laulau20

Chapter 119: Aftermath

Added 2025-09-26 14:51:43 +0000 UTC

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 59. Your Attacker class has reached Level 42. You have earned 500 coins. You have obtained a novice dungeon core.]

James stared at the core in his hand. A dungeon core—obtained in less than three hours. Before he had the chance to do anything, all the monsters vanished, leaving nothing behind. James felt cheated. He had been diving into dungeons for months, risking his life fo dungeon core, and now the system had decided to just drop one into his lap? What’s its game now?

“Whoa! So this was the system, huh? Amazing, I got a Sword Aura unique skill!”

“I got a Flying Blade unique skill! I’m going to become a cultivator! Hahahaha!” The soldiers cheered behind him. James caught another term—unique skill—and realized they also mentioned the system.

“Wait, what did you say? You guys got the system? Really? Can you tell me what this sword was?” James decided to test them, and they answered without hesitation.

“Yes. It was the Sword of Yailatuh.”

Confirmed. They really had the system for killing the monsters that poured out from the gate.

“So, a new game, huh. The guild and government guys must be panicking right about now,” James said.

As if on cue, Ryan crept out from his car, craning his neck left and right for any stray monsters that might still be around. He approached James with his phone.

“Boss, Silas called. Will you pick it up?” Ryan handed him the phone. James accepted while scanning his surroundings, then ordered his men to scout ahead in groups of four before taking the call.

“James, I heard you’re in California. There was a dungeon near you that emitted a red light, right?”

“Yes, news travels fast. I just cleared the dungeon break.”

“You… cleared it? Dungeon break—you mean monsters poured out of it. I see. So it’s not just in Europe.”

“Yes. The boss monster also dropped a novice dungeon core,” James reported.

“Got it. Please keep your phone close at all times. I’ll call you after this event has run its course,” Silas said.

“Damn FBI spies.” James cursed, feeling uneasy at the remark. The fact that Silas hadn’t asked for his phone number but instead told him to keep his phone on him at all times meant he already knew all of James’ contact details. He even knew James was with Ryan.

“Boss, the area’s cleared. The place where the red dungeon was—it was a park.”

“Let’s get back to the supermarket,” James said. “Ryan, keep this. Let the guild know that we have a new dungeon core.”

“Yes, sir.”

Two days later, news about the dungeon break near his supermarket spread across social media and into the hands of reporters. Knowing James was unfriendly toward them, the reporters targeted his employees and Ryan, asking whether James had known about the dungeon break. They replied that James had planned to raid the dungeon in a few days. Soon, speculation spread about whether James had been aware of the dungeon break beforehand.

Of course, James hadn’t known anything about it. Truth was often stranger than fiction. He simply wanted to conquer that red dungeon because it looked unique. His mindset was simple: a unique dungeon meant unique loot. That was why he had chosen it.

Moments later, Silas called James at the supermarket, asking for a group online meeting. The damage from the dungeon break had been minimal in his town, but the same couldn’t be said elsewhere. Areas without high-level survivors like James struggled. Regular mobs could be taken down with guns, but bosses were another story. They required heavy weapons like tanks or missiles.

“James, did you see the news about the dungeon break?” Andrew asked.

“Experienced it firsthand,” James answered.

“Me as well. The boss was tough.” Kouki nodded. A bandage peeked from under his shirt, showing he had been wounded while fighting the boss.

“Did you get the dungeon core?” James asked.

“Eh? They dropped cores?”

“Yes. Same as the last boss that nearly killed me in a novice dungeon near the warehouse. The dungeon core transformed into a metal ankylosaurus. If you defeat it without damaging the glowing gem, you get the dungeon core,” James explained.

“Really?” Andrew perked up at the news.

“Dammit, I thought that was the weak point we had to hit.” Kouki cursed.

“You’re not wrong. That ankylosaurus was tough, but I killed it by hitting its dungeon core. Ah, but there might be an explosion or last-ditch attack.”

“You should have told me sooner…” Kouki frowned.

“It was in the report, Kouki. You should read it sometimes. But I understand—I didn’t make the connection until James mentioned it just now either. It was the only dungeon where James didn’t bring back a dungeon core.” Andrew said.

“We’ve got an extra core now. Where should we go?” James asked. “I want to train my new recruits, but Silas here seems against the idea.”

“Yes. The public and the government are on high alert after that Dungeon Break. They’ve proposed that high-level survivors like James should be tasked with guarding the city instead of raiding dungeons,” Silas said. “Your actions in California set a precedent. The city has offered you one million dollars per month to keep them safe.”

“That’s stupid.” James scoffed. A Dungeon Break might drop cores and coins, but the rewards were paltry compared to raiding a dungeon. Raids also yielded items and merit. James instantly refused. “I don’t want to babysit them. They can’t tell me what to do.”

One million dollars a month was an enormous amount of money—but James no longer cared. He already had more than enough to last a lifetime.

“James! Defending civilians should be our priority!” Kouki yelled.

“You can do as you wish. But I’m not going to do it,” James said.

“James! You are a hero! You shouldn’t be saying that!”

“Wait, you two. Let’s talk this out with a clear head. No need to be so confrontational. Let’s start with you, James.” Andrew nodded. He agreed with James in spirit, but his roundabout way of putting it went over James’ head—it didn’t feel like Andrew was on his side. The old James might have relented under such pressure, but after becoming a dungeon explorer, he no longer cared what others thought of him.

“First of all, dungeons offer merit, items, and coins—all of which directly correlate to our strength. You can’t defeat monsters without them,” James said. Andrew nodded, but Silas intervened. Now that it had been proven that dungeons could be cleared in another way, he didn’t want civilians gaining strength.

“But James, dungeon monsters—even their bosses—can be defeated using conventional weaponry. The boss monster was tougher, sure, but it still fell after repeated hits with our HEAT missiles. I think it’s safer to deal with Dungeon Breaks rather than let you guys risk your lives in dungeons with no equipment.

“The boss monster in Europe even dropped a Dungeon Core. A lucky hit with sabot rounds killed it without damaging the core.”

James was tongue-tied. What Silas said made sense. There was no need for him to risk his life any longer—Dungeon Breaks could be dealt with using modern weaponry. But he yearned for dungeons. He wanted to explore more, risking his life as he attained greater strength.

“Then it’s your job to defend civilians, not mine,” James said. He will not stop, and that’s final. Even if Silas threatened to cut his funding, he would still raid dungeons.

“I must tell you that the UN has proposed pulling all support funding for dungeon exploration. We might no longer pay you if you dive into a dungeon. They propose to recruit survivors as dungeon defense armies.”

“So be it.” James scoffed. He knew they couldn’t be trusted. After all survivors had done for the guild, the guild now decided to just let them go.

“Silas, there is no guarantee that conventional weaponry will always work on dungeon monsters. If you pull our funding, we won’t be prepared to face bosses of higher difficulty. Can you tell the higher-ups about our concerns?” Andrew asked. Unlike James, he was more diplomatic. He understood that the UN wanted to conserve funds and redirect them to modern weaponry rather than relying on survivors like them. But there was no guarantee that guns and missiles would always work on dungeon monsters.

“I’ll relay your concerns,” Silas nodded.

“Ah, we also need to conquer that hard-difficulty dungeon, Silas. Otherwise, the nuclear reactor will go critical. How many dungeon cores do we have now? If we have four dungeon cores, I suggest we raid another medium-level dungeon,” Andrew said. “Were there any red dungeons that were medium-ranked before?”

“... There weren’t. I see—you’ve surmised that there won’t be a medium Dungeon Break. I can connect with the UN members using that logic. The nuclear reactor takes precedence, after all. If it goes into meltdown, millions of lives will be lost. We only have three novice cores right now, but I might be able to convince other UN members who have engaged with Dungeon Breaks to let go of theirs.”

“Thank you. If we can get sixteen novice Dungeon Cores, we could hit the hard one in a year. We should just barely make it. This Dungeon Break is an unexpected boon.” Andrew smiled.

James didn’t share Andrew’s enthusiasm. Raiding dungeons was all he cared about nowadays. He didn’t do it for humanity, but for himself.

“Now that the talk about dungeons is finished, let’s move on to the next topic. I need your help, James. You came back so soon after the raid, but I need your chimera’s ability, James. You can plunder arms and legs from corpses, right? Dehlia has lost her legs. My skill lets me swap injuries and body parts with nearby teammates. So, could you offer your legs? I’ll ask Silas to provide you with a corpse so you can replace them afterward.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Riding an airplane is tiresome. You can come visit me at my supermarket,” James sighed. If one had upgraded their shop to level two, losing limbs was no longer fatal. He could just buy a High Potion to regenerate them—but that cost 300 coins, not a small amount. He suspected Andrew wanted to save coins so he could reinvest them in Hain. That cyborg man had been annoying lately.

“I’m on my way. By the way, when I arrive, I’ll let you pick our next medium dungeon to raid. See you, James. It’s been a long time since I visited the USA.”

“Alright, with this, the meeting is dismissed. Thank you for your participation, gentlemen. I’ll bring your words to the UN.”

Silas ended the meeting, and James was left alone in the supermarket.

“Damn, I guess those rookies will need to raid a dungeon on their own,” James sighed.

Managing a mercenary company was difficult.

[Name]: James
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 59
Coins: 2900
Merit: 20
Biomass: 300

Stats:

STR: 183 (↑3)
Dex: 179 (↑2)
Magic: 143 (↑3)
Mana: 1260 (↑20)

Skills:

Novice Axe Mastery Level 5: Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang
Novice Sword Mastery Level 5: Hurricane, Vorpal Lunge, Twin Fang, Lunar Counter
Novice Bow Mastery Level 1: Quickshot, Homing Shot, Triple Shot
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1

Magic (Mind Magic Tier 3):

Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar
Parallel Thought
Dispel

Class: Attacker (Level 42, ↑1)

Passive: 10% bonus when attacking
Stats Bonus: STR, Dex +1 per level

Shop (Level 2):

Health Potion (100 coins)
Hematonic Potion (50 coins)
High Potion (300 coins)
Antidote (50 coins)
Bullets (10 coins/round)
Grenades/Flashbang (50 coins/piece)
Arrow (50 coins/dozen)
Metal Pocket Arrow (100 coins/dozen)
Poison Dart (10 coins/round)
Sell/Repair function
Merit Shop (10 merit/skill)
Body Modding (Human: 100 biomass/part)

Unique Skill: Chimera Level 3 (3 extra slots open)

Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) – Stomach Slot
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) – Right Eye Slot
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Repairable, Mana -200) – Right Arm Slot
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing, Mana -100, Magic -10) – Lung Slot
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) – Heart Slot
Orc’s Torso – Torso Slot
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) – Mouth Slot
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Mana -100, Magic -10) – Skin Slot
Land Shark’s Ear (Echolocation 10m) – Ear Slot
Mana Core (Water Spell: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) – Extra Slot
Quetzalcoatl Horn (Lightning Shot: 20 mana per shot) – Extra Slot 3
Mana Core (Wind Spell: Wind Gust, Wind Wall, Magic +20, Mana +300) – Extra Slot 4