Chapter 81 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: New Employee at Bokbok Interiors (1)
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Shield Boundary Zone, Heavenly Demon's rooftop room.
Having returned to his original form, the Heavenly Demon sat on the platform, ironing away.
On the ironing stone lay the heavily wrinkled Radiant Demon Blood Battle Robe. When he had gone to rescue Seo Yu-ri from the dungeon, he had forcibly squeezed into it without his muscles, leaving creases all over the fabric.
Thud thud thud.
As the steady ironing sounds began to die down, Nameless, who had been sitting beside the Heavenly Demon on the platform, spoke up.
[Somehow, it feels lacking.]
"What do you mean?"
[It seems like all traces of Your Excellency returning to your original face will vanish once that wrinkled robe is smoothed out.]
Nameless gazed at the muscular Heavenly Demon, feeling a strange emotion.
The handsome form the Heavenly Demon had maintained lasted only about half a month. Yet it felt like an eternity had passed in that time.
[If I'd known it would be like this, we should have taken a photo together.]
"Cut the nonsense."
The Heavenly Demon snorted and set down the ironing stick. A low mechanical whir started emanating from Nameless's head.
Whirr. Click clack.
"What are you doing right now?"
[I felt a bit wistful, so I'm watching footage from back then, capturing Your Excellency's appearance.]
Nameless seemed genuinely regretful as it reviewed the stored memories of the handsome Heavenly Demon.
From the day he ate the mushroom and his form changed, to right before the blind date, and even when rescuing Seo Yu-ri.
[Your Excellency.]
Nameless, engrossed in the footage, suddenly spoke in a serious tone.
[Come to think of it, something's off.]
"What is it?"
Instead of answering, Nameless projected a holographic video right in front of the Heavenly Demon's eyes.
The screen showed the Masked Gentleman, the hidden monster from the Bull's Eye Dungeon.
[Outfit, abilities, aggression... This Masked Gentleman from the Bull's Eye Dungeon is vastly different from any known ones.]
It wore not a jeweled mask but a smile mask, and its suit was purple instead of black.
Gone was the mild temperament that never attacked humans first; it had become obsessively persistent, blocking Kim Chanwon's and Seo Yu-ri's escape routes.
And that ability to effortlessly dodge the Heavenly Demon's techniques...
"I see."
The Heavenly Demon's expression remained unchanged as he watched the screen, like an old man viewing someone else's grandson photos from his hospital bed.
Nameless spoke again in a grave tone.
[Your Excellency. This Masked Gentleman is a completely new type of hidden monster that has never appeared before. In the end...]
"Not interested. If you want to register it, find someone else."
[That's not what I meant.]
Nameless switched the hologram to show Seo Yu-ri's face from inside the dungeon.
[Even seeing this unfamiliar Masked Gentleman that I don't know, Seo Yu-ri's expression showed no surprise at all. And she told Your Excellency—even a 1st Grade Awakener couldn't handle that Masked Gentleman. As if she knew it personally.]
"Her comrades all died, didn't they? She must have gauged its abilities through close combat."
[That could be, but still, something feels off.]
The hologram, which had shown Seo Yu-ri's face, now switched back to the Bull's Eye Dungeon.
[Recently, safe dungeons have seen many hidden monsters with unknown appearance conditions. Of course, some appeared because of Your Excellency, but others didn't.]
"Annoying. Get to the point."
[I initially thought the reason was the influence of Your Excellency, who came from another world.]
Nameless's sensor eyes narrowed as it looked at the Heavenly Demon.
[But now it seems the Association might be up to something shady. Suddenly investigating a dangerous dungeon like Bull's Eye is suspicious too. Perhaps the destabilization of the Bull's Eye Dungeon...]
"Not interested. Tell the landlady."
The Heavenly Demon cut her off coldly, and Nameless sighed in response.
[To be honest, Madam Jang Chaewon cares even less about dungeons than Your Excellency does. No, she wouldn't care at all if they collapsed or not.]
"Why..."
The Heavenly Demon started to ask why the landlady was indifferent to dungeons but closed his mouth.
He had a vague idea that Jang Chaewon had her own backstory. But he had no particular desire to know it.
"Anyway, it's none of my business."
Picking up the Radiant Demon Blood Battle Robe and ironing set, the Heavenly Demon headed inside the rooftop room.
[Understood. I won't report this for now.]
Nameless lowered its gaze as it watched the Heavenly Demon.
* * *
The next day.
The Heavenly Demon, who arrived early at work, was swamped.
Dungeon material requests had suddenly poured in. On top of that, regular interior construction jobs kept coming, keeping even Jang Chaewon glued to her phone.
"Handle the urgent ones first. Go grab those dungeon materials from last week's request!"
At Jang Chaewon's shout, as she juggled calls nonstop, the Heavenly Demon took Nameless and headed out to the dungeon early.
A-rank dungeon, Othello.
A dungeon where a go-board-like battlefield unfolded each time a door opened, and a maze where paths shifted after defeating monsters.
Sizzle.
White smoke rose from the Heavenly Demon's fist after he dispatched a pack of danger level 5 monsters, 'Black Wolves,' in one go.
"Hmm."
A burning pain shot through his meridians like fire, drawing a short groan.
The Heavenly Demon's Great Ability, which exploded his physical potential, compensated for his lacking inner energy and destructive power but was gradually damaging his body, which had reached the Diamond Body state.
[Your Excellency. Are you alright?]
Nameless cautiously spoke to the Heavenly Demon, who stood silently with furrowed brows.
[You've pushed too hard today. How about heading back?]
"Pushed too hard?"
The Heavenly Demon scoffed, and Nameless's sensor eyes dimmed weakly.
[For the past half month, you've barely slept, staying up watching Mystery Channel, haven't you?]
"I could go three months without sleep and feel no fatigue."
It was true. Of course, that was when his ten-jia worth of inner energy remained intact and inexhaustible.
[According to the measured biometrics, your body is under significant fatigue. It might be best to postpone this material gathering mission until after recovery.]
"Did you peek into my body without permission?"
[I told you. For the user's safety, I can collect your biometrics inside dungeons.]
The Heavenly Demon huffed, and Nameless continued.
[Your Excellency. If you'd taken the evasion route I advised, this wouldn't have happened. Why...]
"Should I flee from mere rat-like beasts?"
Nameless let out a sigh.
The Heavenly Demon wasn't foolish enough to be reckless, but he wasn't the type to run from monsters that doggedly pursued either.
The problem was that the Black Wolves in this Othello Dungeon had a habit of relentlessly tracking any Awakeners who entered.
There were roughly 50 Black Wolves roaming the dungeon.
But due to their quick respawn, they felt infinite, popping up endlessly as one navigated the maze.
[But why does that woman keep following Your Excellency around? She doesn't seem like an official delivery person.]
Behind the Heavenly Demon was an Awakener diligently stuffing Black Wolf legs into a box.
She wore not the usual nano suit but short shorts and a sleeveless top, with what looked like a motorcycle helmet on her head—an old-model nano bot helmet.
And on her back wasn't a special case for dungeon materials but an ordinary icebox.
[Running into her occasionally is one thing, but I have no idea what she's doing with those wolf legs.]
"Probably eating them."
[Black Wolves? No way. They're known to reek too badly to eat.]
The woman had started running into the Heavenly Demon in dungeons about a month ago. And from some point, whenever he took down a monster, she'd collect parts of it.
"Hmm."
In her casual clothes with a huge fridge-like box on her back, she looked bizarre.
Though it irked the Heavenly Demon, she caused no harm, so he left her be.
"But it's strange."
Looking at the Awakener scavenging monster byproducts, the Heavenly Demon asked.
"What's the difference between monsters that leave byproducts and those that turn to light upon death?"
Most hidden monsters the Heavenly Demon had dealt with dissolved into light.
But regular monsters were split—some left byproducts, others turned to light.
"Does it change based on how you kill them?"
[No. It's random.]
Nameless explained flatly.
[Regular monsters usually leave byproducts, while hidden monsters mostly dissolve into light, leaving only relics. But it's not absolute. Hence, random.]
The Heavenly Demon looked puzzled.
"Random? Why?"
[Because that's the 'law of the world.']
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Demon drew a long breath.
The humans of this world—and Nameless—accepted phenomena they couldn't explain as perfectly natural.
Under the very plausible name of 'law of the world.'
"Then is this also a law of the world?"
Flicking his finger, the Heavenly Demon pointed to the vast interior of the Othello Dungeon.
"Some dungeons have sizes completely different from what they look like outside. Like this one."
The Othello Dungeon appeared about the size of a five-story building from outside, but its interior was as vast as a soccer field.
[Yes.]
At Nameless's nonchalant reply, the Heavenly Demon said incredulously.
"Don't the humans of this world ever wonder how such things are possible or why?"
As if reading the Heavenly Demon's mind, Nameless explained calmly.
[The combat techniques Your Excellency uses or the mystical powers you wield don't exist here. But in your world, they must be natural.]
Nameless used an analogy to illustrate the limits of human knowledge once more.
[Same for us. We just know that's how it is. Like how you know how to turn on the TV but not exactly how it works.]
"Hm."
[This isn't just our world—it's the same where Your Excellency comes from. We know the universe is vast, but no one knows how vast or how it was made.]
"I see."
Realizing the profound truth in Nameless's explanation, the Heavenly Demon offered rare praise.
"I must admit, your eloquence is impressive."
[Thank you.]
Nameless shrugged its nonexistent shoulders and spoke confidently.
[Your Excellency's fatigue is still rising. How about heading back first?]
"Quiet."
As if the praise had never happened, the Heavenly Demon replied coldly.
"Enough nagging. Guide me to where the black pebbles are."
* * *
Having shouldered a sack of black pebbles, the Heavenly Demon returned to the shop via a secret passage. His expression was impassive, but his steps were heavy, and his eyes lacked vigor.
In the end, he had wiped out the endlessly spawning Black Wolves and come out.
Ding ding. Ring ring ring.
Entering through the back door, a frenzy of phone rings filled the shop.
"Right, the demolition! I'll definitely do it tomorrow."
"Oh, demolition? Of course. It should be done by now. Yes, I'll check and call back."
"Yes? Gkok Gkok Bugi eggs? If they're intact... probably not. I'll get back to you."
Regular phone, Divine Request phone, and cellphone.
Jang Chaewon, who had been fielding calls nonstop since morning, was still at it.
"Agh. This is impossible now."
Finishing her calls, she slumped over her desk.
"If not, I'll have to go look myself."
"What do you mean?"
"You're back?"
Lifting her head, Jang Chaewon gaped at the Heavenly Demon's haggard appearance.
"What happened to your face?"
"Nothing much. Some wolves made of black metal chunks charged at me, so I took care of them all."
"What? Black Wolves? Those respawn super fast—practically infinite!"
At Jang Chaewon's shocked words, Nameless sighed.
[I clearly advised the evasion route. Your Excellency just refused.]
"Y-you did?"
[I saw that strange Awakener again too. As soon as she ran into Your Excellency, she followed and collected Black Wolf byproducts.]
"Even Black Wolves?"
Jang Chaewon had heard from Nameless about the Awakener the Heavenly Demon occasionally encountered in dungeons.
But she wasn't Association-affiliated investigating the unregistered Heavenly Demon, just scavenging dead monsters, so Jang Chaewon hadn't thought much of it.
"Guess she really is a poor, powerless Awakener. But Black Wolves are truly inedible."
[Then I'll rest in the storage room.]
Nameless tucked in its limbs and rolled clumsily into the storage room.
It felt more fatigued from its user—the Heavenly Demon—ignoring advice than he did.
"But what was that earlier?"
The Heavenly Demon looked at Jang Chaewon, who had dark circles like a panda, and said.
"Go look yourself? Still got dungeon material missions left?"
"Ah."
Gazing at the Divine Request phone, Jang Chaewon drooped her shoulders.
"I was trying to hire an employee."
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