HAASAADB 07

Chapter 7

“That was a surprise.”

He hadn’t expected the sword to break from being unable to withstand the force.

Somehow, he managed to handle it, but…
Wasn’t his posture too clumsy?
What if Ellis becomes suspicious?

His worries were unfounded.
A voice full of admiration was heard.

“As expected of you, my lord. You didn’t even swing the sword, yet you bisected that gorilla.”

The Lord’s Token is something only he can wield.
Ellis harbored not a single shred of doubt, because she clearly saw Han Do-yoon grip that sword.

Seizing the opportunity, Han Do-yoon muttered in a solemn voice.

“I won’t be using this sword for a while. Right now, I had no choice because it broke, but…”

“In the past, you insisted that technique or tactics were unnecessary before overwhelming power and stubbornly used only that sword, didn’t you?”

He cut her off and replied.

“I’ve changed my mind. Fixating on only one thing inevitably creates a weakness.”

“So you plan to compensate for that weakness with artifacts?”
“You could see it that way.”

Truthfully, if he holds this sword, his arm goes numb and it becomes difficult to move.
Thanks to his shameless, straight-faced answer, it seemed she was convincingly fooled.

“I understand.”

‘Still, I need a sword, and it seems there are many artifacts that can link with it. Should I buy one outside?’

He almost forgot for a moment.

“Then, shall I prepare a lower-tier sword for you?”

He almost forgot he possessed the sweetest honey pot in the world.

5:30 AM. Busan City Museum of Art Parking Lot.

Following the branch manager’s instructions, Moon Do-hyun, who had come to investigate the dungeon, was checking the magical energy wavelength readings brought from the Association.
“Hmm?”

It was due to the abnormal phenomenon where dungeon ratings in Busan and Jeju had been fluctuating recently.
His purpose was to re-investigate the ratings and explore newly appeared dungeons.

However.

“Is this thing broken?”

Usually, the magical energy inside a dungeon maintains a consistent flow.
He tapped the machine a couple of times and looked again.

“Why is the wavelength like this?”

The graph measuring the wavelength was shaking chaotically up and down like a coin.
As if…

“…someone is inside.”

…This dungeon had only appeared about two hours ago. It wasn’t even in a state where reservations could be made.
Did someone accidentally go in?

“This is Moon Do-hyun. Is support available right now?” he hastily spoke into the radio.

“What’s the matter?”
“It seems a civilian has entered the dungeon.”
“How many?”
“I can’t confirm that yet.”
“Looks like another drunk person went in.”
“So, is support available or not?”
“Not right now.”
“Then what about the person inside?” Moon Do-hyun said, sounding frustrated.
“What are you asking me for? It’s the fault of the person who went in on their own. You know the Association’s current situation.”
“Still…” Click.

He sighed at the turned-off radio.

“A person might die.”

Nowadays, such incidents are so common that no one feels the seriousness of death anymore.
For the person inside, it must be a hellish time.

“I should contact a guild and ask for help.”

That was the moment.
Beep—!

A noise from the machine pierced his eardrums.

“Huh?”

The magical energy wavelength graph shot up into the sky.
A value so large it couldn’t even fit on the screen.

“This is just a C-rank dungeon. How can there be this much magical energy…?”

Could it be…

“The person who went in was a hunter!”

Even so, could they record a value this high?
Just what is happening inside?
Subsequently, a portal opened.
Who could it be?
An A-rank?
No, an S-rank?
He knew all the current A-rank and S-rank hunters in Busan…

‘Perhaps a newly awakened hunter?’

Then, it would be a ray of light in this chaotic situation.
Holding that expectation, he waited.
Thirty minutes.
One hour.

‘It’s taking a bit of time…’

Two hours passed, and eventually, the portal closed.

“Huh?”

Moon Do-hyun realized the gravity of the situation.
The subjugation was over, but no one came out.
Meaning…

‘The hunter died along with defeating the boss?’

Crazy.
Really?
‘Was that last wavelength a self-destruction?’

The exit disappears after thirty minutes. Support is useless now.
But who on earth was it?
Moon Do-hyun immediately called a close junior from his university who worked at the police station.

“Senior?”
“Are you busy right now?”
“Yes, what’s going on?”
“Can you check the CCTV footage near the Busan City Museum of Art parking lot for me?”

He was thinking of at least filing a death report.

Same time. Dark Divine Palace.

“My lord! Instead of that trashy sword, why not use the one I offer you?”
“Orcatan, be reasonable. Our lord is choosing a sword to test artifacts.”

Han Do-yoon was sitting in the dungeon warehouse, looking at the swords Ellis had prepared one by one.

“Everyone, be quiet. It’s noisy.”
“Ellis! Refrain from acts that might displease our lord’s mood!”
“It’s because of you that our lord got angry.”

At Han Do-yoon’s words, Ellis emitted a murderous aura.
Orcatan was considerably flustered but didn’t back down.

“That’s a vicious killing intent! However, this Skeleton Swordsman does not refuse an approaching duel!”

‘What are these guys doing behind my back?’

The murderous aura from the two monsters was terrifying enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
‘I shouldn’t get used to this.’ Compared to that golem earlier, they seemed trivial. He might develop a sense of safety complacency.

He took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

“I believe I told you to shut up?”
“Eek! Sorry, my lord!”
“Sorry…”

Both of them bowed their heads deeply.
Han Do-yoon shifted his gaze back to the swords.
There were four swords Ellis had prepared.
The system window informed him of each sword’s name one by one.

“Lazaret Blade.”
“A sword made from the extracted fang of the fire-attribute monster Lazaret.”

‘Lazaret, that B-rank boss monster?’ He couldn’t remember the exact country, but anyway, it was a boss that caused numerous casualties overseas.

The remaining swords were all of a similar level.
Swords made utilizing body parts from B-rank or higher bosses.
Among them, only one caught his fancy.

【Lukanel (C-rank)】

“A sword named by a Dark Swordsman in the past. It’s a work with remarkably sturdy strength.”

【Stat Requirement: Strength 20 or higher】

Han Do-yoon’s current stats were:

Name: Han Do-yoon
Age: 28
Race: Boss Monster
Skills: Adaptation, Monarch’s Heart

【Stats】
Strength: 15 (D)
Agility: 5 (F)
Stamina: 5 (F)
Intelligence: 5 (F)
Mental Power: 10 (D)
Luck: 10 (D)

【5 Points Available for Use!】

Using the 5 points obtained from killing monsters would make it just right.

“However, being C-rank, its performance isn’t as good as the other swords.”
“No, this will do.”

He didn’t need the unique effects the sword possessed.
He couldn’t bring out their efficiency anyway, and he could just layer artifacts over it.

“Understood. If it’s you, my lord, it likely doesn’t matter which weapon you use.”
“Also, find me one C to B-rank artifact for imparting attributes, one of each type.”

Excess in anything isn’t good.
His current goal is collecting cores from C-rank dungeons, so this level is appropriate.

‘There are many good artifacts, but…’ They are, after all, consumables.
‘It’s better to save when I can.’
…Also, cutting things directly is fun too.

“Here they are.”

The speed at which she found them was quite fast.
Five colored orbs inside a square box.

“This is…”
“The New Year’s gifts the Great demon Eirazeon  presents to you, my lord, every year.”

【Eirazeon Gift Box (B-rank)】

“Water, fire, wind, earth, and ether. They can be imbued into weapons. The stock is plentiful too.”

Ellis pointed to a corner of the warehouse. Dozens of identical boxes were piled up.

‘This many B-rank artifacts… His connections are terrifying.’

“Shall I find others for you?”
“That’s enough.”

As Han Do-yoon stood up, Ellis cautiously asked.

“Are you planning to leave?”
“Yes, why?”
“I was thinking I could prepare a meal for you, it’s been a while.”

Hmm.
Han Do-yoon subtly averted his gaze.
Orcatan, clacking his jawbone and polishing his sword.
Basil, emitting a fishy smell while performing alchemy.
Eating a meal with them?

“I’ll have to decline.”

Coming outside, there were quite a few missed calls on his phone.
11:00 AM.
Seeing that someone had been calling since morning, it was Park Geon-woo.

“What’s going on?”
“Ah!”

When he called back, Park Geon-woo exclaimed in surprise.

“You’re alive!”
“Pardon?”
“No, I got a call from the Association this morning asking if I knew you.”
“And?”
“I said you were a colleague, and they said it seemed something happened to you, so I got worried and called.”
‘From the Association?’
“You really weren’t answering, so I thought something was wrong.”
“Do you know who contacted you?”
“Yeah, it says in the text, Investigator Moon Do-hyun from the Busan branch.”
‘An investigator…’
“I’ll talk to him. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.”
“Alright, that’s a relief.”

‘What’s this?’
“…Was I found out?”

If they’re already contacting people to this extent, he can’t just brush it off.
Hiding and living in this small landmass is also unrealistic.
He needed to meet them first.
‘He said the Busan branch.’

On the other hand.

Moon Do-hyun at the Association’s Busan branch was deeply disheartened. He thought he had missed out on a promising hunter.
Taking a moment to smoke a cigarette in the smoking area, he looked at the document containing Han Do-yoon’s information.

He’s definitely not F-rank.
The machine was working fine too…
‘He could be a hidden talent who registered incorrectly, or perhaps a re-awakened individual.’

Of course.
The CCTV angle was ambiguous, so he couldn’t be completely sure if the hunter who entered the dungeon was Han Do-yoon’s.

“Seeing as there’s still no contact…”

Just as he thought the hunter who entered the dungeon and died was likely him…

“Why have I suddenly become a dead person?”
“!!”

Moon Do-hyun almost screamed like a child.
When did he get here?
No, more importantly, wasn’t he dead?

“How did you…”
“That’s what I want to ask.”

Han Do-yoon’s spoke confidently.
Trying his best to give off an air of having nothing to be guilty about.
He could see his own photo on the documents Moon Do-yoon’s was holding.

‘No matter how I think about it, them finding out I’m the boss is impossible. Then, is it because I subjugated the dungeon without authorization?’

But all of the Association’s investigators are also former hunters. They must possess special skills.
The slightly guilty Han Do-yoon’s even assumed the worst-case scenario.

‘If, by some ability I don’t know about, they found out I’m the boss, I might have to kill them.’

With that resolve, he had come. Moon Do-hyun approached and stretched out his hand.
He firmly grasps Han Do-yoon’s hand.

“Mr. Doyoon, let’s do a re-evaluation of your rank!”