Chapter 197
Chapter 197
Chapter 197: Retrieval (3)
Translation: godtl
"You insignificant human!"
"How dare you spout such nonsense in whose presence?!"
Two massive figures, each four meters tall following behind Defina, erupted in furious anger.
At that.
"Insignificant? Nonsense?"
The middle-aged man with a chilling demeanor—Jong-ri Chu's sharp eyebrows twitched.
Then.
As much as those eyebrows had moved—
Swaaak!
Something razor-sharp split the air in a straight line.
Thwack.
Two thick arms went flying through the air.
"Gaaah!"
"Kyaaak!"
The two hulking figures screamed belatedly.
As if their subordinates' agonized wails were beneath his notice.
"Indeed. You're quite the human worthy of His attention, aren't you?"
Defina's crimson lips curled in delight.
"To sever both arms of two Dracodiles in an instant, and this isn't even the regular Arena yet."
With an expression of genuine admiration, she gazed at Jong-ri Chu—the man who had effortlessly severed the arms of the Dracodiles, upper-level Dragonkin.
Perhaps displeased by Defina's composed demeanor.
"I believe I warned you, Defina."
Jong-ri Chu's eyes narrowed as his arm shot forward like before.
Vwoom!
An intense hum resonated from the tip of the spear gripped in his hand.
Sword Qi.
The overwhelming Aura, capable of slicing through steel like tofu, carved a trajectory through the air—but nothing more.
Had he never intended to attack in the first place?
Vmm.
The spear, launched with lethal momentum, came to an abrupt halt precisely before Defina's forehead.
Considering the force behind the attack, it was a display of astonishingly controlled spear technique.
"Watch that condescending tone of yours."
Jong-ri Chu glared at Defina with a cold voice.
Even as the Sword Qi—capable of splitting the scales of the highest-tier Dragonkin—flickered before her eyes.
"Hehe. My apologies."
As if she had known his attack wouldn't reach her.
"If I've offended you, I apologize. It's just... unfamiliar territory for me."
Defina shrugged nonchalantly, offering an apology without a hint of remorse.
"Tch. Insolent wench."
Jong-ri Chu clicked his tongue briefly before withdrawing his spear.
"Ugh..."
"Khh!"
Whether it was the excruciating pain of losing their arms or the shame of being bested by a human—
The two Dracodiles clutched their severed limbs, letting out faint groans.
"You two, go get yourselves treated."
Defina glanced at them dismissively before stepping closer to Jong-ri Chu.
"I must have told you before, Defina."
Jong-ri Chu's growl carried a palpable killing intent.
"There are too many eyes watching. Refrain from coming to me directly."
Yet.
"Hehe. I've yet to meet anyone bold enough to spy on the quarters of Jong-ri Chu, the Spear King."
Defina didn't so much as blink.
Instead, she took another step forward.
"You've heard the news, haven't you? Got utterly crushed this time, didn't you?"
Bringing up the very incident that was a sore spot, she perched herself on the edge of Jong-ri Chu's desk.
"From what I heard, you tried to suppress the Growth Buff, only to lose even the representative of your alliance. Must be hard to swallow."
"Ha! How audacious."
Jong-ri Chu's eyes darkened further.
"What gives you the right to bring this matter up to me?"
"Hoho. Aren't we close enough for that?"
"Ridiculous."
Jong-ri Chu shot a sharp glance at Jong Wan-ji, who had been standing awkwardly to the side, gauging the situation.
"A-ahaha! I've got urgent matters to attend to. You two carry on."
Forcing a laugh, he hastily excused himself from the room.
Jong-ri Chu watched Jong Wan-ji's retreating back with evident displeasure.
"The recent incident with Dr. Choi Woo-seok alone proves it."
He spoke the moment Jong Wan-ji left the room.
"Wasn't it you who boldly claimed we could even catch that bastard Kim Si-mun if we played our cards right? That's why I entrusted the entire operation to you. And what was the result?"
"My, I didn't expect you to bring that up."
"And that's not all."
Despite Defina's lighthearted tone,
the ferocity in Jong-ri Chu's expression didn't fade.
"Your precious Dragon Emperors said they'd move up the sub-regulations, didn't they? Claimed they'd eliminate Kim Si-mun within the Arena."
"That's correct."
Bang!
"And this is the result?!"
Jong-ri Chu slammed his fist violently onto the table.
His anger was palpable.
"With absolutely nothing to show for it! Didn't both Dragonkin we matched with end up dead? And I mean truly dead—permanent death from the death penalty!"
His voice grew progressively louder.
"We didn't even extract any information about him! What the hell is this?! If you were going to arbitrarily move up the sub-regulations, you should've prepared proper countermeasures!"
Finally unleashing his killing intent, he grabbed the collar of her relaxed attire.
"Because of your idiotic blunders, I have to halt the Arena until the Death Exemption Ticket is released! I even lost a spot in the Yggdrasil Guild that gained death prevention rights! How exactly do you plan to make this right?!"
He looked ready to devour her on the spot,
Jong-ri Chu radiating intense bloodlust.
"You seem quite upset. Let me first explain and then share why I came."
Defina gently brushed aside the hand gripping her collar,
answering with her usual composed expression.
"As for Dr. Choi Woo-seok's transfer case... honestly, I have no excuses. I'll admit it. It was clearly our side's mistake."
Three upper-level Dragonkin selected after thorough consideration,
reinforced by additional forces from the Continent Guild.
"Who could have imagined such substantial forces being completely wiped out by a single Platinum player?"
No one expected a mere Platinum-tier player—not even a Ranker—to annihilate them so cleanly.
Perhaps her straightforward admission of fault softened him.
"...I'll admit, that surprised me too."
Jong-ri Chu nodded slowly.
"Had it been Kim Si-hyeok or Lee Yu-jeong, maybe. But for a mere rising star to wipe them out..."
"I believe it's more likely the Korean Association assisted him. There were reports of Association forces moving toward Silmi Island, weren't there?"
At Defina's words, Jong-ri Chu's eyebrows twitched.
"Kim Mu-yeol... has turned his back on me?"
"Why be surprised? You've failed to assassinate Kim Si-mun twice already. Especially the Desperado incident—you didn't even get Kim Mu-yeol's approval."
"Well... true."
Jace Clark, disciple of the Bomb Demon Mo Gadam.
His assassination attempt had been commissioned solely by Jong-ri Chu,
without seeking permission from Kim Mu-yeol, president of the Korean Association.
Naturally, this would sour relations with Kim Mu-yeol, who'd maintained a cooperative stance.
The world's top villain organization had invaded his territory without consent.
"Kim Mu-yeol did confront me about that incident."
"And after your second failed assassination attempt using test subjects, your relationship with him began deteriorating, didn't it?"
As Defina continued,
"...Are you blaming me now?"
Jong-ri Chu's face twisted into a deeper scowl.
"Hehe. That wasn't my intention."
Defina smiled leisurely and lightly brushed her fingers over his contorted cheek.
"Simply put, these factors suggest that the Iron Wood King might have intervened in Dr. Choi Woo-seok's case."
"A reasonable argument, but that's already in the past. It has nothing to do with the current So Jung-gyu incident."
"Precisely why I've come here personally, against the esteemed Fist King's wishes."
With a sly smile, Defina slid off the desk she'd been perched on.
"First, regarding the two Dragonkin who died in the Desert on the Scales—we'd like to clarify it was an accident on our part as well."
"An accident?"
Defina nodded and waved her hand through the air.
Then—
Fwoosh.
The mana scattered in the air coalesced into a distinct form.
Seeing this, Jong-ri Chu slightly furrowed his brow.
"Isn't that Ammit?"
"Correct. The monster residing in Duat, one of the Arena's elements of certain death."
"Elements of certain death?"
"You might not know this, but even with a Death Exemption Ticket, there's no guarantee of escaping death."
As Defina's fingers moved, the illusion of Ammit raised its fist and mimed a crushing motion.
"Certain maps contain elements where Death Exemption Tickets—or 'face-saving tickets'—are rendered meaningless."
"So in the dimension of Duat, Ammit is such an entity?"
"Exactly. In truth, Ammit is the goddess responsible for the annihilation of the deceased. If you die by her hand, a Death Exemption Ticket is utterly useless."
Thus, from the Dragonkin's perspective as well.
The incident in the Desert on the Scales the other day was essentially an unforeseen accident.
"I see the gist of it. Those two Dragonkin were meant to be killed by Ammit after Kim Si-mun stacked ten layers of sin, correct?"
"Most likely. Though now, we can't even ask them about it."
Contrary to her words.
Defina showed no particular regret as she lazily waved her hand, dispersing Ammit's illusion.
Then—
"Anyway. This is also why I came today."
With an enchanting smile, Defina extended a small fragment toward Jong-ri Chu.
A polygonal-shaped fragment.
In a way, it resembled a piece of reptilian scale.
"This—!"
Jong-ri Chu's eyes widened in rare astonishment at the sight.
"This is a Death Exemption Ticket used by our Dragonkin."
Defina wore a satisfied smile.
"We'll supply them periodically. With these, the damages from the Yggdrasil Guild incident can be somewhat mitigated."
"The Growth Buff still stings, but the death prevention is certainly useful."
Since it was an item that could prevent deaths among the So Jung-gyu personnel under his command.
It would at least stop his subordinates from deserting immediately.
"However, you're aware, right? Our Dragonkin's items still..."
"Must not be released on Earth. I'll handle the gag orders, so don't concern yourself."
"Hoho. How prickly."
Maintaining her satisfied smile.
"Then I'll occasionally pass along information about So Jung-gyu as well, so please don't be angry?"
She approached him and whispered.
"As a bonus, it'd be nice if you could procure more test subjects."
"Hmph. If you just do your job properly, there'll be no reason for embarrassment. I'll arrange for the test subjects through the government."
Jong-ri Chu coldly.
Yet with a strangely satisfied expression, he grasped the Dragonkin's Death Exemption Ticket in his hand.
Thud.
Inside the round, makeshift storage vault.
Rumble—
A cascade of items poured in.
Beside it, two more such makeshift vaults stood.
"Whew! That's the last of it."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead—a rare sight—Si-mun wore a deeply satisfied smile.
Beside Si-mun, who was in such a state.
Clunk clunk!
The silver-white golems also mimicked wiping their brows.
"Hehe! We did it!"
Si-yeon, who stood proudly at the front like their leader, also wiped her brow with a radiant smile.
And beside them—
—lay piles of every kind of metal, including the three great ores, S-rank materials, and crafting artifacts!
Before they knew it, the Philosopher's Stone from the flask had approached.
With bloodshot eyes, it stared at the neatly organized makeshift storage.
—Heeeuuung!!! My precious material loot, split into threeee!!!
Its body trembled violently before it abruptly dropped to the floor.
Then—
"Gotcha!"
Si-yeon, who had been waiting below, stretched out her arm like a ghost and caught her deranged sister.
But.
"Si-yeon. Ji-ji. Toss her."
"Okay! Dad!"
At Si-mun's firm, quick shake of his head,
Si-yeon, without a shred of hesitation, flung her convulsing sister onto the ground.
Roll roll roll.
The flask tumbled across the floor.
Yet the large eye inside remained completely rolled back.
"Tch."
Si-mun clicked his tongue and shook his head at the Philosopher's Stone, which had clearly lost its mind.
Then he turned his gaze to the stacked items.
'I expected the "gift of the apple" to bring only good things, but I never imagined they'd all be S-rank or higher.'
Not to mention—mithril, orichalcum, adamantium.
These weren't just high-tier junk materials but the rarest of the rare, filling the storage to the brim.
Si-mun's eyes shifted to the third storage area.
The one filled with crafting artifacts.
'Still, crafting artifacts won't be much help to me personally.'
He glanced sidelong at the mithril golems standing in orderly rows behind him.
'But they'd be quite effective if equipped by the golems.'
Even though these weren't crafting-specific golems, just standard transmutation models.
Since golems were summons in their own right, giving them independent items would naturally enhance their performance.
'Plus, with the Stat Enhancer boosting my Transmutation Power by 20...'
After the massive level-up (25 levels) from the previous arena,"Desert on the Scales,"
his Transmutation Power, which had been at 249, had risen another 20 points to 269.
Adding the +5 from the Pick of Kings, his total Transmutation Power reached a staggering 274.
Thanks to that—
'Now, I might even be able to use alchemy through the golems.'
Not just for crafting Arena Disease cure prototypes.
It felt like even the alchemy involved in drafting the cure could be entirely handled by the golems.
In other words—
'I can use them in combat too.'
It meant the golems could wield alchemy in battle.
'I need to test this right away.'
And wasn't there that linked quest from High Elf Ernen, too?
"Kyaha! Shiny! So shiny shiny!"
For a moment, Si-mun watched fondly as Si-yeon rolled around gleefully among the gathered ores.
Then, without delay, he logged into the Arena.
[Welcome to the Galaxy Arena.]
[Entering Special Arena:"Cradle of the Spirit Kings."]
[Entry item "Fragment of the Spirit Realm Key" has been consumed.]
Notifications scrolled upward in rapid succession.
Along with them—
—Oh! He's here!
—5252! We've been waiting!
—Bro! The Yggdrasil Guild's in chaos. What the hell happened?
—I saw the news too. Everyone from the alliance to the top guilds came looking.
—Mr. Si-mun! If you know anything, tell us~.
—What would this guy know? He's just a guild member lol.
—Fr, go ask the Sword Saint on his stream.
Chat messages from waiting viewers poured in like a flood.
At the same time.
Whoosh.
The empty waiting space rapidly transformed into an arena map.
"Hello, everyone. Nice to meet—"
Si-mun's face froze mid-greeting.
The reason was simple.
Before him lay the vividly colored Spirit Realm—a place he had seen in his past life.
And there, in that realm—
Grrrrr.
'Why... is that thing here?!'
Something that should not be present was there.