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Chapter 24
Whenever Kang Shin-hwa adjusted his grip strength, Calais’s expression repeatedly filled with fear and then disappeared. It was a complete humiliation.
Despite attempting to threaten its life by grabbing its neck, it had become utterly useless. In contrast, Kang Shin-hwa’s hand gripping its neck was a hand that perfectly possessed the right to take its life and flesh.
In a fleeting moment, numerous emotions like the fear of death and the longing for life crossed Calais’s mind.
“What will you do?”
“Keh-hek! Hek! Ke-hehe-ack!”
Calais made a metallic sound.
When Kang Shin-hwa looked down, a brilliant five-colored light was bursting from around Calais’s chest.
‘It’s done.’
It seemed the A-space artifact, Calais’s Chaos, was being created.
The work of stimulating fear, inducing anger, and using that as a basis for awakening.
Perhaps due to the one-on-one battle, Calais seemed to have received more stimulation.
If there had been more opponents, it might have attributed some reason even if it were to die. Since it was outnumbered, dying might have seemed natural.
But not this time.
The opponent was one, and Calais had been confident about one-on-one combat with an intruder from the start.
So it rushed in confidently!
But the result was worst.
“You’re pathetic too. I shouldn’t even look at those below C- rank. How can you not even pierce my body? Tsk.”
Kang Shin-hwa clicked its tongue and suddenly stabbed its right arm, made of a sword, into Calais’s chest.
Swoosh!
“Keok!”
The tip of Kang Shin-hwa’s sword, piercing through thick bones and tough muscles, struck just below Calais’s heart.
In that state,
Swoosh.
Kang Shin-hwa transformed his right hand back to its original form.
A human hand.
The next moment.
Thump thump! Thump thump!
He firmly gripped Calais’s still-pulsing heart.
“I’ll make good use of the necklace. Get reborn and live like a hamster wheel again. Good work.”
“Eeeeek!”
Just as Calais was about to shout something, Kang Shin-hwa expressionlessly gripped his right hand tightly.
Even if it was a monster with a hard exterior and skeleton, its heart wasn’t hard.
Calais’s extremely soft heart burst like a balloon in Kang Shin-hwa’s grasp.
“Good.”
A smile formed on Kang Shin-hwa’s lips. It was because of the unique texture of the necklace felt in his palm.
[Calais’s Chaos]
[Judgment Rank: A]
[An artifact of infinite space with the ability to store and summon in a different dimension.
Living beings reject storage, and summoning in the different dimension is not applicable.
However, corpses and all inanimate objects can be freely stored in the different dimension.
Objects that cannot pass through a 1m radius entrance must be dismantled.]
‘The only A-space artifact existing from the Great Upheaval of 2010 to the Great Disaster of 2052.’
After confirming the status window, Kang Shin-hwa looked satisfied.
In terms of rarity, it would be no surprise to receive an EX- rank judgment, but perhaps because it couldn’t be used in combat, the ‘absolute existence’ governing judgments and systems seemed to have classified it as A- rank.
Anyway, he had achieved his initial purpose.
Kang Shin-hwa immediately wore the necklace, extended his hand toward the dead Calais, and thought in his mind.
‘Storage.’
Swoosh!
As soon as the thought arose, a colorless distortion occurred in the empty space.
Whoosh!
Calais’s corpse was instantly sucked into a different dimension. It happened in the blink of an eye.
“Convenient. Artifacts are indeed versatile.”
Satisfaction was written all over Kang Shin-hwa’s face, as if he had completed a backlogged task.
Swish.
Finally, a dimensional gate exit opened where Calais had died.
Going through here would allow him to meet Jin Bo-mi who was waiting.
[01:10:59]
“What? There’s still more than 50 minutes left? Excluding the brief leisure time in the middle, it’s under an hour? Nice.”
Quick conquest successful!
Assuming the license is secured, he could clear more than ten dungeons a day.
‘An A- rank artifact would be worth 50 billion won by standard market price. Of course, I have no intention of selling, but today was certainly a rewarding day.’
Kang Shin-hwa touched the necklace.
He had no desire to boast about it on social media like Na Mi-na.
Unless it was news about himself that became naturally known like healing Jin Bo-mi, he didn’t want to speak first. He still had a long way to go to grow.
“Well, shall we collect the loot?”
Kang Shin-hwa clicked his tongue and began retracing his steps.
It was time to gather the monster corpses and by-products scattered throughout the dungeon.
Monster fluids with foul odors, skeleton bone fragments, and numerous pieces of leather. They were all useful. Kang Shin-hwa had no intention of leaving any of them behind.
‘I should find a suitable underground warehouse nearby soon. That way, I can easily extract, remove, combine, and mix the by-products.’
A new goal naturally emerged. After completing one task, systematically and meticulously planning the next was an old habit of Kang Shin-hwa.
* * *
At that moment, outside the dungeon.
“Wait a minute! Everyone. I’m not the only one seeing this exit dimensional gate, right?”
Jin Bo-mi pointed at the dark purple exit dimensional gate that had appeared, her expression bewildered.
The porters waiting with her were equally shocked, all nodding with dazed expressions.
“1 hour and 10 minutes? Impossible. This clearing time is something I could never achieve even in solo play?”
Jin Bo-mi couldn’t believe it.
The stopwatch pressed when the exit dimensional gate appeared was precisely stopped at 1 hour and 10 minutes.
To clear a C- rank dungeon in solo play in around 1 hour, one would need to be at least A+ rank.
In other words, it was a clearing that even an A- rank like Jin Bo-mi would find difficult.
If there were more people, they could overwhelm it with firepower, but with a single person, there would be many variables to consider.
“…”
Jin Bo-mi stared blankly at the dimensional gate for a long time, unable to say anything.
Then, as if suddenly coming to her senses, she called Seo Ye-hee, the master of the Yanghwa guild.
-Oh, Jin Bo-mi. Has Kang Shin-hwa entered the clearing? The call is a bit late. Did he just go in?
“Sister, that’s…”
-Why? Canceling the clearing? There’s a fine if you cancel after getting the license.
“It’s not that. Well, something unbelievable happened.”
-What? Did a fight break out?
Seo Ye-hee’s responses, which were wrong each time she tried to guess, were not strange at all. It was a natural reaction.
Seo Ye-hee and Yoon Tae-ho had said they didn’t know what Kang Shin-hwa was thinking when he requested the license.
While Kang Shin-hwa certainly had high potential talent, the limits of D- rank were clear.
It was like a 1-meter-tall child trying to dunk on a 3-meter-high basketball hoop by themselves.
In other words, it was impossible.
“No, Kang Shin-hwa cleared the K-911 dungeon in 1 hour and 10 minutes. The exit dimensional gate just opened.”
-What? That’s impossible!
“Look…”
Jin Bo-mi sent a photo she had just taken to Seo Ye-hee via messenger.
An exclamation of ‘What the…’ immediately burst from the receiver.
-Is he crazy? He really went in alone?
“I’m not Kang Shin-hwa himself. Why would I lie? He even rejected support.”
-What? The rank detection device definitely said D- rank. Did we buy an expensive device that’s now broken?
The quickest response to an unbelievable reality was denial.
“I’ll talk when I get back, sister. This doesn’t seem like an ordinary situation. I’m certain Kang Shin-hwa is hiding more of his power.”
-Just how much power is he hiding? Kang Shin-hwa, who was just a low-ranking F- rank porter until recently?
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
-Let’s talk again as soon as you return. This doesn’t seem like a conversation to have over the phone.
“Yes, sister.”
And with that, the call ended.
Jin Bo-mi waited for Kang Shin-hwa to come out, unconsciously clasping her hands politely.
* * *
After storing all the spoils in the alternate space and coming out of the dungeon.
I met Jin Bo-mi and had various conversations.
To her, who was only repeatedly saying ‘I can’t believe it’, I told her to believe it now that she’s seen it with her own eyes.
I haven’t deceived anyone about anything.
My rank is precisely D- rank, and there are no fake abilities among the ones I’ve shown.
I simply didn’t show everything. Rather than hiding, it’s closer to not feeling the need to self-promote.
She didn’t bother me with questions. Perhaps she had her own thoughts.
If she wants, I can show more of my talents. But that would also mean an increase in my price.
The choice is theirs.
Anyway, after leaving the K-911 dungeon, I said goodbye to Jin Bo-mi.
And headed to the subway station to go to my old house in Byeongjeom Station.
I had originally planned to call a company to clean it up, but I wanted to check if there were any traces of the past that I might have missed.
Especially if there were any traces related to my parents, those would be absolutely precious and could not be discarded.
I felt I needed to confirm everything with my own eyes to clear away any lingering doubts.
But midway, an unexpected guest came looking for me. Or more precisely, was waiting for me in front of the station.
It was Jeong-hoon.
“Please get in.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Didn’t I tell you? If you save the young lady, I’ll be your guardian and errand boy for all hours except work hours. I apologize for being late. I was organizing my schedule.”
“Are you really going to keep your word?”
“I don’t speak empty words. I will keep my promise. If she is my benefactor, then you are my benefactor too.”
‘Oh, that’s kind of cool.’
I wondered if he learned to say such lines or if it was just his natural disposition.
Thinking about it, Jeong-hoon’s words seemed quite impressive.
As an up-and-coming A- rank Awakener, he was driving an expensive sports car.
I’m not particularly interested in cars.
But seeing a man dressed in a high-end suit driving a sports car and looking out the window was quite attractive.
I immediately got into the car.
Since he wants to personally accompany me, it would be impolite to refuse.
As soon as I got in the car, I told him my purpose.
“Let’s do just one thing today and then go.”
“Please tell me.”
“Just take me to Byeongjeom Station. There’s an old house there.”
“Byeongjeom Station, that would be the Red Zone.”
“That’s right. It’s a place where moonlight becomes a light of death as the sun sets.”
While answering him, I looked up at the sky.
6:30 in the evening.
Right now is the time when numerous acts of violence and threats proliferate in the lawless hours of the Red Zone.
‘Today, I’ll completely settle my past. The painful, difficult, and desperate version of myself.’
Parting with the past.
Rushing towards the future.
To ensure this, I planned to return to my old house and organize all my belongings.
“I want to pay my respects.”
“Huh, respects?”
I wondered if there was anyone in my past self who lived in the Red Zone that deserved respect.
Nonetheless, I nodded with a wry smile at Jeong-hoon’s words of reverence.
Jeong-hoon, that man definitely has some unique qualities.
He’ll be my dedicated nighttime escort, so he’ll probably be quite useful.
I intend to make him work and ensure he keeps his promise.
A D- rank Awakener being obediently followed by an A-rank Awakener?
What an interesting picture.
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