Chapter 31
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 031
Chapter Title: Contribution Assessment
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The King of the Nagas—Vasuki.
A bizarre creature with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human scanned its surroundings with hollow eyes.
A chill ran down their spines—
Just that gaze alone muddled the minds of the top hunters. Was this truly the aura emanating from a single monster...?
One hunter even cracked under the pressure, laughing madly.
"Haha... We're really going to take that thing down without a proper plan?"
However.
[Cooperative Quest: Vasuki (9%) Subjugation]
The beast had manifested with only 9% of its original power.
That was why the Sword Saint gripped his sword without flinching, despite the crushing pressure bearing down on his entire body.
Kang!
He swung without wasting even a drop of strength.
Yet the blade bounced off as if striking rock.
"..."
No vital point had opened on Vasuki. Instead, his own wrist throbbed in pain.
"Attacking it now is pointless."
Rubbing his wrist, the Sword Saint replied to the Association President's words.
"...Seems that way."
As proof, Vasuki was still just scanning its surroundings.
And the moment its gaze fixed on the ruined mountain path.
[...You've been tricked.]
Vasuki's head split into nine branches.
Shwaaak—
They began multiplying wildly, each one gradually taking the form of a serpent.
"Everyone, get your heads in the game. The real fight starts now."
The Association President gripped his scroll tightly. His hand trembled faintly.
There was no regressor among them who had looped through ten returns.
Even the Association President didn't know if asd123's Harmony could devour the beast's demonic poison.
If it failed, corruption would spread like a plague across Korea. The end would be clear: total annihilation.
Yet he had no choice but to believe.
'...Each loop is unique in its own right.'
No matter his [Absolute Memory], recreating an identical loop exactly as before was no easy feat.
The chance that asd123 wouldn't corrupt, that he'd contract with the Association, that he'd grow so smoothly, that he'd deliver 'Harmony' without missing the deadline...
Could all that be perfectly replicated in the next loop?
'Impossible...'
So he had to trust asd123 and give his all in this moment. He couldn't squander this golden opportunity!
The instant the Association President steeled his resolve.
Kuung...
The fully transformed Vasuki was pushed back by the 'barrier' of the Barrier scroll.
It was due to the demonic energy filling its body.
[Are you interfering?]
The enraged Vasuki spat out the words, which echoed in the hunters' minds.
Sensing the killing intent, the hunters instinctively assumed combat stances.
But having witnessed the Sword Saint's failed attack, they couldn't act rashly.
As the standoff dragged on.
Kaaang—!!
One of Vasuki's heads lunged at the Barrier, baring its fangs.
The Barrier stretched like rubber and countered with magic bullets, but...
"Damn it... Hurry up and get ready."
The burden fell entirely on the Association President.
"...This is brutal. You sure we can leave it to scrolls?"
Regardless of Kang Moo-jin's words, Vasuki began unleashing its power in earnest.
Flames rained from the sky once more, mingled with countless clumps of demonic energy.
Its main body gathered energy, as if preparing a breath attack.
But in doing so, it halted its movements.
"Our chance is now!"
And then, the clash between the 'Harmony' the Association President had feared most and the demonic energy.
Shweeeek—Boom.
asd123's Harmony devoured that vile demonic energy with effortless ease.
"..."
There could be no better opening than this.
Now, before the virtual barrier activated, they just needed to blow up all nine heads at once.
They could take down that off-the-charts monster with ease right now.
But when that long-awaited moment arrived, the Association President spoke in a weary voice.
"Please... I beg you. This time, cast aside your petty pride and judgment, and just deploy the scrolls."
"..."
Less than two minutes until the virtual barrier activated. The hunters unfurled their scrolls.
Skeptical expressions.
But the reason they complied wasn't the Association President's desperate plea.
It was because the Barrier enduring and intercepting those overwhelming assaults was none other than the scroll in the Association President's hands.
It shattered all preconceptions about scrolls...
"I'll give the signal!"
At Lee Dong-gyu's words, they each aimed their scrolls at their assigned heads.
One, two...
Three—rang out. The hunters channeled mana into their scrolls.
Paaat.
Water-attribute mana arrows shot from the scrolls, twisted into helical ice arrows like Archimedean spirals.
The mana arrows surged toward their respective Vasuki heads.
But.
Kwaaa—!!
Vasuki countered with its breath.
At this rate, three of the mana arrows would collide with the breath.
"...Damn, is this right?"
"Terrible timing."
Kang Moo-jin channeled mana into his fist, preparing a single strike.
The Sword Saint drew and gripped his sword.
Councilor Shin immediately manifested a magic formula.
...
But preceding their actions was Lee Dong-gyu's voice.
"No need to worry."
Five [Mana Arrow] scrolls, cast faster from their blind spots.
They neutralized Vasuki's breath in five successive bursts.
Shweeeek.
The moment Vasuki's serpentine eyes registered the ice arrows.
Boom—!!
All nine heads exploded simultaneously.
Park Ha-jun anxiously gazed at the sky from his veranda.
'...The main body must be insane.'
The flames and thick green energy clumps pouring from the heavens dwarfed anything from before.
And the Association President silently tanking it all—what boundless mana he possessed.
Thank goodness he was Korea's Awakener.
Thanks to him, Park Ha-jun didn't need to step up.
'...But is everything okay?'
He'd never witnessed a scene like this, so anxiety gnawed at him.
Surely they wouldn't fail the subjugation or have some accident?
'And how are the kids doing...'
He'd wanted to meet them, apologize in person, and say thanks.
But with things like this, how could he?
As he drafted a text to Soo-ji in resignation.
[Cooperative Quest: Vasuki (9%) Subjugation Complete!]
[Calculating contributions...]
Suddenly, system messages appeared.
"...It's over? Good."
He let out a sigh of relief and began preparing for work.
As he dressed and put on his shoes, a spark of curiosity arose.
What would the contribution results be?
'Will my scrolls count toward contributions...?'
Scrolls were items.
Did items factor into contributions? If so, who decided the criteria?
The system creator?
And who was that...?
But he couldn't delve deeper. He knew nothing for now.
He just had to wait for the results.
However, they didn't appear even when he arrived at the lab.
Precisely...
[Contribution calculation complete!]
[Final contributor: -]
[Readjusting calculation system...]
For some reason, there were no contributors.
Thus, it was recalculating via readjusted methods.
'...Whatever, it'll come eventually.'
The results weren't what mattered to Park Ha-jun right now.
In front of the lab door, he took a deep breath.
It was guilt over the students.
Dumping an assignment on them at 10 p.m. without proper explanation, yet they'd dutifully completed it.
How guilty did he feel? They'd pulled an all-nighter yet still prepared hearty breakfast bentos.
'Ugh... Can't even explain the situation.'
But contrary to Park Ha-jun's worries, the researchers might owe him thanks for this assignment.
If they refined its magical theory properly, it could lead to groundbreaking research achievements.
Yet for current Park Ha-jun, it was impossible, leaving only remorse.
'...Gotta find a way somehow. So it doesn't become wasted time.'
Anyway, donning his usual gentle smile, he cautiously opened the door.
But.
"..."
The lab inside was eerily quiet.
The kids had passed out, oblivious to the world.
Kang Eun-ho and Kim Ah-hyun sprawled on the floor.
A researcher face-planted on the desk, another with their head on the keyboard, triggering the filter key...
Even Lee Soo-ji, slumped over Park Ha-jun's desk.
"...Hmm."
No wonder there were no replies.
Park Ha-jun scratched his cheek and resolved himself. No half-hearted compensation would do.
He draped blankets and his jacket over them appropriately.
As he set out the bentos on the desk, an email arrived.
[Sender: Urgent Item Buyer]
[Hello, Maker! Thanks to you, the job's done safely...]
The content was straightforward.
Profuse gratitude, plus a note that now, with the Association in chaos, was prime time for cashing out.
'Hmm... Yeah, about time to convert some.'
However.
[...P.S. Regarding the research grant '1.7 billion' we discussed, we'll review your research proposal soon and decide...]
Considering that, no need to convert too much. Gold had plenty of uses.
'30 million gold shouldn't raise eyebrows and is plenty...'
He opened his status window, donated 30 million gold to [MathLove], and waited.
[Deposit: 275,100,000 won]
The amount arrived after fees and taxes.
"...!"
270 million at once—his fist clenched involuntarily. So satisfying.
'Fees and taxes are steeper than expected, but oh well.'
Calming his excitement, Park Ha-jun gazed at the kids, pondering.
'If I suggest drinks tonight, will they like it?'
Probably not the best idea.
The next evening, in the Association's VIP medical room.
The situation wasn't fully resolved, but the Association President rested due to extreme mana depletion.
Drip. Drip.
He stared blankly at the IV drops, lost in thought.
[Regression (11)]
[Regress to a specific point until you witness the story's conclusion.]
The story's conclusion—that was the Association President's mission.
Thus, he abandoned loops with no path to the end without mercy.
Conversely, in loops showing promise, he became more desperate than anyone.
And no one could deny this loop was more stable than any before.
So why? Why this lethargy...?
As the Association President's mind swirled in turmoil, Lee Dong-gyu arrived.
"President, the Vasuki corpse analysis is complete."
"Good. Any results?"
It was the first time Vasuki had been subjugated on Earth, so even he was curious.
"...It's not a normal corpse. It looks like a gateway crossing dimensions."
"Hm, makes sense since that wasn't its true body."
"Could Vasuki manifest again through it?"
"Can't rule it out."
Lee Dong-gyu nodded and murmured.
"Then we need to annihilate it somehow."
However, this was the torso the Sword Saint couldn't even scratch—not one of the heads asd123 had exploded.
"...Won't be easy."
"Meaning we need even more overwhelming output."
Lee Dong-gyu nodded calmly and continued.
"In that case, try using asd123's scrolls like you did, President..."
At those casually spoken words, the Association President coughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
"...For that, we need to settle the commission fee with asd123 first, no?"
The world had gone crazy.
Recalling this morning's news at the Association President's words, Lee Dong-gyu replied.
"Yes... Total chaos."
So they couldn't skimp on the commission with excuses about perception like before.