Episode 20. Emergency Quest
Sin Dae looked at Byeon Beomsu’s terrified expression.
He recalled why he hadn’t noticed Byeon Beomsu back in the army.
*This person hasn’t been Awakened for very long...*
From that, Sin Dae deduced that Byeon Beomsu probably didn’t have much dungeon experience either.
Whether his guess was correct or not, the sight of Byeon Beomsu trembling in fear was plain to see.
“Hyung, since you’re a C-grade Awakened, if you stick with us, we can hunt.”
A C-grade was a high-tier rating, capable of growing strong up to level 80.
Not only that, but he clearly possessed numerous useful skills for dungeons, so Sin Dae watched him patiently.
“Uh... Hyung... It’d be best to listen to Senior Bak Sin Dae...”
“That’s right... Hyung, you told us earlier that you got a lot of offers from large guilds!”
“Ah, whatever! What do you know! This is a trap-type dungeon. It’s basically 3-star or higher. How are we supposed to clear it with the F-grades here and the C-grade priest outside?!”
Sin Dae let out a sigh at Byeon Beomsu’s words.
Realizing that further words were useless, he simply got off the bus.
“What the... That senior was putting on such airs earlier.”
“Right... He really looks pathetic...”
Byeon Beomsu glared at the muttering voices around him that were looking at him.
However, he was already unable to refute the fact that he hadn’t gotten off the bus.
***
“Up to how many stars can you hunt?”
Recalling the sight Sin Dae had shown during their last reservist training, Bak Sangok asked, and Sin Dae shrugged.
“Up to 4 stars is possible.”
“F... 4 stars?!”
Bak Sangok was shocked by Sin Dae’s claim that he could hunt up to 4 stars when his known grade was clearly F-grade.
Seeing him like that, Sin Dae only gave a faint smile.
“It seems the monster is that one over there...”
A giant bear was cautiously approaching them.
Looking at the giant bear swirling with purple light, Bak Sangok gulped.
*A bear...*
The energy he felt was 4-star grade.
The fortunate thing was that so far, only one was approaching them.
“I think it’d be good to try fighting it once.”
Bak Sangok nodded at Sin Dae’s words.
As he pulled out his staff and tried to cast a buff, Sin Dae raised his hand to stop him.
“Please conserve your mana.”
With no telling what monsters they would hunt going forward, mana management was most important for Bak Sangok, who was a priest.
“W-won’t you take a buff?”
At the now-palpable energy of the 4-star monster, Bak Sangok asked, and Sin Dae merely shrugged.
*First, I’ll aim for the gallbladder, then immediately stab the heart.*
Sin Dae recalled the bear-type monsters he had butchered countless times.
He knew well which parts of a bear were weak points.
He narrowed his eyes at the purplish bear charging in quickly.
Sin Dae also swiftly drew his sword and ran out.
“First, the gallbladder!”
Dodging the purplish bear’s heavy attack lightly, Sin Dae thrust his sword into the area where the gallbladder was.
Confirming yellow bile flowing from the spot his sword struck, he knew his attack had succeeded.
“Am... amazing...”
Bak Sangok exclaimed in admiration at Sin Dae’s movements, which he had sensed during reservist training but certainly didn’t seem F-grade.
He was astonished to see Sin Dae dispatch a 4-star monster so easily even though he hadn’t cast a single heal on him.
“Are you really F-grade?”
“Now I’m D-grade...”
Bak Sangok tilted his head at the words that his grade had changed.
Then, as Sin Dae began gathering from the purplish bear, his eyes grew wide in surprise.
*Goodness... To disassemble a monster so easily like that...*
The time taken to butcher and sort the magic stones and leather was a mere three minutes.
Watching Sin Dae finish all gathering activities in the blink of an eye, Bak Sangok could tell this wasn’t something he had done only once or twice.
“Wait, could you turn around for a moment, Hyung?”
“Huh? Why turn around?”
Bak Sangok was puzzled by the request to turn around.
For some reason, he looked strangely at Sin Dae, who was drooling.
“Just a moment is enough. Please just turn around for a moment...”
[You have discovered meat desired by Gluttony.]
[Stats will increase by X2 upon consumption.]
[An emergency quest has occurred.]
Sin Dae smiled in satisfaction at the message that appeared before his eyes.
***
*An emergency quest...*
It was surprising enough that the message appeared differently from when meat desired by Gluttony was nearby, but Sin Dae’s eyes grew wide at the words “emergency quest.”
*This is definitely something that only appears for S-grade Awakened...*
The very reason S-grade Awakened could grow stronger faster than others was the presence or absence of emergency quests.
According to one S-grade Awakened, it was known that clearing them gave substantial rewards.
“What kind of quest is it...”
At Sin Dae’s muttering, he checked the quest.
He frowned upon seeing the quest that appeared.
[Let’s defeat the Purple Teddies!]
[Hunt all the Purple Teddies alone!]
[Purple Teddies Remaining: 1/48]
[Reward: All stats increased by 5.]
[Reward 2: Stats obtained from the boss mob x3]
*J... jackpot...*
Unlike other S-grade Awakened, it didn’t give a lot of EXP or hero-grade equipment, but Sin Dae looked at the message with astonished eyes.
*Since it’s a 4-star boss, if I consume it, won’t I raise my stats by 52 at once?*
Sin Dae did a quick mental calculation.
Holding back a laugh that felt ready to burst out, he looked at Bak Sangok.
“Hyung, I’ll hunt all the monsters. Can you guard the bus?”
“Huh? Y-yes... you?”
Bak Sangok was surprised at the declaration that he would hunt alone.
As Sin Dae nodded to him, Bak Sangok found himself nodding back without realizing it.
*Maybe it’s possible...*
It was a reaction that would not have come if Sin Dae hadn’t easily caught a 4-star monster alone.
As Bak Sangok nodded, Sin Dae smirked and put strength into the hand gripping his long sword.
“Then I’ll be back. Please wait a moment!”
“Y-yes, don’t worry about here...”
Since he could deploy a barrier around the bus with his skills for a while, as Bak Sangok nodded, Sin Dae disappeared at high speed.
Watching such movements from Sin Dae, Bak Sangok couldn’t help but open his mouth in astonishment.
“That... that’s not F-grade... definitely not...”
***
*Monsters... where are you, Purple Teddies!*
Sin Dae was blinded by the rewards the quest gave.
He discovered three Purple Teddies gathered nearby and smirked.
*Wait... should I try using Tame once?*
Sin Dae was curious how the quest would react if he tamed them with Tame.
After quickly finishing off two of the three Purple Teddies charging at him, Sin Dae approached the remaining one that was hesitating.
To him, the last remaining Purple Teddy approached with its maw open, but Sin Dae didn’t feel much of a crisis.
*Shall I check my HP stat once?*
Sin Dae, who had been avoiding attacks with high agility until now. When he quietly let one arm be bitten by the bear’s maw, he frowned at the pain he felt in his arm.
“It’s more bearable than I thought... but this is a bit...”
Blood flowed since he had no armor whatsoever.
However, the Purple Teddy that had tried to bite off his arm was surprised that Sin Dae’s arm was intact, but only for a moment.
He raised his hand and used a skill on the Purple Teddy.
“Tame...”
[The monster is resisting the skill.]
“Oh, it’s resisting?”
Sin Dae smirked upon hearing that it was resisting.
He raised his right hand and looked at the hesitating Purple Teddy.
“Little bear, it hurts if you resist... It would be nice if you just relaxed...”
Sin Dae, who had already given it a name.
He began throwing his fist toward the Purple Teddy.
“Are you still resisting? No, no, just resist. Think of this as taming training.”
Sin Dae continued throwing punches with a smirk.
***
[You have successfully tamed the Purple Teddy.]
[You can check the Purple Teddy’s status.]
[The Purple Teddy holds you in awe.]
The Purple Teddy was bleeding from its face.
As the skill succeeded, Sin Dae smirked while looking at the Purple Teddy watching his cues.
“I’m not going to hit you, you rascal. Come here.”
At Sin Dae’s words, the Purple Teddy cautiously approached. Sin Dae let out a smirk as the skill had successfully taken effect.
*Plus, it seems taming it counts as hunting in the quest, too.*
Sin Dae naturally climbed atop the Purple Teddy.
He let out a smirk at how well things were going.
“Alright, little bear, shall we go find your friends?”
Along with Sin Dae’s words, the Purple Teddy began running across the grassland.
***
“Gayeon, you’re safe...”
Among the association staff outside the tunnel, I Seonho, who had been anxiously waiting for the other students, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing O Gayeon coming out as the Gate opened.
“It was 4-star grade, so there were no major issues. What about your side?”
“Us too...”
I Seonho had cleared it quickly and calmed the students because it was 4-star grade.
O Gayeon’s Bus No. 2 hadn’t been much different, but I Seonho was worried about the remaining Bus No. 3.
*I allocated personnel like a fool...*
I Seonho blamed himself, thinking he should have deployed an A-grade Awakened from the guild if he had known this would happen.
Seeing his expression, O Gayeon sighed.
“Oppa, it’s not your fault at all, so don’t be like that.”
“Thank you for saying that...”
“And don’t worry too much. There are three Awakened, after all... The grade might be 3-star, too...”
O Gayeon swallowed the unspoken afterword that if it were 4-star grade, it would be a total wipeout.
I Seonho, who had been thinking the same thing, couldn’t help but sigh.
*Please... please be safe...*
The fact that there had been no casualties yet despite three trap-type dungeons occurring was remarkable.
However, I Seonho couldn’t calm down easily due to the continuing anxiety.
“Huh?! The Gate is opening over there?”
At the association staff’s words, I Seonho hurriedly rose from his seat.
He saw a purple bear coming out and couldn’t help but make a despairing expression.
*Damn... Was it a failure after all?*
[Koooaaaaargh]
The purple bear’s booming roar.
The only case where monsters came out as the Gate opened was a raid failure!
I Seonho hurriedly moved to establish a defensive line with the other association staff.
However, he opened his eyes wide at the voice that soon rang out.
“Little bear... Didn’t hyung tell you not to be so loud?”
It was because he discovered Sin Dae riding on the purple bear’s back, stroking its head.
“Wh... how...?”
“Oh? Are you all already gathered here?”