The next evening.
The university district bar street was packed with students holding after-parties for the semester’s opening general meeting.
Then, from one chicken restaurant, a resounding voice exploded.
“Alright, let’s begin the first-semester opening after-party! Fill your glasses—cheers~!”
As soon as the club president’s toast ended, students everywhere clinked glasses.
And I was among them.
An after-party for a department event. How long has it been?
I had never properly participated before because I couldn’t afford the club fees.
Truth be told, today I only came because my classmate Kim Youngjun begged me, saying he had no close friends, no one to talk to, and pleaded for me to come with him.
Soon, the freshmen at the next table began chattering.
“Did you hear? Swordmaster Cheok Junseong and Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam cleared an S-rank dungeon!”
“Wow, that’s super late news…….”
“But listen. Apparently there was another A+ rank hunter besides them. Hunter name was…… Ravianglily’s Sword Demon or something.”
“What’s with that hunter name? ‘I, the dark darkness, feel the deathly death.’ That kind of vibe?”
“Pfft! What is that. So funny.”
Freshmen laughing brightly without a care.
Perhaps because I had been living on the edge every day since awakening, crossing the line between life and death.
Occasionally relaxing in such a peaceful atmosphere didn’t feel bad.
Then, from afar, Kim Youngjun waved.
“Hey, Cha Hasang! What are you doing alone in that corner! They’re looking for you!”
Around Kim Youngjun stood familiar-looking freshman girls.
Those are the ones he dragged along last time, saying he’d buy them cafeteria food.
Soon Kim Youngjun and the freshmen joined my table.
“Sunbae! Why are you alone? Eat with us! Can I sit next to you?”
“Have some side dishes! Chicken, corn cheese, chicken feet, golbaengi somyeon…….”
“Sunbaenim, why don’t you ever come to the club room? You said you’d buy us cafeteria food last time~.”
“Wait! I have a question! What was the name of that car you drove last time, sunbae?”
“Yeah! The car was so so cool! Sunbaenim, can you give us a ride sometime later?”
Questions poured in without giving me a chance to answer.
Then someone tapped my shoulder.
Tok!
I reflexively turned.
Tok!
A slender finger poked my cheek.
The owner of the finger was Kim Yerim.
Meeting my eyes, she grinned mischievously.
“You let your guard down, sunbae?”
Then she plopped down beside me.
Soon Kim Yerim pouted and said.
“Sunbae, I’m upset. You’ve been avoiding me on purpose lately, right? I messaged you the day before yesterday and you left me on read.”
“Ah…… I was busy all day that day.”
Not a lie.
The day before yesterday was when I was dancing with death in Lethe Tower.
Kim Yerim smiled brightly and continued.
“Eyy~ just kidding, kidding~ Were you working? Oh right! Sunbae, take this.”
What she handed me was a small round yellow jelly.
“It’s a hangover cure jelly. It’s new—lemon flavor and super effective! Here you go.”
Then Kim Youngjun across the table cut in.
“Yerim! I like jellies too~.”
“Ah…… sunbaenim, sorry. It was 1+1 and that was the last one…….”
“Oh, really? Then no choice! Hahaha……. Alright, shall we cheers? Bottoms up~.”
Kim Youngjun laughed awkwardly and started filling soju glasses.
And somehow all the guys’ eyes were now on our table.
Uncomfortable.
Probably because of Kim Yerim.
Then news came from the TV.
[Next story. Last night, a large-scale explosion occurred near the coast of Deokpyeong Island, Incheon! No casualties reported so far, and authorities are currently investigating the cause…….]
The freshmen hearing the news began chattering among themselves.
“Deokpyeong Island? Isn’t that a ghost city? Why would an explosion happen in a place with nothing?”
“I saw it from home yesterday! You can see Deokpyeong from our apartment. A black tornado rose from the coast, then suddenly BOOM!”
“Hopefully not a dungeon break? Or maybe an awakened criminal group…….”
“They’d send hunters if it was. But that place was a total dump anyway—people secretly dumped trash there. But after yesterday, all the trash disappeared.”
“Oh? An awakened synced with a cleaner? Totally possible ace for a cleaning company.”
The freshmen let their imaginations run wild.
Knowing the truth, I quietly looked away.
I never imagined it would be that much.
I had expected some power, but an S-rank skill far exceeded my expectations.
And that was with output downgraded to 1%.
Well, I can raise the output gradually.
A so-called ‘growth-type’ skill.
Then a strange voice came from beside me.
“Wooow! Sunbaee, you drink so well~! Awesome~! Manlyyy~!”
“?”
Her tongue wasn’t just slurred—it was rolled up.
Turning, I saw Kim Yerim hugging a soju bottle.
Her cheeks were red like heated pebbles.
Soon she raised the bottle high and shouted.
“Ehh? No more alcohol! Boss~! One more bottle here~!”
“??”
I clearly remembered her drinking only one glass.
I looked at Kim Youngjun and said.
“Hey. Why is she like this? Is she always like this?”
“No idea? It’s my first time seeing Yerim drink too. She usually only drinks beverages at after-parties and never touches alcohol. Don’t know what wind blew today.”
Hmm.
Indeed.
This is going to be a headache. I should head home.
I slowly stood up.
Kim Yerim immediately turned to me.
“Sunbae, are you leaving? Then take me with you~”
“No way. We live in opposite directions.”
“Really? Weird……. You don’t even know where I live?”
“I don’t, but still opposite. Take a taxi.”
“Aww~ too mean~ Take me with youuu~!”
She tried to cling to my clothes.
Then Kim Youngjun squeezed between us.
“Wow, Yerim, so you’re the flashy drunk friend type? Hey, Cha Hasang. You have to go, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Then go, man. This hyung will clean up. Hey hey! Take care of Yerim! Before she creates black history!”
Kim Youngjun called the female juniors and continued to me.
“I’ll have the girls send her home, so go. I’ll collect the favor with cafeteria food later.”
Kim Youngjun.
Surprisingly helpful in situations like this.
He speaks without filtering, but the kid is kind.
That’s why he’s the only male classmate I’m close with.
“Alright. See you at school.”
“Oki oki! Get home safe! Hey! Take care of Yerim—!”
Leaving the noisy bar behind, I stepped outside.
At the same time, my phone alarm started ringing.
Perfect timing. Jeanne should be done with work by now.
Soon I slowly started walking.
Toward Morgue’s Magical Warehouse where Jeanne was waiting.
***
DING DONG!
<You have entered the ‘Safe’ zone of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>
Opening my eyes slowly, the desolate warehouse scenery came into view.
Some structures felt slightly shifted in position or shape.
As expected.
DING DONG!
<Repair work on part of the Safe zone in Morgue’s Magical Warehouse has been completed.>
Thanks to completing quests multiple times, the warehouse was recovering smoothly.
The most repaired area was the Immortal Pseudo-Dragon’s prison.
Missing bars in the iron cage had been newly added, and the pressure of the corrosive acid dripping from the ceiling had increased several fold.
A low growling came from beyond the bars.
[GRRRRR…….]
The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon lay curled in a corner.
Directly under the dripping green acid.
Yet deep slash wounds still remained all over its body.
Wounds from Gluttony Slash.
Wounds from Gluttony Slash apparently didn’t regenerate easily.
Then the Pseudo-Dragon laboriously raised its head and growled.
Featherback’s guidebook began translating its words.
– Warehouse keeper.
“Yeah?”
– That…… thing you mentioned last time. You said you’d reduce my sentence by ten thousand years if I defeated that guy.
I had said that when summoning it against the Death Lord.
But.
“Why? You didn’t defeat him.”
-GRRRR……. If you hadn’t hastily canceled the summon, I could have defeated him!
“Oh!”
As if.
It was thrown into a cracked fissure and buried alive, yet it talks big.
– Warehouse keeper, you clearly bear partial responsibility, so I request a reduction of half—five thousand years.
“But I refuse.”
– Hmph…… Small-minded. Warehouse keeper.
“Yeah. And you have a small conscience.”
The Pseudo-Dragon turned away without retorting.
What? Is it sulking?
But only briefly.
– Warehouse keeper. There is something you must prepare.
“Prepare? What?”
The Pseudo-Dragon growled.
– Cover my cage from the outside so no one can see in. For three days starting tonight.
“?”
This was the first time the Pseudo-Dragon had requested anything.
What? Planning to dig an escape tunnel with a spoon?
It continued explaining.
I will discard this old body and be reborn in a new one.
“What, shedding skin?”
Kekekeke…… Do you think this body would do something suited for lowly creatures?
It is not ‘molting’—it is ‘evolution.’ Into a stronger, more perfect existence.
Its tail TAP TAP struck the floor.
It somehow looked extremely excited.
Our clan evolves into stronger forms the more we fight.
However, no one must witness that evolution process.
Warehouse keeper.
That is why I request you cover the cage.
“What happens if someone sees?”
After a silence, the Pseudo-Dragon bared its fangs unpleasantly.
The moment the process is witnessed, evolution fails, and this body falls into a pathetic form, unable to regain its original appearance for 100 years.
A story I’d heard somewhere.
The crane that repaid kindness?
The tale of a crane that turned human to repay the person who saved it.
What the crane in the folktale requested was similar.
Never peek inside while it was alone in the room.
But when the human peeked out of curiosity, the crane could no longer remain human and flew high into the sky.
Of course, I had no intention of sinisterly spying on the Pseudo-Dragon’s molting process.
“Alright. I’ll hang something like blackout curtains.”
The Pseudo-Dragon roared joyfully.
Warehouse keeper! I like you very much! Unlike that previous stubborn keeper! KHAHAHA!
“Yeah. Good luck.”
I, the Immortal Pseudo-Dragon, grow stronger every moment! KHAHAHAHAHA!
Leaving the Pseudo-Dragon behind, I headed deeper into the Safe zone.
After walking a few minutes.
Far ahead, at the end of the passage, Jeanne’s figure appeared.
“Master! You have returned?”
In her hand hung a limp Termite Man ‘Jom.’
I approached her and asked.
“How is it? Going well?”
“Yes. They are perfect monsters for warm-up.”
The instruction I gave Jeanne was simple.
Roam the warehouse and exterminate every Jom she saw.
It also served as swordsmanship practice—two birds with one stone.
Soon Jeanne completely snapped the neck of the Jom in her hand.
DUDUK-
The Jom drooped, spewing green fluid.
“That makes 200.”
Disgustingly many.
These Jom creatures rivaled cockroaches.
No matter how many you killed, more appeared from somewhere.
Unless I find and destroy their nest, it’ll all be pointless.
Right at that moment.
DING DONG!
<Hidden Achievement: Consecutively defeat 200 Jom> achieved!
“Hidden achievement?”
Was there such a thing?
It wasn’t even in the guidebook.
Soon a new message appeared before my eyes.
DING DONG!
<Warehouse Keeper Promotion Quest will be activated!>
What’s this now?