Chapter 78

Villain Hides His True Colors

Chapter 78

“Haa…”

A deep sigh resonated through the room.

Holding her throbbing head, Samaria looked at the stack of papers in front of her. Thick dark circles could be seen beneath her eyes.

…Why do I have to do this?

Outside the window, cherry blossoms were blooming and swaying in the spring breeze. She couldn’t believe she had to stay indoors and do paperwork on such a clear spring day like this.

She was so tied up with work that she couldn’t even go to the institute these days.

It’s all because of him…

Noah had mercilessly slaughtered villains a little over a month ago.

Even for an official hero, killing a villain wasn’t just a simple matter of one or two papers to fill out, so for Noah who was still a trainee, a fairly strict procedure was required to resolve the matter.

If there was one mistake, it was that she had personally guaranteed his status as an active hero on the field.

On top of that, even Noah, who was supposed to be here to help resolve the matter, had disappeared out of the blue…

So in the meantime, for the sake of taking responsibility, she had been super busy.

But…I’ll only have to suffer for a few more days and I’ll be done.

The past month’s events passed her mind.

She was summoned in and out of the Hero Association several times each week while managing her facial expressions even in front of those who treated Noah as a criminal and not as a testifier.

However, now even such interrogations were done.

There were only a few problems left to deal with, so if she put in a little more effort, she’ll be free from this pain.

Then maybe she could go see the flowers before all the cherry blossoms had fallen.

Soon,

[A new message has arrived.]

Suddenly, a message popped up on her monitor screen notifying her of a new mail. She felt a foreboding when she saw it.

She clicked on it with a trembling hand.

[Summon Request Due to Reinvestigation.]

“…”

She stared blankly at the monitor.

For a while, her fists shook, and eventually pushing the pile of papers on the desk to the floor, she shouted.

“No! I won’t do it!”

Did they find new clues?

She had been cooperating for more than a month. She didn’t know what they were relooking into now.

Her indignation soared. Why did she have to stay here and be deprived of her time?

If everything had gone according to plan, Noah should have been in her complete control and made into a toy by now…

But much less taming him, wasn’t she like a babysitter?

She didn’t know what he was up to because her alter ego that was attached to him had completely lost track of him.

Considering its active radius was close to 1,000 kilometers, she couldn’t understand it at all when she thought about it.

And in a few days he must be present because there was an examination at school.

As his guarantor, she had no choice but to feel her liver burning.

“Haa…where the hell did he go?!”

The moment she thought as such, breaking news from a news channel she was subscribed to appeared on the monitor screen.

[Like a candle in the wind, Hong Kong’s peace is restored.]

[The birth of the world’s first dragon slayer.]

News of the end to the crisis that had appeared in Hong Kong. She tilted her head when she read the headlines.

What? How the hell did they get rid of that monster?

She had heard that an S-Rank monster had appeared.

However, for her, who had a rough idea of Hong Kong’s hero situation, she never thought the incident would end so soon.

Furthermore, she knew very well that China’s Hero Association wouldn’t easily send support of an S-Rank hero even if Hong Kong had asked for help.

For China who wished to take Hong Kong’s Hero Association into their hands, they wouldn’t have let such an opportunity slip away.

Hmm…what’s going on? This time, it seems they had sent support quickly.

She clicked on one of the articles.

And there…

“Wh-what? What is he doing there?!”

There was a photo of Noah in a motorcade being cheered by the public.

She didn’t know what was going on, but she had to go to Hong Kong right now and grab him.

“Fuck!”

She flung the rest of the papers on the desk and headed straight for Hong Kong.

* * * * * * * * * *

Splendid fireworks exploded in the sky.

A military band sang majestically as citizens on the street cheered and sprinkled confetti.

And in the middle of the procession, my vehicle with a perforated roof was leisurely driven along.

The crowd gathered on the street went wild when they looked my way.

“Long live! Long live Choi Noah!”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

And whenever that happened, a notification would pop up in front of my eyes.

[ Reputation has increased. ]

[ Reputation has increased. ]

[ Reputation has increased. ]

.

.

.

Keuh…sweet, sweet.

The feeling of irritation I had until now melted away like snow.

In fact, the reason why I was willing to attend this troublesome event was for the purpose of gaining reputation.

It was a profitable affair if I only had to suffer briefly to gain reputation.

The slow moving vehicle I was in stopped in front of a stage at the end of the road.

As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, countless citizens who had flocked to the area shouted.

“””Uwaaaaaah!!!”””

I climbed up the stage in the midst of such cheers.

Soon, a child of my own age came running and hung a flower necklace around me.

On the stage, the president of Hong Kong’s Hero Associations and many celebrities who were gathered gave me a warm look.

And then…

An old man with a head full of gray hair sitting in the middle stood up with shaky legs and approached me.

Once an A-Rank hero, he was Hong Kong’s Chief of Executive, Jackie Chan. This man, who was respected and loved by the citizens, approached me slowly and bowed deeply.

“Truly…Thank you very much. You’re our benefactor.”

“No. I just did what I had to do.”

Having managed to keep a straight face, I gave a broad smile.

It was a rare opportunity to raise my reputation, so at times like this, it was beneficial to put on the most heroic image.

And sure enough, Jackie Chan clenched his fists with tears in his wrinkled eyes.

“A-ah…despite such paramount help, I didn’t expect you to be so humble…You’re a true hero.”

“Haha, don’t mention it.”

In fact, at first, I had wondered why these nobles were making such a fuss throwing this event, but I was able to understand it after learning the situation in Hong Kong.

Although they belonged to the same World Government, currently, China was seeking opportunities to occupy Hong Kong’s land.

Therefore, when they had asked for the support of an S-Rank hero this time, the Chinese side had made unreasonable demands to Hong Kong, which had delayed the dispatch.

Amidst that, I had shown up and solved their problem, so from their point of view, it could be said that I was like their savior.

“The people of Hong Kong will never forget your kindness…You’ll always be engraved in our hearts.”

He put a fancy adorned medal on my chest.

At the same time, applause and cheers came from all sides. Those on the platform bowed to me, and perhaps filled with emotions, but some even burst into tears.

Soon, more notifications appeared.

[ Reputation has increased. ] 

[ Reputation has increased. ] 

[ Reputation has increased. ] 

.

.

.

My reputation value was soaring at an alarming rate. And after a while…

[ Reputation has exceeded 100,000. ] 

[ New effect unlocked. ]

Done!

I immediately checked the newly added effect.

< Reputation of a Warrior >

Reputation: 120,100/300,000 

*1st Stage Effect: Improve the abilities of those in the company of the Warrior. (The greater the trust in the Warrior, the greater the effect.)

*2nd Stage Effect: Qualified to handle the Holy Sword.

*3rd Stage Effect: – Locked –

What was this…?

My last ability was a fraudulent cheat that would give me a wide-area buff to those who accompany me, so I had expected it to be similar this time.

However, let alone that, even the explanation was somewhat vague.

Just a ‘qualification’ to handle the Holy Sword. It seemed to be referring to a weapon meant for the Warrior that usually appeared in games…

The important thing was that I didn’t have that sword now.

Hmm…

I didn’t even know the immediate power of the Holy Sword, so I didn’t know if this was good or bad.

To be honest, considering that I had worked hard to build my reputation, the reward was a little disappointing.

Huu…Even so, I’ll have to keep building my reputation up to the next level.

Cheered by the countless citizens of Hong Kong, the upgrade event successfully came to an end.

* * * * * * * * * *

After the entire event was over, I returned to the hotel.

I wanted to immediately return to Korea, but as long as I had made an official appearance, problems might arise if I crossed the border with Elizabeth’s ability or Warrior’s teleport skill.

According to the schedule prepared by Hong Kong, I would be returning tomorrow through the portal.

After having lost track of time, I called Elizabeth and Jane to my room.

To be honest, I didn’t expect anything, but their help this time was considerable, so I decided to give them a rare compliment and have dinner with them.

However, Jane gave me a troubled look and spoke.

“I’d like to try the hotel food here, but…I’m afraid I’ll have to go home for now. I’ve left John alone for too long…”

“Well, if so, it can’t be helped.”

“Hmm…I’m sorry. And…”

She hugged me out of the blue. I could hear her pounding heart.

“…Thank you very much.”

“In fact, I never thought you would do this much for me…If it wasn’t for you, I would still be living with nightmares every day and resenting the world.”

“I can’t express everything I want to say because I’m not good with words, but I just want you to know…”

She finished her brief embrace and stepped back.

And then unbecoming of her personality, she smiled brightly.

“Like you had told me…You saved my life.”

At that moment, a status window message appeared.

[ Completed Challenge ‘Eighth Layer Hell (1).’ ]

[ Gained 1x Random Box (High). ]

Done!

Finally, the long and tedious Challenge was over. And the reward was as much as a high-grade random box.

After a hard quest, the moment you check your reward seems to be the most rewarding moment in life.

With a smile on her face, Jane continued.

“I have to leave first due to the circumstances, but I’ll definitely visit Korea someday when the situation is cleared up. A-and when we meet again, I’ll definitely…”

“Hmm?”

The end of her words were so quiet that even my developed hearing couldn’t hear it.

“N-no! Nothing. A-anyway, why is it so hot here?”

She fanned herself as her face turned bright red.

Looking at the number on the digital thermometer in the room, it was only 18 degrees Celsius.

“Hot? This isn’t cool enough for you?”

“A-anyway! I’m going to get going! Let’s eat together next time! Bye!”

Suddenly, she even used her ability and disappeared from view.

I didn’t know what happened since I last saw her, but her ability had improved considerably.

Silence came as soon as she was gone.

Although it was a short time, perhaps because she had suddenly disappeared, it felt somewhat awkward.

Looking at the empty space where she had disappeared, I had a thought. 

I didn’t need to see her again since I had gotten the reward.

In any case, I turned and looked at Elizabeth sitting on a sofa in one corner of the room.

She was unusually quiet. Normally, she would be chattering loudly.

For her to be so quiet like this was uncomfortable even though she was a nuisance.

Well, if I ask her to join me for dinner, she’ll soon go crazy again.

But this time, she had made a clear achievement, so for today, I decided to turn a blind eye even if it was troublesome.

As such, I asked her.

“Noona, do you want to go upstairs and eat with me today? I heard there’s supposed to be a nice Japanese restaurant.”

With a blank look on her face, she looked back at me in surprise.

Then, with a somewhat tired smile, she spoke.

“Sorry. I’m a little tired today…If there’s nothing else, can I go to my room first and rest?”

“A-ah? Ah…I understand.”

“Hmm…Sorry…”

She slowly stood up and staggered back to her room.

I stared blankly at her back.

“…”

What the hell was going on? Elizabeth had turned down my offer for dinner?

“…Unbelievable.”

Naturally, I didn’t want to bother eating with her.

It was just pleasantries between people since I had never done such a thing before.

“What, the…I’m dumbfounded.”

I had done my best to praise her. From now on, I wasn’t going to bother with something so cumbersome.

“Well, that’s good. I was busy anyway.”

***

***

I opened my status window. Logs of what I had done were immediately displayed.

[ Level has risen. ]

[ Level has risen. ]

[ Level has risen. ]

.

.

.

[ You’ve reached level 63. ]

[ Gained a Fragment of Growth. ]

[ Gained Level 60 Skill Selection. ]

[ Gained achievement title ‘Dragon Slayer.’ ]

Looking at the endless messages, the feeling of discomfort had somehow disappeared.

I smiled broadly without concealing my joy.

“Keuh! Good, good.”

Rather than catching weak mobs, experience came by leaps and bounds when I fought against a stronger opponent than myself. As a result, I had risen as much as five levels.

The reward this time didn’t end there.

I took out the lustrous scales shining brightly and the pieces of bones that glistened like steel from my inventory.

< Fire Drake’s Scales >

Classification: Material

Grade: B 

Description: Scales of a dragon with the Fire attribute that are sturdier than steel. It’s not only an excellent material for making weapons, but also has the beauty suitable for making works of art.

< Fire Drake’s Bones >

Classification: Material

Grade: B 

Description: Bones of a dragon with the Fire attribute that are sturdier than steel. It’s not only an excellent material for making weapons, but also has the beauty suitable for making works of art.

High-quality materials were gathered from Old Drakedog’s corpse after I had killed him.

If I took this material to a master craftsman in Jangdang, their eyes would surely turn upside down and rush at me.

However, such materials were now piled up high in my inventory.

“Hehe…”

I couldn’t help but to laugh.

As expected, in any game, dragons were like a treasure trove. I couldn’t believe there was no bad spoil to throw away.

And what I had gotten from his body wasn’t just raw materials.

< Gene Awakening > 

Classification: Special

Grade: A

Description: Awaken the dormant genes.

Genes:

(1) Human: 75.8% 

(2) Elf: 6.4%. (Active) 

(3) Beast: 6.5% (Active) 

(4) Dwarf: 5.5% (Active)  

(5) Dragon: 5.7% (Active) – New –

(6) Unknown: 0.1% (Inactive)

The fifth gene had finally awakened. I didn’t know what it was because it had been unknown.

But through this opportunity, I had also learned that one of my ancestors had dragon blood.

And…

The newly active dragon gene was different from the other races I had awakened so far.

[ Constitution has risen significantly. ] 

[ Durability has risen significantly. ]

Durability that could only rise when all stats were raised to a certain extent had increased significantly.

Red Velvet Curse, whose sharpness was incomparable to any sword, was cut on my body. However, other than a small scratch on the outer layer of the skin, there was no other trace.

In addition, I even had the skill < Transcendent Regeneration >…

This was enough for me to not worry about dying any time soon.

And the new ability didn’t end there.

I exhaled my aura at the flowerpots decorating the room. Immediately, the plants screamed and withered.

“Breed! Breed! Bree…Kuaaak!”

An overwhelming killing intent. I had gained the Dragon Fear ability that Old Drakedog was emitting the other day.

It was going to be useful in many ways.

Not to mention its use in battle, it seemed it would be useful when there were people who annoyed me or when I needed to intimidate someone.

And then…

The greatest reward after killing him.

[ Completed Challenge ‘Evil God’s Resurrection.’ ]

[ Gained 1x Unknown. ]

I carefully took out the mystery item I had received from my inventory.

< Deteriorated Dragon Heart >

Classification: Material

Grade: S 

Description: Essence of a dragon containing its source of power. However, its condition isn’t very good.

I didn’t know such a thing existed…

A red lustrous fist-sized gem in my hand. It was a ‘dragon heart’ that I didn’t even see in the first round.

Through the words of people from all over the world, I had guessed that there were legendary beings called dragons, but I didn’t know that a dragon heart would appear like this.

If I could make it into an elixir and consume it…

In any case, I was going to collect as many elixirs as I could before all of my stats reached 6.0.

And consequently, a timely reward had appeared.

“God game is all luck!”

I carefully put the Dragon Heart back into my inventory and settled my stats that I had put off.

The Fragments of Growth were evenly distributed this time.

< Level 63 (+5) > 

Body: 5.41 -> 5.52 (+0.11)

Dexterity: 5.01 -> 5.31 (+0.30)

Mana: 5.29 -> 5.41 (+0.12) 

Spirit: 5.21 -> 5.34 (+0.13)

The notification of all stats reaching 6.0 was getting closer and closer.

I thought it would take years at the earliest when I first started the second round…

Considering that it took nearly 10 years for all of my stats to reach 6.0 in the past, it could be said to be lightning fast growth.

“Huu…Now, let’s play the main game.”

Finally, it was time to show off my skills. I checked the goods I had to play gacha.

The preparation I had this time in my inventory was a high-grade random box and a level 60 skill selection.

It wasn’t much compared to usual, but the high-grade random box alone more than made up for it.

…The achievements I had gained this time were good, so I was certain there would be something good.

< Thousand Swordsman > I had obtained in the process of cleaning up Kowloon and < Dragon Slayer > I had obtained after killing Old Drakedog.

Both could be said to be achievements with potential for good skills to come out.

With expectations, I used the 60 level skill selection first.

[ One of the following skills can be learned. ]

(1) < Explosion >

Classification: Magic

Grade: B 

Description: It creates a powerful explosion in the desired area.

(2) < Decay Acceleration > 

Classification: Ability

Grade: B 

Description: Speed up microorganisms’ activities and accelerate the rate of decay.

.

.

.

Befitting of level 60, a lot of useful skills had appeared.

Whichever choice I made would be fine.

But…

There was something bigger waiting this time.

Without hesitation, I went down the list.

Then, as expected, another list of skills awaited me.

[Special Selection]

(a) < Thousand to One >

Classification: General

Grade: A 

Description: Stats increase in proportion to the number of enemies you’re against. (Increases by 0.1% per 10 people / Maximum of 10% at 1,000 enemies.)

(b) < Dragon Hunter >

Classification: General

Grade: S 

Description: Seals Dragon Breath and fatal damage against dragonkind. Significantly increases resistance to dragonkind’s roar.

[ Level 65 Skill Selection will be forfeited if you select a Special Skill. ]

“Hmm…”

< Thousand to One > and < Dragon Hunter >. Both skills were so good that it was hard to tell which one was better.

In the case of < Thousand to One >, it was a skill I already had in the first round.

At the time, it was obtained from normal selection, not special selection as it was now, but in fact, it wasn’t once or twice that I had escaped a crisis thanks to this skill.

So I knew the usefulness and value of this skill better than anyone else.

The maximum of 10% may seem small, but as my stats increased in the second half, it could be said that its true value was gradually revealed.

But…

It would be a real waste to throw this away too.

< Dragon Hunter >

A skill as high as S-Grade came to light. 

Did that mean my achievements this time were that amazing?

S-Grade’s skills weren’t easy to find even with luck, so I felt like I would be losing money to give up a skill like this.

“Hmm…”

I agonized for a long time comparing the two skills. After an unknown time.

At last, I closed my eyes and chose a skill.

[ You’ve learned the skill < Thousand to One >. ]

To be honest, I couldn’t help it. Not only its skill grade, but also from reading the description, I had found that < Dragon Hunter > was a very useful skill, but the problem was that I would never meet another dragon in my life.

Ah…it was really unfortunate…

Shaking my head to force the word ‘S-Grade’ that continued to ring in my head away, I next pulled out the high-grade random box.

Huu…let’s not dwell on the past.

Maybe I’ll get another good skill this time…

[ Used 1x Random Box (High). ]

The luxurious box rose into the air and began to spin. It turned more and more fiercely as bright lights burst out.

Its color was gold. This meant that at least an A-Rank would come out.

“Ooooo! Let’s go!”

The lingering attachment to the S-Grade was completely gone. I clenched my fists and waited for the box to open.

And at last, the lid opened.

[ You’ve obtained the skill < Thousand to One >. ]

“Huh…?”

I blankly looked at the message.

What? Did I see it wrong?

How…did this skill come out?

From my experience, I thought skills that came out once wouldn’t come out again…Was that not the case?

P-perhaps I was mistaken with the previous message?

I quickly checked the logs. However, the record showed exactly twice that I had acquired < Thousand to One >.

The same skill had come out twice.

“N-no…Noooo!!!”

The strength in my legs gave and I fell to the floor.

I would have just chosen the S-Grade skill if I had known this.

“Why?! Why the hell?!!”

If there was God, I was sure it was messing with me. 

How could this have happened…I bitterly shouted.

“Luck game! Now even the world is against me!”

At that moment, a status window message popped up in front of me.

[ Same skill has been identified. ]

[ The two skills are automatically synthesized. ]

[ Materials used in Synthesis have a Synergy effect. ] 

.

.

.

“H-huh?”

And then…

[ Synthesis completed. ]

[ Gained the skill < Ten Thousand to One >. ] 

< Ten Thousand to One >

Classification: General

Grade: S 

Description: Stats increase in proportion to the number of enemies you’re against. (Increases by 0.1% per 10 people / Maximum of 100% at 10,000 enemies.)

A shining and beautiful S-Grade skill had appeared before my eyes.

“Yessss! This is more like it!”

I feel this every time, but as expected, this world was a game of luck.

____

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