Chapter 55 – Out Of The Way! An Unwelcome Guest Of The Dungeon Comes. (2)

I obtained the skill book and new ID, as well as the thumb to go along with it.

By thumb I mean one that’s made of silicone for thumbprints.

Instead of taking a week, it only took 4 days instead.

They said they were able to get it easier than they expected.

Who knew the very goons that I hated so much would be this useful to me.

It seemed that fate can give benefits far beyond one’s imagination.

From Jong Ho, I asked for additional information regarding the executioner class.

Since it was a rare class, the information of their skills could not be found on the app or on the internet.

The fight would be easier if I could, at least to some degree, predict his attacks.

Most of the skills for the executioner used martial arts, especially hand to hand combat for single targets.

A human weapon, literally speaking.

Other than the skills that were beyond ranking, I was able to get the gist of them.

* * * *

Running around the level 23 dungeon, I continued to use the Mass Stealth Jutsu on the ghouls.

The faster the skill level rose, the faster I could get back to my secretive growth regime.

However, the more I used it, the more I thought that this skill was broken.

A skill that made all living organisms within a certain radius vanishes from view.

Most skills other than attack skills cannot be used on monsters usually.

Heal, buffs, or enchant type spells could not be casted on them.

The only form of skills that worked were the ones that inflicted harm on them.

But oddly enough, the Mass Stealth Jutsu worked on monsters as well.

Inside the dungeon, hundreds of ghouls were present.

A little flicker above their heads appeared, and then suddenly all of them vanished from view.

I was still easily able to see them using Eye of Insight, however.

Thanks to this mechanic, I was able to level it up to level 105 in 4 days.

It was only possible because I gave up sleep and leveling to invest in this skill.

I even used the remaining Awakened Essence on this.

The Awakened Mass Stealth Jutsu could not be identified by the Eye of Insight.

It was a skill I used, but due to how high level the stealth ability was, I could not see it anymore.

Thankfully, the hidden targets would be revealed if they tried to attack me.

The ghouls appeared once more as they tried to attack me.

The Eye of Insight was an aoe skill, so someone from the association could be level 100 with it.

To be undiscoverable, the price of one essence shouldn’t be that much.

No cool down or cast time, but with the mana cost of 1500 per use.

The Mass Stealth Jutsu could be said to be a skill just for me.

“Skill book, ID, and information on the skills done. Guess the only thing left is to hunt?”

What I needed most right now was my defensive capabilities.

If he was at the tier of a major, he would definitely have skills above ranking.

The Mana Shield that I thought was the ultimate shield becoming useless. Who would’ve thought.

My offensive capabilities on the other hand, I had enough as both Meteor and Iceberg was nearly level 200.

Ah! Almost forgot my Formless Sword Aura.

There were some skills and defensive items that I was eyeing for.

To find them, I headed towards the level 28 dungeon.

Everyone remembers. Korean Choi So-Hyeon was the first person to solo clear a dungeon, and it was the level 28 dungeon.

However, humanity could fight up to the level 30 dungeons if with a party.

No information exists on the dungeons beyond though.

According to the information I received, there was a reason why it was so difficult to solo clear dungeons beyond level 28.

It was due to the sheer size of the dungeon!

And the amount of monsters to match it.

Of course, the toughness of the monsters was part of the reason why.

No matter how strong an Awakened might be, there is a limit to their mana.

What about a warrior who doesn’t require mana to do basic attacks charge forward?

No. Within the level 28 dungeon, physical attacks do not work.

Monsters that drop insane amounts of experience points.

And the chance for some rare loot to drop from the boss.

There was no reason to hesitate at all.

I scanned my ID card.

Following that, I used the silicone thumbprint to finish the identification process.

-Dungeon is being activated.-

* * * *

“Report.”

Joker’s angry voice filled the dark room, giving it a heavy atmosphere.

This was to be expected, since Jin was one of his top ten subordinates.

He trusted him obviously, and his skill wasn’t that bad to boot.

But that Jin he trusted could not be contacted for 3 days.

That was after he left to take care of Min-Cheol.

Suppressed by Joker’s aura, he quaked in fear as he continued his report.

“Yes! Joker. We were still unable to find any traces of Jin.”

“UAHHHH!”

The S ranking bloodstone that Joker was holding in his hand.

It’s a stone that most blacksmiths would have difficulty processing.

However, in Joker’s hand, the stone was ground to dust like tofu.

The glow of the stone illuminated one side of the room, and the reporting subordinate laid on the ground, groveling and trembling in fear.

“I apologize! I’ll call in additional members to find him for su..”

“Begone.”

“…..”

“Just like what you’re thinking, Jin is dead. Guess the tiger cub has gotten a lot stronger than we thought.”

“What do you mean…”

Joker’s face was painted with rage as he spoke.

But with it, there was an unfathomable smile with it.

And he continued.

“Assign someone new to lead the group that Jin once led.”

“Yes! Joker!”

“Soon, the one will be moving soon. I will judge the one who killed Jin after.”

“Understood! Joker!”

After that, the messenger fled the room.

Then.

“Ku.. KUHAA..KUAHAHAHA!”

Joker laughed with insanity.

The rage that filled him was nowhere to be found.

He spoke as he looked at the powder of what used to be a bloodstone.

“Yes..more! Be further drunk in your strength! When the day comes to fight, I will be offering you as a sacrifice to the one!”

* * * *

The association’s Awakened special governing sector suddenly became chaotic.

It was because data was received that someone had entered the level 28 dungeon.

However, this happened from time to time, so there wasn’t much of a panic.

It could just a simple data error, or perhaps malfunctions with the scanner.

After 40 minutes later, yelling mixed with cursing filled the room.

The Awakened with the same ID had re-entered the dungeon.

“Ah shit! What is this?”

“It’s gotta be an error with the scanner?”

Then. One of the many people standing by the computers yelled.

“The data does not match with Choi So-Hyeon.”

They had compared the data with the only solo clearer of dungeon level 28.

Another responded after hearing that.

“What kind of insane person would be clearing a level 28 dungeon in 40 minutes?”

“No way. Lots of rain fell this week. I’ll contact that maintenance team.”

Throughout the chaos, the department head Kim Ho Jin quietly observed the situation from the end of his table.

Only for a moment though. Then he spoke.

“Contact the association hunters.”

“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better to check if it is a machine error, chief…”

“That could be the case if the data for re-entry didn’t come. Perhaps someone with a death wish going into his last dungeon.”

“First, we’ll be contacting the other association members near the area.”

“Hunters first! I’ll be going to the scene as well.”

“Yes!”

“And hey! Se-Jin Kim, come to my room.”

Focusing only on the task at hand at his post, Se-Jin Kim stood up at once and replied to the summons of the chief.

“Yes! Understood.”

After entering the room, Se-Jin was busy trying to read the mood of the room.

A new blood who just came in, how many times would they talk with the department head…

Chief Ho Jin broke the silence.

“How are you doing recently?”

“Yes. I’m getting used to it quickly.”

“Good. It must be quite the confusing for you right now. Glad to see you’re giving it your best.”

“Oh ahaha. Thank you.”

“But I heard you were taking the Kim Min-Cheol case?”

“Yes. That’s correct. I am taking care of that.”

“Nothing strange to note with that?”

Ho Jin was asking Se-Jin with a different look in his eyes.

It wasn’t the look of a high ranking official looking at their employed.

It was the look of a prosecutor asking a criminal.

To his question, Se-Jin replied with an awkward smile.

“Yes. For now… I have only observed him entering the dungeons, and there was nothing special to note.”

“Really? What does it look like to you? Do you think he has a fake ID?”

“From what I saw, other than the unusual speed in growth, there was nothing else to note…”

“Do you know the ruckus going outside?”

“Yes. About the level 28 dungeon?”

“Yep. But you know. I feel like the two of them are the same person.”

“Huh? Kim Min-Cheol and the person entering the level 28 dungeon?”

“Of course. Well, we can confirm it when we get there.”

“….”

“Please continue to do your best. Even if the civilians continue to swear and ignore us, if the association continues to change, we’ll be able to receive acknowledgement someday.”

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

“Okay. You can leave now.”

Leaving the room, Se-Jin could tell.

That chief Kim Ho Jin already knew what Se-Jin knew about Min-Cheol.

He didn’t ask directly, but Se-Jin could feel it.

That this short talk wasn’t an encouragement between fellow workers, but a warning.

* * * *

“We’re almost there.”

“Okay.”

As the level of the dungeon rose, the amount of dungeons lessened.

A level 28 dungeon meant that it was not discovered for 28 years while it stayed in place.

Kim Ho Jin and his escorts met with the hunters, deploying en mass to the level 28 dungeon entrance.

The data continued to arrive from there.

“I requested for about 20 or so, but how did it go?”

“Yes. They’re on their way.”

“He could be in stealth. How about the summons for a cleric ranker?”

“Lady Hwang Young Hee is coming along as well.”

“Good. It’s a dungeon with low entrance rate. Far from the association. And he’s incredibly skilled. Focus on keeping yourselves alive only.”

“Yes.”

They drove up the long mountain trail for quite a while.

Finally, the vehicle arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.

With a cigar in his mouth, Ho Jin spoke.

“How long since he entered again?”

“Entered at 14:21. 30 minutes has passed.”

“Okay. In 10 minutes, we should be able to see him.”

As Ho Jin finished speaking, the association hunters as well as cleric ranker Hwang Young Hee arrived.

“Lady, thank you for coming.”

“Ohoho. Mr. Ho Jin, it’s been awhile.”

“Hope you’ve been well?”

“An old woman like me passes time without knowing how much time has passed.”

Hwang Young Hee was a level 520 cleric ranker, ranking 3rd out of all Awakened.

Unlike the simple neighborly grandma she appeared to be, she was a skilled cleric who mastered 7 different cleric skills.

The reason why she was summoned was to use the Eye of Insight.

One of the first generation of Awakened, she was nearing the time to use the Awakened essence for it.

Out of all the Awakened in existence, it is said that no stealth skill could go past her.

It was then.

“Chief! It’s 14:30. He’s about to come out.”

“Okay. Lady, we’re counting on you.”

“Oho. Of course.”

Finishing her reply, her expression turned serious as she casted the skill.

‘Eye of Insight.’