Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Summoning Moss
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Argh! Why won’t you just die! Drop dead already!”
Ji Soo-jung shouted.
She had no choice but to.
She’d thought for sure they’d killed the Adult Behemoth.
Hae-jin had even told them all the patterns, and they’d made it past the final phase.
Yet this damn Adult Behemoth refused to stay down.
Every time they thought they’d finished it off, some weird purple haze tinged with gray would envelop it, and suddenly the thing was good as new.
For the five of them in the thick of battle, it was utterly baffling.
Especially since the longer a fight dragged on like this, the more exhausted the main tank got—and Ji Soo-jung was that tank, so she was even more pissed than the other four.
Watching Ji Soo-jung fume like that, Hae-jin pondered.
‘Should I tell her?’
She was fighting so angrily that maybe he ought to explain why the Adult Behemoth kept getting back up every time it seemed done for.
On the other hand, sensing her raw killing intent, another thought crossed his mind.
‘If I do, will she try to kill me?’
Of course, even if all five of them ganged up on him to try, it’d be no contest.
Could they even graze his clothes, let alone his skin, if they all attacked at once?
Still, she looked so furious that keeping quiet felt wrong too.
After mulling it over, Hae-jin made up his mind.
‘Yeah, I’ll tell her.’
But first, to buy time for a talk, didn’t he need to give the five of them a breather?
With that in mind, Hae-jin set down the popcorn he’d been munching.
He gave his body a light stretch.
Then, Hae-jin leaped straight up.
No skills or techniques needed.
Just pure player stats for the jump.
Even so, it was a high leap that any normal person would mistake for flight.
Mid-air, Hae-jin clenched his fist tight.
“Hm?”
Everyone wondered what he was doing, suddenly jumping so high.
The very next moment—
KABOOOM-!
As Hae-jin landed atop the Adult Behemoth’s head and slammed his fist down, a massive explosion roared out.
The beast’s head cratered straight into the ground.
[Your level has increased.]
“Ah, damn it...”
Seeing the system window pop up in front of him, Hae-jin couldn’t help swearing.
He’d only meant to lightly knock it out with a tap, but the Adult Behemoth went down from one punch.
Just then, as Hae-jin landed—
“......”
The five who’d been battling the Behemoth stared at him in a daze.
How could they not, after watching the monster they’d slaved over go down in a single punch?
It was mind-blowing.
Anyway, leaving the stunned five behind, Hae-jin thought.
‘Well, it’s dead now, so no more use out of this one.’
The Adult Behemoth was dissolving into light particles.
Seeing that, Hae-jin wondered what to do before settling on the best option available to him.
“Yeah, that’ll do.”
Hae-jin smacked his fist into his palm, nodding to himself in satisfaction.
Then he murmured, extending his hand.
“Summon Shadow.”
[Skill: 'Summon Shadow' used.]
Summon Shadow.
A skill that used Chaos Shadows to turn slain enemies into one’s subordinates.
The Adult Behemoth’s body, on the verge of vanishing, began to turn ashen-gray.
From light particles to gray haze.
Before, it had simply extracted shadows, but after becoming Chaos itself, Hae-jin’s Summon Shadow infused them with its unique energy to create Chaos Knights.
As the Adult Behemoth revived as a Chaos Soldier, a system window appeared before Hae-jin’s eyes.
[Skill: 'Summon Shadow' converts 'Behemoth's' shadow into a Chaos Soldier.]
[Chaos Soldier: 'Behemoth'. Please set a name.]
[Name: ]
A system prompt to name the Adult Behemoth as he pleased.
Hae-jin pondered.
‘What to name it? Beh? Moss?’
A Behemoth was a Behemoth, after all.
So he figured he’d shorten the given name.
After some thought, Hae-jin decided on a name for the Behemoth.
“‘Moss’ it is.”
[Chaos Soldier: 'Behemoth' named 'Moss'.]
[Chaos Soldier 'Moss' loyalty increased by 10%.]
Evidently not a bad name, as the Behemoth accepted it and its loyalty rose.
Just then—
Ji Soo-jung jumped in shock upon seeing Hae-jin turn the Behemoth into a Chaos Soldier.
“What the—?”
Kwon Na-ye was the one to clear up her confusion.
“It’s Hae-jin’s ability. After he takes down a monster he wants, he turns it into a Chaos Soldier under his command... right, Ah?”
“Yeah.”
“Right. Anyway, Hae-jin can make monsters his subordinates with that power.”
“Oh? He has an ability like that too, Oppa Hae-jin?”
Ji Soo-jung marveled at Hae-jin’s power.
Her reaction made Kwon Na-ye tilt her head.
“Yeah... but Soo-jung, were you already acquainted with Hae-jin?”
“Hm?”
Ji Soo-jung shot Kwon Na-ye a look like she had no idea what that meant.
Kwon Na-ye explained why she’d asked.
“No, it’s just... you called him ‘Oppa’.”
“Oh! Well, he’s older than me, so of course Oppa!”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Ji Soo-jung said she called him Oppa since he was older.
At that, Kwon Na-ye called out to Hae-jin.
“Hae-jin.”
“Yeah?”
“I wanna call you Oppa too.”
Kwon Na-ye declared she’d call Hae-jin Oppa.
He replied to her.
“That might be tough.”
“Why?”
Kwon Na-ye pouted, hurt that he wouldn’t let her while Ji Soo-jung could. Why her and not me?
But to Hae-jin, hearing Oppa from Kwon Na-ye felt off.
So he explained why it wouldn’t work.
“Well, we’re the same age.”
“Huh?”
Kwon Na-ye was floored by Hae-jin’s age reveal.
Same age as her? She looked shocked.
Hae-jin asked her.
“You’re 22, right?”
“Yeah. No way you’re 22 too, Hae-jin?”
Kwon Na-ye asked his age like she’d never have guessed.
Looking a bit hurt, Hae-jin replied.
“Do I really look that old?”
“No, not that... Why? Your vibe... feels more mature than same-age, I guess?”
Hae-jin chuckled at her words.
‘Mature, huh...’
He thought the Kwon Na-ye he’d met before regressing would’ve been stunned to hear that.
Sure, regressing with Joo-hyuk had mellowed his personality, but basing it on his first run without regression memories—thanks to Joo-hyuk—Hae-jin had been pretty reckless.
Like a berserker in battle, his personality matched: wildly aggressive.
‘......’
He’d gotten so much nagging from Kwon Na-ye back then.
About taking better care of himself in fights.
In fact, back then, she’d looked after him like a big sister, fearless as he was about getting hurt.
So now, for that same Kwon Na-ye to call him mature? Hae-jin couldn’t help smirking.
Of course.
Oblivious to all this, Kwon Na-ye just looked puzzled.
“Why the laugh?”
“Just... Anyway, Na-ye, feel free to drop the formalities from now on?”
“Yeah! Can I?”
“No reason not to. Like I told everyone, you guys don’t remember me, but I remember you all, so it’s not hard.”
Hae-jin had already shared his pre-regression story with the party.
So he naturally switched to casual speech with his old comrades.
Kwon Na-ye reacted.
“Really? I mean, yeah?”
“Yep.”
“So we’re friends from now on?”
“If you want.”
“I’d love that!”
Kwon Na-ye said she wanted to be friends with Hae-jin going forward.
He smirked at her enthusiasm.
“Then let’s get along great, friend.”
“Yeah!”
Hae-jin recalled they’d all gone casual around mid-Trials’ Arena.
But Kwon Na-ye suddenly dropping formalities at the eleventh trial? He eyed her curiously.
He knew the reason, though.
‘Change because of Ji Soo-jung joining?’
Just then, Lee Sang chimed in.
“Then treat me like Lael too, hyung?”
Lee Sang wanted to be casual bros with Hae-jin like Raffaello.
Hae-jin nodded to him.
“Sure, whatever. Call me whatever’s comfy, everyone. Nah, just go casual with me.”
Letting Lee Sang and Kwon Na-ye call him hyung or oppa as they wished.
Then Hae-jin looked to Manager Kim.
“What about you, Manager Kim?”
After all, Kim was the oldest in the group.
“I prefer Leader. You’re my benefactor, after all.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Manager Kim said Leader felt right, age aside, since Hae-jin was his savior.
Truth be told, aside from Lee Sang and Kwon Na-ye, none here had ties to Hae-jin pre-regression.
So he decided to respect Kim’s preference.
“Do whatever’s easiest then.”
“Got it, Leader.”
Finally, Hae-jin turned to the last one needing a title sort-out.
Unlike Ji Soo-jung’s sudden join, this was Park Bo-young, the Grand Earth Sorceress he’d recruited himself.
“What about you, Bo-young?”
“I think we should get closer first.”
With Park Bo-young’s input, the group’s nicknames were settled.
Hae-jin then explained why he’d made the Adult Behemoth a Chaos Soldier.
“Fair enough. Nicknames sorted, more or less. So, wanna rack up some combat experience against Moss, everyone?”
“Moss?”
Ji Soo-jung blinked at the sudden name.
Hae-jin pointed at his new Chaos Soldier.
“That’s him.”
“Oh, you want us to fight it again.”
“Yeah, you all still need more experience. Positions like before, then.”
And so Hae-jin had his party grind combat reps against the freshly minted Chaos Soldier Moss.
Some time later?
Deciding it was enough, Hae-jin clapped.
Clap clap!
“Good work, everyone. That’s it for now. Moss, you too. Back inside.”
At Hae-jin’s command, Moss—who’d been training the party—vanished into the shadows.
Whoooosh-!
Having drilled the party adequately, Hae-jin said.
“Alright, time to clear this dungeon.”
As he called to clear the dungeon, Hae-jin thought.
‘Once we beat this, ‘that’ should show up, right?’