All-Out Sweep
By stealing only the items from those without spatial inventories, I didn't get many items above unique. Of course, half of them were bound items.
I stored the bound items for later use as synthesis materials—they were sweet.
“Hey! Hansik! This is perfect for you.”
Hansik preferred the main damage position.
Because he had to fight from the rear as the Royal Guard Captain.
A sword would have been cool for a Royal Guard Captain, but I respected his tastes.
[(Legend) Minotaur's Ballista]
It was legendary, though.
“Too big?”
Hansik scratched his created head.
This wasn't a bow—it was a siege weapon.
- Strength stat 1,000 or higher required.
“Ah. Right... I'll put it on hold for now.”
Selling it would be a jackpot.
But Hansik's shoulders slumped.
I must have given him false hopes, so I patted him on the back.
“Still, if we stack it up, the strength stat could hit 1,000. Yeah, this is bound too, and this one, and this one. Oh!”
[(Unique) Lion's Claw]
“Jackpot....”
“Hekhek.”
Hodu's eyes sparkled with hunger.
Hodu, man... isn't a lion a cat?
But since he liked it, I gave it to him.
“Here, Hodu, take this.”
“Lick lick!!”
Was it that good?
Hodu's tail wagged at incredible speed.
It looked ready to fly away.
“And, oh. This one's for Geunsik.”
Geunsik hammered in the forge, so...
[(Rare) Dawn Hammer]
- I will put my whole heart into it.
[(Rare) Shield of Salvation]
“This one's for Cheolsik! He's the tank.”
[(Rare) Halgi-Embedded Short Sword]
“This one's for Minsik.”
After supplying the gear like charity, the skeleton soldiers looked really sharp.
K... Their chests were massive. The weaklings who couldn't even lift a box were now this big.
“Changsik, I'll save you something better later.”
- It's fine. A general doesn't complain about weapons.
“I'm the equipment type?”
- My lord is a master.
“Oh. Really? Hahaha.”
My skeleton soldiers were good at everything, but if they excelled at anything, it was filling my pride.
* * *
The smugglers and Hunterpol battle turned in Hunterpol's favor.
Until Cho Chiyong woke up.
“I'm here? Kkhwaam... Watashi wa onaka ga sukimashita.”
“Even in the middle of this, you're hungry? Do something fast, you otaku bastard!”
The smugglers hiding behind his massive bulk pushed his back. Cho Chiyong was a proven tank.
The moment he appeared, the situation became stagnant, like pouring cold water.
But...
“Gono yaro!”
Suddenly Cho Chiyong grabbed the smugglers' collar who had been pushing his back. He lifted him like a newborn baby.
“Kkuuk, what is this? We're on the same side.”
“Watashi wa otaku da. Demo, omae no ko ja naiyo.”
“Kek kek, sorry, sorry. I misspoke. This isn't the time. So...”
“Tamare.”
Kwaang!
Cho Chiyong slammed him into the ground with the collar still in hand. The concrete floor was soaked in blood.
“... That crazy bastard....”
“Why is Cho Chiyong here?”
“I don't know either. But he has that kind of personality?”
“I never heard a bad rumor. At least he's not an ally? This is going to be tough.”
“Don't worry. I'll leave this one to you.”
Raising the Thunder Shield, Kim Taesu stepped forward.
“Hey, Cho Chiyong.”
“Nanda kore?”
“You damn pig bastard.”
“Watashi wa ippyong da. Demo...”
Growling, Cho Chiyong lowered his stance.
Kim Taesu raised his shield.
‘Coming.’
“Watashi wa omae no ko rashikatte!”
Boooom-
The floor Cho Chiyong stood on cracked and shattered like glass. He charged toward Kim Taesu at a speed that matched a bullet.
Chwaaaak- Kurururung....
Kim Taesu's shield collided with Cho Chiyong.
Kim Taesu was pushed back about five meters.
+
[(Mythic) Thunder Shield]
(Equip Slot: Shield)
A shield blessed by the god of lightning. It accumulates damage taken in battle to deliver a powerful counterattack to the enemy....
▶ [Charge]: 50% charge on damage received by shield (Current charge: 25%)
▶ [Thunder Descent]: When charged, a god of thunder resides in the user for a certain time, lightning strikes around, and all skill cooldowns -50%.
▶ [Thunder]: When the god of thunder descends, attack speed and movement speed +200%.
▶ [Lightning Strike]: The opponent who collides with the shield has a 25% chance to be electrocuted and paralyzed for 2 seconds. 100% when the god of thunder descends.
Bound to Kim Taesu.
+
Kim Taesu was amazed.
“Whoa, 20% charge in one hit. You're a fast charger.”
“Gono yaro!”
“Speak Korean, you otaku brat.”
“I'll kill you. Heavy ton.”
Kuguuuung....
Was only Cho Chiyong's surroundings suddenly heavier gravity?
The ground sank in and out.
Actually, Cho Chiyong's pure weight had increased.
“10,000 tons.”
Boooom-
A crater-level hole appeared where Cho Chiyong stood, and in response, Cho Chiyong shot toward him at incredible speed.
Kuguuuung-
Breaking the sound barrier, the air tore, and...
‘Electric Phase.’
The overwhelming momentum made Kim Taesu sweat while using Invincibility. Every part of his body sparked and crackled, and his figure blurred.
Chwaaaak-
Cho Chiyong who collided with the Thunder Shield fell under the [Lightning Strike] effect and was paralyzed for 2 seconds. Kim Taesu's fishing rod sprayed fishing lines like spider webs, and...
‘Current Capture.’
The dense fishing lines caught Cho Chiyong's body. Sparks crackled above the lines.
“Caught the pig.”
Kim Taesu reeled in the rod and tightened it until Cho Chiyong couldn't move an inch.
“Kkururuk. Uuok...”
Cho Chiyong, hit by the high-voltage electric attack, shook his body and let out a painful groan.
“Is it over?”
Before the situation seemed to end,
Cho Chiyong's body ballooned up like a balloon.
Thud- thud-
And one, two of the electric fishing lines snapped.
“Crazy? That pig bastard....”
“Watashii... Kumadaekek. Demo...”
Impressive endurance.
A normal person would have shit and pissed themselves at that level of electrocution. But Cho Chiyong held out for over 30 seconds and stayed conscious.
“Omae no ko ja naiyo!”
Tududuk-
All the fishing lines snapped, and Cho Chiyong's massive body regained freedom. Then his body swelled up more than five times, as if it would explode.
Like a ball.
“Kwaang! Pop! Bouncy!”
He shot out again.
“Damn this pig bastard.”
Chwaak-!
Kim Taesu, raising the Thunder Shield to block Cho Chiyong's attack, flew more than 100 meters and crashed into a building. Cho Chiyong, blocked by the shield, bounced in the opposite direction and smashed into the opposite lighthouse.
The lighthouse collapsed.
Kwaaaang- Kwaaaang-
It wasn't over. Like a real bouncy ball, anything Cho Chiyong's swollen body touched was beginning to burn to ashes, and...
“Uwaaaak! Damage!”
Pwaaaang!
Hunterpol police cars exploded. It was his ultimate skill that wiped out everything—enemy and ally alike—if it was caught.
Sukuuwaaang!
Insane destructive power no one could touch. And speed. Whenever he moved once, the air tore and jet-engine sounds rang out.
‘Is he really a tank?’
The whole sky became a wasteland, and everyone thought no one could stop it, when...
From the building where Kim Taesu was flung and crashed...
Kukrurung. Kurururung....
Thunder sounded.
Urrung Kwaang!
A divine calamity.
Lightning struck down, and...
A man emerged from there.
Kim Taesu.
His appearance...
It was one that could bring gasps of admiration.
Seeing it, Cho Chiyong stopped his rampage and...
“O, omae... Kakato?”
Stopped right in front of Kim Taesu's nose.
“S, segoi!”
* * *
Watching the returning battle, I shouted.
“Tess-hyung!”
Cho Chiyong, the target, was hit directly by his devastating close-quarters attack and flew a huge distance to crash into a building.
Debris fell like rain from the cratered building. Tess-hyung was in danger. I tried to rush out to save him, but I stopped.
Ziiik- ziik-
Zizizizik.
Urrung. Kuuuung....
Sparks bursting from the debris pile.
Kkajik! Kwaang!
Suddenly, lightning struck down from a clear sky.
I stood there dumbfounded, waiting for Tess-hyung to come out from the inexplicable divine calamity.
Instinctively, I knew.
The source of that overwhelming power was definitely Tess-hyung.
Tess-hyung was safe.
Pasu, pajik!
Lightning that turned debris into powder.
Between the gaps...
Tess-hyung revealed himself.
Electric energy gushing around his body.
Lightning from top to bottom.
An overwhelming aura no one could approach.
His hair standing straight up to the sky from static electricity was nothing but... the god of thunder.
Chwaak-
In the meantime, Cho Chiyong, who had been scorching the entire world like a bouncy ball, changed direction and charged toward Tess-hyung.
I widened my eyes to prepare for the enormous shockwave from their collision, but...
“Eh?”
Nothing happened.
Instead, the super-fat Cho Chiyong facing the god of thunder.
Cho Chiyong, who had attacked Tess-hyung as if to kill him, circled around him in a daze and admired his appearance.
“Sge!!! Cool tte, daeseu!”
His voice, shaking from the fat-covered throat, reached my ears.
“W-what is that guy?”
He stomped his feet and rolled his eyes as if no one knew who he was.
Tess-hyung tilted his head, then whipped his fishing rod around and wrapped the guy's body in it. Pajizizizik-
“Ooohiiit, yamet e kudasaekek!”
His body, which had swelled like a balloon from enduring the paralysis, shrank and deflated like a punctured balloon, and Cho Chiyong sat down on the spot with a thud.
The battle was essentially over.
The minor hunters whose gear had been stolen were already hit by Tess-hyung's surprise attack, so they were all suppressed by Hunterpol and wearing power-restraint cuffs.
“Who the hell is this guy?”
Tess-hyung was putting cuffs on Cho Chiyong's wrists and ankles.
I couldn't shake the discomfort. It felt like he was deliberately letting him win.
But something appeared in Cho Chiyong's hand.
A wallet from the spatial inventory.
“A wallet?”
Kim Taesu opened it, and...
“Ha... fuck, who is this guy?”
Inside was an official ID.
[National Intelligence Service]
[Cho Chiyong]
“Ah, this is infuriating. Did he let him win on purpose?”
As if to confirm, the fallen Cho Chiyong glanced sideways at Tess-hyung and winked. The unconsciousness was just an act.
“Ah, damn it.”
“Shh, be quiet and hurry up, Kim Taesu Police Officer.”
“Ha... your attitude, damn it....”
Thinking about it, the only person Cho Chiyong had actually attacked properly was a smuggler who had been crashed into concrete.
* * *
More Hunterpol units and police arrived late.
TV station reporters who had smelled the news and YouTubers active around Busan followed them. They couldn't cross the police line but kept thrusting cameras forward.
“Breaking news. Just now at Busan Yongho Byeolbit Park, the notorious awakened criminals 32 including Jo Sun-du and Yoo Cheol-young were apprehended in an all-out operation by the Busan Nam-gu Hunterpol station....”
Watching the beautiful reporter narrate the incident in front of the bright cameras, I saw Tess-hyung.
“Tess-hyung.”
He was making Cho Chiyong's head hang low and heading toward his police car.
He came close to me near the police line at my call.
“Doosik-ah, thanks. You did it like you did your own. You're the real hero. I owe you. I couldn't have done it without you.”
“That makes me feel bad. It's your job, hyung.”
“You should be the one handling Hunterpol.”
Tess-hyung ruffled my hair.
He felt like a real hyung.
Being the only child made me feel oddly good.
“But it feels like this is just the beginning. ‘Night Fang.’ If we investigate them, we'll probably find something huge we can't handle.”
Now I had to investigate the ones we caught.
The information they spilled wouldn't be light.
“I think so too.”
“What about you?”
“I think the time has come.”
“What time?”
“I think I need to start a business.”
It might seem out of the blue, but business was my first goal. Now the Delivery Lord project seemed laughable. That was the motivation that made me catch butterflies.
Moreover, the skeleton soldiers were better at things other than battle. They were great at battle too, but they couldn't handle suppressing smugglers yet.
“Um... it'll be busy.”
“Yeah. Should I level up or start a business? Hyung will be busy too.”
“Right. Kkuk, now I'll finally be able to do some real work... but I need to level up too.”
Tess-hyung, who had properly taken a gut punch from Hansik the Keyboard Warrior last time, realized he had to become much stronger. It wasn't time to drink soju and play.
And me and Hyeona were the same.
We had been spectators in the final battle and had witnessed the aura of A-class Hunter Tess-hyung and Cho Chiyong, so we felt it more.
We sensed a wall of absurd height.
How strong did we have to become to reach their level?
The battle between Tess-hyung and Cho Chiyong was amazing.
An A-class battle was that intense, so what about S-class?
The Middle Eastern Al Babylon and America's Natalie Chaser, known as the top two in the non-standard world class?
They would be terrifyingly strong.
“Wait... Al Babylon?”
I momentarily froze.
Then I checked my phone for messages.
The smugglers' spam texts.
Something was missing.
http://brogod.be/vmprbd
A website address that didn't connect.
Brogod had turned out to be Bae Hyeongsin's mark, but the vmprbd written after that... no one knew.
Vmp, rbd.
“Vampire... Al Babylon?”
It felt like I had been hit on the head.
“What are you talking about?”
“Hyung, this incident... can we investigate it in connection with the vampire lord Al Babylon?”
“Al Babylon? You're seriously thinking Al Babylon is behind this incident?”
“Just a feeling. Just in case.”
“I hope not. If it's the real Al Babylon, even our government, a weak hunter nation, couldn't handle it.”
I hoped it wasn't either.
Tess-hyung couldn't shake his discomfort and got into the police car. The Hunterpol that had apprehended the smugglers in a sweep pushed away the reporters and YouTubers and left the scene.
♬
At that moment, my phone rang.
Caller was [Breath of Steel President Kim Cheolgeun].
“President.”
- Doosik, the artifact is complete! Kkollok.
“Oh! Really?!”
- My masterpiece has been born.
Masterpiece.
It was filled with cool words from the start.
Brung-
The Bentley let out a luxurious engine sound.