Chapter 23 – Tomb (7)

A window appeared before everyone’s eyes.

“Don’t tell me I’m going to waste all my points buying internal injury medicine and external injury medicine again?”

Hwangbo Ja-gyeom grumbled as he took out pills from thin air.

Nan-seol closed her window as if she had no intention of buying anything, and Wang Mun-pung paid no attention to the window before his eyes, restlessly wanting to leave this place.

Sun-woo also checked his window.

[Congratulations. Your grade has increased.]

[Point items have been added.]

[Min Sun-woo: 4 Star. Achievement Rate 11%]

His grade had increased. The hard work of catching contaminated creatures, contamination sources, and even the contaminated Tang Clan warrior had paid off.

[Additional Inventory 500p]

[Additional Skill Slot 700p]

[Additional Basic Recovery Potion 100p]

[Additional Basic Water 1p]

[Additional Basic Hard Bread 2p]

[Item Enhancement Stone 100p]

[Item Transformation Stone 900p] – New

[100,000 won per point]

[Types increase as character level rises.]

[Current Points: 840p]

With the grade increase, his points had jumped dramatically.

The mission completion points weren’t much, but thanks to kill points – Sun-woo decided to call the points received from killing contamination sources and contaminated beings “kill points” – he had earned substantial points.

Sun-woo was delighted by the dramatically increased points but tilted his head at the newly appeared button.

He couldn’t understand the meaning of [Item Transformation Stone]. He pressed the text on the screen.

[Item Transformation Stone: You can transform weapons, equipment, and various objects into items to put in inventory or use as weapons.] – Place the transformation stone on the object you wish to transform into an item.

In the end, the transformation stone was an item that could change ordinary objects into weapons like those used by summoners.

“It’s too expensive.”

900 points. It was more expensive than skill slots, which had been the most expensive so far. Though many points had come in, unfortunately it was difficult to even try using it with the points he currently had.

“Wait, could it be?”

Sun-woo hurriedly checked his phone’s inventory.

It was there. With his sword removed, a green glowing gem icon was sparkling in the empty inventory slot.

“Another sample item?”

Like with the enhancement stones, it seemed they had given him one for trial purposes.

“I’m grateful this time. Now what would be worth trying?”

Sun-woo’s eyes turned to Wang Mun-pung. In Wang Mun-pung’s clothing, who was looking toward the entrance with worried eyes, were famous swords and renowned equipment.

But there was something he wanted to check more than those items. Sun-woo once again approached the stone coffin where the contamination source had been.

Inside the stone coffin, the bone powder and old clothing had all blown away when the contamination source martial arts manual was destroyed, leaving only one old sword.

“It doesn’t seem to be an ordinary sword after all.”

Sun-woo sheathed the blade he was holding at his waist and picked up the sword. The dusty, cobweb-covered sword had both the scabbard and handle in black, simple with no patterns.

Swoosh.

But the blade Sun-woo drew from the scabbard emitted a subtle light through the flickering flames.

“It’s a famous sword?”

Nan-seol, who had followed Sun-woo, looked at the sword with curiosity.

“It must be disappointing. Not being able to take it with you. It’s a much better sword than the blade you’re using now. Since you learned swordsmanship, using a sword would be better…”

Nan-seol didn’t seem to have any desire for the sword. When Sun-woo looked at her sword with a puzzled expression, Nan-seol smiled gently.

“My previous sword broke, so I’m using this as a new weapon. It’s an ordinary iron sword, but it’s a good sword refined by Mount Hua’s craftsmen.”

‘Does this mean masters don’t choose their swords?’

She was someone who had reached the peak level through her own strength without buying medicine to increase internal energy with points or weapons.

Sun-woo thought her appearance was very impressive, but he had no intention of following her example. He had his own methods.

Sun-woo took out the green gem from his inventory and brought it to the black sword.

[Would you like to transform it into an item?]

A voice was heard, and he naturally agreed.

When he agreed, the green gem was absorbed into the sword like melting ice, and the sword that had been covered in subtle green returned to its ordinary appearance.

Sun-woo put the sword he was holding into his phone’s inventory.

[War Wheel Divine Sword] – One of the ten great treasures of the Divine Cult.

Sun-woo’s eyes widened. It seemed like lottery tickets had hit consecutively.

“Could it be possible to put items that summoners don’t use into that box too?”

“A new item appeared when my grade increased this time. It’s extremely expensive.”

Sun-woo continued speaking to Nan-seol, who was looking at him with a surprised expression.

“And please keep what I took secret.”

Nan-seol chuckled softly seeing Sun-woo glance toward Wang Mun-pung.

“Yes, I’ll keep it secret.”

***

“Everyone hurry!”

The Qingcheng elder shouted once more to the group following behind.

The group consisting of disciples from Qingcheng and Tang Clan had immediately chased Tang Sa-hae into the cave’s interior when the venomous snakes had suddenly all died.

During the fighting, several had died from snake bites and most warriors showed clear signs of exhaustion, but they all did their best to follow the elder.

Shortly after, they were able to reach the large stone chamber.

“Young Master!”

With a scream-mixed voice, the Tang Clan warriors rushed toward Tang Sa-hae collapsed in the center.

“Check the surroundings!”

Seeing this, the Qingcheng elder shouted to his disciples, and the Qingcheng disciples began searching all around the stone chamber.

And they soon saw the dead Demon Cult master and several Blood Cult members, and finally the giant python cut to pieces.

“The Demon Cult guys are all dead.”

The other Demon Cult masters had ultimately died from snake poison due to insufficient internal energy after the Grand Master left for below.

“What exactly happened here?”

The elder could only shake his head seeing the corpses. That’s when it happened.

“The door is open here!”

A disciple who had checked the inner door shouted to the elder. At those words, the elder flew toward the door.

“Is this the secret vault of the Demon-Defeating Demon Cult?”

Greed flashed through the elder’s eyes as he passed through the door.

But he was soon disappointed.

Inside the door, he could see a luxurious-looking stone coffin and skeletons wearing antique clothing, but the stone coffin stood empty, and the skeletons held nothing.

“Don’t tell me the Blood Cult guys took everything and escaped?”

The Blood Cult members had also gone down following the two people ahead, but only a few were dead in the outer stone chamber. Many Blood Cult members were nowhere to be seen.

“There were several forks in the road coming down… Could we have missed each other?”

He rushed out of the door like the wind and shouted to his disciples.

“The Blood Cult guys took the treasure and fled. Chase them immediately!”

“Could this be the Blood Cult’s doing?”

At the elder’s shouting words, an elderly Tang Clan warrior asked in a dark voice.

“It seems so. All the treasures inside appear to have been stolen, and the Blood Cult guys were nowhere to be seen.”

At his words, the Tang Clan people surrounding Tang Sa-hae’s corpse drew their swords with bloodshot eyes. The Tang Clan’s characteristic revenge had begun.

The pursuit by Tang Clan and Qingcheng immediately began. The group, except for a few personnel to collect Tang Sa-hae’s corpse and investigate the stone chamber further, rushed like the wind into the cave chasing the Blood Cult members.

***

At the same time, Wang Mun-pung and Hwangbo Ja-gyeom were carefully climbing back up the secret passage they had come down.

“Really, he’s no ordinary person. To think of instantly erasing our traces and framing the Blood Cult guys. If he were a martial artist, he’d become a tremendous hero-villain.”

Wang Mun-pung, walking with various weapons clutched to his chest, shook his head thinking of Sun-woo.

“A hero-villain? Maybe a hero. He seemed diligent in fighting and didn’t appear greedy. Can’t you tell from how he didn’t care about the weapons you’re carrying? It seems like your characteristic twisted nature is showing.”

Hwangbo Ja-gyeom was following behind him with a tired expression. But his eloquence still didn’t fall short of Wang Mun-pung’s.

“Ugh, that’s because he can’t take them with him. Tsk, maybe my eye for people has really declined like you said. He looks cunning but acts differently. Whatever, I don’t know. He’s from another world anyway.”

“But could what he said earlier be true? Medicine that contaminates ordinary people to a degree that won’t be caught by those above…”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ll have to go to the alliance and show it to others. Then someone who knows might appear. Or since that guy took one, they might confirm it in his world, or those above might say something.”

At Wang Mun-pung’s words, Hwangbo Ja-gyeom nodded.

“Then it really worked out well. If rumors spread that the Blood Cult took the treasures from this place, we can officially continue chasing them, and they’ll be isolated from both the alliance and Demon Cult.”

“Ugh, that’s why I said he’s amazing. Thanks to that guy, things became incredibly easy.”

“Anyway, what you’re carrying now needs to be returned to the alliance.”

“What are you talking about! If we expose it unnecessarily, they might find out we framed the Blood Cult guys!”

“You’re just trying to keep it all for yourself. I’m going to report everything anyway.”

“Hey you! This is income after several years! You’re destroying this old man’s one and only pleasure!”

“Anyway, no!”

The two continued bickering as their figures disappeared far into the secret passage.

***

A forest burning on all sides,

And people running around screaming and people collapsed bleeding,

The flames were sweeping not only the forest but also the campground inside the forest. There was nowhere to hide.

Sun-woo, who had been staring blankly at this scene, realized what the current situation was.

‘It’s a dream.’

Sun-woo gave a bitter smile even in his dream. The dream he was having now was one he had dreamed for a long time and was also his memory.

Ten years ago from now, it was the last family trip and the very last moment of the trip when he became an orphan.

At dawn on the last day of a happy trip, flames that started in the mountain swept over the campground where he and his family were, and eventually everyone at the campground was swept away by the flames and died.

Except for him.

Sun-woo watched the dream with a bitter expression. At first, he would wake up screaming and even developed neurosis from fear of dreaming it again, but now he could calmly watch knowing it was a dream.

And among the people collapsed on the ground, his family’s figures flashed by. His parents, older brother, and younger sister.

‘It should end soon now. I haven’t had this dream once since being summoned, so why am I dreaming it again?’

Though Sun-woo’s chest sank heavily at the sight of his dead family, he could still view the dream objectively enough to think of other questions.

‘Now the fire will rise to the sky’s edge, fire truck sounds will be heard from afar, it’ll turn black and then… end. Huh?’

Sun-woo, who had been watching the dream, was bewildered that the dream didn’t end even after turning black.

And he saw a man approaching him through the darkness.

A rough-looking man in ordinary clothes was walking toward Sun-woo step by step, holding an antique sword.

His mouth wore a bizarre smile, and blood was dripping from the sword.

Finally, the eyes looking at Sun-woo were completely red.

Ring ring ring.

“What a lousy dream.”

Sun-woo, who woke up to the alarm sound, sighed while lying in bed and holding up the black sword.

Morning light was pouring in through the window.