episode_0043

‘Oh my head…’

When they all disappeared,

I sat down on the floor holding the staff.

The side effects of [Demonization (和)] were coming to light late,

I quickly used [Remove Curse], but I couldn’t help the headache and nausea that came after the transformation.

‘Still…there was some harvest.’

I smiled and played with the silver wand.

[Hypnosis], [Hallucination], and even [Mind Control].

Skills that I had no idea how to use,

Control the hearts of Azur, one of the organization’s executives, and the cultists.

It was a great help in creating spies that I could use at will.

“Cool…cool…umnya…um…“

Lauren was sleeping soundly, unaware of the fear in the world.

Skeleton knights were firmly guarding her side.

Although I did not see it in person, I learned about it indirectly, about the existence of the Inquisitor.

And clearly remember the content and images depicted in their scriptures,

I acted with all my heart, trying to resemble that being as much as possible.

‘I didn’t know that as the level of demonization increased, multiple arms would appear like a real Asura…’

The protruding arms made of magical power were disguised as tentacles through [hallucination],

To make me appear great to Azur and others.

After hypnotizing him, he even used mind control when his mind was completely captured by me.

As a result, they became my loyal slaves,

Not only that, it seemed like he could avoid being tracked by the management bureau or organization for the time being.

‘I don’t know when I’ll get caught… but I’m glad I bought some time.’

“ugh…tea…“

I lifted Lauren very lightly, as if holding a princess,

I walked towards the entrance of the gate that had reopened.

“Now, Lauren. Let’s get up slowly.“

By the time we reached the entrance.

I woke Lauren up by poking her cheek,

She rolled her eyes and stretched.

“Haaam…I slept wellㄷ…Hieeek…?!“

She was so surprised while she was in my arms.

Afterwards, I picked up Lauren, who almost fell, before she barely lost sight of her.

“Did you sleep well?“

“Ah…no…uh…now…wait a minute? What about those people from earlier? Those pseudo-people who look so gloomy…!“

“Oh, you guys?“

I smiled sheepishly and looked at her.

“I heard you hit one guy and they all ran away?“

“I…really? I’m glad…you weren’t hurt anywhere?“

“Yes. They all said they were weaklings. It didn’t even hurt.“

I put Lauren down carefully.

I walked with her towards where the gate was.

When we arrived there, there were a lot of people gathered beyond the portal.

Among them were not only the leaders but also several instructors dispatched from the academy.

‘I hope work doesn’t become a hassle…’

I walked towards the gate, worried on the inside.

Beyond that, many people looked at Lauren and me with expressions full of surprise.

He seemed anxious, fearing that the gate might close again.

“Thank goodness..! Everyone was safe…! Come over quickly…! Quickly…!“

“Now, Miss Lauren first.“

“No, let’s cross together this time. It might close again, right?“

She took my hand and pulled me towards her.

I knew very well that the gate here would never close again,

Still, I didn’t want to make her or others worry.

I quietly and quickly crossed the gate with her.

Clap clap clap clap—!

They clapped as soon as we crossed the gate.

The instructors and guides quickly gathered together and checked our condition.

“Thank goodness…! Thank goodness…!“

“I’m so glad you’re safe…both students…!“

“You were so cold when the gate closed again…Are you hurt anywhere?“

Other hunters who came running after receiving a call from the Griffon Association,

The emergency team was immediately dispatched to prepare for any unexpected situation.

Even reporters who can’t miss this kind of scoop.

Everyone came out together and looked at Lauren’s complexion,

I smiled at them and reassured them.

‘He’s a mass media reporter… If a reporter gets involved, things will get even more complicated…’

I felt uneasy though.

Before the aftereffects of being attributed become even stronger.

I tried to leave immediately.

The blue sea was refreshingly flowing,

The cool sea breeze filled my lungs.

I don’t know how things will progress in the future.

still,

If only it were like this now.

I felt like I could do well in the future.

—–

Squeak…!

“Arrived. Master.“

“Ah, thank you. You had a hard time driving me here.“

“No. I will follow whatever you say.“

I met the head of the security team for the first time after the New Year’s party.

She immediately pulled a limousine and drove me away.

Thanks to that, I was able to return home comfortably.

Of course, I could have taken a shuttle bus with other academy students, but

I knew that reporters who had already followed along would be bombarded with numerous questions related to the gate.

It would have been better to evacuate in advance and hide.

After that, you can ask the chairman to handle any difficult matters.

“If you have anything to ask for in the future, please always contact us. I will leave immediately.“

“Yes, that’s right. Thank you for your hard work.“

The security team leader opens the back seat door,

I was about to walk towards my house, which I had not seen in a long time.

“Wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

I turned towards her and called her out.

A red tentacle pattern shined brightly on my gloves,

In an instant, her eyes changed and she looked at me cautiously.

An emblem of an ancient god that can only be used by a certain level or higher in an organization.

Just by showing this symbol to the other person,

Church members had to follow orders from their superiors.

“Security Team Leader, I think it would be a good idea to bring this story up… but the things that have been done in our family so far… were they under Han Tae-woo’s orders, or were they? Did you follow what was written in the script?“

“…“

She said nothing.

He just bows his head and smoothes his hands.

“Of course, it is good that Han Tae-woo came forward and testified as soon as he was kicked out, but that does not mean that everything happened without incident. The fact that the head of the family moves on like nothing happened is… so surprising.“

I already knew the answer.

It was a fact that I only found out later.

The security team leader was also a member of the organization.

When Han Tae-woo’s use value disappeared,

Because it was she who fulfilled the organization’s script to deal with him.

And the current head of the family, Kim Hye-jin, also

I made up my mind later, but

Now, it was clear that he belonged to a religious order.

Otherwise, there was no way it could have gone on like nothing had happened.

‘What I’m really curious about is… how much was the script, and where did that bastard Han Tae-woo’s instructions begin?’

The fact that the head of the house drank poisoned tea,

Her husband, Han Seo-jin’s father, was poisoned.

And since she is a level 5 awakener, that’s because of her keen senses.

You must have already figured out that something unusual is happening inside.

From the point where she lost her senses due to the deadly poison,

I couldn’t get to the truth of this.

That’s why so many tragedies came to me in an instant,

The head of the family also did not talk about this matter, but

After this incident, he left the organization.

Because he was always by my side when I fought against the organization.

“…I don’t know what to say to you, Master. I just follow orders, my opinion is not important.“

“Even if it means killing someone?“

“…I am like a sword being held, and I only carry out the orders given to me.“

She lowered her head and avoided my eyes,

I sighed and adjusted my gloves.

“Then…it seems like the head of the family knew about this but tolerated it. Am I right?“

“…Yes, that’s right. Just like you, you are aware of the importance of the script.“

‘I don’t know how things will go from now on…’

I opened the door and told her.

“You’d better behave well from now on. Even if it was a script, unlike the matriarch, she wouldn’t just sit back and watch someone commit an evil act.“

“That statement just… seemed like something that could cause controversy…“

I said with a smile.

“There is room for interpretation in anything, and that interpretation is the will of the individual. You are not a mechanical device, but a being with free will. Even if you carry out an order according to the script, if it is unreasonable, you can at least express your opinion, right? Unlike you, who is just a member of the church, I know a little more, so I may be acting out of nonsense.“

“I will keep this in mind…“

I entered the house.

From the moment I first realized I was part of the upper echelons of the organization;

And to me, who expressed a strong will for autonomous interpretation of the script.

Leaving behind the extremely confused expression of the security team leader.

—–

“Oh my…it’s a shame…“

It’s been a while since I soaked in an underground hot spring.

A very warm, energetic feeling.

They overused demonization, buff skills, and various other skills.

I felt like my nearly depleted magical power was quickly replenishing.

“Let’s see…Let’s see what came…“

I opened the package of boxes delivered to the basement.

Inside, there were numerous low-grade [F] or [E] grade items.

Perhaps because most of them were imported cheaply, their condition was not very good.

It didn’t matter anyway. I’m going to use all of them as ingredients and make them of a high grade.

‘Anyway…where’s the chocolate Catherine gave me…?’

I’m sure she texted me and said she left the chocolate on top of the box.

Even if I washed my eyes, I couldn’t find anything like that.

‘Ah…what…what happened? There’s so much chocolate.’

After putting the items on the workbench,

I soaked in the hot spring water again.

And that moment.

Tiring-!

[congratulations! You have acquired the level 3 awakening skill!]

‘Oh oh…! at las…!’

It seems like it’s been a while since I awakened to level 3.

It felt like I had finally acquired the skills.

I opened the skill window with a trembling heart.

I slowly looked into what new skills there were.

‘Let’s see… Let’s start with item enhancement skills…’

As expected, there was a change in item enhancement skills.

The maximum item enhancement level is [S] level, but

The probability of success was shockingly low.

An unprecedented item enhancement probability of a whopping 0.5%.

Instead, the probability of strengthening the item to [A] grade is high.

Now it has started to exceed 50%.

‘If this is the case…at level 4, you’ll really be at the level of copying [A] level items…?’

I started looking at other skills as well.

Skills such as [Slash], [Slash], [Slash], and [Throwing] are also available.

As a result, the cooldown time was reduced, and the range and maximum target were increased.

In particular, the [Experience] skill has been significantly strengthened.

Being able to use one flash up to two times,

It can now be used up to three times in succession.

‘Then…Is it possible to use three consecutive attacks with one sword…? Oh oh…!’

And I slowly began to read the two newly created skills.

—–

[Soul Weapon]

Converts the user’s emotions into magical power.

The magic can be injected into a weapon or item.

The power becomes stronger according to the level of the emotion.

You can also change the appearance of weapons or items.

[Hephaestus’ Touch]

Consumes magic power to duplicate a weapon.

The cost of required magic power varies depending on the weapon’s grade or the magic power infused.

Currently, weapons up to [B] grade can be duplicated.

——

‘The weapon… makes a copy…?’

I was dumbfounded and continued reading the skills.

He then reached out and pulled out a revolver from subspace.

“Okay…let’s try it…“

Hwaaah not?

In an instant, beautiful light fills the basement.

It started to glow very brightly.

I carefully put my hand into the glowing mass,

Then, another [C] grade revolver appeared.

“This is crazy…!“

Ding—!

“Ahh!!!…Ahh…!“

As if I had suddenly swallowed an entire ice cream,

My head felt dizzy and tingling.

I barely crawled into the hot spring and took a dip.

Then the headache subsided little by little.

‘Wow… this thing’s magic consumption is at the level of a hippopotamus drinking water… What kind of magic power does copying one of these have…’

Clearly, duplicating a weapon had tremendous advantages.

There was no reason to buy so many low-grade items just by duplicating this one thing.

But as with everything, if there are advantages, there are also disadvantages.

This skill seemed to deplete mana like crazy.

‘Anyway…all the attack skills have become stronger…weapon strengthening is faster and works well…it’s pretty good. not bad.’

There was no dynamic change just because it reached level 3.

But this was also expected to some extent.

The girls I went with only had their abilities slightly strengthened when they awakened to level 3.

Because he didn’t grow noticeably or anything.

‘But level 4 is the real world… if you don’t achieve it quickly…’

I wanted to achieve level 4 right away.

One condition for level 4 awakening.

That was none other than after becoming a [S] rank hunter.

I had to receive a black ring, like a medal of honor, directly from the management bureau.

However, because the conditions were very strict, not everyone could achieve it.

It was a situation where I knew some expedient methods, but…

Moreover, several large-scale terrorist incidents were scheduled to occur in the near future.

Not only the apocalypse at Yangjae Station, but also the nectar theft incident that will occur during the midterm exams.

So instead, I needed to get as strong equipment as I could get.

“Now…then, shall we get started…“

After drying myself with a towel, I headed to the workbench.

A few boxes full of low-grade items.

If you add all of these together.

Accessories, armor, and even weapons.

I felt like I could equip my entire body with at least [B] grade equipment, and even some [A] grade equipment if I was greedy.

Kang—!

Hwaaah not?

So I combined the items for a while,

When my magic power was depleted, I soaked myself again.

——

Did it soak for that long?

The workbench was filled with items of quite beautiful colors.

Although they looked different, they were pretty sturdy looking armor.

I liked it because it was quite light in weight.

Empty-!

I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Like a character crazy about performance in some RPG game.

Inconsistent plate armor, leather shin guards, and a golden feathered helmet.

My look really looked like a character that would go crazy and die just by looking at it.

‘Oh…I can’t do this…’

I used my newly acquired skills,

Then, the appearance of the armor gradually began to change as I imagined.

‘Make it look as less flashy as possible… but make it look a little more present…’

So let me open my closed eyes.

There, they covered their faces with black cloaks and robes,

Although it was pitch black, it was wearing light armor that looked quite active.

It feels somewhere between a hero and a villain.

‘Well, he’s not a thief… he’s just gloomy…’

I waved my cloak and raised my sword.

It definitely looked like something was done with the pitch black armor.

What they say about not judging others by their appearances

A force so overwhelming that you could give it to a dog.

This alone was worth the effort.

‘Okay… then now let’s get the weapons…’

Rattling-!

At that moment, the basement door opened.

“Who…who are you…?!“

At that moment, I heard Yuri’s voice,

I took off my hood and waved at her.

“Hello, Yuri! It’s been a while!“

“Do…Young Master…?“

She was wearing a sports tank top and black leggings.

Unlike what I usually see, a lot of skin is exposed.

I started to feel a little bit naughty.

“Yes, I came here because I had some business to do. What’s going on in the basement, Yuri?“

“Ah…well…well, I came here to train…!“

She put down a bag and grabbed a wooden sword.

Yu-ri Lee lifted up the training doll as if to show it to me.

Certainly, unlike in the past, he was showing much stronger and faster striking.

” Well… I remembered that you used to train here. I was following along…hehe…”

‘Ah…are you talking about before the New Year’s party…?’

I’m amazed by the sight of Yuri training to become stronger.

He gave a thumbs up and smiled brightly.

“Oh really?, work hard! I also have some business to do here. Oh, that’s right, did you enjoy the field training?“

“Yes…yes! I just followed the guides and explored the gate for a bit…!”

I left behind her as she beat up the wooden doll with a wooden sword.

I slowly started strengthening accessories and other weapons,

It took a while until a satisfactory result was obtained.

I started combining low-grade items hundreds of times.

widely-! Percussion—!

‘The movement has become faster… and the destructive power has become stronger… has it already achieved level 2…?’

I looked at Yuri, who was engrossed in training and was out of breath.

Let’s look at her back, drenched in sweat, that moves the hearts of adolescent men.

I barely looked away from the sight of the pitch black leggings moving.

“Master…? Are you okay…?“

“Kyaak!“

with a plop-!

When I made eye contact with her who approached me without any sign,

I immediately fell into the hot spring.

“Do…Young Master…!“

‘No…I just said that…’

I guess the current Yuri Lee.

It seemed like I was growing faster than I thought.