Chapter 19
—
NL openly threatened me.
If I didn’t side with them, they wouldn’t let me go.
The meaning was clear: if they couldn’t have me, they’d rather kill me.
{Guardian Spirit: Fergus mac Róich, King of Ulster (Legendary)}
{Guardian Spirit: Tristan, Knight of Sorrow (Legendary)}
Two legendary-tier Awakeners were staring at me.
One was Volkov, standing right before me. The other was a man standing farther away with his arms crossed, a bow slung over his shoulder.
‘How intense.’
And it wasn’t just the two of them.
There were at least dozens of Awakeners gathered here. Among them, there were no fewer than ten possessing historic-tier Guardian Spirits.
The rest all owned rare-tier Guardian Spirits.
This overwhelming force was focused entirely on me, as if waiting for the slightest sign of refusal to strike me down.
There was no way I could fight all of them and win.
“With this many gathered here forcing me, there’s really no other choice.”
Of course, running away was also impossible.
They had already surrounded me with their people, ensuring there was no escape route.
Their primary objective wasn’t to recruit me; it was to prevent me from joining any other group.
In short, eliminating me as a potential threat was their real goal.
But before doing so, they were testing the waters to see if I could be brought to their side.
If I agreed willingly, that was a bonus.
If not, they’d kill me.
From the start, this was their plan.
“There’s no need for more words. Let’s hear your answer now.”
Volkov suddenly extended his hand and grabbed mine.
{You have received a contract request to transfer the <Behemoth Subjugation> quest reward from <Colossus (1st-tier)>. Do you accept?}
The title “Colossus” likely referred to the leader of this group.
The purpose of showing me this was clear—it was meant to bind me to them.
By entering into a reward transfer contract for the quest, the recipient would be able to track the other party’s location until the quest was completed.
The problem was that once the contract was accepted, the transferring party couldn’t cancel it unless the recipient did so first.
If the quest turned out to be impossible to complete due to its difficulty?
It would essentially be like carrying around an unremovable tracking device forever.
Moreover, the “Behemoth” they mentioned was a monster that could only be faced by high-ranking Awakeners with at least 7,000 main stats.
And NL wasn’t about to let me grow strong enough to reach that level.
‘So this is how they plan to cut off any chance of escape?’
It was an inescapable trap.
If I accepted the contract, I’d live under NL’s surveillance for the rest of my life.
If I refused, they’d attack me on the spot.
Their intent was clear—they wouldn’t allow me to say, “Alright,” then disappear after the raid ended.
“What will you do?”
Volkov pressed further, his once-relaxed gaze now sharpening.
“Hm…”
To be honest, though,
‘They seem determined, but this isn’t all that impressive.’
Even in this situation, I didn’t feel a sense of crisis.
That was because this was all within my expectations.
Did they really think I hadn’t noticed the signs of suspicious and dangerous people surrounding me?
Of course not.
I was simply curious to see what they would say when approaching me with such overwhelming numbers.
“I’ve heard your pitch.”
And having heard it, I realized it offered me nothing of value.
‘If they had come to me with sincere pleas instead of threats, I might have considered helping them.’
The fact that they were NL didn’t matter much to me.
Even if it was a trashy company, I wouldn’t have minded working with them if it benefited me.
But these fools had made a critical mistake by trying to crush me with sheer numbers.
How could I expect proper treatment from people who approached me this way?
“Are you refusing?”
Rustle.
I pulled a piece of paper out of my inventory and held it in my hand.
Seeing this, Volkov shook his head.
“We’ll provide the contract for you. All you need to do is accept the quest transfer request.”
“This isn’t a contract.”
Rip.
I tore the paper in half.
“It’s a Return Scroll.”
Flash.
The next thing I knew, the grim alley filled with threatening Russians had disappeared.
In its place was the bustling central plaza of the city.
* * *
The plaza was teeming with people.
There were those fully armed and ready to challenge the Raid Boss at any moment,
Those still struggling to complete even stages 2 or 3, wandering around looking for teammates,
And those anxiously waiting to join a random match for stage 4, fearful they might miss out on the boss raid entirely.
The plaza was filled with Awakeners of various stages, all eagerly awaiting their chance to prove themselves.
“Shin-woo hyung!”
Among them were Choi Yuna and Lee Jin-yoon.
I had told them to wait here in the plaza.
That way, we could head to the Raid Boss stage as soon as the timing seemed right.
“Jin-yoon, Yuna. Are you both ready?”
“Huh?”
“The Raid Boss stage.”
“Oh, of course! Just say the word, and we’re ready to go!”
“I don’t have anything else to prepare either.”
“Great.”
As soon as I received their affirmative responses, I headed straight for the portal zone at the center of the plaza.
It was a massive circular platform about 30 meters in diameter.
All Awakeners had to use this portal to enter stages or abandon raids.
That’s why the plaza was always bustling with activity.
“We’re heading to the final stage now. Follow me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Lee Jin-yoon responded with a determined expression.
Choi Yuna, however, grabbed my sleeve and asked,
“Wait a second. Are you sure it’s okay for just the three of us to go?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
I grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the portal platform with me.
“When we start the Raid Boss battle, everyone here will know.”
“R-Really?”
{Would you like to enter the final stage?}
{The Raid Boss is incredibly strong! Make sure you are fully prepared before proceeding!}
“Enter.”
{You are entering the final stage.}
{Alert! Entry to the final stage has begun. Remaining entry time: 5 minutes.}
A notification message appeared for all participants in the dungeon.
I could see the people in the plaza turning their attention to the message that had suddenly appeared before them.
And with that, I leaped across dimensions into yet another otherworldly realm.
* * *
Flash. Flash. Flash.
As soon as I entered the final stage, I noticed other Awakeners entering one after another.
However, Choi Yuna and Lee Jin-yoon were not among them.
Even though I had clearly seen them enter with me.
‘Where did they go?’
I glanced around and found myself in a forest dense with trees.
Pop. Pop.
Between the trees, flashes of light signaled other Awakeners emerging from portals.
It seemed that the entry system for this stage scattered participants randomly across a vast area.
Similar to the second stage’s setup.
Because of this, Choi Yuna and Lee Jin-yoon had been separated from me.
‘For now, I should get out of here.’
I began moving, looking for a place where I wouldn’t attract attention.
Both of them had robust survival abilities like stealth and protective barriers. They’d manage just fine without me.
Besides, eventually, everyone would converge on the boss’s location.
Even if I didn’t search for them now, we’d inevitably meet later.
Rustle. Shuffle.
I moved quickly through the forest.
‘This stage is surprisingly vast.’
The information notes I had studied only described how to attack the revealed Raid Boss.
So I had assumed it was just a small area where we had to defeat the boss.
But this place was far too large for a single boss fight.
‘Are they encouraging us to fight each other?’
I could sense the intention behind this setup.
The rules of Raid Boss battles always seemed designed to encourage participants to engage in scheming and infighting even before entering the stage.
And this expansive battlefield extended that conflict into the stage itself.
‘If the first thing you see isn’t the Raid Boss but your competitors for the reward… and if this is the final battle with the ultimate reward on the line… someone’s bound to lose their cool.’
The Raid Dungeon seemed like a twisted test of human nature’s darker tendencies, a cruel system designed to the core.
Crash!
“Ahh! What the hell are you doing?”
I saw someone destroy another Awakener’s talisman barrier.
“If you don’t want to die, you’d better run.”
“Damn it, you bastard…!”
Whoosh!
Flash!
The person whose defenses had been broken disappeared in a flash of light as an attack from their opponent approached.
They had declared “Stage Forfeit” in their mind and returned to the city.
They wouldn’t be able to re-enter this place for the next 24 hours.
‘People are already fighting each other instead of searching for the boss.’
For now, the participants were scattered across the forest, so these skirmishes remained small-scale.
But it wouldn’t be long before larger groups clashed after gathering their forces.
Of course, some groups might try to cooperate and proceed smoothly.
But the real problem was that NL, the organization hunting me, was also here.
They were a completely unpredictable variable.
Who knows what chaos they’d create to sabotage me?
If things continued to spiral, this place could become such a mess that people wouldn’t be able to focus their efforts when it truly mattered.
‘I can’t let this situation escalate. I need to make everyone focus on the boss.’
To prevent the worst-case scenario, there was only one solution.
‘I’ll have to bring the boss directly to their eyes.’
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
When faced with an overwhelmingly powerful foe, people would realize they didn’t have time to fight among themselves.
That was the nature of Raid Bosses—they were that terrifying.
I immediately started running in all directions, searching for the boss.
* * *
“Grok. Sagh hung.”
After wandering for a while, I found an orc village nestled in the mountains.
It was a settlement that looked like something straight out of a dungeon teeming with orcs.
‘This raid has been orcs all the way through.’
I circled the perimeter of the village, observing it from a distance.
I was searching for the Raid Boss.
But as I scouted, I noticed something unusual.
‘What’s going on?’
At first glance, the village seemed similar to the setup of the first stage.
A primitive village filled with orcs living inside.
And at the center, the likely location of the boss.
But upon closer inspection, something was clearly off.
‘Why are there no warriors?’
There wasn’t a single orc holding a weapon or anything that could be used as one.
‘What the hell is this…?’
At that moment.
“Guh!”
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Suddenly, my heart started pounding rapidly.
It felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack, a sharp pain spreading through my chest.
‘What… what’s happening to me?’
As I struggled with this unexpected physical reaction, a message appeared before my eyes.
{Malice reveals intense hostility.}
{It demands you tear apart your mortal enemy inside immediately.}
Then, my right field of vision turned red.
It was as if I was looking through a thermal imaging camera, with everything in the world bathed in a red haze, except for living creatures, which glowed yellow.
But there was one key difference from a normal thermal camera:
Only one living creature was highlighted.
‘That’s…?’
Among the many orcs inside the village, the red vision zeroed in on a single figure.
Above it, letters I recognized floated into view.
{Guardian Spirit: Sigurd, Dragon Slayer (Legendary)}
It was an orc Awakener.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment