Chapter 220

Even after wiping out the Great Worms, Do-Jin’s party kept hunting without slowing down.

They tore through nightmare-level hunting grounds and dungeons, squeezing every last drop of efficiency out of the EXP event. The fights were brutal, but they were no longer miserable. The performance of their newly acquired gear was obvious in real time, and that made all the difference.

The wide-area curses Do-Jin spread boosted both the party’s survivability and damage output in every single situation. Theresa’s and Tanto’s weapons, which specialized in brutal single-target damage and defense-reduction curses, really shined during boss fights.

Soso, flaunting the overwhelming power of a filthy rich family, had covered herself head to toe in S-rank Tier 1 gear stacked with HP and mana regeneration options. Thanks to Forced Sacrifice, she’d become a healer on a completely different level.

With four relic items added to the mix, it wasn’t even an exaggeration to say Do-Jin’s party had become nearly twice as strong.

“Ughhh... it’s over. It’s finally fucking over.”

The end of the month-long EXP event was announced by Theresa’s exhausted howl. She brought her hammer down on the last dungeon boss’ head, then immediately slumped to the ground like her strings had been cut.

“I seriously need to rest now. At this rate, I’m gonna die before the monsters do.”

It had been fun, but she couldn’t deny that the whole EXP event was getting too exhausting.

“The monsters are already dead, so what do you mean you’ll die first? If you die now, you’re just gonna be the rookie in the afterlife.” Soso snapped back without mercy.

To that, Theresa simply shook her head. “That mouth is exactly why you’ve never had a boyfriend your whole life.”

Soso answered by smacking Theresa on the head with her scepter. In fact, calling that blunt weapon a scepter was generous. It was more like a short metal rod.

Theresa let out a yelp and clutched the top of her head. “Kim Soso, are you fucking insane! That’s attempted murder!”

Soso didn’t even snort at her complaint. Seeing a tank complain about getting hit was just pathetic. “You’re one to talk. Stop spouting bullshit.”

“I’ve had plenty of men ask me out, okay?”

While the two of them kept bickering on the way out of the dungeon, Do-Jin and Tanto shared a much warmer exchange.

“Good work, Tanto.”

“I didn’t do much. You’re the one who really busted your ass, Do-Jin.”

“I’m planning to take a break for a while. What about you?”

“I’m gonna rest too. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever hunted nonstop for this long.”

Rest was long overdue for Tanto. He’d been running around nonstop with no substantial breaks, and now his body was screaming for proper sleep. It was important to take a few days of real rest so that he could start grinding hard again.

With that in mind, Do-Jin said, “Go get some good rest. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. You too, Do-Jin.”

After seeing the party leader sign off, Tanto watched Theresa and Soso continue their usual bullshit for a moment, then quietly logged out as well.

After that, Do-Jin slept for two full days straight. Even on the third day, he had no intention of hopping on LOST. Instead, he had the surprisingly responsible thought that maybe he should get some fresh air for once.

“I’ll just organize my inventory real quick, then head out,” he mumbled to himself.

That was where the problem started. Habits built from living inside the game didn’t die easily. His inventory had turned into a complete disaster after all that nonstop hunting, and it kept bothering him. He decided to clean it up first, and that was all he planned to do.

When Do-Jin snapped back to his senses, however, he was surrounded.

“Cooperate quietly, and we’ll let you keep your life, mage.”

“Who the fuck are these assholes now?” Do-Jin let out a tired sigh as he looked at the enemies circling him.

***

It felt like a nightmare.

They’d always said mages were weak when it came to ambush situations. That line had been drilled into them until it practically carved grooves into their brains every time they trained for combat.

“A mage is a beast that needs preparation. No matter what they do, there’s always setup involved. Don’t give them that time. If you don’t, they’re nothing.”

That was what they’d been taught, but it was all bullshit. The mage they’d picked as prey looked completely defenseless at first glance, carefully closing the distance to subdue him. He stood there without moving, like he couldn’t do a thing, right up until they got close enough.

The moment they crossed a certain line, strength drained out of their bodies all at once, like something had reached inside and yanked the power straight out of their limbs. At the same time, the bastard moved.

They’d been sure the distance was close enough to be a death sentence for a mage. Instead, it didn’t take long to realize they were the ones who’d walked straight into hell.

There was a white flash, or maybe blue, and before anyone could even react, flames had swallowed the area whole. Then came a heavy, dull impact that blew out their vision. After that, everything went black.

The last thing they smelled before losing consciousness was blood. It flowed everywhere, thick and reeking, clinging to their bodies as if trying to drag them under.

***

After subduing the five attackers who had tried to surround and restrain him, Do-Jin let out an irritated sigh.

“They’re probably not mountain bandits or petty thieves.”

Judging by their clothes, they looked no better than vagrants. Even so, one glance was enough to tell they’d been trained somewhere. The training showed, but it was still sloppy.

“And it’s definitely not the Cult of Ruin.”

The first thing that had crossed his mind when they jumped him had been the Cult of Ruin. He hadn’t exactly been going around picking fights or building grudges, so if someone was targeting him, that group naturally came to mind first. But if it were those cultists, they would have sent something far nastier than this. Whether human or monster, they wouldn’t have used half-baked trash like these guys.

“I guess I’ll just have to ask them myself.”

Do-Jin stopped thinking any further. There was no point burning brain cells when he could just get the answers straight from the source.

He buried the five unconscious attackers in the ground, leaving only their chests and heads sticking out. Then he woke all five at once. As a sudden electric shock ripped through them, the attackers came to with muffled screams.

“Mmgh!”

Do-Jin spoke calmly as they thrashed around. “I’d suggest you start talking before things get painful, or if you value your hands.”

Naturally, no one answered. Even half-conscious, they glared at him with stubborn intensity, like pretend freedom fighters who’d watched too many heroic anime.

“I was just trying to go for a walk for once and you assholes had to make it exhausting.” Do-Jin brushed the dust off his clothes as he walked up to one of them.

“Ptooey. Go ahead and kill m—”

The man’s head snapped back as Do-Jin kicked him in the face.

“You fucking bas—”

The one next to him reacted, and Do-Jin kicked him too. Then he roughly tore off the man’s mask.

Huh? He looks a lot younger than I expected.

Other than looking young, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about him. The next one was the same.

Wait. There’s a woman mixed in?

The baggy clothes had made her look like just another skinny guy, but one of them was clearly female.

“Don’t touch the others. If you have to, take me instead—” the fourth one began to protest but was interrupted by Do-Jin.

“That’s enough.”

Do-Jin had paused for half a second after realizing she was a woman. Seeing the nervous man stand up for her, he couldn’t help but think, Fuck me. This is starting to make me look like the villain.

They were the ones who attacked him, so why the hell were they acting like this was some tragic drama?

“Relax. You were next anyway.”

Do-Jin drove his gauntlet straight into the fourth man’s face. Judging by how the others went berserk, this one was clearly the leader. Deciding he was the one worth questioning, Do-Jin ripped off the man’s mask.

“What the hell?” he blurted out, recognizing the face.

Do-Jin had never met him in person, but the guy was famous enough that he knew him on sight. His name was Altos Jormund, the eldest son of the Consul of the Rumanus Republic in the northeastern part of the Central Continent.

If one had to compare Rumanus to Earth nations, it was like throwing East Germany, the Soviet Union, and North Korea into a blender. Even after players had grown strong enough that the entire Central Continent, not just the empire, became their playground, Rumanus remained inaccessible due to its extreme isolation.

The reason Altos Jormund had become famous wasn’t anything subtle. It was because the bastard had ended up on the wanted list for the entire continent. As the son of the Consul of the Rumanus Republic, he had organized a rebel army with the explicit goal of toppling his own country, eventually plunging them into a full-blown civil war.

Well, Rumanus ended up collapsing anyway, so the bounty and the manhunt fizzled out, and people forgot about him.

Still, there had been a time when chasing Altos became a trend among players who wanted to try bounty hunting, so Do-Jin remembered him clearly.

But... why the hell is a guy like that here?

He didn’t have a rebel army anymore, and this wasn’t even the time for him to be playing a resistance hero. More than anything, they weren’t even in their own territory. They were in the middle of the empire, and they’d still tried to jump Do-Jin.

All his foreknowledge meant nothing if something like this didn’t even line up with what he knew. At least a few pieces had to fit before Do-Jin could start guessing. This was so out of nowhere that he couldn’t even form a theory.

Either way, something big’s going on. Something’s either about to blow up, or it already has.

Figuring that out came first. Do-Jin watched the Republic bastards yapping at him and thought about how to make them spill. He could threaten them by claiming he knew where they came from, but he had a better option in mind.

Do-Jin manipulated mana without saying a word.

“Hhk!”

Altos, who had still been chirping like a bird while Do-Jin was thinking, began to sink into the ground. The others immediately panicked and began talking over one another.

“Stop! Do you even know who this man is? Please stop.”

Although Altos kept his mouth shut like his pride had it on a leash, the fear pooled in his eyes anyway. That left no choice for Do-Jin but to bury him. The woman started flailing, shouting that she’d talk first, but Do-Jin ignored her and sank the others into the ground too.

“Ahh...!”

Now only two remained above ground, one woman and one man. Their eyes were split evenly between despair and rage. Do-Jin decided to be generous and handed them a sliver of hope.

“The ones I buried aren’t dead yet.”

“What?”

“I left some air pockets down there.”

Do-Jin created a chair with magic, sat down, and looked at the woman and man from above.

“So convince me, fast. Tell me where you’re from, why you came, why you attacked me, who sent you, whatever. If your explanation makes me feel like I can let today slide with just the beating you already took, I’ll dig the others back out.”

The woman exclaimed, “They’re really alive, right?”

Do-Jin smiled. At the same time, the remaining two started sinking into the ground.

“W-Wait, what the—”

“Shut your mouth. Or you’ll eat dirt.”

The woman and man disappeared completely, then rose back up about five seconds later. They gagged and spat, choking as dirt and gravel poured out of their mouths and noses.

“I figured you looked curious, so I thought I’d let you confirm it yourself. You now know you can breathe down there too, right?”

The woman spat the last clump of dirt out, then finally spoke. “We...”

“A-Are you really going to tell him?” the man interrupted her.

“We don’t have a choice.”

With a serious face, the woman started explaining everything carefully, as if she was giving an oath, though it was really just a well-rehearsed load of bullshit. And of course it didn’t work on him. Do-Jin buried her and pulled her back up five times in a row.

By the time she’d swallowed enough dirt to feel like her stomach had its own sandbox, she finally started telling the truth. The pain was a part of it, but the bigger problem was time. If she stalled any longer, the people buried below were actually going to turn into corpses.

“So you came from Rumanus, and you didn’t specifically target me. You were trying to kidnap mages inside the empire.”

“Yes.”

“And why’s that?”

“It’s because of the imperial mages who’ve recently entered the Republic. Because of you, the Republic’s being twisted even further. We had to fix it somehow.”

“What?” Do-Jin frowned.

On the surface, Rumanus was the kind of place that openly rejected mages. They might do whatever shady things they wanted behind the scenes to grow stronger, but they weren’t the type to let mages run around freely in the open.

If the Republic’s “twisting” enough to say it like that, this isn’t about random nobodies. A high-ranking mage has to be involved.

That made even less sense. High-ranking mages got treated well anywhere. They didn’t need to go all the way to Rumanus, and they sure as hell didn’t need to sell their magic there.

Something stank. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was yet because the information was still scattered, but he could smell it. Do-Jin decided to follow the scent.

“Tell me more.”