Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Cut Losses
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‘Short-range spatial teleportation?’
Such a skill did exist.
But it was extremely rare.
Even Jamie, the Flame Knight and guild master of a massive guild, hadn’t obtained a skillbook for it yet.
The Flame Knight Jamie approached another enemy surrounded by his subordinates and launched an attack.
But.
Swoosh!
Boom!
The same thing happened again.
The enemy vanished just before his attack could land.
‘What the hell?’
Two people who had mastered that rare short-range spatial teleportation skill?
‘Is that even possible?’
Skills that manipulated space couldn’t be that common.
Even if they had short-range spatial teleportation, dodging out of Jamie’s senses in that split second was impossible.
‘Is this Zhonghua Guild’s hidden strength?’
Cold sweat beaded on the Flame Knight Jamie’s back.
“Woooah!”
“He took another one down!”
“No matter how much those bastards rampage, they’re still in the palm of the Guild Master’s hand!”
His subordinates cheered, assuming Jamie had eliminated the enemy.
‘I need to inform only my close aides and keep it secret from the guild members.’
There was no need to spread it widely and lower morale.
But an investigation was necessary.
Only then could he uproot the Zhonghua Guild after the forced descent ritual ended.
“Guild Master! The intruders have fled outside the castle walls! What should we do?”
Jamie scowled at the report from one of his executives.
‘It’s a trap.’
The odds were high.
“We won’t pursue.”
The guild house had been attacked.
In such a situation, giving up the chase?
Morale among the guild members would plummet.
And that wasn’t all.
Cabal Guild’s reputation would take a massive hit publicly.
But there was no choice.
He had to play it safe until the forced descent ritual concluded.
That was the Flame Knight Jamie’s decision.
“Spread the word far and wide that we eliminated two ranker intruders.”
It was false information.
But to boost guild morale and minimize reputational damage, it was unavoidable.
* * *
‘Not a single loss.’
A satisfied smile crept across Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
It was a shame that Cabal Guild and Zhonghua Guild hadn’t clashed.
But thanks to the perfectly timed reverse summoning, he hadn’t lost a single summon.
Even if he had, he could revive them by investing stats.
‘Still, better to conserve stats as much as possible.’
Once Dragon King Kyung Wi-gang returned, all-out war would erupt between Zhonghua Guild and Cabal Guild.
Countless named players and rankers would die.
To create as many useful summons as possible for then?
He needed to hoard stats diligently from now on and minimize spending.
‘Time to collect the balance.’
The plan had failed.
‘But I kept my promise.’
Zhonghua Guild had demanded he strike Cabal Guild’s guild house and escape to the location they specified.
Kang Hyun-soo had done his part, so he deserved the remaining payment.
Plus, Zhonghua Guild currently believed two of the five Korean rankers were dead.
So even excessive demands would.
‘Have to be accepted.’
While continuing his hunt, Kang Hyun-soo connected with the Sword Ghost via mind link.
“Hand over ten A-Rank items.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s demand, Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong frowned.
“The operation failed. And you’re demanding items?”
“We faithfully carried out your request. We even lost two comrades in the process.”
“Keep moving until the operation succeeds. Then I’ll keep my promise.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. We upheld our end. Hand over the items. If you want to give us another job, prepare real S-Rank items this time.”
Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong pondered Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
‘Sacrifices are inevitable anyway.’
If sacrifices were unavoidable?
It was more rational to pay mercenaries for them.
“But do you even have the strength left?”
They’d gone from five to three.
They likely lacked the power to cause more trouble.
“We’re not a small group.”
“What?”
“Hundreds of comrades are on standby. Pay the right price, and they’ll move immediately.”
Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong’s expression hardened at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
‘Is that really possible?’
They were enemies of Cabal Guild.
Naturally, operating in the major city of Dion was impossible.
The only nearby major city was Luzavenu.
But he’d never heard of hundreds of players appearing there.
“Can you prove it?”
“If you want.”
The opponent’s confident demeanor didn’t seem like a lie.
“Bring them.”
Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong gestured.
One of his trusted aides brought pre-prepared items.
“These are the ten promised A-Rank items. I’ll also pay ten A-Rank items as an advance for additional missions.”
“Fifteen A-Rank items upfront.”
“What?”
“We didn’t know this mission would be this dangerous. I could die, or my comrades could. We need at least thirty more A-Rank items minimum.”
“Ugh.”
Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong’s face twisted.
He’d already paid twenty A-Rank items.
Another thirty on top?
It wasn’t impossible.
Zhonghua Guild had suffered heavy losses among its 600-700 level players in the last war.
But their equipment belonged to the guild.
It was stored in the warehouse to be redistributed once 600-700 level players were replenished.
‘If I don’t rehire these guys, those twenty A-Rank items are gone.’
With the operation failed, they were as good as lost anyway.
‘Just capture them?’
Then he might recover the SS-Rank items already paid.
‘No, I can do that anytime.’
Right now, the priority was earning major credit.
“Is that a no?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s question.
“No, I accept.”
Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong called out.
“Bring the exact amount.”
At his order.
His trusted aide brought the items.
“Until you succeed.”
“Got it.”
Kang Hyun-soo and Demon-Exterminating Spear Jin Gu-pyeong’s contract was renewed.
* * *
That evening.
After finishing his hunt and returning to his lodging, Kang Hyun-soo gazed at the whopping twenty-five A-Rank items with a bright smile.
‘Enough to evolve them into S-Rank.’
Kang Hyun-soo checked the item info.
‘Plenty of useful ones this time.’
Before, they’d only given him off-meta weapons.
But now, quite a few meta weapons were included.
Each had a flaw, though.
‘The options suck.’
Meta weapons, but with off-meta options.
‘Song Ha-na can use this one.’
Kang Hyun-soo picked up a longsword.
It had an off-meta magic skill attack boost option.
It did have a physical skill attack boost too.
But for a pure swordsman, it was worthless.
For a magic swordsman like Song Ha-na?
Perfect.
‘Similar options to her current B-Rank longsword, so she’ll adapt easily.’
Kang Hyun-soo focused mana into Gluttony’s Sword.
Swoosh!
Gluttony’s Sword devoured the A-Rank items indiscriminately.
After about five.
[Gluttony’s Sword has grown from A-Rank to S-Rank.]
Gluttony’s Sword reached S-Rank.
‘S-Rank now.’
Still a long way to go.
‘I’ll set this one aside.’
Excluding the longsword for Song Ha-na, he fed all remaining A-Rank items to Gluttony’s Sword.
But no change.
‘SS-Rank is too much, huh.’
No need to worry, though.
There was a way to evolve Gluttony’s Sword to SS-Rank soon, low success rate or not.
“Hand it over.”
Kang Hyun-soo extended his hand to the Sword Ghost.
The Sword Ghost politely handed over the SS-Rank item, Sword of Annihilation.
‘Devour it.’
Mana poured from Gluttony’s Sword once more.
Swoosh!
But.
Boom!
As expected, Sword of Annihilation emitted powerful mana, repelling Gluttony’s Sword’s mana.
[Gluttony’s Sword (S-Rank) failed to absorb Sword of Annihilation (SS-Rank).]
‘Not even one rank difference works.’
He couldn’t help but frown.
‘So only same rank or lower for sure.’
Pushing with quantity wasn’t easy either.
‘Will it even eat C-Rank items now?’
Now S-Rank, its tastes had likely upgraded, increasing rejection chances.
‘Gotta hold onto it for now.’
“Use it.”
Kang Hyun-soo handed Sword of Annihilation back to the Sword Ghost.
‘Looks like Sword of Annihilation is fated to stay in the Sword Ghost’s hands until Gluttony’s Sword hits SS-Rank.’
Kang Hyun-soo stood up.
Now it was time to give Song Ha-na her gift.
“What’s this?”
Song Ha-na looked curiously at the sword Kang Hyun-soo handed her.
“Your new weapon.”
“Thanks!”
Song Ha-na beamed, took the sword, and checked its info.
And.
“Wow!”
A bright smile bloomed across her face.
A-Rank.
And the options were perfect for a magic swordsman like her.
“Thanks so much, Hyun-soo.”
Song Ha-na felt great.
But also a bit guilty.
As far as she knew, Kang Hyun-soo’s weapon, Gluttony’s Sword, was still A-Rank.
“Wouldn’t it be better to feed it to Gluttony’s Sword? You need to get it to S-Rank faster.”
She felt burdened using a weapon on par with Kang Hyun-soo’s.
“No worries. It just evolved to S-Rank.”
“Really?”
Knowing Kang Hyun-soo wielded an S-Rank weapon eased her mind.
“Must be nice, with S-Rank this and A-Rank that.”
The Beast Emperor grumbled, pouting.
‘Hasn’t evolved it yet?’
As far as Kang Hyun-soo knew, the Beast Emperor’s weapon, Gauntlets of the Beast King, could grow to EX-Rank.
Its options were so good that, if not for the activation conditions, Kang Hyun-soo would want them himself—top-tier stuff.
‘Well, that makes sense.’
He’d known Gluttony’s Sword’s growth conditions from the start.
But he didn’t know Ring of Protection or Ice King’s Necklace’s.
‘Finding them was pure luck.’
He’d gained those by learning defense skills and venturing to the frigid plains.
‘Surely those have conditions too.’
If he found them?
He could evolve the Gauntlets of the Beast King.
“Why so jealous? Your weapon’s amazing too. Option-wise, it’s top B-Rank.”
“Yeah, but still, B-Rank’s B-Rank, not A-Rank.”
At Song Ha-na’s rebuke, the Beast Emperor’s ears drooped as he muttered.
‘Gotta drop a hint.’
If the Beast Emperor later saw an A-Rank fighter weapon and tried swapping, it’d be a headache.
Ditching a growth-type item that could reach EX-Rank for something buyable with money? No way.
“What if that one’s growth-type too?”
“Huh?”
The Beast Emperor’s eyes sparkled at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“Gluttony’s Sword is growth-type. Ring of Protection was too. Just a thought.”
“Really? Growth-types aren’t common, though.”
True.
Before regression, only eleven growth-type items were officially known.
Some like Ice King’s Necklace or Gauntlets of the Beast King were mistaken for completed items.
Unofficial growth-types existed too.
But overall, growth-types were exceedingly rare.
Most low-to-mid level players probably didn’t even know they existed.
‘That’s how someone like me can suck the honey.’
If someone else got Gluttony’s Sword, Ring of Protection, or Ice King’s Necklace?
Would they evolve them properly?
Unless they luckily met the conditions?
‘They’d think it’s a plain F-Rank and sell it to a shop.’
Maybe some growth-type items were still gathering dust in shops, unrecognized, like Ice King’s Necklace.
“No harm in trying.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, the Beast Emperor nodded.
“Got it. I’ll give it a shot. Worst case, back to square one.”
“Yeah, keep at it. Don’t give up.”
Kang Hyun-soo earnestly added encouragement.
Because.
‘It’s not worst case back to square one. Worst case, it’s a huge loss.’
Gauntlets of the Beast King were future EX-Rank items.
Kang Hyun-soo desperately hoped the Beast Emperor wouldn’t grab an A-Rank item and sell the B-Rank Gauntlets of the Beast King to a shop in some disaster.
Well, he’d prevent that catastrophe with ironclad defense anyway.