Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Right Choice
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In an undead section, a holy sword is an essential element—no two ways about it.
However, that only applied to other players. Joo-hyuk's case was an exception.
His power came entirely from his Summoned beings.
Therefore, strengthening his trait took precedence over restoring the holy sword.
'The holy sword is just a money maker, that's all.'
Besides, what happend after you got past the undead section?
The holy sword's usefulness drastically diminished.
Moreover, restoring the holy sword permanently wasn't impossible.
Once all the repair materials are gathered, Razix said he'd take care of it.
The Restore Scroll was for the rune fragments.
But to use it, you first needed to figure out what the rune fragments were.
'I need to find more fragments.'
He had just finished conquering the 64th floor.
But it was too fast.
Because of that, Razix didn't have enough time to use his abilities.
So then?
Two Tower entries per day.
He still had one left.
"Let's proceed with a repeat conquest of the 64th floor."
"Ready, sir."
"If we find rune fragments on a repeat run, that'd be a real jackpot."
"Will you bestow a badge upon the finder, perchance?"
"Isn't that obvious? Finding one is a guaranteed badge."
*Perk up.*
Razix's hamster ears stood straight up.
Badge, badge, badge....
Rummaging around, he pulled a golden pickaxe from her subspace backpack and began polishing it meticulously.
His expression was one of absolute determination.
"Hwooong!"
"Gobang."
"Command me, Summoner."
"Please buy as much time as possible by gathering the ghouls."
"Understood. I will buy time."
To Kosak and Veronica as well.
"Even if we fail the conquest, it's fine. Deal damage slowly while protecting Razix and Princess Gyeon Dal-rae."
"Leave it to us."
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber, I have noted the instructions, sir."
Repeat conquest.
Before they knew it, the ghouls had respawned and were popping out of the holes.
"Wooooah!!! Come at me! You filthy monsters!"
The swarm of ghouls rushed at Gobang, Gyeon Dal-rae's exorcism ritual, and Razix's search began.
*Roll roll. Thud thud thud thud!*
The golden pickaxe was glinting in the torchlight.
Everyone was working hard.
Except for two.
Kosak, despite having no detection abilities, was sniffing around and poking the ground with his dagger.
'Is he an archaeology excavator or something?'
Veronica was dozing off, occasionally jolting awake to fire her gun.
'I guess she just sleeps when she has nothing to do.'
He understood.
It wasn't a time when ghoul conquest was necessary.
'But aren't they slacking off too much?'
Joo-hyuk started writing in a notebook with a pen he had brought along.
"Hmm."
Kosak, hands behind his back, was wandering around the cave when he noticed Joo-hyuk writing in his notebook. He curiously approached.
"What are you writing? A diary?"
"No, it's a merit record."
"Huh?"
"For reference when bestowing badges. If we just hand out badges arbitrarily, it wouldn't be fair, right?"
"..."
It was time for a systematic badge-bestowal system.
"Gobang is working hard alone, so 20 points. Princess Gyeon Dal-rae also 20 points. Razix gets 40 points..."
"Me, me? How many points?"
"Zero points. Master Sergeant, you too... it doesn't seem like you're doing much..."
"...Pardon?"
"Oh dear, our Razix, you've got dirt all over your face. You're working too frantically. If a ghoul sneaks up behind you, you wouldn't even notice."
*Poof!* Kosak vanished in an instant.
"Gobang! I'll help you."
"No need, assassin. Your help is useless."
"You punk! I can tank too, you know? Ever heard of evasion tanking?"
"Get lost. The ghouls are mine."
"Shut up! Let me have some too."
*Stab stab stab!*
After peeling off a few ghouls clinging to Gobang with dagger attacks, Kosak frantically used Shadow Step to lure them here and there.
"Summoner Bong, sir! Look at this. Expert evasion tanking. Truly spectacular."
Veronica seemed to have overheard the conversation as well...
She jolted awake from her doze, regained her senses, and...
*Pewt! Pewt! Pewt!*
Began suppressive fire with small-caliber rounds.
"Commander! I will provide cover for Supply Officer Razix. I won't let a single one get close."
Gyeon Dal-rae's exorcism ritual also intensified.
"The foremost shrine maiden of the Celestial Empire commands you, you vile beings! Scram back to the fiery hells!"
Gobang also perfectly drew aggro, grabbing, pushing, and throwing the charging ghouls.
The ghouls were pushed back. All the way to the end of the cave passage.
'This is going well.'
Thanks to that, Razix was freed up.
His detection range also expanded significantly.
Appearing here and there, swinging his pickaxe.
*Thud thud thud thud! Whack whack whack whack!*
Time passed quickly. Finally, Razix's pickaxing stopped.
It seemed the scent was gone now. *Roll roll*, he came tumbling back.
"Hwoooong, it's done."
Seeing him drenched in sweat, he must have searched every nook and cranny.
"Okay! Alright everyone, let's wrap up and head out."
And thus, the 64th-floor repeat conquest mission was completed.
Back at the penthouse,
How many rune fragments had Razix found?
"Show us what you've got."
"Hwoe."
*Scatter scatter.*
Razix spread the collected rune and ticket fragments on the floor.
Quite a few.
Six rune fragments, four ticket fragments.
Along with shattered wood pieces and metal scraps.
Just because there are many doesn't mean they're all useful.
More of them don't fit together than do.
Joo-hyuk also took out a few assembled ticket fragments from his inventory first. Did any of these match?
But among the four fragments, one of them. *Sluuurp*, came over and attached itself.
"Oh!"
...Reset Ticket.
What else could it be?
Obviously, a Skill Reset Ticket.
Although its utility is very high,
'I'm not going to use the Restore Scroll on it.'
The remaining ticket fragments didn't attach to anything. They didn't match.
Either they were duplicate fragments, or too damaged.
Still, they should be stored.
Next, the runes.
There were six pieces total to try and assemble.
He tried placing next to them,
"Hmm."
The rune fragment didn't budge.
The same for several others.
Next.
<Shattered and hard to identify???..., Rune (2/6)>?
"..."
It didn't move.
Not this one either.
Now the last one.
<Severely damaged???.... Rune (3/8)>
One left.
Joo-hyuk carefully tried attaching the stone fragments one by one with a cautious attitude.
"This time, it should fit..."
It didn't.
It still didn't.
It kept not fitting.
"Just attach, please!"
What, he found six rune fragments and not a single one fit!
"I-It must attach."
Kosak also seemed anxious.
"It's because your sincerity is lacking. Everyone, follow along! When I say 'Heave!', you say 'Ho!'."
"Heave!"
"Ho!"
"...Heave, I say."
"Ho!"
"Heave-ho!"
"Heave-ho!"
"Heave... Ah, I mean Heave-ho!"
"Hwoooeoooong, heave-hoo...."
Right then!
*Sluuurp*,
Like being pulled by a magnet, a fragment the size of a fingernail slowly began to move,
"Oooh?"
"Go!"
"It's going!"
"Go for it!!!"
*Click!* They became one.
Joo-hyuk raised his hand triumphantly!
"It attached!"
"It has attached."
"Snapped right together! Princess, let the celebration music play."
"Very good indeed."
"Hwooooeong!"
But it wasn't time to raise a toast yet.
The final step remained.
Check the item information.
To use the Restore Scroll, at least a minimal hint needed to appear.
*Gulp.*
Joo-hyuk swallowed dryly.
A tense moment. What would it be?
'Check info.'
"...Hwa Rune?"
As Joo-hyuk spoke,
"Hwa, you say?"
"A Hwa Rune? T-Trait Enhancement? Is that right?"
It was certain.
A damaged Trait Enhancement Rune.
What else could it be?
"The, the heave-ho worked!"
"Yeah! Kosak, 10 points!"
"Yes!"
He'd restore it immediately.
Joo-hyuk took out the Restore Scroll.
The usage method was to touch the Restore Scroll to the item you wanted to restore.
With trembling hands, he was about to bring the scroll to the <Damaged but characters revealed??...hwa Rune (4 /8)>,
He paused!
A sudden thought occurred to him.
'A Hwa Rune.'
Was this really a Trait Enhancement Rune? There was also the possibility of it being a new item.
Kosak had also mentioned that as the floors went up, more diverse items would appear.
The Restore Scroll itself was an item he was seeing for the first time.
It might not just be traits that got enhanced.
For example, it could be a Weapon Enhancement Rune, Equipment Enhancement Rune, or Skill Enhancement Rune.
Also, the 'hwa' might not mean enhancement.
Harmony, Purification, Conversation, Eternity, Assimilation, Vitality, Chrysanthemum, Boots, Beautification, Gold Coin, Silver Coin, Sneakers, Slippers...
Ah, the Ordinary Guy disease was flaring up again.
Negative thoughts linked one after another. However.
"Damn it!"
What's there to life?
It's either a jackpot or a bust.
*Whoooosh!*
A brilliant light erupted from the rune fragment.
In that moment!
"...Damn it,"
It wasn't immediate.
He'd have to wait until tomorrow to check.
How nerve-wracking.
Japanese Prime Minister's Official Residence.
Bureaucrats, including the Director of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, had gathered in the conference room.
"Bong Joo-hyuk, age 25. We understand he recently signed a contract with the Awakening Management Bureau as an elite player."
Prime Minister Kawaguchi frowned as he looked at the photo on the screen.
"You're saying this individual is highly likely to be the true owner of the holy sword?"
"Yes."
"The face is completely different."
The face of Gobang and the giant revealed in the HG Hotel terror incident.
This was an ordinary face with no similarities to either of those two.
"The authenticity of the data?"
"The source is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. We believe it's credible information."
"Are you certain?"
"I have a close acquaintance in a senior position at Homeland Security. He passed this information to me."
"Hmm..."
Until now, Japan had assumed the S++ rank conquest record holder, the true holy sword owner, and the supplier of Basilisk hide and Tower ore were all the same person.
That would make sense.
For multiple individuals with different abilities to suddenly appear simultaneously?
Impossible.
"Has the U.S. made contact with this Bong Joo-hyuk?"
"There's no indication of that at present."
"I see."
Prime Minister Kawaguchi let out a scornful laugh.
'It's a transparent ploy.'
The U.S. isn't confident.
They probably discarded this information as well.
That's why they leaked it to Japan.
'They want us to investigate on their behalf?'
That possibility was very high.
Considering relations with Korea, the risk for the U.S. to act directly is too great.
Especially for information that wasn't even certain.
Japan was in the same boat.
They needed to exercise restraint now.
It's dangerous to recklessly approach a foreign player.
There's a precedent, isn't there.
Other nations wouldn't look kindly on Japan.
Plus, there's the exposure of China's player abduction incident.
However, they couldn't just discard the information they'd painstakingly gathered.
Some level of confirmation was necessary, wasn't it?
"Which company has the exclusive supply contract for Basilisk hide?"
"HG Fashion, under the Wildflower & Basilisk brand."
"HG Fashion's biggest competitor?"
"Originally, the company dominating the Korean fashion market was Ilseong Apparel."
"Ilseong..."
A Korean conglomerate.
Kawaguchi was acquainted with the chairman of Ilseong.
"You go to Korea personally and leak the information to Ilseong. That the Basilisk hide supplier might be Bong Joo-hyuk."
"Yes! Understood."
Let's see what happens. Who knows?
In the process, clues about the S++ rank conquest record holder might surface.
The next morning.
As soon as he woke up, Joo-hyuk took the rune from his inventory to check the restoration progress.
'Phew, it's Enhancement.'
One hurdle cleared.
It's definitely an Enhancement Rune.
Now he just needed to see if the character in front was 'Trait', 'Item', or 'Skill'.
'If even one character appears... if it's a ...seong Enhancement Rune, that's almost certain.'
Today was the day he planned to go shopping with his Summoned beings.
Scheduled for the evening.
The rune's identity would be determined within a few hours, so after confirming that.
He went to the bathroom, showered, changed into clean clothes, had a simple breakfast,
'Time to return the holy sword.'
Joo-hyuk contacted the Awakening Management Bureau.
He said he'd return the holy sword.
Shortly after.
*Ding!* A message arrived.
So he went down to the underground parking lot,
Today, again, a different car. The type of car changed each time, and the license plates were always different.
But the person was always the same.
Jeon Gwang-il, or Lee Min-ah.
Today's driver was Team Leader Lee Min-ah.
"The holy sword... I'll return it."
"Yes! Received. We'll store it safely to ensure there are no issues with future rentals. Oh! The Deputy Director asked to see you briefly, if you have time?"
"...Ah, yes, sure."
"I'll take you to the Management Bureau."
Joo-hyuk got into the car driven by Team Leader Lee Min-ah and headed to the Awakening Management Bureau.
Soon, the car arrived at the Tower material storage warehouse.
"Player Bong."
"Have you been well?"
"Hahaha, nothing special on my end. This way."
Jeon Gwang-il was waiting at the location where the Basilisk hides were stored.
The hides were depleting quickly. Business must be good.
"The payment for the hides should be settled soon. You can probably look forward to it."
Money kept pouring in. When would he ever spend it all?
"And regarding the land near Gyeonggi-do you mentioned before, I looked into it."
Jeon Gwang-il unfolded a map and pointed to a red-marked area.
"It's a 3,000-pyeong plot of land on the outskirts of Namyangju. A quiet area. No villages nearby. There's a road, so access is convenient."
There were also photos.
A flat vacant lot with a prefabricated container. But it looked too nice.
"This is a container?"
"These days, residential containers are all made like this."
"The price? Including the land and the container."
"It's state-owned land. The registration transfer is already complete. The container is a service."
"Uh, I said I'd buy it..."
"Please, just accept it this once. It's not expensive land anyway."
"..."
Well, what can you do.
When they insist like this.
"Um, pardon my forwardness, but I have a suggestion."
"What is it?"
"About them."
'Them' likely meant Kosak and Gobang.
"Why? Is there a problem..."
"The Awakening Management Bureau can register them as players for you."
"...Huh?"
Player registration in Korea.
"To be precise, as naturalized players. Their pasts will be thoroughly laundered, and they'll become Korean-nationality players like you, Player Bong."
"Ah!"
Something he'd never considered.
Kosak and Gobang becoming Korean like him.
However,
"Well..."
He wasn't keen on the idea.
Was having a nationality a good thing?
It came with responsibilities.
Also, he needed to ask the parties involved for their opinions more than his own.
"There won't be any obligations associated with acquiring nationality. It's merely to provide convenience so they can live in Korea without issues."
Jeon Gwang-il continued cautiously.
"And our government doesn't have the power to do anything to them anyway."
That was true.
If anything, it was the opposite.
Who in this world could handle them?
"Even if it falls through, it's fine. If you feel inclined, please contact us anytime."
"Okay. Let's discuss the nationality acquisition issue slowly..."
That's when it happened.
A system message echoed in Joo-hyuk's mind.
'Huh?'
What was it?
"...Hahaha!"
"Um, something good happened?"
"Yes, something very good."
"Hahaha, I don't know what it is, but I'm feeling happy too."
In the end, his choice was right.
'Now I can probably summon one more person.'
Let's go ahead with a Random Summon today.
They could go shopping together in the evening.