The Porter's Power Is Revealed (3)
The final reward dropped.
It was a scroll.
◈ Tearing this scroll grants the skill 'Flash Step'.
◈ Flash Step: A martial artist's body technique that allows instantaneous high-speed movement across short distances. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
'What the hell is this?'
Junil's expression hardened.
'This thing is completely useless to me.'
Now he understood for certain.
The so-called "skills" granted here were nothing more than easy-install packages for techniques that were originally meant to be comprehended and mastered on one's own.
'There's even a damn cooldown.'
The Flash Step that Junil used by arranging his own mana had no such restrictions, yet this scroll clearly listed a cooldown.
It made sense. If anyone could use it just by thinking about it with zero understanding, the system had to slap on some kind of game-like penalty.
'If I learn this, will my perfectly functional Flash Step suddenly get a fifteen-second cooldown?'
Should he use it or not?
Junil fell into serious contemplation.
If he messed up, even the techniques he used freely might get corrupted.
-Why's his face like that lol -lmao for real -Flash Step's good tho??? -This is straight up broken -Wait didn't Junil already use this?
"What is it...? Is it not a good one?"
Chaeyoung, noticing Junil's stiff expression, asked from the side.
"Ah, no. Haha... It's a skill scroll. What would a porter even do with something like this?"
"Huh? Why? Shouldn't a porter have skills more than anyone? Besides the storage skill, you don't have anything..."
-lmao for real -(Interpretation) A mere porter daring to be picky~ -Storage skill my ass lmao -It's called inventory you idiots lol -lmao -Someone with nothing acting all high and mighty
"Um..."
Jeon Insoo cut Chaeyoung off.
"I think we should all get out of here quickly. We need to properly send off Seongwu as well..."
"......!"
That's right.
There had been a casualty.
Chaeyoung's face darkened again in an instant.
* * *
Corpse retrieval.
This was not the kind of work that people who, just days ago, had been graduate assistants or church pastors could easily handle.
"Oh God..."
Jeon Insoo had insisted he was the strongest and stepped forward to carry Kim Seongwu's body, but.
It wasn't a matter of strength.
"Ugh."
Looking at a goblin's corpse and looking at a human corpse were two completely different things.
Even the S-rank Kang Hae-il couldn't bring himself to step up.
In fact, he was standing farther away than anyone else.
He couldn't even look directly at the dead.
-Is Hae-il's mental state okay? -He was always a bit sensitive about stuff like this -Tsk tsk, no wonder people wonder how long he'll last
The Constellations were also worried about Kang Hae-il.
It seemed his mentality wasn't all that solid.
-But what the hell does this guy even do? -He's farming in the middle of this lmao -This dude is actually a psycho lol -Sagosul = Psycho Goblin Slayer
Meanwhile, Junil had gone over to the Champion Goblin's corpse instead of Seongwu's.
He was busy stuffing the heavy iron mace, helmet, armor, and even the decorative items the Champion Goblin had been carrying into his inventory.
"What are you doing?"
Kang Hae-il finally spoke up, unable to watch any longer.
"Isn't this my job? I'll sell it all later and split the money."
"...Do you really think that stuff will turn into money?"
"In games it does, right? Can't you see everything's become like a game now?"
Even though this was Moon Junil's first time experiencing Ram's world, he was adapting at an astonishing speed.
It was only natural.
The difference between someone who'd been through this once and someone who hadn't was massive.
And Junil had been through it seven times.
"Ha..."
Kang Hae-il let out a sigh.
His gaze flicked toward Kim Seongwu's corpse.
'This bastard Hae-il, is he trying to make me do it?'
It looked like Kang Hae-il wanted to ask Junil to help with the body.
Only then did Junil turn to look at the two people fumbling awkwardly with the corpse.
'Ha. What a sight.'
They could barely even touch it.
"Should I handle that too?"
"......!"
Kang Hae-il's eyes widened.
His expressions were so easy to read.
That was what made him seem like a boy.
"Can you do it?"
"I'm the porter, after all... I'll just put the body in my inventory."
"...Your inventory?"
-lmao -Body going into inventory lmao -I'm dying lol -His face lol
"Is there any other way?"
"...R-right."
The man who had seemed fearless and downright thuggish against dungeon monsters was now stuttering in front of a corpse.
'So there is a limit.'
Thinking that, Junil stored the last item left by the Champion Goblin and approached Jeon Insoo and Kim Chaeyoung.
"Step aside, everyone. I'll take care of it."
"...What? No, I'll do it."
"You've been standing there doing nothing for almost fifteen minutes now."
Junil checked his watch as he spoke.
"W-well..."
Kim Chaeyoung lowered her gaze.
Kim Seongwu's body hadn't died cleanly.
He'd been smashed by a mace.
The state of the corpse was so gruesome it was hard to even describe out loud.
"Up we go."
Yet Junil simply lifted the body and tossed it straight into his inventory.
Thud.
"!?"
"!"
Both of them froze at the shocking sight.
"...Ah, I already talked to Mr. Kang Hae-il about this. I tried putting something in earlier. It works. Living things don't go in, though."
-lmao holy shit -This guy is straight up a killer lmao -This crazy bastard lol -Where did he learn to handle bodies like he's killed hundreds of people... -Whoa whoa whoa
Junil himself hadn't realized it, but his actions just now looked utterly grotesque to ordinary people.
'What? Was that weird?'
No matter how good he was at acting, he couldn't completely bridge that cultural gap.
This hadn't been intentional.
'It was completely normal in the Middle Ages.'
These people were modern humans. Junil was essentially a medieval one.
And not just any medieval person—one who'd spent his life on battlefields.
On the outside he looked like any other Korean, but on the inside he was already a completely different being.
"Um... You can take it back out, right?"
"Of course. No blood gets on the other items. Don't worry. Let's head out."
"That's not what I'm worried about!"
"?"
Kim Chaeyoung finally raised her voice, but.
"Ah... No... I'm sorry."
She quickly apologized.
She had lost all words at the sight of Junil looking back at her as if asking what the problem was.
'I couldn't even touch it myself.'
There was nothing she could do.
-No blood gets on it lmao -lmao -No blood~ Dude sounds like a used car salesman lol -This guy is seriously missing a screw -Hae-il is panicking lol -We need the porter... right?
* * *
Outside the dungeon.
Surprisingly, several people were waiting.
There were even people who looked like reporters.
"You're the S-rank Kang Hae-il, correct? Did you just clear this dungeon?"
One person immediately shoved a microphone forward.
"How did you..."
Kang Hae-il was wondering how they knew who he was.
"We can see the participant list even from outside the dungeon!"
Other Awakened had tried to enter the dungeon only to find it was already full.
The list had apparently spread the rumor that an S-rank had entered.
"Wow, it's really an S-rank."
"This is insane."
"Is that him? Whoa... He looks different even at a glance."
The crowd buzzed.
'Damn... This is annoying.'
Junil hadn't expected to be exposed to people like this again.
Fortunately, no one paid the slightest attention to the F-rank human named Moon Junil.
"Mr. Kang Hae-il? The government announced they're creating a state-controlled Hunter system. What are your thoughts on that..."
"What was inside the dungeon? Were the photos posted on the community real?"
Every question was directed at Kang Hae-il.
The spotlight poured down on him alone.
Because he was the first discovered S-rank Awakened.
Of course, an F-rank had been discovered for the first time too.
But no one cared.
"Could you tell us what awakening skill you received!? How many goblins did you kill!?"
"Have you ever met the person called Sagosul? If the two of you fought, who would win?!"
-Who would win my ass lol -These damn reporters are crazy lmao -lmao
Thud—
Kang Hae-il pushed the camera away.
"This isn't the time for answers. One of the people who fought with us inside died."
At his words, everyone fell silent.
"D-died?"
"Really?"
"Even with an S-rank there?"
"Was the dead guy an F-rank?"
"F-ranks can die and it's whatever."
The crowd murmured.
They apparently hadn't expected any casualties inside the dungeon.
They must have assumed an S-rank's potential would let him clear it easily with overwhelming power.
But reality was that potential was just potential.
"We need to hand over the body, so please make way."
"Where is the body? Who was it?"
"......"
Kang Hae-il glared fiercely at the reporter who kept asking questions.
"It's with our party's porter. I'm not telling you who it was. Just get out of the way."
"O-our porter?"
Everyone looked around at the word "porter."
There was no one carrying an enormous amount of luggage anywhere.
-Our party? -He said "our"... -lmao porter -He said "our" T_T
* * *
Kim Seongwu's body was taken away by staff dispatched from the funeral home.
The people who appeared to be his family wailed loudly when they saw the state of the corpse.
Among them, his mother approached.
"Th-thank you. I heard a student dragged the body out for us... that you had that kind of ability... Thank you so much."
She took both of Junil's hands and expressed her gratitude.
"Ah, yes..."
Junil couldn't say much.
«Sir Julian. I am truly grateful.» «H-hero. Thanks to you! Thanks to you the village has come back to life! Sob...! Thank you!»
Memories of the past came flooding back.
Yes, this kind of thing had been quite common.
He felt no particular emotion.
That's how it should have been.
'Damn it.'
Junil's hands were trembling faintly.
He was used to death itself, but perhaps not to what came after.
'Let's get out of here. I'm sleepy.'
Junil felt it was time to leave.
These kinds of places were uncomfortable, and fatigue was starting to hit him.
He walked over to Kang Hae-il to say goodbye.
"Thank you all for your hard work. I'll look into how to handle the items and contact you."
"...Just take them."
"Pardon?"
Kang Hae-il waved his hand as if annoyed.
"Take them. You had the highest contribution. You."
The other party members all nodded in agreement.
"Yes. If it weren't for Mr. Junil today, we all would have died."
"Exactly. Please take them, Mr. Porter."
Junil was a little flustered.
He hadn't expected them to just hand everything over.
'This would convert to quite a lot of mana stones.'
They were probably saying it because they didn't know the value.
He could already hear Kang Hae-il's Constellations screaming from here.
-Agh fuck, Hae-il you idiot! -Being a pushover again lmao -This guy is such a sucker T_T -Hey dumbass!
'That's probably what they're saying.'
Had Julian been like this in his first round?
Had he been this much of a pushover?
'But...'
Being on the receiving end of that pushover behavior wasn't so bad.
So this was how his comrades back then had felt.
'Still, it feels wrong to just take it.'
After thinking for a moment, Junil reached into his inventory.
"Alright. Then at least take this."
It was the scroll.
"This is... the first-place reward. Why are you giving it to me? I don't want it."
"Come on. What would a porter do with something like this? Just keep it."
The scroll he pushed back into Kang Hae-il's hands.
-What kind of bribe is this lmao -Such a big-hearted guy whoa -This? -Fact) He's giving back something that was originally supposed to be Hae-il's. -Why is he giving it? -He stole the last hit on the boss and is laundering it now lol -Huh? -This is wholesome T_T -Showing off with stolen goods lol
"I said I don't want it."
"Agh! Damn... Hae-il! I really don't need it!?"
"Whoa... Why are you yelling?"
He really didn't need this scroll.
He already knew how to use Flash Step. Learning it from a scroll would only add a cooldown.
In that case, building trust with Kang Hae-il was far more important.
Give and take was the foundation of human relationships.
If he couldn't even manage that, earning trust was impossible.
Above all—
'Just take it and don't die randomly somewhere.'
Judging by Kang Hae-il's condition today, it seemed like he needed at least one escape skill.
So Junil practically forced it on him and left.
"Then I'm going!"
Whoosh!
After Junil practically ran away, Kang Hae-il unfolded the scroll.
"Flash Step..."
It was definitely a skill that would be incredibly helpful for someone who fought in a martial artist style like him.
"Not bad."
Rip.
He tore the scroll while watching the porter's retreating back.
"The porter class... isn't as bad as I thought, huh?"
Like he always said, ranks were just numbers.
Kang Hae-il added.
"Ha, hahaha..."
"Hmm... Is it really that good...?"
The rest of the party didn't seem to agree.
Still, it looked like Hae-il had come to trust Junil at least a little.
Which was why this message appeared for Junil.
Ding!
Hidden Quest Completed!