Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 68

68. Overlord (3)

Hyun-woo looked at Lee Ji-tae. Depending on how one interpreted it, it could be seen as a challenge.

However, Lee Ji-tae didn’t avoid his gaze, meeting Hyun-woo’s eyes with a relaxed expression. Perhaps it was the confidence that came from being privileged since birth.

“I could ask you the same question, you know.”

Lee Ji-tae’s pupils widened momentarily before returning to their normal size.

“Ah, I see. You seem to have misunderstood me. I was wondering if Kang Hyun-woo might be a higher rank than 5-star.”

It was a pointed remark, but Hyun-woo wasn’t flustered. He had fully expected something like this might happen from the moment Lee Ji-tae called him.

Judging by his own level, Lee Ji-tae was at least a 5-star, so he would definitely notice the difference in presence.

“Kang Hyun-woo… you just have a different aura from the other 5-star ability users I’ve seen.”

Lee Ji-tae clearly emphasized ‘other 5-stars,’ acknowledging the existence of 5-star ability users and revealing that he had already met them.

“Of course, I’m not saying Kang Hyun-woo is inferior to them. But you’re different. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It’s just that I sense an aura of transcendence. Maybe a 6-star? A 7-star? Perhaps you’ve reached that level. You’ve definitely surpassed the level of ordinary humans.”

“I’m not that strong, though.”

“Haha, Kang Hyun-woo, you’re strong enough. But I’m not talking about strength. This might sound a bit random, but have you heard of Arthur Clarke’s novel, ‘Childhood’s End’?”

He didn’t know it well. But he thought he had seen it on Yoo-min’s bookshelf.

Lee Ji-tae continued, as if Hyun-woo’s answer wasn’t important.

“It features a race called the Overlords. They possess overwhelming science and civilization, and people see them as demons and fear them. But in the end, with their help, the entire human race reaches a new level. It’s a metaphor for the process of transcending humanity and becoming something new, likened to the end of ‘childhood.’ It might be a common story now, but when I first read it, I thought it was amazing.”

“…I see.”

“But in the story, the Overlords still maintain their own racial identity even until the moment humanity transcends. They have already guided countless races through the end of their ‘childhood,’ turning them into transcendent beings, but they themselves have not ended their own childhood, despite having such great technology and abilities.”

“…”

“Seeing that made me think that pioneers and those who are awakened might be separate. Just like there were countless teachers who taught Buddha before his Nirvana [Enlightenment].”

Lee Ji-tae paused there for a moment. Hyun-woo wanted to know what Lee Ji-tae was trying to say.

Was he just talking about a novel? Or was it a metaphor for something? Should he just tell him to get to the point and see if he would speak honestly?

Then, Lee Ji-tae, who had been smiling gently, suddenly leaned towards Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo flinched as Lee Ji-tae’s face came closer.

But Lee Ji-tae grabbed Hyun-woo’s shoulder to keep him from moving.

He whispered in Hyun-woo’s ear.

“The moment I saw you, I smelled the scent of evil and fearful beings, Kang Hyun-woo.”

Hyun-woo didn’t answer and just looked at Lee Ji-tae.

“You have the distinct arrogance of those who can predict the future.”

Hyun-woo recalled Difficulty: Hell and flinched, barely managing to keep it off his face. Could Lee Ji-tae also know about Difficulty: Hell?

“You smell like someone of my kind. Because I can also predict the future to some extent.”

When Hyun-woo didn’t answer, Lee Ji-tae smiled and tilted his champagne glass.

“The Guillotine Dungeon Flood is just the beginning. Scholars have been predicting that the overall difficulty of dungeons will increase. Soon, there will be a rapid change. A future that no one has predicted.”

Hyun-woo couldn’t tell if Lee Ji-tae really knew the future, or if he was just good at predicting it.

If he also knew about the future of Difficulty: Hell, he had to be seriously wary.

“But… I think I can communicate with you, Kang Hyun-woo.”

Lee Ji-tae leaned in and quietly stared at Hyun-woo.

“I think we can cooperate. As comrades who stand back-to-back in an era of crisis.”

“…Me?”

“Of course. I don’t know how deeply rooted the evil you hide beneath that human face is…”

Lee Ji-tae slowly stroked Hyun-woo’s face.

“Since you have that evil anyway, why don’t you use it for something better… for me?”

Lee Ji-tae’s eyes were shining.

He was speaking sincerely.

He seemed confident that Hyun-woo would take his hand and willingly join him.

Looking at that face, Hyun-woo felt only one emotion.

“Lee Ji-tae.”

“Yes, Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Do you, by any chance, shout out skill names or magic spells when you use your skills?”

Lee Ji-tae’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“It’s okay. According to my acquaintance, it’s common for ability users to go through ‘that phase’ again after awakening.”

Lee Ji-tae was still smiling softly as he stared at Hyun-woo.

Hyun-woo couldn’t tell if he was agitated or just annoyed, but he didn’t stop provoking him.

“Ah, well, there’s a strong trend among hunters to believe in jinxes or superstitions, so I think skill names are fine. My acquaintance trashed it all as groundless, but still, there’s such a thing as a person’s mood. Some say that shouting those things increases morale.”

Was he going to hit him? Hyun-woo would rather he did. Then he could naturally get away from Lee Ji-tae.

Unfortunately, however, Lee Ji-tae regained his composure in an instant.

“I haven’t done that since I was twenty.”

It seemed he just touched on a bad memory and it ended there.

It was surprising enough that he did it until he was nineteen, though.

Lee Ji-tae seemed to have judged Hyun-woo’s words as a complete rejection, or that he didn’t understand.

Or maybe he felt Hyun-woo was insignificant and lost interest.

He left, saying he had to go down and handle things in the banquet hall.

Hyun-woo was unknowingly left alone on the terrace, but as soon as Lee Ji-tae left, an old man who seemed to be a manager approached and guided him to the exit.

Hyun-woo recalled what Lee Ji-tae had said as he went down.

Childhood’s End? Pioneer and Awakener?

What was he trying to say? Was he just trying to have a chat about SF novels?

Maybe. But for some reason, Hyun-woo kept thinking about Lee Ji-tae’s words.

The future Hyun-woo had stepped into.

The scenery of Difficulty: Hell kept coming to mind.

Hyun-woo let out a long sigh. And he reverse-summoned the familiars he had scattered in the penthouse.

If Lee Ji-tae had subdued him and released him just a little later, the mosquito swarm full of poison would have started attacking.

If he released the Hungry One and used Domination, he could have held Lee Ji-tae for a very short time.

But Hyun-woo doubted that he could have subdued Lee Ji-tae even if he did that.

Lee Ji-tae showed an insurmountable wall to the point where his preparations felt useless.

He wondered if he was too harsh in rejecting Lee Ji-tae’s offer at the end, but he thought it was mostly Lee Ji-tae’s fault.

‘If you’re so overwhelmingly confident in your success, of course I’d want to sabotage you no matter what.’

Hyun-woo had just made a typically twisted, trash-like judgment. It was Lee Ji-tae’s fault for making such a colorless and naive proposal to him.

‘But still, he’s the strongest in Korea, after all.’

In any case, it was a place where Hyun-woo could realize that Lee Ji-tae was an insurmountable wall that he couldn’t easily deal with. Maybe he was one of the best in the world, not just in Korea.

‘But…’

Hyun-woo massaged the arm that Lee Ji-tae had grabbed and thought.

‘If this level is among the best in the world, I might be able to catch up sooner than I thought?’

***

【Difficulty: Hell】

【Entering the Star of the End.】

[Giant Spore Rat (LV 21)]

“Screeeee!”

“Geez, what a disgusting sound.”

Hyun-woo muttered as if he was displeased and swung Tam in one swift motion. The Giant Spore Rat didn’t care about Hyun-woo’s attack and charged straight in.

Tam accepted the Spore Rat’s speed and deeply cut into the Spore Rat’s body. At the same time as the blood splattered, spores burst out from the mushrooms covering the Spore Rat’s back.

Hyun-woo quickly covered his mouth with his arm and stepped back.

If you get covered in the spores that Spore Rats spread, you’ll be parasitized and spend your life wandering under the sewers. The spores stuck to the walls everywhere, but Hyun-woo was able to avoid them even at such a close distance.

After the spore dust settled, Hyun-woo took out the Black Hand Dagger.

He didn’t absorb the Black Hand Dagger into Tam. The Black Hand Dagger had characteristics that made it more useful as a dagger.

[Black Hand Dagger (Legendary)]

[Physical Attack: Low-Mid, Magic Attack: Low, Penetration: Low]

[Special Ability: Can be perfectly hidden and suddenly appear without being seen at all. The wielder’s speed slightly increases at the moment of appearance.]

[Note: A dagger for the eyeless and earless of the Black Order, the fanatical assassins. Many have lost their lives to this short sword that appears like magic. But that’s it. The people who killed those fanatics the most were mostly people from the same order who were arguing. I don’t think they’ve ever killed anyone particularly great.]

It was an evaluation that made him feel sick to his stomach when he thought about how many times Hyun-woo had died because of this dagger.

Except for the option that speed increases, it might seem no different from taking something out of the inventory.

But the inventory requires the actions of opening, searching, and taking out, but this pops out as if you were naturally holding it in your hand the moment you think about it.

Like magic.

It can be used immediately.

He thought about returning it to Kirson, but Kirson seemed to prefer the Winter Reaper’s Scythe more.

‘With these characteristics, a dagger is better than a long sword like Tam.’

Hyun-woo began to cut off the mushrooms attached to the Giant Spore Rat’s back with the Black Hand Dagger.

When he cut off the last mushroom, the inventory, which could accommodate up to 150kg, was full.

Considering that the inventory capacity is proportional to strength, it was the only intuitive stat among his abilities.

Hyun-woo headed to the Goblin Village.

It was one of the subway stations that Kirson had set aside as a village to move to in case of emergency.

***

As soon as Hyun-woo arrived, the goblins quickly popped out. Hyun-woo dumped the items he had collected from all directions in front of them.

The goblins made a tired expression at the materials that kept pouring out endlessly.

“What are you doing? If you want to make it all by tomorrow, you won’t have enough time.”

At Hyun-woo’s scolding, the goblins hurriedly started running. At that time, Kirson was seen returning after finishing his patrol. Kirson was also carrying a lot of luggage on his back.

“You’ve worked hard, Boss.”

“Well, I’m grateful that everyone is following me better than I thought… but I’m still a little worried.”

“About what? You’ve already massacred a large number of our villagers, so are you feeling a new pang of conscience as you try to use them like slaves? Is a pang of conscience some kind of cold for the Boss? Kiruk.”

“No, I’m worried that they might spit in the potion because they’re following me too well.”

What Hyun-woo instructed the goblins to make was a potion. Because Hyun-woo’s health was so low, even a normal-grade potion quickly healed his wounds.

Instead, Hyun-woo brought the goblins the most desperately needed supplies from Hell. Fresh food, glass bottles, and consumable items such as metal parts.

As monsters, they don’t need a lot of food, but they weaken if they don’t eat. Abundant calories meant that the goblins would also become healthier.

“…That won’t happen. We’ve already decided to follow you. Losing our fellow tribesmen or being dominated is commonplace anyway. Rather, we are grateful enough that the Boss doesn’t eat or kill us. Kiruk.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When the goblins systematically mined and collected the modified moss, Hyun-woo sold it in reality, and with that money, he brought the necessary supplies to Hell to replenish them. It was a virtuous cycle with decent efficiency.

There were already tons of modified moss piled up in the warehouse, but Hyun-woo only needed to sell about 60kg of modified moss every week to get the necessary supplies and still have plenty left over.

Employee welfare leads to organizational efficiency. Because of this, the Goblin Village was able to enjoy a much more prosperous life than before.

The armaments were also of much better quality than before, and the stability of the village increased. Naturally, the shelter became safer and modern facilities could be brought in.

But Hyun-woo didn’t have much time.

The Guillotine Dungeon raid was 3 days away in real time. It was a tight schedule, but because it was an urgent matter, preparations had to be made quickly. Hyun-woo decided to bring as many consumables as possible, such as potions, from Hell.

‘I don’t think there will be as many crises as I thought.’

You never know how the situation will flow. Even looking at the White Bone Records, it was recorded that suppressing the Guillotine Dungeon Flood was quite difficult.

It was also due to political and social problems at the time, but if it was difficult even with Lee Ji-tae involved, there might be unexpected situations. But the biggest problem was time.

Hyun-woo looked up at the sky.

There were about 87 hours left until the next quest.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

The dungeon raid is in 3 days.

Unless they finish the raid in one day, there is a high probability that the quest in Hell will start during the raid.

Since Hyun-woo can’t adjust the raid date as he pleases, he will suddenly be dragged to Hell in the middle of it.

If a quest that may not end starts in the middle of the raid, it may appear that Hyun-woo has left.

‘I need to make an excuse somehow in the middle.’

Hyun-woo sighed and approached the site where the goblins were making potions.

Hyun-woo couldn’t understand the process of the goblins making potions well. But Hyun-woo made potions in a way that he understood.

He put the ingredients on his hand and used the ‘Manufacture’ skill, and the health recovery potion was filled in the bottle.

“That’s a sneaky method.”

“Learn it if you’re upset.”

Kirson said grumbling, but only Hyun-woo could use the ‘Manufacture’ skill.

If you just change the ingredients, it becomes all kinds of other potions. If you’re lucky, it becomes a high-grade recovery potion, and if you grind modified moss and put it in, it becomes a mana recovery potion. It was a precious item in reality where there are few ways to recover mana.

Since Hyun-woo was the only one who could make mana recovery potions, Hyun-woo focused on that.

While making potions, Hyun-woo suddenly looked at the mushrooms he had mined. If you’re not careful, you can be parasitized, but the mushrooms were tightly closed like clams.

“Kirson, if I eat this as it is, I’ll be parasitized, right?”

“That’s right. Kiruk.”

“I wonder if I can add this characteristic to Venomous Blood?”

Kirson stared at Hyun-woo blankly.

Kirson knew the absurd fact that Hyun-woo drank the blood of the Hungry One and acquired the ability of that blood.

He laughed along, thinking it was a joke when he saw Hyun-woo’s smile, but stopped laughing when the silence grew longer.

“Are you serious, Boss?”

“Is there any reason why not? If I lose my mind…”

Hyun-woo made a gesture of slitting his throat. There was no reason for Kirson to hesitate to cut Hyun-woo’s throat, but he wondered if he was in his right mind at all.

“Boss, I trust and rely on you, but don’t overdo it too much. Honestly, you’ve been getting weirder and weirder these days, haven’t you? Kiruk. Even if you come back to life, it’s not sane to deliberately try to die.”

Hyun-woo was embarrassed by Kirson’s serious words for once. Kirson wasn’t saying anything wrong. The fact that he was getting used to dying like this was proof that he was breaking down.

“Um… that’s true.”

“You need to be more aware of the preciousness of life, Boss. People who take their own lives lightly also take the lives of others lightly. Do you understand?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Hyun-woo nodded sternly.

***

[General Achievement Achieved!]

[You have escaped from parasitism and become the master of your parasite.]

[Acquired the title ‘Independent Human’.]

[The effect increases due to difficulty correction compared to level.]

[‘Parasitism’ characteristic is added to Venomous Blood.]

The toxicity of Venomous Blood becomes more powerful.

“Being parasitized isn’t a very pleasant feeling.”