novelNip it in the Bud, Part I
| ← Ch.080 | Ch.082 → |
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
==[You have gained a level. ]==
"Whoa!
==[Your time in Khufu's Hidden Dungeon has come to an end. You will now be flung back out into the outside world. ]==
As soon as I shouted out when the level up alert came up, I was forced out of Khufu's hidden dungeon. I was literally thrown into the sand right outside the pyramid, but it didn't feel bad at all.
I just gained a whole lot in the span of a single month. I was so happy that if someone spat in my face right now, I would laugh and embrace that person.
"But damn, am I tired." I did get to take short breaks now and then, but I didn't get to fully rest. I felt more exhausted now that I was done.
"I guess I can go to Cairo to rest up for now." I cared more about my well-deserved break than about the Blood Prince or the Myth Guild. I headed straight for Cairo.
It was eerily quiet. All of the restaurants and storefronts were closed.
"What's going on? It wasn't like this a month ago." I passed by more closed stores and motels until I ended up in Old Cairo. Here, there were devas walking around and motels and restaurants that were open. I headed to the biggest motel, booked a room and went up to take a shower before sleeping.
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Late the next morning, I woke up to Shaman Ko's Roulette Wheel in front of me. It appeared at 11 AM without fail every day. If I didn't spin it at 11 one day, it still appeared the next. I wanted to find out what would happen if I missed a day and purposely did so while I was in Khufu's hidden dungeon. It allowed me to spin again the next day. I touched the wheel to let it spin and went to the bathroom to take a shower. A message appeared letting me know it landed on a 3, but I ignored it.
After my shower, I came out and sat on the bed.
"Haha... shall I see the fruit of my labors? Open Stats!"
[Name: Lee Jiwon
Level: 300 Death Count: 0
Title: Earth's First Deva
HP: 1, 879, 500/1, 879, 500 MP: 172, 700/172, 700
Strength: 6750+66 Agility: 4, 700 Vitality: 3, 799
Willpower: 1, 667 Intelligence: 1, 597
Unassigned Stat Points: 2000+93
Fatigue: 0
Special Effects: Luck Boost (X+ 1), immune to all status effects, Dungeon Seeker 6 points
Physical Attack: 22, 215 Physical Defense: 6, 944
Magical Attack: 6, 341 Magical Defense: 5, 682]
I had about 2, 100 stat points unused, including the ones I got from Shaman Ko. My ATT also went up by 7, 000 just by switching weapons. I decided to put the 93 Stat points into STR. I put 1250 of the normal points into STR, as well to make it an even 8, 000, and put 300 into AGI to set it to 5, 000. I put the remaining 350 into VIT.
It might seem like a waste of points when I already had high enough HP and VIT, and the Orb still collecting points, but from my experience as a fire mage, it was always good to have more HP. Besides, I had enough points to spare!
==[Strength: 8000+159 Agility: 5, 000 Vitality: 3, 749
Willpower: 1, 667 Intelligence: 1, 597
Unassigned Stat Points: 0]==
Happy with my new Stats Menu, I left the motel and headed to a restaurant. It was time to pig out once more!
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Back at the Myth Guild's headquarters in Old Cairo...
"I...I...I found him!"
Edwifu looked up from his desk and looked at the subordinate who just burst through his door.
"What? Found what? Did you find Lee Jiwon?!" Edwifu angrily asked. The entire guild combed through all of Cairo and Egypt looking for Lee Jiwon for a month, and now had one day left until the invasion.
Many of his fellow guild members gave up on looking for him, but Edwifu never gave up. He saw the extent of the man's abilities firsthand, and knew that he couldn't let him go. He had that much love and faith in his own guild.
"Yes sir! Him! I found him!"
"What? Really?"
"Yes, really!"
"Where?!" Edwifu shouted so loud that he almost tore his vocal chords.
"He's at Armin's, eating."
"Huh?" Edwifu wasn't sure he heard correctly.
"Armin's? You mean, the same place I go to have lunch every day? The same place right outside our headquarters?"
"Yes! He's there right now!"
Edwifu wondered for a second if his subordinate was playing a prank on him. He practically flipped Egypt upside down looking for Lee Jiwon, and to hear that he was eating just a few steps away...
"I'm serious. Go check for yourself. The invasion is tomorrow; do you really think I'm playing here?" The subordinate saw the look on Edwifu's face. He had the same look when he saw Lee Jiwon earlier.
"O...okay!" Edwifu quickly snapped to. He decided it was best to see for himself before reporting to the guild master. He rushed over to Armin's, and there he was. He saw Lee Jiwon sitting at a table full of food, literally stuffing his face.
Edwifu promptly returned to his office and called Shin to let her know Lee Jiwon's whereabouts. She and Ebonene left together for the restaurant he was at.
The Myth Guild really needed a cat's paw to deal with the imminent attack from the Blood Prince. Some saw Lee Jiwon not as a cat's paw, but as a tiger's. They only had one day left now. They had to do everything they could to protect their home!
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"Man, I really miss Korean food, " I said to myself, as I took bite after bite.
I ordered taameya, kushri, fatta and other dishes, but they weren't really to my taste. They were still much better than Store bread and drink, however
"Huh?" There were plenty of people coming in and out of the restaurant, but all of a sudden, a group of uniformed people surrounded my table. I noticed the same insignia on their shoulders. They were from the Myth Guild.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee." Three of them stepped forward and one of them, a man in his thirties, spoke first.
"Yes, hi. You got the right person." It was obvious they knew who I was, so I came clean.
I was strong enough now that I wasn't afraid of encountering the Blood Prince again. I knew that I might not win, but I wouldn't lose, either.
"We finally meet. It's so nice to meet you. My name is Rameha, in charge of the Myth Guild's foreign affairs. This is the Myth Guild's guild master, Shin and the vice-master, Ebonene."
"Ah... I see." I nodded at the introductions. I supposed I didn't need to do the same. Besides, it was obvious they wanted something from me.
"Would it be alright if you spared us a little bit of your time?"
"I am a bit busy..." I didn't really want to get mixed in with the Myth Guild's affairs. This guild was fated to be done away with by the Blood Prince.
"Please, it'll only take..."
"That's enough. I'll talk to him, " Ebonene, the vice-master, cut in.
"Mr. Lee, a month ago, did you fight with someone in front of the Giza Pyramid dungeon?"
"I'm not too sure." I decided to take an ambiguous approach. Of course, there were a lot of witnesses then and I couldn't take proper measures to conceal my identity.
"The man you fought against is known as the Blood Prince." Ebonene completely disregarded my reply. He knew it was me.
"..."
"Soon, that man will begin his invasion and destruction of our Myth Guild. Well, it's much sooner. It's tomorrow. That is why we have been looking for someone strong to join our forces."
"I'm not a member of the Myth Guild, nor do I have anything to do with the Myth Guild."
"You are absolutely right. I'm sure you don't understand why we have come to you like this. You don't have a reason to help us." Ebonene's expression didn't change one bit and agreed with me.
"Mhmm..."
"But that man is a deity. A being different than us devas since birth. Right now, his target is the Myth Guild, a guild that you have nothing to do with. But what do you think will happen when he gets even stronger than he is now?"
"I can't say for certain."
"There is every chance he'll target devas and deva-run guilds; devas and deva-run guilds that you do have a relationship with."
I thought back to my past life. The Blood Prince didn't discriminate. He was actually the worst and most vicious out of all deities. He killed devas and mortals if they so much as looked at him wrong. He was the reason deities were feared. Not all deities were like him, but from my memory, no deity ever wanted or tried to stop him. Why would they, when they became just as strong while he did all the work.
"If we don't stop him, there may come a time when all devas are oppressed and live as slaves to deities, " said Rameha.
"We are not asking for your help for free. We are more than ready to compensate you for your efforts. At least think about it, " Ebonene added. He then took out a card from inside his jacket.
"This card is a Myth Guild VIP card, usable anywhere in Cairo. Think of it as a free pass. Of course, should the Myth Guild fall, this card will become a useless piece of plastic."
I didn't reach out to take it just yet.
"I'll also leave you with this report we have on the Blood Prince. If you don't need it, feel free to throw it away. There is exactly one day left before the Blood Prince invades the Myth Guild. If you decide to reject our offer, I advise you to leave not only Cairo, but Egypt itself. I predict there will be a bloody battle in the near future."
"If you need to know more about the Blood Prince, come by any time. We're...right here. You'll be able to easily find us, " Shin added. She turned around and left the restaurant with her guild members right behind her.
"Geez..." I fell into deep thought as I watched them leave. If they acted a bit clingier or really pressured me, I definitely would have rejected them outright but now, I was getting curious.
As I reached out to grab the report Ebonene left me, I noticed a familiar man sit down at the table next to me. The man looked over at me in surprise.
"Master!"
"Huh? You're from..."
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"Are you sure we should just leave at that?" Shin asked Ebonene.
"Yes. It seems that there's something holding him back. If we come on too strong, we'll only push him away. It's better to have him make the choice on his own."
"Very well. If that's what you think, then I'll go along with it. But the more important part here is... will he really choose to face the Blood Prince again?"
"He will."
"How are you so sure? It didn't seem like he was that interested."
"As I said, there's something holding him back. He's not fated to become a king, but he has the ambition. And he doesn't seem like an idiot. He'll make the right choice if we give him some time to think."
"Think about what?"
"That eventually, the Blood Prince will be standing in his way to greatness. That it would be better to get rid of him while he has the chance. I planted the seeds, so it won't be long. Telling him any more will actually yield the opposite."
"What?" Shin didn't understand how Ebonene was so confident. They barely shared many words with each other back at the restaurant, but Ebonene was acting as if he knew Lee Jiwon since long ago. If it were anyone other than Ebonene, Shin would have had a hard time believing him.
"Lee Jiwon will come find us soon. We just need show him our best hospitality. If he shows us more power than we expect... than we also need to think about recruiting him."
They arrived back at their headquarters while listening to Ebonene's thoughts. It was only a minute away. They had looked tirelessly for Lee Jiwon for a month and yet, there he was, only a minute away.
The Myth Guild needed to make their preparations. There was less than a day left!
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