Chapter 34: The Bookworm’s Revenge

[Boss monster has been summoned.]

As Levan entered the boss room, a notification sounded that the boss monster had been summoned.

Levan’s condition was at its peak.

He felt like he could defeat anyone who came his way right now.

「Who dares to invade my sanctuary!」

A majestic voice echoed.

As the system notification ended, a pale mist gathered in the air, and soon something took shape.

[Bookworm Mongoose / Lv. 57]

It was Mongoose.

A large wizard’s hat, and a long wizard’s robe that covered even his nose.

Between the hat and the robe, red eyes flashed against his black skin—this was the mage who had died and become a lich, the Bookworm Mongoose.

Uniquely, Mongoose held books in both hands instead of a staff or wand, which probably earned him the nickname “Bookworm” among players.

‘Whatever. Not my concern.’

The stroll was over now.

Levan stretched his neck muscles and summoned his cube.

[Hold is activated.]

In an instant, Levan completed a 33-cube combo and gripped it in his left hand.

Then, he bent his upper body slightly, ready to spring out at any moment.

Just then—

「Cube? Could it be that you’re a War Mage?」

“……Huh?”

The dungeon’s master, Mongoose, had addressed Levan.

“Boss.”

“Yes?”

“Should we just leave that alone?”

“It’s frustrating, but there’s no helping it.”

Oh Jae-hyun and Lee Sung-mi.

The two sighed as they watched the user monitoring screen.

What was displayed was none other than the Plague Guild’s Amstorin massacre.

On screen, the Plague Guild members were having a grand celebration.

That was because they were harvesting Amstorin’s symbiotic clusters—which are rated SS-level difficulty to obtain—like pulling out autumn sweet potato vines.

Seeing the crows celebrating, Oh Jae-hyun rubbed his forehead.

‘This is crazy, seriously….’

Amstorin’s symbiotic clusters.

That item should never have been released in such large quantities.

Because symbiotic clusters were designed with extremely high acquisition difficulty, meant only for a few legendary class users like the War Mage.

But they couldn’t just confiscate the items now.

Even if the information was obtained by kidnapping and threatening users, it wasn’t illegal in War Lord.

Oh Jae-hyun asked.

“How many left now?”

“Only three more will drop, then no more.”

“Those bastards monopolized the symbiotic clusters, so they’re going to be selling them for a fortune.”

“How much do you think?”

“Well, no equip restrictions, cooldown reduction, plus ring stacking options—at least in the hundreds of millions, I’d say.”

“But it’s limited to 50 pieces.”

“Right.”

“So at least 5 billion won?”

“Probably. That’s the real problem. Hopefully Han Sung-woo won’t file a claim over this.”

“But honestly, even if he does, we don’t lose out. It’s all in-game, and there are precedents.”

“True. But Han Sung-woo is a legendary class user, and a major part of the main scenario.”

“You’re worried he might troll the main scenario if he’s upset?”

“That worry isn’t entirely unfounded.”

“Hmm, I think it might be the opposite. After growing enough to be part of the main scenario, he’d probably be too invested to troll.”

“Maybe.”

“Or not.”

“Well, we’ll see when the time comes. Where is Han Sung-woo now?”

“He’s in Pasna.”

“What? Already?”

“He’s deliberately hunting in a harder area. Pasna gives better level-ups than other same-level hunting grounds.”

“Yeah, I know. But why Pasna of all places? Was it intentional or just luck?”

“Probably chosen based on the fully-evolved Amstorin.”

“Smart, then. So Rubik’s chosen user, huh… Looks like he’ll be stuck in Pasna for a while.”

“You mean because of that quest?”

“Yeah. Unless Han Sung-woo abandons the entire quest, once he sets foot in Pasna, he has no choice but to follow through.”

“Ah, the last symbiotic cluster just dropped.”

“Oh man, finally….”

Upon hearing the last symbiotic cluster dropped, Oh Jae-hyun slapped his forehead.

‘Why is Mongoose talking to me?’

Levan blinked twice, confused by this unfamiliar situation he’d never seen before.

But despite how strange it was, he understood why Mongoose was acting that way.

Because—

「You! Didn’t I just ask if you are a War Mage!」

Mongoose had asked Levan multiple times if he was a War Mage.

Levan stopped being flustered and answered calmly.

“If I am?”

「Heh, heh heh! To think a true War Mage really exists… The successor of the War Mage actually exists.」

Suddenly, Mongoose started laughing alone.

Levan silently watched him.

After muttering to himself for a long while, Mongoose spoke.

「You! Do you know why I’m called the Bookworm?」

“Do I have to?”

「Impudent brat! The reason I’m called the Bookworm is…!」

“Hey, wait a minute.”

「How dare you interrupt me! Can’t you keep your mouth shut! The reason I’m called the Bookworm is…!」

No matter how much Levan interrupted, Mongoose was relentless.

He kept trying to explain why he was called the Bookworm, and the more persistent he was, the more certain Levan became.

‘This has to be a mandatory quest.’

This might be some sort of epic quest Levan couldn’t refuse.

So he decided to just listen for now.

「I was actually a mage dispatched from the Central Tower Association to Pasna.」

“I know.”

「But there weren’t just one, there were two mages dispatched.」

“Two?”

「Ratel! The other guy’s name is Ratel.」

“So?”

「It’s all because of him! Why I got the nickname Bookworm! And why I’m forced to live shut away in this library’s back door! It’s all his fault!」

“Explain simply.”

Levan decided to hear Mongoose out, but he wasn’t about to be polite.

Mongoose’s sudden outburst wasn’t part of Levan’s plan.

And given how worked up he was, did Levan really want to be courteous?

Not at all.

But Mongoose didn’t seem to care and continued sulking as he spoke.

「That guy’s a really bad guy. As soon as he came to the strange land of Pasna, he gave me the nickname Bookworm because I liked books. Then he used me to get close to people.」

“Hmm, that’s lame.”

「Thanks to him, I was called Bookworm shortly after arriving here. But that’s not all. He constantly interfered with everything I did, threw obstacles in my way, and even stole my ideas to take the credit himself! He did nothing but dirty, petty things!」

“He was a pushover.”

「And in the end, he pinned all the corruption he caused on me and had me locked up here!」

So that’s why.

No wonder a mage from the Tower Association was stuck in such a cramped place.

「It was unfair. My sentence was a hundred years—essentially life imprisonment. I had no choice but to decide: I would become a lich and wait for my revenge!」

“Is now that time?”

「Yes!」

“But why me as your accomplice in revenge? Surely you can ask others besides me.”

「It has to be you.」

“Why?”

「Because I want revenge not just on Ratel, but also on the Central Tower Association for not clearing my name.」

Ah.

That made sense.

The Central Tower Association is one of the powerful NPC factions.

‘Most players hunting in Pasna are around level 50. Taking on the entire Central Tower Association at mid-level is definitely risky.’

Besides, the one seeking revenge against the Central Tower Association is just one lich.

The risk far outweighs the return.

‘But if you’re a War Mage, that changes everything.’

If the War Mage is fated to defeat all mages of the Tower Association, then risk and return don’t matter; they’ll help with the revenge.

‘This guy is pretty persistent.’

In hindsight, Mongoose’s judgment was right. Levan had appeared before him, after all.

But as Levan listened to Mongoose’s story, one question popped up.

“Why didn’t a lich with a dungeon in the library try to take revenge directly? Lack of power?”

「No. I succeeded in becoming a lich and even in creating my own Life Force Vessel. But it took too long to complete, and during that time Ratel changed the location where I was imprisoned.」

“Changed it?”

「Yes. This place was originally a prison for criminals. But for some reason, it became a library, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t leave.」

“You mean there’s some kind of barrier?”

「Exactly.」

‘Ratel is thorough.’

So thorough he even prepared aftercare to prevent any possible revenge.

Levan had never met this Ratel, but imagined he was a stickler.

「War Mage! You were born into this world to avenge your master, who was killed by mages’ dark arts, right?」

“That’s right.”

「I thought so! Our goals are the same! I must take revenge on Ratel, and you on all the Tower mages! So join me! If you help me with my revenge, I will surely repay your kindness!」

[You have heard Bookworm Mongoose’s story in full.]

[He asks for your help with his revenge.]

[You are the only one he can ask.]

[Do you accept?]

As expected, Mongoose added his revenge to Levan’s destiny and asked for help.

Levan thought.

‘Ah, this feels off.’

There were several problematic points. First, Levan didn’t know who Ratel was.

So he was hesitant to accept the quest outright.

From the story, it sounded like Ratel wasn’t an ordinary guy.

‘If I’m unsure, better not do it.’

Levan was only level 34 now.

Like the quest to gain the Pasna King’s recognition, revenge against Ratel or the Central Tower Association was too much for him.

So Levan decided to decline this quest.

Instead of answering, Levan opened his inventory and equipped the Mirror Ring.

The Mirror Ring is a very helpful ring that blocks enemy skills.

And Mongoose was a high-level boss monster who mainly used magic skills.

So the ring was essential to fight him.

Levan gripped his club and muttered.

“Thunder Ta.”

[Thunder Ta is activated.]

Levan decided to refuse Mongoose’s request.

But there are different ways to refuse.

One is to vocally reject the NPC’s request.

The other is to simply not answer.

However, there’s a big difference between the two methods.

Namely—

‘If you flat-out kill this guy, the next time you come here, he’ll make the same request again.’

This didn’t work for all NPCs, but for Mongoose—tied to the class scenario—he would definitely ask the same again.

Because from what he said, only Levan could do this quest.

So instead of answering, Levan raised his club.

He could refuse Mongoose’s request, but he had to complete the already accepted epic quest.

Levan dashed toward Mongoose.