Chapter 49: Chapter 49

[translator - night][proofreader - gun]

chapter 49: dreaming of becoming the agent of transactions

huh?

let’s think about something else.

what kind of enemies will appear in the dragon’s lair?

it’d be great if only these weaklings kept showing up, but leveling up will be a problem.

[aurelia suggests you go to the basement of this fortress since she’s awake. there might be a relic of the neutral faction gods.]

a relic?

alright.

what kind of relic could it be?

hahaha.

following her instructions, i continued walking down the stairs.

to avoid distractions, i focused on counting the bricks in the stairs and admiring the building's structure.

what a crude design.

the arrangements don’t seem to fit together properly.

“is this the place?”

[aurelia confirms it is. the uruk race often builds temples underground.]

it hardly looked like a temple.

the basement i reached via the stairs had a muddy floor and was pitch dark without a single light.

however, it wasn’t entirely devoid of light.

a faint glow seeped out from the altar in the center of the basement.

on the altar was a vessel made of dirt that looked utterly worthless to anyone’s eyes.

[aurelia instructs you to grab the vessel.]

when i grabbed the vessel as she said, the altar burst into light, and the world turned completely white.

in a space made of light, aurelia’s form appeared like a hologram.

she hadn’t descended in person.

with a worried expression, she began to speak.

[awakener kim jiho. that was a close call. luckily, the seeds of chaos weren’t opened.]

huh?

she knows?

[the lord of death couldn’t fully grasp me either. his monocle is made from the eye of prometheus. it barely detects the powers of the neutral realm.]

they said the lord of death only took a fragment of my soul.

[yes. unfortunately, that fragment contained my power. because the neutral terminal was so weak, he couldn’t detect it. but i couldn’t exert enough influence over you either. that’s why i was so worried you might accept the lord of death’s offer. thankfully, you made a wise choice.]

“were you worried that the seeds of chaos might open?”

[yes. it’s already unnatural for a human to bear the power of two factions as you are now. adding chaos into the mix would make your soul unable to endure.]

i almost died?

a cold sweat ran down my back.

“how did you hear what the lord of death said? was it true?”

[the lord of death’s words were likely correct. when you reach b-grade, you’ll be able to choose another class, and the order faction will likely try to make you an angel.]

“won’t the neutral faction prevent that?”

[we lack power in the current era. besides, we’re in a relationship close to an alliance with the order faction.]

didn’t you fight tooth and nail in kevrian?

and now you’re allies?

[chaos grew even stronger afterward, so we formed an alliance.]

“so, would you also make me an angel, lady aurelia?” sёarᴄh the nôvel(f)ire.nёt website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[hehe. we’re merely allies. ultimately, we’re still competitors. i’d recommend gathering sp to acquire the skill to maintain your original form, as the lord of death suggested. however, since you have two status windows, it’ll cost over 100,000 sp. keep that in mind.]

100,000?

what?!

that’s way too much!

ugh.

still, with my soul-type skills upgraded, i’ll try to gather it somehow.

that’ll drain all the rewards i could receive.

should i take on debt from the lord of death?

no, going into debt with him would cost me my soul.

that’s a last resort...

“understood. but what are we even competing for?”

[since you’re still at c-grade, your sp will be reduced further. i can’t reveal that now.]

so many restrictions...

she continued.

[for now, i’ll upgrade the clear mind skill. while it’s active, i’ll also eliminate any of your stray thoughts from spreading to pollux.]

“can i still think about what the lord of death said in my daily life?”

[yes. just don’t dwell on it too much, and never say it aloud. instead, activate the clear mind skill often... with a woman nearby, it should be doable.]

aurelia smiled slightly as she said this.

oh, come on.

is she telling me to have impure thoughts more often?

fine, i’ll keep my eyes wandering from now on.

[the clear mind skill has been upgraded.]

[clear mind lv2]

[passive skill.]

[b-grade passive skill. calms the mind and maintains self-awareness.]

the skill details remain the same.

i asked her.

“so what should i do now? should i align with the neutral faction?”

[even if you come to the neutral faction, greedy lords are the same here. when you reach b-grade, you’ll gain another class. at that time, don’t choose angel or dragon; pick another soul-type class. then, you’ll become the agent of transactions. check your inventory again at that point...]

lady aurelia dissing her own faction.

ah, a true guardian deity.

the light faded away.

hmm.

clear mind level 2...

will this block thoughts related to hades?

[pollux scolds aurelia for bringing up the clear mind again.]

given he doesn’t complain when i mention hades, it must be working.

good.

now that the risk of exposure is gone, let’s organize my thoughts.

the order faction aiming to make me an angel.

that’s probably true.

both factions predict it, and the way sp is being divided supports that.

tch.

no wonder they were giving out so many skills.

i’ll need to conserve sp.

their claim about abandoning earth.

i’m not sure about that one.

are the gods pouring their blessings onto me alone for that reason?

if earth is destroyed, then what happens to me?

where would i live if i refuse to become an angel and earth is gone?

would i end up as a guide in some dungeon-world like liana?

ugh.

no way... i’d hate that.

i’m not willing to sacrifice my life to save earth.

my life is the most important thing.

but still, i want to protect this place as much as i can.

honestly, i haven’t thought much about living outside earth.

i assumed clearing kevrian would just make dungeons appear, with monsters spilling out.

then i’d be the top hunter, living like a king.

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]

but the way things are going, something’s off.

if the worst happens and the order faction abandons earth, planning to escape after turning me into an angel...

ugh.

that’s messed up.

they’re complete scumbags.

no way.

the lord of death said chaos would make an official offer when i reach b-grade, right?

i’ll consider it then.

and as aurelia suggested, i’ll choose a soul-type class and start trading.

alright.

just like i auctioned off my skills to the order faction, i’ll make a grand deal with all three factions this time.

i refuse to end my life as some god’s pawn.

no matter what it takes—two legs, three legs—i’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

for now, let’s clear out kevrian… i’ll aim for b-class but raise my level slowly until my sp exceeds 100,000.

the order will only turn me into an angel once i’m b-class.

haah…

even when i don’t try to get angry, i’m seething.

i almost became a puppet of the gods without even knowing why.

the earth was nearly destroyed and taken as a trophy.

furious, i almost kicked the bed again.

“argh!”

[the skill clear mind has been activated.]

oh, so this skill triggers even when i’m angry.

as the steam in my head was forcibly released, i started to think about why this skill activated now.

does it mean not to dwell on those thoughts too much?

in case someone notices?

…better be cautious.

for now, let’s nurture the earthlings and grow steadily.

the blessings of the gods aren’t all good, it seems.

for now, what i can do is grow slowly until i gather enough sp.

meanwhile, i should focus on supporting the expedition team as much as possible.

the mobs aren’t even worth the experience points anyway.

let’s take this chance to train them a bit.

the next day, our expedition team returned to earth.

having established the ebiwood fortress as our base, we’ll return here when we re-enter.

“what should we do about maeil’s side?”

kang shia asked me as soon as we got back to earth.

maeil?

oh, that corporation.

with everything going on, i had completely forgotten about them.

“hmm. just give them a taste and leave it at that.”

“a taste?”

she questioned back with a disappointed look.

i get her feelings, but now’s not the time to worry about a mere corporation.

“they won’t act up anymore after this. kevrian is more concerning.”

“true. they’ve taken so many hits already, they won’t try anything again. oh, by the way, the un security council is holding a secret meeting and has invited you, jiho.”

“me?”

“yes. they said this meeting is very important. with kevrian being the only progressing broken world, they want your opinion on whether to deploy all d-class hunters or not.”

i see.

so, with the other worlds being hopeless, they’re deciding whether to go all-in on kevrian since it’s making progress.

“eshtar still hasn’t entered the next phase, has it?”

“no, everyone’s practically given up on it.”

“then focusing on kevrian seems like the best choice. there will be large-scale battles, so that’s what i’ll recommend.”

the people currently dominating the dungeon in eshtar are the most elite among earthlings.

if the government forcibly summons them, it’ll increase the chances of conquering kevrian.

it might not help immensely, but even a small contribution matters.

“yes. then, would you like to use our group’s private jet to go to the un headquarters in new york?”

“a private jet?”

“yes. it’s mostly reserved for official business, but there’s no more important matter than this.”

a private jet??

for a moment, kang shia, who’d been working me hard lately, looked like a wealthy heiress.

have i been overworking someone from such a well-off family?

wow.

if i had messed up back then, the aftermath would’ve been catastrophic.

[pollux says, ‘a fool calling another fool.’]

i dismissed the message window and replied.

“i’d be honored. when else would i get to ride a private jet?”

“jiho, you’re surprisingly modest about strange things. if you asked the us government for a private jet, they’d provide one immediately. if a video of you breaking through the fortress wall solo goes around, i’ll get swamped with transfer offers again.”

“well… i feel like messi or ronaldo all of a sudden.”

kang shia chuckled at my words.

“even if you combined ten of each of them, they wouldn’t come close to your value, jiho. survival is more important than soccer, after all.”

true.

living matters more.

“so, when’s the meeting?”

“a week from now. since we’ve decided to rest for three days, we can go on one more expedition before you leave.”

so we have time for one more trip.

this time, i’ll need to open the path to the dragon’s lair.

“then, if nothing else happens, let’s return in ten days.”

“understood. i’ll let them know.”

kang shia replied with a smile.

on my way home, i calculated how much sp i was earning daily.

currently, i’m acting as an intermediary for six gods.

pollux, aurelia, apollo, athena, hephaestus, and zeus.

of these, aurelia contributes about 60 sp, while the gods of order each provide slightly over 200.

in total, i earn around 1,060 sp daily.

in 100 days, that’s 100,000 sp.

this is turning out to be quite significant.

currently, my sp is just over 30,000.

though i need to accumulate more than 100,000 sp, it’s better to invest for now.

i’ll receive 80,000 in installments, and if i just let my sp pile up, it could raise suspicion.

plus, if my stats lag too far behind, there’s a higher chance of being overpowered by the lord of death.

enhancing my abilities is essential.

i first raised my magic to 68, and when it hit 80, i used about 7,000 sp.

i decided to balance everything at 80, spending sp to max out strength and agility as well.

after adding bonus points, all my stats reached 80.

i only had 11 sp left, but it’d regenerate soon enough.

for the neutral faction, i adjusted my sp usage to balance their b-rank levels, leaving about 1,000 sp in reserve.

my body was evolving to a higher stage.

[pollux marvels, saying you’re nearing b-class.]

[aurelia advises leaving some sp for emergencies.]

pollux’s admiration didn’t sit entirely well with me.

aurelia’s advice finally clicked.

“right. let’s save sp from now on. this should be enough.”

now i have a justification for saving sp.

with such a massive investment, maybe that’s why…

while walking and lost in thought, my foot sank into the asphalt.

thunk. thunk.

ah.

this won’t do.

after two steps, my feet kept sinking.

i refocused and adjusted my strength.

my strength stats had more than doubled on paper… but the actual increase felt like a whole new dimension.

“uh… look at that guy.”

“is he a hunter?”

“my brother’s a hunter, but i’ve never seen anything like that…”

“that’s my first time seeing this.”

onlookers were gawking in surprise.

some even had their phones out.

“you’re not allowed to record this!”

“ma’am, please hand over your phone. this is a matter of national security. we’ll delete the footage.”

suddenly, a group of men in black suits from the association rushed out, addressing the crowd.

they deleted the videos and dispersed the onlookers.

“geez, what was that about?”

“that guy must be a famous hunter.”

“i’ve never seen him on tv, though.”

grumbling, the crowd dispersed.

one of the men in black approached me.

“excuse me, hunter kim jiho. the higher-ups instructed us to ensure complete secrecy, so we took action.”

“good job. but what about the asphalt?”

“we’ll handle the repairs on our side. hunter jiho, please don’t worry about it.”

the man in black bowed politely.

i was on my way home but decided to head back to the association building.

i went to the underground training center to work on controlling my strength.

over the next three days, i adapted to my increased stats.

afterward, i led a newly expanded team of 3,500 awakened hunters back into kevrian.

the dragon’s lair.

when i first came, i’d died from a catapulted rock.

now, with a force of 5,500, i was marching into the dragon’s stronghold.

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]