Pzzzzzt—!
Rather than descend, the lightning shot upward, clawing at the heavens like a salmon battling its way upstream. With a crashing bolt and a searing flash, the one who had once been the sky of thousands of employees collapsed into a heap of ash.
Rustle—
Then, even that scattered and disappeared.
Messages began pouring in.
[You have defeated the Personnel Bureau Director, Seung Gi.]
[You have brought down a sky too lofty to even look upon.]
[Unknown gods pay tribute to your unstoppable advance.]
...
Blue, white, and red translucent windows popped up all at once, overlapping to the point that he could not even see through them.
I’ll check them later—ugh!
Just as Eun-Ho waved his hand to clear his vision, a throbbing headache pervaded him, followed by a wave of weakness that engulfed him all over.
“Mister!” Yoon Sol-Ah came running, crying urgently, “Mass Heal!”
Concentric circles of blue light spread outward from beneath her feet.
Fwaaaash—
[You have been healed by Healer Yoon Sol-Ah.]
Without so much as a touch, she healed him simply by enveloping him in cool blue radiance. Though brighter, larger, and more refreshing than before, the photons remained warm.
Noticing her clear improvement, Eun-Ho praised her, “Seems like you paid attention in class.”
Sol-Ah, breathless from running, grabbed and twisted his arm. “Huff... Mister, seriously!”
“Kuk!”
Moreover, her grip was several times stronger than usual. Her brows were raised sharply, her lower lip clenched tight. She clearly wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
When Eun-Ho looked up at her in confusion, she shot back, her voice trembling with tears. “Your palm, your arm, even your shoulder... They’re all burned!”
Only then did he notice his palm, charred black and ragged. The veins in his arm had burst, leaving patterns similar to jagged lightning across his skin.
“Ah...”
That’s worse than I thought. No wonder it hurts, Eun-Ho thought.
“Ah? Ah what?” Sol-Ah echoed incredulously before continuing, “how can you be so calm? What if your body gets ruined fighting like this?”
“I didn’t have a choice. Normal attacks wouldn’t have worked.”
“But...” She trailed off, then sighed resignedly. “Rapid Heal.”
Fwaaaash—
On top of the already active circle of light, an even brighter radiance burst from her hand.
[You have been healed by Healer Yoon Sol-Ah.]
[Rapid Heal has been activated!]
[Injury recovery: 15%, 16%, 17%...]
“It wasn’t this strong during practice,” Eun-Ho muttered.
“Practice? What do you mean, practice?” Sol-Ah asked.
“That just now.”
After a brief moment of thought, Sol-Ah’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “What?! Don’t tell me you planned that attack ahead of time?!”
At the final moment, he had embedded countless Sword Threads deep within the director’s, wrapping them in Sword Aura. He finished it off by sending a surge of electricity through each strand. That wasn’t the kind of technique one could pull off on the fly.
“And you even practiced it?!” she cried out.
“More or less,” Eun-Ho answered calmly.
He had stayed in the classroom despite halting the swordsmanship course for a reason. It was to conduct a battle simulation in preparation for eliminating the director.
Eun-Ho remembered the conversation he had with the assistant instructor.
“He stores the vitality he absorbs within his own body.”
“Stores vitality?”
“Think of it as having a Recovery Potion constantly injected into him twenty-four hours a day.”
Not only did the Death Hand defend the director, it also allowed him to regenerate using stolen life force. That was how absurd the ability was. On top of that, he was reinforced with Sword Aura, akin to wearing full-body armor at all times.
Eun-Ho had never expected the battle to be easy, knowing that the man had survived for aeons. Thus, with an old tree in place of his opponent, he began rehearsing the same method.
“You’re going to load electricity onto Sword Threads?! That kind of control is impossible!”
“Then I’ll make it possible.”
“What?!”
“The Stamina drain is too severe. Rest for a bit first and—”
“No. Again.”
Eun-Ho practiced and practiced again.
“Your blood vessels have all burst! That’s enough!”
“Again.”
“You’re the only one insane enough to go this far.”
“Again.”
He practiced until his limbs would not move, until the forest vanished, leaving behind nothing but a ruin of trees struck by lightning.
“How many times?” Sol-Ah asked quietly.
You mean how many times I’d been fried by lightning, healed, then fried again and healed again? Eun-Ho thought.
“About a hundred in total.”
Sol-Ah clapped a hand over her mouth. “What?!”
In actual combat, the electricity had been far stronger, which was why he had ended up in this state. Nevertheless, it was possible in theory.
[Qi Circulation Breathing(Lv. 1)]
- By regulating breath through internal energy control, it recovers one mental energy per second.
- Refines the body to better receive and circulate ambient Qi.
Besides, no matter how much Sword Aura he expended, Qi Circulation Breathing drastically reduced the time required to recover.
“I seriously can’t believe you...” Sol-Ah muttered.
“I trusted you,” Eun-Ho said.
“Me?!” she squeaked.
“I trusted our team’s ace healer would fix me.”
“Fighting like this is really dangerous. You know that, right?” she said firmly.
Eun-Ho gave a small nod. With a relieved expression, Sol-Ah watched as a thin layer of new flesh formed over his injuries.
“Oh, right,” she added, “you don’t have to worry about the others.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! They’re fighting so well. I thought they were actual warriors or something!”
He already knew because one of the main culprits blocking his vision had been the team’s shared messenger, which kept ringing nonstop.
Yeon Bo-Ra: One hundred enemies at Trap No. 19
Yeon Bo-Ra: Arriving in one minute
Using her Mold ability, Yeon Bo-Ra had stalled the enemy, lured them in, and driven them into pre-set traps.
Myung Tae-Pyeong: Why the hell is this crazy Skeleton so strong?
Myung Tae-Pyeong: What did it even eat to grow like this?
Swear-Master was battling alongside the Skeleton Knights.
Kim Yul: Wooow! Wei Oppa is the best!
Yul, Wei, and the rest of the team were guarding their fortress just as instructed. Everyone had held their ground.
“Still, if I’d known you were going to suffer like this alone, I would’ve called everyone over here,” Sol-Ah said.
“It’s fine.”
“Fine? How is this fine?!”
He wasn’t merely saying that to reassure a young soul, but because he had gained more than enough profit to make up for the hardship.
[You have defeated a Corrupt Superior.]
[Additional trait-exclusive rewards have been awarded due to your trait, Rebel.]
[You have earned a thousand Resistance Points!]
[Congratulations!]
[You have completed the hidden trial, Judgement.]
[You have earned five points as a trial reward.]
One would assume “Judgment,” which meant punishing wrongdoing, would be connected to the previous hidden trial, “Justice Served.” Yet it wasn’t.
[The Traitor’s Road has prepared to unveil the ascetic.]
[Heaven’s Mandate has shifted.]
“What is that supposed to mean?” Eun-Ho muttered.
After a barrage of ominous, one-sided declarations, an unexpected trial appeared.
[A hidden trial, Revolution, has been unlocked.]
Following that, a small burst of light flickered and a tiny butterfly appeared from somewhere.
[Unknown gods have granted you a small blessing of fortune.]
As if entranced, Eun-Ho followed the beating of its wings. He did not have to go far because the luminous butterfly came to rest on the scattered ashes that had once been the director.
[You have obtained Seung Gi’s relic.]
This is...
“Mister! Why do you look like that?” Sol-Ah asked.
“Uh....”
Good grief. They’re seriously giving me this?
***
The moment the reversed surge of electricity swallowed the sky, the shadow of defeat hung over the soldiers.
“Leader! The director is—”
“Yeah, I know. The operation has failed.”
It was not merely a failure, but a crushing defeat. They had lost in every single aspect including strategy, tactics, preparation, and even raw power.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“T-the sniper is on our tail!”
“Graaah! Come at me!”
“And that monster too!”
They had even lost their escape route, blocked by a sniper with ghostlike precision and a monster that neither bled nor felt pain.
“Are the reinforcements still far out?!”
“There are no reinforcements.”
“S-sorry? What do you mean—”
The Tenth Platoon leader, positioned at the very rear of the ambush unit, turned his screen toward his subordinate. Red warning windows filled it completely.
[Warning!]
[First Platoon - No Response]
[Second Platoon - No Response]
[Third Platoon - No Response]
...
[Ninth Platoon - No Response]
“D-don’t tell me everyone except us has been wiped out?!”
They had lost their commander as well as their comrades.
Having lost everything, the platoon leader felt all the more desperate. At the very least, he had to save the remaining soldiers. If he failed even at that, he would not be able to close his eyes in peace, not even in death.
As he steeled himself, the director’s final words echoed in his ears.
“When the battle ends, make it rain. It’s something that should’ve been done a hundred years ago.”
It had been the finishing strategy, spoken with absolute confidence in their victory. Now, it could still serve its purpose even in defeat.
“We will erase this land.”
“Leader! You don’t mean you’re going to bring down the rain—”
“That’s right.”
With the resolve of a man who had nothing left to lose, the platoon leader’s hands moved quickly. As a final contingency plan, the airship above would release Extreme Acid Rain, melting every living thing in this forest into nothing.
“If we can’t escape, the risk is too great!”
“I refuse to die in vain.”
“But—”
He pulled a switch from inside his coat and prepared to press it. “What truly infuriates me is the fact that—”
At that very moment, between one word and the next, a gust of wind swept through.
Ssssh—
“I won’t even get to kill my enemy with my own hands.”
However, in the next moment, the hand that should have unleashed the deadly acid rain was firmly restrained. The culprit was none other than their target.
“Don’t move,” said Lee Eun-Ho.
“You are!”
“Gu.”
The platoon leader flinched when Eun-Ho called his name.
“Platoon Leader of Tenth Platoon of the Field Support Division One.”
His personal details flowed from Eun-Ho’s mouth without hesitation.
Gu’s eyes filled with disbelief. “H-how do you know my name?”
Then, without offering any explanation, Eun-Ho abruptly unfolded a screen.
Pop—
A video began to play.
“W-what are you doing—”
“Let’s talk after you watch.”
On the screen was Lee Eun-Ho himself and the director. The latter was the sky they believed had worked tirelessly day and night for the prosperity of the Personnel Department.
—You don’t even make exceptions for your own men?
—If one or two disappear, no one will notice.
Yet, what happened in the video directly contradicted that. They saw the Death Hand crushing a soldier’s skull and bones and flesh ground into powder. They saw that same hand fanning the ashes away as if brushing off dust.
“What is this?”
“He was erasing the evidence of murder,” Eun-Ho said calmly.
The platoon leader staggered.
—A ruler has methods befitting his station.
At the director’s final words, strength returned to the platoon leader’s legs out of sheer anger. “That’s—”
“It’s the truth. The original, unedited footage. You’re welcome to verify it.”
Crunch.
He clenched his knee to keep from collapsing. His fingers and nails dug into his own flesh until blood seeped out.
“Do you still believe I’m your enemy?” Eun-Ho asked.
A heavy silence followed. Then, moments later, the platoon leader’s voice slipped through clenched teeth, mingled with the taste of blood. “So what is it that you want?”
***
“Oppa!” After the fierce battle ended, Yeon Bo-Ra ran up, drenched in sweat. “We’ve gathered all the defeated soldiers.”
“How many are there?”
“Four hundred and ninety. Seventy-four unconscious, one hundred and twenty-six seriously injured, and two hundred and ninety with minor injuries.”
Four hundred and ninety in total out of a thousand troops? Only half had survived, Eun-Ho thought.
“You made sure to secure the control devices properly, right?”
“Yes! Just like Mr. Soeju instructed.”
“Good.”
With control devices fitted allowing a controller to regulate movement speed and physical strength in real time, there was little to worry about.
“But why go through all that trouble to keep them alive?” Yeon Bo-Ra asked, scratching her cheek. “Swear-Master Oppa was yelling that we should just kill them all.”
Eun-Ho explained patiently, “First of all, slaughtering defeated soldiers would damage our team’s image.”
“Ah, true. If we get criticized for unnecessary bloodshed, everything we’ve built goes down the drain.”
She was right.
“And there’s another important reason,” Eun-Ho added.
“What is it?”
“We need to collect.”
“Collect?”
Practically speaking, they had to pay for invading his land.
“Have them all sign. Confiscate every weapon and piece of armor they brought.”
“Huh? O-okay!”
“In addition, seize all their Welfare Points and the team’s shared assets. Also, take any Benefit Points we can. If their office land is usable, have it transferred as well.”
“W-wait! Let me write this down. Signatures, weapons, armor, points, shared assets, land...”
Take them all whether it’s tangible or intangible, Eun-Ho thought.
“And we’ll probably need a bit of labor too,” Eun-Ho said.
“Labor? How do we get that?”
“What do you mean? We’ll have them fully repair all the damaged buildings. And while they’re at it, let’s build a castle.”
Yeon Bo-Ra flinched. “What did you just say?”
“A castle. I’ve wanted to build one for a while, but we didn’t have enough manpower.”
[Castle Wall(Not Owned)]
1. Unavailable
(+ Unavailable)
He wanted sturdy walls that would not crumble under ordinary bombardment.
[Castle(Not Owned)]
1. Unavailable
(+ Unavailable)
He also intended to build a grand and beautiful castle worthy of a Disneey film.
“Y-you’re building that now? With the defeated soldiers?” she asked blankly.
“Yeah. You saw the Construction Cards with me, right? I’ll grant you authorization, so I’m counting on you.”
With that, Eun-Ho turned away without hesitation.
“W-wait, Oppa!” Startled, Yeon Bo-Ra grabbed his arm. “What do you mean you’re granting me authorization? Why?”
“I’ve got something else to take care of.”
“What?! What else could you possibly have to do now?!”
The Personnel Bureau was effectively ownerless at the moment. Until a new appointment was made, the director’s seat remained vacant, making this the perfect time to act. There was far too much to do.
“Preparing for my debut.”
“Pardon?!”
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