Chapter 152
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: The Great Cleanup - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
====================
Inside the hidden stage, the Hope Guild members stood dumbfounded at the edge of the massive cavern.
They were huddled together like cornered cats, unable to move forward or back.
The reason was a black dragon, coiled up about a hundred meters away.
A being that could freeze Players in place with its mere presence, without making a single move…
“Hah… a d-dragon… If that thing wakes up, we’re in big trouble, aren’t we?”
One of the guild members voiced his concern. He knew Lee Hyun-wook had previously defeated a black dragon, but confronting one so suddenly in such a confined space was a different matter entirely. If that thing unleashed its Dragon Breath… there was nowhere to run, was there?
But…
“…At a glance, it looks like it’s already dead?”
Park Jun-mo whispered from the side. Just as he said, the dragon showed no signs of movement.
And Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes—his Insight Lens—weren’t detecting anything either.
Most decisively, the sword plunged into its back made it look unequivocally dead.
‘Unless that kind of sword is some new fashion accessory among dragons, it’s dead.’
As he moved a little closer, Lee Hyun-wook was able to read the sword’s information with his Insight Lens.
“Huh, what’s this…”
[Item Information]
- Name: Balmung (Legendary)
- Effects
1) The Fetters of Pain: A sword containing countless vengeful spirits, it bestows a ‘curse’ upon the area by its very existence.
* If you can endure this curse and suppress the vengeful spirits, the sword’s true power will be unlocked.
3) Dragon Slayer: As a power that slays dragons, it ‘partially’ ignores a dragon’s authority.
Balmung. It was known as the beloved sword of Siegfried, the protagonist of the Germanic epic poem, the *Nibelungenlied*. It was also identified with Gram from Norse mythology and Nothung from *The Ring of the Nibelung*.
‘…And it’s the most famous Dragon Slayer, the one that killed the evil dragon Fafnir in Norse mythology.’
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume, then, that the black dragon before them was the famous ‘Fafnir,’ but…
According to Lee Hyun-wook’s memory, Fafnir appears in Melbourne, Australia, four years from now and lays waste to the country.
‘At that time, Edward Woods mobilizes this very Balmung and receives a <Unique Affinity> to defeat it.’
Just like the <Gnome’s Ruin A3> he had entered in the past, a ‘hidden stage’ could have more than one entrance.
It was a system where multiple dungeons with similar themes shared a single hidden stage.
In other words, it seemed the Edward Woods of his past life had found an entrance to this place in another dragon labyrinth.
In that sense, this nameless dragon was merely a decoration and an additional reward for obtaining Balmung.
‘I don’t know when it died, but it looks so pristine, as if it’s just sleeping.’
A creature of the dragon’s caliber wouldn’t have its corpse decay so easily.
This meant it was preserved in a very pristine state, making it incredibly valuable as a material.
‘And this means… I’ve basically caught two dragons, right?’
Right now, the Gray Dwarves and other blacksmiths were studying how to best utilize Azi Dahaka.
As it was a full-grown dragon, they expected to be able to craft hundreds of pieces of ‘dragon equipment’ from it.
One expert had even compared Lee Hyun-wook’s feat to ‘capturing an entire aircraft carrier,’ which signified the astronomical value that could be extracted from a single adult dragon.
Just then, a guild member who had gotten closest to the black dragon’s corpse clutched his chest.
“—Ugh!”
He cried out in pain and stumbled backward, then rushed toward the priests.
His movements were as frantic as a man on fire running towards water, causing everyone to halt.
“Wh-what is this! Why am I suddenly cursed! Get this off me!”
His words left everyone with a look of bewilderment.
“What?”
Cursed out of nowhere… Hadn’t there been any warning signs?
But the moment Lee Hyun-wook took another step forward, he too was afflicted with the curse.
- Warning! You have fallen under Balmung's curse, 'The Fetters of Pain (Stage 1)'.
* All healing effects are temporarily reduced. (-10%)
* Bleeding temporarily occurs from various parts of your body.
* Mental fortitude is temporarily reduced, causing visual and auditory hallucinations.
In addition, several other Players standing on the same line began to cry out in pain.
“Hyun-wook, do you see that sword? The curse is flowing out of it.”
It was Seo Eun-ha who spoke. As a Paladin, she could sense the dark energy emanating from the blade.
“Hold—”
Lee Hyun-wook raised a hand, and the guild members hesitated before backing away.
“Wh-what is it?”
With a dragon right in front of them, their fear of the unknown phenomenon was bound to intensify.
Lee Hyun-wook looked down at the translucent shimmer engulfing his body, then turned to Seo Eun-ha.
“Captain Seo, could you apply some healing effects to me? I’m going to try and pull that sword out.”
At his words, Seo Eun-ha couldn’t hide her worried expression.
“…If the curse is this strong even from this distance, it’ll be impossible to wield that sword directly.”
But enduring that curse was likely the very ‘Over-Handicap’ of Balmung.
“As long as I gain ownership of the sword, I can handle it without having to wield it myself.”
Since Balmung was also made of metal, Lee Hyun-wook could ‘control’ the sword from outside the curse’s range.
According to Balmung’s item information, overcoming the curse would unlock a new skill.
But Lee Hyun-wook couldn’t meet the conditions to overcome the curse, so he wouldn’t be able to obtain that new skill.
‘Still, with an area-of-effect curse like this, I can use it like a chemical weapon.’
The fact that it came with such a tricky and bizarre Over-Handicap was actually a boon for him.
‘In the future, I can just plant this in the middle of an enemy formation to gain a significant advantage in battle…’
With that thought, Lee Hyun-wook stepped on the black dragon’s tail and climbed onto its back…
“Kuh!”
- Warning! You have fallen under Balmung's curse, 'The Fetters of Pain (Stage 2)'.
* All healing effects are temporarily reduced. (-30%)
* Bleeding temporarily occurs from various parts of your body.
* Mental fortitude is temporarily reduced, causing visual and auditory hallucinations.
* Your body’s durability is temporarily reduced. (-30%)
The closer he got, the more concentrated the curse became.
‘At this rate, touching it directly, or getting stabbed by it… would be insane.’
Lee Hyun-wook enveloped his entire body in Hardening and cautiously reached out his hand.
And the moment he finally gripped Balmung’s hilt—
- Warning! You have fallen under Balmung's curse, 'The Fetters of Pain (Stage 3)'.
* All healing effects are temporarily reduced. (-40%)
* ‘Severe’ bleeding temporarily occurs from various parts of your body.
* Mental fortitude is ‘drastically’ reduced, causing visual and auditory hallucinations.
* Your body’s durability is ‘drastically’ reduced. (-50%)
* All stats are reduced due to ‘Spirit Shackles’. (-20%)
Gwooooh—
As if possessed, black specters rose from the sword and swarmed around Lee Hyun-wook.
Hehehe—Kekeke—Kyahahaha—
They drew close as if to sniff him, then coiled tightly around his entire body.
Each time they did, his hardened skin sizzled and oxidized, and his joints ached.
It felt like being constricted by a giant anaconda, a suffocating pressure crushing him.
‘Kuh… They said it was a cursed sword that drove its masters to death multiple times in the epics…’
The lore probably stated that all sorts of vengeful spirits had inhabited it, imbuing it with such a potent curse.
A curse so strong it could even consume its own master… One had to overcome it to wield Balmung’s power.
- (!) Warning! You do not possess the strength to endure this curse!
But it seemed Lee Hyun-wook didn’t meet the conditions to overcome it, not that he intended to anyway.
‘I just have to take it with me, one way or another!’
Blood trickled from his eyes and nose, and internal bleeding even caused him to cough up blood.
“Dammit, Hyun-wook! The curse is too strong! Stop, right now!”
Not just Seo Eun-ha, but the Hope Guild’s priests rushed forward and continuously cast healing spells on him.
Lee Hyun-wook’s body was rapidly breaking down, but he barely managed to hold on with their help.
“Grrr—”
He gritted his teeth, focused what little strength he had left into his left hand, and pulled the sword free.
*Shhhnk—!*
The blade, embedded in the dragon’s hide, came loose. As it did, an even denser curse flowed out, slithering up Lee Hyun-wook’s arm like a snake before transforming into a green hand that seized him by the neck.
*Crack!*
“No! Let go of it, you’ll die—!”
Seo Eun-ha shouted as she approached. She could sense that his body was being destroyed.
On top of the Stage 3 curse, numerous malevolent spirits had latched onto him, dealing continuous damage.
‘—I can still… endure this!’
Just then, an AD-2 flew up behind Lee Hyun-wook.
“Kuh—!”
He strenuously lifted Balmung and hurled it into the AD-2’s lower compartment—its subspace.
*Vwoom—*
The moment it vanished, the curse that had been pressing down on the area disappeared as if it had evaporated.
*Sssss….*
Black smoke wafted from Lee Hyun-wook’s left hand, the one that had gripped Balmung.
“…Hyun-wook, are you okay?”
Seo Eun-ha came closer and poured her remaining mana into a healing spell for him.
“Yes… I managed to hold on thanks to everyone.”
Though every part of his body still ached, Lee Hyun-wook could endure this much.
He turned his head and spoke calmly to the guild members looking up at him.
“Alright, the threat has been eliminated. Let’s begin the search in earnest.”
The Hope Guild members, who had been momentarily dazed, quickly returned to their tasks with practiced ease.
Sudden crises followed by sudden resolutions… this was nothing new for them.
A short while later, they found a small box in a corner of the wide cavern, and inside it was something.
[Item Information]
- Name: Black Dragon's Sari (Legendary)
- Effect: Grants an item the ‘Authority of the Black Dragon’.
‘This is an orb that can add the acid attribute. And it’s a Legendary-grade one at that…’
Without a second thought, it seemed perfect to bestow this upon the Balmung he had just acquired.
‘Wait, but will the blacksmiths be able to handle Balmung?’
Just being near it inflicted a curse, so working on it would not be easy.
‘They’ll figure it out, I guess…’
But he had faith that the engineers, who constantly strove to make the impossible possible, would manage just fine.
“Boss, that thing has to be thousands of tons. How are we going to get it out of here?”
Lee Jeong-jun asked, pointing at the black dragon. Lee Hyun-wook had been pondering the same thing.
A 67-meter-long, massive creature. He honestly doubted it was possible to drag it outside.
The first method that came to mind was, of course, using Prydwen for an ‘emergency return’ to Laputa.
But this was a ‘dungeon,’ a different dimension from the real world, so spatial movement skills were restricted.
“…First, we have to get it outside.”
Lee Hyun-wook used all the metal he could muster to weave wires and bind the black dragon’s body. Then, he created a wide steel plate large enough to hold the entire dragon and attached numerous sturdy wheels to it. If this large ‘sled’ could hold, the Living Armors should be able to pull it out somehow.
While Lee Hyun-wook was working on that, the Hope Guild members were busy covering the stairs with steel plates.
“Whew… The labyrinth has high ceilings and wide corridors for the most part, so it should be able to pass through.”
A moment later, 45 Living Armors grabbed the wire ropes attached to the ‘sled’ and began to pull…
*Kugugugu—*
The massive steel sled, carrying the 67-meter dragon, slowly began to move forward.
“Oh— it’s working, it’s working!”
“Wow, it’s actually moving?”
Then, when Lee Hyun-wook applied his metal control to the sled itself, it rolled more smoothly than expected.
‘This is it. There’s nothing more to get here.’
The labyrinth raid was now perfectly complete.
And from now on…
‘…It’s time to deal with the terrorists.’
***
At that moment, two men were sitting in the VIP lounge of a hotel in Suwon.
“Ha, President Lee, how can you still be so indecisive! Huh?”
The man in the suit who spoke was Hwang Yeon-soo, the Director of the Joint Operations Department at the Guild Support and Cooperation Agency. The middle-aged man with glasses sitting across from him was Lee Taek-soo, the Master of <Baekho>, the largest guild in the southern Gyeonggi region.
The Baekho Guild had risen to become the third-ranked guild in the country after the fall of the Taesan Guild, making them a considerable power.
“Haha… Director Hwang, I must be getting old. My spirit isn’t what it used to be, so I’ve been mulling it over for a while, you see?”
“Come on, Chief Woo just blew the Taesan Guild to smithereens. You saw that, and you’re still on the fence? Once our Director wins the presidential election, atrocities like a guild being vaporized like that won’t happen anymore.”
At those words, Lee Taek-soo licked his dry lips and avoided Hwang Yeon-soo’s gaze.
“Well, I’m not saying you have to go all-in with us. Just, you know, send our Director your regards from time to time. He’s starting to feel a bit neglected. You’re not getting friendly with Chief Woo, are you?”
Lee Taek-soo waved his hands in denial at the question.
“No—no—of course I don’t like Chief Woo! You know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Ah… President Lee, you’re still scared of Chief Woo, aren’t you? That’s why?”
At that question, Lee Taek-soo cleared his throat with a loud *ahem*.
This man, Hwang Yeon-soo, was widely considered to be a key figure in the next administration. Backed by Oh Tae-mun, the current Director of the Guild Support Agency and the leading presidential candidate, he was aiming to usurp Woo Seong-mun’s position.
But how many political Players had aimed for that seat until now? In the end… the inaugural Chief, Woo Seong-mun, had held that position for over a decade. Woo Seong-mun was that kind of unshakeable figure.
“*Ahem*, honestly, haven’t people been saying for years that the old tiger, Chief Woo, is losing his teeth? But then he picks up this young tiger cub named Lee Hyun-wook from somewhere and starts brandishing his sword again, doesn’t he? I trust you, Director Hwang, but frankly… I have a lot of people depending on me. It’d be a lie to say I’m not worried…”
Hwang Yeon-soo chuckled and snapped his fingers.
“Perfect! I think I can give you that assurance today.”
“Oh… Why? Is something big happening?”
“Well, President Lee, why don’t you turn on the TV for a moment? The remote is right there.”
Lee Taek-soo picked up the remote from on top of a newspaper and turned on the news.
- …Lee Hyun-wook, having just completed the labyrinth raid, is expected to appear before the cameras shortly.
“Ah, there. New information will be coming out soon.”
At those words, Lee Taek-soo’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit’s.
“Director Hwang… did you set this up to get rid of Lee Hyun-wook?”
“Hm? What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about that.”
“Ah, right! Of course, of course. That was a slip of the tongue.”
At Hwang Yeon-soo’s pretense, Lee Taek-soo tapped his own lips and waved his hands dismissively.
“President Lee, you never know how things will turn out in this world.”
He said, sinking deep into the sofa.
“And no matter how much of a genius you are, if you don’t know how the world works, you’re just a kid.”
The biggest nuisance in their quest to seize power in this country was no longer Woo Seong-mun.
It was that young Player who was pulling the strings of this nation, and perhaps even the world.
Today, he planned to finish that bastard off and take everything he had.
***
Steelrain. He had finally emerged from the labyrinth.
*Click— Click— Click— Click—*
“Mr. Lee Hyun-wook, were you successful in your raid?”
“Excuse me, just one word, please!”
A foreign reporter in a fedora slipped through the massive crowd of journalists chasing after Lee Hyun-wook.
“Ha— It’s harder to press a shutter than pull a trigger. Jenny, are the cleaners ready?”
He muttered in a low voice, and a voice came through the earpiece in his ear.
- We are 300 meters out. Arriving in approximately 3 minutes.
The truck carrying the ‘City Cleaner,’ their trump card to counter Lee Hyun-wook, had been waiting in another area and was now circling back. It was a natural movement designed to avoid any potential surveillance.
“Good. First, we need to tie up the trash so it doesn’t fly away.”
He said this as he raised his camera toward the distant figure of Lee Hyun-wook and pressed the shutter.
“Link, initiating now.”
At that moment, a female reporter threw down her camera and pulled a wand from her coat.
The instant she aimed the wand at Lee Hyun-wook, her entire left hand was blown off.
*BANG—!*
A sniper, hidden and providing protection for Lee Hyun-wook, had reacted swiftly.
But she wasn’t the only one. A couple more reporters made their move, and soon…
*CRACK—!*
Link magic, fired from somewhere, exploded above Lee Hyun-wook’s head, unleashing a torrent of cold.
*Krrrrrck—!*
In an instant, a section of Mount Paldal froze over as if in an ice age. The target was, of course, Lee Hyun-wook. His figure disappeared, engulfed in a wall of ice, but that alone wouldn’t kill him. It was just a tactic to buy time.
“Now— raise the mana barrier!”
At the shout, his subordinates who had been in disguise all around stepped forward, pulling out their wands.
*Zing—Zing—Zing—Zing—!*
The purple beams of light they shot up into the sky intertwined with one another.
- A ‘Multi-dimensional Net’ is forming in this area. (Time remaining: 00:09:59)
The Multi-dimensional Net. Within it, spatial manipulation—in other words, teleportation magic—was restricted.
Lee Hyun-wook was notoriously elusive, so they had cut off his escape route.
“—It’s done! Now he can’t escape!”
He flashed a triumphant smile and tossed his camera aside.
“Cleaners, eliminate the biggest mold in this country!”
He shouted gallantly and drew two pistols from his coat.
‘I will be the one to put a hole in his neck.’
However…
“…Cleaners, start now!”
“Cleaners, respond!”
- …
“H-hey! Jenny, why aren’t you saying anything!”
The City Cleaner team should have been making their move by now…
Just then—
*Vwooom—*
A shadow fell over his head.
He slowly looked up and…
The very thing he was desperately looking for was floating there.
The truck. The truck containing the City Cleaner.
“Huh?”
It was hovering above his head like an airship.
The strange thing was, the driver’s cabin was crumpled like aluminum foil.
“…Looking for this?”
Then, a voice was heard.
It was Steelrain’s voice. He was sitting perched on top of the floating truck.
*CRUNCH—!*
With a slight movement of his left hand, the driver’s cabin crumpled even more violently.
“Hmm… Looks like a package sent to me. I can keep it, right?”
At that moment—
*CRASH—!* *CRASH—!*
“—Kuh!”
Two SUVs, completely mangled, fell to either side of him.
They were the vehicles that had been escorting the truck with the City Cleaner.
They had also been carrying the assassination squad meant to finish off the neutralized Lee Hyun-wook.
Lee Hyun-wook slowly descended to the ground and stood before the man in the fedora.
“I need to do a little great cleanup of my own…”
He whispered, and with a flick of his left hand, the two SUVs melted.
The molten metal crawled along the ground and latched onto the fedora-wearing man’s legs.
“…And you’re going to tell me what else is dirty.”