Chapter 181 – The Chosen Ones (6)

“Looks like everyone was safe this time as well . ”

During dinner time at Ninety Nine Nights, all of the Chosen Ones gathered around and brought their glasses of champagne together in a toast . Up to this point, everything was almost exactly the same as the dream that the succubus had shown him . Sungjin glanced at Mahadas as he held onto his own glass . Mahadas was, as usual, holding onto a teacup instead of a wine glass .

As he saw this, he thought to himself, ‘It looks like I unwittingly became careless because the raids had become easier as of late . If I was late in realizing that it was an illusion, it could have been dangerous to the other teammates . ’

However, as he was musing to himself, Sungjin met Serin’s gaze and unconsciously averted his eyes . For some reason, he felt guilty . It is said that dreams are reflections of the unconscious mind after all . Regardless of the fact that it was a dream created by the succubus, the succubus definitely had customized the dream from his own unconscious mind . Just like how Franz had dreamt of Nada, and Hiroaki had searched for his Meguri-sensei .

‘That said, are the guys who were embarrassed today, okay?’

Sungjin looked at Franz and Hiroaki . The two were eating silently, while keeping their heads bowed as if they had committed a sin . It was probably because they had behaved in an unsightly manner in front of their female teammates . Sungjin thought to himself,

‘I was lucky that my partner was Mahadas . ’

Baltren, who did not know the reasons behind this, looked around the somewhat quiet table and asked,

“Oy, look here . Why is everyone’s mood so down? We all came back alive . You’re acting as if someone died!”

He was right . Normally, at the table it was these two, Franz and Hiroaki, who were boisterous, but now they were sitting down far more quietly while saying very little . Serin and Nada were also normally on the talkative side, but today they did not talk as much, perhaps because they had seen the lowest point of their allies today . As for Mahadas and Mustafa, they originally did not speak much . Unable to stand it any more, Sungjin stood up and began to talk .

“Today’s raid was not easy, and the Hidden Boss was especially unique . There were a few people whom I had saved from danger, but you must be more careful next time, as the Hidden Bosses do use these kinds of strange gimmicks . Succubi, for example, aren’t particularly the best of opponents for men . ”

Baltren’s eyes opened wide as he asked,

“Succubus? That was the Hidden Boss this time? Those things that make you have **** dreams? Those **** demons?”

It seemed that Baltren was unable to find the succubus . Sungjin nodded his head as he replied,

“Yes . ”

Baltren grinned widely as he said,

“Then I should have pushed myself harder to try to find it . Right . How was it for those of you who met her?”

Baltren was unable to read the mood as he kept asking his teammates . Because of this, Franz and Hiroaki bowed their heads even more . Sungjin butted in and steered the conversation into another direction .

“Don’t be so greedy to fight the Hidden Bosses . While it’s good to be able to improve by receiving good scores, the most important thing is to reach the last raid together . Understood?”

“Yeah . ”

“Yup . ”

Franz and Hiroaki nodded their heads . Sungjin continued,

“Then I’ll distribute the items today . Operator . ”

Sungjin searched inside his Operator Cube . Sungjin took out the items that he had received from today’s rewards and shared them with his allies .

“This is a Legendary Ring… Looks like it’ll be suitable for Miss Nada . ”

Sungjin handed over a ring inset with a black pearl to Nada . The item’s information appeared between the two .

Thanatos  Call of the Dark
Legendary Ring

Passive Skill
Necromancy(IV) – Increase the stats of summons summoned through Black Magic by 40% .

Active Skill
Craving of Death (III) – Reduce the health of your summons summoned by Black Magic to 0 over 10 seconds . During this time, your summons gain 3 times their normal stats .

When the last light of hope has been snuffed out
The humans will open their eyes to a new desire .

Nada’s eyes opened wide as she read the description .

“Wow the abilities are great . ”

“I knew that it would be a great fit for Miss Nada the moment I saw it . ”

Sungjin handed over the ring to Nada without much thought . He didn’t notice that Serin, who was watching, turned her head away unhappily .

“Thanks, Kei . I’ll put it to good use . ”

Nada held up the ring as she said,

“Equip . ”

Soon the ring that had been laying on her palm wrapped around her ring finger perfectly . Sungjin then proceeded to pull out a pair of boots from his cube .

“Eh, this is a pair of boots with magic resistance…”

The quiet Franz raised his hand .

“Oh! If that’s the case then I think I’ll need them . ”

“Is that so… Take a look . ”

Sungjin held up the boots . Another information window appeared .

Nihilan The Unbeliever’s Boots
Legendary Boots Armor 44%

Passive Skill
Faithless(IV) – Increase the magic resistance of the user by 40% . Decrease all magic effects of the user by 40% .

Active Skill
Certainty(IV) – Removes all debuffs . Removes all buffs .

Those who believe will begin to doubt,
and those who doubt will begin to believe .

“But there’s a penalty for when you’re using magic . ”

Having read the abilities to the end, Franz sat down in his seat again .

“Oh… Is that so . I’ve been using magic more nowadays…”

Instead, Hiroaki now raised his hand .

“Then I’ll use them, master . Since I only use sword techniques . ”

“Ahh, great . It’s good that someone could use it . ”

Sungjin handed the boots over to Hiroaki . Hiroaki held the boots as he bowed respectfully to Sungjin .

“Thank you, master . ”

The item distribution was over . Sungjin then continued,

“Also… The number of Black Coins earned today is…”

As Sungjin spoke, a number appeared above Sungjin’s cube . Serin, Nada, Franz and Baltren, who had participated in several raids with him until now, looked at the number without much ado . However, Hiroaki and Mustafa, who had just joined recently, looked incredibly surprised . Sungjin looked at them as he said,

“It’s this much . Since I don’t really need them, I’ll give it to whoever needs them . ”

Mustafa cautiously raised his hand .

“There’s… There’s an item that I want that’s on the auction house . Would it be possible for me to have some coins?”

Mustafa looked incredibly awkward at the thought of receiving Black Coins from Sungjin . He had found it hard to believe when he had first heard about it in the past .

“You’ll give them away? Black Coins?”

“Yes . ”

“For free?”

“It’s not entirely free . The people who received my coins are expected to grow that much stronger and help me later in the raids . ”

Sungjin nodded his head, conveying that Mustafa should not worry . He added,

“Yes . Take as many as you need, Mustafa . ”

Mustafa looked faintly apologetic as he received some coins .

“… After these raids are over, I’ll repay you . Even if it’s just by cash . ”

Sungjin smiled and nodded . Having finished distributing the coins, Sungjin looked at his allies . Though there was a small hiccup, everyone was safe . Sungjin said to them,

“In any case, it’s great that everyone was able to finish the raid safely . It would be great if all eight of us were able to stay until the end of the raids . ”

Everyone nodded in response to Sungjin’s words . Sungjin continued,

“Also, as always, we’re still continuing to look for allies . Those people that I mentioned before . ”

Sungjin was referring to the members of the previous ‘Final 10’, which included Edward .

“If you meet them or anyone else that is particularly strong, don’t hesitate to call me . ”

Everyone nodded their heads in response to Sungjin’s words . And just in time, Dalupin came bearing a pizza baked with a golden crust, and a aromatic spaghetti . It was time to begin their meal in earnest .

“Wow, it looks delicious!”

“Dalupin, great work today as well . ”

“Thank you for the meal, Dalupin . ”

While everyone picked up their spoons, chopsticks, forks and knives, Sungjin quietly left them and made his way to the bathroom . He took out the star shaped accessory from his vest and said,

“Starlight . ”

He stole a glance at the future 24 hours from now . Just the same as today, tomorrow, the Chosen Ones were enjoying dinner at Ninety Nine Nights in Sungjin’s dimension . Sungjin quickly counted them .

‘… Seven, Eight . ’

The number ‘eight’ had two meanings, First, it meant that all of the Chosen Ones were safe . Second, it meant that they did not gain any new allies .

‘While it’s a relief that everyone is safe… It’s a bit disappointing that we didn’t gain any new allies . ’

As Sungjin mused to himself, he left the future and returned to the present .

*

The next morning, Sungjin sat the Chosen Ones down in front of him and briefed them as usual .

“Today’s raid is Ser’Corist Prison, but it’s only a prison in name . It’s a place more like a mental asylum that’s filled with monsters . Generally, you’ll face humans, elves and humanoid monsters like orcs . However, because they’re all a bit crazed, they will come at you with attacks that are difficult to predict . They’ll be doing things that are a bit difficult to imagine, such as ripping their arm off to use as a weapon, or stabbing through their stomach to attack you when you’re behind them . Please be careful of this point . ”

“Yes . ” The Chosen Ones all replied to Sungjin’s words as one .

A few of the hunters showed slightly nervous expressions, but Sungjin did not attempt to allay their worries and let them be . This was because their nervousness could potentially help them in coming back alive . So long as Sungjin did not do anything particularly strange, everyone would be safe tonight . Despite knowing this, Sungjin said to the Chosen Ones,

“Then everyone do your best and stay alive . If there’s something dangerous, then call me without fail . ”

“Yes . ” The team replied back again .

Soon afterwards, Sungjin and the Chosen Ones were teleported to the eighteenth battlefield, Ser’Corist Prison .