Chapter 51

“I refuse.”

[You have rejected Windia’s appointment as village chief.]

[Goodwill with Windia’s lord, Edward, is falling.]

[Edward will be more obsessed with you.]

What village chief? I had to refuse such a troublesome thing. Thus, I refused.

“Ah, why? Why did you refuse me again?!”

“It’s annoying.”

Edward looked dumbfounded as he was blocked by my determination.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is laughing at your firmness.]

Was I too resolute? Edward was a young child so I was worried he would be hurt. Thus, I made another offer. “Instead, I’ll stop by often.”

“Really…?”

“There is the return stone so I’ll be able to come back frequently.”

“Then please do so. I understand. I’ll use my wide generosity to understand.” Edward’s expression suddenly changed into one full of liveliness.

I was glad that the atmosphere was a bit more relaxed but I had one question: Why did this guy like me so much…? I didn’t know why but I felt like I was carrying a troublesome baggage. It was awkward to carry but a shame to throw away. I saw Edward looking up at me with deer-like eyes and was anxious. I had a feeling that there would be more troublesome things in the future…

After a while, I was able to leave the office. The moment I came out, Kerenos spoke, “You hate being a village chief that much?”

“I hate annoying things.”

“Haha, the lord really likes you, which is why he was so angry,” he spoke such words with a smile. I couldn’t help being angry when I saw the smile on his face.

…Damn bastard.

Kerenos started laughing. “Kukuk…”

“Don’t laugh, you bastard!”

“Hahaha, I’m joking. Please receive this.”

“…What is it?”

I received the item from Kerenos with a sour expression.

[The Permanent Access Card has been acquired.]

“The lord told me to give this to you. You can come at any time.”

Smile. Little kid. He had a smart side to him. “Thank you.”

“Okay.”

I turned and headed to the east. The Yurnia Forest was quite lush. On the way, I relentlessly sliced the slime into experience and picked the rare ingredients. Then I sent a whisper to the waiting Sujeong.

-Jackson: Sujeong, are you okay?

-Crystal: I’m fine! I’m not bored because I have Cer.

-Jackson: I’m glad. I’ve received a return stone so I’m coming back.

-Crystal: A return stone? Isn’t that expensive? How did you get it?

-Jackson: The lord gave it to me?

-Crystal: …The more I know about you, the more amazing you are.

-Jackson: Well, you don’t need to say that. I’ll be there soon.

-Crystal: Yes, please be careful!

After a while, I was able to get to the place where the Fire Dragons had been wandering around. I couldn’t hear anything around me. They seemed to have gone somewhere else. “It’s good they went to another place.”

I stepped forward and could see the cliff I had climbed up earlier. I stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down.

…Sigh. So dizzying. I didn’t want to climb up this thing again. I shook my head as I thought of the hard climb. As a mountain climbing enthusiast, I couldn’t sigh here. Well, it was rock climbing, not mountain climbing.

“I think it is more comfortable to go down with the cobwebs.”

I glanced around and found a place where I could hang the cobweb. There were no Fire Dragons so there were no worries. The thing I was trying to do now was to descend using the cobweb as a rope. It was a similar concept to the rappelling taught in the army. Ironically, I know how to descend with a rope. The memories I didn’t want to remember helped me out. I looked for a sturdy tree with a complicated expression. However, there was a problem…

“Eh…?”

By chance, Six Fires happened to come out of the bushes and stared at me. Shit. Why was he still here? Don’t yell. Absolutely don’t yell!

“Over here! The old man is alive!”

You jerk… just wait and see.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is shaking his head at the scheduled sweet potato.]

The Fire Dragons heard Six Fires’ words and were gathering. A fight seemed inevitable. Supreme Fire Dragon appeared with the others in his group. “Old man! How did you survive?”

“You’re too stubborn, way too stubborn. You salamander bastards. Why should I tell you?”

“Kuock. What are you jerks doing? Grab him!”

His men rushed in at the furious shout. However, I wasn’t going to be beaten. There was nothing holding me back now that they didn’t have a hostage.

[The murderer ‘Fifty-One Fires’ has died.]

[Your reputation has risen by 100.]

In an instant, Rising Sun started burning them. No matter how much they leveled up, they couldn’t have raised it as quickly as me. Party hunting and hunting alone were different when it came to incoming experience. Of course, there were some who weren’t killed in one blow. They were people with shields. Sujeong called them ‘tankers.’ Yes, it was two blows.

“C-Crazy! My shield is broken!”

I smiled slightly and kicked the face of the guy who lost his shield.

[The murderer ‘Fifty-Eight Fires’ has died.]

[Your reputation has risen by 100.]

[Reputation has changed from ‘good standing’ -> ‘high quality’.]

“Keke.”

-Crystal: Father, I can hear a loud noise from above. Did something happen?

-Jackson: I met them again.

-Crystal: Huh? By those guys, do you mean…?

-Jackson: Yes. Sujeong, can you change the way items are distributed?

-Crystal: I can change it. Why?

-Jackson: I’ll explain later. First, change it to the monopoly of the party leader.

The current party leader was Kim Sujeong. There was a reason why I asked her to change the way items were distributed. It was because of this.

[The party’s method of distributing items has changed to ‘party leader’s monopoly.’]

[Party Leader Crystal has acquired the Thunder Half-Plate Armor.]

[Party Leader Crystal has acquired the Kite Shield.]

[Party Leader Crystal has acquired Studded Fighting Gloves.]

…

I didn’t want to lose the loot I obtained from fighting hard like last time. I picked up items while my feet were on fire and none of the Fire Dragons dared to approach me. Then I saw reinforcements arriving from behind. They were all wearing white uniforms. The moment they appeared, they used buffs and heals, causing me to frown. These guys…?

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says they are likely to be priests.]

“These cockroaches…”

It seemed he wasn’t speaking empty words when he said they were fully prepared. I felt like crying because they were accompanied by so many priests just to catch me. I was going to pick up all the items but I was forced to change my mind. “Where can I run away to?”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is telling you to go down the cobwebs.]

“Go down the cobwebs? They will just chase?”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says to aim for that.]

…I think I understood. Should I trust him? I picked up an axe that fell around me and used Lion’s Roar. “Give me some good items like last time. Salamanders!!”

[The aura of Lion’s Roar has threatened the target in front of you.]

It was a skill with a pretty good performance. They were shivering at my tremendous roar.

“Kuuack! Old man!”

“How dare you call us Fire Dragons a salamander?”

“I can’t forgive you!”

Smile. The provocation seemed to have worked quite well. Once I saw Supreme Fire Dragon also stepping forward from the rear, I thought that I had a talent for provocation. This didn’t mean it was a good thing.

“Old man, this is the end! Kids, let’s go!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The buffed people started to rush forward together. I saw it and my heart sank. I had learned about the power of buffs through Sujeong and knew how different they would be after receiving them. Then I should break them up. I started running toward the cliff.

“W-What is he doing?

“Is it suicide again?”

“Don’t be fooled! He will live again!”

As they expected, I didn’t intend to die. I turned around in the air and fired a cobweb at the nearest big tree before I started descending at a rapid pace.

“Cobweb?”

“Did he have a skill like that?”

“What the hell is this old man’s class?”

The cobwebs were shrinking at a tremendous rate.

-942/1000.

-883/1000.

-731/1000.

…

I watched the shrinking cobwebs and once again realized how deep this cliff was. It was really deep. I would also have to recharge this soon. I remember being told that I had to eat cobwebs to recharge it. “Damn. How do I eat cobwebs?”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ likes your monologue.]

“…Crazy guy.”

* * *

On the other hand, at the top of the cliff…

“What? Follow that jerk!”

Supreme Fire Dragon kicked his younger siblings’ asses and pushed them. He clicked his tongue as he watched his younger brothers start to descend one by one.

Then One Fire appeared next to him. “Big Brother, can’t we just cut the cobweb…?”

“Hey, you idiot! Then how do we get back our items from that old man? There is no path down! Additionally, how do we know he won’t shoot the cobwebs again? He jumped down because he has the confidence to survive!”

One Fire scratched his back and didn’t say anything. Supreme Fire Dragon pushed One Fire’s ass with a dissatisfied expression. “You go down quickly as well!”

“Ack! Brother! I-I’m falling!”

* * *

I was the first to reach the ground because I bounced off the wall quickly. Then Sujeong spoke to me, “Father, are you okay?”

“You don’t need to worry. Rather…”

I quickly pulled out a rock and inserted magic power. Then an oval-shaped black hole was rapidly generated. It was a portal back to Windia. “Go first.”

“Father, what will you do?”

“I have an idea. Don’t worry.”

Kim Sujeong believed in my words and nodded. It was surprising since I thought she would worry first. “Father wouldn’t die easily. That’s what I think,” she spoke with a strong conviction.

I smiled as I gave her a positive response, “I think so as well.”

Kim Sujeong threw herself into the portal with Cer and they disappeared. I closed the portal once she disappeared completely. I looked up and saw the Fire Dragons approaching.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is asking why you aren’t listening to his words.]

Why didn’t I listen…

In fact, Prometheus had been telling me to go to the village but I was reluctant for some reason. Wasn’t this too silly? A man should have some pride.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says it isn’t too late to go to the village.]

Bullshit.

“Hey, Guide.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is flicking a booger.]

“Life isn’t fun if I follow a guide.”

I raised my middle finger to the sky.