Chapter 8

The Center investigator, Yoo Seok-hwan, jumped at the words he heard.

A radio message had come in from another team reporting that they had captured an unregistered Awakener.

How many dungeons had they entered and exited over the past several hours?

Since they had mainly searched dungeons that were already occupied, they had repeatedly encountered innocent people and sweated through explaining the situation to them.

Thank goodness. If we had returned empty-handed, I would have been chewed out.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Yoo Seok-hwan immediately headed to the scene with his team members.

A short while later, when he joined the team that had apprehended the suspect, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Han Siwoo—the person he himself had investigated yesterday—was standing there with them.

Yoo Seok-hwan approached Han Siwoo with a stiff expression and spoke.

“……We meet again.”

“Oh, you’re the person I saw at the Center yesterday.”

At Han Siwoo’s words, Yoo Seok-hwan cleared his throat softly and spoke in a heavy voice.

“Let’s go to the Center. And we’ll have to verify your identity……”

Yoo Seok-hwan intended to explain the procedures that would follow.

However, he stopped when another employee poked him in the side.

“Chief, that person isn’t the suspect.”

“……What?”

Following the employee’s pointing finger, Yoo Seok-hwan lowered his gaze.

He saw a large bundle of thread carelessly thrown onto the ground.

Then he realized that a human face was poking out from the mass of thread.

“Uh……”

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Only belatedly did he arrive at the conclusion that the person wrapped in the bundle of thread was the suspect.

At that moment, Yoo Seok-hwan’s face flushed bright red.

“Verify your identity…… And then what?”

At Han Siwoo’s mocking words, Yoo Seok-hwan quickly lowered his head.

It was an immediate response befitting a Center employee, who was essentially considered a civil servant in the world of Awakeners.

“I’m sorry! I made a mistake……”

“Well, it’s fine. I already explained the situation to these people, so please confirm it with them.”

Han Siwoo was wiping off the Adult Arachnid’s bodily fluids with tissues he had received from a Center employee.

However, the tissues quickly ran out, so he headed toward a nearby water fountain.

It probably wasn’t meant for washing one’s body, but what else could he do in this situation?

As he scrubbed himself clean, Yoo Seok-hwan approached him.

“F-First, let me thank you. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve been having a difficult time because of unregistered Awakeners……”

At Yoo Seok-hwan’s embarrassed words, Han Siwoo shook his head.

After lightly shaking the water droplets from his body, he spoke.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to get involved either. You understand what I mean.”

“……Yes. I’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Han Siwoo glanced at Yoo Seok-hwan, who was rather quick on the uptake, and grinned.

Yoo Seok-hwan bowed his head slightly to Han Siwoo before turning away.

“All right, everyone, let’s head back. What did the identity check reveal?”

“His real name is Jang Giyeon. He’s wanted by the Center for assault and manslaughter resulting from injury. There have also been reports filed against him for various other crimes, both major and minor.”

“……We caught quite a big one.”

Yoo Seok-hwan’s expression hardened at the mention of manslaughter resulting from injury.

An unregistered Awakener of this caliber would require the police’s cooperation as well.

Since it was obvious that this would become a troublesome affair, Yoo Seok-hwan decided to get moving quickly.

“But, Chief.”

“What is it?”

One of the employees, who was dragging the cocoon along ahead of them, continued speaking.

“That person from earlier. Do you know him?”

“……I don’t know him personally. I only met him once yesterday while conducting an investigation.”

“I see. But isn’t there something suspicious about him?”

At the employee’s words, Yoo Seok-hwan adjusted his glasses.

It was no different from what his department head had said.

However, Yoo Seok-hwan himself also found Han Siwoo somewhat suspicious.

He couldn’t show it because Han Siwoo had captured and delivered an unregistered Awakener to them, but there were many strange things about him.

He was definitely level 10 yesterday. But today, he’s level 60. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed such a growth rate. Besides, the unregistered Awakener’s level was exactly 198. How did he capture him?

There was one Dark Knight who appeared to be his summoned creature.

But it was obviously only around level 100 at most.

Yet that Dark Knight and the level 60 Han Siwoo had managed to capture an unregistered Awakener who was level 198?

It was impossible for Yoo Seok-hwan to understand.

“……Let’s drop this subject. For now, he’s someone who helped us. It isn’t right to suspect him without reason.”

“As expected of Chief Yoo Seok-hwan, the very embodiment of stubborn uprightness.”

“Enough.”

Yoo Seok-hwan grumbled at the team member’s teasing remark.

After returning home, Han Siwoo breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had wiped himself down somewhat, he had not been able to remove all the Adult Arachnid’s bodily fluids.

That was why he had returned home to change his clothes.

If Mother had seen me like that, she would have set my back on fire.

Fortunately, his mother was at work, and his younger sister was at school.

He had been worried that they might have stayed home because of some unavoidable circumstance, but his concerns had been unfounded.

Han Siwoo quickly stripped off his clothes, took a shower, and hand-washed the clothes he had been wearing.

The entire process took only twenty minutes.

All right, then……

Since he was home, there were a few things Han Siwoo needed to do.

He sat down on the bed in his room and used a skill.

Dong, dong, dong—

The ringing of bells resounded loudly, assaulting his ears.

A pure-white landscape covered Han Siwoo’s vision.

As soon as he confirmed that fact, Han Siwoo spoke.

“Temple of Transcendence, First Floor. Challenge.”

$WouldyouliketochallengetheFirstFlooroftheTempleofTranscendence?Would you like to challenge the First Floor of the Temple of Transcendence?$

“Sure.”

The moment Han Siwoo accepted, his vision began to be drawn inward.

And soon afterward—

$TheDarkKnighthasappearedontheFirstFloor.The Dark Knight has appeared on the First Floor.$

$Thetimelimitisfiveminutes.The time limit is five minutes.$

$Additionalpointswillbeawardedifyoudefeatitwithinoneminute.Additional points will be awarded if you defeat it within one minute.$

Han Siwoo immediately closed the message window that appeared before him and smiled faintly.

Then he began walking toward the Dark Knight, which had appeared before him.

Yesterday had been a rather difficult battle, but today……

Boom!

Han Siwoo’s figure shot toward the Dark Knight after he forcefully leaped off the ground.

More precisely, the sword in his hand—

Clang!

—struck the Dark Knight directly on the head.

It was a single blow.

He had not pierced through a gap in its armor. The attack had landed directly on its helmet.

Even so, the Dark Knight staggered violently, and its eyes began to glow red.

Attack-Defense Conversion.

At the same time, the Dark Knight let out a sharp, monstrous shriek and swung its sword at Han Siwoo.

As he landed on the ground, Han Siwoo tightened the muscles in the wrist holding his sword hilt.

The instant a cracking sound came from his wrist—

Clang!

The sword in his right hand blocked the Dark Knight’s blade.

Han Siwoo had stopped the sword the Dark Knight had swung with both hands using only one hand.

After effortlessly blocking the attack, Han Siwoo drew in a deep breath.

“Seup!”

Then he clenched his idle left hand into a fist and swung it forcefully toward the Dark Knight’s face.

The moment his fist struck the Dark Knight’s face—

Kwa-boooom!

A violent explosion rang out, like iron crashing against iron.

At the same time, the Dark Knight’s body was sent flying backward as though it had been knocked off its feet.

Boom!

The Dark Knight’s glowing eyes gradually began to fade.

And when the light in its eyes disappeared completely—

$Congratulations.YouhaveclearedtheFirstFlooroftheTempleofTranscendence.Congratulations. You have cleared the First Floor of the Temple of Transcendence.$

$Youhaveacquired30clearpoints.You have acquired 30 clear points.$

$Youhaveacquired10bonuspoints.You have acquired 10 bonus points.$

“It’s easy now.”

Han Siwoo smiled and selected Fragment of the Black Lord’s Sword from the reward list.

Then, with a cold smile, he rolled his neck.

Crack—

“All right. Shall we do this thirty-four more times?”

$BlackLord’sSwordBlack Lord’s Sword$

$AttackPower—51-66Attack Power — 51-66$

$Value—150Value — 150$

$Deals20Deals 20% additional damage to knight-type enemies.$

$Deals10Deals 10% additional damage to all other enemies.$

$DeadKing’sArmorDead King’s Armor$

$Defense—41Defense — 41$

$Value—200Value — 200$

$WhenusedtogetherwiththeBlackLord’sSword,increasesStrengthandVitalityby10points.When used together with the Black Lord’s Sword, increases Strength and Vitality by 10 points.$

The performance of the items he had acquired through fragment farming was astonishing.

The Dark Knight’s sword he was currently using had an attack power of 14–17.

By contrast, the Black Lord’s Sword had an attack power of 51–66.

With the Weapon Awakening effect, its attack power is guaranteed to be 66. That’s four times as powerful as the Dark Knight’s sword.

The additional damage options were decent as well, and the Dead King’s Armor also had an impressive effect.

Together, they provided a total of 20 stat points—the equivalent of gaining ten levels.

In any case, after obtaining the Black Lord’s Sword, Han Siwoo’s speed at hunting the Dark Knights increased even further, allowing him to acquire the Dead King’s Armor soon afterward.

It hurts that I can only obtain one of each.

Although he felt a brief pang of regret, there were other things he had gained as well.

The clear points he had accumulated from defeating the Dark Knight thirty-five times had piled up considerably.

The bonus points he had received the first time were not awarded repeatedly, but he had still amassed quite a large number of points.

$PointsHeld—1,103PtPoints Held — 1,103 Pt$

Since there was nothing he immediately needed, he did not spend them recklessly.

His urgent task was to challenge the next floor.

That was why he had equipped himself with brand-new gear.

$WouldyouliketochallengetheSecondFlooroftheTempleofTranscendence?Would you like to challenge the Second Floor of the Temple of Transcendence?$

$RecommendedLevel:50Recommended Level: 50$

“Good.”

Han Siwoo nodded, and pitch-black flames began rising around him.

Han Siwoo narrowed his eyes and looked around at the phenomenon.

If this is a summoning circle…… Could it be a demon-type monster? Demon types are quite troublesome.

The moment he finished thinking—

A sticky liquid began surging up from the ground like a fountain.

The pitch-black substance, resembling tar, writhed and began changing shape.

When the form of a monster finally emerged, Han Siwoo let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness it isn’t a high-ranking demon.

Before his regression, it had been nothing more than a lowly mob monster that wasn’t even worth kicking aside.

But now, this was an era in which even a level 200 Awakener had to remain on guard.

And a Gargoyle was an opponent that required an Awakener of around level 200 to fight properly.

It won’t be completely easy, but it shouldn’t be too difficult either.

That was Han Siwoo’s conclusion after estimating his chances against the Gargoyle.

More than anything, he had obtained brand-new equipment, so he evaluated his chances even more favorably.

Gargoyles also have high defense, just like the Dark Knights. However, they’re more balanced than Dark Knights, and their movement and attack speeds are considerably faster. That’s the problem.

Furthermore, Gargoyles possessed a troublesome skill that hardened their entire bodies when they were in danger.

Han Siwoo wasn’t even sure whether his current strength would be enough to break through it.

In any case, that was enough thinking for now.

Shing—!

Han Siwoo drew the Black Lord’s Sword and inhaled deeply.

The moment he unsheathed the sword, vitality began surging through his entire body because of the Dead King’s Armor he was wearing.

He felt refreshed as his Strength and Vitality increased by ten points each.

Boom!

Han Siwoo suddenly kicked off the ground.

Then, accompanied by a thunderous explosion, his body shot straight toward the Gargoyle.

Clang!

Han Siwoo’s horizontal slash was blocked by both of the Gargoyle’s arms.