Repairs and Upgrades

The upper echelons of the South Korean government were on pins and needles.

The cause of their collective agony was none other than Hunter Jeon Jaewoo.

Minister Lee Cheolsoo had gnawed his fingernails down to the quick, drawing beads of red, yet the sting barely registered against his mounting anxiety.

"Still no word from Hunter Jeon Jaewoo?"

"No, sir. Nothing has changed."

"This is driving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me insane."

It was no figure of speech; the suffocating uncertainty was threatening to run him into an early grave. Since the ruin's designated exploration window had not yet closed, nothing was officially confirmed. Even so, if something had gone wrong with Jaewoo inside an Ancient-grade ruin...

Mirroring the growing unease gripping the general public, media outlets churned out sensational headlines by the hour. Yet, shattering everyone's grim forebodings, Jeon Jaewoo walked out into the open air the very second the raid's duration expired.

And there, perched at the very summit of the official leaderboard, eclipsing the most renowned champions from across the globe, stood the name Jeon Jaewoo.

The moment Yoo Jeongtae confirmed Jaewoo's name at the head of the roster, he sprinted over without stopping to catch his breath.

"Aigoo, Hunter Jeon Jaewoo! You made it out in one piece!!"

Jaewoo reflexively leaned back. Dodging an adult man barreling toward him with snot and tears streaming down his cheeks was an ordeal of its own. Once the commissioner managed to compose himself, they stepped into Jaewoo's living room to speak in private.

"Did you truly endure inside the Wall of Void right until the very end?"

"Yes. Once the full month passed, it automatically ejected me."

As an aside, unlike ordinary ruins, the Wall of Void had vanished into thin air the instant that month drew to a close, dissolving so utterly that no one could ever set foot inside again. What stunned Yoo Jeongtae even more was that Jaewoo appeared completely hale, without a visible scratch to his name. It was not that he wished harm upon the young man, but emerging entirely unscathed from a trial of that magnitude was nothing short of miraculous.

"Are you feeling well? If you are hurting anywhere, please come to the Hunter Bureau's medical facility right away."

"I don't need a treatment center, but it was rather draining. I won't be able to attempt any ruin expeditions for the time being."

Hearing that Jaewoo intended to sit on the sidelines for a while, Yoo Jeongtae sighed inwardly.

If only he would join forces with our assault teams...

Then we could share the rewards fairly, too.

Even so, Jaewoo had weathered the catastrophic trial of that ruin entirely on his own. Yoo Jeongtae could not even begin to fathom where this young man's ceiling lay.

"In that case, please get plenty of rest and contact us whenever you decide to resume. If you ever require assistance, just say the word."

"Yes. Thank you, Commissioner."

Shortly thereafter, the final standings were logged and the raid prizes distributed. Every hunter who had challenged the ruin received rewards graded strictly according to how long they had managed to stay alive. Just as Novum had foretold, the reward took the form of Ruin Extra Clear Tickets.

The strike team fielded by the South Korean Hunter Bureau had endured for ten days, earning a single Extra Clear Ticket. Since crossing the threshold of the ruin had already docked one entry from each member's personal quota, the venture had effectively amounted to a pointless gamble. Worse, it was an astronomical net loss. They had netted only one ticket while squandering the precious, irreplaceable raid quotas of multiple S-grade and A-grade hunters. The sole silver lining was that recovering and liquidating a handful of monster corpses had recouped a modest sum of funds.

Meanwhile, foreign coalitions like Japan's, which had managed to hold out for roughly fifteen days, received two tickets. And Jeon Jaewoo, who took first place, was awarded the grandest bounty of all: six tickets.

I never expected it to be this generous.

Then again, considering the hell he had endured inside, anything less would have felt like an insult. The Wall of Void handed out rewards to all contenders based on their survival time, but its practical lethal hazard was on par with a Mythic-grade ruin. An infinite horde surging relentlessly for thirty days, capped by that final divine sphere...

In the end, Myeolgeop's calculation was dead accurate.

Even if they mustered every ounce of their combined might, their chances of conquering a true Mythic-grade ruin sat below fifty percent. They had withstood the energy sphere's onslaught, but they had never managed to defeat it; they had barely held out by the skin of their teeth for over twenty-four hours until the timer forced their exit.

Setting the thought aside, Jaewoo tore the consumable ticket scrolls to claim their benefit.

His remaining allowance surged immediately. Entering the Ancient ruin had deducted one clear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from his quota, but now his reserve had not only recovered its starting total—it was fully refreshed. Expanding his remaining lifetime attempts by fifty percent was a monumental triumph.

However, an acute crisis had also reared its head: Myeolgeop, Jaewoo's paramount vanguard, was completely inoperable.

The golem had poured every shred of its power into withstanding the ceaseless barrage unleashed by the divine sphere. After maintaining that absolute barrier for more than a day, its core mechanisms had finally seized. Sustaining non-stop warfare for nearly a month, followed by erecting a massive barrier against divine-tier firepower, had induced a catastrophic system overload.

Against this mechanical shutdown, even Novum's restorative gifts proved useless. Healing was fundamentally an act of mending flesh and biological processes, not replenishing spent lifespans or mechanical integrity. It could close a mortal wound on an elder in the blink of an eye, but it could never rewind time to make a withered body young again. Myeolgeop was not an organic creature, but as a mechanical construct, it was bound by the laws of structural fatigue and operational thresholds.

"Could we bring it back using your Resurrection trait?" Jaewoo asked.

The Elder Lich clicked his jawbones and shook his skull.

"Myeolgeop is not technically dead, so it poses a vexing conundrum. Besides, does the dichotomy of life and death even apply to a golem in the first place?"

Indeed, Myeolgeop's status window did not mark it as deceased.

"Maker, why rack your brain so grievously? Does the Maker not possess the Box of Heaven? It is capable of repairs, is it not?"

Jaewoo perked up at once.

Ah. Come to think of it, it did have that feature.

The Box of Heaven could indeed restore broken implements. His lingering hesitation, however, was whether feeding Myeolgeop back into the box might accidentally produce a completely different entity.

"Myeolgeop is already bound to your soul, Maker. It will not mutate into an unfamiliar entity."

Reassured, Jaewoo placed the inert golem into the Box of Heaven. The lid sealed tight, and the restoration sequence engaged.

Jaewoo stared at the countdown, his eyes going wide.

It takes that long?!

Because Myeolgeop's tier was so extraordinarily elevated, the repair required more than an entire month—nearly seven hundred and fifty hours. During that window, he would have access to neither Myeolgeop nor the Box of Heaven. As demonstrated time and again, Myeolgeop was his supreme offensive asset, wielding two Transcendent-grade traits. Novum also possessed a Transcendent trait, but its domain was centered squarely on recovery and nature.

I really can't conquer any ruins for the time being.

A Rare-grade ruin might be manageable, but diving into a Legendary-grade one with only his current roster was needlessly reckless. Fortunately, he was not entirely helpless.

Conquering the recent ruin had shattered another seal on the Box of Heaven.

The trait's rank turned entirely into question marks...

Thanks to the upgrade granting dual-slot capacity, an empty slot remained available for crafting.

Following the disappearance of the Wall of Void, the next cycle of ruins was revealed. This time, the manifests returned to their ordinary pattern: several Legendary-grade ruins emerged across the globe, with not a single Ancient-grade among them. Nations mobilized their forces as usual, methodically preparing their expeditions.

Yet Jeon Jaewoo, who had dominated the headlines for months, remained entirely still. Without Myeolgeop spearheading the charge, he lacked the absolute assurance needed to tackle a Legendary-grade ruin. He had already notified the Hunter Bureau that he would be on hiatus, so no one pressed him.

Instead, Jaewoo dedicated his days to swordsmanship, honing the combat disciplines Myeolgeop had drilled into him. Between sparring sessions, he swept through low-tier dungeons around the outskirts of Seoul alongside the Elder Lich and Novum, systematically hunting down monsters. He loaded the harvested remains into the empty slot of the box, trying his hand at crafting anew.

Perhaps another combatant capable of substituting for Myeolgeop would emerge.

Inevitably, every attempt yielded nothing of the sort.

It really only spits out equipment.

At this rate, he might as well rename the trait "Box of Items." He was reminded once again how absurdly fortunate he had been to pull a creation like Myeolgeop on the first attempt. Not that the items tumbling out were mundane—every single one was an exceptional relic. Had he sold them to the Hunter Bureau, they would have handed him bags of cash and bowed until their heads hit the floor. But Jaewoo was not hunting for gear; he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted a sentient vanguard like Myeolgeop, the Elder Lich, or Novum.

Should I just dump all my leftover materials into the box at once?

If the sheer volume was astronomical, perhaps it would forge something omnipotent. The second he voiced that thought, however, the Elder Lich raised his skeletal staff in protest.

"Maker! One must only combine ingredients that share harmonious traits. If you cast disparate debris in willy-nilly, you will end up with an abominable mishmash that is neither fish nor fowl!"

Well, even when he fed it matching parts, nothing useful had emerged. Right then, the Elder Lich clattered his jaws and offered a novel suggestion.

"If you are truly that desperate, how about placing one of us back into the box?"

"What?"

Caught entirely off guard by the bizarre proposition, Jaewoo blinked in bewilderment.

"What are you saying? Neither you nor Novum are damaged. What is there to fix?"

"Think of it not as repairs, but as an upgrade!"

Ah. Of course.

The Box of Heaven could accept anything. That meant anything could serve as a component. Summons that had already been brought to life were no exception.

"But what if you go in and come out as something grotesque?"

"Did I not remind you when Myeolgeop went inside? We are intrinsically tethered to your very soul, Maker! Furthermore, an enhancement of our capabilities is an absolute certainty."

Well, if he was that confident...

"Are you certain it will be fine?"

"For our present predicament, I believe this is the finest path toward what the Maker seeks."

Persuaded by the lich's conviction, Jaewoo gathered all the items and catalysts refined from undead monsters and packed them into the Box of Heaven. Finally, the Elder Lich stepped into the chamber of his own accord.

Before the lid swung downward, the skeletal sorcerer offered a jaunty wave with his bony hand.

"Then I shall see you shortly, Maker. Do mind your health while I am gone. And Novum, tend well to our Maker in our absence!"

"Don't worry about a thing!" Novum chimed cheerfully.

Mind my health? It's only a few days, old man...

With a heavy thud, the lid sealed shut.

The time required for the Elder Lich's rebirth exceeded three full days. Unlike ordinary synthesis, which concluded in twenty-four hours, the extended countdown seemed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reflect the magnitude of the guaranteed evolution.

Maybe I should've asked him to leave behind a few skeletons as bodyguards before jumping in.

Now, the only thing Jaewoo could do was wait for his summons to step back into the light. What forms would Myeolgeop and the Elder Lich take when they finally reemerged?