CH 256

There were not many videos of dungeons four stars and above on GodTube. They invariably had valuable resources to be plundered, and it was understandable that inside information was traded for a lot of money. As for videos of five-star dungeons, almost all of them were uploaded by ‘That Hunter.’ They were definitely an impressive character to be able to solo five-star dungeons.

‘Maybe I should meet him later and have a serious conversation.’

«Pretty much all dungeons five stars and above are about the size of Australia. Not only that, but there are different countries and different races living inside. However, it is said that no famous races like Elves or Dwarves have been discovered yet…»

‘It’s confirmed that the Cyclops race has built a civilization in one of the five-star dungeons. Come to think of it, is that dungeon still intact?’

«Yes, Master. There is an ongoing Hunter campaign in that dungeon, but it has not been destroyed or cleared yet.»

Ji-Cheok had destroyed the Cyclops’ stronghold himself, but the Portal at its center was still standing. A few teams had attempted to clear the dungeon but failed. If things continued like this, the Cyclops would come out again and cause chaos.

‘Maybe I should go and take care of it myself.’

“It’s nice to see everyone getting along. I feel like I am being left out though…”

“Well, that is because you have been busy on your own, Brother Ji-Cheok. By the way, we have seen everything you’ve done. You’re amazing.”

“What’s so amazing about it? It’s just something I ended up doing. Did you intentionally not destroy the dungeons? Or were you not able to do it?”

“It was on purpose. We are planning on just clearing them again and again. There’s no other place where you can train and level up as well as in there,” Ha-Na answered, sipping juice straight out of a bottle. She was gulping down a huge bottle of juice by herself.

Ji-Cheok would have been fine if it had been Ji-Byeok drinking like that, but when he saw Ha-Na act differently from before, it felt a bit strange.

‘Has her difficult life changed her eating habits? She’s become kinda… aggressive.’

“Okay, it’s ready,” Mu-Cheok said as he brought out the meal. It was his signature fried face.

“Thank you for the fried rice, Brother Mu-Cheok!”

“Mu-Cheok, thank you for the meal!”

“Thanks, Mu-Cheok.”

They all started scarfing down the delicious meal. After finishing the main course and dessert, they all sat down for some tea and talked about what had happened so far. It turned out that the dungeon that the team had entered was inhabited by a beaver race that had formed its own country.

‘Beavers? Those cute little creatures that build dams along rivers? Just thinking about beavers walking on two feet warms my heart. I bet they looked so cute!’

Anyway, they had to help these beavers and defeat a Demon that had been summoned there. The problem was that in order to even get to the Demon, they had to complete over fifty quests inside the dungeon.

‘That’s insane!’

And even if they managed to complete all the quests, the Demon they faced was incredibly strong.

If they killed the Demon, it meant they cleared the dungeon. The first time took them a year, the second time took them ten months, and the third go was completed in eight months. Every time they went in, the same things repeated over and over, and the beavers did not remember them.

It was as if the dungeon was frozen in time. Dungeons five stars or higher were usually like that.

“That’s why we didn’t destroy some of them. If we did, that would mean all the beavers would disappear.”

Ji-Cheok felt a little uneasy at his brother’s explanation.

«They are nothing but illusions, but it is understandable that he felt bad for the beavers.»

‘You’re right, Cheok-Liang. I think everyone would feel uneasy if they were faced with the same problem.’

“Well, it’s nice to get together and talk after such a long time.”

Everyone smiled happily at Ji-Cheok’s words.

“Oh, by the way, how long are you going to rest before going back to the dungeon?”

“We decided to go somewhere else instead of the beaver dungeon. There seems to be a difference in difficulty even among five-star dungeons.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“What about you, hyung? The world is in chaos right now.”

“What can I do but to drag people out of their basements by the hair?”

Ji-Cheok was planning to force everyone to participate in creating his super-sized dimensional barrier generator. And he was going to directly eliminate all the demons, whatever underground societies’ assassins, and anyone else who tried to interfere.

That was what he had decided to do while holding the hand of a dying boy in a city in Spain.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

⌜I feel bad for what happened, but unfortunately, we cannot assist with your request⌟

A figure in a traditional Daoist robe spoke on a large monitor. He was dressed in a yellow robe and his face was shrouded in black shadows, making it impossible to discern any features.

⌜How foolish of you to reveal your identity to civilians. Merlin’s name has been disgraced.⌟

The next monitor showed a figure cloaked in ancient wizard robes, his face radiating a blinding light that rendered it equally unrecognizable.

⌜Must be the Knights of the Round Table.⌟

The third monitor showed a man smoking a cigarette—someone Ji-Cheok would have instantly identified as Hopper Nelson.

The first speaker was from Mount Kunlun, followed by the leader of Sephiroth Zohar, and finally, Hopper Nelson of the Golden Horizon.

The elderly man in druidic garb sitting before three monitors was the Grand Master of the secret society called the Lake of Dawn, the one that had recently come to light in England. He had summoned the leaders of three other organizations acknowledged as the most powerful secret societies worldwide.

There were almost no other organizations comparable to them, but some countries had their own underground societies that were at least half as strong as these. For instance, Jose Mendoza—who had wreaked havoc in Spain—had belonged to one such group, the [Serpent of Immortality].

“I admit that the Knights of the Round Table have purged some of my subordinates within the government,” said the Grand Master.

⌜I told you to complete your duties promptly and not procrastinate.⌟

“You can’t even solve the problem yourself. Why are you asking us to do the impossible? Sephiroth Zohar, you too are fighting the Golden Rose Society right now…”

⌜But we are not as weak as you.⌟ The leader of Sephiroth Zohar sneered from behind the screen.

⌜Anyway, we are not going to help you. I think Mount Kunlun agrees with us, right?⌟

⌜Yes. We have no reason to help either.⌟

“I am not asking for help, you idiots. This is just a little setback in our plan,” the old man said in an annoyed tone.

⌜Then why did you call for this meeting?⌟ Hopper Nelson asked in a much milder tone.

“Are we going to leave that guy alone? I do not know which God has given their power to Um Ji-Cheok, but if we leave him alone, he will hinder our ascension.”

⌜Aha. So that’s what you want to talk about.⌟ The leader of Sephiroth Zohar nodded.

His face still could not be recognized, but he seemed intrigued.

⌜So, what do you want us to do? We can’t sabotage the construction site of the Arctic dimensional barrier. It is already heavily staffed. Even if we tried to attack them, we would be overwhelmed by the Hunters there. It is ineffective and useless.⌟

As the faceless Daoist from Mount Kunlun finished talking, Hopper smiled.

⌜Ah… I think I know where this is going. You are thinking of digging a trap that will attract Um Ji-Cheok, right?⌟

“Yes.”

⌜Hm… We, Golden Horizon, won’t be able to help you with that.⌟

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“Why?”

⌜Because we have a contract of non-aggression with Um Ji-Cheok, and he helped us settle the New Jersey incident.⌟

“Then I have no business with you.”

The old man waved his hand. Then, the image on the Golden Horizon monitor went dark. He had been disconnected.

“What about the other two?”

⌜Mount Kunlun will keep an eye out. After all, we are not like you.⌟

After the leader of Mount Kunlun finished speaking, he cut off communication, and his monitor also went dark.

“What a bunch of idiots.”

⌜I don’t know who you are calling idiots here. Don’t involve us in your stupid revenge.⌟

“So you’re not going to cooperate?”

⌜I don’t see the need to cooperate. Well, of course, if you offer a reasonable price, I can provide some help.⌟

The old man who led the Lake of Dawn stared at the monitor, his eyes sunken deeply.

“Very well. I will copy half of Nimueh’s Spellbook and give it to you.”

Legends said that Nimueh was Merlin’s love and apprentice, and an Archmage herself. She was also a Nymph, and people called her the Lady of the Lake. As she was immortal, when she fell in love with Merlin, she sealed him in a rock to keep him to herself forever.

Of course, in actuality, she was a God, and her spellbook was an invaluable item.

⌜Really? That’s how much you want revenge?⌟ the man in the robes leading Sephiroth Zohar asked in disbelief.

“It’s not just a matter of revenge. Our God wants his head.”

The God served by the Lake of Dawn had commanded that Ji-Cheok’s life be taken!

⌜The [Queen_of_Avalon]? Ha… This is interesting. You people are really interesting…⌟

The God, [Queen_of_Avalon] was also a being from the legends of King Arthur. She was a being of great mana and power who ruled over the legendary island nation of Avalon!

But why was the Lake of Dawn, which apparently had Nimue’s spellbook in possession, serving the [Queen_of_Avalon] and not the [Lady_of_the_lake]?

“Quiet! How dare you laugh at our organization…”

⌜Hahaha! I can do whatever I want, what are you going to do about it? Eh, whatever. I will help you. So what’s the plan?⌟

“We are going to pretend to have a ceremony. If we do that, I’m certain he is going to attack us.”

⌜So we are going to pretend to have a ceremony, then ambush him? Is that it? Simple but effective. I like it.⌟

“Good, then here is the plan…”

Thus, the two organization leaders began to conspire.

⁎⁎⁎

“The Steps of Hermes is a good skill, but it’s not as good as I thought.”

The Arctic. A world of frozen glaciers…or so it used to be. Right now, it was a large-scale construction site.

Standing in the middle of it all, Ji-Cheok was grumbling.

«Master, if you say that to anyone, you might get slapped in the face.»

“I know I sound like a spoiled little child right now, but… Maybe it’s because I’m the only one who can travel back and forth.”

Steps of Hermes was a skill that allowed him to move through space. The farther the distance, the more mana it took, but his mana was always full thanks to the elixirs he crafted. Adding to that the Spontaneous Absorption and the Northern Darkness Divine Art, his Mana and Qi were at their peak all the time, so it was no big deal.

‘I can go anywhere. With my current abilities, I should be able to travel to the moon, or maybe even Mars. The distance to Mars was about sixty-three million kilometers if I recall…. I think I can get there if I know the coordinates.’

That was how much his mana and Qi tanks had grown.

However, even with such an incredible wellspring of power, he could not overcome the limitation of the Steps of Hermes. Namely, this skill was for one person only. No matter how great his mana was, he was the only one who could get around. It was possible to take Cheok-Liang with him, since he was Ji-Cheok’s summoned beast. However, he could not do it with other humans.

In the case of his retainers, like the Tama Clan, he could summon them directly, so that part was fine.

‘If Mu-Cheok becomes one of my retainers, then maybe I can summon him too—wait… I’m a God, right? Yes! That’s right! I am a God!’

«Oh! That is right, Master. That is a great idea!»

‘Yes, Cheok-Liang. I am a God! I can make Mu-Cheok or other team members my apostles or bestow my skills and items upon them!’