Chapter 123
Chapter 123
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Fan Meeting
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Uhhh..."
Choi Dong-wook, the mad scientist who turned humans into chimeras, drooled with a dazed look in his eyes.
*Smack-!*
"Hey, you bastard! Can't you speak clearly?"
One of the underground lab's researchers smacked the back of Choi Dong-wook's head and barked at him.
At that, Choi Dong-wook snapped to his senses for a moment and wiped away his drool.
"Sigh. Lastly, 5,000 ml of gargoyle cerebrospinal fluid... Uuuhhh..."
But it wasn't long before he lost focus again and began to dribble.
*Whish- Whish-.*
When the researcher gestured with an annoyed expression, another researcher appeared, wheeled Choi Dong-wook away, and disappeared.
"I'll prepare for the surgery now."
Then, he poured one and a half buckets of a viscous liquid he'd brought into a large tank.
*Bubble- bubble-.*
Bubbles frothed as an unidentifiable, hazy gas rose from the surface.
The transparent tank momentarily emitted a bright light before gradually calming down.
"Bring him in."
Soon after, Kang Young-chan appeared, lying on a portable bed.
The researchers slowly submerged Kang Young-chan in the tank.
"Let's begin."
Do-jae, who had been sitting and watching, approached the tank.
Beneath the skin of the naked Kang Young-chan, black cores could be seen embedded.
A researcher wearing thin gloves reached into the tank and began to slice into Kang Young-chan's flesh.
*Slice-.*
*Sliide-!*
The first core came out.
A little blood flowed out and mixed with the liquid in the tank, turning it murky.
Do-jae immediately neutralized Kang Young-chan's chaotically mixed mana by clashing it with his own.
*Clang-.*
The researcher dropped the extracted core onto a stainless steel tray and brought a scalpel to bear to remove the second one.
*Clink-.*
*Clang-.*
One after another, the black cores were removed.
After removing the third core and just as he was about to take out the fourth, the researcher suddenly stopped and switched to a new scalpel.
"The blade dulls quickly."
The researcher was also an Awakened, not an ordinary human.
Yet, even the scalpel he held became completely blunted after just a few cuts, a testament to how Kang Young-chan's skin still possessed the toughness befitting an S-rank.
"It will get easier as more cores are removed. Please continue."
At Do-jae's words, the researcher once again cut into Kang Young-chan's flesh.
Because the cores were so thin, the bleeding wasn't severe, and the frequency of changing scalpels decreased as he continued to remove them.
*Clatter-.*
Finally, the last core was extracted, and the researcher stood up.
"You've worked hard."
The time it took to remove all the cores from Kang Young-chan's body was a full two hours.
Having removed a staggering 78 cores, the researcher's back was soaked with sweat.
"This is not an easy task. It seems it will take quite a while to treat all the remaining people."
"Yes, let's proceed step by step, starting with the most critical cases."
"Understood. Well then, I'll be on my way..."
As the exhausted researcher left, Do-jae looked at Kang Young-chan, who had been taken out of the tank.
Unlike before the surgery, color had returned to his face, and though he hadn't regained consciousness, his breathing was steady.
*'His level dropped to around 70...'*
Seen through the Eye of the Golem, all of Kang Young-chan's stats and his level had dropped compared to before the surgery.
Most of his skills had also vanished, leaving only a few that were presumed to have existed before he was enhanced with the Transcendence Stone.
*'This confirms it. The mana from the Sealed Memory grants an effect similar to a reawakening at level 80.'*
Do-jae had continuously observed Kang Young-chan with the Eye of the Golem while the cores were being removed.
Each time a core was removed and the mana of the Transcendence Stone was erased, Kang Young-chan's level steadily dropped.
And the moment it fell below 80, the skills that had made Kang Young-chan an S-rank vanished.
It would likely be the same for the other members of the Suppression Corps.
After reviewing the files on Suppression Corps members over level 80, he had confirmed with the Eye of the Golem skills they didn't have in the past, which meant the cutoff for reawakening due to the Transcendence Stone was level 80.
*'I'll get Young-jin to level 80 within a month.'*
This was Do-jae's plan.
Unlike the method of forced enhancement using Choi Woo-seok's black cores, carefully and slowly raising his level had no risks or side effects.
One month was the fastest time Do-jae believed he could raise Young-jin's level.
*Screech-.*
"You're back? Took you long enough."
Briareus was grinning from ear to ear.
While one of them had just struggled to save a life, the other was happily grinning and staring at his smartphone.
Do-jae barely managed to suppress the surge of irritation.
What could he do?
The guy was a dragon, after all, and picking a fight would only be a loss for Do-jae.
"Let's go back."
"Home?"
"...To the guild!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Do-jae placed a hand on Briareus's shoulder, and the two vanished in an instant.
*****
*Fwoosh-!*
Do-jae and Briareus arrived back at the guild headquarters.
"You don't need me for anything else, right? See you at home later, then. Tae-geon! Where are yooouuu?"
And with that, Briareus took the elevator and left.
Watching him go, Do-jae couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
*'I should have just killed him back then...'*
Currently, there was no one in the guild who could control Briareus.
No, in the first place, there was no one with enough free time to hang around with Briareus.
*'More importantly, I wonder if Ji-yoon is okay.'*
Ji-yoon was constantly out clearing dungeons, so she didn't have much time to stay in the office. Consequently, Eun-hee and the Peppermint Trio were rarely seen, as they followed her on raids.
After the Busan Suppression, Young-jin had managed to pull himself together, but Ji-yoon had not.
She pretended to be fine on the outside, but whenever he saw her face, he could see a shadow hanging over it.
It seemed Ji-yoon was trying to overcome her grief in her own way by relentlessly entering dungeons, but if even Do-jae felt this heavy-hearted and pained, a mere ten days was too short a time for Ji-yoon, who had been like family with them, to forget.
*'Since Eun-hee is sticking with her, she should be fine.'*
Thankfully, Eun-hee was following Ji-yoon, keeping a watchful eye—a sort of surveillance—to make sure nothing happened, which allowed Do-jae to rest easy.
Moreover, Eun-hee had experience being in a guild and had met many people while working at the Association, so she adapted quickly to Guardian and was handling a variety of tasks.
Thanks to her, things were gradually stabilizing despite the chaotic situation caused by the overlap of the Busan Suppression and the guild's expansion.
"Hey! Wait a minute, Mr. Do-jae!"
A sturdily built man in his seventies with a warm demeanor called out to Do-jae.
He was the building manager in charge of facility management and reception, and was said to be a retired hunter who had known Jeong Hoon-hyeon for a long time.
"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?"
"My, it's hard to catch a glimpse of you... You must be very busy."
"It's alright. Please, go ahead."
"Oh, it's nothing much. I was just wondering if you could take a picture with my grandson?"
"Yes...? A picture?"
Do-jae was taken aback by the sudden request.
A request to take a picture, not to help carry something or do some cleaning, was incredibly unfamiliar to Do-jae.
In truth, there was something Do-jae was unaware of: he was currently enjoying a level of popularity that would make any celebrity envious.
Do-jae, who had kept his identity hidden, had made a spectacular S-rank debut during the Busan Suppression, with his face plastered all over the news.
In particular, interviews with people rescued by Do-jae's golem right after the dungeon break had framed him as a hunter who cared more for the citizens than anyone else, causing his approval rating to skyrocket nationwide.
However, the man himself was oblivious to his popularity, as he only ever teleported with Briareus and stayed within the guild headquarters.
"Yeah. I told my grandson I work here, and he wouldn't stop pestering me, asking if he could get just one picture with you... Would it be possible?"
Do-jae was quite perplexed.
But it was too difficult to refuse the earnest plea of the building manager, who was his senior both as a hunter and in life.
"Alright... Let's do that..."
"Really! Thank you, thank you! I'll tell my grandson to come right over. And say, while we wait for him, would this be possible too...?"
The manager cheered gleefully, then suddenly ran into his office and came back carrying a ramen box.
When Do-jae saw what was inside, he looked bewildered.
A soccer ball, a sketchbook, a T-shirt, a backpack, a pencil case, and more.
All of them were items worn by the hands of children.
"These belong to my grandson's classmates. Could I ask you to sign each one?"
"Yes... I suppose so..."
Do-jae scratched his head and answered as if mesmerized.
He ended up taking the box and a pen and heading to a table in the lobby.
"There are so many..."
He sat down and began taking out the items one by one, diligently scrawling a makeshift signature on them.
*Waaaaah-!*
A clamorous noise came from the entrance.
"Grandpa!"
"Hellooo!"
With booming voices, four children ran toward the building manager.
"Aigoo, is that you, Yejun?"
"Grandpa, where's Lee Do-jae? Huh?"
"Hey, you little rascal! Is Mr. Do-jae your friend?"
"I don't know! Anyway, where is he?"
"Tsk, tsk. It's like this old grandpa isn't even here. He's over there!"
The manager pointed toward Do-jae, who was rubbing his temples.
The moment the children saw Do-jae, their smiles stretched from ear to ear, and they rushed forward.
"Woooow! It's Lee Do-jae!"
The children swarmed him, unable to hide their excitement, touching and pulling at him in a frenzy.
"Kyaaa! Hello, mister!"
"Where's the Metallic Hero? Show us!"
"Hey, move! Mister! Are you really an S-rank hunter?"
"Kids, calm down..."
The only child Do-jae was used to was his frail younger brother.
Seeing such energetic children, Do-jae felt more drained than charmed by their cuteness.
"Alright... Let's take the picture first. You're Yejun? Give me your phone."
Do-jae grabbed a passing new guild member and had him take a picture with Yejun's smartphone.
*Click-!*
"There, done?"
"Huh? Mister, is that it?"
"What?"
"Who stops after just one picture! Look at this. Jong-hoon even has his eyes closed!"
"S-Sorry..."
"And mister! Can't you smile? You look so dumb."
"O... Okay..."
"And, and, can't you wear the suit like the Metallic Hero?"
Yejun grumbled, showing him the picture they just took.
Do-jae had no choice but to take over ten more pictures with a deadpan expression, and then another set while wearing his Golem Armor, before he could finally be free of the children.
"I'm gonna brag to the other kids tomorrow!"
"Me too! Chaeryeong, I'm gonna show the teacher too!"
Do-jae was finally catching his breath.
By chance, a child's indoor shoe bag caught his eye.
"Are you guys from Namgong Elementary, class 4-2?"
Do-jae approached the children and asked.
"Yes!"
"Then do you know Do-young?"
"Huh? W-W-Wha? How do you know Do-young, mister?"
These children and Do-young were classmates.
Do-jae opened his wallet and pressed 100,000 won into Yejun's hand.
"You guys be good to Do-young. Here, buy yourselves something tasty on the way home."
The children glanced at the building manager, but when Do-jae patted Yejun on the back and urged them to go, they ran off excitedly as if making an escape.
For the first time in a while, Do-jae felt like he had acted like a proper older brother.
Just as he was feeling proud with a satisfied expression.
"Vice Master! I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing? It's about time we get going."
Jeong Hoon-hyeon called out to Do-jae as he came down to the lobby, his face tense.