Chapter 44 …
However, once Jihad confirmed that Dohyeon was gone, his attitude did a complete 180.
—Damn it… of all the rotten luck… I’ve never seen someone that vicious in my life. That guy isn’t human — he’s Satan, Satan.
How could someone beat another person senseless without even listening to a single word?
Of course, he couldn’t deny that he’d had bad intentions… but still, too much was too much.
—…He’s really gone, right?
After glancing around once more, Jihad flopped onto his back.
His entire body throbbed and screamed in pain. Grimacing, he muttered in complaint.
—If only my true power were intact…
For some reason, after being reborn, almost all of his power had been sealed.
Even the undead he had painstakingly raised were nowhere to be found.
It was already frustrating enough that he had died without even putting up a proper fight, beaten like a punching bag — and thanks to that, he’d just been pummeled all over again this time.
If he fought again in proper condition, he would definitely teach that guy a lesson…
Flinch.
The moment he recalled Dohyeon’s fists and that chilling blade, Jihad shuddered.
—…Can I even win?
Was it because he had been beaten helplessly twice?
For some reason, just thinking about opposing that human made his confidence drop. Unwilling to admit it, Jihad kicked an innocent pebble.
—One day, I’ll smash that human’s smug head in.
Just as he was making that not-quite-a-vow—
[You are being moved to the Guardian Room.]
—Huh? What room?
Before he could even question the sudden message, his vision flickered and his body was transported somewhere.
When the blinding light faded, a new world was revealed.
—Th-this is…?
The gloomy, dark cave was gone, replaced by a landscape where countless worlds seemed to coexist.
Clouds and land were seamlessly connected; to the left was a glacier region, to the right a lava field.
It should have felt strange, yet it looked oddly natural.
Beyond a certain distance, everything abruptly cut off, revealing only fragments of the world — which only made it more mysterious.
—Ah…
Jihad’s pupils trembled as he gazed at the scene.
He was certain this was his first time seeing this place.
And yet…
—So this is what it feels like to step on the surface.
A strange sense of comfort washed over him.
How long had it been since he last stepped on solid ground? Since he last felt fresh air?
He could fully feel the wind brushing against his face — a peculiar wind where cold and heat coexisted.
—…This might not be so bad.
After all, Jihad had practically been trapped in his hideout.
Compared to being stuck in an underground cave, maybe this place was better.
And so, for the first time in hundreds of years, Jihad fell asleep on different soil.
Psssh—.
The capsule opened, and Dohyeon stepped out, stretching broadly.
With a series of cracks from his joints, he finished some light stretching and turned on his phone.
[20:12]
“Already evening.”
He had logged in at 10 a.m., and now it was already past evening into night.
Still, since he had started earlier than yesterday, even after filling the full ten hours, the day wasn’t over yet — not bad.
‘This is why you’ve got to be diligent.’
…Though whether starting a game early in the morning counted as diligence was questionable, the times had changed.
This was now an era where being dedicated to God of the Overlord (Godosé) counted as working hard in life.
Normally, he would have shown extreme diligence by heading straight to the gym from here, but unfortunately, he had something to do.
Click.
Dohyeon immediately turned on his computer and naturally accessed the Godosé homepage.
He needed information.
The site’s reputation as a sea of information was no exaggeration — the moment he logged in, countless posts greeted him.
Among them were guides for the next city, but that wasn’t what he wanted right now.
[What is a Guardian! Must-read for beginners unfamiliar with Guardians]
[Perfect Guardian Guide!]
[Guardian Tier List]
[Not all Guardians are the same? What is a Divine Beast!]
‘No matter how I think about it, I just can’t accept that something like this Guardian exists…’
The strange Guardian he had obtained this time — Jihad Black.
He was trying to gather information about that guy.
He had already taken precautions so he wouldn’t get stabbed in the back, but still, having some information was better than none.
[Title: Guardian Tier List]
[Author: Godo Doctor]
—Godosé is a game obsessed with ranks. Everything has a rank — it’s a brutally discriminatory game.
Naturally, Guardians also have ranks.
Common ones like Salamanders and Golems are Rare grade… and honestly, you can think of that as the ceiling.
Anything Hero grade or higher is generally unobtainable.
From that point on, you’re entering the territory of what are commonly called Divine Beasts rather than Guardians… (truncated)
“That’s enough…”
Already knowing this, Dohyeon skimmed past and browsed a few more posts, but most were either things he already knew or obvious statements.
Stuff like how raising Guardians was inefficient, recommended usable Guardians…
He had just skipped three or four meaningless posts when—
Click.
[Title: Want to obtain a Divine Beast?]
[Author: Godo Doctor]
—Divine Beasts are the strongest partners a user can obtain as Guardians.
They have no drawbacks except that they’re insanely hard to obtain and extremely expensive.
The Pegasus of Cheonoecheon, the Empress’s Void, the Monk Breaker’s Haetae — these well-known Guardians are all Divine Beasts.
Each Divine Beast has a rank, but since they are at minimum Hero grade or higher, they all possess immense power… (excerpt)
Most people ask: where do you get Divine Beasts?
For that, you need one of three things:
Incredible luck that brings fortune.
Massive spending power to create that luck.
Achievements related to Guardians.
Dohyeon stopped scrolling for the first time.
‘Achievements…’
That word caught his attention.
After all, Demrock didn’t have such a system.
Maybe it did — but even Bora-ajusshi, who was quite knowledgeable about Guardians, had never mentioned it.
It might be nonsense, but it was new information, which made it interesting.
‘And the author is that same guy again.’
Honestly, the author played a big role.
This user called Godo Doctor posted many Guardian-related articles, and most of them seemed written by someone with considerable knowledge.
He was serious enough to seem like a real doctor.
Someone like that probably wouldn’t lie.
—Everyone knows about achievements. When you accomplish something difficult, you earn one and receive rewards.
It could be a title, stats, or even a hidden quest.
Divine Beasts are the same.
If you achieve something extremely difficult — especially something related to Divine Beasts — you may gain an opportunity to obtain one.
…(truncated)
“Hmm.”
The post continued for quite a while, but the key information ended there.
There were no drop routes or quest details.
Then again, no matter how passionate someone was about Guardians, there was no way they’d post such valuable information publicly.
“Either way, this helped a lot.”
First of all, obtaining Divine Beasts by hunting monsters was impossible in both Demrock and Godosé.
There were no recorded cases anywhere.
Instead, Godosé opened a new route through achievements when obtaining Guardians.
‘Judging by the circumstances, it seems related to that achievement… but all I did was find a hidden dungeon and kill the boss. Would that really count?’
As Dohyeon pondered, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.
Come to think of it — there had been one.
Among the flood of messages after defeating Jihad, there was a particular line.
—You have achieved a hidden achievement.
‘Right, it definitely said that.’
Now the puzzle pieces fit.
Obtaining Jihad Black as a Guardian wasn’t just luck or a strange bug — it was the reward for completing a hidden piece.
It felt surprising that clearing a single dungeon counted, but thinking about it, it made sense.
‘It really was a ridiculous dungeon.’
From the hidden boss room in a four-man party dungeon, to the condition that it only opened if he was alone, to a difficulty a level-24 player absolutely shouldn’t be able to clear…
The more he thought about it, the more abnormal everything seemed.
On top of that, it was a brutal dungeon that disappeared if you failed.
‘When I think about it, it’s weirder that I cleared it.’
It was practically like forcing his way through a dungeon the developers never intended to be beaten.
If the devs had been watching, their mental states probably would’ve exploded like fireworks.
Anyway, achieving that kind of feat must have been the hidden condition for monster taming.
If so, wasn’t it possible there were other boss monsters that could become Guardians this way?
‘If I could get something like a legendary dragon as a Guardian…’
He’d surpass Bora-ajusshi’s Dragon-Tiger Dominance in sheer coolness.
Imagining the moment sent a thrill through Dohyeon, but he quickly shook off the thought.
Just because it worked this time didn’t guarantee other bosses would work the same way.
And right now, reality was that his Guardian was just a mere goblin.
‘Well… maybe he’ll become useful if I raise him.’
Still, he wasn’t exactly an ordinary goblin.
He was Hero grade, and although unusable for now, he even had the unusual trait called Bloodline Factor.
He’d been acting like he had a Black Flame Dragon inside him — surely that meant something.
Though whether it was really a Black Flame Dragon or just a loach remained to be seen.
Thud.
After turning off the computer, Dohyeon stepped into the living room.
Now that his curiosity was satisfied, his starving stomach finally made its presence known.
Well, he had gone ten hours without eating.
Originally, he planned to buy beef… but judging by his empty bank balance, that was out of the question.
“Mom, is there anything to eat at home?”
“Mm~ nope.”
Instead of his mother’s gentle voice, a frivolous female voice answered.
Dohyeon’s brows furrowed sharply.
Hyuna was sprawled on the living room sofa watching TV, giggling.
Hugging her knees, she was casually spilling snack crumbs onto her stomach.
Why was she so annoyingly punchable?
Was sibling hatred humanity’s passive trait?
“Where’s Mom?”
“Out.”
“Did you eat? We need groceries.”
“I ate. What time do you think it is? Oh, there’s stew in the fridge. Mom made it for you yesterday, but you slept instead, remember?”
“Ah…”
Now that she mentioned it, he did vaguely recall.
He’d just been too absorbed in Godosé and completely forgot.
‘Right… I got discharged from the army yesterday.’
It felt like at least a week had passed, but it had only been two days.
He was honestly impressed by his monstrous adaptability — already fully adjusted to civilian life.
Though a lot had happened in those two days.
‘But why hasn’t anyone contacted me?’
His fellow soldiers had worried their schedules would be packed for a month after discharge…
Slightly annoyed, he checked KakaoTalk.
There wasn’t a single unread personal chat.
Just one group chat with five people.
—Kwak Jaeyeol: Ah, I wanna have s*x.
—Kim Doohyung: You crazy bastard.
—Yoo Jonghyun: Hey, anyone at Pratel, get in. Field boss spawned.
—Kim Hyunsu: Yeah, the guild already took it~ Not your turn~
—Kim Doohyung: By the way, when does Dohyeon get discharged? Haven’t heard from him lately. Did he die?
—Kim Hyunsu: Looks like this punk finally died. Planning a celebration today.
—Kwak Jaeyeol: Oh? The “1” disappeared. Guess he’s not dead. Too bad.
—Kim Doohyung: Too bad.
—Yoo Jonghyun: Too bad.
—Kim Hyunsu: Too bad.
“…”
…Yeah. He probably shouldn’t have checked.
