Chapter 24: Clash (4)

Immediately after subjugating the elite monster, the Centipede Queen.

Along with the subjugation completion notification, an additional message appeared tallying the contribution.

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

[Rewards will be distributed according to contribution.]

[Reward]: 2,000 Coins

‘It’s giving 2,000 Coins?’

The reward was twice that of the Collector.

The only difference was that the level was a bit higher, but he didn’t expect the reward to increase this much.

In any case, more is better.

Han-seong smiled with satisfaction.

[Job Quest: Mage – Progress 1/3]

An additional notification appeared.

Along with it, a forgotten memory resurfaced.

‘Ah, right. There was a quest.’

To subjugate three elite monsters.

The quest completion reward was specific equipment and qualification to enter a place called the ‘Mage’s Tower’.

Setting aside the equipment, he still wasn’t sure what the Mage’s Tower meant.

‘Anyway, two more to go now.’

This would naturally be achieved as time passed. Subjugating elite monsters was, in a way, inevitable.

Han-seong collected the Centipede Queen’s loot.

Two skillbooks and a red egg.

Since he couldn’t view the loot information while controlling the Collector, he decided to store them in its stomach pouch for now.

‘But is there no soul stone?’

If there was a soul stone, he could turn the Centipede Queen into a Replica too. But no matter how thoroughly he searched the surroundings, no soul stone was visible.

He thought it would drop with 100% probability, but apparently not. Han-seong swallowed his disappointment and turned away from the Centipede Queen.

‘Now then…’

It was time to meet the survivors and hear the full story. Having witnessed them fleeing towards Jamsil Station earlier, he immediately moved the Collector.

Meanwhile, around that time.

There were eyes watching this scene from the rooftop of a high-rise building. Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok. Hyeon-seok’s eyes widened at the sight through his binoculars.

“How on earth…”

There were two reasons for his surprise.

One was the range of the Mage’s skills.

He thought the battle would take place near Jamsil Station, but he never imagined an attack from over 1km away.

And the other reason was because of the headless monster that had fought one-on-one with the centipede monster. Hyeon-seok’s face hardened at that familiar appearance.

“…How is that monster still alive?”

The elite monster, Collector.

The very perpetrator that had literally massacred the underground mall survivors. The moment he spotted it, Hyeon-seok felt chills run down his spine.

His original purpose had been simple.

To snatch the loot and flee as soon as the Mage defeated the elite monster. But seeing the Collector, he didn’t even dare approach.

“Could the Mage have revived it?”

In the past, Hyeon-seok had seen a skill that revived and controlled corpses. So it wasn’t a completely baseless speculation.

While observing the Collector’s actions with a tense face, he saw it collecting the elite monster’s loot.

“That…”

It was the moment his speculation about the Mage reviving the Collector was confirmed. If it were the real Collector, it wouldn’t be interested in loot.

In the end, he had only done the Mage a favor.

Hyeon-seok’s face crumpled in anger.

“Damn it all!”

Hyeon-seok let out an angry cry.

But that wouldn’t bring back the loot that had already been taken. In the end, Hyeon-seok had no choice but to return to his base without any gains.

Meanwhile, the Collector chasing the survivors showcased its excellent jumping ability as it traversed building rooftops. Soon after, it found its target.

The survivors who had come from Gangnam.

They had just arrived at Jamsil Station Exit 5, and seeing this, Han-seong manipulated the Collector to jump down from a nearby rooftop.

Boom! Crack!

The asphalt shattered from the impact of the landing, raising a cloud of dust. A moment later, the survivors faced with the Collector sat down with startled expressions.

“Eek!”

“Ah, that monster from earlier…!”

“Damn, is it our turn now?”

Their reactions showed considerable wariness.

Han-seong rummaged through the Collector’s stomach pouch.

What he took out was a sketchbook covered in blood and bodily fluids. It was the very sketchbook he had used to communicate with Ha-eun in the past.

「Hello. This is the Mage.」

「This is something I control like a subordinate. I apologize if I startled you.」

When he showed the sentences he had written in the past, the survivors were momentarily confused but then lowered their guard.

However, since he hadn’t written any additional sentences to communicate with, Han-seong had the Collector strike the ground a couple of times with its arm.

“Wh-what is it doing?”

Unable to understand the Collector’s actions?

The survivors wore confused expressions.

Then a man with a scruffy beard muttered with a look of realization.

“…Is it telling us to wait here?”

At those words, Han-seong moved the Collector’s body up and down. The man understood this as affirmation and carefully sat down.

Fortunately, the communication seemed to have gone well.

After having the survivors wait, Han-seong returned the Collector to the officetel. He then retrieved the loot and sketchbook.

“Ugh, this is unusable.”

The sketchbook reeked of a foul odor, covered in blood and bodily fluids. Han-seong took out a new notebook from the drawer and wrote down a few questions.

But then he soon stopped his pen.

“Ah, come to think of it…”

Couldn’t he just meet them and ask directly?

There was someone who could go in his place, after all.

Having finished his thought, Han-seong sent the Collector down to the lower floor. A moment later, footsteps were heard along with a familiar voice.

“Mage-nim, did you call for me?”

Alchemist Lee Ji-hye.

Han-seong smiled silently at her appearance.

Some time later.

Late at night, as Ji-hye was heading down to the first floor via the officetel stairs, she mulled over what had just happened.

The Mage, who had suddenly summoned her, made an unexpected request.

「There are survivors from Gangnam gathered at Jamsil Station Exit 5. Could you ask them a few questions on my behalf?」

Along with saying he would pay her separately for the task, the Mage handed over a notebook with questions written in it.

Through the milk delivery slot in the front door.

Since he usually used the same method to give her Coins, Ji-hye naturally accepted it. Her recollection ended there.

“Phew.”

Ji-hye let out a sigh.

She felt mental pressure at the thought of meeting strangers. But she wasn’t scared. After all, the Mage was behind her.

And she had the formidable Collector as an escort too.

‘Let’s pull myself together.’

Ji-hye slapped her cheeks hard and headed towards the station exit where the survivors were said to be.

She soon spotted a group of people and approached them to speak.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Wh-who are you…?”

“I’m Lee Ji-hye. I’ve come to meet you as a representative of the Mage.”

Mage. At those words, wariness and tension appeared on the survivors’ faces. After a moment, the man with the scruffy beard spoke up.

“What business does the Mage have with us…”

“The Mage-nim.”

“…Pardon?”

“Please call him Mage-nim.”

Ji-hye smiled sweetly.

Feeling an inexplicable pressure, the man swallowed dryly and corrected his speech.

“Wh-what business does the Mage-nim have with…”

“He has a few questions to ask.”

Cutting him off, Ji-hye asked who the leader of the group was. Everyone’s gaze turned to the bearded man, who sighed and revealed his name.

“I’m Park Young-cheol.”

Level 8. Job: Axe Warrior.

After Young-cheol’s introduction, Ji-hye voiced the questions written in the notebook.

“First, I’d like to know where the elite monster first appeared.”

“Ah, it was at Yeoksam Station.”

“Were there any unusual circumstances when it appeared?”

“Not particularly. Except that it disappeared deep underground shortly after appearing.”

Young-cheol answered without hesitation.

Ji-hye nodded silently while taking notes, then immediately moved on to the next question.

“You seemed to be chased by the elite monster. What was the reason for being pursued?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Young-cheol hesitated to answer for a moment.

Ji-hye, who was usually quick to notice such things, caught this change immediately. She narrowed her eyes and spoke in a warning tone.

“The Mage-nim can see through all lies. If you deliberately hide the truth, I can’t guarantee what will happen afterwards.”

At Ji-hye’s words, the Collector turned to look at her once. But that was brief; soon it waved its arms threateningly, and the survivors’ faces instantly turned pale.

“W-well, the truth is…”

Young-cheol finally raised the white flag.

He spilled everything that had happened to him and his colleagues so far. At the same time, he tried to defend their actions.

Saying they had no choice but to follow orders after falling for the Poison Master’s scheme. Meanwhile, Ji-hye, who had been listening to the whole story, asked back in a surprised voice.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“We were told to lure it to where the Mage is…”

“No, before that. Who ordered you to lure the elite monster?”

“A man named Bae Hyeon-seok.”

Ji-hye’s expression hardened like stone.

Her shoulders trembled like an aspen tree. As her complexion turned white from the resurfacing nightmare of the past.

The Collector tapped her shoulder.

“Ah!”

Thanks to that, Ji-hye barely regained her senses and calmed herself by taking deep breaths. Then she asked Young-cheol again as if to confirm.

“That man, is his job by any chance Poison Master?”

“That’s right. Oh, do you know him?”

“…I do know him. In a bad way.”

Ji-hye chewed on her lip.

Apart from Han-seong’s questions, she voiced a doubt that had just occurred to her.

“Where is the Poison Master now?”

“He has a base in a hotel near Yeoksam Station Exit 6. Along with his colleagues.”

At Young-cheol’s answer, the Collector’s body turned towards Yeoksam Station. Just then.

“Um, excuse me…”

Someone raised their hand.

A woman with a tall build. She glanced at Ji-hye and spoke in a careful tone.

“May I ask one thing?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Does the Mage-nim perhaps have the ability to neutralize poison? We’re in a difficult situation without an antidote right now…”

Ah, that’s right, they mentioned being poisoned earlier.

Ji-hye turned her head and said.

“If that’s the problem, try going to the shopping mall near Seokchon Lake. There’s a Healer staying there who can neutralize poison.”

“There are survivors there too?”

“Yes, but I don’t recommend going there right now. Zombies controlled by a Necromancer are probably patrolling the area at this hour.”

So she advised them to visit the shopping mall after it was fully light out to avoid being attacked.

Perhaps because of the mention that poison could be neutralized?

Young-cheol and his group’s expressions brightened considerably.

“Then is there anywhere nearby we can sleep…”

“You can sleep anywhere you like. This whole area is safe anyway.”

“Oh, it’s safe?”

On what grounds?

Young-cheol showed his doubts, and Ji-hye shrugged and replied.

“Well, because the Mage-nim completely annihilated all the zombies in this area.”

“He, he eliminated all the zombies?”

“Yes. He even dealt with all the zombies inside buildings, so you can rest easy.”

There are no zombies or monsters within a 300-meter radius of Jamsil Station. At Ji-hye’s words, Young-cheol and the employees wore blank expressions.

Afterwards, Ji-hye asked a few more minor questions, and Young-cheol answered in as much detail as possible.

How much time had passed like that?

“Thank you for answering the questions. I’ll take my leave now.”

With a brief word of thanks at the end.

Ji-hye turned back towards the officetel. The Collector, which had been standing blankly for a moment, followed after her, and the two disappeared into the darkness.

Around the same time.

Han-seong eavesdropped on Young-cheol and Ji-hye’s conversation through the Collector. Amidst the various questions and answers exchanged, a familiar name caught his ear.

“Bae Hyeon-seok?”

The leader of the underground mall.

A devil of a man who had ruled over survivors with ruthless violence and exploitation. Recalling him, Han-seong immediately furrowed his brow.

That’s when Ji-hye asked about Hyeon-seok’s whereabouts, and Young-cheol’s answer soon followed.

‘A hotel near Yeoksam Station Exit 6.’

Han-seong used Precise Observation.

After thoroughly searching suspicious hotels, he was able to find Hyeon-seok. Then he activated the Detection skill, revealing the man’s status.

[Name]: Bae Hyeon-seok

[Job]: Poison Master

[Owned Skills]:

▷Deadly Poison Generation (Intermediate)

▷Deadly Poison Injection (Intermediate)

▷Antidote Generation (Intermediate)

▷Poison Absorption

▷Poison Insect Manipulation

His level was surprisingly high.

And he had five skills too.

However, what caught his attention was something else.

The fact that all the people with Hyeon-seok were in a poisoned state. Han-seong let out a bitter laugh.

‘Old habits die hard, I guess…’

To think he’d be doing the same thing there too. Han-seong’s eyes turned cold.

Then a question soon arose.

‘Why did he send the Centipede Queen to me?’

Young-cheol had said. That they were ordered to lure the elite monster to where the Mage was. And that this was all they were instructed to do.

If so, Hyeon-seok’s purpose itself remained unclear. Han-seong came up with two speculations.

‘Was he planning to attack me?’

The first was the simplest guess.

But Han-seong had no reason to be targeted by Hyeon-seok. They hadn’t had any conflicts or been in an antagonistic relationship.

They hadn’t even been involved with each other in the first place.

So he thought of a second speculation.

‘The elite monster’s loot.’

All elite monsters drop at least one piece of loot. This was a fact learned from survivors who had subjugated elite monsters before.

So wasn’t it possible that he was hiding nearby, planning to quickly come out and steal the loot once the Centipede Queen was defeated?

‘Whatever the case, it’s clearly a threat.’

Just the fact that he lured an elite monster to where Han-seong was is threatening enough.

If it had been a monster immune to magic, he would have surely been killed on the spot. Han-seong muttered with cold eyes.

“Should I just kill him?”

A single sentence uttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

Han-seong raised his eyebrows.

He was surprised at how casually he had mentioned murder. In the past, he had been so weak-willed that he couldn’t even hit others.

On the other hand, now he felt nothing even while talking about murder. A clear change from before. Han-seong quickly found the reason.

‘I must have become desensitized.’

The influence of hunting thousands of zombies that were once human, breaking down his existing moral standards.

The boundaries of the act of killing itself had also become blurred. However, Han-seong didn’t think this change was particularly bad.

‘If the world has changed, people must change too.’

Just because the world has turned into hell doesn’t mean everyone cooperates. There are people like Hyeon-seok, and surely there are even worse ones out there.

So killing for self-defense can’t be seen as entirely wrong. If you don’t deal with the other party, you might be the one to suffer someday.

‘So…’

Let’s get rid of him before he becomes a bigger threat.

Han-seong made up his mind like that.

But it was difficult to eliminate Hyeon-seok right away. It’s about 7km from here to Yeoksam Station.

It’s outside the effective range of attack skills.

Then an idea occurred to him.

‘What if I go out with the Collector?’

If he enters the Collector’s stomach pouch and goes outside, then closes the distance with Hyeon-seok, wouldn’t he be able to deal with him?

At this sudden thought, Han-seong pulled his wheelchair into the corridor. To test this hypothesis as soon as the Collector returned.

But an unexpected problem arose.

[Active skills will be canceled.]

▷Open Map

▷Magic Castle

▷Remote: Replica Manual Mode

-The Replica will switch to standby mode.

“…Huh?”

No, why suddenly?

Then an additional message appeared.

[Warning: You have left your base.]

[The Blessing of Remote Support will disappear.]

Blessing of Remote Support?

What’s that? As Han-seong wondered, an explanation about the blessing appeared before his eyes.

[Blessing of Remote Support]

▷All acquired skills are modified to fit the job. However, you cannot receive the blessing’s effect when you leave your base.

“Don’t tell me…!”

Han-seong checked his owned skills.

And his eyes widened. Because the effects of all the skills he possessed had changed drastically. Just looking at Magic Arrow alone, the difference was clear.

[Non-attribute: Magic Arrow (Lv.4)]

-Attacks a single target.

▷Range: 40m

▷Max Charge: 5 shots

▷Mana Cost: 100

▷Activation Time: Instant

▷Cooldown: 30 minutes

First, the skill’s name changed from ‘Remote’ to ‘Non-attribute’. The effective range changed to range, and the explanation about hitting enemies on the map had completely disappeared.

The biggest change was the range.

The effective range, which was originally 1.4km, had drastically decreased to just 40m. It was practically a useless skill for Han-seong, who had difficulty moving freely.

At that moment, a guide message appeared.

[Guide]

▷Secure a new base.

▷You can secure an additional new base by passing trials in the Mage’s Tower.

‘Mage’s Tower.’

He had been told that qualification to enter the tower would be given after subjugating 3 elite monsters.

Having obtained the clue about additional bases through the guide message, Han-seong returned to his room.

[Entering base.]

[The Blessing of Remote Support is applied.]

[Skills are reactivated.]

[Remote: Replica Manual Mode]

“Phew, that scared me.”

Fortunately, it seems the blessing doesn’t disappear completely. Han-seong let out a sigh of relief.

It looks like it will be difficult to use skills while roaming outside with the Collector.

“A base, huh…”

As he mulled over the newly learned information, Han-seong shook his head to clear away stray thoughts. Although his curiosity was piqued, it wasn’t an issue to worry about right away.

So he recalled his original concern.

To eliminate the Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok.

‘If I can’t go out with the Collector, I can just send the Collector alone.’

That way, he should be able to deal with him for sure.

However, there was a worrying point here too.

The fact that there’s no guarantee Hyeon-seok’s poison only works on humans. In other words, there’s a possibility the Collector could be poisoned.

‘I need to prepare countermeasures before sending it.’

Even if he succeeds in eliminating Hyeon-seok, losing the Collector would be a greater loss than gain.

What should he do?

Should he try to persuade Kang Eun-ji, the Healer who accompanies Tae-min, to come? Or should he look for skills or equipment related to detoxification?

He pondered but couldn’t think of a suitable solution. As he sighed in frustration, something caught Han-seong’s eye.

“…Ah.”

The loot obtained from the Centipede Queen.

Right, why don’t we take a look at this first, while catching our breath? Han-seong reached out to the skillbooks and the red rock.

And his eyes widened.

“Th-this is…!”

[Skillbook: Poison Fog]

[Skillbook: Antidote Potion Crafting]

[Egg of Gu Poison]

The list of loot items spread out before his eyes.

Han-seong, who had been blank for a moment, burst into laughter.

He felt like the worries that had been troubling him until just now would be quickly resolved.