Chapter 26: Unexpected Windfall (1)

Thud! Rollll-.

The Poison Master’s severed head rolled across the floor.

Despite the gruesome sight of blood splattered everywhere, Han-seong’s expression remained unchanged.

He had expected to feel nauseous at the fact of killing someone. But his surprisingly calm state of mind left him more perplexed.

‘Is it because I didn’t kill him directly?’

Was the sense of guilt relatively light because he had used the Collector to do the deed? Or had he become so fully adapted to this world that he no longer felt any sense of sin?

Either way, it wasn’t a bad change.

It would be tiresome if his mental state was shaken every time he committed murder. As he was about to move on to the next task, leaving Hyeon-seok’s corpse behind…

[Conditions have been met.]

[Replica Skill: Fusion]

[Do you want to use the skill?]

A notification message suddenly appeared.

Come to think of it, the Collector had a skill called Fusion, didn’t it? A skill that enhances abilities by fusing parts of the target’s body to its torso. He had found it strange that it didn’t activate against zombies, but to think the target was actually human bodies.

‘Fusing the Poison Master’s body, huh.’

Although it felt somewhat unsettling, there was no reason to refuse. After all, enhancing the Collector’s physical abilities was what he had hoped for.

Han-seong activated the Fusion skill.

Soon after, an additional message appeared.

[Choose the part to fuse.]

[Choose 1 between head and heart]

[Different effects will be applied depending on the part.]

▶Head: Language proficiency, Expanded field of vision (+10%)

▶Heart: Skill acquisition and implementation (+1)

Upon seeing this, Han-seong realized.

Why the Collector had only collected the heads of survivors and attached them to its body in the past.

‘To find me…’

The Collector has a narrow field of vision.

It would have been difficult to pinpoint Han-seong’s location with just its basic abilities. So it must have expanded its field of vision by attaching the heads of survivors all over its body.

‘But that’s not necessary now.’

When moving the Collector in manual mode, he could observe the entire surrounding view. Not to mention the Open Map and the special function of Precise Observation.

And the language proficiency function wasn’t particularly appealing either. Especially considering the Collector’s original language abilities.

So Han-seong focused on the heart.

‘Acquire and implement the target’s skills.’

In other words, it meant he could acquire one of the skills possessed by the Poison Master. Finding this more appealing, Han-seong immediately activated the skill.

[Replica Skill: Fusion activated]

[You have selected the heart.]

With the skill activation, the Collector stretched out its long arm and pulled out Hyeon-seok’s heart. Then it unceremoniously stuffed the heart into its own body.

Some time later.

[You have acquired a new skill.]

[Please check your status.]

A notification that one of the Poison Master’s skills had been added to the Collector’s status. Upon checking this, information about the newly added skill was immediately revealed.

『Deadly Poison Absorption: Absorbs various types of poison and stores them in the body. Develops resistance to absorbed poisons, and stored poisons can be released externally at any time.』

Just gaining resistance to poisons would have been useful enough, but being able to release stored poisons externally as well?

Quite a useful skill.

As he was smiling with satisfaction, suddenly a backpack fell near Hyeon-seok’s corpse. Then an unexpected message appeared.

[Bae Hyeon-seok: Poison Master (Lv.20)]

*You can acquire the target’s possessions.

▷1,042 Coins

▷Skillbook: ??

▷Lowest Grade Antidote x14

▷Intermediate Deadly Poison Reagent x5

Looking inside the backpack, it was full of the items listed in the message just now. The Coins were stored in the form of coins in a pouch.

Above all, the unidentified skillbook was enough to pique his curiosity. After collecting this unexpected gain, Han-seong soon looked around.

‘Well then, now…’

It was time for the finishing touches.

Returning the people poisoned by Hyeon-seok to their original state. To do that, he first needed to confirm the number of people who needed detoxification.

Only then could he sort out and deliver the detox potions and antidotes. But right after using the Detection skill, something unexpected happened.

“…Huh?”

There was a difference compared to when he had used Detection before attacking Hyeon-seok.

At that moment, Han-seong’s eyes widened.

Because he had found the difference.

‘They’ve been freed from the poisoned state.’

Originally, when using Detection, the phrase ‘Status Effect: Poisoned’ would be added to the bottom of the status window of poisoned targets.

In fact, when he had used Detection before the attack, that phrase had appeared for everyone here.

‘But now…’

No matter how much he looked, it wasn’t there.

Confused by this inexplicable situation, one speculation flashed through his mind.

‘Could it be because the Poison Master died?’

That poison was created by a skill.

Since the skill’s user had disappeared from the world, it made sense that the poison would disappear too. This was currently the most plausible explanation.

Han-seong looked at the notebook he had taken out of the Collector’s pouch with a dejected expression.

‘I prepared this for nothing.’

He had written explanations in the notebook in advance, anticipating the situation after eliminating Hyeon-seok.

That the Poison Master had been eliminated, and instructions on how to use the detox potions, and so on.

But now that the poison had disappeared, there was no need to explain the situation separately. They would realize they had been freed from the poisoning just by checking their status.

‘Well, shall we head back then.’

Han-seong threw Hyeon-seok’s corpse in the middle of the room. So that the survivors who had been exploited by the Poison Master could see his final moments.

The Collector escaped through the gaping hole in the ceiling with its powerful jumping ability. Afterwards, it returned to the officetel by leaping across the rooftops of buildings.

After achieving the goal of eliminating the Poison Master.

The Collector controlled by Han-seong had now reached Jamsil Station. Near Exit 5. While passing by, he suddenly noticed some familiar faces.

‘Those people are…’

The survivors who had lured the Centipede Queen yesterday on the Poison Master’s orders. I wonder if they too have been freed from the poisoned state?

If so, then he could be certain about the speculation he had earlier. Feeling curious, Han-seong brought the Collector down and landed at Exit 5.

Kuuung!

The Collector landing right in front of the survivors.

Perhaps because of its sudden appearance?

The people, who seemed to have just woken up, each showed a startled reaction. That’s when someone recognized the Collector first.

“Ah! Mage-nim.”

A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard.

It was the man named Park Young-cheol who had conversed with Ji-hye on behalf of the other survivors yesterday.

Unlike the other employees, he approached without fear of the Collector. Then he suddenly bowed 90 degrees and said:

“I wasn’t able to greet you properly yesterday due to the circumstances, but thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, Mage-nim, we would have died long ago.”

A heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Han-seong waved the Collector’s hand.

As if to say don’t worry about it.

“Haha, thank you for saying so.”

“…Manager. How do you understand what he’s saying?”

An employee beside him asked curiously.

As those words suggested, Young-cheol was quick-witted.

He was able to guess what Han-seong was trying to say just by looking at the Collector’s actions.

‘Come to think of it, it was the same yesterday too.’

When he had spread his palm and tapped the ground to indicate they should sit and wait, Young-cheol had been the first to understand that as well.

Anyway, if there’s someone quick on the uptake, communication becomes easier even without words.

That’s when Young-cheol spoke up.

“What brings you here today?”

The reason Han-seong had come to find them was to confirm if they had been freed from the poisoned state.

But there was a problem. Detection was currently on cooldown. In the end, he needed to tell them to check their status, but…

‘How should I express this?’

Can it be expressed through actions?

Han-seong was lost in thought.

Fortunately, the contemplation didn’t last long.

“M-Manager!”

A female employee came running from afar, out of breath.

The youngest-looking among all the employees, she shouted with wide eyes:

“Please check your status. Quickly!”

“Sigh, Eun-hee. Don’t make such a fuss. The Mage is here, so please be a little quieter…”

“I thought my body felt strangely light earlier, but the poison that was in my body has disappeared!”

“…What?”

Young-cheol asked back with a surprised face.

He hurriedly checked his status and his eyes widened. Han-seong, who had been watching this scene through the Collector, silently nodded.

‘It seems my speculation was correct after all.’

When the Poison Master dies, all the poisons he used disappear as well. Han-seong swallowed his belated regret as he felt his curiosity resolved.

If only he had known this earlier, he could have reduced the number of victims much more than now.

Meanwhile, Young-cheol and the employees still showed confused reactions, as if unable to understand the change.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Ah. Could it be that a Healer came by?”

“That’s not possible.”

“We took turns keeping watch through the night, and no one came here.”

“Hmm, I don’t understand.”

People exchanging various opinions and speculations.

Han-seong took out the notebook from the Collector’s pouch. Then he opened the part he had written to show Hyeon-seok’s subordinates and revealed it to everyone.

『The Poison Master is dead.』

The moment this short, intense sentence was revealed.

A hush fell over the scene.

A moment later, expressions of surprise, bewilderment, and shock bloomed on people’s faces in turn.

“What? Wh-what do you mean…”

“The Poison Master is dead?”

“Did you do this, Mage-nim?”

Young-cheol asked cautiously.

Han-seong moved the Collector’s body up and down. It was a signal of affirmation. And once again, Young-cheol caught on to this uncannily well.

“I see. So Mage-nim… Huh?”

Young-cheol nodded.

Then he immediately widened his eyes.

As if he had belatedly realized something.

“W-wait a moment. Then could the reason we’ve been freed from the poisoned state be…!”

He’s finally figured it out.

Han-seong moved the Collector’s body up and down once more, and Young-cheol showed a surprised expression.

The poison disappeared with the Poison Master’s death.

Young-cheol wore a dejected expression at this belatedly revealed truth. Similarly, Eun-hee, who had also realized this, muttered with a pale face:

“Th-then if we had eliminated the Poison Master from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to follow that man’s orders…?”

With her words, the scene became as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. Soon after, various complex emotions appeared on people’s faces.

Feelings of regret and self-blame.

“Damn it, if only we had known a little earlier…!”

“If so, we could have rebelled at least once when Manager Choi was still alive…”

“Why didn’t we think of that?”

It couldn’t be helped.

After all, no one knew. Perhaps even the Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok himself didn’t know.

In the end, it was a truth that would never have been revealed until the Poison Master died.

After a considerable amount of time had passed.

“Thank you, Mage-nim.”

Young-cheol, who was the first to regain his composure, bowed his head towards the Collector once again.

“Not only did you save us yesterday, but you even eliminated the Poison Master for us. I don’t know how we can ever repay this debt.”

There’s no need to worry about it.

It wasn’t something done for their sake anyway.

Han-seong waved the Collector’s hand, and Young-cheol, faced with this, smiled awkwardly. Just as he was about to return the Collector since there was no more business…

“Ah, Mage-nim!”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could we perhaps have a conversation with the Mage-nim’s representative? There’s something I’d like to ask.”

Young-cheol spoke up politely.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult request. Han-seong tapped the ground with the Collector’s palm, and seeing this, Young-cheol and the employees promptly sat down.

Han-seong chuckled at how quickly they understood. Then he immediately sent the Collector back to the officetel.

At a time when the sun was high in the sky.

Ji-hye, who had just woken up, let out a yawn.

“Haaaam…”

Although it was a later wake-up than usual, she wanted to sleep a bit more if possible. After all, she had fallen asleep after making detox potions until dawn.

But that wasn’t possible.

Boom boom boom!

Because of the sound of someone knocking on the front door.

The now familiar knocking sound. It meant that the Collector, the Mage’s subordinate, had come. Ji-hye put on her outer clothes and opened the front door.

Sure enough,

The Collector was at the door, pointing its finger at the ceiling. It was a summons from the Mage.

‘I wonder what it’s about?’

Could it be that the detox potions are insufficient?

Or is he going to say he’s leaving to deal with the Poison Master? Pondering various speculations, Ji-hye climbed the stairs with the Collector.

Finally arriving at the destination. Ji-hye carefully knocked on the door and said:

“Mage-nim. You called for me?”

“Yes, I have a favor to ask.”

“What kind of favor… Ah! Could it be that you’re short on detox potions? If so, I can make some more…”

“No, that’s not it.”

Han-seong shook his head.

“The survivors at Jamsil Station said they want to have a conversation with Ji-hye.”

“Huh? With me?”

“Yes, and you don’t need to make detox potions for a while. I’ve eliminated the Poison Master.”

“I see. Alright… What?”

Ji-hye’s voice suddenly rose.

It was clearly a startled reaction.

After gaping for a while, she stammered with a face as surprised as her voice:

“E-eliminated, you say. When on earth…”

“I just got back from doing it.”

Han-seong calmly explained the process of eliminating the Poison Master. Along with saying that the detox potions she had made were a great help.

“So you don’t need to worry about retaliation anymore. There’s no need to feel anxious.”

“Ah, aah…”

The Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok was dead.

The moment she heard those words, Ji-hye was overwhelmed by a strong sense of relief. At the same time, emotions she thought she had overcome surged like a torrent.

“Really… Thank you so much. Mage-nim.”

A trembling voice. Blurring vision.

Ji-hye leaned against the front door and kept expressing her gratitude. Han-seong waited for her to calm down, and after a while, her voice was heard again.

Along with unexpected content.

“To go this far for me… Sniff!”

Hmm? For whom?

Han-seong tilted his head.

“Sniff! I actually knew.”

“Pardon? Knew what…”

“The real reason why you decided to eliminate the Poison Master yesterday, Mage-nim.”

What on earth is she talking about?

Han-seong couldn’t understand Ji-hye’s words.

Meanwhile, having swallowed her sobs, she continued speaking with a still trembling voice:

“You did it for me, right? Because I kept feeling anxious, so you deliberately used another pretext to eliminate the source of my anxiety, didn’t you?”

“Uh…”

The moment he heard her continued words.

Han-seong realized. That Ji-hye had fallen into a misunderstanding. And quite a big one at that.

‘That’s not it at all.’

He hadn’t had such thoughts in the slightest.

He had simply eliminated the Poison Master Bae Hyeon-seok because he judged that he might become a threat to himself in the future.

Why on earth had she fallen into such a misunderstanding?

Han-seong asked with a curious face why she thought that way, and soon an answer came back.

“Because Mage-nim is so incredibly kind. Kind enough to check on my family’s well-being without me even asking.”

“That’s…”

Ji-hye was mentioning when they first met.

At that time, Han-seong had helped her because Ji-hye’s appearance reminded him of his sister.

It was an action that was simply out of goodwill.

Who would have thought that action would create such a misunderstanding. As he was pondering how to correct this, Ji-hye wiped her tears and said:

“Hehe, I think I really made the right choice in accepting Mage-nim’s offer. Thank you.”

Han-seong decided to keep his mouth shut.

It seemed better to leave it be rather than revealing the truth.

Above all, Ji-hye was very helpful. There was no harm in building up goodwill. As he was burying the truth like that, Ji-hye opened her mouth again.

“Then I’ll be going!”

With that spirited reply at the end.

Ji-hye left the officetel and headed towards Jamsil Station. While Han-seong assigned the Collector to accompany her, he looked at the skillbook placed on the desk.

‘The skillbook the Poison Master had.’

It was an unidentified skillbook whose name and effect were not revealed when acquired.

With a face tinged with curiosity, he grabbed the skillbook and an unfamiliar notification appeared.

[You have acquired an unidentified skillbook.]

[Viewing conditions: Level 30 / Grade 3, Tier 3]

“An unidentified skillbook?”

I didn’t know such a thing existed.

Moreover, if those are the only viewing conditions, haven’t I already met them? As he was thinking that, an additional message was revealed.

[Viewing conditions have been met.]

[The seal on the skillbook will be released.]

The skillbook enveloped in bright light.

A moment later, the identity of the skillbook was revealed.

[Skillbook: Untitled]

▷Depending on the acquirer’s job, one of all types of unique skills that can be learned by that job is randomly engraved in the skillbook. However, unique skills already acquired are excluded.

▶Acquisition condition: Tier 3

▶Job restriction: Common

In simple terms, it was a blank check.

The problem was that the amount to be written on the check would be determined randomly. The one fortunate point was that duplicate unique skills wouldn’t appear.

Around the time he was feeling interested in this never-before-seen skillbook.

[Job: Remote Support Mage]

[Do you want to engrave the skill?]

A message appeared demanding a choice.

Anyway, it meant that a unique skill that only Remote Support Mages could learn would be given, so Han-seong accepted the proposal without hesitation.

In response, the skillbook was once again enveloped in bright light before falling onto his lap. The moment he picked it up, the skillbook’s information was revealed.

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

“Th-this is…!”

[Skillbook: Temporary Base]

▷Establishes a temporary base within a certain range centered on all possessed bases. When entering the temporary base’s area, all blessings are activated.

▷Installation range: 5km radius

▷Base area: 5m radius

▷Duration: 12 hours

▷Cooldown: 48 hours

▶Grade: Unique

▶Job restriction: Remote Support Mage

A skill he desperately needed right now.

Faced with this unexpected gain, Han-seong stared at the skillbook with a blank expression.