Chapter 82 – Sacred Relic

“Aaargh!”

“S-save me!”

A massacre unfolded.

Blood sprayed and heads fell.

Min Do-jun stabbed those who pushed their comrades aside to flee.

‘Gust Blade.’

Wind blades shot out, cutting the necks of attendants trying to escape the temple.

“Not one escapes.”

Silence fell moments later.

It took less than 30 seconds to kill nearly twenty people.

Despite massacring civilians, he felt no guilt.

He had merely killed vermin that deserved death.

[Current Kill Count: 20/50]

[All stats increased by 20%]

[Time remaining: 59 minutes 59 seconds]

The messages that had appeared with each kill stopped after twenty deaths.

‘All stats really did increase by 20%.’

Looking at his status window, Min Do-jun had to acknowledge

how powerful Kim Peter’s Avatar of the Battlefield trait was.

‘If I increase stats by 50% with this and another 1.5x with Berserk…’

He could maximize strength and agility increases.

‘With this, I could beat Lee Se-yun.’

Having defeated Kim Peter who was over level 2,400, beating Lee Se-yun in the early 2,000s shouldn’t be difficult.

Min Do-jun looked around.

The space that should have been full of corpses contained only bloodstains, clothes, and belongings.

Since Life Recovery absorbed corpses, items remained behind.

Still, with evidence mostly gone, he wouldn’t need to worry about being blamed later.

Min Do-jun’s gaze turned to the sacred relic.

‘Now to open this.’

He changed his ghost sword to a hammer and raised it overhead.

Then he brought it down hard on the sacred relic.

*CRASH!*

The glass case that wouldn’t break even with a civilian’s full strength shattered in one blow.

Touching the square object felt pudding-like and squishy.

[Mana Core]

-Type: Collectible

-Grade: S

-Feature: Combination Item

-Description: A core containing condensed mana. Can create more powerful items when combined with legendary equipment.

As expected, it was a mana core.

Moreover, it matched the information he knew.

‘Can’t use it immediately since it’s crafting material but…’

As described, it could create powerful items when combined with legendary equipment.

‘First problem is getting legendary equipment.’

Legendary equipment referred to legendary swords, armor, helmets, etc.

These items, commonly called legendary sets, were rare enough to count on one hand even before regression.

After all, they barely dropped from S-rank bosses.

‘Both mana cores and legendary equipment are hard to get.’

Still, mana cores were harder to obtain between the two.

It was an item that could upgrade even powerful legendary equipment further.

‘Tens of billions? Hundreds of billions? That’s nothing. A mana core’s value can’t be measured in money.’

In some ways, it could be considered more precious than legendary equipment.

He understood why Kim Peter had treasured it like a family heirloom.

And why the Black Sea Guild targeted the sacred relic.

‘Keeping it out of inventory and displayed like this must have been to tempt believers as a sacred relic?’

Min Do-jun touched it and said “acquire,” bringing the mana core into his inventory.

‘Anyway, getting it is all that matters to me.’

He felt he’d made the right choice investigating the sacred relic.

Having achieved his goal, Min Do-jun moved on.

Now it was time to rescue the women.

He threw off the elder’s robe, leaving the bloody scene behind as he headed to the cave.

No need to startle the women, and no need to pretend to be Lord Heaven anymore.

When he arrived at the cave, no guards were visible.

‘I guess that’s natural since they were all called to gather?’

Min Do-jun raised his ghost sword.

*Clang*

The lock fell easily when struck.

Opening the door and entering the cave, the women in cells still looked at him with fearful eyes.

Their instinctive shrinking suggested they mistook him for someone coming to assault them.

‘How much did they suffer…’

Rage welled up anew.

‘Crazy b*st*rds.’

After cursing the already dead men again, Min Do-jun simply tore off the cell latches.

*Clang clang clang*

He went around breaking open every door he saw.

Though the cells creaked open, no one tried to come out.

They only watched cautiously, unsure of the situation.

Min Do-jun didn’t bother telling them to come out.

They probably wouldn’t come even if he did.

He silently opened cells until reaching the last one.

“H-Hunter!”

Gwak Seon-yeong and Kim Ye-seul brightened and clung to the bars.

They looked quite gaunt after their brief separation.

They must have worried greatly about whether he’d come.

“Step back a moment.”

After easily opening the door, they came out with moved expressions.

“Do you know how to drive?”

Both women nodded at his sudden question.

“Yes, I can.”

“Me too.”

“Then I’ll leave everyone here to you two – please take responsibility for getting them to a hospital. They’ll need both physical and mental examinations.”

“…Aren’t you coming with us, Hunter?”

“My job is done, so we part ways here.”

“…”

“There are plenty of vans outside, take any of them. The keys are inside. Can you manage?”

“Yes, but…”

“What if we run into someone else…”

Min Do-jun smiled slightly as if saying not to worry.

“That won’t happen. There’s no one left except the people here.”

“…!”

The women understood what that meant.

“It’s safe now, so don’t worry.”

“Ah… thank you.”

“How can we ever repay this debt…”

“No need to repay, but if you insist, would you grant one more request?”

“Yes! Anything!”

Min Do-jun spoke in a quiet voice.

“Only you two know I can change my face. I’d prefer this information not spread if possible. So…”

“You want us not to tell anyone?”

Min Do-jun nodded at their words.

“I’d appreciate that.”

“We won’t.”

“We’ll take the secret to our graves.”

“Then I’ll trust you.”

Leaving only those words, Min Do-jun left the cave.

Leaving behind the two women’s regretful expressions at parting.

* * *

It was only a matter of time before the incident at the religious order became public.

[Breaking: Twenty Women Kidnapped and Imprisoned by Cult]

[Longest Imprisonment Period: 6 Months]

[All Victims Sexually Assaulted in Prison]

[Cult Named Great Heaven Truth Society. All Kidnapped Women Were Missing Persons]

Articles poured out one after another.

Touching one revealed detailed contents.

[A cult called the Great Heaven Truth Society in Jecheon, Chungbuk Province was found to have kidnapped and imprisoned women.

The imprisoned women were all around age twenty, reportedly lured in by promises of increasing hunter awakening probability.

The main culprit, cult leader Kim Peter, an A-rank hunter over level 2,400, allegedly forced sexual acts claiming women could become hunters by continuously receiving his spiritual energy, and imprisoned those who refused in a nearby cave prison after assault.

The kidnapped women reportedly lived on one meal a day in prison and were sexually assaulted by both the leader and male attendants, staying from minimum two weeks to maximum six months.

Their heinous crimes were revealed by a hunter – someone of unknown identity who fought the leader, rescued them, and vanished.

As evidence, bloodstains presumed to be from believers remained inside the building, and the leader’s bloodstains were found underground.

Meanwhile, police authorities state that although he rescued the women, murder cannot be tolerated as a criminal act, and are tracking suspects in cooperation with the Hunter Association…]

Like the flood of articles, the comment reactions were explosive.

└Wow, seriously insane. How could they kidnap twenty people…

└Things that should only happen in movies happening in real life…

└There’s a reason they’re called a cult.

└(Comment deleted by author)

└Above commenter crazy? Can you function in society?

└What’s with that comment above? Are you insane?

└How can anyone think like that?

└That b*st*rd wouldn’t talk like that if they were the victim.

└The world’s gone mad.

└But whoever that hunter is who saved them is a real hero.

└Must be at least A-rank to kill someone level 2,400.

└Look at the class of Korean police and Hunter Association trying to arrest such a hero.

└Should be giving medals, not wasting time like this. Tsk tsk

*Thud*

As if tired of reading, the middle-aged man put down the tablet and looked at his subordinate.

*Flinch*

The subordinate trembled slightly at the fiercer than ever gaze.

“So. You can’t contact the order?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Did you check the scene?”

“Yes. As reported, no bodies anywhere, just bloodstains…”

“Never mind that, what about the sacred relic?”

“Judging by the shattered display case, it seems…”

*BANG!*

The desk split in half from one punch.

The middle-aged man breathed heavily with a reddened face.

“Just who the hell is it?”

The Black Sea Guild had a cooperative relationship with the Great Heaven Truth Society.

A mutually beneficial relationship trading necessary drugs and people.

But they only pretended to be allies to seize the sacred relic, no other reason.

Then one day the leader dies and the sacred relic disappears.

It was incredulous for the Black Sea Guild who had been waiting for an opportunity.

It was obvious who took it.

“Whoever it is, the one who saved the women must have killed the leader and taken the sacred relic.”

Anyone who could kill Kim Peter, an A-rank hunter, must be formidable.

‘They might even be after the Association’s item.’

The middle-aged man made a decision, sensing crisis.

“We execute the operation now.”

“What? Already?”

“This person knows about the sacred relic. High chance they’ll try to take the Association’s item too.”

They lost the sacred relic but couldn’t lose the Association’s item.

“What are you doing? Quickly contact the Association spy. We have no time to waste.”

“T-then when should I tell them to execute the operation?”

The middle-aged man glared fiercely as if asking why that needed saying.

“Right now.”