I Never Run Out of Mana

115. Hidden Boss + Mimic = ?

It was the day after I met the commander and Ho Jin.

I caught up on all the sleep I’ve missed due to Karin.

The gentle breeze of spring came through the window as I woke, putting me in a good mood as I was greeted by the warmth of the sun.

Despite feeling as if I’ve slept for a very long time, it wasn’t even noon yet.

Stretching as I woke up, I scratched my neck and chest to shake off the sleep.

The phone that was on top of the nightstand began to ring.

The call was from the association’s department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong.

It was probably about the plans to guide me to the dungeons in Gangwon-do that ranged from level 38 to 40.

There wasn’t any reason for him to see me there personally, but he insisted so.

Since I didn’t have any reason to decline, I accepted his offer.

“Yes, this is Kim Min-Cheol.”

“Hello Mr. Min-Cheol. Did you sleep well? This is department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong.”

“Yes, hello. No issues, I hope?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hm… When are you planning to depart?”

“Around 2 pm? I wasn’t able to sleep well for the past couple days, and I just woke up.”

“Ah! Is that so. Then please come out when you’re ready.”

“Yes. Should I head over to the association?”

“No. You just have to come out to the front of your house.”

“……”

I looked outside through the window, past the garden that was large as a football field to the entrance that was large as a house.

I was able to see clearly as if I had used a camera.

I saw three vehicles that were waiting at the entrance.

Inside the car in the middle, I was able to see the silhouette of a person through the tinted windows of the car.

It looked as though that person was talking to someone on the phone.

“Are you perhaps waiting in front of the house?”

“Huh? Yes….. How did you know?”

“I can see from here.”

I was able to see his silhouette turn about to check his surroundings.

“Where…. Where are you?”

“In my room. I don’t think you can see me from here. How long have you been waiting?”

“Uh…. Around 7am.”

“Whew. Since it’ll take some time, just bring everyone in. Have a meal before you go.”

“Huh? Ah….. That’s ok! How could we dare enter Mr. Min-Cheol’s home….”

“Don’t say that and just come in. You’re probably hungry. I’m also sorry to keep you waiting for so long.”

“Yes…. Thank you.”

-click

“Why is he waiting for me so early in the morning, making me feel all guilty for no reason.”

Talking to myself, I exited my room.

The first thing I saw was Jong Ho.

He was chewing something while sitting on a wide sofa, maintenancing his equipment.

Since it wasn’t any old equipment, there was no risk of it being damaged or even scratched in the first place, but he was giving his all polishing it.

Next to him was my mother, watching kdrama.

Anyone watching this scene would’ve believed that they were mother and son.

She was putting apple slices in his mouth, creating a wholesome atmosphere.

I tapped his armor jokingly and spoke.

“She’s my mother!”

“Wow. Still half asleep. You’re too old for that.”

“Hey son, did you wake up?”

“Mother, don’t feed this jobless hyung any more apples.”

“Ah hoho. Why? He’s my eldest son, right?”

“That’s right, mother. Did you hear that, bro? And did you call me jobless? Are there jobless people that work 12 hours a day?”

“That’s true. Enough of that. Hyung-nim.”

“What’s up?”

“There is a place you need to come to. With your bro that is!”

“Where? I need to go hunting soon.”

“You’ll need to eat first, right? I’ll let the cook know.”

“Yes. However, about 10 more people will be coming.”

“Huh? Guests? Already at noon?”

“Yes. They were waiting for me at the entrance since morning.”

“Okay, son. Mrs. Seoyeon, can you prepare us a meal….”

As if he had sensed that something was wrong, he asked me a question.

“Where are we going? Who are the people waiting outside?”

“Ah. They’re from the association. There’s a place I need to go to. With hyung-nim, of course!”

“…..”

“Don’t be so nervous. It’s a good place.”

“Well, ok. I just need to equip my armor.”

“Did you already eat?”

“Of course. I ate as soon as I woke up.”

“All right. We’ll be departing as soon as I’m done showering and eating.”

“Okay.”

****

“Whew. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“No worries. You should’ve called me if you came that early.”

“Don’t let it bother you. Now, we’ll be leaving. It’ll take roughly 2 hours. If you’re tired, feel free to rest as we travel.”

“Yes, will do.”

Almost as if in a parade, the luxury Sedans took off.

There were many areas in Gangwon-do that were restricted from entry, similar to Yangpyeong.

It was probably due to all the portals that were hidden in the steep slopes of the mountains.

That was why there were many checkpoints despite the lack of traffic.

After getting past the first checkpoint, Jong Ho whispered to me.

“Hey Min-Cheol. Do I have to make up excuses along the lines of digging for herbs?”

“Pfft! You’re a riot, hyung. I think Mr. Ho Jin would be angry if he heard you say that.”

“Why? When you fought with Joker before, they let you go through when you said that you were here digging for herbs.”

“Hey….. This is different from then. Now, the commander is the acting president of the association. Would saying that now make any sense?”

“True…. We’ll have to say that we’re diggin for mushrooms or arrowroot at the least….”

“Whew…..”

While our pointless banter continued, the car was already going off road.

The car was designed to ignore most vibrations, but it was shaking quite a lot due to how rough the road was.

Looking out the window, I was able to spot a massive portal.

After 30 minutes of driving, Ho Yeong spoke.

“We’re nearly here.”

“Yes.”

“Um… Did you say that you’re Mr. Jong Ho?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I heard a lot about you from the commander. He said that you defended against a level 30 portal at Changwon by yourself….”

“Ah, that’s not true. I was with Ms. So-Hyeon at the time.”

“Hm? How did you get so close with her so quickly? You’re already leaving out her family name and just calling her Ms. So-Hyeon?”

“My brother, there is a thing called a world of adults.”

“Yikes…..”

“Ahaha. So there’s a story of romance here. Either way, I’ll be in both your care.”

“Yes, same here. Mr. Ho Yeong, are you also an Awakened like Ho Jin hyung-nim?”

“No, I’m not an Awakened. Department head of Special Handlers Mr. Ho Jin is a special case.”

“Is that so.”

“We’re here.”

The car slowed down before coming to a full stop.

Exiting the car, I looked at the portal before me.

However, the size of the portal could not be compared to any of the portals that I defeated before.

The size of the portal was roughly 3 stories high at the least.

It didn’t take long for me to snap out of awe at the sight.

Ho Yeong began to explain.

“This is the level 38 portal.”

“The size is quite big.”

“Yes. Portals after level 35 begins to grow in size.”

“Ah….”

“And that’s the level 39 portal.”

Ho Yeong pointed elsewhere.

I couldn’t see the portal due to how thick the foliage was, but it wouldn’t pose much of an issue.

All I’d have to do would be to kick off the ground and check for the location from the air.

The portals were huge in size to begin with, and my vision was rivaling that of an eagle.

“And that would be the level 40 portal.”

Ho Yeong spread out his hand between the 3 portals.

Just as he explained before yesterday, they really seemed to make a triangular formation.

“Now, I’ve explained the locations of the portals. When should I come to pick you two up?”

“No worries. We’ll be using Warp.”

“Hm… Would it be inconvenient due to the long cooldown of the spell?”

“Since we’ve been hunting as if we were slaves, it won’t be a problem. 12 hours is nothing.”

“Then just in case, I’ll be leaving passes for the checkpoints.”

“……”

“There might be a time that you’ll be coming via vehicle. I’ll let the checkpoints know ahead of time, but just in case, please take these.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Now, I’ll be heading back to the association and edit the data for these portals.”

“What do you mean…..”

“These three portals will become dungeons due to you two clearing them soon.”

“Ah… That’s right.”

“Then I’ll be going now. Please contact me if you need anything.”

“Yes.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Ho Yeong gave his business card to Jong Ho before leaving.

Now there were only Jong Ho and me left here.

Just the two of us.

Jong Ho, who had been checking his equipment and status window till now, spoke up.

“Hey Min-Cheol. Why the sudden decision to hunt?”

“I’m trying to get some better artifacts.”

“Hidden bosses?”

“Yes. But since I don’t have any information, I can only go around searching for them.”

“I see. Will anything drop that’s better than what you’re wearing already though? It looks like the chances of that would be very low.”

“I’ll have to take my chances. The maybes might become a surprising reality.”

“True. Will today consist of running the level 38 dungeon?”

“No. I’ll be running each of them once.”

“Okay.”

Without any hesitation, Jong Ho entered the portal.

I couldn’t have imagined him being like this in the past.

It was only a few months ago that he would cling onto my pants and beg me to not drag him in.

Thinking about how I threw him in without remorse made me laugh out loud.

“Pfft.”

“What?”

“Nothing. But hyung, did you know?”

“What?”

“Magic attacks won’t affect the enemies here.”

“Ah, is that so? Guess we’ll have to use Piercing Sword and Formless Sword Aura?”

“Yes. That reminds me, we don’t have that many physical attack skills.”

“Despite having Typhoon Hole and Gigantic Whirl, I don’t end up using those skills much.”

“Right? It’s the same for me.”

“Let’s go for now. We have no idea what kind of monsters will be coming out.”

“Yes!”

****

Berdan stood up with his massive body from his throne.

Even at the slightest movement of his body, the earth shook.

At the same time, two monsters that were guarding each of his sides followed suit.

They were rare monsters, as both had intelligence.

But unlike the goblin Karin, their intelligence was was at the level of an average human.

Lowering ranking monsters tended to use weapons.

Just like humans, they used bloodstones to make weapons and armor.

Unlike humans, who used precise and efficient methods to create them, the monsters used brute strength to mash the stone, compressing its powers for their own use.

Of course, this option was only available to monsters with incredible strength.

The other lower ranking monsters used their bodies and moved with their instinct for carnage.

However, Zekill, who perished at the hand of Min-Cheol, Berdan of the Keruoh race, and the demon king did not use any weapons.

It was the same for all the other leaders of the demonic races.

They knew about the power of the bloodstones.

But why did they not use them? Why would they not use weapons or amors despite the chance to obtain stronger power from them.

It was because of how Authority, the skill that higher ranking monsters had, worked.

The ranking of a monster was determined from birth.

The higher ranking monsters were born with Authority.

Monsters did not have anything like stat gains.

They also couldn’t obtain new skills.

Their strength was completely dependent on this unique skill called Authority, and they used the strength gained from that to slaughter others.

They would grow stronger from the magical energy obtained from their victims.

That was why no matter what weapons or armor a monster with Authority obtained, they would not get any stronger.

Artifacts dropped only from monsters that were invading the human realm.

These items did not exist in the first place in the demonic realm.

They did not have these, nor did they make these.

It could only be surmised as errors created by the portals that spawned in another dimension, almost as if someone was playing a prank by tossing out their toys…..

“Sir Berdan, what is the matter?”

“Bored, I am. No, I am quite excited.”

“What do you mean….” “

That boasting demon king… The absolute power that he is will  kneel before me soon.”

“……”

“On top of that, all the monsters of the demonic realm will kowtow before me.”

“Most right you are, Sir Berdan.”

“76 days, Salazar and Zeke.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“The moment they cross over from Earth to here, I will get rid of them immediately. Then I shall take down Purian, Dabehneh, and finally the demon king’s race, Lubeta….”

Berdan gave a bloody grin as he ate a monster that was roaming in front of his castle.

His head shuddered with excitement.