“Bring them to me!” Carrombus shouted once the repellent smoke disappeared.

The Evaporating Poison Gas quickly advanced, and the Lucanids began to extend their hooks again.

“Dammit! What are the ranged attackers doing?!” the frustrated Ho-Geun shouted.

Min-Jae answered, “Their exoskeletons need to be destroyed for us to deal damage!”

“The nukers can’t get close!”

They were isolated without help; the shadow of despair loomed over Garapan.

Just then, Shin Jun shouted, “Assume a reverse pyramid formation! Attack simultaneously!”

“What? What do you—Jun! What are you doing?!” Ho-Geun expressed shock as he watched Jun charging at the Evaporating Poison Gas as if committing suicide.

However, Jun’s eyes were filled with the resolve to save everyone, no matter what. Not a single hint of resignation was present.

“HAAAH!” Jun screamed as he threw aside his shield and raised his D Weapon, Hero’s Manhole Cover.

The hero in the name was his parents; they were Jun’s heroes. They helped others while isolating all impurities from the world in their hearts. Jun believed everyone had such manholes in their hearts. They occasionally opened them to throw negative emotions inside, causing them to smell putrid to others.

Not even Jun knew where that manhole led to. He wondered if his father, who had jumped into the manhole to save his partners, saw what was on the other side.

Jun activated his new skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Open Manhole Cover.]

The sound of a manhole cover opening echoed. The word Sewage in the center of the manhole cover changed to Open. The Hero’s Manhole Cover turned pitch-black, and an enormous gravitational force sucked the Evaporating Poison Gas into it.

“W-what’s that?”

“Since when did the clan leader have a skill like that?”

Jun absorbed the Evaporating Poison Gas like a black hole, but it wasn’t only the poison gas he absorbed. The manhole cover also absorbed the impure, negative emotions such as fear, despair, resentment, and resignation. The One Tree clansmen regained their courage and charged at the Lucanids.

“Reverse pyramid formation!”

“The clan leader is creating a path! Follow him!”

Carrombus expressed shock as it stared at the human absorbing its poison gas and shouted, “B-bastard!”

Its pride—the invincible skill that had thwarted all invasions—had been demolished.

Gyeeeh!

Kiiik!

The Lucanids could do nothing as the nukers closed the distance to destroy their exoskeletons, and the attackers destroyed their os.

“Advance! Advance!”

“Exterminate the damn insects!”

“Follow the clan leader!”

The One Tree clansmen recovered their morale and slowly approached Carrombus as they killed the Lucanids.

“You underestimate me!” Carrombus shouted in rage and commenced its Secondary Transformation.

Its massive body began to compress, and its Chaos Mana became denser. Carrombus took a humanoid form, about two meters tall. It still had its antler-like mandibles on top of its head, six limbs, wings on its back, and the hard, black exoskeleton covering its body.

Carrombus sprouted its wings and flew toward Jun, shouting inwardly, I can activate Evaporating Poison Gas again if I kill him!

“DIE!” it shouted.

“YOU WISH!” Jun yelled as he raised his manhole cover to block Carrombus’s fists, enveloped in Chaos Mana.

Carrombus’s four fists, excluding its two legs on the ground, barraged the Hero’s Manhole Cover like a rain shower.

“Hm? You bastard! My Chaos Mana!”

Carrombus realized the black hole was also absorbing its Chaos Mana. It sprouted its wings to flee from Jun, but Jun poured all his mana into the skill, Open Manhole Cover.

“HAAAH!” he screamed.

The manhole cover opened even more, and a black haze extended from the hole like tentacles, attaching to Carrombus to drag it inside.

“Let go of me, you son of a bitch!” Carrombus shouted as it was dragged toward the pitch-black entrance to hell, its feet leaving furrows in the ground from being dragged.

Jun shouted, “Now, Smith!”

“What?” Carrombus said in confusion.

A man suddenly appeared beside Carrombus. Seong-Hwi, after canceling Shadowless Plum Blossom Branch and Hermit’s Robe, tightly gripped the Two-Line Hwando[1] he grabbed from Muka’s smithy.

[Activating Exclusive Skill: Chok’s National Sword Technique.]

Fierce Tiger Hides in the Forest, Step Forth and Kill, Golden Pheasant Stands Alone, Left Hip Slash, Right Hip Slash, Thrust to the Rear, Flood Dragon Geyser, White Ape Leaves the Cave, Right Chisel Strike, Brave Thrust!

Ten techniques were linked so quickly that they occurred almost simultaneously. Seong-Hwi’s afterimages made it look like there were ten of him. He glanced at the wide-eyed Carrombus and sheathed the Two-Line Hwando.

“Y-you—”

Carrombus’s six limbs, neck, abdomen, mandibles, head, and wings were simultaneously dismantled before it could finish its sentence. A large hole was bored through its os in the middle of its forehead. It crumbled to the ground.

[You contributed to the defeat of Named Chaos: Carrombus.]

[814,500 Karma obtained.]

...

Seong-Hwi looked away from the Akasha Message and at Jun, who ran toward the clansmen intoxicated by the Evaporating Poison Gas and activated his skill, Open Manhole Cover. A black haze absorbed the grey smog from their bodies.

“I see... He’s a specialist,” Seong-Hwi mumbled.

He had a suspicion, but hadn’t been sure. The black hole-like skill seemed like a conjuration skill at a glance, but he had never seen any conjurers with a skill like that.

It absorbs skills, Chaos Mana, and even people’s emotions? If used correctly, it could become an incredible skill.

Jun’s ability would become a huge help to humanity in the future.

“I thought the seed had just sprouted, but it is already about to bloom a flower,” Seong-Hwi mumbled.

He planned to observe the situation and rescue the One Tree clansmen when necessary. However, the necessity disappeared once Jun, driven into a corner, managed to find the full-mark answer by himself.

He satisfyingly stared at Jun, who absorbed the poison from the intoxicated clansmen and resumed relaying orders to exterminate the rest of the Lucanids.

***

Gyeeeh...

Once the final Lucanid collapsed, the Akasha Message that announced their victory appeared before the One Tree clansmen.

[Quest: Garapan Reclamation, cleared.]

[1,500,000 Karma obtained.]

...

“I-it’s over!”

“We won!”

“1.5 million Karma? Is this for real?”

“Huff! Huff! Carry the injured!”

The One Tree clansmen quickly dealt with the aftermath of battle without the leeway to bask in their victory.

“Huff! Huff!” Jun panted heavily on his knees.

He had no strength in his body and felt empty after awakening his D Weapon and using his new skill at full force. Ho-Geun, Hwa-Yeon, and Seong-Tae rushed toward him.

“Jun! Are you okay?!”

“Jun oppa! Hold on!”

“Nathaniel! Get over here! Heal Jun first!”

They had practically become family after clearing the mandatory quest together. Although Jun was still young, he was no different from the eldest in the family. If something happened to Jun, Clan One Tree would lose its cornerstone and fall apart.

“Huuu. I’m fine. I’m okay, so... treat the critically injured first,” Jun said as he raised his hand to calm Seong-Tae.

Unable to hold his curiosity, Ho-Geun asked, “What was that skill earlier, Jun? Are you sure you’re okay? Didn’t you absorb all that poison gas?”

“I didn’t absorb it. It all went in here,” Jun said as he pounded his manhole cover.

“You must’ve established a D Weapon rule, oppa! You’ve been struggling to find the right one, but you finally did it!” Hwa-Yeon congratulated.

Seong-Tae nodded from beside her and smiled. “With that, the only one among the original Dark Forest team who can’t use their D Weapon is you, Yoo Hwa-Yeon. Haha!”

“What? Wanna die, Na Seong-Tae?” Hwa-Yeon glared at Seong-Tae as she gripped her spear tightly.

Ho-Geun chuckled and said to Jun, “Great job. It’s a little puzzling and numbing, isn’t it? It was for me, at least.”

“Yes... It feels a little unrealistic,” Jun mumbled as he looked at his manhole cover.

He felt hollow after reflecting on his past trauma and establishing a rule from it. He was exhausted after pouring out all his emotions.

Just then, Seong-Hwi approached Jun and remarked, “That was impressive. I didn’t think you would experience a D Awakening in such a crisis. I suppose that makes you a hero.”

“Not at all, Smith. You’re the hero. I was impressed by the phenomenal force of a Single-A poacher,” Jun replied.

“Haha, and you’re modest, too. Polish that D Weapon. There is only one like it in this world.”

“Okay,” Jun remarked as he caressed the Hero’s Manhole Cover.

Seong-Hwi looked around and said, “This is a nice city. It has beautiful weather, and the buildings are mostly intact. It’s also geographically wonderful. I’m sure it will develop well now that Carrombus, the largest hurdle, is gone.”

Jun’s eyes shone brightly as he answered, “One Tree will lay its roots here, and we plan to spread our branches far and wide.”

“I like people with high aspirations,” Seong-Hwi replied as he brought his hand toward Jun, who grabbed it.

[Common Quest: Carrombus Subjugation, cleared.]

[5,000,000 Coins obtained.]

Jun handed Seong-Hwi five million Coins, enough to purchase a decent B-rank item. It was a large hit to Clan One Tree, who would need Coins to develop the city, but it was an extremely low price. After all, they hired a Semi Ranker around the five-hundreds to set a foothold to restore the city.

“I’ve received the five million,” Seong-Hwi remarked.

“I will hand you the artifact as well. Shaya! Can you come here for a second?” Jun called Shaya, dragging the injured with her mouth while under Beastification with her snow leopard, Hugh.

She trotted toward them as her blue leopard eyes sparkled.

An artifact, huh? Seong-Hwi said inwardly.

He did not have his hopes up. There were grades even among artifacts. Although Clan One Tree was rapidly growing, he did not expect them to have an artifact that would grab his attention. Even the five million Coins were nothing compared to how much he already had.

“What’s up, Jun oppa?” Shaya asked as her round, white leopard ears twitched.

Jun said, “You still have the unconfirmed artifact we found at the last dungeon, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?” she asked warily as she glared at Jun, wrapping her fluffy white tail around her neck.

Hwa-Yeon remarked, “Shaya, we talked about this. Give that necklace to Mr. Smith.”

“No! You said I could have it!”

“Shaya! Stop being selfish!” Hwa-Yeon scolded Shaya as she glanced at Seong-Hwi.

Seong-Hwi stared at the pouting Shaya and thought, Is that Chaya’s little sister?

He recalled Chaya Singh Rai as he stared at the little girl wrinkling her nose in dissatisfaction. She seemed to have overcome the sorrow of losing her big brother after making new bonds in Clan One Tree. However, she did not know Chaya was still alive.

“Well, I don’t need the—” Seong-Hwi suddenly stopped as he was about to give up on the artifact.

His eyes widened as he grabbed the Silver Bracelets of Queen Consort Muryeong hidden under his hoodie.

Are they shaking? No! This is... resonance!

He was certain the bracelets were resonating with the necklace.

“Which dungeon did you find that artifact in?” Seong-Hwi asked.

“It was excavated from a D-rank dungeon we found as a clan, but nothing about it changed, no matter how much Karna we invested in it,” Jun answered.

“Which dimension is the dungeon from, and what is it called?”

“It was from Earth in the past, called the Robbed Tomb of King Muryeong. Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know about it, Smith. It is the tomb of a king from my home country, Korea.”

Jun explained the unconfirmed artifact they found in the dungeon, but Seong-Hwi paid no attention and checked the description of his silver bracelets.

[Silver Bracelets of Queen Consort Muryeong (Artifact)

Rank: B(9)

Description: A pair of bracelets crafted to pray for the well-being of the Queen Consort. The left bracelet boosts health. The right bracelet boosts strength. The artifact resonates with other artifacts excavated from the same tomb if nearby.]

The artifact was excavated from the same tomb! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly as he smiled.

He changed his mind; he had to have the artifact, no matter what.

He extended his hand toward Shaya and said, “Promises are meant to be kept, little white cat.”

“Hmph, I’m not a cat! I’m a leopard! Can’t you see these spots?” Shaya retorted as she pouted and removed the necklace.

It was a gold necklace with nine joints and a gold rod between each joint, created with detailed gold craftsmanship. It looked like little bent bamboo stalks linked together.

Seong-Hwi accepted the necklace and checked its description.

[Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong (Artifact)

Rank: C(10)

Description: A gold necklace crafted to pray for the well-being of the Queen Consort. It is sealed because the special condition has not been met.]

Jun said, “We raised it to C-rank, but nothing changed. The special condition might not be Karma.”

Just then, a new Akasha Message appeared before Seong-Hwi.

[The Silver Bracelets of Queen Consort Muryeong stimulate the Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong.]

[The special condition is met. Removing the seal on the Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong.]

...

[Gold Necklace of Queen Consort Muryeong (Artifact)

Rank: C(10)

Description: A gold necklace crafted to pray for the well-being of the Queen Consort. It boosts dexterity. The artifact resonates with other artifacts excavated from the same tomb if nearby.]

...

[The Dexterity stat cannot receive this effect because it is B-rank.]

The two artifacts resonated with one another as if they were long-lost friends.

A Dexterity boost! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly.

The silver bracelets boosted Health and Strength. Since the gold necklace would boost his Dexterity, he would save significant Karma.

Jun remarked, “If it’s not to your liking, I will give you a different—”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take this,” Seong-Hwi interjected as he quickly put on the necklace and smiled. “I couldn’t be more satisfied.”

Shaya clicked her tongue and trotted away to help the injured again, but Seong-Hwi couldn’t care less about how she felt. He couldn’t stop smiling.

“What a harvest. Haha! I suppose kindness is always rewarded,” he mumbled.

Jun stared at Seong-Hwi dumbfoundedly and thought, Is that something that someone who told me to choose between the option that would kill everyone or only half, would say? As I thought, he’s not normal.

1. A hwando is a Korean sword commonly used during the Joseon dynasty. ☜