The Prayer

Cutting an Achilles tendon was not going to be enough to bring down the Arctic Giant. Wounds like that were designed to regenerate on the spot.

But weakened as it was by Turnon's Warhammer, the story changed.

The regeneration simply didn't kick in — and that meant even a full severing was on the table.

The moment one of the Arctic Giant's fingers dropped away, its leg buckled.

It could no longer keep its balance.

And Won-goo's attacks kept coming, relentless. He hadn't stopped at the tendon — he'd dragged the blade long and deep through the ankle like a man breaking down a whole tuna.

*THOOOM!*

The Arctic Giant collapsed.

And right at that moment, a rope came flying in from a distance.

The Tail Dog's tail.

Perfectly timed support. Won-goo had been about to ask for the rope anyway.

"Director! The rope!"

"Good. Nice throw."

A smile spread across his face on its own as he caught the neatly coiled rope.

Won-goo knew Jo Mu-sa's past. Which meant he remembered the days when the man had trembled like a leaf, unable to adapt to the Field.

The crew members who once fumbled through orders were now crisp and decisive — had advanced all the way to reading the flow of the Field and acting on their own initiative. How much had happened to bring them this far?

This was exactly the kind of teamwork Won-goo had wanted, and now that he could see it clicking into place, he couldn't help but feel good about it.

Even thinking that, Won-goo moved without a wasted motion. He'd already unfurled the Tail Dog's tail, handed it off to Pacific, and looped it around the Arctic Giant's neck.

Under normal circumstances he never would have dreamed of a pure strength contest with an Arctic Giant — but in its weakened state, the two of them were more than enough.

The screaming Arctic Giant let out a strangled *krek* and went limp, unable to hold out even fifteen seconds.

Seeing that, Pacific let out a long sigh.

"So what now?"

"Take the mask off. How long has it been?"

"Eight minutes, almost."

"Take it off. You held out well."

"I keep *telling* you, I'm fine."

Even as he said it, Pacific didn't hesitate to pull off the mask.

He was smiling.

And then he fell straight asleep.

Flat on the ground, face-first.

By then the crew had made their way through the frozen, motionless Ice Golems.

"Jo Mu-sa, take care of Pacific."

"Yes, sir, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Director!"

"There'll be rewards coming. No one here's a thief, so there shouldn't be any trouble — but let's not invite any, either. Keep everyone from coming near this area."

"Understood, Director."

Jo Mu-sa scooped up the fallen Pacific in his arms. Just in time, Suwon came wheeling over Pacific's wheelchair.

Though something was off about the sound of the wheels rolling.

"D-Director. The, the wheelchair's......"

"Broken? Then fix it."

He made a mental note to scrounge up a spare wheelchair and stash it in the Trailer.

"You want it taken alive, that is the question?"

"This bastard's Field-boss tier. The reward's huge — how could we let it live? It has to die."

That had already been settled with the other crews involved in this incident. The boss monster's reward would go to Won-goo's crew.

They'd invested the most and contributed the most, so it was only fair.

That said, even with such agreements in place, there were occasional cases of people quietly pocketing the reward and running. Especially with a boss of this caliber, the payoff would be big enough that some might risk earning themselves the title of "son of a bitch" just for a shot at it.

*Srrrk, srrrk.*

Won-goo went to work on the unconscious Arctic Giant's horn with the Meaty Dagger.

"Bastard was properly out of his mind. Look how much he invested in this horn. It doesn't even cut."

But it wasn't uncuttable, either. It felt like hacking at freezer-burned meat with a kitchen knife — and even frozen meat gives way eventually, doesn't it?

*Srrk, srrrk* — the blade was steadily biting into the horn.

"Couldn't you just smash it?"

Jeon Hye-ji, having finished clearing the area, came over and asked. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ "Hye-ji. A Large Species' body is all money — especially a horn like this one. There'll definitely be a use for this, and there are people who love this kind of thing."

"Ah......"

"So you cut it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off rather than smash it. Killing the bastard doesn't make the horn disappear."

"I see. I wasn't thinking far enough ahead."

"It's fine. Anyone would, not knowing. Just don't forget it next time — and you won't, will you."

"No. I won't."

As they talked, the Meaty Dagger carved through the Giant's horn. And once it came free, the Arctic Giant went slack, just as expected — as if the life were draining out of it.

Different from when it had merely been knocked out.

The Ice Golems cracked and crumbled away.

Even more interesting: the snow that had been falling nonstop had stopped.

"What's that?"

Hye-ji asked. A mass of light had spilled from the Arctic Giant's mouth and taken shape.

Normally a light would appear carrying the reward, and approaching it let you choose your prize.

But what had flowed from the Arctic Giant's mouth wasn't light — it was a capsule the size of a palm.

No one had ever seen such a thing, and they all stared in astonishment.

Won-goo, however, wasn't surprised. He was, if anything, smiling.

It was something you saw often enough as the apocalypse wore on.

A reward capsule.

It appeared when you took down a monster above a certain threshold.

Which also meant the Arctic Giant had been a monster of a considerably high tier.

Far higher level than even the Dulla-kin that had appeared in the dungeon.

"Chul-soo!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Go touch it and the reward list will pop up."

"Me?"

Chul-soo's face went wide with surprise.

"Of course. This thing was a summoner. That makes you the right one to claim it, out of all of us."

Rewards could occasionally come out of left field, but most of the time they resembled the traits of the monster you'd killed.

The Arctic Giant had been a summoner — so it was right for Geum Chul-soo to take it.

"Understood."

Geum Chul-soo hurried over and picked up the reward capsule floating in the air.

"What came out?"

"Director, it says we get to pick two of them."

At that, Won-goo's expression hardened.

"Two? That means the grade's on the low side, then. Read them out. What's on the list?"

So Chul-soo read the rewards aloud.

"Then take the Prayer Tablet and the Sticker. Just pick them and open the capsule."

"Understood, Director!"

A choice made without much deliberation. The rewards were smaller than he'd expected.

If it had been a pick-one reward, they probably would have gotten something better.

Won-goo especially had half-hoped for an ability-type reward rather than an item. If it had granted an ability tied to the Arctic Giant's powers, that would have been an outstanding prize.

Still, what they'd chosen was far from bad.

The Weapon Enhancement Sticker in particular could be applied to absolutely any weapon, so holding onto it was a choice that couldn't fail.

While the rewards were being claimed, the monsters began to scatter.

The moment the Arctic Giant fell, the monsters that had crowded the battlefield fled without so much as a glance back.

There was no order to their flight — they simply scattered in every direction, and the survivors didn't miss the chance.

Even trash mobs carried equipment, and every now and then a reward would even drop from one.

The drop rate was random, and you couldn't expect anything great — but a reward was a reward.

The survivors chased down the fleeing monsters like madmen, killing as they went.

Thanks to that, Won-goo's crew got to review their rewards at their leisure.

"Manox's Prayer Tablet? What kind of item is that, that is the question?"

"That one's yours, Mr. Mage."

"Mine?"

"It works a lot like your Wisps, sir. It's affected by mana."

At that, Mu Beob-sa's face went rigid.

"You will NOT be cutting my wrist again, that is the part I declare! NEVER cutting the wrist again, that it is!"

"Old man, have you lost your mind?! Why are you suddenly screaming your head off!"

"Let me say it again — I do not cut hands, that is the part it is."

"Who told you to chop off a hand, you geezer?"

"Was that not the part where it was going?"

"Don't you know you've got to hear a man out to the very END of his sentence? When did I ever say anything about cutting off a hand?"

"......?"

"So did you say it, or didn't you? That's the only part I'm asking. Jo Mu-sa."

"Yes, Director."

"Did I say it?"

"You never said anything like that, sir."

"Suwon."

"Ye-yes! No, no, you never did!"

"See? Witnesses and everything. I never said it."

"Then there is no need to cut, that is the part it is?"

"No need at all. *This* time we're cutting off a leg, though."

"Director Woon-gooooo!"

"Kidding, kidding. Just a joke."

"Whether it is a joke or the serious truth, that is the part I must know for certain! This is a very serious part of the matter! Not the kind of part one jokes one's way past!"

"Back then you needed the ritual because the seal had to be grafted onto your body first. The Prayer Tablet's different. So don't worry your gray head about it."

"Truly the case, that it is?"

"That's the case. *Anyone* can use Manox's Prayer Tablet. As long as they memorize the prayer."

Just as Won-goo said, the tablet was a convenient item that let anyone cast a spell simply by reciting the passage written within.

Since it was called a "prayer," you'd expect verses of worship to some god, like the Lord's Prayer — but it was nothing of the sort.

What was written inside differed for every user.

"You just read it, and that's it?"

Hye-ji asked.

"That's it."

"Then what if there's a letter you can't read?"

"It doesn't work like that. It only produces letters the reader can read. Even a complete illiterate could read it."

At that, the crew leaned in, fascinated by the explanation.

"The only real drawback is that the spell doesn't fire until you finish the whole passage."

"There's a cooldown too, presumably?"

"Of course there is. But that's not what matters — what matters is the length of the prayer."

"Length?"

"Yes. How short a passage gets generated — that's the whole game."

"The content doesn't matter, that is the part it is?"

"Content doesn't matter. It's just the ritual required to use the tablet. But the length matters a great deal."

"Because the shorter it is, the faster you can use it — and the power scales with your mana anyway. Right?"

Instead of answering, Won-goo simply nodded toward Hye-ji.

"Anyway, remember it that way and keep it safe."

The Manox's Prayer Tablet was a stone slab about the size of a sheet of A4.

And on that slab, nothing whatsoever was written.

At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a smooth, polished stone.

"You wish to read it now, that is the part it is?"

"A bit late for that. The others are coming over there."

Won-goo pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips.

Then he received the Weapon Enhancement Sticker from Geum Chul-soo.

The sticker was a good item — but not good enough to change the direction of a career. At best, it played a supporting role.

The beauty of it was that it worked on literally any weapon.

Like the Capsule Sticker, the style of enhancement varied with the pattern of the sticker itself, and there were only a handful of sticker types Won-goo could remember.

And the sticker he'd gotten from Geum Chul-soo wasn't one of them.

Won-goo intended to apply it to Turnon's Warhammer.

The Warhammer was several tiers above even Named-class items. An incredible weapon, but its performance was a touch plain — which made it the perfect candidate for an enhancement sticker.

More than anything, enhancement stickers demanded careful application, and the Warhammer suited that requirement perfectly.

If a weapon with a sticker attached broke, the sticker vanished along with it — so you had to choose with great care.

It wasn't like a Seal, something you could peel off and reuse.

That's why, once word about Weapon Enhancement Stickers spread among survivors, people only ever used them on Named-tier weapons at minimum.

So as not to waste the sticker on something lesser, they said.

"Director ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gong! Ever'body alrgiht?"

"We're fine, hyung-nim."

"You worked ha-ard."

"So did you, hyung-nim."

"Aigoo, an' little Pacific there......"

"He's just sleeping because he's tired. Don't worry about him."

"That so?"

"We got the main reward as per the contract, for starters. The rest we split from dismantling that bastard and whatever's scattered around the Field."

He said it with a jerk of his chin toward the Arctic Giant.

"You think that thing'll fetch a good price?"

"It's got Demon-species blood mixed in, so it won't be cheap."

"That was one big mountain climbed."

"It was, but...... there's still a lot to do."

"More work? What now?"

"Discipline around this area's really broken down lately. I need your help, hyung-nim."

"Anything you ask, Director Gong, we'll say yes. But you plannin' to flush out them Seal Collectors?"

"There's them, and Sde still sticks in my throat, doesn't he?"

At the name Sde, Montage's expression hardened.

"Right. There *is* that."

"You've got to shake out what's sticking before you move on. Let's run the radar."

Montage nodded.

The incident was so massive that cleanup itself took the better part of a day. Dismantling the Arctic Giant in particular ate up a fair chunk of time.

The survivors packed up every last scrap of the Arctic Giant's body without leaving a trace behind and headed for the Shelter.

Won-goo's crew took a few pieces as well, loaded them into the Trailer, and set off for the Shelter.

"Mr. Mage. Can't you read the prayer now?"

Jo Mu-sa asked.

Everyone looked dead tired, but their faces were bright.

"It is safe to do it here, that is the part it is? I thought magic went flying?"

"Just don't read it all the way to the end. Give it a try. Let's see how long it is."

So Mu Beob-sa took out the stone slab and began to read.

To everyone watching, the slab appeared perfectly blank — but to Mu Beob-sa, holding it, the letters were crisp and clear.

"This... I must read it aloud, that is the part it is?"

"Obviously. Just don't finish it. The spell'll go off."

"Truly reading it, that is the part—"

"Aish...... did somebody bash your head in, old man? Why do you keep asking me the same thing over and over?"

"Hmm......"

After a moment's hesitation, Mu Beob-sa began to read the prayer in a grave, solemn voice.

"My sister's glistening lips slip into my mouth, soft and tender, and......"

"AGH! It wasn't the length that was the problem — it was the CONTENT, that is the part it waaaas!"