Chapter 15 – What Goes Around Comes Around
(TLN: I decided to release a 3rd regular chapter this week. I had some extra time, and I wanted to somewhat wrap up this dungeon part. Please turn off the adblockers if you are able to. Thanks~)
“Whew, It’s done.”
Sunggoo wiped the sweat off his ghastly face. The last floor was a very large space, and there had been enough monster to fill up the whole floor. Of course, Sunggoo wasn’t sweating, because he had participated in the battles.
“Did you excavate it all?”
At Woojin’s words, Sunggoo brought the pile of blood stones to him.
“How can someone like big brother be Rank F? At the very least, you should be Rank D. Since you have a lot of abilities, you could even receive Rank C.”
“I’ll get it later.”
Sunggoo looked at Woojin, who spoke indifferently, as if he was seeing a monster.
The monsters on the last floor of the Dungeon was wiped out by Woojin and his summoned beings. Sunggoo was assigned the role of excavating blood stone from the monsters Woojin pointed out. He basically did the clean up work.
Woojin had the ability to hunt 1 star and 2 star monsters by himself. His battle ability was close to a Rank D, and he wouldn’t fall short against a Rank C in terms of versatility. He was able to summon the Skeletons, and he could search for the blood stones. Moreover, he was able to extract some gray energy from the dead monster’s corpses, and he was able to use it to heal himself.
Isn’t there a saying that says a sandalwood is fragrant even in seed leaf?(TLN:idiom used to describe genius who display their abilities even in childhood) Sunggoo looked at this person, who had finished his Roused registration only 3 hours ago. He believed this noob Roused Kang-woojin will become someone to be reckoned with.
“Uh? What are you doing? You are going to learn it instead of selling it?”
“Yeah, why?”
Woojin inserted his magic in to the Magical Scroll he held in his hand. As the Magic Scroll disappeared, he absorbed the magic, Electric Shock. He had to save his Achievement Points since he had a lot of skills to learn. Therefore, he decided to learn the magic, Electric Shock, since he already possessed the Magic Scroll.
Even if he wanted to learn a more higher ranked Magic, he could only learn from Magic Scrolls related to the Necromancer class. Still, Electric Shock would be useful when attacking a person. There was no downside in learning it.
“Hul. You already have a lot of ability yet you are learning more magic, big brother? If you had sold it, you could have sold it for one hundred million won…..” (TLN: 100,000,000 won or $89306 dollars)
“……?”
At Hong-songgoo’s words, Woojin’s face became rigid. A 100 point Magic Scroll was worth a hundred million?
“…it was that expensive?”
“Of course. It allows you to gain an additional ability. It is qualitatively different from an Artifact.”
Magical energy had to be injected into an Artifact for it to activate its imbued magic. On the other hand, Magic Scroll allowed a Roused to learn the magic. With a Magic Scroll, one didn’t have to worry about losing it, and even a low ranked Magic Scroll could be used for research. Of course, it would be expensive.
“Huh. Why would such an expensive item drop in a mere 2 star Dungeon?”
“I’m not sure. You must be really lucky. It isn’t like it never happens. It just doesn’t show up that often. So what kind of magic was it?”
“It’s the one you got hit with. It’s the Electric Shock that was used by the hobgoblin.”
“Hul. You would have at the very least gotten one hundred million…….”
One hundred million. It was one hundred million.
“Whew.”
If he knew the Magic Scroll was worth one hundred million then he would have just used 100 points to learn the Electric Shock. He wanted to buy the Magic Scroll from the Achievement Store to sell, but the Skill Books purchased from the Point Store couldn’t be used in a transaction.
Only Woojin could learn it.
Woojin had learned ‘Soul Extract’ to restore the barely alive Sunggoo. It cost him 50 points, but he didn’t hesitate since he had to learn it anyway.
After a monster or a person dies, their souls remain next to the corpses for a brief moment. At that moment, he could extract the souls then he could use it as a source of energy.
Whether it was magic, vitality or stamina, a small portion of it could be recovered. When Woojin injected it into someone else, the efficacy decreased.
Sunggoo thought Woojin was using healing magic, but the truth was different. Woojin was stealing the life force of others to share with him.
“Ssssoop, whew. Let’s not worry about the cost.”
Woojin tried to soothe his aching innards. If he had sold the Magic Scroll, then he wouldn’t have to traverse a Dungeon for a long while. No, if he thought about the fallen real estate value in Seoul, he could have moved into a huge villa that was much bigger than the current one room…..
Ah, let’s not think about it.
“How much can I get with this much blood stones?”
“At the very least, you could get around 800. I think you can get more. I’m not too sure…”
He had invested 100,000 won, so he made a good amount of profit. If his party members hadn’t run away, we would have only received one million won for his cut.
“It’s all mine.”
“Of…of course.”
“How about the Return Stone?”
“I have it here.”
“Then let’s go.”
Woojin and Sungoo swept the blood stones into the bag, and they were about to head upstairs.
“It looks like an ambush.”
He only had a low level detection skill, but he could feel a faint sense of murderous intent. Woojin gave Sunggoo a warning. When Woojin came to a stop, Sunggoo’s expression also turned serious.
They had killed all the monsters. Unless they re-entered the Dugneon, the monsters won’t regenerate. If there was an ambush, then it had to be Bae-dohsoo’s party.
“Are they trying to PK?”
Woojin questioned Sunggoo, whose voice was shaking from worry.
“Does this happen often?”
“It happens occasionally. It probably happens more off the record. This is why people don’t party up with a group they don’t know. The hell’s gate is opened when a treasure like Magic Scroll and Artifact is found. ”
“If there is a fight, how is it handled?”
“No one will know what had happened inside the Dungeon. It is an written rule that they’ll only act when there is indisputable evidence.”
“Huh. Then it’s an easy way to dispose of a dead body.”
Woojin grinned and he looked up into the dark stairway. He stopped walking then he looked back. There were monster corpses lying everywhere. Woojin took several steps back as he distanced himself from the stairway. Sunggoo also followed Woojin’s action.
“Hey, stop hiding there like a rat. Why don’t you come out?”
Soon, there was a response from Woojin’s words. Bae-dohsoo’s party slowly stepped on to the stairs. One had an awkward expression, and another seemed to be apologetic. The rest had a no nonsense attitude.
“What happened? Did you defeat them all?”
Bae-dohsoo put on a performance as he slyly asked a question. Woojin spoke in a low voice toward Sunggoo.
“I’m planning on taking him by surprise when he gets close.”
“What should I do?”
Sunggoo looked at Woojin with worried eyes. Woojin shrugged his shoulders.
“You bastards ran away yet you have have the gall to show up again. Why are you here when you should be waiting in front of the barrier?”
The sudden disrespectful words spat out by Woojin made Bae-dohsoo’s eyebrows twitch, but he laughed awkwardly as he tried to keep his expression in control.
“Haha. Why are you being like this? Aren’t we on the same team? We just made a tactical retreat, and we came back to clear the Dungeon. When we arrived, it seemed all the monsters were killed. How did you do it?”
Bae-dohsoo’s thoughts were in a complete state of confusion. Two F ranked Roused were able to clear all the monsters, so he couldn’t believe what had happened. Bae-dohsoo secretly looked towards the bag filled with blood stones.
Woojin laughed.
Those who were blinded by greed couldn’t see what was right in front of their eyes.
“Stop fucking around. You just wanted to take the Return Stone, but now you are covetous of a ready made meal?”
Woojin threw the bag filled with blood stones in front of him.
Chwa-roo-rook.
Blood stones spilled out from the bag’s opening. It’s was thrown about the midway point between Woojin and Bae-dohsoo’s party.
“Try taking it if you covet it.”
At Woojin’s words, Bae-dohsoo’s expression stiffened.
“It seems you are mistaken. Do you think we will try to PK someone, who had defeated a monster we couldn’t kill? It is a misunderstanding. We aren’t that stupid.”
“Go on.”
“I’m sorry for not looking out for you. However, my life was one the line so what could I do? We just came back to look for the Return Stone. Since you cleared the Dungeon, we were fortunate enough to be able to retrieve Jongchul’s corpse. Therefore, I am very thankful.”
At Bae-dohsoo’s words, Woojin felt that he had been too sensitive. Yes, the people here weren’t at all like those from the Alphen Planet.
Maybe they were hiding themselves on top of the staircase in case they ran into a monster? From their perspective, they had no idea of what was going on at the bottom floor.
‘Maybe I’m being too sensitive…….’
For the past 20 years, he had lived in a location where people betrayed each other for a fistful of money. This is why he was always on edge. However, this was earth. This place was Seoul.
It is a place where peace and moral was alive….
Hwa-roo-roo-rook.
…my ass.
Woojin hurriedly waved his arm through the flame that ignited in front of his eyes.
“Right now.”
At Bae-dohsoo’s shout, the man with the bow shot an arrow toward Hong-songgoo. His fireball attack was an ability they had to get rid of first.
After Bae-dohsoo ran away, he had come to an agreement with his party. They weren’t skilled enough to attempt a 2 star dungeon. The money wasn’t that great, but they had decided to return to the 1 star Dungeons.
They returned to carefully look for the Return Stone, but all the monsters were dead. Even the hobgoblin was dead, and this made his head spin.
Greed grew in him.
No matter how hard they searched they could only find Jongchul’s corpse. Woojin and Sunggoo’s corpses were missing. This meant the two of them had conquered the bottom floor by themselves.
If they were able to defeat the hobgoblin, this meant one of them was hiding his real capability. This is why they had prepared an ambush, but their opponents saw through it first.
Bae-dohsoo tried to put Woojin at ease. At the same time, he tried to assess the situation. He tried to determine if it was worth killing them. Dohsoo’s eyes almost flipped over backwards when Woojin threw the bag filled with blood stones.
It was a sum of money equivalent to working a 1 star Dungeon for one month.
Bae-dohsoo confirmed from Woojin’s sharp reaction that he was suspicious.
‘He is on guard against us.’
The fact that he was on guard meant it would be dangerous for them. He didn’t know what method they used to kill the numerous monsters, but he was wary of attacking them.
He decided to use the fact that his opponent was feeling a sense of danger against he. He thought it was worth trying to attack them.
‘Let’s hit them.’
Bae-dohsoo gave the sign they had agreed to in advance, then he used his Ignition ability. At the same time, Woojin’s face was engulfed in flame, and an arrow pierced through Sunggoo’s shoulder.
“Koo-ook.”
The party members attacked the surprised man even before the flame had formed. The weapons would cut through more easily through human flesh than the tough leather of monsters.
“Whew. Please don’t resent me. Aren’t all Roused like this?”
Bae-dohsoo took out the dagger equipped on his belt, then he stabbed it toward the staggering Woojin.
Shweeek.
Even though, the flame was impeding Woojin’s sight, he was able to grab the hand stabbing at him. Woojin reversed the grip on the hand as he threw him. His strength and speed was so fast that Bae-dohsoo didn’t have the chance to do anything.
He was on par with a Roused with a physical ability.
“Whew. That’s pretty hot.”
As the flames faded away, Woojin wiped his face with his hands. He glared at Bae-dohsoo’s party, who was taken aback. Sunggoo had an arrow in his shoulder, and he was looking at Woojin with tear-filled eyes.
“It was pretty insolent attack.”
His face was slightly red, and it seemed he had taken some minor burns to the face. However, Woojin was smiling.
“I guess I should have expected this?”
Woojin extended both his arms.
Pah-pahk!
The scattered monster’s corpses exploded, and the scraps of meat flew everywhere. It was a grand sight. If one had a weak constitution, the grotesque sight would make one faint.
“Resent me.”
Woojin let out a white smile.
Resentment wouldn’t change anything.
“I’ll laugh to my heart’s content.”
He’ll taken on all the resentment from the weak. It would be too cruel for him to deny them that much, since their souls would be imprisoned as they will fall from grace.
The Skeletons’ bone knives didn’t show any hesitation or mercy.
“Kooh-ahhk.”
In a flash, the entire party was taken down then Woojin headed towards Bae-dohsoo. He was still twitching, so it seemed he was still alive.
“W, wait a moment, let’s talk….”
“Are you waiting for your Ignition ability’s cool time?”
Kwa-jeek!
Woojin unhesitatingly stabbed the dagger he took from Bae-dohsoo into his heart. Bae-dohsoo trembled for a moment before he went limp. Woojin looked at him without showing much interest as he took the Bae-dohsoo’s bag.
It was filled with blood stones they had acquired before they met the hobgoblin. Moreover, Woojin searched Bae-dohsoo’s body, and he took his wallet. He took out all the cash and he stuffed it into his pocket. Before he knew it, Woojin was humming a tune.
‘Un…unbelievable.’
In front of Hong-sunggoo, four lives were taken in an instant. He tried to cover his mouth with both hands as he tried to stop the words that almost leaked out of his mouth.
He was so surprised that it seemed he wasn’t conscious of the pain caused by the arrow in his shoulder. Woojin also went through the other party members’ pockets, then he mumbled.
“Anyways, the bastards who try to stab me in the back will never speak again.”
Is he saying this for his benefit? Sunggoo’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.
“The people I hate the most are those who try to stab others in the back. Isn’t that right, Sunggoo?”
Woojin whipped his head around, and he looked into Sunggoo’s eyes. He was so surprised that he almost wet his pants. Woojin had killed four people, but his face was too indifferent.
Even when one kills a monster, or even a small animal, one usually feels excitement, or guilt. Some kind of emotion should be stirred up, yet Woojin looked like he had pulled weeds out from the side of the road after he killed these people. Sunggoo couldn’t sense any change in his emotion.
It felt like Woojin was something more than a murderer.
His peacefulness drove the terror deep into Hong-songgoo.
“Why aren’t you answering me?”