We had killed four pawns, but the attack formation we used against the monsters collapsed when thirteen pawns sprinted toward us by jumping over their fellows’ dead bodies.
“Keuaaaaak!”
They wielded their log-like limbs and shoved their gigantic horns indiscriminately to squeeze in. Joshua looked at me, obviously begging for help.
I scolded him loudly, “You idiot. How long are you going to depend on me? Make everyone look up to you! Make them rely on you!”
Joshua grimaced while glaring at me evilly before he turned to the front to face the monsters.
[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]
[Target: Michael’s Dagger]
I yelled at Michael, “Protect the attack captain[1], and do exactly what I taught you. Go!”
He pushed Joshua aside, who was on the verge of being smashed by the monster, then thrust his dagger into a pawn’s stomach. The monster was charred immediately and torn into pieces. Michael quickly rolled backward as he sensed another pawn trying to attack him, and he automatically handed over his dagger to Joshua.
“Aaaaaaah!”
It was neither a scream nor a shout. It was Joshua’s madness.
“CEO!”
“Attack captain!”
“Joshua!”
People called him different names, but it didn’t matter. The important thing was that everyone was swept away by his lunacy.
“Don’t back down. Kill them!” Joshua shrieked.
I jumped up high to the ceiling and saw a fierce battlefield underneath. Then, I fell heavily and trampled a pawn’s nut.
Crunch!
At the same time, Devi’s Sword fell out from my sheath and swept through the area. Nine of the pawns stopped moving at once, and the dealers[2] were jumping into them like wild dogs after being shaken up by Joshua’s madness. When they touched the pawns, their heads dropped to the ground as my sword sliced off their necks.
The Awakened weren’t aware of what they were doing, similar to how Joshua was confused when he first killed a monster. No one cared about a skill’s cooldown time or the corpses on the ground as they were obsessed with killing all the monsters here, thinking that it was the only way to survive.
Some of them possessed skills that generated airwaves, and the various energies filled the space and disappeared at once. After that, they still moved around in a panic, screaming and stabbing dead bodies while gnashing their teeth. Some of them even dug up the eyes of the corpses. The dealers with long-distance attack skills had left the formation earlier but joined back in now. Then, everyone began to ravage pawns’ bodies and mourn loudly.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Meanwhile, Yellow Hair and Michael were fighting against a pawn, and the pawn seemed to have a hunch that the sparks from Yellow Hair’s dagger would mangle its skin if it even touched it. Michael ran toward the back of the crouching pawn and called Glamor and Four-Eyes[3] over. The fight had become one versus four. I finished the two pawns that I was dealing with, then joined Michael’s side. I smashed the pawn’s back and gripped its heart right before it punched Glamor in the face, then felt its heart burst. Up to that point, everything happened in a blink of an eye from the novices’ perspective.
Glamor screamed shrilly when the pawn collapsed, “Kiyaaaaak!”
She had been closing her eyes out of reflex as the pawn was about to hit her face. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at the pawn on the ground and me alternately. She was looking at me with astonishment and relief.
“It’s over. Clear,” I told Michael.
He didn’t hear me as he was breathing heavily.
“What?” he asked.
“I said, ‘clear.’”
Micahel looked around hurriedly since everyone was still crying so loudly that we couldn’t hear the groans of the injured ones. Then, he grasped the situation.
“Stop! Stop!” he screamed and began to separate the group members from the corpses. I used my chin to point at Joshua, giving a hint to Glamor, and she ran toward him. Joshua was quite severely wounded and couldn’t get up without help. I also sent Four-Eyes over, and Joshua stood up with the help of two women.
“Attention!” Joshua shouted and frowned after vomiting blood. Things were chaotic, and the mercenaries who could only hear what was happening the entire time were more frightened. Joshua looked at me, and he was somehow managing to stand up despite the pain. He shouted again without taking his eyes off me, “Attention!”
All eyes were on him, and he started giving instructions quickly.
***
The Awakened had faced the most pawns since entering the dungeon. As a result, Joshua’s ribs had been shattered like glass, Braun Nase’s abdomen had been pierced by the pawn’s horn, and Beanpole[4] had become unconscious due to a dent in his skull. Fatty[5] had the most serious injuries as a pawn had rammed into his bare body. He was still alive due to the tanker-type skill ‘Solidification,’ but civilians would have died instantly on the spot.
There were two healers in Joshua’s group, and he sent them to Beanpole and Fatty. There were only two civilian doctors, and they were busy treating the others. I headed to Braun Nase, and he was also on the verge of death. The number of healers was limited and they were also restrained by skill cooldown times.
“Please….help… It hurts…a lot… Save me…. Don’t want to die…” Braun Nase gasped out.
“He can’t survive,” Michael commented and looked at the Braun Nase with pity for the first time. The previous battle was like a panic sell[6]. People who had not experienced it didn’t understand the feelings of those who had been impacted by the phenomenon. The important thing was that once an individual experienced it, they became more intuitive about their status and tried not to make the same mistakes. Therefore, it was worth using my E-class ‘Healing’ insignia.
A pool of silver light burst out of my chest and it wrapped around Braun Nase’s body. He widened his eyes while watching his abdomen heal incredibly quickly. Then, he slowly closed his eyes. Michael looked at me hurriedly.
“He’s not dead. He was finally able to pass out,” I reassured him.
***
The Second Virtue’s major skill was Osiris’s Domain, and when he activated it to its peak, it summoned a number of shadows to the extent that it looked like he had a mini-army. That was why the Second Virtue itself was called One Man Corps.
However, his true power lay in Revolucion, so no one challenged his hegemony. He was mad and ruthless but could be merciful even to enemies sometimes. He had expanded his power by embracing his enemies under his control, but I had refused to go under him in the past.
“Joshua.”
He looked up at me without saying a word.
“…”
Those eyes were the ones I had been waiting to see! Now, he looked like a true Virtue, and I was so happy that my whole body filled with energy. Just as people who had not experienced panic didn’t know about it, this was a joy that only a fosterer could understand. My heart began pounding like the time when I recognized Woo Yeon-Hee’s tremendous development as a swift surge of gratification excited me. My body trembled.
Those eyes! I worked so hard to see those eyes!
I had consistently ridiculed him to motivate him and volunteered to be his enemy to distract him from the fear of the dungeon. Of course, this method was never appropriate in regular society as people’s animosity and despair would reach their peak.
However, Joshua was born to be the leader of Revolucion, and he needed to overcome them and break out of the egg for the group.
[You have used the ‘Healing’ insignia.]
[Target: The Second Virtue]
His face became more comfortable, and he looked around after he got up. The dungeon was full of moans of the wounded after a furious battle. The rage in his eyes toward me disappeared, and he smiled faintly.
“I have changed my mind, Lee. You are..” he said.
“Call me Odin,” I replied while having high expectations for what he was going to say next.
“Odin… That’s a magnificent name, and I think you deserve to be called that. That’s why… I need to make you my person,” he continued, “I will show you after we get out of here how far I can go. Then, you’ll be able to see the reality, so, please… Please protect us from dying if that’s possible. I’ll manage the rest.”
He was confident, and there was no need to whip him anymore. My supervision was over, and the only thing left for me to do was to claim him under me when he became a leader.
“Michael!” I shouted.
Michael came running.
“Help Joshua,” I said.
“It’s okay.” Joshua shook his head.
“You won’t be able to run. Help Joshua and follow me.”
“Ah! Everyone is…” Joshua replied in haste.
“Let them rest. Only we are going. Before that…” I interrupted him.
I only wanted to bring these two because they needed to witness my true power.
[Would you like to reset the quest ‘Baclan Extermination?’]
[Baclan Extermination: Killing Baclan soldier 27/30]
Before I began, I erased the accumulated number of killed pawns before getting into an attacking posture.
[You have reset the quest ‘Baclan Extermination.’]
[Baclan Extermination: Killing Baclan soldier 0/30]
“Change the method of collecting trophies to ‘agreement,’” I commanded.
[The method of collecting trophies had been changed to ‘agreement.’]
“Joshua, do it your way next time. Follow me,” I said.
1. Joshua ☜
2. Attackers ☜
3. The party members who were considered the most useless that Joshua had placed into Seon-Hu’s team ☜
4. One of the members of Joshua’s team. ☜
5. Another member of Joshua’s team. ☜
6. A massive selling phenomenon caused by panic over the rapid market fluctuations. ☜