Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Time to Return
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Predator.
A cursed item that greedily devours everything from its wearer.
If there's nothing to feed it, it sucks up the wearer's HP until it leads to death.
Jun had first learned about the Predator from a post by a newbie on the community forums.
He found out later, but that newbie ended up becoming a legend among the veteran players.
It was that infamous of an incident.
'I got a good laugh out of that one too.'
One common habit among newbie RPG players was hoarding every piece of junk they came across.
They'd stash it all away just in case they might need it later.
Veteran players would scream in horror at the sight of those newbies' inventories and storage spaces.
For the old-timers, a messy real-life room was fine, but a cluttered in-game inventory was unacceptable.
'That was when some newbie posted about it.'
The poster was a junk collector too.
Having progressed a fair bit into the game, he'd realized most of his inventory trash was useless and asked the veterans for help.
He wanted them to pick out anything worth keeping from his inventory and storage.
Naturally, a swarm of vets jumped in, and the newbie dumped all the junk they flagged.
But this newbie had made it to mid-game and just happened to have a Predator.
'He said selling them one by one at the shop was a hassle, so he used the Predator like a trash bin.'
He grabbed some random low-level NPC, slapped the Predator on them, and fed it all his useless junk.
The Predator gobbled it up happily.
In the end, it recognized the low-level NPC as its master after filling its belly.
And that NPC grew into a solid tank character who shone even in the mid-to-late game.
'What a hilarious story.'
That newbie had stumbled onto a seriously useful hidden gem.
His post got talked about for ages.
Jun had seen the post and actually hunted down a Predator in-game to try it himself.
'And that's when I uncovered another hidden trick.'
That was when it happened.
Like pouring water into a parched well, the Predator had been slurping up mana nonstop, but now it started slowing down, taking in less and less.
Its belly was getting full.
This was after half a day.
'Not yet.'
But Jun had no intention of stopping there.
Instead, he channeled more mana to stuff it even fuller.
The thing resisted, but Jun was the one calling the shots from the start.
Ju... juuub...
Full belly or not.
Jun kept injecting mana into it relentlessly.
'This thing's a wild beast, even after recognizing its master.'
True to its name, the Predator wasn't some obedient artifact.
The moment it got a little hungry, it'd bare its teeth at its owner again, and when full, it ignored commands.
The trick was maintaining just the right level of fullness or hunger.
'But how do you even carry around something that dangerous?'
It wasn't just inconvenient—it was a nightmare.
That low-level NPC from before? Died when the Predator got hungry again.
No guarantee it wouldn't happen to him too.
So, 'Lee Jung-jun' had obsessed over various methods in the past, running countless trials.
And the result?
"Beasts have to be tamed, after all."
Taming doesn't work?
Then break its spirit. Inflict pain that sears into its bones.
Jun intended to teach it exactly that.
By putting restrictions on the very act of 'eating'.
Ju... juub...
Mana reached its limit. Any more and it'd break for sure.
Jun nailed the precise timing.
Something he'd botched dozens, hundreds of times in-game, reloading saves endlessly.
The absolute limit.
One more drop of mana and...
'It shatters.'
Nothing in the world was infinite, and neither was this thing's stomach.
It was utterly stuffed, no room left.
'Hold it here.'
Repeat the process over and over.
But don't just keep scaring it.
Otherwise, it'd fear eating anything at all.
Then the gauntlet would be useless.
Its true value shone when devouring things.
'The key is...'
Imprinting that bad behavior brings punishment.
Like sucking his blood without permission.
'Starve it to the brink, then stuff it to the brink.'
Jun planned to repeat this until it learned the meaning of 'permission'.
"Let's see who wins, you or me."
Of course, once mastered, 'Lee Jung-jun' had never lost a tug-of-war with it.
A hidden gem born from that newbie's luck and 'Lee Jung-jun's' research.
If perfected, this mid-tier gear—stuck at 3 or 4—would climb to top-tier 1.
A month passed.
In that time, Aiden and Maya fought brutal battles, dying several times a day.
Most were against Bern.
Unlike when he'd lost his mind to corruption's power, rational Bern was a monster.
Whoooosh—!!
His massive battle hammer sliced through the air like a stick, light as a feather.
But the power behind it was anything but light.
Maya, who'd just pierced Bern's shield for an opening, couldn't react in time.
"Hngh!"
On the other side, Aiden targeted Bern's rear.
A strike too fast for any normal knight.
But Bern was level 7.
He handled both attacks effortlessly.
Boom—!!
Acander's Fang blocked the battle hammer, but couldn't absorb all the shock.
No time for Maya to grimace from her shattered arms' agony before Bern twisted, slamming his shield into the Aiden behind him.
"Grraaah—!"
Not just blocking—Aiden screamed and flew back from the sheer burst of force.
In that instant, Aiden's body glowed.
Shaaaah—!
Blood-red aura flickered like flames before sinking into him.
More precisely, his artifact absorbed it.
His buff coat rustled wildly as beastly destructive power flooded his muscles.
The Destroyer's Hide activated.
Once a continent-shaking monster: the Minotaur.
A named one's hide, crafted by an unknown master smith.
Aiden kicked off the ground.
His body felt like it might crumble, but his strength overflowed.
[Charge]
The skill launched him like a cannonball.
The earth tore up in waves behind him.
"Hmph!"
The Cloudlight Sword clashed with Bern's shield again.
Bern grunted, stepping back two paces.
Tanking that without holy power was tough even for him.
As he swung his hammer to push Aiden back, refined killing intent bloomed right behind.
Maya.
[Spirit Rush]
She merged with the scenery, charging like a ghost.
Bern twisted for a counter but hurled his shield instead upon seeing her.
That eerie phasing ability had two weaknesses.
One: it couldn't pass through mana or holy power.
Two: to deal damage, she had to drop the state anyway.
Crack!
Bern blocked the lightning kick to his face.
Maya followed with her other foot for his jaw, but Bern moved faster than expected.
Kicks in midair lack power.
Her second missed, and Bern swung her like a club toward Aiden.
Thud—!
Aiden barely caught the flying Maya but lost his footing.
Then Bern's hammer crashed down on the pair.
They'd both turned toward him, so no embarrassing collisions.
But death's agony followed.
Whew.
Jun whistled at the scene.
"You alright?"
"Hahaha! Never better!"
Despite the words, Bern eyed his trembling arms.
He hadn't used holy power for training, but he'd nearly been overwhelmed.
Aiden's sword felt like facing a wild beast.
Maya's kick drilled through his hand into his shoulder, buzzing fiercely.
"Where'd you find these gems, anyway?"
"I didn't find them—they came to me."
"Hahaha! The gods must favor you!"
Tell that to the ones who let me end up here.
Jun muttered inwardly, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Bern continued.
"Don't you train at all?"
"Hm. Looks like slacking, but I'm grinding hard every day."
Who wouldn't?
The past month, he'd been so pressed for time even two bodies wouldn't suffice.
Unlike others, his training needed no partners.
This was just a short break.
Head to a secluded spot, and bones-melting pain awaited.
'This damn [Demon God Body] won't obey me.'
Like in the Qi, Gale, Fury, Wave's Deathly Forest.
Jun felt his [Demon God Body] mastery lacking.
Regretting it then, now he was fixing it.
A month's dedication showed results.
'I can control mana to a degree now.'
Still couldn't casually cast heart-image spells like before, but subtle mana handling improved.
'Costs me endless caution around others.'
His [Demon God Body] mana screamed like Aiden's—impossible to hide.
Fine for non-mages, but fellow mages saw through excuses instantly.
They'd sense something off right away.
No rule his master wouldn't target his heart too.
"Mm. Nothing beats physical training for efficiency! Care to join your friends sometime?"
"Hm... Can I put it off a bit?"
Bern's eyes sparkled.
A mage saying that meant he was prepping thoroughly.
"I'll wait. Hanging with young folks makes me feel young again!"
Hahaha!
Jun smiled back at laughing Bern, then glanced at his gauntlet.
Twitch.
It seemed to flinch.
Probably not imagination.
After a month, Jun felt he'd nearly tamed the Predator.
"In about two weeks, we can set a date."
He pulled a letter from his pocket.
"By the way, Sir Bern. Could you send this to the Black Forest?"
"What's it about?"
"To a friend who's probably settled in by now."
"Oh! Thought it was to a lady."
Jun tilted his head at Bern's sleazy grin.
It was a woman.
'Cloi. Hope you're doing well.'
Two months since the Gilenoi Merchant Guild raid.
Time to rebuild and rehang the sign.
'Can't just train forever. Time for real action.'
The call to return to the front lines had come.