Chapter 965
Chapter 965
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 965
Chapter Title: Rainbow Fruit
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I had successfully cleared the dungeon.
And no matter the dungeon, success always came with a reward without fail.
Something sparkling appeared before me. Swollen with anticipation, I reached out and snatched it up right away. The light faded, revealing its form.
It was a pair of white leather gloves. On the back of the hands were drawings of wings and a flail.
I examined the gloves from every angle. Unfortunately, I had no way to immediately discern their abilities. I'd have to return to reality and hand them over to a professional appraiser or use an appraisal scroll from the Hunter Shop.
'The appraisal scroll's stashed away at home... so I'll have to head back there to find out what these gloves do.'
Since they were the reward from clearing a B-rank closed dungeon, they were sure to be no ordinary item. My heart was racing for the first time in ages.
'This emblem on the back—wings and a flail. It looks exactly like the ones on Coleman’s gear. Is it connected to the Zell Church's inquisitor?'
I slipped on the gloves. They clung to my hands comfortably enough.
I looked up. A portal leading back to reality shimmered a short distance away. The dungeon would collapse soon.
I headed toward the portal. Levr followed behind me.
"Levr. Can you go out through the portal?"
-Possible. I think so.
I froze.
Levr going out into reality? That was absolutely a bad idea. He was obeying me for now, but there was no guarantee he'd do the same outside. He was the Parasite Lord, called a natural disaster in the [Warmaker] world. If he caused even one incident, containing it would be next to impossible.
The silver lining was that with the 15-day summoning period, I could use a regression ticket to somehow clean up the mess.
'But I can't waste a regression ticket just to take him outside for something like this...'
So I had to kill Levr here. Could I? If I ambushed him before he could teleport away, it seemed possible.
"Levr. You're not going out. Stay here."
-You want me... dead?
"Yeah. You're too dangerous to bring outside."
I didn't want reality turning into an apocalypse. Even if Levr swore blind obedience, I couldn't trust it. And there was no reason to risk it all for a bug that wasn't even a beauty.
Levr stared at me blankly. He expressed his displeasure through his single, silent eye. I didn't budge.
-...Understood. I respect you.
"Good thinking. You'll die once here, but it's not real death—just a reverse summon to your home world. I'll summon you again later."
Of course, I had zero intention of summoning him back. Better to summon Miryung than this larva.
-Here... can I do as I please?
"Go wild. Just don't come out of the portal."
-Understood.
The dungeon would collapse soon anyway. Without leaving, there was nothing he could do inside. Flee to outside the city? Even if he did, how far could he get? Levr's teleport wasn't invincible.
"Alright, I'm off. See you later."
-Farewell.
"Yeah."
I left Levr behind and stepped through the portal out of the dungeon.
The space shifted abruptly. The Association staff waiting around the dungeon jumped in surprise. Among them was Kang Seok-su, who hadn't gone to the hospital. He dashed to my side, face etched with shock.
"You cleared the dungeon? How the hell?!"
"Your guess was off. Landed the finishing blow right, and it stayed down."
"Damn... Should've stuck it out longer on the clear. My hasty call wrecked my career."
Kang Seok-su sighed heavily.
Then the Association staff's questions poured in. They were extra interested due to the dungeon's unique nature. I gave them vague answers while watching the dungeon.
'Levr, that bastard might ignore me and come out. Gotta kill him the second he does.'
I couldn't easily trust the staff here. They were all weaker than me. So I kept watch myself. The dungeon vanished. Levr had kept his word.
I headed to the hospital with Kang Seok-su. My left ankle was still a bit off since I hadn't used Complete Recovery yet.
'Gotta play up the pain a little, then use Complete Recovery at home.'
And I had something to say to Kang Seok-su.
"Kang Seok-su. That offer you made before—still on the table?"
Bandages wrapped around his head, he widened his eyes in surprise before grinning.
"Of course. I figured you'd join us."
"Hilarious. I saw that shocked look just now."
"Word of warning: our funds aren't flush. Guild support's limited."
"Not asking for that. If I wanted perks, I'd go corporate. What matters is fair pay for work and respecting my decisions."
"Obvious. Seventy Tier's different from the rest. But you'll need to cooperate on guild matters."
"Got it. Guild's a guild. And a bigger Seventy Tier benefits me too."
I hashed out terms with Kang Seok-su, signed the contract, and went home.
???
Levr stared at the portal Sung Yu-jin had entered, lost in deep thought. Beyond it lay a planet teeming with countless hosts. Sung Yu-jin's reaction confirmed it. Yet Levr decided to obey.
He had a rough sense of Sung Yu-jin's abilities. They were beyond specs. Even with billions of parasite hosts, dealing with him would be tough. In the end, Levr would return to his world, and Sung Yu-jin's mind was more steadfast than his own.
Levr wandered the collapsing dungeon interior.
He craved reproduction. For him, it stemmed from raw survival instinct. Surrendering to death went against his nature.
And he found a way. Amid the crumbling little world, he spotted a rift leading elsewhere. His sensitivity to mental waves let him detect it.
-Not Sung Yu-jin's world. Another one.
From his brief analysis of Sung Yu-jin's personality, as long as his own world stayed fine, he'd ignore others. And hadn't he said to do as pleased, short of exiting the portal?
Levr issued telepathic orders to his parasite hosts.
Suicide.
The hosts and parasites met mass death. Not ordinary suicide—the energy the parasites had drained from hosts funneled straight to Levr.
-Energy sufficient.
Before teleporting, he peeked at the connected outer world. Immense presence there. Godlike. But the god was drifting away, interest lost in this collapsing realm.
Levr held no interest either. He knew he'd vanish naturally with it.
-Carelessness fatal.
Levr relished that arrogance. Called Parasite Lord, at core he was a parasite clinging to hosts for survival. The more a host let guard down, the better for the parasite. Sneaking in unnoticed was basics.
The world collapsed.
Space shattered, plummeting down. Awesome sight, but mere phenomenon.
Floating midair, Levr awaited perfect timing.
Rift nearly closed. Moment no one cared.
-Now.
Levr teleported successfully to another world.
A dark world. Corpses roamed, shrieking in agony. Monsters prowled everywhere, tormenting each other.
-Reproduction begin.
He scattered parasite bugs everywhere. Infesting anything possible.
-Infection activity premature. Skipping.
Mighty powers sensed. Indiscriminate infection like in Revilidi City would spell doom.
-Hosts temporary coexistence.
Hosts unaware, of course. One-sided.
-Hatchery production needed.
Deep underground, he needed parasite bug queens and hatcheries. He'd vanish in 15 days, but once established, his offspring would breed endlessly.
-Parasitize, evolve, reproduce.
The Parasite Lord began infesting the Evil God's domain.
15 days later, Levr reverse-summoned and vanished. But the hatcheries and queens he left obeyed: parasitizing, evolving, reproducing ceaselessly.
???
Back home, I used an appraisal scroll on the gloves from the dungeon clear. These scrolls are incredibly handy. They appraise nearly anything—even items from Playful Life app's random gacha.
The effect was top-tier. Pricey, though—one ran over 20 million won. Going to the Hunter Shop directly cost half that.
'Appraisal scrolls have their perks.'
Hunter Shop appraisals meant they learned the item's info. Leaks possible. Scrolls? No such worry.
Usage was simple: place item over or under, tear a corner.
Voilà—text appears on the scroll, naming and detailing abilities.
Real-world mages blather about cosmic records or whatever; I don't care about the principle. Convenient? Good enough.
'Let's see. Gloves called Inquisitor's Gloves. Name fits, no surprise. Effect...'
Once per 24 hours, imbue an item with holy power for 10 minutes.
'The power Coleman used on his flail?'
Holy power—devastating against evil or unclean foes. I smirked.
'Playful Life world's got plenty of demon types. These'll help big time. Slot into Radiant Ascension Path for upgrades. And time to head there.'
Not right now—rest first.
???
I entered the Radiant Ascension Path world.
Right now, it was me, Namgung Rin, Namgung Seol, and four coachmen driving the carriage as we left the Namgung family for Nakwol Mountain. The goal: cure Namgung Seol's poison meridian blockage. Seol and I had already exchanged betrothal vows. Rin tagged along officially to learn from the Nakwol Divine Maiden. Really, it was my dick pulling the strings.
No escorts for us.
The Namgung family trusted mine and Rin's skills—mine at Qi Consolidation Stage 3, precisely. And Anhui Province to Nakwol Mountain wasn't far. A week's carriage ride from Anhui. Close by this world's standards.
Just before leaving Anhui, Miryung sneaked aboard. She used sorcery to slip into the moving carriage past the coachman.
"Hubby! We're finally off!"
She plopped opposite me, bubbly. I sensed her sorcery's aura. Familiar—soundproofing the exterior.
"Why so thrilled?"
"Couldn't see you often back at Namgung's. No more sneaking around, right?"
"Nope. Though at Nakwol Mountain, we'll mind the Divine Maiden."
Nakwol Divine Maiden. Miryung sighed deeply at the name.
I kicked off my shoes and propped my foot on Namgung Rin's back. She was naked, prone on the carriage floor. Her pale back perfect height for it.
For reference, Namgung Seol beside me had her foot on Rin's head—shoes still on.
"Sister. Your pussy's been dripping nonstop, soiling the floor. Can't you hold it in?"