Chapter 51: Chapter 51

“Hyung-nim, did you write the wrong numbers here?”

Jo Hyung-il handed the purchase list to Lee Jun-cheol, insisting that there seemed to be an extra zero.

“What’s the problem?”

“The list of MP potions and explosion scrolls. You’ve ordered three times the usual amount.”

“I ordered everything we needed; what’s so strange about that?”

“Who exactly is going to use all this?”

“Who else? It’s for our top customer.”

Jo Hyung-il immediately thought of the customer Lee Jun-cheol referred to. A VIP who accounted for over 30% of the organization’s revenue.

If Kang Jin-hyuk had placed a personal order, it was only natural for them to go through the effort to obtain it.

But even considering that, the quantity seemed excessive.

“Does that person have a water tank in their stomach? Drinking ten bottles a day would take months to exhaust…”

“What do we care how he uses it? If he asks us to get it, we get it.”

“Fair enough for potions, but I’m uneasy about these explosion scrolls.”

The number of explosion scrolls ordered by Kang Jin-hyuk was staggering.

If he chose to, he could obliterate even the headquarters of the association, fortified with all its defense skills.

Handling such items carelessly might later lead to charges of complicity in crime.

“That guy seems dangerous; maybe we should cut ties soon?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Are you going to cover all the revenue he brings us?”

“How am I supposed to do that…?”

“Then just keep your mouth shut and do your job. Stop interfering with things that don’t concern you.”

After hearing Lee Jun-cheol’s scolding, Jo Hyung-il slumped back to his seat.

Lee Jun-cheol was aware that Jo Hyung-il’s concerns stemmed from genuine anxiety.

He, too, had been seriously worried when he first received the order from Kang Jin-hyuk.

However, Lee Jun-cheol was resolved to trust Kang Jin-hyuk.

It might be absurd to trust anyone in this line of work, but Kang Jin-hyuk warranted it.

“From what I’ve seen, he at least doesn’t seem like one who would cause a scene.”

When someone is hunting for ways to commit a crime, their restlessness and tension typically become apparent.

But Kang Jin-hyuk showed none of those signs.

“He’s likely just using these for hunting monsters, which is what they’re meant for anyway.”

Lee Jun-cheol’s assumption turned out to be spot on.

Sure, a few hunters had been blown away in the process, but the explosion scrolls saved Kang Jin-hyuk’s life from a relentless wave of monsters.

* * *

Kang Jin-hyuk, who had been momentarily thrown into a panic, slapped himself to regain focus.

“They say you survive even if you’re bitten by a tiger as long as you keep your wits about you.”

Having voiced the old proverb aloud, he steeled himself.

Opening his inventory, he pulled out all the remaining explosion scrolls.

“It’s not too late.”

Before the monsters traversed the corridor, Kang Jin-hyuk hurriedly placed the scrolls against the walls.

He moved quickly enough to astonish even the part-time workers hanging up posters, searching for the largest clear area to run without being caught in the blast.

Crouching in a corner, he pulled out his radar.

Checking the screen revealed monsters approaching just a few meters away.

He could practically hear their footsteps echoing, even without checking the radar.

“What if I fail…?”

As the urgency of his situation escalated, anxiety consumed his thoughts.

Negative thoughts clouded his mind, and he shook his head rapidly like a wet dog trying to dry off.

“Forget it; I can always escape with a return scroll. No need to panic.”

Just then, the monsters reached the corridor’s entrance.

Instead of the armored golems he had expected, a pack of wolves with glowing red eyes emerged.

“What the hell is that?”

These were no ordinary wolves; they were twice the size of regular ones, with unusually large claws and teeth.

Kang Jin-hyuk felt somewhat relieved knowing they weren’t wearing armor.

Any monster without anything covering it would surely suffer more damage from explosions.

Finally, as the wolves crossed into their range, the scrolls began to shimmer.

Boom!

A series of loud explosions erupted from the scrolls, unleashing a cacophony of sound.

Thanks to his quick reflexes, Kang Jin-hyuk had already covered his ears, preventing his eardrums from bursting.

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

Messages flooded his vision, obscuring his surroundings when something struck his cheek.

Raising his hand to check, he found it was debris from the blown-apart wolves.

Kang Jin-hyuk nearly fell over at the gruesome sight of the wolf parts flying everywhere.

“Blech.”

He choked back vomit, instinctively covering his mouth.

Too much exposure to anything like this, even for someone with a strong stomach, could take a toll on one’s mental health.

Still, lingering thoughts of any remaining wolves possibly charging at him forced him to compose himself.

“Now that they’ve been blown away, I need to stop thinking about collecting materials…”

Kang Jin-hyuk forced himself to think about money to ignore the blood-soaked scene around him.

As he did so, the sound of barking dogs reached his ears, prompting him to grab his baseball bat and quickly scan the area.

“What’s going on? Where?!”

The explosion had created a thick cloud of smoke, obscuring his view of the corridor ahead.

Uncertain of where an attack could come from, Kang Jin-hyuk leaned back against the wall.

“There’s no way that many got wiped out by just one explosion.”

Staying tense, Kang Jin-hyuk spotted a wolf leaping out of the smoke toward him.

The wolf aimed for his neck, but Kang Jin-hyuk’s baseball bat struck faster than its fangs.

The wolf buckled without a sound before crashing to the ground, unable to scream.

Kang Jin-hyuk wrapped his body in aura to face the following wolves.

While using aura rapidly consumed his MP like pouring water into a bottomless well, he had no other choice.

The wolves were too quick for him to handle without it, and their numbers were still considerable.

“Ha!”

“Yelp!”

The wolves that met Kang Jin-hyuk’s bat fell one by one, unable to rise after colliding with such force.

With a bat enhanced by aura, the shattered bones ensured they wouldn’t get back up easily.

As more than ten wolves fell without touching him, the remaining wolves began to take notice.

The explosion had already claimed more than half their pack, sparking fury in the surviving wolves.

“Woof!”

The largest of the remaining wolves let out a powerful howl.

At first, it seemed like a signal to charge, but it turned out the wolves were retreating, darting away without a second glance.

Unlike golems, who would attack no matter how many fell, these wolves understood the value of their own lives.

“Whew…”

Now able to breathe a sigh of relief, Kang Jin-hyuk sat down on the ground.

Actually fighting them hadn’t been too tough.

Maybe he had just been too tense? He felt more exhausted than usual.

“I should have just stayed calm from the start.”

He could have handled it more smoothly and maybe hadn’t needed to use so many explosion scrolls.

“Sigh. Sadly, it is what it is now.”

He wouldn’t gain anything by dwelling on the past.

For now, he consumed potions to refill his MP and stamina.

“Guess I need to avoid the path where the wolves ran off to and move forward.”

To see where they had gone, he checked his radar.

What had started as a comfortable sitting position had him jumping up in shock at the unexpected sight before him.

Many glowing dots—at least fifty—were heading his way from various directions.

While there were fewer than the previous wolves, given that he had no scrolls left, this volume felt insurmountable.

“This is just great.”

The sounds of barking grew louder from down the corridor.

Believing they had simply fled, he realized they had instead retreated to gather reinforcements.

“Where should I run?”

Facing so many monsters was tantamount to committing suicide.

Finding a better position or fleeing far enough away that they couldn’t pursue seemed wiser.

Kang Jin-hyuk searched for the only path indicated on the radar that showed no dots and dashed off.

If he just ran, he wouldn’t be able to outrun the wolves, so Kang Jin-hyuk focused the aura in his legs.

“Argh! Argh!”

The wolves barked wildly behind him, chasing him down.

Though their ferocity was intimidating, the distance between them remained stable.

Kang Jin-hyuk began to think he could shake them off just by keeping this pace.

The wolves lacked any means of replenishing their stamina, while he had plenty of potions still remaining.

“Good luck trying to catch me!”

Feeling confident, Kang Jin-hyuk even took the time to look back and taunt the wolves.

He thought they wouldn’t understand anyway, but he had forgotten that the necklace he wore acted as a universal translator.

The wolves, whose pride had been wounded by Kang Jin-hyuk’s mocking, were incensed.

“Woof~!”

As one wolf took the lead and howled, the rest followed suit, barking loudly.

When he turned to see what was happening, a pack of red-furred wolves was sprinting madly toward him.

“What the hell!? Did they get a buff too?!”

Kang Jin-hyuk hastily intensified the aura in both legs.

His MP consumption rate skyrocketed due to the urgency.

To keep moving, he had to gulp down MP potions every thirty seconds.

“What the hell!”

The chase with the pack of wolves showed no signs of stopping.

He opened the twelfth MP potion and grumbled to himself.

“I should know better than to think I can just keep dodging! This is nonsense!”

Not only were the wolves vicious, but they were also relentless.

His desperation grew as he realized the wolves had sacrificed their well-being to bolster their power.

“Do they think they can just keep throwing themselves at me?!”

What was once a rivalry for a single prey had become a wrestle with nearly two hundred wolves.

Each time he resisted the urge to give in, a pack member left a bloody wake behind themselves as some even bled from their mouths and eyes.

“This is insane!”

The tenacity of the beasts ignited Kang Jin-hyuk’s fighting spirit.

“Bring it on! Let’s see who comes out on top!”

More than two hundred assembles solely for one human being.

Kang Jin-hyuk should have been the one infuriated here.

Having guzzled down nearly all his potions, his stomach churned with discomfort.

Still, gritting his teeth, he swallowed the thirteenth MP potion.

An intense chicken race unfolded within the temple: between Kang Jin-hyuk’s stomach and the wolves’ endurance.