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The boss monster was the same size as a two-story building. While people were gathering around the body and talking about Odin’s incredible abilities, Seon-Hu was staring at Soo-Ah, who had just gotten up a few minutes ago.
“Why did you do that?” Seon-Hu asked.
“...”
“I’m asking. Why did you do that?”
“...”
“I gave you one order.”
Then, Soo-Ah’s eyebrows wriggled as if she realized what he had meant. Yes, Seon-Hu had only given her one command: to focus on healing Seong-Il until Seon-Hu’s shield broke…
However, Soo-Ah wanted to defend herself as she had reasons for going against his orders, but too many things had happened earlier. Seon-Hu’s defensive barrier gradually changed its color, showing it had gone to a lower level, but it had no signs of breaking. His ability was indeed overwhelmingly powerful. Despite her determination to prove to him that she was necessary, the boss monster weakened faster than his barrier did. There was no situation in which Seon-Hu needed her. As long as he had his shield, there was no reason for her to heal him. At any rate, even when she tried, the skill was instantly canceled on its own.
The only one who needed to be treated was Seong-Il, and that was the problem. The monster’s tentacles were fast, and it was tough to chase him while avoiding getting hit. She had decided that it would be better for her to participate directly in the battle rather than keep her distance and helping Seong-Il. It was clear that attracting the monster’s attention along with Seong-Il would create more opportunities for Seon-Hu.
Moreover, she had just upgraded her Agility, and she was now as fast as Seong-Il. Therefore, that was the only way to prove how competent and important she was. Although she was a healer, she couldn’t be Odin’s healer as he didn’t need one.
“Didn’t you say you were a team leader on Earth?” Seon-Hu asked.
“Yes.”
“But you went against the leader’s instruction and abandoned the team? You are so pathetic.”
She apologized, “I’m so sorry. I was inexperienced and immature.”
Most people would avoid directly rebutting their boss while being reprimanded unless they wanted to resign or had already gotten another job lined up. Soo-Ah understood that concept. She suddenly realized something as she looked at his resentful face.
A team… I never thought of it. Odin was nurturing us. I made a big mistake this time.
She had blown her chance to gain his confidence. It felt more painful than the aching sensation all over her body and the fact that she had almost died. Seon-Hu didn’t take the two of them in because he needed them right now. It was for later.
***
“O…Odin… I saw it clearly… She… she had been cut in the throat…!” Seong-Il made a fuss. When Soo-Ah approached him, he stepped back and waved his one arm. Only then did he collapse to the ground as he realized that one of his arms was gone. He suddenly raised his head.
“You were dead!”
Seon-Hu squatted in front of him and commented, “You must have had a hallucination. How much did you drink?”
Seong-Il asked, “Drink…what?”
Seon-Hu clarified, “Monster blood.”
Seong-Il didn’t purposely drink it earlier as it had naturally splashed into his mouth. In fact, it had actually poured down like a waterfall above his head, so he had no choice.
In the past, monster blood was utilized as a stimulant. When people drank it, it only caused negative hallucinations. However, when it was combined with the newly discovered chemical, it became reborn as a drug that dramatically increased the combat capabilities of the Awakened. Therefore, monster blood with high purity, such as the ones from a high-class monster, was valuable as it determined the class of the resulting manufactured drug, similar to how boxes were graded.
Seon-Hu was well aware of the end of the drug dealers who had relied on such drugs, so he said as if he was concerned, “You must have drunk some on accident. From now on, you should vomit it out if such a thing happens again. There’s a period of time when you come to your senses for a bit, and that’s your chance to spit it out.”
Seong-Il couldn’t believe it as the scenes he had seen were still vivid when he looked back at his memories. However, as Odin mentioned, he had been able to wake up for a bit when he had ingested the monster blood that had fallen from the sky without realizing it.
“That was a hallucination?” he asked.
Then, Seong-Il shifted his gaze toward the healers who fell to the ground due to exhaustion. Seong-Il ignored Soo-Ah, who was approaching him, and passed by her. He stood in front of Ja-Seong, who was asleep with the other healers.
“I will help you too.”
Seong-Il stared at the healer’s face while recalling his young voice. His appearance wouldn’t have been a hallucination. Thanks to Ja-Seong’s timely healing and insignia usage, Seong-Il was able to grab the monster’s attention without dying. He thought he would be sad if that was also a hallucination as it was the most sublime moment that he had experienced during his forty-one years of existence.
‘Fuck.’
Seong-Il looked at his arm that had disappeared below the elbow.
“You will have a chance to regenerate later if you hold on. The class of healers should go up first,” Seon-Hu said.
“That’s good, but I’m so confused since everything was a hallucination earlier.”
Seon-Hu said gently, “Tell me about what happened in more detail.”
Seon-Hu was being very kind to Seong-Il, and Soo-Ah’s face darkened as she looked at him from afar.
Seon-Hu replied after hearing Seong-Il’s explanation, “I think you seeing Lee Soo-Ah die was the only hallucination you experienced.”
The other man nodded. “I think so too.”
“But don’t act like this again. There’s a difference between being brave and reckless. We could have gotten the boss even if you didn’t go that far.”
Seong-Il chuckled. “Haha. Even if you tell me to do it again, I won’t be able to do it. I was just crazy back then.”
“I have your reward.”
“Reward?”
“They randomly chose to give you an item. If it doesn’t get lost or destroyed, then an item is better overall. It’s a decent one. Look forward to it.”
Seong-Il’s eyes brightened. “Oh, yeah?”
“Don’t get carried away, and sleep a bit for now. At least your bloodshot eyes should return to normal.”
Seon-Hu tapped Seong-Il on the shoulder, then approached Soo-Ah.
“Why are you so dumbfounded?” he asked.
She replied meekly, “I will go to the bank.”
“Of course?”
Soo-Ah turned around, feeling as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She was nervous, but it was a relief.
‘I’m not kicked out yet. I’m still in Odin’s group.’
***
Ha! You are not Woo Yeon-Hee.
Although Soo-Ah had violated his orders earlier, he could tolerate her stepping out of line just this once. After all, he understood her reasoning as to why she had joined the battle, and she had been loyal to him so far. Usually, a woman couldn’t take a role to that extent, even if she had participated in the wave several times before. He actually couldn’t believe Soo-Ah had stepped into the tentacle’s attack range the same way Seong-Il had, as she couldn’t do that without risking her life. It also proved that she wasn’t a viper clad in a suit.
In fact, Soo-Ah was currently in critical condition even though her limbs hadn’t been cut off. Tentacles had pierced through her lungs, so she couldn’t breathe properly until they completely regenerated. In fact, if the appendages had entered at a more skewed angle, they would have hit her heart. That in itself impressed him. Lee Soo-Ah was clever enough, and she might have intended to create such an impression. However, he couldn’t help but be sympathetic toward her.
Seon-Hu erased his thoughts about Soo-Ah and focused on Ja-Seong, the young fellow who had appeared at an unexpected moment. Since Seon-Hu had been busy dealing with the boss monster when it happened, he didn’t have a fine grasp on the details on just how much Ja-Seong had participated. Thus, Seon-Hu was asking him for his side of the story as he had just woken up.
Ja-Seong replied, “I used my insignia on the guy and healed him, then I pulled the woman out.”
“Through the tentacles?”
“Those just followed the guy…”
Ja-Seong’s speech was inarticulate. He was neither an extrovert nor did he have the gift of the gab. However, none of that mattered as he had been the only one to step up when all of the other villagers were just watching in the evacuation area. He had saved Seong-Il and Soo-Ah.
“But why?” Seon-Hu asked.
The younger man hesitated before responding, “Just… Umm… If you three die, then it’s our turn next.”
Seon-Hu nodded. “That’s true. What is your name?”
“Kang Ja-Seong.”
“And you are a healer?”
“Yes.”
Seon-Hu continued, “Why are you so poorly dressed? Did you even eat something?”
“No.”
Seon-Hu nodded. Guys at Ja-Seong’s age all thought that they were grown up, but they really weren’t. Regardless of how much they had grown physically, adults often led them by the nose. Nevertheless, there used to be people around that age who grew independently and led their groups. The representative example out of them was the Sixth Virtue, the actual owner of Odin’s Wrath.
Even that Sixth Virtue would be no different from this guy now.
Seon-Hu was going to pay the price to Ja-Seong.
Should I recruit him as a party member?
He shook his head in the end. Although Ja-Seong had done something that even adults couldn’t do and it was the type of attitude Seon-Hu wanted to see from Seong-Il and Soo-Ah, he couldn’t bear the burden of ruining a young person. Going forward, his party would carry out more dangerous tasks than any other party or attack squad. It was stressful for Seon-Hu to force a mentally immature kid to go through the same thing as Seong-Il and Soo-Ah. If not, then he would have to take care of Ja-Seong’s life all the time.
Will I be able to afford to do that?
He could do it during a normal quest, but not in a boss battle and the challenger quests. Seon-Hu’s eyes flashed coldly, and a ring appeared on his hand.
[* Storage Box]
[‘God of Wind’s Protective Ring’ has been removed.]
“This item must be kept secret from everyone. Let me know if there is a problem with it, and feel free to come to me if you have any issues in the future,” Seon-Hu said while handing the ring over to Ja-Seong. The younger man hesitated, but picked it up and put it in his pocket.
“But can I really do that?”
Seon-Hu quickly realized what he meant and nodded. “Yes, come see me when you have a hard time. But you can’t come without even trying. Promise me that you will come if nothing else works after trying everything you can.”
Ja-Seong seemed happier after hearing that than he did when he had received the item.
Seon-Hu continued, “I’m sure you are old enough to know, and you must have played a lot of games. If you don’t want to be PKed[1], the item should be a secret between you and me. You need to be shrewd to survive here.”
“I will.”
“Try to match your general equipment with this. Also, make sure you eat proper meals, dude.”
[* Storage box]
[‘The Mana Stone Bank statement (100 stones)’ has been removed.]
[‘The Mana Stone Bank statement (100 stones)’ has been removed.]
[‘The Mana Stone Bank statement (100 stones)’ has been removed.]
Every time a notification message popped up, a bank slip suddenly appeared in Seon-Hu’s hands.
1. An online game term used to refer to when a player kills another player. ☜