Chapter 125

Maeng Jin-woo let out a huge sigh of relief as the unknown pressure that had been weighing him down disappeared. He had initially been interested in researching this Park Jun-sang, who seemed to possess a particularly strong power among the returnees. However, after experiencing it firsthand, that idea quickly vanished. He had said that he couldn’t stand not knowing, but he didn’t want to risk his life for his research.

Even though the core of the contract had been agreed upon, there was still a lot of work to be done. A contract had to be drafted, the details reviewed, a process of compromise gone through, and then it had to be signed and notarized. While Jun-sang didn’t care about these details, Jin Se-ah, who had been watching, realized this wouldn’t do and took it upon herself to handle the final process perfectly.

“Haha… you’re quite something. Did you used to do this kind of work?”

“Yes, I was in the proprietary trading department at XX Securities.”

“I knew it. You seemed so experienced.”

After all, even though they were returnees, they all had their original jobs and lives. With the contract finished, Maeng Jin-woo smacked his lips and urged Jun-sang, “Alright, now please take it out.”

“Okay.”

When Jun-sang took out the corpse of Amungan, Maeng Jin-woo became as lively as if he had never been oppressed by Jun-sang’s presence and rushed at the corpse. Im Seo-yoon gave a wry smile as he watched the researchers swarm around the corpse like flies, and said to Jun-sang and Henes, “They probably won’t even answer if you talk to them for a while. He’s the kind of person who sees nothing else once he starts his research.”

“I see.”

“Please follow me. To make the protective suits, we need to carefully measure your body sizes. Since we’re here, my guild members and I should get measured too.”

“Alright.”

Seo-yoon took the group to another research building, where they meticulously began measuring everyone’s body sizes. It took longer than expected because they weren’t just using tape measures; they were using precision machines to measure even the skeletal structure.

After his measurements were done, Jun-sang took a short break and looked around the lab. He noticed a strangely designed suit displayed on the wall and asked, “What is this?” It was designed like outdoor wear but reinforced with thick, bulky vests and arm guards.

“Ah… that’s a prototype of a protective suit we made as a test before.” Seo-yoon walked over to the sample and explained, “It’s made with aramid material to give basic bulletproofing to the collar and sleeves, and the torso is protected by a vest designed for maximum anti-stab performance.”

It looked quite plausible.

“Did it fail to be commercialized?”

At Jun-sang’s question, Seo-yoon gave a bitter smile and nodded. “Yes. It was too expensive for mass production, and it wasn’t cost-effective to produce small quantities even with maximized performance… the performance wasn’t as high as we’d hoped, which was also a problem.”

“How much protection did it have?”

“Well…” Seo-yoon looked a bit troubled before continuing. “For bulletproofing, it can basically stop pistol rounds. But as I said, it doesn’t completely dissipate the physical force, so there’s a risk of contusions, internal bleeding, or fractures. To defend against rifle rounds, you have to add extra bulletproof plates to the pockets, and the weight of those is considerable. Recently, we’ve been working on a form that reinforces existing fibers with nanotubes to solve this problem, but there are issues with acquiring the base technology… it’s all quite complicated.”

“I see.”

While they were talking, the others finished their measurements and started coming out one by one. Once everyone was done, researchers brought several packages into the room.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the protective suit I just showed you. It’s a bit cumbersome and not entirely satisfactory, so we’ve had it stored away, but I thought it would be better to wear this until the new protective suits are ready. Everyone is training their stamina now, and they can also benefit from their regenerative abilities as long as it’s not a fatal wound.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Try them on. We chose the sizes based on your measurements, but just in case, please try them on and let us know.”

Following Seo-yoon’s words, everyone took a bundle with their name on it. Henes grabbed Jun-sang’s sleeve, asking with her eyes what she should do.

“Go and try it on.”

“…” Henes looked reluctant, but Jun-sang pretended not to notice and entrusted her to Jin Se-ah.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Hehe… leave it to me.”

Jin Se-ah’s eyes sparkled as she took Henes’s hand and led her into a room. Jun-sang also went into a room to change. Since it was designed like outdoor wear rather than military gear, the fit wasn’t too bad. He just felt like it would be incredibly hot to wear in the summer. Even in winter, he felt he would be soaked in sweat after a short run.

After he had everything on, Seo-yoon gave some additional explanations. “We’ve given them to you, but please don’t have absolute faith in them. Except for the vest part, it only has a very basic level of anti-stab capability, and even the vest part only provides enough defense to stop an adult from stabbing down with a small knife using both hands. Be careful, as it can be easily pierced by serious melee weapons like axes or spears.”

“Okay.” The party members adjusted the suits to fit their bodies and then handed them back to Im Seo-yoon. Yoon Seong-ryeol, who wasn’t in a party due to the number of members, had to carry his own, but for the others, using Im Seo-yoon’s inventory was much more convenient.

But at that moment, Seo Yoo-mi cautiously spoke up. “Um…”

Jun-sang turned around to see what was wrong, and she quietly continued, her head bowed in embarrassment. “I… I also got an inventory this time.”

“Oh! That’s great. Congratulations!” Im Seo-yoon reacted with an overly enthusiastic response. He had a good reason for this, as he was the only one with an inventory and had been treated like a pack mule. With only two slots, he often had to leave out things he actually needed.

“Is it two slots?” Im Seo-yoon asked, and Seo Yoo-mi nodded.

“Yes.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful. Then we shouldn’t be doing this… first, let’s get a cabinet…”

Seo-yoon quickly had people bring a spare cabinet and redistributed the gear he had been carrying. Although the equipment was a necessity, carrying around the female guild members’ underwear and personal items had often been awkward for both him and them.

This delayed them a bit, but once everything was sorted out, they were finally able to get into their cars and head back to Seoul. As soon as Jun-sang and Henes returned, they quickly washed up and went downstairs to have dinner with everyone.

Just as they were getting off the elevator, a message appeared in Jun-sang’s vision. It was a message announcing the arrival of a new quest.

“Oh, no…” He had wondered why it had been so quiet for a while. There had been some Dark Seed-related quests, but there had been a long gap compared to the time when quests had come in one after another.

“Henes.”

“Yes?”

“A quest.”

“…”

Henes’s face, which had been full of anticipation for what dinner would be, instantly fell.

“Go inside for now. I’ll call you right away.”

“Okay.”

Jun-sang un-summoned Henes and then sent a message to Seo-yoon. ‘I have a quest. I’m going, so keep that in mind.’ Then he went into the emergency stairwell, took out the cabinet, and started putting on his gear.

“Whew…” With all his preparations complete, Jun-sang quietly looked out the darkening window. When the wait time was short, it was too short, but having too much time was also a problem. All sorts of random thoughts crowded his mind while he waited for the transfer. After sitting on the stairs and looking out the window for a while, when the time came, he was transferred in a flash of white light.

As the blinding light disappeared, Jun-sang found himself at the entrance of a beautiful forest. He looked around, but there was no one else in sight. After a short wait, the quest information appeared in front of him.

Epic Quest – Oblivion

1. Travel to the area marked on the mini-map.

“…” Jun-sang frowned. An Epic Quest meant that another event of a completely different scale from a normal quest was about to unfold. Jun-sang first summoned all his pets. Henes, Mong-mong, and the unnamed Elemental Dragon appeared. Mong-mong and the Elemental Dragon naturally took up a spot on each of Jun-sang’s shoulders, but Henes, looking bewildered by the new scenery, asked Jun-sang, “Where… are we?”

But Jun-sang knew just as little. “I don’t know yet.”

“I see.”

Jun-sang first checked the location marked on the mini-map. The marker pointed to the inside of the forest.

“Hmm…” Even a vehicle specialized in off-road driving couldn’t navigate a forest without roads. Jun-sang ultimately took out a saddle instead of the Raptor, summoned the Ghost Steed, put Henes on his back, and slowly headed into the forest. He had been called to a forest for a quest before, but unlike that one, which was ominous and infested with the source of darkness, this place looked beautiful and vibrant.

Jun-sang and Henes slowly moved toward the marker on the Ghost Steed. It was quite a distance, so it took them a while to get close to the quest marker. However, they had to stop shortly after. The owners of the forest had all appeared and blocked their path.

“Who are you! Identify yourselves!”

“…”

The voice was a bit sharp. The speaker held a sharp-looking sword in their hand and wore what looked like sturdy armor. However, they didn’t seem scary or strong at all. That’s because the owner of the voice was a tiny fairy.

Author’s Note

I’m sorry for the delay.