ALL NOVEL Chapter 41
Clang!
“Fatal blow.”
Hooowww.
“Flashlight!”
In a trapped situation, it seemed Hong Yong-taek and Henry thought it was now or never, as they activated their skills simultaneously.
First, Hong Yong-taek dashed forward, radiating a blinding light, followed closely by the sound of Henry’s magic-infused arrow being shot.
Piiing!
Swaaaack!
They probably thought it was a perfectly coordinated combination, but honestly, it was just too obvious.
With a slight gesture, I commanded a Phantom Wolf, which understood the order, to leap into the air and snatch the arrow, snapping it in half.
Jump.
Thud!
[Crrrr!]
Crunch─!
“That’s impossible!”
“How could a mere corpse execute such refined movements…?”
With such a predictable repertoire and equally predictable reactions, I felt my excitement quickly wane as I charged the Undead forward.
“Grab them.”
The ensuing battle wasn’t anything spectacular.
Honestly, it was expected, considering they weren’t even on my level.
“L-let go of this! You’ll regret this! If you build up this karma, your descendants will…”
Seeing him still spouting such useless words in this situation, it seemed Hong Yong-taek’s previous actions weren’t merely for show.
I waved my hand dismissively.
Whoosh.
Then the Skeleton Masher broke Hong Yong-taek’s leg just as it was restraining him.
Crunch!
Snap!
“Gahhh!”
“What’s this about descendants?”
“Ugh. Ggghh.”
With terror written all over his face, Hong Yong-taek couldn’t utter another word.
I glanced at the ring on my finger and said to the frightened Hong Yong-taek and Henry,
“…6 minutes. I’ll end this quickly because I’m annoyed.”
No further words were necessary. As I turned to face the Boss Room, two Phantom Wolves that had been waiting immediately lunged at the necks of the two.
[Crrrr!]
[Kurwwwaaa!]
Crack!
Crack!
“Gack!”
“…Cough! Cough!”
After about 5 seconds had passed, the familiar notification sound rang in my ears once more.
Ding!
【Level has increased!】
‘…So this counts as treating humans as monsters.’
I’d definitely seen something online about humans also being targets for experience points.
Especially, they said that Hunters gained more experience as their levels increased.
While I absentmindedly looked at my status with an added level, I suddenly thought.
I had never paid attention before, but surprisingly, human experience points could be quite decent.
#
Kugung.
After eliminating the two, what I witnessed as I entered the Boss Room was hard to believe, even with my own eyes.
Tap.
Tap.
“Ugh! Hoo! Huh!”
“……”
I thought he had already died.
Surprisingly, Gwak Min-ji, who was left alone in the Boss Room, was still very much alive. It seemed she had been doing her utmost to avoid the boss while using her skills during those few minutes.
Breathless and nearly exhausted, she looked at me with utter disbelief.
“How… how did you…?”
“I took care of everything.”
From my viewpoint, honestly, I was more surprised. If fleeing reached this level, it was some sort of talent. I regarded her with a somewhat discontented look.
Swoosh.
Plop,
“Ugh! Ack!”
Gwak Min-ji apparently couldn’t move any further and simply fell to the ground.
Naturally, the gaze of the Boss, the Lizard Wolf, began to shift toward me.
The Lizard Wolf, deemed one of the most troublesome among C2 rank Boss monsters.
But honestly, at that level, I didn’t even need to use the Book of Death.
“Kill it.”
[Grgrgrg.]
[Crrrr!]
At my command, the Undead that followed rushed toward the Lizard Wolf with intense vigor.
[Kwaaak!]
The Lizard Wolf certainly had impressive physical specs, living up to its name.
As a result, one Skeleton Masher and one Phantom Wolf couldn’t withstand the force of the attack and were destroyed.
But that was as far as it went.
Though their stats may have slightly lagged behind, I was already overwhelming them in numbers.
Eventually, the Lizard Wolf succumbed to the tidal wave of violence.
[…Kwaak.]
Kuwung!
Thud.
Tzzzz.
The return portal appeared right after taking down the boss.
As Gwak Min-ji finally caught her breath and tried to rush toward it, I ordered the Masher to block her.
“S-save me! I won’t say a word! I won’t tell anyone, no matter what!”
That was a surprisingly intense reaction. To be fair, it made sense considering a party member who could barely manage one portion suddenly killed all the human hunters and the boss.
“P-please. I’ll do anything.”
I looked at Gwak Min-ji closely.
Thinking back, while she wasn’t part of Hong Yong-taek’s group, she had also pressured me several times earlier.
And as I had said before, I had a personality that would never forget such actions.
Then suddenly, a good idea crossed my mind.
“Let’s write a contract.”
“…What?”
“I said let’s write a contract. With your soul as collateral.”
Hooowww.
I activated a spell and placed my right hand on Gwak Min-ji’s head.
“I swear to devote both body and mind to me from your heart.”
“What?”
“Unless you want to die.”
“I’ll do it! I swear!”
With that, a small symbol was etched onto Gwak Min-ji’s forehead and quickly vanished.
I grinned while formulating a perfect plan in my mind.
‘If I gather just four more, I could manage mid-sized ones too.’
I regretted not taking the two from earlier as subordinates instead of killing them.
I started to tease Gwak Min-ji for not thinking of this brilliant plan sooner.
“What are you doing?”
“W-what?”
“Stop dawdling already. There are magic stones and accessories outside, so bring them all.”
“…M-me alone?”
“Are you still not fully aware?”
“I’ll go! I can just go, right?”
As Gwak Min-ji turned back with an unsatisfied look, I left her with one last remark.
“Just say they died to the Lizard Wolf.”
“Why? Because of those bastards, I…!”
“It’s bothersome to drag around various witnesses. This is an order.”
Hooowww.
Upon hearing that, Gwak Min-ji nodded her head in confusion.
It was probably quite unfamiliar. That sense of being unable to defy absolute orders due to the contract’s effect.
After Gwak Min-ji struggled to gather all the loot, I finally said to her.
“Oh, from now on. If I call you, just come running quickly…”
Aah, the side effects are such a hassle.
Feeling the ring’s effect had completely worn off, I took a step back, creating some distance and pointed with one hand toward the portal.
“…F-first, go. Stay 10 meters away.”
In response to that scene, Gwak Min-ji stepped into the portal with an expression that was beyond description.
#
Gwak Min-ji was in despair.
Though luck had allowed her to survive amidst the imminent crisis, she had paid the price of becoming a slave, bound by an unknown magic and her soul as collateral.
‘That crazy psycho….’
While she found Hong Yong-taek’s group despicable, Gwak Min-ji considered Baek Eun-ha to be the real danger.
Possessing the incredible strength to kill three hunters of the same rank alone, she had deceived everyone in the Dungeon with a complete loser cosplay.
She couldn’t even grasp what her true intentions could be.
‘Something tells me she’s not sane.’
Although she wanted to figure out a way to escape, doing so under this spell was absolutely impossible. Gwak Min-ji trembled at the thought of what could happen to her going forward.
She had returned to her own room and continued her life as commanded, but felt her life was nowhere near in her own hands.
Three days rolled by, and at last, she received a message from Baek Eun-ha.
Ding!
[Beginner Strategy Guide.txt]
[Read this all, and log in every day from today to finish your homework.]
‘…What?’
The content was far removed from what she had imagined.
Assuming it might be some metaphor or code, she carefully looked over the text, but there were no peculiarities.
The first command from Baek Eun-ha to Gwak Min-ji was simply about leveling up a mobile game account.
Ding!
[By the way, this is an order.]
‘What the hell is going on?’
Gwak Min-ji, confused, followed the instructions, reading the strategy and leveling up the account.
Though she couldn’t comprehend it, perhaps due to the order, her body moved on its own.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
【CLEAR!】
How many days passed since that day? Gwak Min-ji, who had been robotically repeating her routine, received a new message.
Ding!
[ETube: Desert Lord Pattern Deep Dive]
[Practice, and run raids on set days. After clearing, organize rewards and report back.]
And so, Gwak Min-ji obediently watched the video to learn the patterns. She logged in to run raids on the designated days.
The only thought running through her mind during the process was one.
‘…Is she a crazy person?’
Sure, she had been a psycho who would kill people if things went south in the Dungeon, but what on earth was she doing now?
Both her somewhat ridiculous command to level up a game account and her personal involvement in the strategies sent shivers down her spine.
‘What on earth is she?’
At the very least, with an official rank as a Hunter, there might be some information out there.
Usually not that interested in Hunter-related communities, Gwak Min-ji frantically began searching for information about Baek Eun-ha, overwhelmed by her unrelenting curiosity.
Surprisingly, she found clues rather easily.
【Baek Eun-ha has severe social anxiety. She was part of a government-funded program but barely communicated and wandered around dungeons alone.】
┗ No way, really?
【She said she felt nauseous around people.】
【When we had to take a bus to move for Dungeon training, she brought a blanket from the lodging and grabbed two seats for herself. Anyone who saw it would know?】
┗ Seriously, is it that bad?
┗ So cute, haha.
【If it’s that severe, how does she manage in the dungeon?】
┗ She’s skilled enough to cover for it. Even if she’s tucked behind and sends the Undead out front, she’ll still be worth more than two people.
┗ By the way, she was carrying an A-Rank Mental Stabilization Ring; it seems to help her be normal for a brief time.
┗ Huh? I haven’t heard that before?
┗ We were in the same party.
┗ No way, really?
‘A Conditional Dungeon Survivor? A disciple of Song Ha-yeon?’
After scouring for a while, Gwak Min-ji finally realized the truth about Baek Eun-ha.
‘Now that I think about it, she did have a fancy ring….’
If it was indeed the same person, most situations would make sense.
Since she was regarded as a super promising talent, it wasn’t surprising that she could handle the Hong Yong-taek group.
‘No, what the hell. Then why am I here?’
Using magic to turn someone into a slave for game leveling definitely wasn’t something a normal person would think of.
The more information she gathered, the more confused things became, and Gwak Min-ji eventually gave up trying to think.