I Never Run Out of Mana - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

65 . Ally? Foe? Ally!

Report of Kim Ho Jin after 5 days of surveillance .

-06:30 Wakes up .

-After waking up, feeds pet: Dumpling . (Not very cute for a dog . )

-07:20 Personal care before leaving . (The type to eat breakfast no matter what . )

-07:30 Says goodbye to daughter Kim Jeong-yeon and wife before leaving . (Wakes up earlier than expected . Guess the entire family is one of those morning people types . )

-08:00 Arrives at the level 13 dungeon to find a party to join .

-Afternoon . Until Jong Ho and his group of members arrive, tags along with other Awakened who seem decent enough to hunt . (Hunts for over 12 hours, like I do . Seems he has some goal in mind . )

-20:00 Finishes hunting, returns home .

-22:00 Sleep . (This looks more like how a soldier lives . )

“What the . Did he really leave the association?”

Too much time had passed to call it a vacation period given from the association .

It was nearly 2 weeks since he had hunted with Jong Ho, after all .

Eavesdropping on Ho Jin and his wife, I was able to confirm that he really did quit .

While I was keeping up surveillance on Ho Jin, Jong Ho informed me that Ho Jin asked about me .

Following my instructions, Jong Ho avoided the questions by changing the topic or made up stories about me as needed .

For very specific personal questions, he just replied that he didn’t know .

From what I’ve seen so far, Kim Ho Jin appeared to have left the association and was living the life of an average Awakened .

That’s why today, I’ll be appearing in front of him .

It was for the information I wanted from him .

And it seemed that he was hoping for me to appear before him anyways, so there was no reason to delay .

The hunting was finished deep into the night due to the delay cause by the surveillance I kept on Ho Jin .

Obtaining information and an ally is important, but growing stronger took priority .

Like keeping a knife sharp, I kept up my daily hunting routine to the dot .

After a short nap, I headed towards Ho Jin’s house so I can meet him as he left for his daily hunting .

I could see him leaving his apartment .

-beep

He was walking towards a white SUV .

‘Why is an Awakened using a vehicle to get to the hunting grounds?’

I myself had used a similar method until recently, but he could just use the Warp skill to get there .

Ho Jin stopped walking towards the vehicle, and facepalmed .

A monologue followed .

“Ah . I’m out of it… This is why habits are scary . ”

“Mr . Kim Ho Jin . ”

While he was looking blankly at the vehicle, I went towards him and spoke .

Turning his head to where he heard the voice, he didn’t seem that surprised seeing me standing there .

But hiding his expression again, he played stupid .

“Who…?”

“It’s Kim Min-Cheol . We met at the level 13 dungeon before . ”

“Ah! Now I remember . Sorry about that . My memory isn’t the best . What business brought you here, I wonder…”

“We also met at the level 28 dungeon, right?”

Seeing my smirk, there were beads of sweat running down his face .

“Huh? Haha… No way . Since I Awakened later than others, I’ve just started to run the level 13 dungeon, you know?”

“Drop the acting please . You don’t seem to have any talent in doing so . Don’t have time to waste either . ”

“W… What do you mean…”

“Sorry to say this now, but I’ve been watching you for the past few days . ”

“… . ”

“Let’s change locations . Looks like a fly is amidst us . ”

Looking through the Eye of Insight I casted beforehand, I was able to find someone using a stealth skill to spy on us .

The radical faction?

No . There was no way that they’d put someone as green as this person to a target that had taken out Jin .

Probably to keep tabs on Kim Ho Jin .

Perhaps he had also noticed, because he nodded his head and followed me to the alleyway next to the entrance of the apartment complex .

Turning the corner to get out of the line of sight of the spy, I casted Mass Stealth Jutsu and Silent .

The range was enough to cover both Ho Jin and me .

“Now we can proceed . Let’s continue talking . What do you want from me? Why are you trying to find out about me?”

Ho Jin let out a heavy sigh, and then began to speak with a serious expression .

“Whew… Before I answer your question, let me first talk . I don’t know who you are . The only thing I know is that you can hunt things over your level . Not sure what ability you have, or how strong you are, I have no clue . And…”

He paused a moment as if to gather his thoughts .

As if coming to a decision, his words were heavy .

Perhaps it was a form of resignation .

But for some reason, his expression looked different, almost calm .

“I’m not sure which side you are on . ”

“You are saying that you don’t know if I’m with the radical faction, right? Perhaps even hoping that I am?”

“Haha . Glad you’re straightforward . That’s right . I’ll speak without hiding anything . There was something I decided on this morning as I left the house . ”

“What would that be?”

“I was on my way to expose the truth behind the association . The truth that the association is aware of the radical faction, yet all they’re trying to do is to turn a blind eye to the whole thing . Both association and the government . ”

“If that’s the truth, and I was of the radical faction? You could be killed here right now, without a sound . Is that your choice? No regrets?”

“If I can stand proudly in front of my family, and if it is just my life, I do not have any, not in the slightest . ”

I could tell from the surveillance I’ve carried out so far, but now I was sure that he had nothing to do with the radical faction .

And I just realized today that the association is keeping tabs on him too .

He’s probably similar to Yoon Jong-sun, a man of righteousness .

“I understand your resolve, but please think of your family when you’re risking your life . I understand . First off, I’m not of the radical faction . Actually, I’m more like a threat to them?”

“Really?”

From his eyes, I could feel desperation .

“Yes . I think I answered your question well . Now can I expect you to answer mine?”

“What I want from you is… strength . ”

“Strength? I expected as much, but for what do you need it?”

“Currently, most of those who hold power in this country are connected to the radical faction . ”

“I knew it…”

“If they continue to hide the truth from the national organization as well the citizens, something big is going happen for sure . ”

“So you’re asking me to give you the strength to smash the radical faction?”

“Yes . That’s correct . ”

“What can you do for me then? You know that a one way trade is unfair . ”

“That… . . ”

To Ho Jin, who was mumbling, I spoke with gusto .

“Information . I need all the information you have on them, as well as how to prevent the association from knowing about my growth as well . Is that possible?”

****

I finished our conversation that continued on for a while .

To avoid being discovered by the association’s assassin, he headed for the level 13 dungeon using Warp .

I planned to head to the hunting grounds myself as usual .

If Ho Jin agrees to my plan and finds a way for me to enter the dungeons without any data being sent back to the association, I was planning to head to dungeons above the level 28 dungeon .

If the dungeons didn’t work, I was planning to enter even if I had to smash open the portals .

Until I was able to achieve the level of strength I wanted .

I moved towards the midget’s office to use the portal and head to the hunting grounds .

I rushed to catch a taxi, and was able to arrive quickly .

-beep . Ending ride .

“It’s 14,000 won . ”

“Okay . ”

Paying my dues, I left the taxi .

Then .

-glop

I heard a mushy glopping noise that seemed to echo through a small alleyway, giving me the chills .

The world around me began to turn dark .

Pitch black darkness covered my vision .

Almost as if in a room completely isolated in darkness, I could not see in front of me as there was not a speck of light coming in .

In that short time, I was trapped .

“What… . ”

I casted my shield spells out of instinct, and then casted spells with both hands so I could see with the light coming off of them .

But I still couldn’t see anything .

I didn’t know where I was or what happened, so I looked about .

A man’s voice began to reverberate from all directions .

The voice echoed as it would in a cave, so I could not tell exactly where the voice was coming from .

“It was you, you bastard . The one who killed Jin . ”

Hearing his words, I could immediately tell who it was .

Joker, one of the three leaders of the radical faction, had appeared before me .

Knowing my existence as well as Jin’s, I was sure it was him .

“Joker? Oh boy . I got to meet a lot of people today . Did you come here because you wanted end up like Jin?”

“Funny . This is your last chance . Lend your strength to me . ”

“Did any of you lend your strength to me? Stop talking shit and get over here . ”

“2 days . I’ll be back in 2 days . Think carefully about your answer . Submit or die . One of these two answers will be the equivalent to anything you spit out, after all . ”

‘Eye of Insight . ’

From far away, I could see his form .

However, the distance was too far to see anything but a red dot .

Too far for me to attack .

“ORAAA!”

I began to run at full speed so I could take him down .

I felt that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I smash Meteor on his face at the least .

However .

-glop

I heard the same sound from when I exited the taxi, and the darkness cleared .

The red dot I saw was no longer there .

“Crap… . ”

After leaving the darkness, my vision was filled with light again .

My regret of letting him escape only lasted a moment, as the taxi was still next to me .

It was the same taxi that I rode to get here after finishing my talk to Ho Jin .

Looking at it carefully, I could see that the driver was still counting the money I handed to him .

I was sure that at least 3 hours passed since I was surrounded in darkness .

But this scene, it was same as the moment I handed the driver the money .

‘Did he stop time or something?’

It seemed that he teleported me to another dimension that was not affected by time .

It was likely that it was an executioner class ability .

“Two days… . ”

Joker was moving faster than what Jin told me .

Turning away from the direction of the midget’s office, I began to walk .

I called Jong Ho on the phone .

“Hello?”

“Hey, hyung . ”

“Yeah . Did you meet with Mr . Kim Ho Jin?”

“Yes . Just finished talking with him . ”

“How did it go? Pretty sure he did quit the association . What about the other thing? Do you think he’ll help out?”

“Not a hundred percent sure, but he did want something from me, so it looks like it’s likely to happen . ”

“Glad it went smoothly”

“Yeah . Things did work out smoothly . ”

Perhaps he noticed that something was off, because Jong Ho asked me .

“What’s up? Why are you sounding so glum?”

“Hyung . ”

“Yeah . You can tell me . ”

Banwol Jincheon . I had lent them to Jong Ho .

I was planning to take them back when I had to face Joker and the radical faction again .

Jong Ho knew it as well .

Mustering up as much of a serious voice I could, I spoke .

“I need those swords again . ”