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Chapter 14
[Fatigue: 90]
[Warning! You are now beyond the point of severe injury, approaching a near-death state. Rest immediately.]
[Warning!]
……
Lee Hyun took a deep breath as he stared at the flood of messages crowding his vision.
The difference between fatigue levels 89 and 90 was huge.
His vision spun.
If this kept up, he’d collapse any moment.
Still, Lee Hyun stubbornly kept staring at the message window, as if searching for something.
But—
‘It’s not there.’
The message he’d been hoping for never appeared.
“Maybe the requirements aren’t just this simple?”
The resistance he had wanted hadn’t manifested.
He wondered if he needed to raise his fatigue a bit more, or maybe find a different condition—
「Quit that pointless thinking and finish the quest first, you brat!」
Son Oh-gong, who had been silently watching until now, suddenly barked at him.
「Whatever you’re aiming for, one more step with your current stats and you’ll be on the express train to the afterlife! Want me to speed things up for you? Huh?」
In the end, Lee Hyun backed off a step.
‘Fine. I’ll end the first attempt here and aim for the next chance.’
Son Oh-gong wasn’t wrong.
If his fatigue built up any further, the mana circuits that had barely begun to recover would collapse. At that point, there’d be no turning back.
Finally, Lee Hyun pulled out the potion he had been avoiding and drank it.
[You drank a Recovery Potion. ‘Sacred Relic: Ruyi Jingu Bang’ interacts to enhance recovery.]
The scars across his body began closing. His fatigue level dropped quickly, and his vision cleared.
“Phew……”
「You really do all kinds of dumb shit just to kill yourself, don’t you?」
“Thanks to that, I got this far so fast, didn’t I? I pushed myself to the point I could wipe out a whole raid team.”
「Your mouth sure runs smooth. When we first met, I thought you at least had a quiet side.」
Son Oh-gong was clearly annoyed at how Lee Hyun kept talking back these days.
Lee Hyun just chuckled dryly and pulled out his axe, heading toward Heo Se-woon’s corpse.
「What are you doing now? Gonna vent on the guy you just killed?」
“Why bother with that?”
Lee Hyun smiled.
“After a good fight, it’s time to farm.”
「……?」
Son Oh-gong tilted his head, not quite understanding.
「Looting’s a warrior’s right, sure. But I’ve never seen someone pick things clean as thoroughly as you do.」
“I’m very poor. I’ll take everything I can get.”
Lee Hyun swept up not just Heo Se-woon’s gear, but also the belongings of the other raid members, stashing everything in his inventory.
‘He was the younger brother of a great guild master, so I figured he might have something good. Turns out he had even better than I expected.’
[Brooch of the Moon’s Reflection]
The ancient Celts’ heroes were said to sometimes carry small pouches that could hold anything. These were often described as jewelry or trinkets.
-
Type: Inventory / Miscellaneous
-
Origin: Folktale, “Tara’s Secret Pouch”
So-called subspace inventory items were unbelievably expensive.
They lightened your load and let you store dungeon spoils easily.
But the crafting process was so difficult that even large guilds rarely entrusted them to anyone except dedicated porters.
Most hunters never even dreamed of owning one. Even if they spent a fortune, it usually only stored one or two items.
But the one Heo Se-woon carried was large-capacity.
Thanks to it, Lee Hyun could comfortably stash every item he farmed.
‘Most of it will have to be fenced as stolen goods, but a few things are immediately useful for me.’
Still, something caught his attention.
[■Be■■ ■■■r Fossil]
An unidentifiable fossil.
It seems to hold some kind of secret.
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Type: Unknown
-
Origin: Unknown
It must have originally belonged to Heo Se-woon. It didn’t look like an ordinary rock.
For one, it was as big as a human torso.
Its shape resembled an ostrich egg.
Maybe it was the egg of a divine beast? But it was too weathered to tell. Even the Fiery Eyes of Truth couldn’t reveal anything.
Still, the fact it had been secured with protection wards suggested it was important.
‘Better keep it. He treasured it for a reason.’
Setting aside thoughts of the fossil, Lee Hyun turned his attention to the loot he was most excited for—
The Yellow Storm Ogre.
He pulled out a small dagger.
「……Where the hell did you learn a skill like that?」
Slice! Slice!
He neatly began dissecting his old enemy. Son Oh-gong watched with a disgusted expression.
“You know the worst thing about serving in the military?”
「What?」
“Supplies always run short because the higher-ups cut rations.”
「…….」
“So what can you do? You find ways to be self-sufficient.”
He carefully separated the ogre’s staff and fingers—the parts that had triggered special skills.
“When it comes to profit, a boss monster’s corpse is the best loot. This one alone will make old man Dochul thrilled.”
「Some things never change. Bastard higher-ups always the problem.」
While Son Oh-gong grumbled, Lee Hyun finished up and dusted off his hands.
“All done. Let’s go.”
Lee Hyun and Son Oh-gong finally reached the dungeon’s last area—an oasis.
A vast lake, out of place in this arid desert.
Lee Hyun scooped water into his hands and drank.
Instantly, his mind cleared.
His fatigue seemed to vanish, and his mana surged.
‘This is spirit water.’
A type of elixir: natural mana condensed into liquid form.
He had never seen spirit water on such a large scale.
Just as he was about to drink more—
Ding!
[You have successfully cleared all dungeon quests. As a reward, you gained a large amount of ‘■■■■’ Merit.]
The main quest reward.
Lee Hyun felt a surge of strength flood his body again.
Crunch! Crack!
[Your tier has increased.]
[Your body has been recalibrated. All stats increase by 10.]
[Your core has evolved a stage. Mana efficiency has improved.]
The core that absorbed the spirit water had transformed, growing larger and harder.
About 1.5 times its former size.
Mana coursed through him more powerfully.
‘If I’d gotten greedier, it could have been dangerous. This much is just right.’
But the dungeon reward didn’t stop there.
‘If this dungeon also carried traces of the Monkey King’s design……!’
[You claimed 99.6% of the dungeon’s conquest. With an overwhelming first place, you receive an additional reward: “Samadhi Divine Wind” Skillbook.]
‘Knew it!’
Lee Hyun looked at Son Oh-gong.
Sure enough, there was a bonus reward.
Son Oh-gong just snorted, arms crossed.
「Why so surprised? All of these were recorded in my myth. If you awaken them properly, of course they’ll naturally pass down to you, my apostle.」
That meant to gain such rewards, he had to keep dominating mythical dungeons with overwhelming performance.
Harder, yes—but the rewards would scale with it. It fired Lee Hyun’s ambition.
Even just the Samadhi Divine Wind was an incredible skill. Combined with Condensed Thunder, the synergy would be excellent.
‘The gods’ powers, plus the techniques of Son Oh-gong’s old enemies… there’s no limit to how strong I can get.’
He couldn’t have been happier.
‘I didn’t get the resistance I wanted, but I’ll figure out the conditions later. For now, I’ll focus on the Monkey King’s myth.’
Son Oh-gong, despite his gruffness, couldn’t quite hide the slight upward curl of his lips.
[Based on ■■■■’s Merit, your resonance with the Ruyi Jingu Bang greatly increases.]
[You can now utilize the Fiery Eyes of Truth more effectively.]
……
[The dungeon is beginning to collapse. All participants, retreat to the safe zone.]
Rumble!
The dungeon began falling apart.
“Great Sage.”
「What?」
Son Oh-gong tore his eyes from the scenery, heavy with nostalgia.
[10]
[9]
“Don’t you think… I’ve proven myself decent enough as your temporary apostle?”
He snorted at that.
「Not even close.」
“A little praise wouldn’t hurt—”
But Son Oh-gong casually dropped a line.
「Still, you weren’t bad.」
“……!”
「So push harder, brat.」
[3]
Lee Hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
And then—
[2]
“Yes.”
He smiled.
[1]
[0]
[Countdown complete.]
[Dungeon closing.]
Lee Hyun staggered back into the hospital looking like a beggar.
It was late, so he tried to slip quietly into the room—
“…Ji… Jin-woo hyung?”
The light snapped on. Go Jin-woo was sitting on his bed, arms crossed.
He looked like a ghost.
“What time do you call this?”
“Didn’t you get off work, hyung…?”
“Normally, yeah. But someone made sure I couldn’t go home tonight. Wanna die?”
Now Lee Hyun noticed Jin-woo was in casual clothes, not scrubs.
And there was no cruelty worse than stopping a salaryman from going home.
Lee Hyun immediately bowed his head.
“I’m sorry!”
“Where the hell have you been to come back looking like that? Should I just break your legs so you can’t run off again—”
“I’m healed!” Lee Hyun blurted out.
“What nonsense—”
“It’s true. The curse, it’s gone.”
“…!?”
“My mana circuits are recovered, too.”
“Give me your hand.”
Jin-woo grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse.
Thump! Thump!
A strong, vigorous beat. Mana surging within.
“How the hell…!”
He had already suspected during the <Monkey Den> dungeon exploration that the curse might be lifting.
But barely a day had passed since then.
Yet the changes were too drastic.
He checked Lee Hyun’s physique.
Even beneath his ragged clothes, his frame was firm and solid.
He’d trained before, sure—but the feel was different now.
Back then, it was like a sick man pretending not to be ill. Now, it was like a hardened warrior.
He smelled of battle.
Like back in the Thunder Corps…
“I went to confirm my condition. I can use mana freely again. My leg’s healed too.”
“……!”
Jin-woo watched him casually hop in place without effort.
“No, you need a full check-up first—”
“No. Can’t.”
Lee Hyun gently pushed his hand away.
“Why not? We need to confirm there are no side effects!”
“And if you confirm it? You’ll broadcast everywhere that Jet is back?”
“You… you missed the Thunder Corps, didn’t you? You could go back! Even if not, there are old comrades dying to know if you’re alive—”
“What if Yebin or Chang-woo find out?”
Jin-woo froze.
Na Yebin. Seo Chang-woo.
Names they could never forget.
They had stolen a friend from Jin-woo, a brother from Lee Hyun.
“I have to catch those bastards. But if they know I’m healed, I’ll never get them. Or worse, they’ll come after me first.”
Jin-woo couldn’t deny it.
Na Yebin had vanished without a trace, but Seo Chang-woo was still active.
No—he’d taken the Chinese name Shi Changyou after naturalizing three years ago.
As an apostle of the Jade Emperor, he was wildly popular in China.
Even among high-rankers, he stood out.
Rumor had it he’d soon challenge the top 9,000. Even Lee Hyun was cautious.
Jin-woo sighed long and heavy.
“So you’re going to lie low and rebuild your strength first?”
“Yeah.”
“You got a place? You know how small this world really is.”
There were only so many dungeons suitable for awakening power. Most were under guild control.
Rumors would spread eventually.
Na Yebin and Seo Chang-woo might not care yet, but if the name “Jet” resurfaced?
Could he withstand their pressure then?
But Lee Hyun just grinned.
“Hyung, I’m Jang Lee Hyun. Jet. You think I’d move sloppily?”
Jin-woo let out a short laugh. He remembered exactly what kind of guy Lee Hyun was.
“So you’re saying their days of sleeping easy are numbered, huh?”
“Damn right.”
Finally, Jin-woo made his decision.
“Fine. If I don’t help, Soo-chan will kill me later anyway. And I’d like to see their smug faces smashed in. So, what do you want me to do first?”
Lee Hyun smiled and handed him the brooch.
“What’s this?”
“Stolen goods. Fence them quietly. I need cash. You still have that connection, right?”
Jin-woo’s expression shifted.
“I can… but it’s been a while. I’ll have to try reopening the channel. Can’t promise anything yet.”
He didn’t ask where the goods came from.
Lee Hyun was grateful for that kind of trust.
“Tell them I’ll deliver 20 A-grade mana stones and 5 S-grade every month. They’ll come drooling like mad dogs.”
“Are you crazy!? How could you possibly—”
Jin-woo started to argue, but seeing Lee Hyun’s eyes, he bit his tongue.
At last, he slipped the brooch into his inner pocket.
“Fine, whatever. I’ll do it because you’re asking. I’m out—this feels urgent.”
He pulled his cap low and left.
Alone, Lee Hyun opened a drawer and took out a note he had stashed that morning.
—Contact me once you’re healed.
Beneath the plain handwriting was a business card.
Im Won-young
White Burn │ Dungeon Raid Division, Team A Leader
010-2XXX-XXXX
Lee Hyun quietly pulled out his phone.
