IBMATG 19

Chapter 19

NL openly threatened me.

If I didn’t join their side, they wouldn’t leave me alone.

In other words, they’d rather kill me than see me go to another corporation.

{Guardian Spirit: Fergus mac Róich, King of Ulster (Legendary)}
{Guardian Spirit: Tristan, Knight of Sorrow (Legendary)}

Two Legendary Awakeners were glaring at me.

One was Volkov, standing right in front of me, and the other was a man with a bow slung across his back, arms crossed, watching from a distance.

‘Pretty vicious.’

And it wasn’t just those two.

At least dozens of Awakeners had gathered here, and among them, no fewer than ten possessed historical Guardian Spirits.

The rest all had Rare Guardian Spirits.

That overwhelming power was focused entirely on me—waiting for a single word to come out of my mouth.

If I refused, they looked ready to kill me on the spot.

Of course, there was no way I could fight all of them alone and win.

“With this many people pressuring me all at once, what choice do I have?”

Running was impossible too.

These people had already surrounded me from all sides the moment they approached.

From the beginning, their primary goal wasn’t really to recruit me.

What they truly wanted was to make sure I didn’t fall into anyone else’s hands.

In short, eliminating me—the potential threat—was their real objective.

But before that, they were testing me, to see if I’d join them.

If I agreed, good.
If not, then I was dead.

That was their plan all along.

“No need for more words. I’ll take your answer from this.”

Volkov suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed mine.

{<Colossus (Grade 1)> has sent you a request to sign a reward transfer contract for the <Behemoth Hunt> quest. Do you accept?}

That “Colossus” title probably belonged to their boss.

They were handing this to me as a means to bind me.

If I accepted a reward transfer contract, then until the quest was cleared, the recipient could track the giver’s location.

The problem: once the giver accepted the contract, it couldn’t be canceled unless the recipient chose to cancel it first.

And what if the quest’s difficulty was impossibly high?

Then I’d basically be stuck with a permanent, unremovable tracker.

And that “Behemoth”—it was a monster that only high-ranking Awakeners with main stats above 7,000 could even attempt to fight.

On top of that, NL would never allow me to grow that strong anyway.

‘So this is how they plan to cut off my potential?’

An inescapable trap.

If I accepted that contract, I’d be forced to live under NL’s surveillance forever.

But if I refused, they’d attack me right here and now.

This way, they were preventing me from pretending to agree and then vanishing after the raid.

“What will you do?”

Volkov pressed harder, his once relaxed eyes sharpening dangerously.

“Hm…”

But honestly?

‘They came prepared, but this isn’t impressive at all.’

Even now, I felt no real sense of crisis.

Because I’d anticipated this situation all along.

Did they really think I wouldn’t notice shady and dangerous people swarming around me?

Of course I knew.

I just wanted to see what they’d try to say to me directly.

“Well, I’ve heard your piece.”

And it turned out, none of it was useful to me.

‘If they had begged sincerely instead of threatening me, maybe I would’ve considered it.’

The fact that they were NL didn’t matter to me.

Even if they were a trash corporation, I’d have joined them if they had something worthwhile to offer.

But they let their numbers get to their heads and made the wrong move.

Trying to crush me right from the start—there was no way I’d expect fair treatment from them.

“So, are you refusing?”

Rustle.

I pulled out a piece of paper from my inventory.

Volkov shook his head.

“We’ll provide the contract. Mr. Yoo only needs to accept the quest contract request.”

“This isn’t a contract.”

Rip.

I tore the paper clean in half.

“It’s a Return Scroll.”

Flash.

The brutal Russian back alley vanished, replaced with the bustling central plaza of the city.

The plaza was crowded with people.

Some were fully geared up, ready to raid the boss at any moment.

Others hadn’t even cleared Stage 2 or 3 yet and were still running around to rescue teammates.

And some were anxiously waiting for random matchmaking into Stage 4, terrified of missing out on the boss fight.

Awakeners of all different progression levels were gathered here, waiting for their chance to shine.

“Brother Shinwoo!”

Choi Yoona and Lee Jinyoon were among them.

I’d told them to wait here in the plaza.

The moment it seemed like the right time to begin the boss raid, we’d head out.

“Jinyoon, Yoona. You’re both ready, right?”

“Huh?”

“For the raid boss.”

“Oh, of course! Just say the word and I’m in, anytime!”

“I don’t have anything else to do either.”

“Perfect.”

Hearing their firm replies, I immediately headed toward the massive portal zone in the center of the plaza.

It was a giant circular platform, at least 30 meters across.

All Awakeners had to use this portal to enter a stage or abandon a raid.

That was why the plaza was always so crowded.

“We’re entering the final stage right now. Follow me.”

“Y-Yes!”

Lee Jinyoon replied with determination.

Meanwhile, Choi Yoona tugged at my sleeve.

“Wait, but… are we really okay going in just the three of us?”

“Yes. We’re fine.”

I pulled her hand along so she too stepped onto the portal zone.

“The moment we start the raid boss battle, everyone here will know.”

“R-Really?”

{Would you like to enter the Final Stage?}
{Warning: The Raid Boss is extremely powerful! Be fully prepared before challenging!}

“Enter.”

{Entering the Final Stage.}
{Alert! The Final Stage is now open. Remaining entry time: 5 minutes.}

A notification popped up for every participant inside the dungeon.

I could see countless people in the plaza looking at the sudden message floating before them.

And with that, I was pulled through dimensions into another world.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

As soon as I entered the final stage, I saw other Awakeners streaming in as well.

But Yoona and Jinyoon weren’t among them.

Even though they’d stepped in with me.

‘Where did they end up?’

I looked around. This was a dense forest.

More people popped into existence nearby, glowing as they exited their portals.

It seemed this stage scattered Awakeners randomly across a wide area.

Similar to Stage 2.

Which meant Yoona and Jinyoon had been sent far away.

‘For now, I should find cover.’

I quickly moved somewhere I wouldn’t be spotted.

They both had solid survival skills—stealth, shields. They’d be fine without me.

And eventually, everyone would be drawn toward the boss anyway.

Even if I didn’t look for them now, we’d meet again naturally.

Rustle.

I pushed through the forest at speed.

‘This stage is bigger than I expected.’

The guide notes only described how to fight the raid boss once it appeared.

So I’d assumed it was a small arena where we’d only have to fight the boss.

But this place was huge—far too spacious for just one fight.

‘They want us to fight each other first.’

I thought I understood the intent.

Raid rules already encouraged infighting and scheming before entry.

This sprawling battlefield was designed to keep that atmosphere alive even inside the stage itself.

‘If the first thing people see isn’t the boss, but competitors to steal the final rewards from… of course, some will lose their minds.’

This raid dungeon was, at its core, a sadistic system meant to test human greed to the bitter end.

Crash!

“Argh! W-What the hell are you doing?!”

I saw someone shatter another Awakener’s talisman barrier.

“If you don’t want to die, you’d better run.”

“You bastard…!”

“Haah!”

Flash!

The one who lost their defenses was immediately attacked and disappeared in a burst of light—

They’d declared “Give up stage” and warped back to the city.

Now, they wouldn’t be able to re-enter for 24 hours.

‘Already fighting each other before even looking for the boss, huh.’

For now, with participants scattered across the forest, these skirmishes were small.

But soon, organized groups would collide in large-scale battles.

Sure, some groups would try to unite people to make progress.

But the real problem was NL.

They were here too.

And they were a completely unpredictable variable.

Who knew what they’d do to sabotage me.

If things spiraled, the stage would become a chaotic mess—and when it mattered most, people might not focus their strength where it was needed.

‘I can’t let that happen. Everyone has to focus on the boss.’

There was only one way to prevent the worst-case scenario.

‘I’ll have to bring the boss right to them.’

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Faced with an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, no one would waste time fighting each other.

A raid boss was just that terrifying.

I immediately set out to search for it.

“Grokk. Sagh hung.”

After roaming for a while, I stumbled upon an orc village in the mountains.

A primitive settlement, the kind you’d find in any dungeon with orcs.

‘So this raid is all orcs, start to finish.’

I circled the outskirts, observing from afar, searching for the raid boss.

But then I noticed something strange.

‘Wait… what?’

At first glance, it looked just like Stage 1.

A primitive village filled with orcs.
And the boss waiting in the center.

But on closer inspection—it was completely different.

‘Why are there no warriors?’

Not a single orc in the village was holding a weapon.

‘What the hell…’

And then—

“Ugh!”

Thump-thump!

My heart suddenly pounded violently, like I was about to have a heart attack.

‘W-What’s happening?!’

As I panicked from the sudden pain, a message appeared before my eyes.

{Malice reveals overwhelming hostility.}
{It demands you tear apart the sworn enemy inside.}

Then, my right vision turned crimson.

Like I was looking through a thermal camera—everything was bathed in red, except for one highlighted yellow figure.

Unlike a thermal camera, though, only a single living being was emphasized.

‘That…?’

Among all the orcs in the village, the crimson sight pointed to one target.

Above its head floated a familiar name.

{Guardian Spirit: Sigurd the Dragonslayer (Legendary)}

It was an Orc Awakener.