Chapter 84

At that very moment, in the forest a little distance from Belkaras, Jun-sang, drenched in blood, was breathing heavily.

“Hoooh…”

Among the scattered fragments of torn flesh, Jun-sang was checking the quest completion message that had appeared before his eyes.

Defend the City from the Army of Darkness.

: A mighty Army of Darkness is advancing on the trading city of Belkaras. Block their invasion. (Time remaining until invasion: 0 hours 0 minutes)

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

-> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate General Sapathan. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate Elite Captain Tashas. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate 10 Snake-headed Shamans. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate Quartermaster Huka. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate Assault Captain Amungan. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

(Hidden) Eliminate Skirmisher Captain Ashdal. (Cooperation) -> Completed!

– Your actions and performance in this quest will be calculated.

This process will take a moment. Please wait.

After a short wait, a new message soon appeared in Jun-sang’s left vision.

Congratulations!

: Your rank is Ex:Savior.

– You have heroically saved the world from a threat.

Additional rewards will be given in addition to the basic reward.

Reward: Very large amount of experience, Additional Reward Box (Cooperation) x6, Additional Reward Box (Ex:Savior), Title [Savior of Belkaras]

*-> Do you wish to receive the reward now? (Y/n) (Caution) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

“Savior… a rescuer, or rather, a savior?”

Jun-sang, who had expected an SSS-rank or Hero, was curious about the level of the new “Savior” rank. Although the quest Jun-sang received this time was a regular quest, not an Epic one, it was highly likely that this battle was originally someone else’s Epic Quest. If so, perhaps a “Savior” rank is given when one intervenes and takes over the role of the Epic Quest performer. That was the only speculation that immediately came to mind.

Jun-sang decided to check the rewards and messages later and looked around. The squirrel had collected most of the items, but he had to personally retrieve large items that couldn’t fit into its sub-dimensional pouch. The first thing that caught his eye was the flagpole General Sapathan had been carrying.

“Tsk…”

If it could withstand a direct collision with Langdazal’s Fury, which had a shattering ability, it would certainly be a powerful item. Unfortunately, it had been broken in two after colliding with Blood Sucker at the last moment. Looking at the severed cross-section, the material itself seemed to be ordinary timber.

As Jun-sang clicked his tongue in regret, he noticed the flag hanging from the end of the flagpole. Unlike the flagpole, which had lost its light and value as an item, the flag still emitted a faint white glow.

“A flag…”

Jun-sang unfastened the flag, which bore a swirling pattern of blood and darkness, from the flagpole and attempted to identify the item.

Item Information

Name: Flag of Blood and Chaos

Level Requirement: 20

Type: Flag

Grade: Rare

Effects:

1. Reduces cooldown of allies within visible range of the flag by 10%.

2. Increases attack power and defense of allies within visible range of the flag by 10%.

3. Maximizes durability of the item to which the flag is attached.

Seed: No slot

Description: A flag with a swirling pattern of blood and chaos.

“So this was real.”

It seemed Sapathan had carried it on a thick, sturdy flagpole to bestow the flag’s effects on as many subordinates as possible. Jun-sang nodded, put the flag away, and then looked around again. This time, his eyes fell on the two swords Elite Captain Tashas had carried on his back. However, these too had long been broken by Jun-sang’s surprise Shoulder Charge, and no light shone from them under his Insight ability.

“What a shame.”

He flipped Tashas’s body over just in case, but there was nothing else that could be considered an item. Even if it wasn’t a great item if it could be shattered by a single Shoulder Charge, he couldn’t help but feel it was a waste. As he clicked his tongue and stood up, the squirrel, its mouth smeared with blood and flesh, scurried over and climbed onto his shoulder.

“Hmph.”

Jun-sang chuckled at the squirrel’s nonchalant demeanor, then summoned the water spirit to wipe its mouth clean. Anyway, that was one problem solved. He wished he could go take a hot bath. Thinking this, Jun-sang leaned against a tree, gazing at the darkening sky, when he began to be transported to his original location with a flash of light.

“Hmm…”

Jun-sang appeared in the alley behind the inn. He was about to go back into the inn to get a room when he realized his body was completely drenched in Sapathan’s blood. In this state, he wouldn’t even be able to get a room; he’d be reported to the police immediately. Jun-sang quickly hid himself with Invisibility magic and looked around for a place to wash. There was one place, just one. The blue sea stretching beyond the coastal road. The East Sea in early winter, with a biting sea wind blowing fiercely. He wondered if it would be better to sneak in somewhere, wash quickly, and then find a room…

A new message appeared above the unread messages.

New quest has arrived

– You will be transported to the quest location in 10 minutes. Please move to a safe place. (Time remaining: 10 minutes)

“…”

Jun-sang was momentarily stunned. But only for a moment. Soon, a voice of rage erupted from him.

“This is insane!”

How long had it been since he returned, and they were summoning him again? He hadn’t even finished checking his rewards!

“Damn it…”

Jun-sang felt utterly fed up with everything, but he forcibly suppressed his rising anger and quickly began to check the rewards from the previous quest. As soon as he claimed the quest rewards, two level-up phenomena occurred immediately. Jun-sang first checked his newly acquired title.

[Savior of Belkaras]

: A title granted to the single individual who made a decisive contribution to the defense of Belkaras.

– Effect: Increases experience reward by 10% when completing quests in ‘Zertinskaya’, the nation to which Belkaras belongs.

– Title effects are automatically applied upon acquisition.

The Savior of Belkaras title had little difference in effect from the previously acquired Savior of Ibelua title, only differing in the country to which it applied. But this was not all of the newly acquired titles.

[First Deliverer]

: A title granted to the first person to achieve Ex:Savior rank.

– Effect: Grants ‘Indomitable Will’ effect to self and allies within a 10-meter radius.

– Title effects are automatically applied upon acquisition.

“Indomitable Will?”

Jun-sang quickly checked the detailed effect.

Indomitable Will: Grants an unyielding will even in the most adverse conditions.

– All resistances increased by 10%.

– If HP drops below half, attack power and defense increased by 20%.

The short effective radius could be considered a drawback, but the 10% increase in all resistances was on par with the effect of the Seal of Protection. Considering that he was able to avoid being enchanted by the dark magic of Blood Sucker thanks to the Seal of Protection, this was a very useful effect.

After checking the titles, Jun-sang immediately opened the additional reward box for the Savior rank. Messages instantly poured out.

Card Information

Name: Frenzy

Level: 1Lv

Experience: 0

Grade: Hero

Category: Skill

Growth: Normal (Extreme)

Attribute: Fire

Effect: Activates a fierce frenzy state.

Cost: 40

Seed: 5 slots

“Fierce…”

He felt that the total cost might be a bit tight, but Jun-sang first checked the effect.

Fierce Frenzy: Awakens the blind destructive instinct flowing in one’s blood.

– Base duration: 1 minute

– Attack power increase 80%, armor effect reduction 20% – All types of damage reduced by 20%.

– Critical damage chance increased by 10%.

Compared to the existing Rare-grade Frenzy, its power had increased, and its penalties had decreased. In fact, Frenzy was a card that was rarely used independently, only as a combo card, due to its short duration and the extreme exhaustion that followed its use. However, with these effects, it was worth using despite the penalties.

But this wasn’t the end.

Card Information

Name: Dual Storm

Level: 1Lv

Experience: 0

Grade: Super Rare

Category: Skill

Growth: Normal (Large)

Attribute: Wind

Effects:

1. Attacks with 150% power, spinning like a whirlwind with weapons in both hands.

2. Can move at 50% of normal movement speed after activation.

Cost: 20

Seed: 3 slots

The second card was a Super Rare grade Dual Storm card. Its power had increased compared to the previously used Uncommon grade, and it was now possible to move, albeit slowly, allowing for more efficient elimination of enemies over a wider area. Jun-sang then checked the third reward from the Savior-grade additional reward box.

Congratulations!

You have acquired the item card ‘Pet Collar’.

: Tame your favorite animal to make it a pet.

– To forcibly create a pet, the animal’s HP must be 10% or less.

– Monsters and undead cannot be made into pets.

– If the animal has a high affinity for the user, it is possible to create a pet with a certain probability regardless of its HP. However, in this case, it may be affected by luck.

The third reward was a Pet Collar, which he had acquired once before. After finishing checking the Savior-grade additional reward box, Jun-sang quickly replaced the shortcut commands in his card slots with the newly acquired cards, then removed the existing seeds and equipped them in the new card slots. He was about to summon the squirrel to check the newly acquired seeds, but ten minutes had already passed.

“Tsk…”

Jun-sang clicked his tongue and stored the seeds separately for now. Immediately, light emanated from his body, and the transfer began. And as soon as the transfer ended,

-Kwoooaaak!

Jun-sang was immediately confronted by a zombie lunging at him, its yellow teeth bared. He instinctively swung his fist, smashing the zombie’s head, and then other zombies rushed at him from behind. Jun-sang immediately pulled out Langdazal’s Fury from his inventory and crushed the zombies charging at him.

“Damn it…”

After eliminating all the monsters, Jun-sang climbed onto a nearby roof to survey his surroundings. The city, engulfed in flames, emitted acrid smoke, and amidst the darkness and fire, the roars of monsters and the screams of people continuously erupted. As he clicked his tongue, gazing at the chaotic city panorama, so disoriented that he didn’t know where to begin, a new quest list finally appeared before his eyes.

Defend the City from the Army of Darkness.

: A mighty Army of Darkness is advancing on the fortress city of Harlagan. Block their invasion. (Time remaining until invasion: 0 hours 0 minutes)

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

(Hidden) Eliminate General Sarga. (Cooperation)

-> Incomplete

(Hidden) Eliminate Support Captain Belbaran. (Cooperation)

-> Incomplete

(Hidden) Eliminate Armored Captain Hatum. (Cooperation)

-> Incomplete

Three boss-level enemies remained. However, the three red quest markers indicating their locations were already all within the city.