Episode 41.

[The boss is dead!]

[The humans killed the boss!]

[We could have achieved it soon!]

[You will be punished. You will be punished terribly by them!]

Immediately after the lion-masked boss exploded, the monsters began to panic. The ritual ceased, and the elite monsters who luckily survived just sat down trembling.

[Player level has risen by 6.]

[Courage of the Ignorant skill has become Lv.7.]

[Heavy Weapon Battle skill has become Lv.3.]

[Battle Sprint skill has become Lv.18.]

Jung Si-woo’s legs shook as he watched the notifications pop up. What happened a while ago still felt so vivid.

“Why didn’t I think of avoiding it?”

“Why? It is because you are very, very courageous.”

Soo Ah-rin replied sarcastically. When Jung Si-woo sensed dark magic, not once thinking of eluding it, Soo Ah-rin thought he would die right then and there. Who knew that not knowing what was about to come would actually save his life? Jung Si-woo’s passive skill, Courage of the Ignorant, could reduce the damage of surprise attacks by half, and it protected him from receiving a critical hit from unknown skills. The boss monster cast dark magic that was inevitable and unstoppable, but it was also why it didn’t do enough damage to Jung Si-woo. If he had known the skill’s effect and impact, he would’ve died painfully, but he didn’t, and his ignorance had saved him.

“I intuitively realized it, so I didn’t avoid it.”

“Since when did thorough calculations ever accompany your intuition, Oppa?”

Soo Ah-rin continued to complain, but it was only because she had been worried about Jung Si-woo. Jung Si-woo noticed her worry, so he patted her head as he checked their surroundings. Although they weren’t killed by the boss nor expelled into the dungeon, all the monsters were clearly devastated. As Jung Si-woo thought, all would be solved by simply killing off the boss monster.

“In other words, I don’t have to visit the site where the dungeon had exploded.”

Even though Jung Si-woo was already a remarkably strong player at this point, he knew there were many others who were far stronger. He wanted to continue improving until there was a feat that only he could perform. He wanted to work hard on his growth in the Ant Cave dungeons rather than continue exploring the dungeons that had exploded. He also wanted to avoid encounters with players like Marina Bissett.

“But…we still don’t know exactly what the monsters were talking about and what the relationship between the offering and the underground player is.”

“Of course, we need to figure that out. I agree, but now’s not the right time.”

Jung Si-woo bit his lips gently as he recalled how Marina blew off the boss’s head with just one shot. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t possibly produce that much destructive power. It was deadly magic created by compressing mana of an overwhelming density incomparable to that of Jung Si-woo’s. Its destructive power had reached a realm that human technology and reason couldn’t comprehend. Was Marina Bissett the only one with such abilities? She probably wasn’t, for he thought he heard a story talking about how God had also blessed the Soaring Tempest’s Guild’s master. One thing was for sure — he could not reveal himself to them yet.

“But first of all…”

Jung Si-woo then threw his hammer. It spun rapidly in the air, then broke the head of the elite monsters that had survived.

“Before other people come here and witness this mess, I will have to clean up this site.”

“You’re only interested in mana beads.”

Jung Si-woo saw no reason to deny it. He activated Cruel Charge to sweep away the remaining monsters, mainly the elite ones trying to flee. Marina Bissett joined him.

“How did you stop the dark magic?”

“Can you teach me?”

“If you have that ability, then you’ll have to tell me!”

Marina Bissett was persistent, as always, but Jung Si-woo refused to listen to her. Instead, he just focused on catching elite monsters at an even faster pace. It was a clever decision. As elite monsters who could command others were wiped out, the low-ranking monsters lost their unity and organizational strength, the factors that once made them the most threatening.

[We are defeated.]

[I feel the intelligence leaving me. God has forsaken me!]

[Ah ah ah ah ah! Sir Pathos, Pathos…!]

Jung Si-woo finished the battle by firing a magic bullet into the back of the last remaining elite monster. Other monsters fled in all directions without looking back. It wouldn’t take a week to catch and kill them.

“I had a hard time!”

Upon hearing Marina’s voice and footsteps from behind, Jung Si-woo turned around and was surprised to see her laughing at him. She held her pistol in one hand and dragged the boss monster’s body behind with the other.

“Because the two of us hunted together, we must distribute the loot. Things that come out into the real world leave behind everything else instead of leaving a bead.”

As she finished her last sentence, a group of warriors approached.

“Soaring Tempest Guild…these damned men! When we were in battle, we didn’t even receive their help. Now that the battle’s over, they flock here like they did something. Ugh! Let’s just quickly settle this once and for all!”

“I like that idea.”

Marina Bissett had completely destroyed the monster’s head; it was no longer possible to witness its mortified expression. Only the lion mask he was wearing remained unstained. Of course, it was an artifact.

[Tescaron’s Overbearing]

[Rank B++]

[Defense – 600-950]

[Proficiency – 0/450]

[Option – ???]

[Tescaron, the monster that protects the temple, grabbed the elite lion and processed it by peeling off its hair. The defense isn’t very high, but just wearing it increases charisma and can instill a sense of intimidation in enemies and awe in allies. A mysterious option is hiding.]

“The guardian of the temple? Nope! There’s no way that this guy has anything to do with that temple…what do you want to do, do you want to have this?”

“If you want it, you can have it. I already have a helmet.”

Jung Si-woo declined. Of course, the item’s rank was good, but it wasn’t good enough for Jung Si-woo to desperately want it. Whether she wanted it or not, Marina Bissett immediately laughed then placed the lion mask diagonally across her head.

“Okay, then these gaiters are for you.”

[Glory of Therotta]

[Rank B+]

[Defense – 1,100-1,500]

[Proficiency – 0/450]

[Option – ???]

[A gaiter made by processing the tendons and skin of the jumping frog, Therotta. Not only is it extremely hard, but it also increases the jump power of the wearer.]

Jung Si-woo received some undesirable lower body armor and leggings that exceeded B rank! He took it coldly and put it on right away. He felt the gaiters instantly assimilate with his thighs. It’s as if he had acquired an additional passive skill.

“Good. I want to say that everything is okay since we got something that satisfies each other…”

Of course, B+ rank artifacts were great, but he thought they could only be attained in high-level dungeons. He wondered if they could get something bigger than that.

[The Drop of Heavenly Spirit]

[Rank B+++]

[Option – ???]

[The drop of awakening that brings up everything that can and should be called.]

“This is really suspicious…”

“It’s not only suspicious, but this is the main loot no matter how much you look at it.”

Jung Si-woo and Marina Bissett’s eyes clashed in the air.

“I’m the one who killed this guy, right?”

Marina reminded him.

“Don’t you think that it was impossible to kill it and for you to still be alive without me? I think the stake is half and half.”

“But since I was the one who delivered the final blow, don’t you think I should be given priority?”

“If there is a legitimate reward that is comparable to that, you can use the word priority.”

Neither would retreat easily. But soon after, as the magical power of other players was felt, Marina Bissett bit her lips and stepped back.

“Then, give me ownership of the body and the gemstone. I’ll give this to you in return.”

“In other words, your purpose was the gemstone from the beginning.”

“Ah, what else was I supposed to barter with?!”

“Fine, I accept.”

From the beginning, Marina Bissett was already aware of the mana crystals and gemstones left by monsters in the real world. It was evident that her goal was to secure the mana stone dropped by the boss monster. Of course, Jung Si-woo was also interested in it, but there wasn’t much he could do. It would be a better choice for him to take the drop of heavenly spirit, an artifact that was expected to boost Jung Si-woo’s power, which was already at a high rating.

“Sheesh, actually, I liked the bells, too…”

“Will you stop dropping hints like that?”

Wouldn’t it be better if you were to receive something willingly offered by someone else, and not just because you begged for it? Jung Si-woo didn’t understand why it was possible to pick and throw only double tracks and hints conducive to his reasoning ability.

“Then I’ll get rid of the prestige and join the Soaring Tempest side. What will you do?”

“I’ll disappear with the wind.”

Jung Si-woo grabbed the celestial spirit and threw it in his inventory. Then, he quickly retrieved the mana stones from the corpses of other elite monsters he killed and also threw them in the inventory.

“When you ask for the boss monster’s corpse, does it mean that you want both the mana stone and corpse? I can’t do anything with it, so I’ll give it to you.”

“You can take a little bit.”

Marina Bissett decided to accept Jung Si-woo’s favor. Before the other players reached the battlefield, the two players had all the valuables placed in their inventories.

“But, can you really disappear with the wind?”

“Don’t worry about that. I have to go.”

“Hey, wait for a second!”

Marina Bissett stopped him. At this rate, he would be seen by other players soon. Was she trying to reveal his identity to them? Jung Si-woo was perplexed, but Marina Bissett couldn’t see it because his face was covered with a helmet. Suddenly, she turned around and immediately covered her face with the lion mask before speaking.

“Next time I see you, you can call me Marina…”

“…Okay, but there won’t be a next time.”

“That’s not true!”

Jung Si-woo responded coldly, inserted the key on the floor, and disappeared. Marina couldn’t figure out what he was trying to do, but it was clear that a mana reaction unidentifiable to her eyes had occurred.

“Miss Bissett! Are you alright?”

Immediately afterward, Kim Ha-ryong, the master of the Soaring Tempest Guild, flew to the field and called her as if he made an appointment beforehand. Marina stared at the place where Jung Si-woo disappeared before turning to Kim Ha-ryong, still wearing a lion mask.

“Yes, I’m okay. It’s fortunate that the Soaring Tempest Guild master is safe as well.”

“Hahaha…of course. We also faced strong monsters, and my guild members struggled…”

Marina thought of Jung Si-woo while talking to Kim Ha-ryong with a scratchy voice. Jung Si-woo himself said there would be no next time, but she thought she would see him again soon.

Perhaps she had even made it her wish.