The Gamer - Restart (Arc 2) Chapter 12, a manhwa/korean comics/만화 fanfic

A/N: Here it is ladies and gentlemen, after nearly a year of hiatus, its time for the first chapter of the 2nd arc! I don't have any excuses to give you guys for leaving you hanging for such a long period of time. I shouldn't have given you guys false hopes by saying I'd finish it in a few weeks when clearly, that wasn't going to be the case.

From now on, I'll just update whenever I can and not promise any scheduled released dates. That way, even if I do go on hiatus again, you guys won't have to crucify me for lying to you.

In any case, I just want to take the time to thank all of my supporters of this story and your reviews have really been special. This story is far from perfect and I've had to go back and fix alot of chapters either for grammar or because of plot reasons but I'm confident I can keep it on track.

Aside from that, there's nothing else to say and I hope you guys are looking forward to the beginning of the Paradise arc.

I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: TheBlackDuelist does not claim any ownership of "The Gamer" Manhwa written by Sung San-Young and Sang-Ah. I am not using this fan fiction to make profit off of this story.

The Gamer – Restart

Chapter 12

Amidst the continuous chatter and whispers among numerous people going about their daily lives, a certain individual was seen standing on top of a city street pole. If one saw this person for the first time, the first thing that would cross their minds was that this person was a "clown". Their face and by extension, gender was completed unrecognizable as their build made it hard to judge whether they were a male or female.

Dressed in an outfit that would make many turn their heads twice at how ridiculous it was, this individual had both of their arms behind their back and slowly observed the city streets that were swarmed with humans of all ages. Students chattering with their friends, adults busy on their cell phones, even children running across the street; all fell under this clown's watchful gaze as their attention circled the area.

"How intriguing... even though these worthless insects know they're existence could be wiped out at any time, they still tread on with their lives so contently. It's so... fascinating~"

The idea of slaughtering everyone and seeing expressions of pure despair and agony crossed their mind but they desperately resisted doing so. Gaia was watching, there was no need to purposely anger the holy one just for some minor entertainment.

"Now then, where is it...? Ah!"

The clown's eyes caught wind of what they were looking for and with graceful movements; they leaped off of the street pole. To onlookers, it would have seemed that they vanished out of thin air but that was incorrect; their movements were just too fast for the human eye to keep track of.

It only took less than a couple of seconds but they had finally reached their destination. While landing on the ground with both of their hands behind their back like earlier, the clown observed the empty lot that was now in front of them. With how the space was designed, it wouldn't be weird to believe that a house should have been constructed there. However, the reality was that there wasn't anything on the property and there never would be until a group of construction workers built it.

However, that kind of logic would only apply to someone unaware of the supernatural events that secretly took place in the world.

The clown reached out in front with their index finger, as if they were trying to poke something that wasn't physically there. Their finger just remained motionless in the air until a faint glow was seen forming on the tip. In one swift motion, they swiped down with their coated index finger and as they did so, the fabric of the air itself began to distort, as if they were opening a zipper.

Once that was taken care of, they stepped forward into that distortion of space and in front of them; an entirely new scenery had taken shape. The previously empty property space was now replaced by an extravagant mansion that stretched for miles. Statues made of pure gold and a beautiful garden that was quite obviously taken excellent care of; it was truly a sight that only those of extreme wealth could ever hope to obtain.

As the clown continued forward, still observing the view of such a remarkable place, his attention was drawn to the numerous maids that were present at the entrance of the mansion. Each of them was a world class beauty of their own, possessing stunning faces and curvaceous physiques that could entice the lustful desire of any man. In the face of such beauties however, the clown wasn't fazed in the slightest as they had been accustom to seeing them several times already.

The maids all bowed to the clown as respectfully as they could, clearly aware of the clown's standing compared to their own.

"We have been expecting your arrival, Jackal-nim"

They were all in sync with one another to a flawless degree, making one wonder if they had practised speaking those lines in secret.

"Where is the young master?"

A maid with light blue hair standing at the end of the line spoke among the group. "The master is currently awaiting your presence in the meeting room"

"Is that so..."

The clown didn't spare the maids a second glance as they passed right by them and entered the estate. Unsurprisingly, the interior of the estate was just as grand as the front yard, with expensive antiques and decorations spread all over the halls. The entire value of every possession seen just in the main lobby would amount to an immeasurable amount of fortune that could be worth an entire's countries national treasury.

After admiring the antiques, the clown forged on as they began climbing the grand steps coated in high class red fabric and continued their ascension upwards to the master's chambers. There were over fifty rooms that were located across the estate but the meeting room, where the young master carried out his duties, was placed in the center and had the second largest living space, just short of the master's sleeping quarters.

The clown had reached the top of the stairs and now stood in front of an enormous golden door that even had a golden handle, as if the person who owned the house was attempting to flaunt his wealth at every opportunity.

A faint sigh escaped the clown's mask but due to the light tone that was used, it was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.

"The young master wastes his money too much..."

Sparring no more time on trivial thoughts, the clown proceeded to knock on the door.

"State your name"

A response came immediately, an indication that whoever was inside was waiting for someone, just as the maid had claimed.

"I have returned, young master"

"...Jackal is it? Enter"

Having gained the approval to enter, the clown that was called Jackal made their way into the meeting room where their eyes were now drawn towards the man that had been expecting their arrival.

"You're late"

Matching his mature and commanding voice; the figure of an intimidating gentleman was seen sitting with his legs crossed, both arms folded on top of one another on a rolling chair behind a wide steel desk. The interior of the room was designed to look like the headquarters of a yakaza group with bulletin boards across the walls, several shelves that had numerous books surrounding the walls, and a wide open window that gave those who entered a full view of the city behind.

More than that however, anyone who first caught a glimpse of the youthful but sophisticated man sitting in front of the clown would immediately identify him as handsome, enough so that it wouldn't be strange to think that he was a celebrity. He had silky brown hair that was combed back along with piercing amver eyes. His well dressed attire that consisted of a black suit underneath a black trench coat was coated in luscious brown fur and gave one the impression that he looked like a successful business man.

"Please excuse my tardiness, young master"

The clown bowed respectfully towards the owner of the mansion, moving their arms in a forced manner that made the act look more dramatic than necessary.

In the face of such a "performance", the owner merely snorted in amusement as he was clearly not bothered by the clown's antics.

However, that couldn't be said for another inhabitant of the room.

"Grrrrr..."

The sound of a fearsome beast was heard growling as the clown's eyes glanced over to beside the desk where their master was sitting and was drawn to a magnificent creature. With white skin that was as pure as snow and deep crimson eyes that looked to penetrate the very fiber of your soul; a fully grown tiger shot a displeased and hostile glare towards the clown.

Having been on the receiving end of that glare more times than they could count, the clown could only furrow their brows underneath the mask and wonder why the beast was still not accepting of them.

"I heard that animals have a primal instinct towards those that are dangerous but is that really it...?"

The tiger, who had taken a few steps forward, looked just about ready to pounce towards the clown and rip them into shreds at the drop of a hat. With its razor sharp teeth now visible and its lengthy tail wagging violently, the lion tiger needed to hear the command from its master to devour the clown.

However...

"Bester, enough"

That command would never come as in an instant, the hostility that was clogging up the room vanished immediately. The words of the tiger's master took priority over anything else and if he commanded him to stop, that was all he could do. Backing down, the tiger retreated back to its original position beside the master and curled its body so that it could rest in a comfortable position.

After Bester had seemingly calmed down, the young master of the mansion chuckled in good humor. "I see that Bester still isn't fond of you"

The clown merely shrugged. "It can't be helped. The young master's pet has never been comfortable with me"

"Perhaps if you stopped dressing like a circus reject and removed that mask, he wouldn't act like that"

"Hmm..."

The clown put a finger onto the bottom tip of their mask, as if mimicking the act of being deep in thought. It was obvious to anyone that they didn't consider doing what the man had told him even for an instant.

"... Forget it, let's get back to business"

"By your will"

After the clown had bowed once again to show their approval, they held up their right hand and snapped their fingers. As if it were magic, a photograph was now edged in between their thumb and index finger and they tossed it towards the mansion owner who caught it. He eyed the contents of the photograph for a good minute before a frown appeared on his face and he cast a doubtful gaze towards the clown.

"What, your stalking little boys now?"

"Quite the tasteless joke, young master. That boy in the photograph is the target this time"

"...This brat? You informed me that you had found quite the catch and you present me with nothing but a dumb looking student?"

As expected, the clown had predicted he would act this way and let out a hard laugh that echoed throughout the room.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, this boy is truly special"

"Hou... For you to say such a thing..."

No matter what angle the man looked at the kid in the photo from, he couldn't see how this would warrant someone of Jackal's character to get involved in. Was he missing something?

"What's his ability rank and how long has it been since he awakened his powers?"

"It couldn't have been longer than a month that the boy discovered his ability as his inexperience on the battlefield was quite obvious. As for the rank, I'd wager he has to be at least a 3rd tier user"

"...Is that right?"

When Jackal had mentioned that the boy was the user of a 3rd tier ability, a small glint of anxiousness was seen in the owner's eyes. In the Abyss, abilities were classified under many different names by many different organizations. However, one of the most popular and widespread hierarchy for ability users was the use of tier, with 1st tier being the highest type of ability and 7th being the lowest, bar short of just being an ordinary human. 1st tier ability users were humans who had gained powers that could rival an entire military unit and had almost limitless potential; the problem was that they were extremely rare. It was said that the chances of a 1st tier natural ability user being born was one in ten million. Following the list downward, an ability user ranked at the 3rd tier could possess power that would allow anyone to become something great in the Abyss, the end result being dependent on their willpower and training. For this boy to be a user of a 3rd tier ability or higher; it had caught the man's interest.

"Hold on, you mentioned at least 3rd tier? Were their problems identifying what his powers were?"

Jackal nodded. "Indeed. From what I witnessed, his power is extremely tricky as he used several unusual techniques that I couldn't narrow down to one category"

"Hmm... you also told me he was involved in a battle? Explain that"

"Yes, the Illusion Barrier that the Black Summoner had purchased from one of my clients was the stage where that boy showcased his powers"

"The Black Summoner? Why was he involved in this matter? Just what are you hiding from me, Jackal?"

Trying to play innocent, Jackal cocked his head to the side to avoid speaking further on the subject. His efforts proved unsuccessful as the sudden hostility emitting from the owner of the mansion was proof of that. Though he kept a neutral and composed face, the seeds of annoyance were carefully hidden behind his powerful eyes.

"Ah~ Please don't exhibit such blood lust, young master. You know how my body reacts to such a thing~"

"..."

In a flash, the tension in the room had ceased as the owner couldn't muster up any more aggression towards the squirming clown. It was such a disgusting sight that he wanted to gouge his own eyes out and live the rest of his life blind.

"So, will【Paradise】accept this request of mine?"

After he had stopped squirming, Jackal had posed that question in a manner that made it hard to refuse. No, it would be better to say that if the owner had refused this request, Jackal would continue to pursue it, with our without him.

"I'll require more information about this boy but I'll admit, you have my attention"

"Excellent, I knew I could depend on you. However, there is something that I must bring to light now"

"...I swear if you damaged this boy's potential by doing something stupid like what you did last time, I'm going to- "

"Of course not!" The clown instantly rejected the notion of what their master was thinking of as they awkwardly coughed to get the conversation back on track. "You see, this boy is apparently connected to both the Chunbumoon and Yunhonmoon, both of whom govern the Seoul region"

The owner of the mansion furrowed his brows at this unexpected piece of information.

"What kind of relationship does he have with them?"

"They don't seem to be particularly close but I witnessed several members from both sides assisting him during the battle"

"...Why do I feel as if you're purposely leaving out important pieces of information from me?"

"Impossible! How could I, your faithful servant, dare lie to you?"

Seeing him act in such an overly dramatic fashion as if he were reciting the script of a terrible play, the owner was beginning to lose his patience with his supposed "servant" before rubbing his forehead in exasperation. He was running low on energy today due to the tirelessly long meeting he arranged earlier and now had to deal with such a frustrating character on top of that. What did he do to deserve this?

"Young master?"

"Hm? Ah... never mind. I'll speak to the other members about taking on this request, though I won't guarantee anything"

"Thank you very much for the generosity"

"Enough with the pleasantries. I have business to attend too so you may leave"

"By your will"

With nothing else needed to be said, Jackal turned around and left the room as swiftly as he had come in.

"What a troublesome fellow..."

Leaning back in his rolling chair, the owner released a sigh before he turned to the figure of his sleeping pet and reached out to stroke him. The lion purred affectionately at having its master fond over him and now wore a gentle smile on its face.

After his pet was satisfied, the owner picked up the photo once again and heavily frowned, wondering how such an ordinary looking boy could have caught Jackal's attention.

Speaking of Jackal, his reputation among those in the Abyss was legendary as he was one of the most sought after brokers in the world. Brokers, who could be classified under the guise of "Informants", were individuals who observed those with promising abilities and recorded that information to be sold off a multitude of organizations. Information was a powerful tool to possess in the underground market and potential gold mines could be found if you had the right broker at your side.

"I'll need to recall the members scattered across China... but first, there's something else I need to take care of"

With his objective set and his mind clear, the owner was now hoping to get some good shut eye in before he collapsed from overwork. The stressful day of being the owner of such a wealthy estate and being a part of the underground slave market was taking its toll.

Well, since he had chosen this life, he couldn't really complain now could he?

[Han Family Residence]

"Bwah~ I'm exhausted..."

Jee-Han lied down on his bed and let out a heavy sigh, attempting to calm his nerves that had been going off even after the battle with the Troll Zombie had ended. Without a doubt, it had been his toughest obstacle so far since he started developing his powers and he couldn't believe how frightening it was. Risking his life against such an abomination was something Jee-Han prior to a month ago would have never believed could happen and yet, it did.

"That was scarier than I thought... but I pulled it off thanks to my friends and Sung-Gon, he really came through for us there"

Suffice to say, whatever grudge Jee-Han held against the older man for what he did to Sun-Il was long gone after his invaluable assistance in defeating the Troll Zombie. Sun-Il had told Jee-Han that he wasn't a bad guy and while Jee-Han didn't understand what he meant back then, he clearly did now.

It was already confirmed with his battle with the Legion Zombie that boss monsters would have a higher chance at dropping items. Having said that, the items that the Troll Zombie had dropped for Jee-Han were still far beyond what he could have expected.

[An Hour Ago]

«You have gained 45,223 Experience!»

«Your level has increased by 1!»

«You have gained the title "Plague to Zombies"»

"Sweet!"

Jee-Han marveled at the ridiculous amount of experience he had just received, not to mention the new title that he acquired after vanquishing the Troll Zombie. He had gained five levels in one jump, an impressive feat no matter how you looked at it and grinned devilishly as he equipped his new title, replacing the《Zombie Slayer》title he had used previously.

After his body was surrounded by a faint glow, Jee-Han noted the effects of his new title that not only granted him a 50 % increase in physical damage towards undead creatures, but also a 10 % chance of purifying Zombies whenever he landed a critical hit. This meant that if Jee-Han was lucky enough, he could potentially kill any type of undead monster with a single hit! Talk about a broken title!

Satisfied with these gains, Jee-Han turned around to face both Sae-Young and Shi-Yun who were both taken off guard by the strange notifications that had popped up.

"Hey! You guys get some experience from that, right?"

"I-I think so! I leveled up twice, that's a good thing right!?" Sae-Young inquired as she kept trying to poke her hand through the notifications.

"...Han Jee-Han, what does it mean when it says that I have leveled up three times?"

"..."

If it wasn't for the fact that they were much stronger than he was, Jee-Han would have ridiculed the two of them at their noobish questions.

"It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to set equal distribution, I'm sure I would have gotten a ton more levels. Aw well, guess this'll do for now. Noona and Shi-Yun both gained some levels so Sun-Il should have...oh crap, Sun-Il!"

Jee-Han remembered that Sun-Il had exhausted almost all of his strength before when he was hit by the Troll Zombie's sludge and frantically searched for his best friend. He squinted his eyes and saw what he was looking for laying against one of the poles near the remains of the zombie.

"Sun-Il, you alright!?"

Jee-Han's worried plea resounded across the Illusion Barrier as the boy had jumped down from the building and rushed towards his resting friend. When Jee-Han had used his『Blazing Spiral Javelin』earlier and almost missed, Sun-Il had mustered up whatever energy he had left to make sure that the Javelin hit the Troll Zombie. As a result, the man was currently resting against a street pole, panting heavily as drips of sweat dripped from his face and soaked into his t-shirt.

"Jee-Han? ...Yea I'm fine, d-don't worry about me. More importantly, are you alright?"

"Huh? Yea I'm of course I'm fine, just worry about yourself for once, jeez!"

Jee-Han came off a lot louder than he intended to but Sun-Il didn't seem to mind as a warm smile graced his face.

"That's good to hear..."

It had always been like this; even when they were kids, Sun-Il's top priority was always Jee-Han's safety no matter what. Having now experienced several life and death battles, Jee-Han could understand why his friend felt so protective of him but it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, you could say it even made it feel worse since he was causing his best friend so much worry.

"I'm sorry Sun-Il, my attack wasn't aimed well enough and I had to rely on you again"

"...Don't sweat it" Sun-Il had mustered the strength to stand on his two feet again and patted his friend's shoulder. "Who else will watch your geeky back if I don't?"

"...Screw you"

It was a touching scene as the two of them briefly shared a chuckle, not really sure what they were laughing it, before Sae-Young and Shi-Yun also arrived, having followed Jee-Han.

"Nice work out there Sun-Il, you really came through for us!"

"I have to say I am impressed as well, Shin Sun-Il. Your mastery over your own ki is remarkable"

Sae-Young gave her cousin a thumbs up while Shi-Yun inclined her head towards him respectfully. Not that comfortable being showered in praise, Sun-Il slightly blushed but tried to play it off as he raised his hand towards them as if it was no big deal.

"It was nothing"

"Hah! You say that but you're covered in sweat as if you ran a marathon!"

"..."

Jee-Han grinned at being able to successfully tease Sun-Il who huffed in annoyance. Usually being on the receiving end of teasing, it was a fun experience for Jee-Han as he elbowed his friend in the stomach

"By the way, how many levels did you gain?" Jee-Han inquired.

Sun-Il blinked for a second before directing his eyes to the several notifications floating in front of him. "Huh, I didn't even notice these things" He then smirked as he looked back at Jee-Han. "I gained three levels"

Jee-Han nodded, noting how each of them had gained three levels while he gained five, obviously due to the fact that he was lower leveled. That said, Jee-Han felt as if he was forgetting something very important and cocked his head to the side before his eyes widened in realization.

"Ah! The drops! Let's see what we got this time!"

Jee-Han quickly turned around and headed in the direction of what would be the remains of the Troll Zombie.

"Drops? What's he talking about?" Sae-Young turned to Sun-Il who she thought would know the answer while Sun-Il sighed at his cousin's pitiful memory.

"Don't you remember what I told you before? Jee-Han's power lets him receive items when he defeats monsters"

"Ah! That's right, when you came home with those recovery potions! I didn't think you were being serious..."

"Where else could I have gotten them from?"

"...Good point"

Shi-Yun was the only not following the conversation as she tried to butt in.

"What are you guys talking about? Does Jee-Han's power have something to do with this?"

Sun-Il looked at her with a hesitant gaze, wondering if informing one of the branch members of a rival clan of Jee-Han's unique power would be a wise decision. Well, it wasn't as if he could really hide it as the idiot would probably blab about it sooner or later.

"Well, sorta. You'll see what I mean soon enough"

Those vague words left Shi-Yun unsatisfied but she decided she'd find out about it herself as she followed the two of them to where Jee-Han had run off too.

Arriving at the scene, Jee-Han looked around until he spotted several items on the ground and grinned in delight at his spoils of war. He expected something proportional to the level of difficulty regarding the boss monster but this...

"Oi, Jee-Han! What'd you get this time?"

Sun-Il's voice was filed with innocent curiosity at seeing what items dropped from the monster since the last time him and Jee-Han had gone hunting, he received a couple《Low Grade- Health Recovery Potions》as a gift. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't dying to know what type of items the Troll Zombie could produce.

"Hahahaha! We've got quite a haul this time!"

Sun-Il traded an odd look between himself and Shi-Yun at their friend's sudden behavior before arriving just where Jee-Han was. As they looked over his shoulder while he was bent down laughing in a odd manner, their eyes widened greatly and their mouths were hanging wide open at the items that were now lying on the ground.

There were thirteen bottles in total that contained either red or blue liquid, a large purple stone that was the size of a baseball, two books, and several stacks of cold hard cash now present for all those gathered to see.

"Woah…!"

"S-Seriously…!?"

"…Incredible..."

Several mixed reactions were traded between the three of them while Jee-Han continued to laugh manically, thanking Gaia for the obviously hax ability she had granted him.

"Alright, let's see what we got here"

Jee-Han already knew immediately that the ten bottles of red liquid were 《Low Grade – Health Recovery Potions》 so he turned his attention to the blue liquid he had never seen before.

"Observe"

《Medium Grade – Mana Potion》

Rank: Medium

A well crafted mana potion that can be used to restore 600 MP to the user. It tastes like blueberries.

Jee-Han immediately raised both of his arms into the air and shouted to the heavens. "Finallyyyyyy!"

"Dude, are you okay?"

Jee-Han turned to Sun-Il with the widest grin he had ever shown on his face, creeping the latter out.

"Do you know what these are!? These are mana recovery potions! This'll help me maintain my mana longer so I can cast more spells!"

"Mana recovery? I've only heard rumors of famous Alchemists crafting them but to think you could even obtain those…"

"Are those things really such a big deal?"

Sun-Il inclined his head towards his cousin at such an obvious question.

"Of course they are, anything related to Alchemy that involves recovery potions will sell for millions of won on the market. Come on Sae-Young, you should know this already..."

The girl in turn stuck her tongue out at Sun-Il "Must have forgot. Anyway, nice going Jee-Han!"

Jee-Han was slightly flustered at the praise before his attention had drifted over towards Shi-Yun who, if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, was frowning heavily.

"Is something wrong?"

"….You're power… just what kind of ability do you have? Creating such items from an Illusion Barrier… that shouldn't be possible…"

Her worries were justified as Jee-Han himself couldn't actually believe it himself until recently. Collecting loot from defeated monsters was a staple in almost every game he played but this wasn't a game, it was a real life. To anyone who had lived in the Abyss for as long as she had, what she was witnessing must have been a truly bizarre phenomenon.

"He has game related powers so this stuff is considered normal, for him at least"

Sun-Il answered on Jee-Han's behalf as the hardened gaze coming from the suspicious Shi-Yun was directed at him now.

"Nice save!"

Jee-Han gave a thumbs up to Sun-Il who in turn gave him one back.

"Games?"

She cocked her head innocently as she had never played a game of this sort in her life so it was a mystery that she couldn't solve.

"Oh? So the famous Yunhonmoon Prodigy has never played a game before? That's kind of sad…"

"…Excuse me?"

A vein appeared on Shi-Yun's forehead as her ferocious eyes now glared at the laid back Sun-Il who shrugged his shoulders in a round a bout way. Jee-Han had noticed it before but the two of them always seemed to be at each other's throats all the time, mainly because of Sun-Il and how he was.

"Anyway!" Jee-Han started as he picked up several bottles of the 《Low Grade – Health Recovery Potion》 and gave both Sun-Il and Sae-Young their portion of the loot. "You all helped me out today so in order to show my appreciation, you each get two of these. I'll keep the rest, how does that sound?"

Sun-Il had no problems with that arrangement as he nodded in accordance. "Sounds good, thanks"

Sae-Young was especially ecstatic as she playfully punched his arm, the term "playfully" only being apparent in her own mind as Jee-Han winced heavily. "You rock Jee-Han!"

Ignoring the increase in『Physical Endurance』he received, he gave a forced smile. "Y-Yea no problem…"

Turning to the last member of his party, Jee-Han quickly recalled the promise he had gave Shi-Yun in regards to fixing her banged up clan mates and heavily frowned. He wanted to rewards Shi-Yun for her efforts in today's battle by giving her a few potions but that would devalue his own services of curing her clan mates if he just gave them the potions so he was a bit conflicted on what to do.

Thankfully, Shi-Yun seemed to pick up on Jee-Han's distressed thoughts and raised her hand. "You do not need to consider gifting anything to me. My assistance in helping you today was apart of our clan's compensation for recieving your methods of treatment for our injured"

Jee-Han sighed in relief and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that, I promise next time if we do get something good, I'll make sure you get first dibs"

Shi-Yun was rather surprised by Jee-Han's insistence of fair treatment and silently nodded, pondering over how Jee-Han had mentioned another future collaboration.

"Now then…"

Jee-Han got back to business as he looked at his other spoils of war, picking up the wad of cash that looked like a heavy sum. Jee-Han wiped away the drool that was now coming from his mouth as he opened his inventory and deposited it. In one fell swoop, his funds had increased from 503,000 won to 1,703,000 won, indicating that the stack of cash contained was about 1,200,000 won.

"W-Woah, are you alright?"

Sun-Il almost missed catching the body of his best friend who just somehow fainted for some reason.

"…So… So much money… I can't…"

"Breathe man, breathe…"

The girls, who were watching the worried Sun-Il tend to the collapsed Jee-Han, raised their brows in utter confusion. The more they got involved with Jee-Han and his antics, the more they began to question his level of sanity.

After Jee-Han had regained his composure, that term being used very loosely, he stored the remaining potions he hadn't touched yet into his inventory and now turned his sights to the the next item that was dropped. Jee-Han picked up a somewhat large purple crystal that was laying on the ground and did what he does best; observed it.

《Highest Grade - Soul Stone》

Rank: Highest

A crystal dropped by the Troll Zombie that contains hundreds of undead souls that are condensed into a fragment.

Can be used for crafting and alchemy.

Jee-Han whistled in admiration as he held the priceless gem in his hand while Sun-Il and the others were marveling at its beauty. How could the souls of such ugly creatures produce such a radiating gem like this?

"I have a bunch of soul stones but none of them are like this... I can feel that its different"

Sun-Il nodded. "That thing must be worth hundreds of millions of won; can you imagine how many people would try to get their hands on something like that?"

The amount of money Sun-Il had mentioned was a delicious treat that Jee-Han couldn't help but fantasize about but he held those thoughts for later as he deposited the gem into his inventory. With how little he understood about how things worked in the Abyss or what kind of gem he was holding, selling it off would be a pretty stupid decision.

The last two items that were left on the ground were two skill books that, under Jee-Han's『Observe』skill, were identified as both『Vine Control』, a skill that allowed him to sprout vines from his arms and control them, and『Replication』, a self explanatory technique. Ignoring the『Vine Control』skill, Jee-Han was extremely curious to see what『Replication』could do but judged it smart not to learn them now when he was still in Sung-Gon's Illusion Barrier.

Speaking of Sung-Gong…

"Where'd that guy go…?"

Jee-Han looked around the desolate and ruined city but couldn't find a single trace of him. His eyes turned to the elder and the Yunhonmoon members who were in-between the real world and the Illusion Barrier and cocked his head.

"Shouldn't the Illusion Barrier created by Sung-Gong have been destroyed since he's not here?"

"Normally, that would be the case but this Illusion Barrier is clearly of a different variety…"

"You mean there are Illusion Barriers that can still function without the person who created them still being present?"

Sun-Il nodded. "We have something similar at the dojo, even if one of us isn't in there, it still functions properly"

"Wow…"

Jee-Han saved that useful piece of information and wondered if he could also create something similar if he raised his『ID - Create』skill high enough. It was a thought for later.

"In any case, don't you think we should get out of here? This place isn't exactly the best hang out spot" Sae-Young threw both of her hands behind her back and lightly kicked a piece of rubble in front of her. "Plus, I'm bored"

"I agree, we should return to our respective clans" Shi-Yun added.

Sun-Il nodded with Shi-Yun and turned to Jee-Han.

"Shall we go?"

Seeing no reason not to, Jee-Han also nodded and the four of them left the Illusion Barrier, with Shi-Yun just about to head over back towards her clan before Jee-Han called her over.

Shi-Yun was puzzled on what he would want at this point. "What is it?"

"Uhm, if it's possible, could you keep what you saw regarding my powers a secret? I know your with the Yunhonmoon clan and all but I really don't want anyone finding about the secrets of my ability"

Shi-Yun blankly stared at Jee-Han for a few minutes, observing his pleading expression as she sighed and bowed her head. "As long as you heal my clan mates, what I saw in there will never leave these lips. This, I swear"

Jee-Han was beyond relieved when he heard that and smiled gratefully. "Of course! Thanks alot, I'll catch you later" With that, he sped off back to where Sun-Il and the Chunbumoon were as Shi-Yun stared at him a bit longer than she intended too before heading back to her own clan.

As they crossed the border between reality and the Illusion Barrier, the remnants of Sung-Gong's Illusion Barrier then shattered into dust and the landscape once again returned to normal.

"I'm back, geezer"

"…I can see that, geek"

"He's always got a comeback…"

Jee-Han would have loved to snark some more at the old geezer but he actually felt relieved at seeing him again, even though they had separated not even half an hour ago. Seeing his face again after nearly getting killed in a battle was oddly soothing to him, no matter how much the old relic annoyed him.

"Did you take care of your business?" It was obvious to what Sun-Oh was referring to as Jee-Han nodded.

"It was taken care of, Shi-Yun's not the type of girl to go back on her promises"

Sun-Oh grunted as his suspicious eyes wandered over towards the Yunhonmoon group, sighing as he shrugged his shoulders. "...I suppose that's fine then"

The Chunbumoon elder then turned his sights on his grandson and his niece.

"The two of you require more training, the blunders you've made today were embarrassing"

"…Yes, grandfather"

"Chet, damn geezer always got something to grip about"

While Sun-Il took his punishment honorably and without complaint, Sae-Young was another matter as she slightly pouted and looked the other way. Jee-Han was exempt from the lecture since he technically wasn't apart of their clan and he grinned maliciously at seeing his friends punished. Served them right for all their teasing.

"Oi, geek. Sung-Gong asked me to tell you that he'll speak with you about your compensation later"

"Sung-Gong? You mean he was here?"

"Yea, after that monster was destroyed he came over here and gave an apology before taking off. To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about but I assume you arranged some sort of agreement with him?"

Jee-Han nodded. "It's a long story but we're on good terms. I just hope I can find out why he needed to make Illusion Barriers and collect those souls for"

Sun-Oh flinched, if ever so slightly when Jee-Han mentioned Sung-Gong's reasoning for creating Illusion Barriers as he recalled the man's words to him not too long ago.

"I'm just a father trying to give his daughter the best life she can get"

Back then, Sun-Oh had no idea what those words has meant as he couldn't remember Sung-Gong ever having a daughter in the first place and even so, why she would be connected to his soul searching? Now, after seeing him in such a state, clearly restricted of using his full powers, the dots began to fill in the elder's head and he believed that all would become clear the next time he met the Black Summoner.

"Grandfather?"

Sun-Oh blinked several times, wrinkles now present as the voice of his grandson distracted him from his thoughts. He shook his head and turned around, prepared to leave the area and head back home.

"We should return, the incident has been resolved so we have no business here any longer"

"If you say so"

Before they could leave however…

"Wait!"

The group swiftly turned around to see Shi-Yun, standing in front of her clan mates with a serious expression on her face as her amber eyes were now looking directly at Jee-Han.

"What's wrong?"

"…Han Jee-Han, do not forget the promise you made to us earlier"

Jee-Han lightly grinned. "Of course, I'll keep my word and heal all those in your clan who were injured by Sung-Gong. I'm still in training however so it'll take a day or two before I can do it, is that alright?"

Shi-Yun looked back towards her grandfather, Shi-Sen who merely nodded in acceptance at the terms.

"That will be acceptable. I will be awaiting your assistance when the time comes"

Shi-Yun bowed once more before she returned to her clan, her head tilting to the side in confusion when her grandmother had brought up how "close" she was with Jee-Han. Ignoring her, Shi-Yun looked at her grandfather who traded one last look between the Chunbumoon's head and to her complete surprise, a small blink once if you miss it smirk was now plastered on his face.

"We're leaving"

"Yes!"

At Shi-Sen's command, the group of gathered Yunhonmoon members had taken off through the air with the expected unison and coordination of a well famous martial arts clan.

"Now that the pests are gone, let's go home"

"Sure"

Jee-Han could have sworn that Sun-Oh was in a good mood and didn't know why so he cast it aside for now and made his trip back home.

[Present Time]

Reminiscing after that roller coaster of a trip, Jee-Han was beginning to feel a bit anxious as his body still remembered going toe to toe with such a powerful monster that even Sung-Gong struggled to defeat. He knew he had gotten much stronger but he wasn't stupid, the fight was only won thanks to a team effort and without them, there was no hope of defeating such a monstrosity.

"Still, I can't always rely on them to help me out. What if I end up in an Illusion Barrier by myself with no one to help me?"

The answer was obvious; certain death.

Creatures such as the Troll Zombie were far beyond his capabilities of soloing at the moment. In order to reach the same level as his friends who were all experienced in the field of combat, he was going to have to exploit his gaming powers to the absolute fullest! Having said that, he needed to plan out what his next move was and to get started…

"Status Window"

Name: Han Jee-Han
Class: The Gamer
Title:《Plague to Zombies》
Level: 21

HP: 1160/1160
MP: 1530/1530
SP: 350/350

STR: 26
VIT: 32
DEX: 24
INT: 60
WIS: 18
LUK: 11

Available Points: 35
Money: ₩1,703,000

In today's battle alone, Jee-Han had leveled up five times, a substantial amount if he did say so himself. The amount of experience he gained by himself was about ¼ of the zombie's total due to the fact that it was split between the other three members of his team. Since at this point, it looked almost impossible to use [Equal Distribution] with his party members due to their levels being at least double his, Jee-Han was contemplating whether he should start grinding levels on his own.

"If we keep partying up, we'll all gain levels and it'll be impossible to close the gap. Damn, what should I do?"

He lifted himself from his bed, opening his Inventory in the process and bringing out the two skill books he stored inside. As he held the two of them in his hand, the decision of which to learn first and how to use them were weighing on his mind.

"『Vine Control』seems obvious after watching the Troll Zombie use it but『Replication』looks tricky… aw, what the hell? Let's go for broke!"

He placed the book containing『Vine Control』down on the bed and held the『Replication』book in his hand, the notification promptly appearing.

DING!

You've obtained the skill book『Replication』!

Would you like to learn the skill?

Confirm (Y) / Decline (N)

Obviously, he clicked (Yes) to confirm the skill but instead, he was met with this predicament.

You cannot learn this skill.

Required WIS: 50

Well damn.

"I haven't seen this message in awhile" Jee-Han briefly recalled how he was unable to learn the『Yunhon Soul Recovery』technique until he met the requirements. Every other skill had been easy to learn so it was a bit annoying that this came up now. Still, he was already cheating months of training by learning skills this easily so he wasn't in much of a position to whine about this detour.

"Let's see, fifty wisdom huh? Sun-Il did mention that wisdom would help my decision making and it did increase magic resistance. Oh right, I should also get a passive from increasing a stat over fifty like with intelligence!" He crossed his arms and nodded vigorously, agreeing with himself. "Alright let's do it!"

With his mind made up, Jee-Han opened his [Status Window] and looked over his attributes. Ignoring the buffs and passives that strengthened his stats, Jee-Han's WIS was currently residing at fifteen and would require all thirty five of his unused stat points to reach his end goal. Though he did feel slightly hesitant to part with them, he figured it would be a wise investment, no pun intended, and decided to believe Sun-Il's advice on raising his Wisdom would be worth it.

He pushed the arrow buttons and spent the points accordingly, a ting sound being made each time he poked the window. When the number had finally reached fifty...

«DING!»

The skill『Mana's Charm』has been created through WIS rising above 50!

《Mana's Charm - Passive》

A technique granted to those exceptionally blessed in using mana wisely.

《15 % increase in Magic Resistance》

《10 % increase in MP Recovery Rate》

《5 % decrease in MP Activation Cost》

《Total MP Increased by 500》

Incredible.

Jee-Han knew immediately that choosing to place points into wisdom was a brilliant idea as he observed the amazing effects of the『Mana's Charm』passive skill. More than that however, ideas such as maximizing the『Chunbu Spirit Technique』which passively increased every stat popped into his head. He hadn't even thought about the skill and its immense bonuses prior to raising his wisdom and he knew that his brain was beginning to grow much wiser thanks to it.

He looked at his palms and gripped them tightly.

"How stupid have I been all this time...?"

It was an honest question, with so many bonuses that he had acquired but neglected to raise in favor of more flashy skills, how many opportunities had he missed to make himself stronger?

He sighed and ruffled his brown hair before looking at the book still in his hand, waiting for his confirmation.

"No point in regretting the past, let's make up for lost time"

He confirmed the『Replication』skill book, letting the sea of knowledge flow into his head as the book evaporated into the air.

『Replication (Active) | Lvl 1 EXP: 0.00 % | MP: 500』

A sought after skill that allowed rare magical creatures to split themselves into separate entities. One of the signature techniques of the Troll Zombie.

Clones retain half of the user's attributes and can be commanded through verbal command or telepathy.

Number of clones that can be created: 1

100 Additional MP used per minute

"...Even though I knew what it was... it's still amazing what kind of skill just ended up in my possession"

Though it sounded weird, Jee-Han wanted to kiss the Troll Zombie right now for the skill he had just given him. His gamer powers would allow him to make skills based on certain actions but how could he have begun to make a skill for replication? How would a person even do that?

"Let's learn the other one before I try them out"

He picked up the『Vine Control』book, which of course prompted the notification of whether to learn it or not. Clicking (Yes), the book vanished just like earlier and Jee-Han's repertoire of skills had just gone up by one.

『Vine Control (Active) | Lvl 1 EXP: 0.00 % | MP: 120』

A signature technique used by the Troll Zombie. The power to control vines stems from the user's own willpower. The total length the vines can stretch and durability depend on the user's INT and WIS.

New Status, "Nature Element Affinity" has been created.

You have gained 10 points towards the Nature Element for learning a Nature based skill.

"What's this now?"

Jee-Han was puzzled at the unexpected new message he had never come across before. The term "affinity" was an easy enough word to understand as it reflected how favored a person was towards a certain subject.『Mana Affinity』for example, made Jee-Han naturally accustom towards using his mana which resulted in the several techniques he had created that turned into useful skills.

However, gaining an "Element Affinity" was a topic he hadn't touched yet. Did this mean that he was now geared towards using Nature based techniques? If that was the case, then any skill book he learned from now on that had an element attached to it would probably result in another affinity gain. He had just made quite the discovery!

"I'll have to pick up some other elemental techniques to test that theory"

It was an idea for another time as Jee-Han's current focus was now testing his two newly learned skills.

He looked around his room for a suitable target, his eyes eventually meeting with the door handle. He smirked before he grabbed his free arm with his other arm and stretched it towards the door.

"First up, Vine Control!"

Not a moment later, a lime green vine emerged from the center of Jee-Han's palm as it rocketed towards the door handle. Jee-Han winced, slightly unable to control the level of power that the vine had as he missed the door handle and the vine pierced right through the wooden door.

"...Crap, I couldn't control it"

His mother was going to be pissed about that when she came home tonight.

"Still, this is too freaking cool. Let's see if I can retract"

Using his mind, the vine followed his command and retracted back into his palm with a zupi sound and Jee-Han shook the hand he just used, still not comfortable with the feeling of a vine suddenly popping out of it.

"It'll take some time to control before I can use it in a fight. I'll have to test how strong it is and if it's able to restrict the monster I encounter. Heh, look at me I never would have thought about that before"

He really had to thank Sun-Il for advising him to raise his wisdom; it was a well placed investment.

"That's one down; let's go for the second one..."

Jee-Han made sure to close his blinds so no one would end up seeing two of the same people and closed the door that now had a wide hole in the center. He stood in the center of his room and laid both of his arms by his side and let his body relax.

"Replication!"

Though his eyes were closed, Jee-Han could feel his senses beginning to tear themselves in half as from his body, a head similar to his own emerged from his torso and stepped out. It literally felt as if somebody was trying to force their way out of his body and he would have puked right there and then but steeled himself for the worst. He was a man and he needed to act like one!

A few seconds later, the putrid feeling had subsided and the trembling in Jee-Han's body began to pass, his eyes opening slowly and came face to face with a mirror image of himself, staring at him with a blank expression.

"Holy shit, it worked!"

It was impossible for Jee-Han to contain the rush of excitement at seeing the skill actually work and he examined the clone all over, noting that it had every detail of Jee-Han's body down to a perfect degree. Of course, it could never match his own handsomeness, according to his own logic.

He stepped back from the clone, raising his arm slowly to see if it would follow. It didn't, which made Jee-Han try something else.

"Jump"

It jumped in place.

"Sit"

It sat down on the floor.

"Stand"

It stood right back up.

"Punch"

Whack!

Jee-Han held his throbbing cheek as he glared at the blank faced clone that had its arm stretched out. Jee-Han would have knocked its teeth out but realized he had ordered the command so he could only blame himself.

He then circled around the dummy clone, which he dubbed it himself, and began plotting how to use it in the middle of a battle. Could it be used as a distraction while he gathered enough time to use his powerful spells? He had his doubts, especially regarding how durable it would be. Thinking along those lines, the most obvious idea popped into his head.

"Observe"

Race: Human Replica
Sex: Male
Element Affinity: Nature
Level: 21

STR: 14
DEX: 11
VIT: 14
INT: 30
WIS: 30
LUK: 6

Special Abilities: Complete Nature Resistance

"... They really do take half of my stats"

Everything down from physical strength to lady luck; the clones truly did embody the word "half". Jee-Han's interest fell upon the special properties that were listed, humming in amazement.

"Its element affinity is nature... is that because I just gained that from the skillbook?"

Even more questions popped into Jee-Han's head on the discovery of a new type of system he had yet to explore. If he learned more affinities, would that mean he could create clones of different elemental properties?

"Let's try something; use Vine Control"

At that command, the dummy clone raised its hand and from it, the same lime green vine from earlier sprouted from its palm. The vine wrapped itself around the dummy clone and its facial expression didn't change for an instant, clearly not phased in the slightest.

"This thing's got balls of steel..."

Jee-Han quickly checked his MP bar to see just how much mana had been used and saw that he still had over half of his mana left over, even after activating both『Vine Control』and『Replication』. Though he was definitely happy that he could use at least this much while still retaining a large chunk of his mana, he needed to know just how much mana could he regain per minute.

He clicked the MP icon and saw that at the moment, he could regain 150 MP per minute which was an astronomical boost from a week ago where he could only regain 1 MP per minute. Still, he needed much more if he was going to sustain using his clones along with his skills during battle.

"Wait! If I can level up my skills, then their MP cost should come down right?"

Following this potentially brilliant idea, Jee-Han opened his skill window and clicked on both『Vine Control』and『Replication』.

"Both of them are now at level 2 since I just used them... wait, why does『Vine Control』require less experience to get to level 3 when I've only used it once...?"

A short silence followed the room before Jee-Han's eyes immediately darted towards the dummy clone who returned his frantic look with a bored expression.

Could it be!?

"Use Vine Control"

The clone followed its given command and the vines appeared from its palm once again, laying on the ground this time instead of wrapping around its own body. Jee-Han's eyes now focused back on the『Vine Control』skill and saw that the EXP required to level it had decreased.

"Sweet mother of jesus, I'm a genius!"

By making a valuable discovery, your WIS has increased by 1!

"I knew it, wisdom rocks! I should have increased it sooner!"

Jee-Han seriously wondered how he could have forsaken such an advantage from the beginning.

Focusing back on his discovery, by using『Replication』, he could have his clones actively grind skills! If that was true, then that could mean that any action that the clone did could also affect the original's stats and if that was really true...

A maniacal laugh erupted from Jee-Han's room as the man in question couldn't believe that he had just discovered another broken aspect of his ability. Sun-Il was going to be thriving in jealousy!

Jee-Han had a lot of work in front of him but by tomorrow, he was going to have some fun testing some new cheats.

A/N: So ladies and gentleman how was that comeback chapter? Are you excited? Jee-Han may have just discovered another OP ability that could help save his life in the future.

We were also introduced to one of the major antagonists of this arc; his name will be revealed very soon. Jackal's pretty creepy too huh? Their certainly not someone I'd ever want to know.

I've also come to realize that promising a release date on chapters was very foolish me so I apologize for that. From now on, I'll just release at a pace I'm comfortable with and you'll all have to just be patient.

Look forward to the next one!

Name: Han Jee-Han
Class: The Gamer
Title:《Plague to Zombies》
Level: 21

Element Affinity:
• Nature - 10

HP: 1160/1160
MP: 2030/2030
SP: 350/350

STR: 26
VIT: 32
DEX: 24
INT: 60
WIS: 61 (↑43 UP)
LUK: 11

Points: 0
Money: ₩1,703,001

«Skills»

Defensive:
• Mana Shield (Active): Level 2

Resistances and Masteries:
• Physical Endurance (Passive) | Lvl: 4
• Blunt Weapon Mastery (Passive) | Lvl: 5
• Unarmed Combat Mastery (Passive) | Lvl: 1
• Sword Mastery (Passive) | Lvl: 2

Miscellaneous:
• ID Create (Active) | Lvl: 2
• ID Escape (Active) | Lvl: 1