Resurrection Chapter 62 - Just Because You’re Precious

Since then, Kim Piljoong had been vowing revenge and tracking Yaksha’s movements. After a few months, the fiend had entered this very place, Dungeon 77, chasing after Kim Yitae, whom he had been targeting for some time. Kang Cheoljun, a Special Task Force member from the Hibiscus unit, was already tracking Yaksha, so if he just waited at the dungeon entrance, he would hear some news one way or another.

However, as the wait grew longer, he gradually became anxious. A man in the position of Special Task Force captain had a mountain of work to do. He couldn’t just sit around at the dungeon entrance forever. He was worried about what he would do if he missed Yaksha while he was away on business. If Yaksha managed to get his hands on Kim Yitae, he absolutely could not let him get away.

“The jack-of-all-trades, Kim Yitae…”

Kim Piljoong muttered to himself, tapping his cheek with the hand that was propping up his chin. He had never met the jack-of-all-trades Kim Yitae in person, but he had heard various things about him.

The so-called team breaker, a guy who caused every raid party he joined to fall apart, was surprisingly well-connected and resourceful. You couldn’t tell from just his picture, but perhaps because his face was pretty, he seemed to have a natural knack for attracting people.

He was subtly meddlesome and got involved in all sorts of things, so he had built up a solid network of contacts, whether he knew it or not. In a word, he was a power insider with a distinct presence. Of all people, for a guy like that to possess Resurrection…

Although they were desperately trying to control the situation to prevent information from leaking, it was uncertain how long the secret about him could be kept. Seo Heesoo, who had literally returned from hell alive, had chosen him as his partner, and of all people, Yaksha was obsessed with him, so everyone must be wondering why.

Information brokers were already swiftly digging into Kim Yitae’s past, so it was only a matter of time before the existence of the resurrection skill was revealed.

Could Kim Yitae handle the situation that would arise when everything was revealed?

Kim Piljoong was skeptical, but he was reluctant to restrain the person of Kim Yitae, who had committed no crime. Even if he were to protect him, as a member of the organization, he wouldn’t be able to ignore orders from above.

The current head of the OAMA was an extremely rational person, but he also had a personality that would go through fire and water for the sake of the nation’s interests. He also hated Awakened, with an attitude of ‘to hell with their human rights,’ so there was no telling what he might do if he got his hands on Kim Yitae, who possessed Resurrection.

Above all, Kim Piljoong disliked the very existence of Resurrection. As an ability that defied absolute truth, it was prone to causing chaos. Of course, it was also an ability that was that incredible.

“A chicken rib, it is.”

If Kim Yitae were left alone, it would be a problem because fiends like Yaksha would covet him. But if he were taken into custody, the higher-ups couldn’t be trusted.

It wasn’t just the Awakened who had to fight monsters in dungeons who feared death. The same was true for the powerful who were not chosen as Awakened.

Lost in thought, Kim Piljoong straightened his posture, looked around, and said.

“All this talk of chicken ribs is making me hungry. How about spicy stir-fried chicken for lunch? Hey, Hwang Chihong. See if there are any good spicy stir-fried chicken places nearby.”

At Kim Piljoong’s words, Hwang Chihong, the youngest of the Special Task Force team leaders, answered promptly.

“Understood.”

Kim Piljoong looked at him in surprise at the reply that came without a second’s hesitation.

“What’s gotten into you? Normally, you’d be throwing a fit, saying ‘What kind of world is this to make the youngest do something like that?’”

Hwang Chihong was a representative A-rank Awakened born in the new world, possessing a very rare ability to control dungeon insects. He was the youngest within the Special Task Force to have been promoted at high speed, and like kids these days, to put it nicely, he was bold, and to put it badly, he was a brat.

So it was strange for a guy like that to obediently agree to run an errand. Not only Kim Piljoong, but all the other team leaders stared at him in surprise.

“Chihong, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not thinking of quitting your civil service job, are you?”

“Did you pay off your student loans already?”

“You still have your apartment loan left, don’t you?”

The team leaders were all on pins and needles, worried that Hwang Chihong might just up and leave the Special Task Force. Since the Special Task Force was a place that suffered from a chronic shortage of manpower, an Awakened who was young, competent, and had a bright future like Hwang Chihong was absolutely necessary.

As everyone looked at him with faces that had gone from worried to terrified, Hwang Chihong spoke with a stiff expression, flustered.

“…So, should I look it up? Or not?”

At his question, the team leaders all blamed Kim Piljoong in unison.

“Just as you said, Captain, what kind of world is this to make the youngest do something like that?”

“Isn’t the person who wants to eat it supposed to be the one to look it up?”

“What do you have a phone for? You can just search for it yourself.”

“Honestly, it’s in moments like this that you can tell he’s from the old generation!”

Flinching at the flood of resentment, Kim Piljoong mumbled out an excuse.

“No, isn’t this kind of thing usually what the youngest does? And besides, holograms make me dizzy. Because of my presbyopia.”

For an excuse coming from an S-rank Awakened who could fly at the speed of light, it was truly lame. Everyone snorted and turned their heads away from him, and Kim Piljoong had no choice but to say, “Fine. I’ll look for it myself, okay?” and take out his phone.

It was then. The entrance opened noisily, and a Special Task Force member ran in. He gave a cursory salute to the special task team leaders and Captain Kim Piljoong, then spoke urgently.

“A magic reaction has been detected at the dungeon entrance.”

“A magic reaction? Who is it?”

“It is impossible to confirm with the naked eye.”

Kim Piljoong shot up from his seat and went outside the field headquarters. The team leaders followed behind him like a string of candies.

They all headed for the temporary office of Plantain Lily, the information gathering and analysis team. Because it was temporary, the barracks was crammed with all sorts of equipment. The Plantain Lily members also seemed to have no room to stand, so Kim Piljoong kicked out all the other team leaders.

“Everyone, return to your positions and stand by! If you have nothing to do, go find a good spicy stir-fried chicken place!”

Most of the team leaders were busy with their own missions across the country, but a few who had some free time had no intention of missing the big event of a rematch between Kim Piljoong and Yaksha. Not only was it extremely rare for S-rank Awakened to clash, but someone had to be there to prevent the damage from spreading to the surroundings.

In fact, the last time Kim Piljoong and Yaksha clashed at the OAMA Training Institute, two of the institute’s buildings were blown away and half the mountain behind them was crushed. It was fortunate that there were no private residences in the area; if there had been casualties, Yaksha might have gotten away with it, but Kim Piljoong would not have been able to avoid responsibility.

Using that as an excuse, several team leaders had gathered, so Kim Piljoong felt a subtle pressure. Last time, he was at least able to avoid having his embarrassing defeat broadcast live, but if he lost this time, there would be no mercy. The thought of the Special Task Force captain’s authority hitting rock bottom made the guys trailing him endlessly annoying.

Only after chasing them all away did Kim Piljoong turn to look at the Plantain Lily team leader. Baek Seorin, who looked more like a researcher somewhere than a special task team leader, was still awkward with the military-style organizational life. Instead of saluting, she gave a slight bow of her head and began her briefing.

“A magic reaction was detected at the dungeon entrance, but it’s impossible to identify with the naked eye. Analyzing the pattern, it’s Invisible magic. There are three people. For the record, it’s not Yaksha.”

“Is that so?”

“Yaksha is a necromancer and an S-rank, so it’s impossible not to know if he appears.”

Amid a faint sense of disappointment, Kim Piljoong asked again.

“If it’s Invisible, could it be Kim Yitae? It seems he wasn’t captured by Yaksha?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Then let’s assume two of the three are Seo Heesoo and Kim Yitae. Who’s the other one? I don’t think it’s Min Gongchan, the one who supposedly put a hit on Seo Heesoo.”

“If it’s not him, then it would be Park Sigyeong, the second apostle of the White Goddess, who followed them into the dungeon. After asking Kang Cheoljun and Yoon Younghyun to accompany him and being refused, he tried to find a pickup party, failed, and followed them in late.”

“That would make sense. He would have a connection to Seo Heesoo from their time as fellow apostles, so that’s a plausible guess.”

“They’re currently moving outside the camp, what should we do? If they leave this area and teleport, we won’t be able to track them.”

At Baek Seorin’s words, Kim Piljoong knew that now was the only time to apprehend Kim Yitae. Because of that, the conflict he felt earlier repeated itself.

Should he secure Resurrection, if only to prevent Yaksha from taking it? Or, since Kim Yitae’s will was firm and the situation wasn’t immediately dangerous, should he leave him be for now and watch?

“They’ve teleported.”

The magic reaction vanished completely from the screen. Kim Piljoong knew that Kim Yitae had disappeared while he was conflicted, but he didn’t feel much regret.

If Kim Yitae was going to succumb to Yaksha and use Resurrection, he would have done so when he was caught last time. At that time, Kim Yitae was not even an A-rank magic swordsman but a mere jack-of-all-trades, yet he never broke his will.

Considering how Yaksha had tried to tame him, Kim Yitae was seriously aware of the dangers that Resurrection possessed. One could tell just by looking at the fact that he chose the former paladin, Seo Heesoo, as his partner. He was extremely reluctant to have the resurrection skill be abused for personal greed, so it seemed it would be fine to trust him for the time being.

“It’s fine, leave that side alone. More importantly, what about Yaksha? Is there any news at all?”

“As I said, it’s impossible not to know when Yaksha appears. Now that Kim Yitae has appeared, don’t you think he will soon show himself, following him?”

“I hope Kang Cheoljun comes back before Yaksha appears.”

With the hope that he might hear more advantageous information for the battle with Yaksha if he returned, Kim Piljoong decided to wait for Kang Cheoljun’s return.