Blood Friday Averted
A short sigh escaped my lips.
Hot air rose from deep within my lungs. When I drew in a breath, the scorched organs cooled rapidly.
“It’s over.”
The creature lay with its throat severed, eyes still wide open. I couldn’t tell what it found so unfair.
The incident known as “Bloody Friday” would never be recorded in history now.
—My contractor, art thou unharmed?
“I’m fine.”
—I never doubted thy victory for even a single moment!
“You say that, yet you were fidgeting the whole time.”
—Fidgeting? I would never behave in such an undignified manner!
Nyx shouted, her face flushed red.
“Yeah, yeah. Of course you wouldn’t.”
—Thou hast misunderstood.
Berserk’s duration has ended.
All stats will decrease for 360 seconds.
“Ugh.”
A groan slipped out on its own. My body had been battered during the exchange with Jeong Sinho. When Berserk’s penalty pressed down on me, helplessness compounded the pain.
—My contractor! Art thou well?
Just moments ago she had been insisting she wasn’t worried.
“I’m fine. I’ll feel better after a short rest.”
—Haa, thank goodness…… No. Such a trivial ordeal is nothing to my contractor.
She really couldn’t be honest. I swallowed a laugh and turned back the way I had come. Even with exhaustion weighing on me, walking wasn’t impossible.
—That vile wretch has already fallen.
“I still need to free the captured children.”
—Ah, of course.
A staircase led down into the basement. I used ultrasound again; no threats remained.
Thud— Thud—
Descending the steps, I found children who looked around ten years old locked inside. They were the ones recently reported missing from Suwon and Hwaseong. Their limbs were bound, and blood was being drawn from their arms. Most had lost consciousness.
—To think such an atrocity was being committed beneath the very heavens!
Nyx erupted in fury.
“They’re all still alive.”
I patted the goddess’s head to calm her. Their breathing was steady. It seemed they hadn’t been held for long. Though they looked haggard, none were in immediate danger.
Shrrrk—
My nails lengthened. After reinforcing them, I calmly sliced through the shackles.
“Mmm…… mmh.”
“Coming around?”
“Wh-who are you?”
“I came to rescue you.”
A female student cracked her eyes open and looked up at me. The moment I unconsciously glanced at her name tag—
“……!”
My eyes trembled.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I gave a short reply and looked away. After gathering all the abducted children, I called Team Leader Han Suchang.
When I briefly explained the situation—
—What? You’ve already resolved everything?!
A voice filled with shock came through the speaker.
“There are kidnapped kids here, so send an ambulance.”
—Ah, understood. You’ve truly worked hard.
After waiting a while, the wail of sirens echoed from afar. Association agents entered at the same time. All of them were players.
“Special Task Force Agent Yu Jinho, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. If you go straight that way, you’ll find the culprit’s corpse. Take care of it.”
“Understood.”
The agents advanced with tense expressions, wary that Jeong Sinho might have accomplices. Understandable—if they relaxed on my word alone, they’d be neglecting their duty.
“Agh, my whole body aches.”
The accumulated impact from the fight. Even with the Regeneration skill from the Earth Mother’s blessing, it would take time to return to peak condition.
Just then—
“Ahjussi, are you okay?”
One of the rescued children approached. The first student I had saved. The name tag read [Hong Yesul].
“I’m fine. I’m tougher than I look.”
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
An unexpected expression of gratitude.
“I was too out of it earlier to say it.”
“Ah…… Right.”
I answered awkwardly. After finishing her thanks, Hong Yesul returned to the ambulance. I watched her go with a complicated gaze.
—In thy world, a ten-year age gap constitutes a crime, does it not?
“What’s this goddess suddenly going on about?”
—Thy eyes looked so wistful that I spoke.
“It’s not like that.”
I dismissed the goddess’s nonsense. It was true that I was concerned about Hong Yesul, but for an entirely different reason than Nyx suspected. Wasn’t Hong Yesul the name of Hong Yunsu’s younger sister? The high ranker Hong Yunsu, known as the “Lord of the Tempest,” a Korean player. After his sister was murdered by a player criminal, he had devoted his life to eradicating evildoers.
Was this a coincidence of names, or had I saved the sister who was originally supposed to die? I hoped it was the latter. Hong Yunsu’s end had been miserable. Criminals had exploited his reckless personality, setting traps and killing him horribly. If the girl I saved here was truly his sister…… his temperament might improve, at least a little.
I shook my head. I had done all I could. The missing people were rescued, the culprit defeated. The aftermath could be left to the Association.
“I’ll head out first. Handle the scene investigation and cleanup yourselves.”
“Player Yu Jinho! Don’t you need to go to the hospital……?”
“I’m good. No external injuries, so why bother?”
I was battered inside, but after sleeping it off, not a single bruise would remain. They wouldn’t give me potions at a hospital anyway, and being admitted would only bring annoying paperwork. Better to go home and rest.
* * *
The next day.
Buzz— My phone rang loudly from the moment I woke. The caller was Team Leader Han Suchang.
—Jinho-nim, are you feeling all right?
The moment I pressed the call button, a worried voice came through.
“I told you I’m fine.”
It was true. I had healed all internal and external wounds with Regeneration, obtained from the Swamp Salamander. Thanks to the Earth Mother’s blessing, fatigue and accumulated shock had also been washed away.
—That’s truly a relief.
“You sound pretty tired. Did you stay up all night?”
—I went to investigate the scene. I just finished wrapping things up.
Han Suchang briefly recounted the results of examining the victims’ testimonies, Jeong Sinho’s corpse, and the traces left in the abandoned house. Much of it matched the records I had seen before regression. The captives had been saved, but several victims had already been sacrificed. Skeletal remains had been discovered near the house.
—……If it weren’t for you, Jinho-nim, the damage would have been far greater.
His voice trembled with anger and self-reproach. Comfort wouldn’t ease those emotions.
—My apologies. I showed an unsightly side.
“Not at all. I’m just glad everything ended well.”
—Ah, the Association President said he’d like to meet you soon.
“I saw him yesterday, though?”
—You successfully completed the Special Task Force’s first mission, after all.
Haha. Laughter came through the receiver. Association President Kim Woosung. He must have been pleased with my performance. That was a good sign for the future direction of the Special Task Force.
“Then the establishment of the Special Task Force has been approved.”
—Yes. I also contacted you to discuss the terms of service for the task force.
1. Players belonging to the Special Task Force must carry out Association requests once every three months as a mandatory duty.
2. During missions, requests for Association personnel and material support are permitted.
3. With Association approval, authority may be exercised even in extralegal domains.
The clauses were no different from what I remembered before regression.
—I’ll send the detailed documents shortly.
“You’ve worked hard.”
—Ah, and the Association President asked me to relay one more thing.
“A message from the President?”
—He said he will grant you the same benefits he offered when you first joined the Association.
Benefits, huh. Hold on.
“That offer…… you don’t mean the tax exemption, do you?”
—Correct.
Damn. I nearly cursed out loud from sheer surprise. Players were subject to considerable taxes. Because of the Tower of Babel, the symbol of abundance, the value of currency and magic items obtained from missions was high. A tax exemption here? That would be far more profitable in the long run. Financially speaking, it was an offer not inferior to a hundred billion won. It was also the condition Han Suchang had first proposed. The important part was that Special Task Force members were freelancers, not Association employees. Granting such benefits to someone who wasn’t even an official member…… was an enormous privilege.
—According to the agents’ investigation, the man named Jeong Sinho was a player who had reached the 26th floor.
Bronze rank. Levels 100–150. My prediction had been roughly correct.
“He was strong, all right.”
—An Unranked player defeating a Bronze. Imagine how much stronger you’ll become once you rise to that rank, Jinho-nim.
“So this is an investment?”
—Yes. The Association President asked me to convey exactly that.
He had wanted to say it himself, but had been too busy, so he left it to Han Suchang? The President had always been bold even before regression, but experiencing it firsthand was quite something.
—Your employee ID will be delivered in a few days.
“By the way, does the tax exemption apply immediately?”
—It does. The ID card is being issued because the Special Task Force hasn’t been officially launched yet.
Oh? So that’s how it worked. I suppressed the twitch at the corner of my mouth.
—Please take good care of us in the future. And thank you.
Han Suchang expressed his gratitude once more before ending the call. Things were proceeding smoothly. The Special Task Force’s establishment had been moved up by two years compared to my memories. Considering that the first Great Upheaval, the Gate Break incident, had also been advanced by several months, this was a positive change. After the Gate Break, the Association’s authority would grow much larger anyway.
One more thing. I hadn’t expected to secure a tax exemption. Heh. My lips curled upward. It was fortunate I hadn’t sold any of the byproducts I obtained from the tower over the past two days. The Cayden Crystal. The oak staff. And a whole pile of poison sacs taken from goblins. Even the crystal alone had a minimum transaction value exceeding ten billion won. The Association took a little over 10% in taxes? Since value-added tax wasn’t included, more than 20% of the sale price would vanish as tax. That didn’t apply to me. At least two billion won. That was the profit from the tax exemption.
—Is there good news?
“Yeah. Good news for you too, Goddess.”
—Good news for me as well? I’m curious what it could be.
“It means you can buy twelve cotton candies instead of ten with the same money.”
Nyx’s body trembled finely.
—O-Ooooooh!!
She let out a cry of joy.
“How about that?”
—This is cause for celebration! Never have I heard such delightful tidings!
I could buy her plenty of cotton candy even without a tax exemption. I really ought to consider purchasing a cotton candy machine. I put all the items, including the Cayden Crystal, up for auction at the general shopping complex. The poison sacs went to the same merchant who had handled my previous monster byproducts.
“Thank you as always, customer!”
The man beamed at the mountain of poison sacs. Because the quantity was large, he said he would deposit the payment later.
“If you run off, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.”
“Of course not. I’m a man of credit.”
Well, from his perspective, I must look like a goose that lays golden eggs. He didn’t seem the type to slaughter the goose. With the Pocket of Desire now empty, I opened the Babel Tower app on my phone’s home screen. It was time to challenge the 5th floor.