Level 1 Player (MT Novel) - Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – The Heart of the Werewolf King

“I wonder if this is the place? – I thought as I peeked into the branch of the Players’ Association. – Because I’m worried about something…”

This was my first assignment. Besides, Shin Yun Ah said not to do anything until I received an order. So I headed to the reception room where I saw the other Players, the Association staff. There were five people in the room: two women and three men.

– Are you starting your shift today? – A man in his thirties asked me as soon as I entered the room.

– Yes, this is my first time.

– Of course I laughed when I heard they were going to send in some rookie, but I didn’t think they meant it. Hehehe… My name is So Tae Chul, nice to meet you.

So Tae Chul turned out to be a very outgoing person. He told me what to do and introduced me to the other Players in the room.

– You just have to wait a little while. If a dungeon below level one hundred falls out, you can go on a mission with Soo Young-yi. She’s turning twenty-five this year. She’s just like you, Hyun Seong, a ±100 level player,” So Tae Chul said and pointed at one of the girls.

– I’m going to rely on you now.

– I won’t let you down,” the girl replied.

– My name is Soo Young Ah. Is it okay if we talk informally? – The other girl asked, wincing slightly. – It’s just that you seem younger than me and more like a younger brother… And it would just be more comfortable that way. You don’t mind, do you? If I do, I’m sorry.

“Do they not like me in some way…?”

I was surprised. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I didn’t like myself.

– Excuse them. Our girls are a little inconsiderate,” So Tae Chul said, and instead of apologizing, he looked at Lee Soo Young with a frown.

“Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong.”

I thought this polite manner of Seo Tae Chul and Lee Soo Young’s behavior was strange. But what exactly was wrong, I couldn’t figure out.

– It’s all good. But I definitely don’t look my age as a younger brother. Who knows, maybe I’m old enough to be your father, Soo Young.

My words embarrassed the girl.

– I’m turning twenty-seven this year.

– Ah, that’s how…” said So Tae Chul with surprise.

Actually, it was understandable, since I looked twenty-one or twenty-two years old on the outside.

– I’m sorry,” Lee Soo Young said guiltily.

– Don’t apologize, it’s okay.

The girl only nodded her head meekly in response.

– As soon as the request comes, you can go straight to the place. I’d like to send someone else with you, but we already have people below level 100 at our disposal.

– I don’t care,” I answered.

There’s very little chance of a request for a summons coming in. And even if there were, the dungeon wouldn’t be much higher than level one. Thanks to the potions, I corresponded to a 200th level Player in terms of my cumulative character count. If problems arose in a dungeon below level one hundred, I could solve the problem even on my own without Lee Soo Young’s involvement.

– This is your place now, Hyun Seong. If you’re not planning on taking off your weapons, you can read a book or take a nap.

– Okay, thank you.

Actually, working in the investigation department was comfortable. True, according to Shin Yoon Ah, I was supposed to feel nostalgic for the army, but in reality it turned out to be different. My job at this point was just to be prepared and stand on the sidelines while you could do anything: read a book, watch TV, or sleep.

“M-yes, it’s a little uncomfortable, but it’s still worth a try.

The outfit isn’t the best garment for sleeping, but at least I could afford a little nap. So I sat down in the seat offered to me and closed my eyes.

***

I suddenly woke up and looked around. Nothing had changed. Seo Tae Chul was looking at something on the internet on his tablet, the others were asleep at the time.

– How much sleep did you get?

I looked at my watch.

– About four hours…

And there were still four hours left in the day.

“I guess I can restock my assortment of merchandise for now.”

Looking at the sales window, I got up from my seat.

– Oh, you’re up already?

– Yeah.

– You can take another nap. Most of the time on the first day of work, the calls don’t come that way.

– Compared to the service, that’s nothing.

– You were in the army?

– I was.

– Wow, so you woke up around the age of twenty-two and reached level one hundred in five years?

Usually, instead of joining the army, Players would “serve” in the Players Association for two years. Two of the five people in this room did just that.

– I, too, woke up pretty late, and then I also served.

– So there you have it. I served in the 65th Division.

– And I was in the 25th.

– Oh, that’s not far.

– Ha-ha, that’s right. Я…

So began the conversation between the two men who had served in the army. There seemed to be no end to this conversation.

– I’m gonna go to the bathroom for a second,” I said and got up from my seat.

– Yeah, don’t be too long in there in case the call comes.

I headed toward the restroom.

“I had to replenish my selling positions ahead of time.

Not knowing what might happen next, I decided the sooner I did it, the better.

“How time flies by unnoticed…”

I didn’t even notice how another two hours flew by during the conversation. I didn’t think a conversation with a stranger would be that easy. Besides, I also didn’t think that I would be able to take a nap at work, get some rest, and make some money at the same time. What could be better than that?

“Maybe I should apply for night shifts and sleep here every shift?” – An idea flashed through my head.

I opened Subspace and refilled the empty positions. Before I could close the buy-sell window, I saw a new notification in front of my face that an Investigations Department check-out request had arrived. No sooner had I reached the reception area than Lee Soo-young was already walking toward me with her weapon at her side.

– The request came in. Follow me.

– I’ll follow you.

We walked out to the parking lot and got into the car, Lee Soo-young took the driver’s seat and I took the passenger seat next to her. As soon as the doors slammed shut, the car immediately took off.

– Can I get the details?

– A higher-level monster appeared in one of the dungeons.

At that moment, the events I’d been lucky enough to experience in the Red-Haired Wolf dungeon flashed before my eyes.

– Could the two of us handle it?

– Of course. A Werewolf, a level 70-80 monster, appeared in the level sixty Horned Turtle dungeon. There were no casualties.

I understood the situation now. It was not as urgent as it was then in the Red-Haired Wolf dungeon, because then a very strong monster appeared in the level 10-20 dungeon, many times the level of the Players who hunted in it. But now the difference between the Players and the monster was only 10-20 levels. If there are many Players in the dungeon, there’s a chance that they can handle it on their own.

– More often than not, calls come precisely for incidents in dungeons above level fifty.

– Is it because there are no security personnel there?

In response to my question, Lee Soo Young only nodded her head.

Normally, Players who pass the threshold of fifty levels get their first job and become security officers themselves. The only problem is that the ability of such Players to react to unforeseen situations is reduced, as a result of which the requests usually come. So if anything happens, they send a request for help right away.

– You look happy,” Lee Soo Young said with a look at me.

– Of course, because this outing will give me a pay raise.

“The more work, the more money!”

Yes, I needed the money now, as I wanted to improve Immortality to a legendary level. And without more finances, it was almost impossible to do so.

Arriving on the scene, we leisurely entered the dungeon, which turned out to be a forest inside.

“Yep, it’s not going to be easy to find…”

The forest was growing everywhere and everywhere you looked. At least the vaults of the dungeon were so high that they were flooded with bright light.

– Don’t be surprised at what you’re about to see! – Lee Soo Young said as she looked at me.

I wonder why she said that? At the same second, there was some sound and the girl’s body started to rapidly increase in size, her ears became longer and her whole body became covered in hair. Her fingernails also transformed into sharp claws, and her mouth became covered in sharp fangs. After a few seconds, the transformation was complete.

– A cat?

– Leopard! – Lee Soo Young replied, noticing my mumbling.

– А!

And then I remembered that the girl’s appearance reminded me of a snow leopard I once watched a documentary about.

The leopard-girl sucked in air with her nose.

– We might be too late… Let’s hurry,” Lee Soo-young said, and raced forward on four paws.

“Wow, she’s so fast!”

The speed at which she moved was beyond level one hundred. But I followed the big cat to the best of my ability. I don’t know how long it took, but we did manage to locate the Werewolf.

– Wow, that’s amazing. He looks like a big dog.

– Unlike a dog, his sense of smell is much better,” Lee Soo-young said and lunged at the Werewolf.

The werewolf howled and, grinning, headed toward the leopard girl. But before I could even blink, Lee Soo Young bit his head off. He didn’t even have time to fight back before his life was cut short in a second. After killing the monster, Lee Soo Young returned to her human form.

– It’s a good thing the outfit is elastic.

The girl’s swollen leather armor returned to its original appearance.

– Of course! Really, very expensive,” the girl replied. – I think we can go back to the Association now.

– Good.

Originally I thought we’d both be involved in killing that monster, but Lee Soo-young handled everything on her own.

“Yeah, lucky her…”

Really, what am I supposed to do now that it’s all over?

I slowly dragged behind the girl, imitating her gait, but suddenly Lee Soo Young stopped and listened, then transformed back into a leopard and started sniffing.

– What is it?

– He’s not the only one here…

– What?

– The smell is coming from the side where the spatial gate is,” the leopard girl said, wincing. – Besides, he’s definitely not the last one.

– И?

– I think it’s a whole pack. Maybe the Shapeshifter had given some sort of sign before he died, since the rest of them showed up.

– We have to kill them all.

Of course, one Werewolf wouldn’t be much of a threat. But if there were more of them, things would take on a different color. Besides, there are quite a few Players in this dungeon who have yet to hear of anyone more powerful than the denizens of this dungeon crossing the dimensional gate.

– Take care. If there are too many of them, I can’t protect you.

– Don’t worry about me,” I said with a smile.

– Damn,” the leopard-girl gasped, and sprang up from her seat.

She seemed to have decided to attack first. And I decided not to waste time for nothing and sped up, too.

“Maybe I can get something useful out of them, if we kill them all…” I thought, already imagining how I would put in my subspace the stones and objects that fell from the corpses of monsters.