Chapter 73

A New Companion and a Shocking Revelation

The overload from using Heavy Blow didn’t easily dissipate from Jun-sang’s body. Karkash glared at Jun-sang, who stood rigid, radiating heat, with his third eye.

“Ugh…” The moment their gazes met, with Karkash’s red eye open in the center of his forehead, Jun-sang felt a thrilling sensation, like an electric current, course through his trembling, overloaded body. Jun-sang didn’t know it, but it was the stun effect of Karkash’s third eye. Karkash, while unaware that Jun-sang was immobilized by the overload, definitely knew about the stun effect of his third eye. The moment Jun-sang’s body flinched when their gazes met, he understood its meaning. No matter how monstrous his attack power, if he couldn’t move, it meant nothing. Karkash, anticipating his victory, immediately lunged at Jun-sang.

But at that moment, a red glow erupted from Jun-sang’s eyes. And the moment Karkash raised his massive fists to strike, Jun-sang activated Shoulder Charge towards his opponent’s chest at lightning speed.

Karkash was bewildered. He couldn’t believe that someone could move so quickly after being stunned. But Karkash was mistaken. From the start, Jun-sang hadn’t been stunned. The answer lay in the Seal of Protection. The moment Karkash’s third eye met his gaze, the two accessories equipped on Jun-sang’s neck and fingers reacted. As the Mystic Sightstone embedded in his necklace and ring flashed, a refreshing surge of energy expelled the stun effect, restoring his body’s freedom.

However, Karkash wasn’t just going to stand there and take it. Just as he had dodged the first Heavy Blow, he twisted his body with an agility unimaginable for a creature several times the size of a human, evading Jun-sang’s Shoulder Charge!

“Damn it!” Jun-sang immediately slammed the iron ball into the ground, bouncing up to regain his posture. Karkash, on the other hand, perhaps from twisting his body too violently, stumbled and rolled, crushing his subordinates who had been dazedly watching the two monsters fight.

“Hah… hah…” But Jun-sang’s condition was equally poor. It was perhaps natural, as he had used a powerful technique like Shoulder Charge before fully resolving the overload from using Heavy Blow. As soon as Jun-sang landed, he used Grunwal’s Cloak to hide himself. This was primarily to buy time for his body to recover.

Karkash thrashed on the ground then abruptly rose, but all he saw was Jun-sang covering himself with the black cloak and blending into the darkness.

—KAAAAAH!

Karkash raged, taking his frustration out on his innocent subordinates. Jun-sang, slowly moving in the darkness, watched the scene unfold, then felt a strange sense of emptiness. He realized that the Pouch Squirrel that had been sitting on his shoulder had vanished. Had he somehow dropped it during the recent struggle with Karkash?

“…” Jun-sang scanned his surroundings for a moment, then witnessed a bizarre sight. A small creature was moving swiftly and nimbly under the feet of the rampaging Karkash. It was none other than the Pouch Squirrel that should have been on Jun-sang’s shoulder. The squirrel was darting back and forth under Karkash’s feet, busy extracting seeds from the monsters’ heads and picking up scattered items from the ground.

“Pfft…” Jun-sang couldn’t help but laugh despite his body aching from the overload. He shook his head, following the busy squirrel with his eyes, and then realized that the overload he had been experiencing had vanished.

“Huuuh…” Karkash stopped his frenzy and was meticulously surveying his surroundings. Jun-sang walked leisurely, as if taking a stroll, to Karkash’s side, who was looking around.

“Blood Lord. Open Dual Storm.” He then switched from the previously equipped Martial Artist combo to the Blood Lord combo and slowly approached Karkash. Of course, Karkash wasn’t stupid. To guard against the invisible Jun-sang, he had his subordinates form a human shield around him.

“Hmm…” He couldn’t approach Karkash without breaking through these subordinates. So what then? If these meat shields were an obstacle, he would simply destroy them. Jun-sang slowly walked behind Karkash, then, getting close enough for their shoulders to touch, he approached the monsters who were fearfully looking around. And then he immediately activated Dual Storm.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

The moment Jun-sang’s red eyes appeared like a phantom in the air, the massive iron balls once again swept through the surroundings like a storm. The monsters hastily raised their weapons and shields, attempting to block the two colossal iron balls that flew at them in succession, but it was impossible from the start. These weapons, named Langdajal’s Fury, with their sharp barbs, instantly shattered the monsters’ raised weapons, shields, and armor, then pulverized the flesh of the monsters hidden within.

Karkash looked around, then startled, turned his head as intense tearing sounds and chunks of his subordinates’ flesh flew from behind him. But Karkash had to be content with a brief glimpse of Jun-sang’s red eyes, which then vanished as if melting back into the air.

—KRAAAAH!

As dozens of his subordinates, who had formed the human shield, instantly turned into mincemeat and scattered, Karkash went into a frenzy again. He reached out and began to throw whatever he could grab towards where Jun-sang had vanished. His subordinates, unaware of what was happening, were flung in all directions like living projectiles. While seemingly absurd, this was the most effective search method Karkash could employ. Of course, this was only if Jun-sang was still there.

“…” Jun-sang slowly passed through the punctured human shield and approached Karkash’s side. And there, he once again launched a surprise Dual Storm. Karkash, who was reaching out to throw his subordinates, was suddenly caught off guard.

THUD!

The first iron ball struck Karkash’s knee. And before he could react, the second iron ball struck Karkash’s thigh. Karkash recoiled in terror and turned his body to evade the attack, but the two iron balls pursued him, circling back and flying towards him again. Karkash, realizing there was no way to escape, swung his fist at the incoming iron ball.

CLANG!

With a loud, bell-like sound, blood burst from Karkash’s massive fist. But that was all. Two of his finger bones were broken, and his skin was torn, but it wasn’t a fatal wound. Moreover, the impact caused the iron ball to lose speed and roll on the ground. Karkash was relieved to have blocked the dangerous attack, but unfortunately, there was only one iron ball. The second iron ball flew in and began to coil around Karkash’s arm.

—KHEUHEONG!

Karkash roared loudly as the huge iron ball wrapped around his arm, and he pulled his arm back. Jun-sang frowned, but he didn’t resist the chain, which was linked like a shackle, pulling his body. No, he even used that force to lunge at Karkash.

As the enemy, draped in a black cloak and emitting a red glow, lunged towards him, Karkash raised his free left hand and swung it. Karkash’s enormous fist, which hadn’t been completely destroyed even after a direct hit from Langdajal’s Fury, was a deadly weapon in itself. However, Jun-sang had an even more lethal weapon. It was Bloodsucker, the monster intoxicated with blood.

A large, black axe appeared in the air and was grasped by Jun-sang’s hand. And the moment it was grasped, all the blood circulating in Jun-sang’s body boiled at once, sublimating into immense destructive power. This was Blood Burst, also known as the forbidden power! Jun-sang, holding this boiling instinct for destruction, swung it at Karkash’s incoming fist.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

Karkash’s hard fist was instantly split, as if it were a radish being sliced. But it wasn’t over. The mercilessly swung axe blade pushed through, splitting Karkash’s chest in an instant.

—Ugh…

Karkash staggered backward, spewing blood like a fountain from his chest, and Jun-sang landed on the ground, his body drenched in the blood gushing from him.

“Ugh…” As soon as he landed, he immediately returned Bloodsucker to his inventory. However, Jun-sang, enveloped in smoke as if on fire, was suddenly pulled forward and stumbled as Karkash fell backward, dragged by the chain connected to his arm.

“Open… Healing Potion.” As he used a Healing Potion, drenched in blood, his vitality, consumed by Bloodsucker, began to replenish rapidly.

The monsters surrounding them were startled by the sudden series of explosions. They then watched, bewildered, as their general seemed to struggle with something before falling, spewing blood like a fountain from his chest. No, those who could at least watch were lucky. For the monsters who were crushed by Karkash’s massive body or impaled by his horns as he fell backward, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

As silence fell, Jun-sang, still emitting smoke as if his body were on fire, slowly rose.

“Hah… hah…” The after-effects of using Bloodsucker were still terrible, but perhaps thanks to equipping the rare seed obtained from Bukail, he could move his body much faster than before, even considering being drenched in blood. However, as he staggered to his feet, one monster, realizing his body wasn’t normal, suddenly let out a cry and charged at him with a spear. But Jun-sang didn’t even glance at it, muttering in a low voice, “Wolf Pack.”

Three large wolves, glowing with white light, appeared in the air and blocked the monster’s path.

GRRR!

Crimson Wolf, seeing the monster daring to point a weapon at its master, leaped up instantly and tore at the monster’s neck. The surprise attack caused a fistful of flesh to be torn from the monster’s neck, sending it tumbling to the ground. The monsters flinched again at the sudden appearance of the wolves, but Jun-sang’s summoned creatures weren’t just wolves. A gust of wind seemed to blow from somewhere, and then the will-o’-the-wisp, the gentle breeze, and Morning Dew, who had been hidden until now, began to circle Jun-sang.

Jun-sang, protected by the wolves and spirits, slowly moved to untangle the iron ball from Karkash’s arm. The monsters, having lost their commander, began to flail in confusion, unsure what to do. His body didn’t seem normal, yet they lacked the courage to attack such a strong opponent who had just killed Karkash. Had the Guard Captain even survived, he might have commanded the troops in Karkash’s stead, but he too had died without a sound from the initial surprise attack.

Jun-sang completely untangled the iron ball from Karkash’s arm while the monsters hesitated. He then chuckled at the gnawing sound coming from Karkash’s head, which had somehow appeared, then slowly rose, recalling his wolves and spirits.

“Huuuh…” The quest information displayed in his left vision showed that all hidden quests had been completed. Only one thing remained: the complete annihilation of the remaining forces who were now demoralized and hesitant before him. Jun-sang slowly gripped the two iron balls in both hands. And once again, he emitted a red glow from his eyes, unleashing a fierce bloodstorm.

Meanwhile, Lim Seo-yoon and his companions, after driving for a long time over endless zombie corpses, finally reached the traces of the supply unit.

“Hmm…” Seo-yoon swallowed, looking at the scattered chunks of flesh everywhere, as if a bomb had exploded.

“It seems those zombies weren’t the end?”

“Indeed. Just how many enemies poured out…” The real problem was that so many zombies had been pulverized by the hands of a single person, but no one in the car dared to mention that fact again. It simply defied comprehension.

Seo-yoon looked around for a moment, confirmed there was no sign of anyone, and was about to get back into the car when they heard a sound like distant thunder.

“Is it going to rain?” Seo-yoon craned his neck to look at the sky, but only a red moon hung eerily, with not a single cloud in sight.

“Could it be… the sound of someone fighting?”

“I don’t know. Unless someone set off explosives.” Seo-yoon muttered and restarted the car. But as they cautiously moved forward through the darkness, they soon heard a massive roar, entirely different from the explosive sounds.

“What was that?” The moment everyone in the car exchanged glances, they confirmed that they hadn’t heard the sound alone.

“Seo-yoon-ssi!” Se-ah called his name, and Seo-yoon nodded, shouting loudly.

“Hold on tight!” Seo-yoon immediately gauged the direction from which the sound had come and began to speed along the dark mountain road. As if in response to their movement, another loud roar echoed.

“That way!”

“I heard it too!” Despite their helmeted heads constantly hitting the Humvee’s ceiling from its jolting, no one felt motion sickness this time. And after a moment, as they crested a hill, a flash of light burst forth in the distance, followed by the familiar sound of thunder.

“Did you see that?”

“Yes! I saw it!”

And finally, when the frantically speeding Humvee reached the wide enemy encampment, they witnessed the truth they had been denying in their hearts until now.

“Ah…” Jin Se-ah was the first to let out a gasp.

“Huh…” A somewhat disheartened voice escaped Seo-yoon’s lips. Heness, who had been anxiously waiting in the back seat, saw a lone figure in the darkness, emitting a red glow and performing a storm-like dance, and instinctively called out his name.

“Jun-sang-ssi…” Da-bin still looked bewildered, looking around, then involuntarily shivered at the sight of the scattered chunks of flesh. Seo-yoo-mi simply stared at Jun-sang with cold eyes, without speaking.

Seo-yoon parked the car a short distance from Jun-sang, then slowly opened the door and stepped out. The others followed him out of the car. Jun-sang, after instantly grinding up the last remaining group of monsters, finally cast his gaze towards Seo-yoon’s car, which had appeared with its headlights on.

“…” Jun-sang frowned at the sight of them. He hadn’t known that other people would participate in this quest, so their appearance was unexpected. Seo-yoon slowly walked towards him. But at that very moment, the cell phones of Seo-yoon and his companions all began to ring simultaneously. Reflexively pulling them out to check the messages, they were immediately bewildered.

Defend the city from the Dark Forces.

:A mighty army of darkness is advancing towards the walled city of Ibelua. Stop their invasion. (Time remaining until invasion: 45 hours 38 minutes)

[This quest involves a large number of participants simultaneously.]

-> COMPLETE!

-Calculating your actions and achievements in this quest. This process will take some time. Please wait a moment.

“Huh?” Seo-yoon and his companions were flustered by the sudden message. But the most surprised among them was none other than Jung Da-bin. Da-bin, who had been cautiously following her companions with an uneasy expression, suddenly realized that she had experienced a similar situation before, the moment she saw the message on her phone. And as she looked up again, her eyes fell upon the figure of a person holding two grotesquely large iron balls, illuminated by the moonlight, and she involuntarily screamed.

“Ah! It’s that Troll!”

“What?” As they stared in confusion, another message appeared on their phones.

Congratulations!

:Your rank is E.

-You have only contributed a minuscule amount to the completion of this quest.

Isn’t it problematic to just participate for the sake of it? Please try harder.

Reward: Very small amount of experience.

-> Would you like to claim your reward now? (Y/n)_(Caution) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

Seo-yoon glanced at the message on his phone and then silently stared at Jun-sang with a complex expression. Jun-sang calmly accepted Seo-yoon’s gaze, then belatedly realized that Heness was among them.

“Heness?”

“Jun-sang-ssi…” Heness, with a tearful expression, ran to Jun-sang and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his blood-soaked chest from Karkash.

“…” Jun-sang was surprised and momentarily flustered by her presence here. Just then, light emanated from Seo-yoon and his companions’ bodies, and they vanished. Seo-yoon and his companions were returned to Earth without even being able to properly express their bewilderment.

However, within the walls of Ibelua, far from that place, chaos was erupting. Players who had finally settled down for a comfortable night’s sleep were suddenly startled as hundreds of cell phones rang simultaneously, displaying an unexpected quest completion message. Without exception, “F Rank” was clearly stamped on all their phones.

“What is this?!” But the shouts of the players within the distant walls of Ibelua could not reach the dark army’s camp beyond the Forbidden Forest.

“Hmm…” Jun-sang also received the quest completion message, but he still had a 10-minute cooldown remaining.

“Heness, what happened?”

“Jun-sang-ssi… I was so worried…”

“Huuuh…” Jun-sang sighed deeply, looking at this naive girl. That was to be expected… After all, he was a being who had to return to his original place in about 10 minutes. If that happened, this cute, fairy-like girl would be left defenseless in the middle of a desolate forbidden land with no one else around. If she was truly lucky, she might return to Ibelua, her hometown, but if not, this beautiful brown-haired girl would become prey for beasts and monsters in the forbidden land.

“That was a foolish thing to do,” Jun-sang said. Heness looked tearful and bowed her head at Jun-sang’s words.

“But… but…”

“Huuuh…” Jun-sang’s gaze fell on the Humvee that Seo-yoon had forgotten and left behind. But he soon shook his head. No matter how smart Heness was, she couldn’t drive a car she had never touched before all the way home.

It was then. The striped squirrel, its mouth covered in blood and bodily fluids, leaped onto Jun-sang’s shoulder.

“…” Heness was startled by the sudden appearance of this grotesque squirrel, but at that very moment, Jun-sang had an idea. It was the Pet Collar. The precautions clearly stated: Monsters and undead cannot be pets. Did that mean, conversely, that all other living creatures besides monsters and undead could be registered as pets?

Jun-sang immediately grabbed Heness’s shoulders tightly with both hands and said, “Heness.”

“Yes?” Heness looked at Jun-sang with wide, surprised eyes. Jun-sang looked directly into Heness’s eyes and said, “Will you join me?”

“…” Heness felt her mind go blank for a moment. Of course, Jun-sang meant “Will you come back to Earth with me for now?”, but Heness, without a doubt, took it as a confession. Heness couldn’t control her surging emotions. She ended up nodding involuntarily and replied, “Yes. I will.”

Hearing Heness’s answer, Jun-sang quietly opened his mouth. “Open Pet Collar.”

“Yes?” Heness looked confused again at Jun-sang’s incomprehensible words, but the next moment, a leather collar appeared around her neck, and a new message appeared in Jun-sang’s vision.

Congratulations!

:You have successfully made Heness Brea your new pet.

-Currently summonable pets: two.

-Total summonable pets: two.

1. Pouch Squirrel [Detailed Info]

2. Heness Brea [Detailed Info]

-If you wish to summon a pet, press the corresponding number. If not, press n (1/2/n)_

“…” Jun-sang cleared the piled-up messages and then quietly whispered to her, “Then I’ll call you again, so go inside for a bit.”

“Yes?” Heness’s eyes widened again at the command to “go inside,” but the next moment, Jun-sang unsummoned all his pets, and she immediately vanished, emitting a small light.

Jun-sang first approached the Humvee with its headlights on, turned off the engine, and put it in his inventory. Only after meticulously checking if the squirrel had left any items behind did he initiate the transfer.

Author’s Note

Where did Jester’s emergency fund go?