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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 18
【Aringen's Crystal Coat (Master) has been dropped.】
【This coat, with blue crystals growing amidst black wool fabric and a leather belt, provides the wearer with sturdy protection and a stylish look.】
【Health +250】
I was speechless when I saw the artifact that appeared with a bright light.
The 'Hardening' skill I had just acquired was also quite good.
Just having it gave me +100 Health and +75 Strength.
Although I haven't checked yet, if I open my status window, my rank would probably have gone up from 'C-' to 'C.'
And this coat gave a whopping 250 Health.
When I ate the 'Fallen Dragon's Heart' and became D+, my Health was around 200, and it only reached 220 recently when I became C-Rank.
But just by wearing this coat, I get 250 Health.
It means that even a Non-Awakened person could gain the stamina, detoxification ability, and defense of a C-Rank Awakened.
I picked up the coat and muttered—
"I've rarely thought of myself as lucky..."
My Constellation's voice echoed in my head.
【"Isn't there a tendency for the artifact drop rate to increase when the number of hits is low?"】
【"Except for a few sword swings, you practically smashed it in one hit, so it's reasonable for it to drop. Others would have had to hit it thousands of times more than you."】
The executive with the severed arm, the middle-aged man named General Manager Hwang, muttered in a daze.
"That thing actually drops?"
The other executives also mumbled incoherently.
"I've never seen that in years of working here."
"Didn't he practically kill the Rock Golem in one hit? Was there a hit count limit on the drop condition?"
"We attacked that guy... no, that person?"
They all looked bewildered.
From my long experience in the field, I knew.
When something like this happens right in front of your eyes, it feels like you're dreaming.
It would be surprising enough that I defeated the Rock Golem, but the fact that it was done by an F-Rank who was mining Mana Stones here until a month ago...
It was abnormal to accept it immediately.
【"Haven't you gotten everything you need? Let's go."】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' points towards the exit.】
I hesitated for a moment.
I got 'Hardening' and the 'Crystal Coat' in one go, so wouldn't I be able to raise my specs much higher if I caught a few more?
I couldn't help but have expectations.
"Yes, let's go."
But I neatly put aside my greed.
I might feel like I'm on cloud nine, but I had used up all my mana with that last Resonance Wave.
Also, due to the nature of fire abilities, the synergy with rock or earth types wasn't very good.
Even within the same B-Rank, there's a big difference between a 'Phantom' and a 'Rock Golem.'
Until I could reach the level where I could erase everything in front of me with Law of Light like before, it was better to be mindful of elemental matchups.
I gestured to the executives sprawled around.
"What are you doing? Get up."
"Y-Yes?"
"Aren't you leaving? You need to get my and Wolha's signatures. We are quitting."
"...?"
General Manager Hwang and the executives exchanged glances.
"Aren't... you going to kill us?"
"Why would I?"
"We, uh..."
I knew everything.
These guys had scammed people, probably even killed a few, and just now, they tried to kill me too.
But wouldn't cutting off an arm be enough?
I had no intention of letting the injustice I witnessed slide, but a high-and-mighty person like me couldn't personally punish every single wrongdoing.
Instead, I tried to create a system that would maintain order even without me.
"Do you think I'm a psychopath? Awakened can fight each other too, you know."
So I'm going to report them.
The police and prosecutors will handle the punishment.
"Let's get out of here. More Golems might appear."
I just wanted to quit the porter job that Ilha had been doing.
【Would you like to exit the cleared Gate 'Aringen's Abandoned Open-Pit Mine'?】
【Y/N】
I exited the Gate and returned to the Uri Mining office.
Unlike when I left, the executives around me were now very polite.
"It's lunchtime, shall we order some delivery food for you?"
"What kind of drinks would you like?"
"Can I go to the hospital to treat my arm?"
And Wolha and the other executives who remained in the office...
"You damn brat, just do as you're told!"
"Hey, you want to keep working here too, right? Right? Say it, you damn bastard."
"Don't tell me you're still trusting that brother of yours? Ilha's probably half-dead by now, you know?"
"Hurry up and sign here. 'I will work for the next 5 years at minimum wage.'"
"If you don't sign, your brother will really die. You know that even after the Gate is cleared, F-Rank and E-Rank monsters still spawn there, right? There won't be anything left of him in 20 minutes."
They still hadn't come to their senses.
The company employees and executives surrounded Wolha, who was sitting on the sofa, their eyes darting around.
"!"
I heard the sharp intake of breath from the executives who had entered the Gate with me.
I spoke with a deliberately cheerful smile.
"Wolha, I've said my goodbyes to everyone. Let's go home once we are done with the paperwork."
One of the company employees with an irezumi tattoo only outlined on his arm pointed at me.
[TL/NL: Irezumi is a traditional style of Japanese tattoo art that has a rich history and cultural significance.]
"Who said you can go home? Hey, you come sit here too. Why aren't you coming over here?"
I didn't answer and just glanced to the side.
General Manager Hwang's face, who had lost an arm, was pale, almost blue.
Tsk.
To have such clueless subordinates.
* * *
"Get a... grip."
"Get a grip!"
"Pull yourself... together."
"Pull yourself together!"
The executives and employees of Uri Mining were all bowing their heads to the ground in unison.
One young executive, however, hadn't given up and tried to take Wolha hostage.
"Don't move!"
He flinched as the sashimi knife, which he'd held against Wolha's neck, pierced through his own hand instead.
"Yeah, don't move."
"Aaaagh!"
The sashimi knife, impaled through his hand and into the table, quivered.
"Sorry. I got a bit carried away there."
Swish.
Baekya apologized as he pulled out the sashimi knife.
The apology was insincere, but it was true that he had lost his temper.
'Why?'
Wolha wasn't even his real brother.
He didn't have anywhere else to go, and he felt obligated to repay the original owner of this body for keeping him alive, so he was just going along with things for now.
'Could I have gotten attached?'
But seeing a knife at his neck made his blood boil.
Baekya decided not to dwell on that question.
There were many questions in the world that were better left unanswered.
Instead of seeking an answer, he heated his finger like a branding iron and cauterized the young executive's bleeding palm.
Sizzle!
"Aaaaagh!"
The executive screamed and wet his pants.
The first-generation old-timer's eyes narrowed at the sight of an Awakened unable to withstand such pain.
"So weak."
"Y-You, you'll pay for this."
"Sure, give it your best shot."
"Do you know who my brother is?"
"How would I know?"
"He's from the guild 'Sun-Moon Divine Sect'! Sun-Moon Divine Sect!"
Sun-Moon Divine Sect.
It was a large guild where Awakened with traits, titles, or classes related to 'martial arts' gathered.
Although they were smaller in number than Lee Eunwoo's 'Iron Blood Legion,' their average quality was higher.
If he was an official guild member there, he was a Hunter with enough influence to make his voice heard in this Awakened society that worshipped power.
"Really? Give me your business card."
"What?"
"I said, give me your business card. I'll go find him."
But Baekya was the supreme being who had reigned at the top of that Awakened society for 15 years.
He, who had even the guild master of Sun-Moon Divine Sect come running out barefoot to greet him, wouldn't be intimidated by a mere guild member.
"If I tell him that his brother's been threatening porters, he'll probably pay me to keep my mouth shut."
"You crazy bastard!"
At that moment, another conversation was taking place in Baekya's mind.
【"Are you really going to demand compensation?"】
'No. I want to postpone revealing myself to the Awakened society as long as possible.'
【"Just a bluff then?"】
'That's not it either.'
【"Then what is it?"】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' expresses curiosity.】
'I'm thinking of laundering the money I took from the warehouse as a reward.'
He needed money anyway, and this seemed like a good opportunity.
'I'll give him some money and help him focus on studying for the civil service exam. If I have enough, I'll even get him a couple of elixirs and help him reach C-Rank. That should be enough to repay him for keeping this body alive.'
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' is impressed by your profound thoughts.】
【Sponsors 3 Mana stat points.】
'Thank you!'
Baekya received the day's sponsorship and refocused on the person in front of him.
"Hand over your business card and bring me the documents."
At his resolute voice, as cold as a thousand-year-old glacier, the young executive flinched.
He ran out of the office and returned with the documents that had been carelessly stored in a hallway cabinet.
Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, and Mr. Choi, porters who had finished their morning shift and came out for lunch, witnessed the scene.
"Oh my god."
"Is this some kind of spectacle... Oh, it is."
"That's Ilha and Wolha, right?"
The intimidating executives and employees were bowing their heads in front of them.
* * *
The three of them, while having lunch that day, wrote a post on the 'Porter Bulletin Board' of the Awakened community site, 'Star Chatter.'
[It seems like a guy I worked with Re-awakened~]
[I think I saw a Re-awakening today. Ehehe!]
[That's one lucky junior.]
The content of their post was the same old story, repeated countless times on that board.
A porter junior who was working hard to pay for his younger brother's medicine recently fell victim to an artifact scam and ended up in massive debt.
For some reason, he said he paid off all his debts and didn't show up to work for a while.
Then today, he came back saying he wanted to quit and turned the whole company upside down.
The comments were polarized.
[If all the Re-awakened people mentioned here were real, South Korea would have over 100 S-Ranks by now.]
[Wow! You guys had quite the experience. I'm envious.]
[I wish that friend the best. Hehehe~]
[I hope the same luck comes to you guys~]
[Did you think we'd believe you just because you followed the classic formula?]
[This is why the Spring Literary Contest is failing.]
[TL/N: Spring Literary Contest — a prominent annual event where major newspapers and media organizations invite aspiring and established writers to submit their literary works.]
About half the comments were telling them not to fake it, and the other half were congratulatory.
This kind of story did come up quite often on the porter bulletin board.
Re-awakening was something all porters at the bottom of the Awakened society hoped for.
That's why neither those who said it was fake nor those who congratulated them wrote their comments very seriously.
Even Mr. Kim, Mr. Choi, and Mr. Park, who had written the post, were the same.
They would chuckle at the notification of a new comment, sometimes get angry, and then head back into the Gate with the other porters.
But the story was different for the Uri Mining executives.
"I took General Manager Hwang to the hospital and came back."
"What happened with those guys mentioning the police earlier?"
"I checked on my way back, and they said we have to appear tomorrow. They said if we show any signs of running away, we'll be arrested, so don't even dream of it."
"Ah, I guess they're trying to quell the chaos caused by Baekya's death by cracking down on us."
They were all 'Hunters,' ranked at least D+ or C-, so they had some idea of his strength.
"It's just... it feels like I had a nightmare. I don't know what I saw."
Everyone nodded at one executive's words.
"Boss, are you saying he really smashed that Aringen Rock Golem in one hit?"
"Would I lie? Didn't you see General Manager Hwang lose his arm?"
"If he can do that, he's gotta be at least B+ Rank, right?"
"Jin-yeong was taken out in a flash too. And you're C-Rank, aren't you?"
"Honestly... it felt like I was sparring with my hyung."
"It's a Re-awakening. There's no doubt about it."
"We're lucky to be alive."
"Hey, when we go for the police investigation, tell them everything. If we try to get clever and that bastard comes back, we'll really get ripped to shreds. Even if we rot in jail for a few years, it's safer there. Got it?"
"Yes."
One executive looked at the young executive who had his hand pierced earlier.
"Hey, do you think he'll really go after your brother?"
The young executive hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I hope he does. Then he'll die."
The executives and employees nodded one by one.
"He will."
They knew how arrogant real Hunters were.
The only ones they respected were the High Rankers who conquered the Tower alongside Baekya.
And they only treated government Awakened who fought against Gates with respect.
Even if he had Re-awakened, he was nothing but a porter until just a few days ago.
Beep.
A familiar disaster alert message broke the brief silence.
[Emergency Gate Disaster Alert]
[Gyeonggi Province, Seoul City, Highway 100, Gi*** Overpass. Rank 4 Gate Outbreak. Coordinates...]
One of the executives muttered—
"Isn't that the way to Ilha's house?"
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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