Chapter 12 : Sisters fight among themselves.

“Please save me! Please save me!”

Seong-han Lee fell to the floor, unable to adapt to the sudden change in the situation.

A sharp hand that shot out from the wall.

With precise movements, it grabbed him by the collar.

Seong-han Lee was helplessly dragged into the hallway.

“You live a tiring life, soldier. Why did you provoke that child’s personality?”

A familiar voice.

A stiff tone.

Mechanical emotions.

“Attention!”

Seong-han Lee reflexively saluted while rolling on the floor.

He was scared to go find her.

But he was grateful that Mi-young Kang came to him.

Although, the look in her eyes suggested that she might kill him anyway.

“Stop, we’ll skip the formalities.”

“Yes”

“It’s good that you don’t question things.”

Mi-young Kang casually dusted off the concrete debris.

A hole in the outer wall of the hospital room.

It was quite thick, but it was pierced in an instant.

As expected of the strongest in Korea.

She adjusted her uniform and looked down at the fallen Seong-han Lee.

“First, since emergency measures are needed, we will skip the formal reporting procedures. Consider yourself lucky that I found you first.”

“Major. Is this a dream?”

“I wish I had the time to play along, but I don’t. Get up. Now. We don’t have time.”

Crackling!

As he staggered to his feet.

Dizziness washed over him.

[Trait, ‘Mental Barrier’ blocks mental confusion.]

Mi-young Kang looked away.

“An attack?”

“No. It’s confusion due to the sudden change in the situation.”

“…Huh, wouldn’t it be nice if you gave me a heads-up about such things?”

“It would be a problem.”

“Sigh, I need to request a [Mental Barrier] skill book from the higher-ups. I don’t know if there’s any in stock, though.”

Seong-han Lee shook his head from side to side, clearing his dazed mind.

Ugh, [Mental Barrier]’s performance was amazing.

My head cleared up instantly.

“By the way. You have a very unique taste. You’re carrying around some nasty things.”

Mi-young Kang looked up at the mark and coughed.

“It wasn’t my intention.”

“Rescuing you wasn’t my intention either. You know that.”

She shrugged as if she already knew.

“You. I have a question. How did you provoke Jin-young Kang?!”

Seong-han Lee also had something to say.

How am I supposed to deal with her when she suddenly goes crazy and attacks me!

I’m already upset about being re-enlisted.

“Major, I merely resisted lawfully because she attempted to force me into ‘special employment’.”

He didn’t lie.

Mi-young Kang sighed as if she understood.

“…That child has had a strong attachment to her possessions since she was young. It’s hard to know why she’s interested in you, but that tendency must have been reflected. It’s become quite a hassle.”

She awkwardly looked away.

He could see the outside view.

‘It’s full of mana.’

An abnormal amount of mana floated in the air.

It wasn’t a natural phenomenon.

When monsters are present, mana accumulates in the air.

In other words, it’s artificial.

“What’s going on?”

“One thing is for sure, there are monsters here. We have to catch them.”

Mi-young Kang put both hands on her hips.

“Do you remember the climbing quest?”

“Of course, I remember. My arm was blown off because of it, wasn’t it?”

Seong-han Lee openly shook his regrown arm.

There were some scars left.

But it was relatively intact.

“Ah.”

Mi-young Kang stared at the regenerated arm with unfocused eyes.

She let out a gloomy sigh.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

She took out a medicine bottle from her pocket and gulped down a handful.

Her face was exhausted as she recalled the time.

A few dry heaves.

A delicately trembling breath.

“Are you okay?”

“….I don’t think it’s necessary to show it. Don’t do that from now on.”

Mi-young Kang’s words, biting her lower lip.

She spoke in a choked voice, as if suppressing her emotions.

Seong-han Lee understood.

She must be feeling a lot of guilt.

She awkwardly returned to attention.

“Right now, the only people who can enter this place are you, me, and Jin-young Kang.”

[Currently, both ‘Emergency Quest’ and ‘Favorability Quest’ are in progress.]

[Only those who have obtained climbing qualifications can enter this area.]

[Currently restricted area: Inside the Armed Forces Capital Hospital]

“The first floor conquerors of the Gray Tower in Korea. To be precise, the ones here are.”

Seong-han Lee tilted his head.

“Did a gate open?”

“Well. It’s slightly different. It seems something changed when the tower was opened.”

Seong-han Lee wanted to curse.

Especially since he had a hunch that she did something.

“What do we have to do?”

“Subdue Jin-young Kang and close the gate here. Get ready.”

****

Seong-han Lee’s vision was spinning.

Because of the foul odor that was rising.

“Are you okay? The erosion is getting worse. We’ll probably encounter monsters soon. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“We will encounter them.”

They walked side by side down the reddish hallway.

Dark red lights poured in from outside the windows.

Seong-han Lee checked the status window.

《System: Information》

□ Traits

[Auto Combat Lv. 2], [Recon Lv. Max], [Mental Barrier 《Borrowed], [Regeneration 《Borrowed], [Competent Hunter]

□ Stats

Strength: [11(F-)]

Dexterity: [32(F+)]

Agility: [21(F-)]

Wisdom: [21(F-)]

Sensitivity: [29(F-)]

‘My stats are also pretty bad.’

To improve his stats, he needed to level up.

But there were no suitable monsters to deal with right now.

Even if there were, it would be a problem.

Jin-young Kang would obviously find out.

Other stat improvement elements were also difficult to access.

Mi-young Kang looked at Seong-han Lee.

“Come to think of it, what reward did you receive? I got an Elixir. Jin-young Kang received a magic tool.”

“I received a Trait Enhancement Ticket.”

“A, an enhancement ticket? That rare thing?!”

Yes!

Seong-han Lee’s head perked up.

“Wait a minute, I’ll look for it now.”

Didn’t I get a reward for dealing with the hatchling!

He barely remembered thanks to Mi-young Kang.

Seong-han Lee opened his inventory.

He saw an icon that clearly said, ‘I’m a ticket.’

Rough pieces clumped together in the air, and a ticket was created.

“It looks rather simple.”

“Simplicity is the charm.”

[Would you like to use the Trait Enhancement Ticket?]

Trait Enhancement Ticket.

An item that can evolve a max-level trait.

In this mountainous country of Korea, it’s so rare that it’s worth whatever price is asked.

Is money important?

My freedom is important.

Seong-han Lee’s eyes widened.

‘Use.’

The ticket split on its own.

Emitting a bright light.

[A brilliant power dwells in the trait.]

“Oh, oh oh oh.”

The surroundings brightened with a golden light. A sight that can be seen when acquiring a unique trait.

[There are currently ‘2’ selectable enhancement traits.]

‘They’re all related to recon.’

He scrolled down.

[Ultra-Recon (SSS)]

-The types of targets that can be reconned increases. You can acquire much more detailed information.

-[Recon] performs tasks related to [Auto Combat].

[Linked Network (A)]

-You can share information with others.

‘Not bad.’

It was a rather good draw.

Randomness is strong, so it’s common to get useless traits.

But what’s with that SSS rank?

‘Well, SSS is better than A.’

[You have acquired ‘Ultra-Recon (SSS)’!]

The gold dust that was clumped on the ticket seeped into his body.

“Did you get a trait?”

“SSS rank, Recon.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

When Seong-han Lee used [Recon], a blue wave spread around him.

[Detected a concealed target!]

****

“Kihik.”

A chilling laugh.

Voices of various ages were mixed.

[Releasing unauthorized concealment.]

“Major. It’s an enemy.”

“I noticed. Did it follow us? It doesn’t seem like it was intentionally released. It must be your ability.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I can’t trust the information from the Military Manpower Administration. Sigh.”

A long, metal candlestick popped out of the darkness.

“It’s intelligent. I’ll take the front.”

“Understood.”

A series of attacks flew from the darkness.

Mi-young Kang exchanged blows while drawing her sword.

“I’ll take care of you.”

Clang!

Mi-young Kang skillfully deflected the attacks with the longsword she was holding.

And then she counterattacked.

“Kehehehe!”

“Too sloppy.”

The monster that tried to ambush, twisting its tongue.

It distorted its face as if it couldn’t believe it had been discovered.

When it came out of the shadows, its form was visible.

‘Ugh, it’s disgusting.’

It looked like a baby angel.

But its skin was melted.

And there were tentacles coming out of the melted flesh.

The monster flapped its tiny wings in anger.

“Is it a psychic-type monster?”

“Khehehe! Khehehe!”

“It’s disgusting.”

While Mi-young Kang maintained a standoff.

Seong-han Lee looked at the new window.

[Eros Lv.7]

ᆞA monster that feeds on human lust and love. Type is demon. It likes to play tricks on humans and alters human perception with spells. When defeated, the altered perception is restored to normal.

-It determines true love based on bizarre standards. It cannot be understood by human common sense.

-It thinks that as long as there is s*x, it is true love.

(Damn these bastards.)

It was you.

And what’s with that annotation?

[Hidden Quest]

[The reason why ‘Jin-young Kang’ has turned into a beast full of lust may be because of ‘Eros’. Defeat as many Eros as possible.]

[Reward: 1,000,000 won per entity]

[Failure: None]

What, this is basically a free quest?