Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Perfect Clears and Hidden Pursuers
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Another F+ dungeon today.
Dozens of ants swarming in.
Ants the size of wild dogs.
"【Stop】."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Keeng- The swarming ants froze all at once.
Dust, grass—everything.
"Whoa..."
"What are you marveling at now? Let's clear it quick and get out."
"Yes, sir!"
He killed all the frozen ants.
And dealt with the World Tree roots too.
⚔ Perfect Clear! ⚔ (Solo) ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ By your achievement, a 'Blessing' has been bestowed upon the surrounding area... Exiting the dungeon.
A pillar of light shooting into the sky.
"Tch, gonna draw aggro again."
What can you do?
Can't skip conquering dungeons.
And the Perfect Clear rewards are just too sweet.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Opening 'Random Box (+2)'.] "Opening the random box? Let's see what we get this time!"
"Come on, elixir."
Thud thud thud thud.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Releasing the seal on a random Word of Command.] "Huh?!"
"W-What's wrong, Master?"
Aden, startled by his reaction.
Leans her upper body toward him.
But of all things, this comes out?
'Now that I think about it.'
When he first awakened.
It said every time he met a condition, a Word of Command seal would be released.
The final battle with the Black World Tree.
He succeeded in sealing the World Tree.
But Kyle got sealed with a Word of Command in turn.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The seal on the Word of Command 【Ignite】 has been released.] "Oh!"
"What is it? What'd we get?!"
Her blue eyes sparkling bright.
Leans in even more.
Almost falling over.
But it's unlocking this one, huh.
A low-tier Word, but actually perfect.
Low mana cost.
High utility.
Can't tell her that, though.
"Junk item."
"What!?"
Aden, full of anticipation, reels in shock.
Starts to fall and hugs onto him.
Something massive presses into his lower abdomen.
Damn, it really is huge.
'At this size, it's gotta be as big as Mira's.'
Which mana pouch is superior?
It's a close call.
Gotta squeeze his to find out.
"Ah, what the heck! Don't get my hopes up like that!"
"Let's head home."
The two headed back to the academy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Aden flips through channels.
"Oh, they're talking about you, Master."
"What're they saying?"
Probably because of today's Perfect Clear.
"It's about the Blessing this time."
"Oh, really?"
Now this piques his interest.
He sat down beside her.
"It's a talk show inviting Awakener professors."
<The range of the Blessing from the Perfect Clear is about 100km, enough to cover all of Seoul and then some.>
<What kind of effect does a Blessing have?>
Yeah, exactly.
He'd been curious too.
<It varies by dungeon rank.>
<What about this F+ rank?>
<Does it have no effect on regular people? Like better skin or stamina?>
Laughter from the audience with sound effects.
Close-up on the MC's lecherous grin.
<Haha. Unfortunately, F-rank tiers are like that.>
<Aw, that's too bad!>
<But higher-rank Blessings are different.>
What do higher Blessings do?
Curious.
'E-rank is right around the corner.'
Unfortunately, no known effects for E-rank Blessings yet.
Perfect Clearing an E-rank dungeon soon should reveal it.
The talk show continued.
Praising the greatness of the recent Perfect Clears nonstop.
<That makes seven Perfect Clears in Earth history, right?>
<Yes! And five of them happened in Seoul, South Korea!>
Hold up.
Only seven in history?
'So before me, there were just two?'
Ah.
Damn.
No wonder everyone's making such a fuss.
Pulling aggro like crazy.
'But I've already done four just yesterday and today?'
Damn!
"Hey! Why didn't you stop me!?"
"Eek! Why throw the snack bag? The contents'll crush!"
Aden catches it nimbly and rips it open.
Munches away.
'No way... there's that much of a talent shortage!?'
This is infuriating.
Even as a kid, Kyle must've done Perfect Clears!
Back in the day!
Just the seven heroes alone would've racked up double digits like it was nothing!
'Why are they all so weak? Making me pull all this unwanted aggro!?'
It's all because they only care about stats!
Train!
Research!
Gain experience!
"Can't stand it. Disciple! Time for class!"
"Ooh! Magic lesson!"
Aden all excited.
Her blue eyes sparkling with mana glow.
Stuffing the rest of the snacks in her mouth.
Can't let his disciple turn into a weakling too.
"Don't you go getting that big!"
"Yes? No idea what you mean, but yes, sir!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The support team buzzing again.
Team Leader Yoo Chae-young reviewed the analysis report.
"This data is significant."
"Yes. The Blessing's value is beyond expectations."
It might look like just a 5% stat boost.
But it's 5% to all stats.
Considering synergies between stats.
Actual combat power increase far exceeds 5%.
An unignorable figure.
Reality isn't some game number-crunching.
In a life-or-death moment, that tiny difference decides survival.
"Guild members' conquest success rate up 40%."
"Of course, for non-guild regular Awakeners, it'd be different."
"Even then, it'd be at least 20%."
Increased conquest rate.
Means increased mana stone production.
Mana stones are the flower of modern industry.
Replacing oil as energy source.
Chemicals, textiles, metals, materials.
Used everywhere.
"South Korea's economy's gonna shake hard."
"In a good way, of course!"
"Whew... Perfect Clear Awakener value just skyrocketed."
"Will our salaries go up too?"
Recruitment wars will intensify for sure.
With a Perfect Clear Awakener, you can churn out these Blessings nonstop.
"Jinyoung, send this to finance."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Team member all pumped.
"Gotta buy stocks quick~ Team Leader, stock up now too! Pretty much everything's gonna rise?"
"Jinyoung."
"Y-Yes?"
The measured response scared the team member.
But tension melted away soon.
"I already bought in."
"...Ah!"
"Financial management is part of self-care. Keep at it. For Blaze."
"Team Leader, share the picks..."
"Work hours. Move."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The team member bolted at the calm command.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kang Hyun and Aden arrived at the Gate.
F+ rank again.
"If an elixir drops this time, we're onto E-rank."
"But is it okay? Keeping up Perfect Clears?"
"Water under the bridge already."
"...Normally people say 'let's be careful from now on'?"
True, but.
Is Kang Hyun normal?
"Why hide now? Already pulled max aggro with five straight Perfect Clears. One more or not, same difference."
"Hmm..."
"Plus, rewards are too good."
"Can't argue that."
First reward was a subspace even.
Treasure of treasures he'd never touched in his past life.
Plus two mana elixirs and a Perfect Moisturizing Mask.
'Effect's killer.'
His throat feels perfectly moist.
Kang Hyun, hypersensitive about throat health.
Humidity is an absolute factor in throat care.
'This is the real treasure.'
How could he quit Perfect Clears now!
Already addicted to the rewards.
"Let's go in. Hide in the subspace for a bit."
Aden entered via loophole.
Entrance was quiet this time.
They walked until monsters appeared.
"Yeah, I heard other Awakeners need dozens of dungeons for an elixir. And low-ranks don't even drop them reliably."
"Hiding identity's important. But we haven't been caught. Just keep being cautious like now, right?"
Gates too, picking only deserted spots on purpose.
"Hiding to protect ourselves. But to get strong enough fast, gotta gobble rewards."
Kyle and safety-first.
Not words that meshed well.
Even back then, he was always at the vanguard among heroes.
Shoulder risks you can handle.
That was Kyle's mindset.
"In that vein, learn this. Sometimes embracing risk is faster and more efficient. Like now."
"Now? What do you mean?"
Kang Hyun drew his sword.
"Dealing with rat bastards outside draws cops, eyes, hassle. Lure 'em into the dungeon and wipe 'em."
"Pardon?"
Perfect, got a new Word too.
Time to stretch.
"Eyes front. No reaction. Play dumb."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Two men quietly tailing Kang Hyun.
Both loan sharks.
"Bro, you really gonna kill him? Just for borrowing some cash? D-Does that make sense?"
"It's not 'just some cash,' you punk."
Tch. Newbies are such a pain.
Stuck training this dimwit.
"Never incur an Awakener's grudge. Company rule number one. Didn't learn that?"
"Of course I did. But this is..."
"Exactly. Guy who borrowed from us—we weren't gonna lend nice, right?"
"Probably not..."
Caused all kinds of hell, being loan sharks.
He swallowed the answer.
"So. He'd hold a grudge against us? But now the debtor awakened. Rule one violation."
Kill him.
Obvious unspoken follow-up.
Newbie gulped.
"Quit shaking. It's fine. Kill in a dungeon, clean. Nothing left."
"J-Just us two okay?"
"Target's a fresh F- Awakener. Slice and he's done."
Compared to them, both D- rank.
Overwhelming against some F-.
"B-But he wouldn't enter solo, so at least five, right...?"
"That's where~ the trick comes in. Watch and learn."
Pulling aggro.
Just manipulate monster aggro right.
Wiping a party wasn't hard.
Most common dungeon accident, after all.
"Closing distance now. Shut up."
Target spotted.
But the man witnessed something unbelievable.
"【Stop】"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Keeng- The world stopped.