Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

“…Are you seriously telling me to believe that? Then what about your info? You disappeared, and Tae Jae-heon couldn’t even find you.”

 

“Well, boss, it’s not about what’s fun for me. I don’t want to get tangled up with the Nox Guild Master. Safety comes first, no matter where you go, right? Heh.”

 

“Then why the hell are you here?”

 

“As you’ve probably already guessed, I’ve taken a mercenary job.”

 

“But you’re my mercenary. Don’t take the job offered by Tae Jae-heon.”

 

Zero wore a half-smile, as though trying to hold back a laugh, before letting out a thoughtful hum.

 

“Well, boss, aren’t you in a position where you can’t exactly give me a job right now? Oh, and you don’t know this, but your shop is in serious trouble. It’s almost at the point of closing down.”

 

C-close…! 

 

How dare he use such a dreadful word for my shop! This was all Tae Jae-heon’s fault.

 

Gritting my teeth, I glared at Zero. Despite how untrustworthy he looked with that smug smile, I didn’t feel like he was lying. Right now, with Cheon Rang and the Center holding Nox in check, Zero was the only person inside who might be able to help.

 

“Why can’t you take the job? You can help me now. Just help me and Cheong escape.”

 

“Ah, boss, I heard the Guild Master is scary. How about starting a new life at Nox?”

 

I ignored the nonsense and, keeping an eye on the closed door, whispered,

 

“Why? What’s the job? How much is Tae Jae-heon offering?”

 

“Well, boss, no matter what, I can’t just tell you that. A mercenary’s loyalty is everything.”

 

“So you do know what the mission is?”

 

Zero smiled slyly, slowly nodding his head. I couldn’t wait any longer and urged him.

 

“Tell me.”

 

“It’s some kind of item escort. I heard it’s small enough for a single hunter to carry, something that can fit in the palm of your hand. Apparently, there’s something important sealed inside, and a lot of people are after it.”

 

At Zero’s words, something clicked in my mind. Seeing my expression, Zero gave a knowing smirk.

 

“Heh, I see you’ve got an idea of what it is, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah. It’s mine. I need to get it back.”

 

“Hm… this is tricky. If I take the job, does that mean I’ll be at odds with you, boss?”

 

“If you take the job, then you’re supposed to bring it to me. It’s part of the contract to fetch things I need.”

 

His thin eyes watched me with a smile barely hidden behind his glasses. By now, I could tell he was weighing me against Tae Jae-heon in his head. After a brief moment of hesitation, Zero slowly spoke.

 

“It sounds interesting. Then how about this? I happen to have something you can help with…”

 

“What is it?”

 

Zero fumbled in the air before pulling out a small black orb.

 

“It’s a griffin egg.”

 

“A griffin? You mean a monster?”

 

“The griffin eggs are paired—one for day, one for night. This is the night egg. To hatch it, you need the day egg. Conveniently, Nox’s lab has that.”

 

“Nox’s lab? Where is it?”

 

“This entire area is Nox’s comprehensive research facility.”

 

I frowned at this new piece of information. Before I could ask anything further, I heard mercenaries chattering outside. Zero handed me a small device.

 

“It’s a tracking item with griffin mana data. It’ll react to the griffin egg. Once you find it, discard and destroy it after use.”

 

“Got it. It’ll look exactly like this, right?”

 

“Yep. Same shape, just white in color. I have to go now. Hopefully, when we meet next, we’ll have what we both need.

Three days from now.”

 

Three days? The timeline was tighter than I expected. Panicked, I shouted after Zero as he turned to leave.

 

“Cheong too! You have to save Cheong too!”

 

As I tightly held the tracker, Zero smiled and nodded slightly.

 

“It seems like Hunter Lim Cheong won’t be too happy about it, but yes, I understand.”

 

***

 

Today was the only day Tae Jae-heon would be away, so there was no choice but to act. The opportunity was once in a lifetime. The guards, who had been taking sleeping pills daily, were starting to build a tolerance and were beginning to suspect something was off. I decided to use a different method today.

 

“Vice President, why did you call me?”

 

“It’s nothing major, just wanted you to try out a new potion I made and see how it is.”

 

“W-We?”

 

“What kind of potion is it?”

 

“It’s almost done. I just need to add this last ingredient, so pay close attention.”

 

The guards and even the secretary seemed intrigued, though clearly anxious about what the potion might be. After confirming that everyone had gathered, I poured the potion into the boiling pot. As the liquid splashed in, the sound of bubbling filled the room, and dense white smoke began rising, quickly filling the room.

 

“Huh? There seems to be too much smoke…”

 

“Is this alright, Vice President?”

 

“It’s fine. It’s fine.”

 

“It’s probably just steam. It doesn’t smell like anything…”

 

As people began collapsing one by one, I made my way across the room. I kicked the large bodies aside and stopped in

front of a guard who was built similarly to me. I quickly stripped off his outer garment and, after awkwardly putting it on, retrieved the access card from the secretary, who had collapsed by the door.

 

“Easy. So easy…”

 

Of course. Sleep-inducing potions had rarely failed, except for that one time.

 

That time, when I used it on Tae Jae-heon…

 

I was young and naive then, and I knew so little about Tae Jae-heon. All I wanted was to go out and have fun. When I saw him appear through the smoke, my heart dropped all the way down to the floor. It was then that I realized Tae Jae-heon always carried an S-rank antidote item with him, though the price I paid to learn that was far too high.

 

Shuddering at the memories from the past, I stepped outside. I pulled the tracker from my inventory, spun around once on the spot, and watched as the needle, which had been spinning in circles, suddenly stopped and pointed in a specific direction. I slowly began to move in the direction indicated by the needle.

 

“This is complicated…”

 

The buildings here were all so similar to each other that, without the tracker Zero had given me, I would have likely lost my way long before finding the egg. I reached the deepest part of a building I had never visited before and stood in front of a door, staring at the unmoving needle of the tracker.

 

“Is this it?”

 

I pressed the secretary’s card against the lock, and the green light flashed as I heard the sound of the door unlocking

from inside. After checking my surroundings, I slipped inside.

 

The interior was a large archive room. Dozens of cabinets, reaching all the way to the ceiling, lined the walls, each one filled with files, documents, and boxes stacked neatly. 

 

As I followed the tracker between the cabinets, I couldn’t help but glance at the documents with interest. It seemed the research complex was as vast as the rumors had suggested, with a diverse range of materials. I found everything from dungeon-related research to world guild collections, and even research materials on potions I had developed.

 

Among these, there were two documents that caught my eye:

“A Guide to Dungeon Poisonous Plants that Cause Fatal Infertility in Hunters – The Pain Edition”

and

“Potion Master Kang Eui-jin’s Reputation and International Recognition.”

I was tempted to look through them, but there was no time to linger.

 

The tracker led me to a glass case in the corner. Inside, I saw a white egg the size of a fist. Carefully lifting the case to examine it, I found it was securely locked with a padlock.

 

“I knew it would be like this…”

 

I pulled a small bottle from my inventory, unscrewed the cap, and watched as a wisp of smoke escaped. This was the poison I had secretly created, away from Tae Jae-heon’s watchful eyes. 

 

The materials I had to work with weren’t ideal, so I’d only been able to create a small amount, making the poison weaker than expected. While it wouldn’t be deadly, I had a specific reason for bringing it along.

 

Turning the box around, I slowly poured the potion onto the hinges, watching as they bubbled and began to melt away. With the case now open, I carefully took the egg out. 

 

Its smooth surface was even softer than I had anticipated, and before I realized it, I was gently stroking it. Fearing it might break, I hurriedly placed it in my inventory.

 

The task was completed faster than I expected, and when I checked the time, I still had some to spare. At least I had enough time to quickly skim through one of the documents.

 

“Can I take a little more time to browse through these materials?”

 

I was debating whether to look at

“A Guide to Dungeon Poisonous Plants that Cause Fatal Infertility in Hunters – The Pain Edition”

or

“Potion Master Kang Lee-jin’s Reputation and International Recognition”

. As I was skimming through some of the other materials, I noticed something at the edge of my vision.

 

PROJECT: D – Wolyeong Orphanage Batch 23 Experiment Results

 

“Huh? Wolyeong Orphanage?”

 

I unconsciously stopped. It seemed like there was a whole section dedicated to this project. The files were stacked up in neat rows, from Batch 1 to Batch 23. Each file was rather thick, with the more recent ones looking weathered and worn. All thoughts of the other materials vanished, and my hand instinctively reached for the “Batch 17” file.

 

When I opened the file, the first thing I saw was a Gamma Room. On a white background, young faces were staring ahead, almost exactly the same as the ones I remembered. The photo seemed to have been taken not long after I left. 

 

But something was off—across the faces of the children, there were red “FAIL” stamps, almost like a seal. Nearly every photo, except for a few, had the same stamp.

 

“What kind of etiquette is this, stamping ‘FAIL’ on their faces? What the hell?”

 

I turned the page, wiping away the unsettling feeling, but the next page only made things worse. Next to each child’s name were scribbled notes that made my head spin. Someone had written hasty memos beside the names.

 {Gamma Room Test Results}  

Shin Yul-ri: Died during first test. Kidnapped by monsters, went missing.

 

Ahn Hyun: Died during first test. Fell off a cliff.

 

Song Hyun-woo: Survived the first and second tests, died in the third. Mana overload. A regrettable subject. Always match the correct dosage of the drug!

 

Han Yeong-hwa: Survived the first test, died in the second.

 

Kim In-mun: Survived the first, second, third, and fourth tests. Passed the test.

 

.

.

.

 

Ahn Hyeong-tae: Survived the first and second tests, failed in the third. Mental instability. Subjects with weak mental fortitude need to undergo brainwashing beforehand. Be cautious in the future!

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