113 – Man in Golden – 3

Tsukumogami were Japanese yokai.

They were monsters that came to life when a soul dwelt in an old object; although there were dokkaebi born from objects among Korean dokkaebi as well, they were distinctly different if one dug deeper.

To discuss the differences simply, while Korean dokkaebi were merely born from an object and were not bound to or fixed in the form of that object, Japanese tsukumogami did not stray far from the shape or characteristics of the object that served as their origin.

“So this guy is a tsukumogami.”

Gi-jun shrugged, looking down at the monster that had originated from a giant potion bottle… whose body was already shattered beyond any hope of recovery.

“Indeed. It seems to have been a powerful one among them. I suspect a bottle containing a lethal poison was left abandoned for ages before turning into a tsukumogami.”

Squatting in front of the dying monster, Lectus explained as he transferred the black liquid flowing from its body into a specially treated bottle.

“Naturally born monsters like this are a big problem in Leta as well. In addition to being difficult to deal with because of their great power, there is another problem…”

“Although they often look similar to monsters, strictly speaking, they belong to neither the Light nor the Dark faction.”

Fatum, who was conducting an investigation from behind, suddenly chimed in.

As expected of a Hero representing the Light faction, Fatum’s criteria for distinguishing friend from foe was truly firm.

“Therefore, as long as they do not show hostility toward the Light faction, we cannot take the initiative to eliminate them. At the same time, it is difficult to accept them within the boundaries of society.”

“That is why similar creatures often gather to create their own territories outside the areas occupied by humanity and live there.”

And the tsukumogami they had faced this time was, unfortunately, a case of one that failed to belong to such a group.

Wandering with nowhere to set foot, it had unfortunately fallen into the hands of a black magician, lost its reason, became corrupted, and ran wild.

Ultimately, it had reached the point of turning a small city in Gratia completely into a land of death.

Gi-jun said as he looked at the residue of the poison that was sizzling and melting the ground under his feet in real-time.

“I definitely realized through this battle that tsukumogami are strong.”

“Indeed. To have the ability to instantaneously spray a massive amount of lethal poison that even works on superhuman beings. If this guy had run wild in the middle of a large city… I don’t even want to imagine it.”

Indeed, the ability of the tsukumogami that originated from the potion bottle was none other than lethal poison.

If they fought head-on, the dryad they had faced at the very beginning, which had merged an entire forest… no, had been made into a giant wood golem, would have been overwhelming.

However, because the tsukumogami’s ability to spray a massive amount of poison mist and turn the area into a swamp of death was horrifyingly efficient at dealing with many weaklings, the scale of damage was overwhelmingly larger here.

―Though its compatibility with our contractor was the worst, of course.

However, the battle with it ended rather one-sidedly.

While Fatum and Lectus hesitated due to the creature’s excessively dangerous poison,

Gi-jun, who easily ignored lethal poison contaminated with black magic thanks to Unfailing Body Clock, Adamant, and other abilities, had charged forward with both shields and cleanly crushed it to death.

“If not for you, I would have been in danger as well. Just how high is your poison resistance?”

“Well, I trained my resistance skills harshly. Because blocking is my job.”

“I see… So you are different starting from those aspects.”

Lectus, who had finished collecting samples, asked while shaking his head, but Gi-jun, who could not reveal his unique skills, simply gave a vague answer.

Seeing Lectus accept his answer and look depressed again made him feel a bit sorry.

“Frank… en…”

It was at that moment that the mouth of the dying tsukumogami opened.

Gi-jun and Lectus immediately stopped all movements, and Fatum, who had been searching through the area that had turned into a swamp of poison for other clues, also widened his eyes and returned to them.

“I think it just spoke!”

“Shh.”

Gi-jun quieted Viv and quietly looked down at the tsukumogami.

With half of its body shattered and the other half melting from its own poison, the creature was already on the verge of death—yet, strangely, it was sending a gaze filled with a certain determination straight toward Gi-jun.

In fact, it had to be that way.

This was because an evil spirit was currently possessing it.

He did not know when it had recovered its power to this extent since it did not seem to have such an ability in the past, but for Gi-jun, who wanted to accelerate the quest’s progress without Fatum and Lectus noticing, it was exactly what he could have hoped for.

―Do you really have to go this far, contractor? This is a complete trick.

‘Don’t you know, Lucy? A trick isn’t a trick if you don’t get caught.’

Gi-jun retorted like a legendary gambler to Lucy, who was throwing cold water on him, and immediately entered method acting mode.

The entity before his eyes right now was a victim of fate who had lived its life like duckweed without any support, only to fall into the hands of an evil black magician and die miserably after committing an unwanted massacre…!

“Do you have something you want to say? If it is your last words, I will listen.”

The tsukumogami—or rather, the evil spirit—who was facing him, seemed moved by his infinitely serious attitude and spoke as if giving a clue to the party at its final moment.

“Franken… stein. Frankenstein Junior… He… made me… like this…!”

The evil spirit put on a realistic, hate-filled expression, even making a grinding sound with its teeth.

As expected of someone who had spent half their life in Leta clinging to revenge, the evil spirit’s method acting was also no joke.

“Frankenstein Junior? I have heard of Frankenstein before.”

Fatum took the bait immediately!

Lectus also frowned and added.

“Frankenstein… Are you talking about the black magician of the Dark faction who caused a terrible war on the continent of Leta just twenty years ago? He laid hands on taboos, claiming he would revive his entire clan, who had all died except for himself, through his own power.”

“Naturally, he failed and created a horrible monster, right?”

“How did you know? I thought you said you had only recently entered Leta.”

He could not exactly tell them that he had read it in a book written by Mary Shelley on Earth.

“That is not what is important right now. So what happened to that man named Frankenstein?”

“Of course, he died. But what if the creatures he created… even some of them survived?”

“They might be involved in this incident. In a sense, the creatures could be considered Frankenstein’s children, so it wouldn’t be strange for one of them to call himself Frankenstein Junior.”

Perhaps because they were related, the coordination between the two was perfectly in sync.

It was perfect.

Now, if only the evil spirit properly mixed the memories obtained from the dryads, naiads, and tsukumogami it had consumed so far and passed them to the party members, the progress of the quest would accelerate significantly!

When Gi-jun gave a signal, the evil spirit resumed its acting as if it had been waiting.

“Frankenstein… Junior… He said… he was researching… a way to disguise his identity… a way to mimic the Summoned… He also called me… a failure.”

“What!”

Although it was slightly bothering him that the message was delivered very clearly for someone on the brink of death, the content was so shocking that Fatum and Lectus had no time to sense any awkwardness from the evil spirit.

In fact, Gi-jun was also quite surprised since it was his first time hearing this—but upon hearing those words, something naturally came to mind.

“Could it be that the vampires are also related to this case? Maybe they were conducting research for vampires to blend more naturally into human society.”

“Those vampire bastards were lurking in Gratia for a very long time, hiding their identities. If not for you, it was an incident that could have severely shaken the country inside and out. You are definitely right. The vampires—Kudlak might have been sponsoring Frankenstein Junior.”

“Mimicking the Summoned… if that actually happens, nothing could be more horrific. The balance of the continent, which was already precarious, would tilt heavily…”

Indeed, considering they were active in the same Gratia, the probability of those belonging to the Dark faction being connected could be considered high.

Even so, as what was meant to be a simple quest before beginning the operation to infiltrate the Vampire Kingdom ended up connecting to a Grand Quest once again, Gi-jun felt some grand flow of fate.

“Do you know his location?”

At Gi-jun’s question, the evil spirit slowly nodded its head.

“He took… a part of me, the poison… I will tell you the location… so please, you must kill him.”

“Of course. But not because you asked me to. I am only going to kill him because he is someone who must be killed.”

“Still, thank you…!”

After finishing those words, the evil spirit secretly slipped out of the tsukumogami’s body and returned to Gi-jun.

When the performance of the two, which was perfect from beginning to end, concluded, the body of the tsukumogami, having lost all of its sustaining power, completely collapsed, leaving only a dying message written in poison behind.

The moment the group bowed their heads in unison to check it,

a message appeared before Gi-jun’s eyes for the first time in a while.

―Hidden Quest Accomplished! You have succeeded in catching the tail of the black magician who was active in secret in Gratia and conducting evil research with the support of Kudlak. Although finding the clue alone is sufficient, if you can locate and eliminate him, the rewards for the upcoming Grand Quest will be significantly amplified!

―You have made a decisive contribution in a way no one could have imagined in a quest with the Hero. A very positive modifier is added to [One Who Lifts the Veil (U)]!

―Your level has increased by 3, reaching 73! Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 2, Endurance (U) by 3, Light Mana (L) by 1, and Spiritual Power (L) by 1!

―As a quest reward, your lowest stat, [Endurance (U)], has increased by 3, and your next lowest stat, [Strength (U)], has increased by 2. Additionally, Charm (L) has increased by 2!

―Hidden Quest Accomplished! You have succeeded in catching the tail of the black magician who was active in secret in Gratia and conducting evil research with the support of Kudlak. Although finding the clue alone is sufficient, if you can locate and eliminate him, the rewards for the upcoming Grand Quest will be significantly amplified!

―You have made a decisive contribution in a way no one could have imagined in a quest with the Hero. A very positive modifier is added to [One Who Lifts the Veil (U)]!

―Your level has increased by 3, reaching 73! Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 2, Endurance (U) by 3, Light Mana (L) by 1, and Spiritual Power (L) by 1!

―As a quest reward, your lowest stat, [Endurance (U)], has increased by 3, and your next lowest stat, [Strength (U)], has increased by 2. Additionally, Charm (L) has increased by 2!

He had not even found and killed the guy named Frankenstein Junior yet, so he had not expected that an interim reward would come in.

Gi-jun was briefly taken aback by this first-time phenomenon, but he quickly regained his composure and fell into deep thought.

Why was that?

It would be simple to sum it up by saying it was because of a linked quest, but there had to be more meaning to it.

―Could it be an incident big enough to warrant splitting the quest rewards? In other words, it means that guy named Frankenstein Junior is extremely dangerous!

―Fufu…

Lucy summarized it clearly as always.

Surprisingly, the evil spirit, who had returned after finishing its passionate performance, also agreed with her words.

―The spirit is right. That person in my memories… not only is his own strength incredible, but he also commands many subordinates. We might need to reorganize.

‘Reorganization, huh.’

Gi-jun groaned as he checked the dying message.

Actually, he could have just heard the story directly from the evil spirit, but for now, he needed to pretend to check it with the other two.

“It seems to explain how far away and in which direction it is from here… Do you know where this is?”

“I know.”

As if to prove he was not the Crown Prince of this country for nothing, Lectus nodded immediately.

“It is near Animo (ánĭmo), one of the top three large cities in Gratia. If that guy were to make other tsukumogami or dryads run wild there…”

Fatum held back Lectus, who stood up abruptly with a look of urgency.

“He must have stayed in Animo for quite a while already. Rushing now won’t change anything, so it is better to prepare perfectly and strike quickly.”

“Ugh…”

“The three of us might not be enough. Wouldn’t it be better to recruit more people?”

At Gi-jun’s words, Fatum quietly raised his head and stared at him, then finally nodded.

“Leading a group well is not something only High Orcs must do. I will be able to confirm another of your qualities.”

“Wait, then by any chance, do you mean that person?”

Lectus, who only a moment ago had a look of dread at the danger looming over Animo, turned to Gi-jun with an expression suddenly filled with anticipation.

Gi-jun, who had a feeling he knew who Lectus’s ‘that person’ was, scoffed and decided to thoroughly shatter his dream.

“I am going to call my party. The party with the wolf beast-kin who has very cute triangular ears.”

“No, not that… Hm, is it a woman?”

“It is a man.”

“…”

Lectus silently fell to his knees.

Seeing Fatum send a pathetic look toward Lectus made Gi-jun feel as if the indigestion he had suffered from three years ago was completely cleared up.

Having finished the punishment, albeit indirectly, Gi-jun turned his gaze to Viv and requested.

“Viv, can you bring my party members to Animo? I don’t know if Ji-hye has finished her rank advancement.”

“Even if she hasn’t raised her rank yet, wouldn’t she be able to do so while performing this quest? I will be right back!”

Viv, who did not want to stay in the same place as Lectus anymore, immediately vanished from the spot.

The remaining members of the group, sharing no conversation, silently mounted the griffin and the wyvern, beginning their journey toward Animo in a rather uncomfortable silence.

* * *

The dungeon boss was indeed quite powerful, just as Bella had warned in advance.

But to Ye-min, who was plagued by the sense of crisis that she might be left behind by Gi-jun, it was not that scary.

“Haaap!”

―Kyaooook!

The moment after Ye-min made a hole in the neck of the dungeon boss, who was at the mid-Unique rank, after a desperate battle lasting dozens of minutes,

“Wooohhhhh…!”

the long-awaited change occurred in Mok-su.

It was an advancement to the Rare-grade race, Barbarian.

“Argh, this hurts quite a bit…”

“Uncle!”

Just as Mok-su’s already bulky muscles seemed to swell even further,

with a chilling cracking and snapping sound from within, his bones broke and regenerated, transforming to become much thicker and sturdier.

However, there was something even more amazing than the outward changes: blood containing a much larger amount of mana circulated rapidly throughout his body, evolving all of his internal organs, starting with the heart, to be much stronger.

In the case of Ye-min and Eun-shin, the visible changes when they advanced were not that significant, but Mok-su was literally surpassing the limits of humanity as he became a complete Barbarian.

“Fuuu, haaa…”

Mok-su, who completed his advancement not long after, caught his breath and smirked as he checked his skin, which had become much rougher and tougher.

“It is absolutely overflowing with wild beauty.”

“You look so cool, Uncle! You are like a manga protagonist!”

“I think that would only apply to a very specific genre, though.”

Mok-su, who was striking all sorts of strange poses as if to show off his nicely swollen muscles even without entering combat mode, suddenly smiled somewhat bitterly and shrugged his shoulders.

“If it is like this, no one will recognize me even if I return to Earth.”

“But you still look cool, Uncle. For me, people don’t recognize me even if I just stand still.”

“Isn’t that just because they can’t detect you in the first place?”

“Now.”

Ye-min, who did not care whether Eun-shin was thrilled or in awe of Mok-su, clapped her hands to draw their attention.

“We have only just stood at the starting line. We need to become much stronger than we are now if we want to return to Earth!”

“You are just trying to stand by Jun’s side, aren’t you?”

“From now on, we are doing dungeon runs! There is no time to rest!”

Ye-min grit her teeth and ignored Mok-su’s words.

Eun-shin shrugged his shoulders and followed behind Ye-min.

Mok-su also smirked and followed after them.

He felt somewhat bitter that the talk of returning to Earth was brushed off like a light joke, but of course, there was no way he would show it.