I Never Run Out of Mana - Chapter 115

Chapter 115

115 . Hidden Boss + Mimic = ?

It was the day after I met the commander and Ho Jin .

I caught up on all the sleep I’ve missed due to Karin .

The gentle breeze of spring came through the window as I woke, putting me in a good mood as I was greeted by the warmth of the sun .

Despite feeling as if I’ve slept for a very long time, it wasn’t even noon yet .

Stretching as I woke up, I scratched my neck and chest to shake off the sleep .

The phone that was on top of the nightstand began to ring .

The call was from the association’s department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong .

It was probably about the plans to guide me to the dungeons in Gangwon-do that ranged from level 38 to 40 .

There wasn’t any reason for him to see me there personally, but he insisted so .

Since I didn’t have any reason to decline, I accepted his offer .

“Yes, this is Kim Min-Cheol . ”

“Hello Mr . Min-Cheol . Did you sleep well? This is department head of strategies, An Ho Yeong . ”

“Yes, hello . No issues, I hope?”

“Yes, that’s right . Hm… When are you planning to depart?”

“Around 2 pm? I wasn’t able to sleep well for the past couple days, and I just woke up . ”

“Ah! Is that so . Then please come out when you’re ready . ”

“Yes . Should I head over to the association?”

“No . You just have to come out to the front of your house . ”

“……”

I looked outside through the window, past the garden that was large as a football field to the entrance that was large as a house .

I was able to see clearly as if I had used a camera .

I saw three vehicles that were waiting at the entrance .

Inside the car in the middle, I was able to see the silhouette of a person through the tinted windows of the car .

It looked as though that person was talking to someone on the phone .

“Are you perhaps waiting in front of the house?”

“Huh? Yes… . . How did you know?”

“I can see from here . ”

I was able to see his silhouette turn about to check his surroundings .

“Where… . Where are you?”

“In my room . I don’t think you can see me from here . How long have you been waiting?”

“Uh… . Around 7am . ”

“Whew . Since it’ll take some time, just bring everyone in . Have a meal before you go . ”

“Huh? Ah… . . That’s ok! How could we dare enter Mr . Min-Cheol’s home… . ”

“Don’t say that and just come in . You’re probably hungry . I’m also sorry to keep you waiting for so long . ”

“Yes… . Thank you . ”

-click

“Why is he waiting for me so early in the morning, making me feel all guilty for no reason . ”

Talking to myself, I exited my room .

The first thing I saw was Jong Ho .

He was chewing something while sitting on a wide sofa, maintenancing his equipment .

Since it wasn’t any old equipment, there was no risk of it being damaged or even scratched in the first place, but he was giving his all polishing it .

Next to him was my mother, watching kdrama .

Anyone watching this scene would’ve believed that they were mother and son .

She was putting apple slices in his mouth, creating a wholesome atmosphere .

I tapped his armor jokingly and spoke .

“She’s my mother!”

“Wow . Still half asleep . You’re too old for that . ”

“Hey son, did you wake up?”

“Mother, don’t feed this jobless hyung any more apples . ”

“Ah hoho . Why? He’s my eldest son, right?”

“That’s right, mother . Did you hear that, bro? And did you call me jobless? Are there jobless people that work 12 hours a day?”

“That’s true . Enough of that . Hyung-nim . ”

“What’s up?”

“There is a place you need to come to . With your bro that is!”

“Where? I need to go hunting soon . ”

“You’ll need to eat first, right? I’ll let the cook know . ”

“Yes . However, about 10 more people will be coming . ”

“Huh? Guests? Already at noon?”

“Yes . They were waiting for me at the entrance since morning . ”

“Okay, son . Mrs . Seoyeon, can you prepare us a meal… . ”

As if he had sensed that something was wrong, he asked me a question .

“Where are we going? Who are the people waiting outside?”

“Ah . They’re from the association . There’s a place I need to go to . With hyung-nim, of course!”

“… . . ”

“Don’t be so nervous . It’s a good place . ”

“Well, ok . I just need to equip my armor . ”

“Did you already eat?”

“Of course . I ate as soon as I woke up . ”

“All right . We’ll be departing as soon as I’m done showering and eating . ”

“Okay . ”

****

“Whew . Thank you for your hospitality . ”

“No worries . You should’ve called me if you came that early . ”

“Don’t let it bother you . Now, we’ll be leaving . It’ll take roughly 2 hours . If you’re tired, feel free to rest as we travel . ”

“Yes, will do . ”

Almost as if in a parade, the luxury Sedans took off .

There were many areas in Gangwon-do that were restricted from entry, similar to Yangpyeong .

It was probably due to all the portals that were hidden in the steep slopes of the mountains .

That was why there were many checkpoints despite the lack of traffic .

After getting past the first checkpoint, Jong Ho whispered to me .

“Hey Min-Cheol . Do I have to make up excuses along the lines of digging for herbs?”

“Pfft! You’re a riot, hyung . I think Mr . Ho Jin would be angry if he heard you say that . ”

“Why? When you fought with Joker before, they let you go through when you said that you were here digging for herbs . ”

“Hey… . . This is different from then . Now, the commander is the acting president of the association . Would saying that now make any sense?”

“True… . We’ll have to say that we’re diggin for mushrooms or arrowroot at the least… . ”

“Whew… . . ”

While our pointless banter continued, the car was already going off road .

The car was designed to ignore most vibrations, but it was shaking quite a lot due to how rough the road was .

Looking out the window, I was able to spot a massive portal .

After 30 minutes of driving, Ho Yeong spoke .

“We’re nearly here . ”

“Yes . ”

“Um… Did you say that you’re Mr . Jong Ho?”

“Yes, that’s right . ”

“I heard a lot about you from the commander . He said that you defended against a level 30 portal at Changwon by yourself… . ”

“Ah, that’s not true . I was with Ms . So-Hyeon at the time . ”

“Hm? How did you get so close with her so quickly? You’re already leaving out her family name and just calling her Ms . So-Hyeon?”

“My brother, there is a thing called a world of adults . ”

“Yikes… . . ”

“Ahaha . So there’s a story of romance here . Either way, I’ll be in both your care . ”

“Yes, same here . Mr . Ho Yeong, are you also an Awakened like Ho Jin hyung-nim?”

“No, I’m not an Awakened . Department head of Special Handlers Mr . Ho Jin is a special case . ”

“Is that so . ”

“We’re here . ”

The car slowed down before coming to a full stop .

Exiting the car, I looked at the portal before me .

However, the size of the portal could not be compared to any of the portals that I defeated before .

The size of the portal was roughly 3 stories high at the least .

It didn’t take long for me to snap out of awe at the sight .

Ho Yeong began to explain .

“This is the level 38 portal . ”

“The size is quite big . ”

“Yes . Portals after level 35 begins to grow in size . ”

“Ah… . ”

“And that’s the level 39 portal . ”

Ho Yeong pointed elsewhere .

I couldn’t see the portal due to how thick the foliage was, but it wouldn’t pose much of an issue .

All I’d have to do would be to kick off the ground and check for the location from the air .

The portals were huge in size to begin with, and my vision was rivaling that of an eagle .

“And that would be the level 40 portal . ”

Ho Yeong spread out his hand between the 3 portals .

Just as he explained before yesterday, they really seemed to make a triangular formation .

“Now, I’ve explained the locations of the portals . When should I come to pick you two up?”

“No worries . We’ll be using Warp . ”

“Hm… Would it be inconvenient due to the long cooldown of the spell?”

“Since we’ve been hunting as if we were slaves, it won’t be a problem . 12 hours is nothing . ”

“Then just in case, I’ll be leaving passes for the checkpoints . ”

“……”

“There might be a time that you’ll be coming via vehicle . I’ll let the checkpoints know ahead of time, but just in case, please take these . ”

“Yes, thank you . ”

“Thank you very much . ”

“Now, I’ll be heading back to the association and edit the data for these portals . ”

“What do you mean… . . ”

“These three portals will become dungeons due to you two clearing them soon . ”

“Ah… That’s right . ”

“Then I’ll be going now . Please contact me if you need anything . ”

“Yes . ”

“Yes . Take care . ”

Ho Yeong gave his business card to Jong Ho before leaving .

Now there were only Jong Ho and me left here .

Just the two of us .

Jong Ho, who had been checking his equipment and status window till now, spoke up .

“Hey Min-Cheol . Why the sudden decision to hunt?”

“I’m trying to get some better artifacts . ”

“Hidden bosses?”

“Yes . But since I don’t have any information, I can only go around searching for them . ”

“I see . Will anything drop that’s better than what you’re wearing already though? It looks like the chances of that would be very low . ”

“I’ll have to take my chances . The maybes might become a surprising reality . ”

“True . Will today consist of running the level 38 dungeon?”

“No . I’ll be running each of them once . ”

“Okay . ”

Without any hesitation, Jong Ho entered the portal .

I couldn’t have imagined him being like this in the past .

It was only a few months ago that he would cling onto my pants and beg me to not drag him in .

Thinking about how I threw him in without remorse made me laugh out loud .

“Pfft . ”

“What?”

“Nothing . But hyung, did you know?”

“What?”

“Magic attacks won’t affect the enemies here . ”

“Ah, is that so? Guess we’ll have to use Piercing Sword and Formless Sword Aura?”

“Yes . That reminds me, we don’t have that many physical attack skills . ”

“Despite having Typhoon Hole and Gigantic Whirl, I don’t end up using those skills much . ”

“Right? It’s the same for me . ”

“Let’s go for now . We have no idea what kind of monsters will be coming out . ”

“Yes!”

****

Berdan stood up with his massive body from his throne .

Even at the slightest movement of his body, the earth shook .

At the same time, two monsters that were guarding each of his sides followed suit .

They were rare monsters, as both had intelligence .

But unlike the goblin Karin, their intelligence was was at the level of an average human .

Lowering ranking monsters tended to use weapons .

Just like humans, they used bloodstones to make weapons and armor .

Unlike humans, who used precise and efficient methods to create them, the monsters used brute strength to mash the stone, compressing its powers for their own use .

Of course, this option was only available to monsters with incredible strength .

The other lower ranking monsters used their bodies and moved with their instinct for carnage .

However, Zekill, who perished at the hand of Min-Cheol, Berdan of the Keruoh race, and the demon king did not use any weapons .

It was the same for all the other leaders of the demonic races .

They knew about the power of the bloodstones .

But why did they not use them? Why would they not use weapons or amors despite the chance to obtain stronger power from them .

It was because of how Authority, the skill that higher ranking monsters had, worked .

The ranking of a monster was determined from birth .

The higher ranking monsters were born with Authority .

Monsters did not have anything like stat gains .

They also couldn’t obtain new skills .

Their strength was completely dependent on this unique skill called Authority, and they used the strength gained from that to slaughter others .

They would grow stronger from the magical energy obtained from their victims .

That was why no matter what weapons or armor a monster with Authority obtained, they would not get any stronger .

Artifacts dropped only from monsters that were invading the human realm .

These items did not exist in the first place in the demonic realm .

They did not have these, nor did they make these .

It could only be surmised as errors created by the portals that spawned in another dimension, almost as if someone was playing a prank by tossing out their toys… . .

“Sir Berdan, what is the matter?”

“Bored, I am . No, I am quite excited . ”

“What do you mean… . ” “

That boasting demon king… The absolute power that he is will  kneel before me soon . ”

“……”

“On top of that, all the monsters of the demonic realm will kowtow before me . ”

“Most right you are, Sir Berdan . ”

“76 days, Salazar and Zeke . ”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“The moment they cross over from Earth to here, I will get rid of them immediately . Then I shall take down Purian, Dabehneh, and finally the demon king’s race, Lubeta… . ”

Berdan gave a bloody grin as he ate a monster that was roaming in front of his castle .

His head shuddered with excitement .