Chapter 55: Out of the Way! An Unwelcome Guest of the Dungeon Comes. (2)
I obtained the skill book and new ID, as well as the thumb to go along with it .
By thumb I mean one that's made of silicone for thumbprints .
Instead of taking a week, it only took 4 days instead .
They said they were able to get it easier than they expected .
Who knew the very goons that I hated so much would be this useful to me .
It seemed that fate can give benefits far beyond one's imagination .
From Jong Ho, I asked for additional information regarding the executioner class .
Since it was a rare class, the information of their skills could not be found on the app or on the internet .
The fight would be easier if I could, at least to some degree, predict his attacks .
Most of the skills for the executioner used martial arts, especially hand to hand combat for single targets .
A human weapon, literally speaking .
Other than the skills that were beyond ranking, I was able to get the gist of them .
* * * *
Running around the level 23 dungeon, I continued to use the Mass Stealth Jutsu on the ghouls .
The faster the skill level rose, the faster I could get back to my secretive growth regime .
However, the more I used it, the more I thought that this skill was broken .
A skill that made all living organisms within a certain radius vanishes from view .
Most skills other than attack skills cannot be used on monsters usually .
Heal, buffs, or enchant type spells could not be casted on them .
The only form of skills that worked were the ones that inflicted harm on them .
But oddly enough, the Mass Stealth Jutsu worked on monsters as well .
Inside the dungeon, hundreds of ghouls were present .
A little flicker above their heads appeared, and then suddenly all of them vanished from view .
I was still easily able to see them using Eye of Insight, however .
Thanks to this mechanic, I was able to level it up to level 105 in 4 days .
It was only possible because I gave up sleep and leveling to invest in this skill .
I even used the remaining Awakened Essence on this .
The Awakened Mass Stealth Jutsu could not be identified by the Eye of Insight .
It was a skill I used, but due to how high level the stealth ability was, I could not see it anymore .
Thankfully, the hidden targets would be revealed if they tried to attack me .
The ghouls appeared once more as they tried to attack me .
The Eye of Insight was an aoe skill, so someone from the association could be level 100 with it .
To be undiscoverable, the price of one essence shouldn't be that much .
No cool down or cast time, but with the mana cost of 1500 per use .
The Mass Stealth Jutsu could be said to be a skill just for me .
"Skill book, ID, and information on the skills done . Guess the only thing left is to hunt?"
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What I needed most right now was my defensive capabilities .
If he was at the tier of a major, he would definitely have skills above ranking .
The Mana Shield that I thought was the ultimate shield becoming useless . Who would've thought .
My offensive capabilities on the other hand, I had enough as both Meteor and Iceberg was nearly level 200 .
Ah! Almost forgot my Formless Sword Aura .
There were some skills and defensive items that I was eyeing for .
To find them, I headed towards the level 28 dungeon .
Everyone remembers . Korean Choi So-Hyeon was the first person to solo clear a dungeon, and it was the level 28 dungeon .
However, humanity could fight up to the level 30 dungeons if with a party .
No information exists on the dungeons beyond though .
According to the information I received, there was a reason why it was so difficult to solo clear dungeons beyond level 28 .
It was due to the sheer size of the dungeon!
And the amount of monsters to match it .
Of course, the toughness of the monsters was part of the reason why .
No matter how strong an Awakened might be, there is a limit to their mana .
What about a warrior who doesn't require mana to do basic attacks charge forward?
No . Within the level 28 dungeon, physical attacks do not work .
Monsters that drop insane amounts of experience points .
And the chance for some rare loot to drop from the boss .
There was no reason to hesitate at all .
I scanned my ID card .
Following that, I used the silicone thumbprint to finish the identification process .
-Dungeon is being activated . -
* * * *
"Report . "
Joker's angry voice filled the dark room, giving it a heavy atmosphere .
This was to be expected, since Jin was one of his top ten subordinates .
He trusted him obviously, and his skill wasn't that bad to boot .
But that Jin he trusted could not be contacted for 3 days .
That was after he left to take care of Min-Cheol .
Suppressed by Joker's aura, he quaked in fear as he continued his report .
"Yes! Joker . We were still unable to find any traces of Jin . "
"UAHHHH!"
The S ranking bloodstone that Joker was holding in his hand .
It's a stone that most blacksmiths would have difficulty processing .
However, in Joker's hand, the stone was ground to dust like tofu .
The glow of the stone illuminated one side of the room, and the reporting subordinate laid on the ground, groveling and trembling in fear .
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"I apologize! I'll call in additional members to find him for su . . "
"Begone . "
"… . . "
"Just like what you're thinking, Jin is dead . Guess the tiger cub has gotten a lot stronger than we thought . "
"What do you mean…"
Joker's face was painted with rage as he spoke .
But with it, there was an unfathomable smile with it .
And he continued .
"Assign someone new to lead the group that Jin once led . "
"Yes! Joker!"
"Soon, the one will be moving soon . I will judge the one who killed Jin after . "
"Understood! Joker!"
After that, the messenger fled the room .
Then .
"Ku . . KUHAA . . KUAHAHAHA!"
Joker laughed with insanity .
The rage that filled him was nowhere to be found .
He spoke as he looked at the powder of what used to be a bloodstone .
"Yes . . more! Be further drunk in your strength! When the day comes to fight, I will be offering you as a sacrifice to the one!"
* * * *
The association's Awakened special governing sector suddenly became chaotic .
It was because data was received that someone had entered the level 28 dungeon .
However, this happened from time to time, so there wasn't much of a panic .
It could just a simple data error, or perhaps malfunctions with the scanner .
After 40 minutes later, yelling mixed with cursing filled the room .
The Awakened with the same ID had re-entered the dungeon .
"Ah shit! What is this?"
"It's gotta be an error with the scanner?"
Then . One of the many people standing by the computers yelled .
"The data does not match with Choi So-Hyeon . "
They had compared the data with the only solo clearer of dungeon level 28 .
Another responded after hearing that .
"What kind of insane person would be clearing a level 28 dungeon in 40 minutes?"
"No way . Lots of rain fell this week . I'll contact that maintenance team . "
Throughout the chaos, the department head Kim Ho Jin quietly observed the situation from the end of his table .
Only for a moment though . Then he spoke .
"Contact the association hunters . "
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"Huh? Wouldn't it be better to check if it is a machine error, chief…"
"That could be the case if the data for re-entry didn't come . Perhaps someone with a death wish going into his last dungeon . "
"First, we'll be contacting the other association members near the area . "
"Hunters first! I'll be going to the scene as well . "
"Yes!"
"And hey! Se-Jin Kim, come to my room . "
Focusing only on the task at hand at his post, Se-Jin Kim stood up at once and replied to the summons of the chief .
"Yes! Understood . "
After entering the room, Se-Jin was busy trying to read the mood of the room .
A new blood who just came in, how many times would they talk with the department head…
Chief Ho Jin broke the silence .
"How are you doing recently?"
"Yes . I'm getting used to it quickly . "
"Good . It must be quite the confusing for you right now . Glad to see you're giving it your best . "
"Oh ahaha . Thank you . "
"But I heard you were taking the Kim Min-Cheol case?"
"Yes . That's correct . I am taking care of that . "
"Nothing strange to note with that?"
Ho Jin was asking Se-Jin with a different look in his eyes .
It wasn't the look of a high ranking official looking at their employed .
It was the look of a prosecutor asking a criminal .
To his question, Se-Jin replied with an awkward smile .
"Yes . For now… I have only observed him entering the dungeons, and there was nothing special to note . "
"Really? What does it look like to you? Do you think he has a fake ID?"
"From what I saw, other than the unusual speed in growth, there was nothing else to note…"
"Do you know the ruckus going outside?"
"Yes . About the level 28 dungeon?"
"Yep . But you know . I feel like the two of them are the same person . "
"Huh? Kim Min-Cheol and the person entering the level 28 dungeon?"
"Of course . Well, we can confirm it when we get there . "
"… . "
"Please continue to do your best . Even if the civilians continue to swear and ignore us, if the association continues to change, we'll be able to receive acknowledgement someday . "
"Yes . I'll do my best . "
"Okay . You can leave now . "
Leaving the room, Se-Jin could tell .
That chief Kim Ho Jin already knew what Se-Jin knew about Min-Cheol .
He didn't ask directly, but Se-Jin could feel it .
That this short talk wasn't an encouragement between fellow workers, but a warning .
* * * *
"We're almost there . "
"Okay . "
As the level of the dungeon rose, the amount of dungeons lessened .
A level 28 dungeon meant that it was not discovered for 28 years while it stayed in place .
Kim Ho Jin and his escorts met with the hunters, deploying en mass to the level 28 dungeon entrance .
The data continued to arrive from there .
"I requested for about 20 or so, but how did it go?"
"Yes . They're on their way . "
"He could be in stealth . How about the summons for a cleric ranker?"
"Lady Hwang Young Hee is coming along as well . "
"Good . It's a dungeon with low entrance rate . Far from the association . And he's incredibly skilled . Focus on keeping yourselves alive only . "
"Yes . "
They drove up the long mountain trail for quite a while .
Finally, the vehicle arrived at the entrance of the dungeon .
With a cigar in his mouth, Ho Jin spoke .
"How long since he entered again?"
"Entered at 14:21 . 30 minutes has passed . "
"Okay . In 10 minutes, we should be able to see him . "
As Ho Jin finished speaking, the association hunters as well as cleric ranker Hwang Young Hee arrived .
"Lady, thank you for coming . "
"Ohoho . Mr . Ho Jin, it's been awhile . "
"Hope you've been well?"
"An old woman like me passes time without knowing how much time has passed . "
Hwang Young Hee was a level 520 cleric ranker, ranking 3rd out of all Awakened .
Unlike the simple neighborly grandma she appeared to be, she was a skilled cleric who mastered 7 different cleric skills .
The reason why she was summoned was to use the Eye of Insight .
One of the first generation of Awakened, she was nearing the time to use the Awakened essence for it .
Out of all the Awakened in existence, it is said that no stealth skill could go past her .
It was then .
"Chief! It's 14:30 . He's about to come out . "
"Okay . Lady, we're counting on you . "
"Oho . Of course . "
Finishing her reply, her expression turned serious as she casted the skill .
'Eye of Insight . '