IBMATG 7

Chapter 7

I exchanged SNS contacts with Lea, and as it turned out, she was a famous influencer from France with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Of course, with looks that glamorous and that much money, I had somewhat expected it.

Even though we exchanged contacts, in truth, I was nothing more than one of her hundreds of thousands of followers.

As for those Russian guys who had pointed their guns at me… it seems they were delusional enough to think that a woman like her would ever be interested in them.

All they got for picking a fight with me was a beating.

It was absurd, but in any case, I was able to return safely to Korea without further trouble.

‘Now, just one last thing remains.’

That was how I obtained the mana breathing skill, which would allow me to sustain the Evil Dragon’s Demonic Arts.

And with just one more element, I would complete my foundation.

<Unacquired Weapon Projection Authority>
To unlock, complete the following task:
Eliminate 0 / 5,000 demi-human monsters.

That element was none other than the Weapon Projection Authority.

Regardless of rank, all guardians possessed it—
a fundamental ability, basic to every Awakener.

Only by using it could one properly wield the guardian’s power.

Normally, it should have been the very first ability I unlocked. But I deliberately chose to get mana breathing first.

“To shorten the time.”

If I had jumped into this without mana breathing, who knows how long it would have taken to kill 5,000 monsters?

If I ran out of mana, I would have had to stop, wait a long time for recovery, then hunt a little again, then stop…
That process would have eaten up endless hours.

As I said before, potion usage also had its limits.

But by getting mana breathing first, I was able to drastically reduce that time.

I reversed the order to maximize efficiency.

‘With this, I’ll obtain the Weapon Projection Authority as fast as possible.’

I moved without delay.

If I wanted to match that date, I had to push through a tight schedule.

“Right this way, please.”

A man in a neat suit greeted me in the hotel lobby.

Other staff took my luggage to the room, while I followed the suited man into a separate chamber.

This was the Gaon Hotel of the Baeksan Group—
a 5-star hotel built right next to a dungeon they managed.

Naturally, its main clientele was Awakeners.

For dungeon users, accommodation was provided free of charge.

That was because the dungeon usage fee itself was exorbitant.

“You’ve chosen the profit-sharing method for your dungeon fee, I see.”

“Yes.”

If you couldn’t pay upfront, you could settle afterwards with loot gained inside the dungeon.

They would sell the loot on your behalf, and split the profits.

I had already burned through most of the money I’d borrowed, and besides, I wasn’t here to make money.

“This way, you’ll keep roughly 5% of the net profits from the loot obtained. The details are written here—please take a look.”

He handed me a sheet of paper.

It was filled with complicated formulas: fixed lodging fees, fixed dungeon usage fees, transportation fees, storage fees, sales fees, percentages of variable costs, and so on…

After all the deductions, my share would be about 5%.

‘I do all the work, and I only get 5%…’

It was nearly exploitative.

This was essentially a business model that exploited Awakeners for free labor to make money.

They lured Awakeners with “free entry” instead of high usage fees.

Then, after drawing in as many people as possible, they claimed the greater profits from the loot.

‘Like a dungeon version of freemium games… or something like that.’

In any case, with my money gone, I had no choice but to accept.

And like I said before, I wasn’t here for money anyway.

This was just laying the groundwork for bigger profits later—
an investment stage in my plan.

“I’ve reviewed it.”

“Good. Then next…”

After listening to some more explanations, I signed the contract.

Then I immediately entered the dungeon.

Flash.

Through the portal, I arrived at the Werewolf Den.

Among demi-human monsters, werewolves were among the weakest.

That made them the perfect targets for this 5,000 kills quest.

Of course, demi-human monsters in general were still very powerful, so carelessness was not an option.

‘Just focus on completing the quest.’

I scouted the den until I found a cluster of werewolves.

They had crude tools and primitive items, living in groups.

To my eyes, they were nothing more than numbers to fill up to 5,000.

‘Evil Dragon’s Demonic Arts.’

I drew out my power, scanning the terrain.

‘A narrow passage. That’s the spot.’

It was impossible to lure and kill them one by one.

Once one engaged in battle, the whole pack would charge in.

So the only option was to use the terrain.

Sssk.

I finished surveying, then pulled out my knuckles from both pockets, sliding them onto my hands.

I targeted one stray werewolf farthest from the pack—

Drrrt!

I sprinted toward it at full speed.

Stealth was impossible; they could detect nearby enemies by scent.

So the tactic was to close in instantly from afar and strike with a surprise attack.

Step, step.

As soon as I reached close range, I sidestepped right, then left.

Two shifts of weight, channeling all momentum into one side.

All my power gathered in my right-hand knuckle.

With a sweeping hook, I smashed toward the werewolf’s skull.

Bang!

{Demi-human monster slain: 1/5,000}

The creature, caught off guard, became number one the instant our eyes met.

Grr?

Its pack was momentarily stunned by the sudden death.

‘Now’s the chance.’

I bolted toward the narrow passage I had marked earlier.

The tactic: kill one with a surprise blow, then lure the rest into a chokepoint and take them down one by one.

Against group-fighting monsters, close combat demanded this method.

Howl—!

Their howling began.

A wave of hostility crawled over my skin like insects.

“Come.”

I stood at the passage and faced the oncoming werewolves.

Ten full days passed.

Crunch!

{Demi-human monster slain: 4,999/5,000}

Thud!

{Demi-human monster slain: 5,000/5,000}

I had successfully hunted 5,000 werewolves.

That was nearly 500 kills per day.

And then—

{Quest complete! Weapon Projection Authority <Claws of the Evil Dragon> has been unlocked.}

At last, I had acquired Weapon Projection.

<Weapon Projection – Claws of the Evil Dragon>
Projects the claws of Azidahaka onto equipped weapons.
Damage Type: Physical, Dark
Applicable Weapons: Knuckles
Affected Stat: Willpower

‘Weapon Projection…’

I activated it immediately, feeling power surge into my hands.

The knuckles on both hands glowed blue.

They now carried the violent energy of Azidahaka.

Grrrr!

The remaining werewolves charged at me.

I swung my fist at them.

“Hup!”

From right to left—a right hook.

Craaaash!

Blue energy burst from the knuckles, forming a dragon’s claw.

Its arc widened the hook’s trajectory, sweeping across my front.

Crack! Crunch!

Bones shattered, flesh ripped.

Three werewolves died in an instant.

Ghh… grrr?

The others froze, their hostility evaporating as soon as they saw the dragon’s claw.

Whimper, whine!

They turned tail and bolted, desperate to survive.

“Ha… this is insane.”

I was too busy marveling at my newfound power to care about their escape.

“So this is a legendary guardian, huh.”

Weapon Projection.

An authority that overlays the guardian’s weapon onto the user’s weapon in energy form.

It consumed no mana, had no restrictions beyond weapon type.

In other words, a basic attack.

The most elementary way to wield one’s guardian’s power.

And yet, even this “basic” skill had such overwhelming might.

‘Then what happens when I unlock higher authorities?’

I couldn’t even imagine.

With more authorities unlocked and upgraded, how powerful would I become?

Of course, that required raising my synchronization rate with the guardian first.

{Synchronization with Azidahaka: 0.03%}

But the increase was pitifully slow.

Even after killing so many werewolves over ten days, it was only 0.03%.

It felt even slower than when I got 0.02% from killing just 100 goblins.

‘How the hell do I raise this…?’

Everything else had improved.

{<Basic Martial Arts> Proficiency: 21/100}
{<Mana Breathing> Proficiency: 13/100}
{Willpower: 20 (+1)}
{Mana: 126}

My combat understanding grew with martial arts proficiency.

Mana Breathing now regenerated 2.09% per second—double what it was when I first learned it.

Willpower increased by 2, raising total mana to 132.

In just ten days, all my stats rose by 12.

And yet synchronization barely moved.

“Sigh… I don’t know.”

Other than a vague hunch that there must be some different method, I had no clue.

Anyway, I had achieved my goal. That was enough hunting.

I collected the werewolf corpses, extracting the small orbs from their hearts.

Monster core stones—basic materials for weapons and talismans, and the loot referred to in the contracts.

I packed them into my bag and left the dungeon.

Finally, goodbye to this damned place.

After ten days of training in isolation, I descended from the mountain.

Well, calling it isolation was a bit much.

I had been hunting while staying at a 5-star hotel.

A modern-day version of seclusion training, in the 21st century.

Either way, I came out with plenty gained.

Even a bit of money.

The profit margin was pitiful at 5%, but I still got something.

Around 7 million won.

I converted it all into Vietnamese dong, then split it evenly between gold and diamonds.

{Gold: 74,141,891}
{Diamonds: 741,418}

These currencies had their use elsewhere.

Mana Breathing and Weapon Projection—
I had acquired both specifically for that place.

“Final destination is Syria, correct? May I see your passport?”

“Here.”

I opened the page with the “Special Passport Usage Permit” attached and showed it to the immigration officer.

It was a document allowing entry into travel-restricted zones.

The stated purpose: “Business.”

“Alright, you’re cleared.”

He checked the passport and waved me through indifferently.

After entering the duty-free area, I stopped at a convenience store to buy a drink. On the TV inside, news about my destination was playing.

—Once again, military tensions are rapidly escalating around the globe. This is due to the annual start of the ‘Raid Quests.’

The regular raid season had begun.