Level 1 Player (MT Novel) - Chapter 48

Chapter 48 – Blue Drake III

The country was slowly coming back to normal after the recent invasion of heroic-level monsters. Rankers and high-level Players had taken care to securely seal off the spatial gates, iron doors had appeared in front of each such passage between worlds, and with it new dungeons. Now monsters couldn’t get out, but the Players ruthlessly dealt with them inside the dungeons.

Though the number of re-opened gates decreased, the streets were still not safe. No one could guarantee that the gates would not reopen.

The air was shaken by the sound of helicopter blades spinning. Shin Yun Ah and the rangers were gathering their gear and were already boarding. The girl wanted to deal personally with the situation at Osan.

– After we’re done, everyone can finally get a good rest,” said one of the rankers, Yoon In-hwan.

The rankers with the highest levels and characteristics had a hard time during the second cataclysm. They were constantly moving from place to place, a short respite they could only dream of. All their fleeting rest was spent recovering their magic and stamina. After they dealt with the blue drake, the endless travels would come to an end.

– That’s great! This is the first time we’ve been so busy that we don’t have time for anything else,” replied another ranger, Kang In Hwi.

– Now we can relax!

It seemed as if their chatter would never end. Although the fact that they were now calmly discussing the future already proved that the rankers were still on their feet. Shin Yoon Ah stayed out of the conversation and remained silent the whole way.

Blue Drake. A member of the Players’ Association died because of that lousy guy.

“No, he couldn’t die…”

Time would pass and he would become one of the strongest Players in South Korea. All because of his special skill. So he couldn’t just pick up and die. Not that the relationship between the two of them is very close, since Shin Yoon Ah and Choi Hyun Seong had only met twice, but something else connected them, the very fact of having a special skill.

No matter how close that person was though, you still can’t get used to death.

“Damn bastard!” – Gritting her teeth, Shin Yun Ah thought, remembering her recent conversation with the authorities.

After all, the Players Association obeys orders from above. Even though the Association has its own mouth full of worries, it should not hesitate to carry out the orders of the national government, since it itself is a representative of the government body.

In addition, she was struck by the government’s actions after the news of Choi Hyun Seong’s death was made public. The higher-ups recalled the guards who had guarded his family and also asked for compensation for the outfit that Choi Hyun Seong had rented. And it was not only in the case of his death. The families of deceased workers were required to pay contractual penalties. If they gave up what was left of the deceased, the case was quickly hushed up. But if they did not, the families received nothing, including compensation for the loss of the Player-Defender of the State. And that’s what the government did to everyone.

Either way, he’s probably dead, and the government wants to cut or cover all its costs. Upon hearing this, Shin Yoon-ah became furious, her anger unbounded. She despised them.

Despite all the excuses, when the girl asked, “If I die, will my family members be treated the same way?” – No one could answer. Unlike the dead Hyun Seong, the living Shin Yoon Ah was a valuable “exhibit” to the government. She was one of the top 100 strongest rankers in the entire world, so it’s simply not beneficial for the government to turn her against itself. It was with this that the girl was able to get the authorities to cancel the contract and stop demanding reimbursement for her equipment rent. What’s more, they even paid Choi Hyun Seong’s relatives compensation for the loss. Shin Yoon Ah decided to personally deliver the money to the bereaved family, so she took the day off. When she met them, she got down on her knees and asked them to forgive her for what happened.

The news of her son’s death put a heavy burden on his parents. But how could money be an excuse to get away with it? If Shin Yoon Ah hadn’t intervened, the government would have continued to run amok. Although the girl herself is not without sin.

Those who had never been on the battlefield and those who only handed out decrees were sacrificing the lives of Players to protect the population. The girl was sickened by such people, for their contribution to the defense could not be considered unequivocally. If the girl had not restrained herself, she would have found an excuse to shut these upstarts’ throats.

– Emergency message! S- The blue drake has been defeated!

This message came as Shin Yun Ah was entering the area where the high-level monster was rampaging.

– What? Did the other rankers deal with it?

– We didn’t have any teams available!

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All the rankers on the helicopter sat in confusion.

– The blue drake had been defeated by the Player, whom we had already written off! He reported that he had defeated the monster from within.

This information left the rangers even more shocked and perplexed.

– Who is this Gambler…? – Shin Yun Ah suddenly asked.

– A member of the Players Association, Choi Hyun Seong.

Hearing the answer, the girl glowed.

***

“What a look I have…” I thought as I poured water on my body, trying to scrub away the blood stains.

But the blood kept oozing.

“It’s weird, there didn’t seem to be any wounds,” I thought again, looking at my body.

But there really wasn’t anything on it. Not a scratch, not a scar. Besides, it was hard for me to remember the moments when all that was left of me was my head and my right arm.

I wrapped myself in the blanket that the Players had given me when they found me in what I was. Yes, the only thing I had left was my sword hemolysis.

– Could I borrow your phone for a moment? I need to call home.

I really wanted to hear my family’s voice. And also to tell them that I was still alive.

– Of course, here you go,” Shin Hyo Song said with a smile and held out her cell phone.

When I took it in my hands, I immediately dialed my mother’s number.

– Hello?

When I heard my mother’s voice on the speaker, I thought I was going to burst into tears.

– Mom, it’s me, Hyun Seong.

All I heard in response was silence.

– Hyo… Hyun Seong, is it really you? Are you really my son, Hyun Seong?

– Yes, Mom, it’s me! There was a mistake and my name was on the list of people who died, but I’m fine. I just found out about it myself, and I was really scared, so I called you right away! My phone was broken, so I couldn’t reach you before. I’m sorry. How are you feeling? How are your sister and father?

All I heard in response to my question was crying and sobbing.

– Why are you crying? Everything is fine! It’s just that the world is a mess, so small mistakes have a place.

Mother’s crying didn’t stop.

– Are you really okay?

– Yes. There was just a misunderstanding. I’m alive and well, eating well and sleeping soundly.

– You must’ve been through a lot. Thank you, son, for being alive. I’m grateful for that.

– It’s all a misunderstanding! – I said it again, but louder.

I didn’t want to tell her about the horrible things that had happened to me during that time. If she knew the truth, it would be even harder for her than for me. So I decided to keep quiet about it.

– A man from the Players Association came to see us and handed over compensation for the loss of a relative. She got down on her knees and asked for forgiveness for what had happened. It certainly wasn’t a misunderstanding. Our boy really almost died! I know it was hard for you, so you don’t have to hide anything from me. Your sister and I are really happy and thankful that you are alive.

– Mom…

When I heard about the compensation, tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted someone to comfort me or praise me for my resilience during this difficult time. I ended up crying while talking to my mother.

***

The conversation was over, and my eyelids were red and swollen with tears.

– Take this…” said Shin Hyo Sung, holding out a handkerchief to me.

Her eyes were just like mine, just as red and puffy. If we were in such a state after a normal assignment, we’d be embarrassed, but now everyone understood everything and no one asked unnecessary questions.

– Oh,” I sighed and tried to contain my emotions.

I remembered something.

“I need to see what’s up with the vampire sword’s specs.

It was time to check all the perks I’d gotten for massacring the blue drake Zetus. That thing almost killed me!

[Sword of Hemolysis (unique-heroic)]

– Restores magic and stamina to the wearer by absorbing the attacker’s blood;

– Strengthens attack and speeds up magic and stamina regeneration of wielder while absorbing blood of lizard-like creatures;

– Can be improved by prolonged contact with blood of lizard-like creatures;

– Increases the Player’s magic to the limit by merging the magical powers of the wearer and the blue drake Zetus;

– If the item is not used by the wearer, the sword’s abilities are blocked;

– The wielder may summon the sword-hemolysis at will once per day.

“An item that can return?”

I could not imagine that the characteristics of this sword could change so much. Moreover, they had increased several times! But its main characteristic remained unchanged. I am sincerely glad the sword stayed with me. Seeing the changed name, I was worried about its characteristics, afraid that they would be very different from the original. I also couldn’t tell from the name the pros and cons of the item.

On the other hand, I’m glad that the sword can be improved. It means that from a unique-heroic level, the sword-hemolysis can become legendary! Well and I don’t even have to worry about stealing and losing the item, I can always summon it.

“Well, now I won’t have to worry about weapons.”

In fact, the characteristics of the vampire sword suited me just fine.

Yes, on the one hand, judging by the attack, having a lot of characteristics is great. Especially since I hadn’t known a weapon capable of interacting with Immortality and going along with Vampire Ball before.

On the other hand, I haven’t ruled out the possibility of replacing heroic weapons in the future. No matter how well the weapons and skills combined, the difference in attack power would prove significant. And the more often I would encounter high-level monsters, the more power I would need. And don’t forget that I might get hurt and bleed. And what’s to say that defeating a high-level monster with a rare-level sword isn’t easy? Even assuming I could defeat a monster with a weapon like that, I’d have to give 200%.

But that shouldn’t be a problem now. Thanks to the retrievable item, it wouldn’t be a disadvantage, but rather an advantage. And there’s no way I’m selling the sword-hemolysis.

“Oh, we must still look at the characteristics of the Breath of Thunder and Lightning!”

I’m curious as to how the skill inherited from Jeong Sungwoo has changed.

[Breath of Thunder and Lightning (unique-heroic)

Active ability: Forms a powerful protective barrier, increases all characteristics, hits the target precisely, paralyzing it. Can be improved with items and skills.

Only one new characteristic appeared, but it’s not too bad either. But I’m happy at least because this ability can still be improved. Now all that’s left is to look at the achievements.

[First Level Destroyer (Rare)]

Increases all stats by 10.

[First Level Destroyer (Heroic)]

Increases all stats by 20.

“Basically, that’s what I thought.

Each normal achievement increases all stats by 5, heroic by 20, hence, legendary should increase all stats by 40. As I thought, the increase would be double, since rare level achievements increase all stats by 10.

[Knocked down Zetus, a blue drake, single-handedly (heroic)

Increases magic by 4.

Compared to the achievement “Knocked down a gradon three-headed leopard by himself (rare)”, the difference in the increase in characteristics was only one point. Oddly enough, the previous achievement increased my stats a lot more than the achievement I got for killing a blue drake…

“I guess that’s a bonus.

Since the main important achievements I already got.

“I wonder when they’ll give me some clothes?”

Still, it’s a little embarrassing to walk around in broad daylight in front of the girls in one blanket.

“I wonder if all the commotion is over yet?”

After word got out that I was alive and even destroyed the blue drake, nothing seemed to have changed. So most of the trouble from the second cataclysm is over, the Players will no longer be involved in serious and long battles.

“I can’t wait to go home…”

I just wanted to get home as soon as possible and see the faces of my family.