Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Taking Over the Organization (4)
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After sending the organization members back to the dorm behind the warehouse, I sent Lee Seojun back to the Hero Officer Academy as well.
Flash—
I teleported him straight to the Hero Officer Academy in one shot.
As a result, Lee Seojun appeared right next to another one of my bodies, who was in the middle of sparring with Cheon Seo-yun in the private training room.
-No issues here, huh.
Clang!—Clang!—
I was controlling just a single sword with Warlord's Weapon to attack Cheon Seo-yun.
In contrast, Cheon Seo-yun was showing a clear increase in her attack frequency compared to before.
-And Cheon Seo-yun's gotten way stronger too.
Just as Lee Seojun said, the current Cheon Seo-yun had reached the point where she could deflect the sword I was controlling to some degree.
Before, she could barely nudge my sword aside even a little.
Now, she was parrying it enough to work in a real fight.
Even more surprising was that her skills were still improving bit by bit while doing all this.
-Huh? But Cheon Seo-yun's eyes look a bit glazed over?
"She's probably in the zone."
That was one of the reasons her skills were improving in real time.
"Feels like I'm the one taking a loss here somehow."
Just a 10-minute kiss, and now she's sparring like this—it felt like a bad deal.
Of course, Cheon Seo-yun getting stronger was welcome, but the speed was too much.
-Whoa. At this rate, she might hit B-rank hero in a month? That's instructor level.
"That's the problem."
-Problem? Don't tell me it's because you said you wanted her before?
I nodded, meaning yes.
But Lee Seojun replied with an expression that didn't quite get it.
-Well... you're gonna spar with her tons more times anyway, so just wear her down then.
With that, he changed the subject and asked about what had happened at the warehouse earlier.
-More importantly, what the hell were all those abilities you showed at the warehouse? Way more than one or two—healing, contracts, resurrection, awakening...
Healing and resurrection came from the healer's abilities I'd picked up in the 8th world.
Contracts, transformation, and acting were from the 100 ability cards I'd gotten in the 12th world.
Assigning the job class was from a unique ability called Duplicator that I'd acquired in the 14th world.
I gave him a quick summary, and he looked impressed all over again.
-Insane. Especially the job assignment thing. That really awakens them as heroes?
"Not quite."
In this world, becoming a hero meant sensing mana and accepting it.
Job assignment just boosted stats—it didn't make you a hero.
Of course, mana is one of the stats that goes up with job assignment.
But could you use this world's magic with that mana?
Having crossed countless worlds, I could say with certainty: absolutely not.
No matter how similar the mana seemed, different worlds meant different properties.
-Ah, so it only boosts physical stuff like strength and stamina, huh.
I explained that too, and he got it right away.
-Yeah, definitely different from awakening as a hero. Still impressive just boosting stats like that.
"It is pretty great."
If I really tried, I could turn an ordinary person into something better than most heroes with job assignment.
-And you can use it on heroes like Cheon Seo-yun too, right?
I nodded.
If I assigned a job to a hero, the synergy would be tremendous.
Lee Seojun said S-rank is the limit,
but with job assignment added, SS-rank seemed totally possible.
Though the world didn't seem to recognize SS-rank, so people might not buy it.
Clang!—
Wonder how long Cheon Seo-yun plans to keep attacking?
She was in the zone, so normal methods wouldn't stop her.
Forcing her to stop might halt her growth too.
-Checked, and the training room time ends in 20 minutes.
"Twenty minutes won't be enough."
Then.
Flick—
Hm?
Unlike before, Cheon Seo-yun's sword flowed like water, parrying mine.
Nothing special up to there, but I felt the connection to my sword temporarily sever.
The connection...
With the link cut, I couldn't control the sword.
It lasted less than 0.1 seconds, but by then, her sword was already flying at me.
"......"
Normally, I'd have blocked that attack effortlessly, but even I got flustered this time.
Honestly, I never imagined Warlord's Weapon connection breaking, so my response was slow.
Thwack!—
In a pinch, I blocked Cheon Seo-yun's sword with my hand.
I caught it in my right palm, and only then did she seem to run out of strength, collapsing to the floor.
"......"
I looked down at the fallen Cheon Seo-yun, then flipped my right hand to check my palm.
A thin red line had appeared, blood on the verge of welling up—but it healed instantly before it could.
-Whoa? Did Cheon Seo-yun just land a hit on you?
"You could say that."
It was just one sword, not the max six from Warlord's Weapon.
But her sword had pierced through and even wounded me—that was a fact.
Potential 99, huh...
I felt the talent of potential 99 once more and glanced at Cheon Seo-yun on the floor.
"What to do with Cheon Seo-yun?"
-Take her to the infirmary.
"Guess so."
Luckily or not, we finished just before the private training room time was up.
The thirty or so organization members that Lee Seongmin had taken over got moving at dawn to sell their rings.
Whoever fetched the highest price would get awakened as a hero—that promise had them all hustling.
Probably best to sell to heroes, right?
To get top dollar, better hit up the chaebols.
Let's go to an artifact shop and get an official appraisal.
Of course, hustling hard didn't mean everything went smoothly.
"An artifact?"
"Yes. One that blocks three attacks per day. I think it's perfect for you, hero."
An organization member who'd found a C-rank hero party tackling gates approached the one with the best gear and pitched it.
"Scam? Doesn't feel like any mana no matter how I look."
For reference, the rings Lee Seongmin made were crafted with the authority Magic Enchantment from the 5th world, just like Equipment Evolution.
Naturally, since it was from another world, even heroes couldn't sense the mana.
"No way it's a scam. Try it out."
"Alright? Here goes."
Bam!—
A C-rank hero's physical abilities were over eight times a normal person's.
That full-force punch made a huge noise, but the barrier blocked it without issue.
"Oh, legit? Three times a day, so two left now."
The hero's eyes lit up at the barrier that stopped his powered swing effortlessly.
"Hand over the ring."
After slipping it on and testing it himself, the hero realized it was a special artifact with no detectable mana.
"What do you think, hero? Pretty great artifact, right?"
"Three times a day is a bummer... but not bad."
Even a C-rank hero didn't deny it.
So he set the price himself.
"Fine. 1 million won."
"......Pardon? One million?"
The organization member stared at the hero like he'd misheard.
"An artifact sold on the sly like this has to be stolen goods, right? Considering the risk, 1 million's generous."
"You got it wrong—it's not stolen. I won't sell for 1 million. Give it back."
"Can't do that."
The hero grinned and twisted the arm of the organization member reaching for the ring.
Crack—
"Argh!"
"You dare touch a hero?"
The organization member with the broken arm looked at the other heroes in the party.
The others were smirking, figuring they'd scored a free artifact.
"Ah, trying to sell stolen goods? Must be a villain. Time for a lesson."
The hero thoroughly beat the organization member to shut him up.
Thud!—Thump!—
Of course, the organization member couldn't block punches and kicks from someone eight times stronger than normal.
"Ugh......"
Once the guy was a battered mess on the ground in seconds, the hero tossed some cash from his wallet like charity.
"Here's your 1 million as promised. Use it for hospital bills, and stay away from stolen goods from now on."
"......"
After the heroes left, the organization member dragged himself to pick up the scattered bills.
He staggered to his feet with all the money and limped back to the warehouse hideout.
Similar things were happening elsewhere too.
"This punk. Thinks this is a corner store?"
Organization members targeting chaebols got blocked at the gate by guards or intercepted midway.
"An artifact... mind if I ask where it's from?"
"We made it ourselves."
"You made something like this? Hard to believe."
The middle manager kept adding conditions.
"Fine. We should buy an artifact like this. But the creator has to come in person."
"What? That's nonsense. If that's the case, no sale—give it back."
"Can't do that. Want it back? Bring the creator. Then we'll return it."
"No, what the... just give it back!"
"Guards!"
And at artifact shops, even more absurd things happened.
"......What did you just say?"
"Sorry, sir. While we were checking the barrier's recharge time and left it for 8 hours, it got stolen."
"Stolen from your shop? You joking?"
"Apologies again. We'll compensate full based on what we measured."
And the compensation? 5 million won.
The organization member couldn't hide his disbelief at the measly sum.
"Why only 5 million?"
"To measure the barrier's exact strength, we need at least 10 tests. Three wasn't enough, so we averaged it. Plus, no recharge check, so we treated it as disposable."
"Even so, 5 million for an artifact?!"
"Sir, we've already compensated—please don't make trouble."
The organization member tried to cause a scene but got thoroughly beaten by waiting guards and dragged out.