IBMATG 23

Chapter 23

The raid was over, and I returned to my daily life.

What I gained from killing Volkov was 4 points of Willpower and the authority of “Khaladbolg, the Mountain-Breaking Sword.”

A sword that shatters mountains.

It had a rather grand name, but that guy hadn’t even managed to use it properly before dying.

Then I’ll make good use of it instead.

The weapon projection authority that fell into my hands once again transformed into an activation-type ability, just like Gáe Bolg.

───

Authority: Khaladbolg, Mountain-Breaking Fist (Wave Emitter)

• Expends Strong Strike Wave to unleash an explosive blow. Can only be used while Evil Dragon’s Claw is active.

───

Of course, when I obtained this skill, I again saw that Middle Eastern man’s memory.

The third memory didn’t contain anything special—just a brutal massacre of orcs.

But unlike before, he was much more consumed by rage, his fury fueled by the loss of his wife.

Just who exactly is that man?

After experiencing these continuing visions, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

What kind of world was that memory from?

From the clothing and scenery, I guessed it was ancient Middle East, but it definitely wasn’t our real world.

The world only changed five years ago. There’s no way there could have been some ancient war between humans and orcs.

So he must be from another world after all.

Even if such a world really exists, the bigger question was—what connection does he have with my guardian spirit?

Azidahaka is a dragon… but that man is human.

There was definitely a link.

The first time I received a message from that being of “malice” was when I killed orcs after gaining my guardian spirit.

And in the man’s visions, the very reason he became filled with such hatred was also because of orcs.

A human’s memory of being forced to hate orcs… and a guardian spirit that rejoiced when orcs were slain.

That alone made it clear the two were connected.

Perhaps they even shared the same persona.

In any case, I’d know for sure once I saw more memories.

And the raid rewards didn’t end with just authority.

{Title: Orc Slayer (Rank 9)}

At last, I too had obtained a title.

Its effect was a 5% increase to all damage dealt against orc-type enemies.

Honestly, the effect itself wasn’t important.

What mattered was the “Rank 9” attached to it.

Because titles represented the accomplishments of an Awakener.

How strong am I?

How skilled am I?

Titles were the outward metric that displayed it to others.

Guardian spirits, stats, skills—unless shown directly, no one could see them. And no one would believe mere boasting.

But titles could be displayed openly.

And with a high-ranking title, you’d naturally receive treatment befitting that level.

The biggest merit? You’d never again need to worry about money.

And from the moment I gained this Rank 9 title, the label of “beginner Awakener” was gone.

Ding-dong. Ding.

Just then, the bell rang.

The caller was Lee Jin-yoon.

“Hey, Jin-yoon.”

—Yes, hyung! Are you free to talk now?

“Of course.”

—Ah, yes. It’s about that item you entrusted me with.

“Mm.”

—Someone’s come forward to buy it.

He was referring to the Unique weapon, Avenger’s Cleaver, that I had obtained as the final raid reward.

I’d left the sale to him.

Large-scale trades of Unique weapons couldn’t be done alone—companies always had to be involved.

And the best person to use for that was none other than Lee Jin-yoon.

But to think of him only as someone I was “using”… he’d actually proven surprisingly capable.

“Oh yeah? For 30 billion?”

—No. I negotiated it cleanly at 50 billion.

When it came to money, he showed the complete opposite side of his combat ability.

“…What? 50?”

My goal was to earn 11.5 billion by year’s end in order to be the winning bidder at the Diamond Auction.

But earning just that amount wouldn’t be enough. Accounting for taxes and variables, I needed at least 30 billion in hand.

That was why I’d told him to sell it for at least that much.

A slightly higher price than other Unique weapons from raids restricted to under 75 total stat points.

But Jin-yoon had managed to secure a whopping 50 billion.

—After deducting the 10% commission you agreed to, you’ll still get 45 billion. That’s one and a half times higher than the 30 billion you originally wanted. How does that sound?

There was a reason he’d worked so hard to sell it that high.

He had asked if he could take 10% commission if he managed to sell it for over 30 billion.

Since my minimum goal was guaranteed, I’d agreed without hesitation.

As a result, he brought me far more money than I expected.

“Nothing wrong with that.”

—Understood. I’ll proceed with it, then.

And he hung up.

“Not bad, this guy.”

Honestly, at first I thought of him as nothing more than a rich fool.

Absolutely worthless as an Awakener.

But he had a surprising eagerness to overcome his innate cowardice.

In the last raid boss fight, he’d even shown moments of boldness.

And now, his skill in weapon trading.

“With this, I don’t need to bow my head to anyone just for money.”

Normally, with my power, to earn big money I’d have had to work under someone rich.

Otherwise, I’d constantly be targeted by people who wanted what I had.

As Volkov had said, people like me were fated to end up belonging somewhere.

But thanks to Jin-yoon, I no longer needed to go through that hassle.

No one would bat an eye if rare items were sold through a chaebol family like Mirae Group.

Through him, I could handle everything alone.

“Thinking about it that way… NL is the real problem now.”

For now, I had money. There were still two months until the Diamond Auction began in mid-December.

But now, I had become the enemy of NL, a Russian conglomerate.

Conglomerate or mafia—who knows which they really are.

That legendary guardian spirit wielder who shot arrows had escaped alive, so surely word about me had reached their headquarters.

Inside the raid dungeon, no one could beat me. Outside, it was different.

There were no restrictions like “under 75 total stat points” there.

And when they placed that quest contract… their supposed boss had the title of Colossus, a Rank 1.

A Rank 1 title means they’re equal to Sword Emperor or Holy King…

A monster with a main stat over 10,000—that was their boss.

If the boss was that strong, then their subordinates were bound to include Rank 2s and 3s.

If just one of them came for me, I’d be helpless.

They lost a legendary Awakener under them. They’ll definitely come for revenge.

They may have picked the fight first, but regardless of order, the fact remained—I was in danger.

As I worried over how to handle them, I decided simply:

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

A small village deep in the Lithuanian mountains.

Bam, bam, bam.

Someone was pounding furiously at the front door of a shabby wooden house.

Inside lived a woman and her daughter, around ten years old.

“Mom… who is it?”

“Ah, um. Must be a friend of mine.”

“A friend?”

“Sophie, can you go inside the room for a bit?”

“Mm, okay.”

“Stay hidden until I come get you after talking to my friend. Understand?”

“Yes.”

She sent her daughter inside.

Of course, it was to hide her from whoever was outside.

Even Sophie, though young, knew this “hide-and-seek” was just a pretense. She entered the room with a nervous expression.

After all, the reason they were living in such a remote village was precisely because of the person knocking now.

Gulp.

The woman swallowed hard and approached the door.

Crash!

But before she even reached it, the door shattered.

Standing there was a short-haired Asian woman.

“Oops. Guess I failed to control my strength.”

Her name was Nana Li.

Holder of a Rank 7 title. NL’s—no, the Kalininskaya Bratva’s—“Hunting Dog.”

“…”

“Long time no see, Natalia. This is our second meeting, isn’t it?”

Nana took off her leather gloves and extended her hand.

But Natalia froze, unable to move or speak.

Nana withdrew her hand and sighed.

“You’re making me feel awkward here.”

“…Let’s talk outside.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s talk outside.”

“In this cold?”

“…”

“Well, if you insist.”

Natalia instinctively wanted to keep as much distance between Nana and her daughter as possible.

That was why she insisted on going outside.

“So, how have you been?”

“…Please.”

Suddenly, tears welled up.

Natalia clutched Nana’s sleeve, pleading desperately.

“Please spare me. I’ll live here quietly for the rest of my life. I won’t meet anyone, won’t tell anyone anything, I’ll just stay silent.”

She was once an Awakener of a historical guardian spirit.

A promising talent, once rising quickly in reputation.

But her life had spiraled downward the moment she got entangled with NL.

Bound by pre-contracts for quest rewards, forced to support other legendary Awakeners, used as disposable fodder for dangerous missions.

She could endure poor pay. She could endure miserable treatment.

But leaving her young daughter alone while she constantly risked death? That she could not endure.

So she abandoned her life as an Awakener, hiding away in this remote village.

Yet NL had found her anyway.

“I won’t ever speak of what I saw or heard at the company… sob…”

Natalia wept.

“I told you already.”

Nana clasped the hands clutching her sleeve.

“If you meet me twice, you die.”

“H-huh…?”

Boom!

In an instant, Nana’s fist struck the ground.

“Kyaah!”

Natalia fell back in terror, raising her arms to shield herself.

But the attack hadn’t been aimed at her.

Crack, crack, crack…

The ground split in a straight line, like an earthquake.

Its destination—the small, shabby wooden house.

The place where Sophie was hiding, holding her breath.

“No… noooooo!”

Boom!

Energy blasted from the ground, shooting skyward.

The house was obliterated, shattered to dust.

There was no need to say what became of Sophie.

“I came here to kill you. Not to hear excuses.”

“A-ah…”

Natalia wasn’t even given time to grieve.

Shhhh.

The death sentence was delivered.

Execution by fist.

Boom!

That was the way of Nana, the Hunting Dog.

“Phew.”

She brushed bone fragments off her shoulder.

Then she took out her phone to check the time.

There was a missed call.

“Hello?”

—It’s Vasily.

“Yeah. What is it?”

—We’ve found his location.

“Location? Who? Did I order an investigation?”

—The man who killed our staff in the raid dungeon.

“Ahh! Shinwoo Yoo. Or in Korean, Yoo Shinwoo. Right?”