Liberation (3)

The situation in the detention center soon entered the resolution phase.

Some of the guards fled, others died in battle, and the rest surrendered.

When the defensive facilities were disabled due to insider betrayal and the warden Jo Hwan-seong died prematurely,

most of the guards had already foreseen that the Cheongmyeong Detention Center wouldn’t last much longer.

So, when they saw the front gate defenses breached so easily, they raised their hands and surrendered without hesitation.

During that process, a ridiculous farce occurred where Hunters from Heuksaja, harboring deep resentment, killed the surrendering guards.

Regardless, the situation was quickly brought under control, and the Cheongmyeong Detention Center and mine came under joint management by the Cheongan Mercenary Corps and Heuksaja.

To that end, prior negotiations had taken place, and even a permanent administrative body was established.

At least for the time being, there didn’t seem to be any major issues. Jeon Se-hyuk’s group was also set to act as intermediaries.

After leaving behind essential security personnel and confirming that the defensive facilities were operational,

the Cheongan Mercenary Corps and Heuksaja withdrew their main forces to Daejeon.

They couldn’t rule out the possibility that Eclipse might strike back at Daejeon’s main base.

Coincidentally, Eclipse had just finished their takeover of the Cheongju Liberation Area.

The remaining Black forces who resisted to the end were eventually wiped out.

According to rumors, some Hunters from Black surrendered midway, but Kang Dong-hyun supposedly ordered them all to be executed.

Perhaps it was an outburst of frustration over losing the Cheongmyeong Detention Center without even a chance to react.

From Eclipse’s point of view, it was like having their golden goose stolen—by rivals, no less.

It would have been strange not to be angry. And Kang Dong-hyun wasn’t exactly known for showing mercy to his enemies.

He often pretended to be magnanimous but was the type to hold grudges and seek revenge later.

During the cleanup, Kang-hoo went around greeting the involved parties one by one.

Familiar faces like Lee Ye-rin and Jeon Se-hyuk once again thanked Kang-hoo for his efforts and verified the validity of the written contract.

However, he couldn’t greet the executives from Heuksaja, who were part of the alliance—they weren’t present.

Wondering why, he learned that they were currently tracking down fleeing Eclipse guards.

According to Lee Ye-rin, they planned to capture them and extort ransom from Eclipse.

Of course, both Kang-hoo and Lee Ye-rin were skeptical about Kang Dong-hyun actually paying ransom.

Would they really spend money on defeated soldiers?

They’d likely pretend they were willing for appearances’ sake but then offer a pitiful ransom to Heuksaja.

By setting impossible terms, they could claim they did their best to save their subordinates.

The picture was so predictable that Kang-hoo and Lee Ye-rin burst into laughter without even speaking to each other.

It seems the more you know, the more you see.

After finishing his greetings, Kang-hoo casually brought up the topic of dungeons.

“Anyway, I’m thinking of entering a dungeon for a bit of fresh air. Is that okay?”

“Of course. We need to keep proper records, so please just sign off on the list of dungeons you’ll be entering.”

“Sure.”

The documents Lee Ye-rin handed over listed the official names and locations of each dungeon, along with Kang-hoo’s raiding record.

Since it was a contract tied to the alliance, everything was being handled strictly by the book—no more, no less.

Kang-hoo actually preferred it that way.

If Lee Ye-rin had taken the liberty to say he could raid one or two extra times…

He would’ve judged her as someone who couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters. In other words, she’d lose credibility.

Scratch, scratch.

While Kang-hoo signed,

Jeon Se-hyuk, who watched with satisfaction, added,

“Thanks to you, Mr. Kang-hoo, we’re able to hold this meeting right in the warden’s office.”

“I agree. It was my dream to land a solid punch on Eclipse’s solar plexus—and I fulfilled it thanks to you, Mr. Kang-hoo.”

It seemed Lee Ye-rin shared similar feelings with Jeon Se-hyuk.

The two of them exchanged relieved expressions and gestures, as if they had planned it in advance. It was like ‘peace of mind.’

After finishing the signatures, Kang-hoo smiled at the two.

His smile was involuntary, driven by his own sense of relief.

It felt like he had washed away a past soaked in blood—with new blood.

The expression might sound grotesque, but as the one who lived through it, the sensation was refreshing and satisfying.

Tap!

Having signed everything, Kang-hoo quietly pointed out the window beyond the warden’s office.

“Next, I’m aiming for something bigger.”

Even without naming anyone, it was clear. That ‘something bigger’ was still alive.

To end the twisted grudge, that bastard had to die. The process and conclusion were simple.

The start of dungeon raids.

Since he had chosen the lowest-level dungeon among the seven, the raids were a breeze.

The recommended level wasn’t even 100, so for Kang-hoo, it was barely a warm-up.

It might not have been helpful in terms of experience points, but in terms of ‘experience,’ he could gather a lot of data.

What Kang-hoo truly realized in this dungeon was the result of steadily raising his anti-magic and durability stats.

The main monsters in this dungeon were ‘Needle Squirrels,’ which spat needle-like projectiles from their mouths,

And ‘Flame Birds,’ which looked like eagles but could breathe fire.

These monsters specialized in physical damage—called mul-dam—and magical damage—called ma-dam.

But their attacks felt like feather taps to Kang-hoo, not life-threatening strikes.

The Needle Squirrel’s projectiles, even when hitting his body directly, felt like being struck by a rubber ball.

The Flame Bird’s fire only left some soot and a bit of warmth on his skin.

At best, it felt like rubbing a warm hand warmer against the skin.

‘Yeah, this is what overwhelming stats feel like. The higher you go, the more this numbers game matters.’

But Kang-hoo knew that basking in superiority was dangerous—he could still be the underdog to someone else.

So he stayed vigilant.

Everything is relative.

20 minutes later.

“Guh-heo…”

The mid-boss monster, Red Mask, collapsed lifelessly, having lost its life almost immediately.

The difference in level was so great that it couldn’t even be called a proper battle.

To sum it up: stab, urgh, thud. That was it. Hard to believe, but the scene that made it real was right there.

However, the skill Kang-hoo looted from Red Mask made him wonder whether it even qualified as a skill.

“Seriously? This kind of skill…”

Kang-hoo let out a hollow laugh.

Of course, any skill can be used somehow later on. If necessary, he could even synthesize it with a skill using the Constellation of Creativity he obtained not long ago.

But until then, it would be more efficient to find a use for it somehow.

Cross-dressing, however, was far outside Kang-hoo’s interests.

No, he outright disliked it.

That’s why when guys like Heo Jeong-tae or Gong Tae-su dressed as women in the past, he felt deep disgust.

“……”

It wasn’t even a skill he wanted to judge. What was clear was that he’d never use it for any sexual purposes.

Still, if a strategic situation ever really demanded it, he might give it a try.

If someone he knew found out, it would definitely become a black mark in his history—but it was an excellent skill for catching someone off guard.

Soon after, the main boss monster was taken down swiftly.

From the beginning, the dungeon was four or five tiers below Kang-hoo’s level, so there were no obstacles.

Even Florence of Scorching Flame, who appeared as the main boss monster, only managed to use her signature skill once before being brutally slaughtered by Kang-hoo.

For something with such a grand name, it was a pathetic and miserable end.

It was a skill that could be nullified simply by closing one’s eyes, so it wasn’t something universally reliable.

However, like a flash grenade, it could create unexpected variables and blind the enemy momentarily.

It wasn’t an exceptionally powerful skill, but it had clear tactical value.

‘There are still six more dungeons where I can obtain skills this way? So twelve in total.’

Either way, more skills are always better.

Even if a skill seems useless, there’s no harm in acquiring it—Kang-hoo enjoyed the anticipation and excitement.

Since this was the lowest-tier dungeon, he could probably loot better skills in higher-level ones.

Just then—

“Hm?”

Kang-hoo checked the item rewards activated from the dead Florence and raised an intrigued brow.

Though there had been a delay, one quite decent item had been activated as loot from her.

It was a shoe item.

Kang-hoo’s current shoes were simple ones that raised agility by 100.

The new shoes, Sprint, not only gave 50 more agility than his previous ones but also came with a strength boost.

Since only one pair of shoes could be equipped at a time, he had always felt a bit of regret over the Tier 4 grade.

Thanks to this, he upgraded not only the item grade but also its secondary stat composition.

Seeing his status window again after a while, Kang-hoo smiled with pride at the well-balanced high stats—except for mana.

It was a stat build you’d never see in an ordinary assassin—an all-rounder.

Typically, assassins had poor anti-magic and durability stats, and either stamina or strength would be low.

In Kang-hoo’s case, aside from the mana stat he had deliberately neglected, all his stats were high.

Compared to another assassin of the same level, there would be nearly double or triple the difference in at least three areas.

Satisfied after checking his stats, Kang-hoo left the dungeon, feeling there was nothing more to gain.

The location wasn’t far from the warden’s office where Lee Ye-rin and Jeon Se-hyuk had been talking earlier, so he wondered if they might still be there.

“Hm.”

As expected, the two were still there—and two new people had joined them.

Heuksaja’s Kwak Hyeong-su and Kwak Hyeong-seok, the brothers.

In the original story, after Eclipse’s downfall, they clashed bitterly with Lee Ye-rin and ended up leading their faction into ruin.

To summarize—

They were burdens who would likely hold Lee Ye-rin back and drain her strength in the future.