A Walking Hell Vault

An A-class Awaker guilty of sin was, quite simply, a walking warehouse of Hell Points.

It was overwhelmingly more profitable to harvest one A-class than to go hunting for dozens of small fry.

The problem was that killing such an A-class Awaker in one blow was anything but easy.

“There’s always the chance my stealth gets exposed, and if I don’t kill him instantly, I’m the one who gets dragged under. I should start by upgrading everything I’ve got.”

Learning the Hell Shop’s new skills, now that hyperinflation had kicked in, was impossible for the moment—he simply didn’t have enough Hell Points.

Status Window.

“That’s a lot.”

A dark smile spread across Suhyuk’s lips.

Three A-class Awakers, plus fifty-two giant spiders.

The risk had been worth it after all.

Once he confirmed that Hell’s currency had piled up nicely, Suhyuk opened the Hell Shop and immediately bought three Upgrade Stones (Judgment) for 500 Hell Points each.

He took out one blood-red upgrade stone delivered through Dead Man’s Pocket and, on a whim, pressed it against the Judge’s robe.

-This item can no longer be upgraded.

“I figured as much. Still... disappointing.”

It looked like over-specced evolution beyond the level of Judgment was still impossible.

Without hesitation, he took his hand off the robe and summoned the Reaper’s scythe into his right hand.

It was a rough, plain weapon he had always thought looked no better than a farmer’s sickle.

He held the upgrade stone over the weathered shaft.

-Would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you like to upgrade [Reaper’s Scythe]? (Y/N)

“Y.”

The moment the order was given, the upgrade stone crumbled and a surge of blood-red energy burst outward.

Dark crimson power coiled like a serpent around the old scythe, writhing into it, and then the weapon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠itself began to twist grotesquely as it evolved.

The short, shabby handle grew long and heavy, stretching far beyond the height of an adult man, while the tiny blade unfolded into a massive crescent of blackened darkness.

At last, it looked like a weapon worthy of a true reaper.

[Judge’s Scythe]

Grade: Judgment

A weapon bound to the Reaper.

It manifests only in response to the Reaper’s call.

Even a single touch wounds the soul, inflicts permanent pain, shortens lifespan, and increases the chance of activating Punishment Sentence.

“I like it.”

Suhyuk gave the Judge’s Scythe a casual swing and smiled in satisfaction.

It would take time to get used to the larger size, but he was pleased with both the appearance and the effects.

More importantly, it compensated for one of his current weaknesses: the ability to wound the soul.

Even if a physical attack was blocked and he couldn’t cut cleanly through in one stroke, a glancing hit would still tear at the soul and gnaw away at lifespan.

And on top of that, it increased the activation rate of Punishment Sentence.

It was more than enough to neutralize the ironclad durability of an A-class Awaker.

The next thing to upgrade was the Compass of the Dead.

He took out another upgrade stone and held it over the old brass compass.

-Would you like to upgrade [Compass of the Dead]? (Y/N)

“Y.”

The compass, soaked through with blood-red power, transformed into a weighty, cold piece of metal engraved with geometric patterns.

The needle inside had likewise been tempered, now sharp as a blade and stained with a dark crimson sheen.

[Judge’s Compass]

Grade: Judgment

Points in the direction of the sinner. (Radius: 1 km)

Within its detection range, the heavier the burden of sin, the redder the needle turns, and the more preferentially it points to that target.

This was an excellent upgrade as well.

Its detection range had always been absurdly short, forcing him to disguise himself as a delivery driver and roam the entire neighborhood on a scooter every time he wanted to hunt someone down. That weakness was now all but eliminated.

Not only did it tell him the direction, it even prioritized the filthiest targets among the guilty.

“So I can clear out the dirtiest trash first.”

A slim, satisfied smile curled at Suhyuk’s mouth.

Thinking of the last remaining item, Dead Man’s Pocket, he wondered if he should try upgrading it too and held out another stone.

-This item can no longer be upgraded.

“Huh?”

Suhyuk tilted his head.

The scythe and the compass had both upgraded, so why not the pocket?

Ah.

He remembered that there was an actual skill called [Dead Man’s Pocket: Upgrade] being sold in the Hell Shop for a whopping 100,000 Hell Points.

It wasn’t that the item itself could be upgraded; rather, the skill evolved the spatial pocket’s abilities to the next stage. That was why it wouldn’t work here.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

He’d have to learn it as a skill eventually anyway, and the current Dead Man’s Pocket was already doing its job perfectly well, so he had no complaints.

[Remaining Hell Points: 13,820]

The 100,000-point [Dead Man’s Pocket: Upgrade] wasn’t urgent.

What Suhyuk needed most urgently was [Punishment Sentence: Chain].

“I need to buy this first. No question.”

At some point, the [Judge’s Compass] was already in his hand.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Suhyuk stared at the compass needle, glowing blood-red in his palm and pointing stubbornly in one direction, but he still didn’t leave the house right away.

One kilometer.

It was a distance that felt both close and far.

The fatigue accumulated from fighting multiple A-class Awakers and a horde of giant spiders in succession had been considerable.

In his current physical and mental state, rest came before recklessness.

“I should recover first...”

He collapsed onto the bed and was asleep almost instantly.

Each time he exhaled in his sleep, a faint black haze rose from his body and began to drift around him.

That strange energy, as if it had a life of its own, circled his body without his awareness, then gradually faded away at some point.

He didn’t wake again until around lunchtime the next day.

He wasn’t usually a heavy sleeper and tended to wake up early, but today he’d slept unusually deeply and for a long time.

“Hmm... my body feels weirdly refreshed.”

He couldn’t tell whether it was simply because he’d slept enough or because of the Reaper Body’s special ability to improve his physical performance and recovery, but his condition was perfect.

Suhyuk stretched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lightly, unaware of the strange phenomenon that had wrapped around his body while he slept.

He wanted to go straight back out and resume hunting to rake in more Hell Points, but there was something else he had to deal with first.

The weapon that had evolved from a pitiful agricultural sickle into a massive side blade through the upgrade stone.

He needed adaptation training to handle this enlarged [Judge’s Scythe] properly.

No one knew whether the compass’s target—a sinner weighed down by an especially heavy burden of sin—was an ordinary civilian or an upper-tier Awaker on the level of A-class or S-class.

And if he considered the possibility of re-entering an A-class Gate for more efficient Hell Point farming, plus the chance that a stealth skill might be countered by detection, then charging into enemy territory with a weapon he still wasn’t used to would be no different from suicide.

Suhyuk went straight up to the villa roof.

Wrapped in the [Judge’s Robe], he summoned the oversized [Judge’s Scythe].

He rolled his wrist lightly and swung the weapon into the air.

A straight thrust won’t work.

Because the blade curved inward, driving the weapon straight toward an enemy was close to impossible.

When it had still been a rough, simple reaper’s scythe, he could use short, irregular motions—cutting in tight arcs, hooking at muscle and bone as if dragging the target in, or striking gaps with the bent edge.

But now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the weapon’s size and weight had increased dramatically, even precisely targeting a gap and crushing through it was difficult.

The larger the motion, the greater the risk of exposing an opening.

The easiest and most powerful options are still wide slashes and hooking them in to pull them close.

Suhyuk felt the scythe’s center of gravity and repeatedly cleaved through the air.

Because the motions were the most intuitive and best suited to the scythe’s shape, it didn’t take long to adjust.

Maybe thrusting is better as a defensive move.

After spending a long while swinging it around and changing his perspective, he realized that it might actually be more useful for defense.

It should be easier to block attacks coming in vertically while creating distance.

So he kept practicing thrusts for a long time as well.

Once he understood that even the absurdly overpowered skills and items of a Hell Reaper were not perfect and still had flaws, he became even more careful in his preparation.

For today, I think this is enough. Time to go hunting.

Training had to continue, steadily and without fail.

So did the hunt.

After steadying his breathing, Suhyuk unsummoned the scythe and pulled the compass out of Dead Man’s Pocket.

Since yesterday, the red needle had been obsessively pointing in only one direction, without moving even a hair’s breadth.

Just how heavy and disgusting a sin must someone carry for the compass to point so insistently, as if telling him to chop the bastard’s head off right this second?

Suhyuk crossed the city following the compass’s course.

The needle stopped in an area a little removed from the commercial district.

It began trembling violently, as if announcing that they were growing closer.

And finally, the burdened sinner who came into view was with someone else.

Suhyuk’s steps faltered.

The person with the sinner was none other than the magic-type Awaker who, yesterday inside the Gate, had been stuck in the back of the party while enduring the sleazy gaze of that trash, Park Cheolmin: Lee Si-hyun.

“Father...”

“S-Si-hyun! N-no, this is a misunderstanding. I didn’t do this!”

The sinner stared at Lee Si-hyun in alarm.

A woman, drenched in blood, lay at his feet, and blood was dripping from his hands.

“W-What is this...? What on earth...”

Lee Si-hyun covered her mouth and swallowed the scream rising in her throat.

“This woman just... collapsed. So I was trying to help her...”

He tried desperately to explain.

But both he and Lee Si-hyun knew perfectly well how absurd that excuse was.

Because the bastard calling himself her father wasn’t wearing anything on his lower body.