Chapter 16 – You Reap What You Sow (2)

(TLN: Third regular chapter this week. I had some extra time. ? Please turn off the adblockers if you can. Thank you~)

“That, that is correct.”

Woojin had emptied the pockets of Bae-dohsoo’s party members, and he had a happy expression. When one looked at his expression as he counted the money, one couldn’t find any indication that he was feeling any guilt.

Sunggoo couldn’t even let out a moan since he was afraid of Woojin. He just stood there. Sunggoo got his feet wet in the 1 star Dungeons, but this was the first time he saw someone be killed in front of his eyes. Moreover, the killing was done through a person’s hands.

Woojin looked indifferent after he killed these people. He acted as if he had experienced such trifling events numerous times.

“They carried around a lot of cash.”

Woojin felt great since he obtained an unexpected revenue of $900. At Woojin’s humming, Sunggoo suddenly started to hiccup.

“You almost died because of me.”

“N..no.”

If it wasn’t for Woojin, he would have already died when he was left to the monsters.

“Then why don’t you double the amount.”

“What?”

“I saved you twice now.”

“…….”

In total, he wanted 4.

Even if he emptied all of his savings account, he wouldn’t be able to come up with the 40 thousand dollars. Sunggoo made an expression as if he was about to cry. Woojin took out the arrow embedded in his shoulder with a happy expression. Then Woojin gathered the undispersed souls of Bae-dohsoo and his party members. He used it to heal Sunggoo’s wounds.

“Hoo-oop.”

Sunggoo felt something enter him, and he gasped as he felt the rapid regeneration. This wound healing couldn’t be compared to the one before.

The Soul Extraction was more effective if the soul came from a higher form of life. Of course, a human’s soul would be a better source of energy than a monster’s soul.

“Th..thank you.”

“Ah, it was nothing. Everything I do will be charged.”

“…yes.”

Sunggoo quickly gathered the scattered blood stones then he followed behind Woojin. When Woojin and Sunggoo exited the Dungeon, the public service employee’s eyes became round.

“Huh? Why are there only two of you?”

“They were all taken down by the monsters.”

At Woojin’s composed words, the public service employee’s eyes narrowed.

“Then how were you able to gather all the blood stones?”

“Even if others die, it doesn’t mean one should leave all the valuables behind. Right?”

At Woojin’s assertive answer, the public employee’s eyes narrowed further. When he looked at the situation, he guessed these two had stabbed the others in the back to monopolize the profit. However, he had no way of proving it.

“Koo-hmm. Just sign here before you leave. The Bureau may contact you if they decide to hold an investigation on a later date.”

Woojin, and Sunggoo signed the entrance ledger that was handed over to them. Then the public employee in charge used a ‘Deceased’ stamp to make a mark next to the names of the Roused, who had entered with them into the Dungeon.

If one was near a subway station, there was always a decent Bloodstone exchange store nearby.

The price of the Bloodstones almost never fluctuated.

The exchange store took a fixed amount of tax, and it also took the fee one was required to give to the very first person who cleared the Dungeon. The rest was deposited into the customer’s account.

When Woojin exited the Shinrim Station’s exchange store, his mouth was practically hanging from his ears.

‘I’ve earned over 13,000 dollars from a single Dungeon.’

The blood stones were worth 12,300 dollars, and he had taken $900 from those bastards’ wallets. Originally, this was suppose to be split amongst eight people. However, the important fact was he had earned $13,000.

Moreover, if he included the $4000 he’ll receive from saving Sunggoo’s life, then he had a large sum of around $17,000.

‘Next time I’ll have to go around the Dungeons by myself.’

If he could make this much money at once like this, he didn’t need to worry about the entrance fee. He could clear a Dungeon in 1 hour, so it would be much more profitable for him to clear it by himself.

Woojin wrapped his arm around Sunggoo’s neck.

“Put in your phone number.”

“Yes, yes.”

When Hong-sunggoo put in his phone number, Woojin immediately pressed the call button . After he heard the ringtone come from Sunggoo’s pocket, he ended the phone call.

“Good, good. You have my account number?”

“Yes. I’ve definitely written it down.”

“All right. Travel safely.”

Woojin took out 10 dollars from his fat wallet. Sunggoo tried to dissuade him, but he put the bill in Sunggoo’s hand.

“Use it for transportation fee.”

“Th…thank you. Big brother.”

“Oh yea. Remember I really hate bastards who stab me in the back.”

“I…I’ll bear that in mind.”

Sunggoo lowered his head after he watched the happy Woojin leave. Sunggoo’s face looked as if he had lost his country.

“He said four… I’ll be short even after I break open my savings.”

Hong-songoo had become a Roused two month ago, and he had made a lot of money compared to his 21 year old peers. Still, it hadn’t been easy for him to make money.

He had visited the 1 star Dungeons everyday for the past two months. He was able to earn more than 30 thousand dollars. He had been successful in saving some money, increase the effectiveness of his fireball ability, and decrease his cool-time.

It was an incredible amount of cash flow compared to a regular person. However, it was money he had earned by putting his life on the line. His stomach churned at the idea that he would have to blow all the money he had struggled to gather.

Still, he was pulled out from a certain death, so how could he compare his life to his entire asset? He probably could get a loan for $4,000 to fill the missing amount of money.

“Ughh. When he said 4 bills, I hope he didn’t mean the big 4 bills?”

Whether it is 40 thousand or 400 thousand, he intended to give him everything he got. However, he probably didn’t have the ability to make 400 thousand dollars. It was a figure that felt too far away to reach.

He hoped Woojin didn’t put such a high price on his life. Sunggoo headed towards the bank to break open his savings.

*

Woo-soonghoon was a pretty successful owner of a cellphone store. He had 8 years of experience as a salesman, and he had used the money he had saved to purchase a store. His store was quickly becoming a fixture.

“Hah-ahm. There is no customers today.”

Soonghoon let out a yawn when the glass door opened and a man quickly ran in.

“Where’s the restroom? Is it here?”

The man abruptly opened the door behind the counter, then he entered it. Soonghoon watched this with surprise in his eyes. He probably lost the ability to speak since he was too flustered?

“What is this? Who is this crazy man?”

Soonghoon rose from his seat, and he spoke in an annoyed voice.

“Mister. That is the storage room. Please come out.”

“…….”

When there weren’t any reply or reaction, a vein popped out on Soonghoon’s forehead. He wanted to make sure the man wasn’t doing his business inside the room, so he opened the door to the storage room.

“Ah jeez, come out…….”

Soonghoon’s clothes were grabbed by a hand, and he was forcibly dragged into the storage room.

Koo-dahng-tahng.

As he was thrown into the boxes containing products, Soonghoon knew something was wrong.

‘He’s crazy. A crazy man has appeared.’

Soonghoon quickly located his opponent. No, his opponent grabbed him first. He was lifted up by his collar, and Soonghoon struggled as his feet didn’t even touch the floor.

‘What, what kind of strength.’

Soonghoon was a big man, but his opponent was stronger than him. Moreover, his denseness was proportional to his strength.

Hweeek, Zzuhk!

Soonghoon was suddenly struck on his cheek, so he lost the words he was about to say. His ears rang with a buzzing sound.(TLN: Mawp mawp) Moreover, he couldn’t think about anything as if he had become dumber.

Hweeek, Zzuhk!

The opposite cheek was struck, and Woo-soonghoon’s consciousness started to fade. He tasted a coppery taste in his mouth as the inside of his mouth started bleeding.

Hweeek, Zzuhk!

Soonhoon came to his senses when his cheeks were hit again. He felt an instinctual fear. He used all of will to desperately open his mouth.

“H, help me.”

Hweeek, Zzahk!

Instead of an answer, the hand flew towards him. Soonhoon felt a sense of despair when his numb cheeks were hit again.

‘He has completely lost his mind. If I’m not careful, I might really die.’

Did he see it on the TV? Indiscriminate violence? Didn’t innocent people get beaten for no reason? Or maybe someone sent a killer after him? Now that he thought about it, the opponent probably entered the storage room since it didn’t have a CCTV. He was sure this was a planned attack.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes. Yes, sir!”

For the first time, the other person spoke instead of using his hand. Sooghoon reflexively answered him.

Hweeek, Kwadahng.

The man in question once again roughly threw Soonghoon against the wall.

“Ooh-ook.”

“Get up. Attention.”

“Yes, sir.”

It had been a long time since he was in the military, but his survival instinct made it all come back.

If he let out even a squeak, it felt like he would be beaten to death.

The man in question was emitting such an atmosphere. His pose made him look like a mafia boss, who was in charge of several hundred underlings.

“I hate bastards who hit me in the back of my head.(TLN:figure of speech about betrayal) Moreover, I hate those who dare to scam me.”

“…….”

They hadn’t even met before, so how could he have hit him in the back of the head? Soonghoon was too scared to make an expression showing his innocence.

Woojin glanced at him.

“You’re not going to answer me?”

“I, I’m sorry.”

He really wanted to know what he had done wrong.

“Whew, all right. Think of this as your lucky day.”

“…….”

“If this was the Alphen Planet, I probably would have killed you immediately.”

“…….”

Soonghoon didn’t know how the man could say he had lucked out in this situation.

“Be thankful you were born in Korea.”

“Yes, sir! Long live the Republic of Korea!”

“Don’t over do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was in a country with human rights. He had to follow the laws and morality of this place, so he couldn’t kill this man for such a transgression.

Woojin decided to end this.

Took. (TLN: sfx of phone hitting the floor)

The cellphone he threw fell right in front of Soonghoon’s foot.

“You sold me this newest phone yesterday.”

“…….”

Fuck.

Soonghoon finally remember who this man was. He looked like a guy recently arrived from the boondocks, and he had sold him a handphone that was worth less than $10 for $90. He had felt so good about that sale that he even remembered the guy’s name.

‘The pushover from yesterday is this bastard?’

How could a person change so much?

The yesterday’s pushover came back today as the grim reaper. Moreover, it seemed he was a Roused. If he new this person was a Roused, he wouldn’t have tried such a clumsy scam.

“I bought the newest phone…….”

“…….”

“However, when I went home, I was told it was an old one.”

“That, that is…….”

“Was there an error on your part?”

This was an extreme situation where his life may be on the line, so he started quickly turning the wheels in his thoughts. Woo-soongjin had 8 years of experience as a salesperson, so of course, he knew what was Woojin’s intent.

“I, I must have made a mistake.”

“I knew that was the case.”

Bullshit. You beat up a person like this because of a mistake?

“Give me another one.”

“What, what kind of model…….”

“How would I know? You choose it for me.”

“…….”

“Give me the most expensive one.”

“…….”

Woo-soonghoon thought hard on it. However, he eventually had no choice, but to take out the one smartphone he had left in stock.

*

Woojin had a happy face as he exited the cellphone store.

“Hoo hoo. The world has become so much better.”

It didn’t even take a second before the map opened. The navigation searched for his destination, then at the same time, it started giving him directions. The internet was very fast, and everything was to his satisfaction.

“Huh huh. The latest phones are the best.”

Woojin opened his address book.

[Mother] [Do-jaemin] [Real Jaemin] [4 Thousand] [Phone Salesman]

“That guy transferred it correctly.”

For a person in the modern age, the address book was a list of one’s human connections. Woojin smiled as he looked at the list of phone numbers. He told the phone salesman that he would be back again. He ordered the salesman, Woo-soonghoon, to enter his phone number, then Woojin warned him not to change his phone number.

Woojin called his mother to find out the address of the restaurant she was working at. It wasn’t too far from his house. Woojin’s steps was light as he returned to his house.

‘Hoo hoo. After I save a little bit more, we’ll have enought to move. Before all of that, I should probably make mother quit her job?’

Woojin was a bit spiteful towards her workplace, but it was the first time he would be visiting her workplace. Therefore, he bought a box of beverage.

[Soongmi’s Restaurant]

“I think she said it was here?”

Woojin had found the restaurant at around 4 o’clock.

Even though it should be the idle hours, the small restaurant was half full.

Rrring.

“Welcome.”

When the sound of the door opening was heard at the counter, a young lady reflexively gave a greeting with her eyes still glued to the cell phone.

Pew pew. Pee-buh!, Pew pew pew.

Soongmi was in the midst of playing a game on her phone. She regretfully ended the game then she raised her head.

“How many…….”

She was going to greet the customer out of reflex when Soongmi’s eyes became round.

He had a robust body, and he had wide shoulders that went well with his tall frame. He wasn’t handsome yet he had a good looking face. He had a heavy atmosphere around him. He was a beauty of corruption with a dark aura around him.

However, there was something about his face….

“Big brother Woojin?”

“Uh? Why are you here, Soongmi?”

Woojin thought about the restaurant’s name, and he was easily able infer what that meant.

“My mother works at your restaurant?”

“Uh? Your mother?”

“I’m talking about Mrs. Lee-soogyung.”

“The kitchen lady?”

Soongmi’s surprised eyes froze. The kitchen lady was Woojin’s mother?

Also…….

“What happened to you, big brother? Five years ago, I’m sure…….”

Woojin grinned.

“Come back home.” (TLN: he spoke broken English in Korean. I’ll leave it alone.)

“Ah…….”

A sigh leaked out of Soongmi’s mouth.

Her first love, who disappeared 5 years ago, had returned.