Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: The Calm Before the Storm VER.C.PRIM
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While making preparations, time had steadily piled up, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
The day of the long-prepared assault was right around the corner.
Dun was now 15 years old.
Sitting in a chair, Dun tried to blow away the hair stabbing at his face and flick it back.
"Dun, hold still. It'll be hard to cut your hair like that."
Snip. Snip.
Rihowel began moving the barber scissors through Dun's light brown hair, which reached down to his waist.
Strands of hair started piling up on the floor.
"You've seemed really busy lately. What have you been up to?"
"I always write it down in my picture diary."
Bits of hair fell on the bridge of his nose, tickling him.
Phew, phew. He blew them away and shook his head.
"Agh, Dun, hold on! If you shake your hair like that...!"
Snip!
Plop, plop.
The hair was cut and fell to the floor.
While trimming his bangs, Rihowel had accidentally lopped off a huge chunk of Dun's front hair.
"......"
"......"
Dun stared at the chunk of his hair that had fallen off.
"Mom."
"Y-Yeah...?"
"Mom."
"Y-Yes...?"
"Mom."
Dun, now with bangs that looked like they'd been gnawed by a rat, stared intently at Rihowel.
His eyes were full of resentment.
"W-Well, who shakes their head while getting a haircut! I did my best..."
"......"
His short bangs exposed his forehead completely. Below it was a pretty decent face.
Checking the mirror, Dun hung his head low.
"It's okay. Hair grows back fast... Dun? Look at Mom. Dun?"
Dun brushed his bangs aside and tried sweeping his hair back before looking in the mirror again.
"Huh. Even like this, my face looks fine."
With his looks pulling it off, the messy hair somehow gave off a pretty hip vibe.
"...Want a wig, Dun?"
"No need."
After tidying up just the uneven parts, Dun headed out of the general store despite Rihowel's worries.
Today was the day to drop the teaser for the massive quest coming up.
He had gathered key players and guilds at the predetermined spot.
* * *
「[Dun Board] What happened to Dun-jo's bangs?
Fucking hilarious lmao did a rat eat them or what
RatHairDun.jpg (photo attached)
AppleHeadDun.jpg (photo attached)
So funny lololol why are your bangs like that? Asked him and he said his mom cut them and went full Talula shield lmao
Looked so stupid lololol
Oh shit cuz of the bangs I zoned out and accidentally hit reject on the quest fml
Gotta take the beg Dun for quest mercy route.
-Lmao Talula shield lol so smart lololol
-NPC rescue quest or something
-Yeah, capital region NPC rescue quest」
「[Dun Board] Rumor that Dun's prepping a rebellion
Middle schooler vs emperor real?? My heart swells at the plausibility of the ni-pin rebellion content...
-lol
-Cried then ignored lol!」
「[Dun Board] I fucking hate Dun
Hate hate can't understand people who like him ㅠ
If you agree come here -> https://cafe.naver.com/dawnhate
-What do you mean come here;; just plug your nose and die quietly
-Got your item snatched? Lmao
-Modern art of overimmersion」
「[Dun Board] Dun hair diary
PonytailDun.jpg (photo attached)
BobDun.jpg (photo attached)
BaldyDun.jpg (photo attached)
LonghairDun.jpg (photo attached)
RatHairDun.jpg (photo attached)
AppleHeadDun.jpg (photo attached)
Love Dun.... Hate Sara.... Love Jjoa....」
「[Dun Board] So who's rebelling anyway?
Dun said it's not him rebelling. Just that the vibe's intense so he's prepping civilians to evacuate if shit hits the fan.
Our city mayor sucks so much at gate evac prep, Dun's way better
-Love Dun
-Ruthless to us but takes great care of his circle
-Just from what he said at the last proxy live yeah
-Think about it, all the top hunters he raised are NPC simps
-Wahh I'm a simp baby user. Raise me too」
「[Hunter Info Board] Hunter from the Association who looks like Dun lololol
(video link)
Suddenly showed up at the Mochibol live and did some parkour tricks lolololol
Unawakened but so cool
Kinda has that unique speech and vibe, doesn't he? Like if Dun was born there it'd be exactly that feel
On my Nth rewatch lololol
-Oh
-Saw that vid, speech is total thug;; felt bad for Mochibol looking awkward
-Guy's kinda famous. Apparently the leader-type among the crazy berserker Association hunters
-lol immature
-Didn't he say unawakened? Lol why show off
-Why so big. Like wild Dun
-Among those monster physiques from the Association, being the only unawakened one ㄷㄷ must feel shitty」
* * *
I Saewol lay alone on the training ground floor, catching her breath.
Sweat poured down her forehead as she grabbed the water bottle beside her and chugged it down.
This seemed like a good point to end the stamina-boosting run.
I Saewol looked at her phone.
D-103
At least 103 days until the Association President caught on to the kids she'd siphoned off to the second headquarters.
She'd been playing a precarious game of tug-of-war, keeping it just on the edge of discovery.
Now it was finally time to escape this damn Abyssal Project.
[I Saewol: Got nothing for me to do?]
Ever since getting her own room, this was one of the questions she asked Seol Doyun most often.
She'd been focusing on awakening and couldn't fully join the plan, and that had carried over to now.
She heard that contacting targets and building connections—stuff she'd done before—was being handled by the Yoo siblings, who had ties to chaebols.
A new message notification popped up.
[Seol Doyun: Yeah]
[I Saewol: For real?]
[Seol Doyun: Yup]
Locking her phone, I Saewol clicked her tongue and shook off the vague emptiness.
She felt like she should be doing something, but chasing a useless awakening by running gates was hitting her with reality.
Riiiing.
Right on cue, a phone call came in.
Foreign Hunter Associations sometimes visited to check out hunter capsules or products, and I Saewol occasionally explained open gates that research had wrapped up on.
That led to personal calls like this for guidance.
She was practically Association staff at this point.
"Ah, hi. This is Dun."
I Saewol wiped her sweat with her t-shirt and answered.
"No no. Not time. Not fucking time. Time fuck no. Oh my god. My English name! My name is Dun."
They never got that it wasn't "time," it was his name.
"What? No! No, no no. You go there monster die. Okay?"
This level of English was easy as pie now.
"Thanks Dun? Ah. Okay. At least say thank you in Korean you punk."
Hanging up, I Saewol yawned hugely and opened the 'Korean Gates' app.
She was scouting obscure, lesser-known open gates.
In the massive plan underway, this seemed to be her role for now.
After saving the gate info and sharing it with Seol Doyun, I Saewol slung a towel over her shoulder and left the training ground.
* * *
Dun checked out the training ground where the secret army raised by Count Colin Altoid was practicing.
"Greetings, sir!!!"
The moment he entered, they lined up in formation. A thunderous voice welcomed him.
Colin had amassed a considerable secret army by relentlessly raiding slave caravans.
They all looked well-fed, well-rested, and well-trained—healthy and robust.
"It's been a while, Dun."
Colin, puffing on his pipe, came out of the mansion to greet him.
They'd always communicated by letter, so seeing her face-to-face after so long had him a bit tense.
Face-to-face, he feared she might change her mind and kill him painfully.
So he'd worked his ass off like before.
But in a different way.
Gathering, raising, and feeding slaves.
Now she was probably here to inspect if he'd done as the letters instructed.
Colin was a little scared of Dun.
"Dun?"
Dun, standing with hands behind back and a stern posture, turned around.
"...?"
His bangs were comically chopped. Below them, his face looked perfectly calm, like what’s the problem?
"Secret army status report."
"...Got it."
Raising an eyebrow and exhaling pipe smoke, Colin walked around explaining.
As he reported his achievements, the fear gradually faded.
The total secret army he'd gathered by raiding slave caravans: 800 strong.
About 30% demi-humans, the remaining 70% all humans.
An astonishing 97% of the slaves were willing to fight in the war.
Once the rebellion ended, they yearned to shed their slave status and live a proper second life.
That drive for life gave them exceptional growth rates.
"This should be enough to match the existing army we're raising, right?"
Colin gauged Dun's reaction.
Truth be told, he'd promised 1,000 to Dun, but there weren't as many slaves as expected.
So Colin had gone with quality over quantity.
All 800 that Dun had inspected so far were solid in skill, but he worried she'd ask why he hadn't hit 1,000.
He decided to get ahead of it.
"I focused intensely on each soldier's growth. I don't know the level of your five armies, but one-on-one, these guys hit harder. Couldn't meet the numbers, but I balanced it with quality."
"Feels like it. Must be from running those slave caravan ops—you've trained them well."
Colin's face paled instantly.
The fear that had vanished due to the hair rushed back.
"You treat the troops great. Check the morale—every soldier praises my character. Strict when needed, lenient when it fits..."
He hadn't wanted to brag, but fearing Dun might change her mind and torture him to death, Colin hastily added more.
"Yeah, yeah."
Dun half-listened, pulling out nut cookies Rihowel had given her from her inventory and munching.
Then she took out a thick sandwich she'd bought from the village tavern below and handed it to Colin.
"Rehire the head chef you fired. I'll cover the cost to bring him back."
"Huh? Oh... Got it."
Taking the sandwich with an awkward expression, Colin looked at Dun.
He hadn't planned to rehire the chef after firing him.
Raising the army meant expenses outstripped income—no budget for staff.
He'd been surviving on takeout from the city, hood up.
"You brought this sandwich for me on purpose...?"
"Nah, leftovers from the tavern's freebie."
For tavern freebie leftovers, the lettuce in the sandwich looked awfully fresh.
"Haha... Thanks a ton."
Colin was a bit uneasy.
He hadn't met the troop numbers, so why the kindness?
Working under his father for years, he knew how owners viewed slaves.
They might treat you well now, but without proven use, your status flips fast.
His father had acted nice then ditched him quick when results lagged.
"More importantly, Dun, aren't you looking for a spot to temporarily evacuate people when the rebellion hits? You can use part of my territory."
"Yeah?"
"Yep."
Dun nodded.
"Perfect. I was scouting empty lots."
As Dun smiled, Colin lit another cigarette, looking anxious.
"No comment on not hitting 1,000 secret troops?"
"You focused on building skills instead. Didn't pad numbers with invasions either."
"True, but..."
Dun not reprimanding him was making him jittery. Something should be coming...
"If you did your best within your limits, leave the rest to me. I'm the overall head for the secret army."
"......"
Dun pulled out a notebook and jotted down the total forces Colin had described.
Alright, time for the tally.
Known Imperial forces: about 10,000.
Over five years, Prim's gathered and trained forces: 1st Army ~1,000, 2nd ~1,500, 3rd ~1,500, 4th 500.
Of the 5th Army, troops actually fit for combat: total 4,500.
Add the secret army and the guys at Dabok: about 5,500.
Adventurers not included. Too many wild cards.
For forces raised in secret without detection, that was impressive.
Numbers and power were inevitably short, so the rest hinged on strategy.
Clicking her pen, Dun stared at the troop counts she'd raised so diligently.
Hoping it all went to plan.