NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48
[The transaction has been successfully completed.]
“Jackson is dead, huh? Have you finished dealing with it?”
[Yes. No problems. You can check the details in the report I sent you.]
“Thank you.”
Helena looked out at the city beyond the window while checking the report her subordinate had delivered.
“Should I really call you Master?”
I heard she hadn’t even reached level 30 yet, but according to the report, she managed to kill Jackson, an A Rank Hunter, and turn him into her Undead.
Certainly, that was impressive skill.
“With this, she’s entangled as well.”
Now, Baek Eun Ha, who killed Jackson, has likely become a potential target for Hades.
As Helena needed allies to distract attention, Baek Eun Ha’s actions were nothing short of a windfall.
“His death will serve as a signal.”
A covert and elite group, Hades.
Ever since Helena inadvertently got involved with them, she has been in an ongoing adversarial relationship.
They haven’t been very active, so she doesn’t have detailed information; however, it’s clear their forces are larger than expected, and they’re plotting something unusual.
“I wonder how they will act from now.”
While Hades has been discreet, with the murder of their member Jackson, it’s likely they will change their approach moving forward.
Step, step.
“You seem happy.”
Yulia, the Banshee Lord and the first High-Ranking Undead that Helena created, muttered.
“…I actually am happy.”
Long ago, the mysterious Necromancer who had first dealt her a defeat when she just ranked up to an A Rank Hunter.
He was surely also affiliated with Hades.
With anticipation for the day they would meet again, Helena wore a smile filled with joy.
#
It had been a week since returning from Yeongdeok.
“Ha Yeon, you don’t seem to know much. Does your brother have any guesses?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
Seo Ha, who had been worried about Jackson, expressed doubt about his disappearance, but both I and Song Ha Yeon continued to feign ignorance.
After all, the U.S. didn’t even know Jackson had hidden in Korea, so there was no way we could be involved.
“…Finally, I can live.”
I, who had been bedridden due to the side effects of excessive energy consumption, had finally managed to recover my health recently.
This time, it was so severe that Seo Ha even dragged me to the hospital against my will.
However, it had been quite some time, and my game account still hadn’t been restored. Truly a lamentable situation.
Ding.
[Still not done…….]
[Restoration? I heard they would do it, so just wait a bit. Why is someone who used to lead thousands so impatient?]
[It’s too late.]
[That’s how it usually is. They’ll figure it out eventually.]
With Song Ha Yeon’s help, I had succeeded in getting cooperation from the relevant parties. Still, like other games, the overseas headquarters seemed to be painfully slow in handling the issue.
With no connections in the industry, the only thing I could do was to summon Jackson, the root of the situation, and nag him whenever I was bored.
Pfft.
“Can’t you see the dust here? Can’t you even clean this properly?”
[Ugh.]
Pfft.
“How can an A Rank Hunter be like this? Tsk.”
Every time I swatted the dust away, Jackson, now a Doom Warrior, let out a low, sorrowful whine.
After what felt like a year, several days passed, and at last, I was able to reunite with my long-cherished account.
[Account restriction has been lifted.]
“Yes, it’s done.”
There was nothing to explain about what happened next.
I sat in front of my computer all day, consumed by the game, determined to make up for the time lost, minimizing meals and other activities, focusing only on raising my scores.
A week passed, then two, but there was no sign that my routine would change at all.
Seo Ha, who had been watching the scene for a long time, now sighed deeply every time she passed by my room on her way to work.
“Brother, no matter how much of an Awakened One you are, you’ll gain weight if you just stay cooped up and eat delivery food.”
“I-I’ll go out and run later.”
“…I heard that last week.”
Seo Ha shook her head and left the house, clearly having given up.
Feeling a bit guilty, I promised myself to go for a walk today, but when the moment of my third consecutive loss came, such thoughts naturally vanished from my mind.
And just like that, a month passed in the blink of an eye.
“Ugh. I can’t live like this for real. Is there a person stuck inside there or something?”
“……”
Seeing how much Song Ha Yeon had had enough, she came to visit, but I didn’t respond, solely focused on the screen.
Click.
Click, click.
It seemed like Song Ha Yeon had some sense as a game streamer. She saw me like this and decided to keep her mouth shut for now.
And then…
Boom!
[Victory]
With trembling hands, I moved my mouse and clicked the confirmation button.
Immediately, dazzling effects and brilliant lights poured out from my monitor.
[Challenger: 892 Points]
Seeing that, Song Ha Yeon looked at me with a face of disbelief.
“…Wait, you were definitely in the 400s when you restored it. Just how much did you play?”
But I was not in a state to respond properly.
After savoring that moment of joy for a moment, I dully walked over to my bed and flopped down, saying to Song Ha Yeon,
“…I’m going to sleep.”
“Master? I just got here…..”
“I, I’ll come back later.”
Thus, having achieved my lifelong goal, I sank into dreamland, nearly fainting.
#
When I regained my senses, a whole day had already passed.
And I was now slowly disentangling myself from the obsession with scores, finally grasping reality.
‘……’
I definitely felt great. Yet, at the same time, for some reason, a sense of crisis washed over me. This was made clear with just a brief web search.
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[Hunter Kim Seung Min, the first to rank up to B Rank in the third quarter of 2021!]
[Kim Seung Min, reveals thoughts on breaking level 30 in personal stream with 800,000 YouTubers. Promises to continue striving for the citizens.]
[Necromancer Song Ha Yeon joins Clear White Guild’s Strategy Team to clear first A Rank Dungeon. Promotion not far off now.]
In fact, ever since the last conditional dungeon incident, I had been living a lifestyle that could be seen as lazy.
Due to using the Book of Death, I spent long hours resting to recover my energy. Even when I did make an effort in dungeons, I would burn out and take long breaks, then dive back into gaming.
As a result, I’ve wasted a considerable amount of time.
Consequently, I had fallen significantly behind the top runners of my class.
‘K-Kim Seung Min is B Rank now?’
That news hit me hard. We had played games and chatted together, so how on earth did he manage to rank up to B so quickly?
Moreover, although Song Ha Yeon said she only tagged along, she even cleared an A Rank Dungeon. In a panic, I immediately sent a message.
Ding.
[Link.]
[What’s going on?]
[What do you mean?]
[Did you go dungeon diving with Seo Ha’s guild?]
[I mentioned it last time. You didn’t pay attention at all. That was a week ago! And yesterday you just laid down and got kicked out. I’m going to level up myself now.]
R-Right, that happened?
Ignoring the annoyed tone of Song Ha Yeon, I sank into thought.
‘I need to level up quickly…’
But unlike when I had made my firm resolution after the battle with Jackson, I felt oddly unmotivated now.
Thinking back, there was no immediate need to fight anyone, and wouldn’t it be alright to just rest adequately while growing slowly?
Engulfed in such thoughts, I instinctively started the game once more.
“…I guess I can just make it to the dungeon once a week.”
Thus, in the blink of an eye, another month flew by.
[C Rank Hunter Baek Eun Ha excluded from the World Organization’s promising candidates list.]
[Nationally funded training mate Kim Seung Min, “She just needs time.”]
[Every year, promising candidates disappear one by one. Have they failed to overcome the pressure of the dungeons?]
Now, seeing reporters starting to probe into my recent activities, I made a sincere vow to myself this time.
“I-I’ll make it twice a week, that should be enough to catch up.”
And so, yet another month passed.
[What has happened to the once-promising Divine Hunter? Concerns grow.]
[Association Management Chief Lee Yong Tae, “There’s nothing unusual. It’s hard to disclose personal circumstances.”]
[Expert Jo Wan Jae, “80% of Hunters entering a dormancy phase do not return. Unfortunately, it’s time to lower expectations.”]
‘……’
Seeing the calendar on the computer changing several times and the cold responses from people, I finally felt a genuine sense of crisis.