“Yes? Ah, well…”

I shrugged at her high evaluation of me. She wasn’t wrong. I could easily climb to rank 30 if I fully utilized stigma’s magic power. Any higher would be doubtful because of my stats. I gained 0.7 from aether, 0.3 from the under armor, and 0.1 from my ghost wolf. My stats still weren’t great despite the 1.1 bonus from items.

“Let’s start. Try activating barrier.”

Rachel nodded with a determined look. She stood up straight and summoned a barrier. It seemed a bit jagged, but still covered her upper body.

“I’ll try attacking now.”

I held up my cadet handgun and aimed at her barrier. I could easily kill a low-intermediate rank monster with it, but it shouldn’t penetrate her barrier.

“Cover yourself with qi reinforcement just in case.”

“Yes!” Rachel enthusiastically replied and covered herself with qi reinforcement. She felt really passionate about learning.

“Try to stop my bullets with that barrier.”

“…?”

She seemed a bit confused and probably thought the barrier would defend on its own.

“Using this barrier?”

“Yep, you’ll know what I mean. It’ll be quite difficult.”

“…”

Rachel curled her body behind the barrier. I grinned and aimed at her.

“I’m shooting.”

I fired. The bullet oddly curved underneath her barrier and struck her arm.

“Uuu!”

Rachel shook at the sudden impact. Then she rubbed her arm. It should only sting since she had a qi reinforcement. I slightly provoked her.

“You’ll need to practice for at least three years if you want to block my bullets.”

“…”

Rachel’s eyes flared with pride. “I, I want to try again.”

“Of course.”

Rachel decided to enlarge her barrier to deal with my bullets. I aimed at the opening with a smile and fired at her feet. Tang.

“Auu! Ow!”

Her qi reinforcement must’ve been weaker there as she fell to the ground and held her foot. She glared at me with tearful eyes.

“T-That was mean!”

“What do you mean? That was your fault. Why block a bullet with just a barrier?”

“Eh?”

“Try asking the grass or the wind.”

I remembered a scene I once described. A breathtaking scene from the future when Rachel asked her elementals to cast hundreds of barriers. She saved thousands of lives and finally overcame her trauma.

“…”

Of course, that wouldn’t happen until later. The 17 year old Rachel could only glare at the grass.

Buzz—

My smartwatch suddenly rang. I had added this alarm to notify me of changes concerning myself.

[24 hours have passed since consuming a ginseng pill. All stats have increased by 0.0012 points.] [The medicinal effect, physical body reinforcement, has been 100% memorized.]

4. Physical Body Reinforcement: Will increase all stats by 0.001-0.02 points. (The increase will depend on your luck. Your physical stats will not affect it in any way.) Reproduction Cooldown: 24 hours.

I finally obtained this medicinal effect after eating Yoo Yeonha’s ginseng pill every day. The effect permanently increased its user’s stats by 0.001-0.02 points, but its upper limit could only be obtained by children or the elderly. I could only receive a max of 0.0015 points. My stats would continue to increase with this new effect. A year would give me 0.657 points if I gained 0.0018 points per day. Ten years would give me 6.57 points.

“Mm.”

I nodded in satisfaction and raised my gun.

“Alright, let’s go aga…”

Psssh, psssh. The leaves rustled behind me. Who was it? I quickly turned around, but the person had already run away. My thousand-mile eyes could easily spot them through the forest.

“Huh?”

The familiar silhouette with brown hair was Chae Nayun.

***

Time flew by as the hellish finals began. I breezed through the written exams like always. Most cadets worried about the combat exams.

“Listen up. Everyone will start from an equal position for the final exam.”

Every first year gathered in Gyeonggido on December 8 for the final exam.

“The final exam will be tower climbing!”

I didn’t know much since I skipped most of it after the first semester. I suddenly regretted it.

“This is a common training program before guilds attempt to conquer a tower. Up to 1500 people can enter at a time.”

The square building in front couldn’t be called a tower. I looked at it in a daze. The 10 floors should be much bigger inside.

“This tower’s entrance is a magically engineered device similar to a portal. You’ll be sent to a random location, so don’t be alarmed!”

The cadets entered one by one after the instructor’s explanation. I closed my eyes as I stepped through. It felt similar to a portal. I could only see darkness until my thousand-mile eyes adjusted.

“Hmm.”

I found myself in a small white room with only a narrow pathway to the right. I focused my vision, but couldn’t see through the walls. As expected of a tower, something seemed to hinder my gift.

“Argh, my eyes hurt.”

I felt like I could peer through the walls if I added stigma’s magic power, but decided to save it for later. The lights came on and signaled the start. Glowing sentences appeared on the walls.

[The 3 Commandments] [Cooperate with white to climb.] [Be wary of traps.] [Have faith.]

“I’ll be damned if Lancaster or any other djinns don’t appear.”

I felt all too familiar with how things always panned out. Djinns wouldn’t dare to act too openly, but they had already taken over about 30% of Cube. First, I took a careful look around. The room didn’t seem to have anything special.

“I’ll have to cross that bridge.”

The pathway on the right led to a bridge. It looked like a trap with both sides completely empty, but I had no choice. I walked down the only path and arrived at the bridge. Then I carefully proceeded over it one step at a time. Shweeek— An arrow came flying with a shockwave. No, not just one. Another also came from the left and right. However, all three arrows slowed in front of me in bullet time. They felt like turtles compared to Rachel’s attacks. I grabbed the two arrows from the sides and dodged the front by tilting my head. Then I chucked them forward and destroyed the crossbow.

“Ahahaha!”

I easily cleared the first trap and laughed imposingly. However… Doosh— I heard the sound of something opening.

“W-What!?”

The bridge beneath me suddenly dropped.