Chapter 301: Parasite (1)
Then I immediately opened my mouth, ignoring the messages that rang in succession.
“Log out.”
After logging out, I soaked myself in warm water to relieve my fatigue then went to bed.
Did I reconnect the game to double check? I didn’t because I didn’t have to know it in advance.
To be honest, I was a bit scared.
The next morning.
Originally I would have woken up early in the morning, washed and eaten, then accessed ‘Revival Legend’ right away because I was close to achieving level 1200.
However, I had breakfast leisurely at the dining table with my family.
After that, I sat down on the sofa and sipped hot coffee.
My family members watched me with anxious looks, but I ignored them.
I rested until late afternoon like that.
Late in the afternoon that day.
“Whew!”
I put on the VR device with trembling hands and opened my mouth in a low voice.
“Access!”
While Juyoung Hong was accessing the game, a guy was trembling in a shabby inn outside Kotum Castle within ‘Revival Legend’.
Asirante was clearly 100% eroded by the parasite yesterday, so he thought he could take over Asirante’s body as soon as he logged out.
But things didn’t work out as he planned.
[The parasite begins to erode the target.]
He could not help but be startled when he saw this message because Asirante’s body was clearly 100% eroded by the parasite already, which meant the parasite couldn’t do it again.
But there was a bigger problem.
[Your target can’t be eroded by the parasite.
-The parasite that acquires nutrients by eroding the target can’t do anything, so it begins to eat away its own body for nutrients.]
“?”
A message that the parasite was eating itself for nutrients.
This meant only one thing. It would die on its own by cannibalizing itself.
“Oh, no! No way! How is this possible?”
The man couldn’t help but scream. He has never dreamed of this situation, for the death of a parasite meant that everything he had planned until now would be for nothing.
He sprang to his feet. Before the parasite died on its own, he had to touch Asirante’s body to remove the parasite.
Inside the safe house at Rodon Castle.
I didn’t check the time, but I knew intuitively that I could now access normally.
“10 seconds…”
This was the normal connection time for me.
Of course, I didn’t laugh because my transformation into the Constellation Hunter would last only one week, and after that, I would go back to my original Lumen, Asirante identity.
Well, if I broke the promise to allow India’s Siddarth Guild to retain the last use of the badge, I could use it for two weeks.
Anyway, I didn’t say anything about this to my mom and sister, who were cheering at the recovery of my normal connection time, because I did not want to dampen their mood by explaining this to them in advance.
So, I moved to the level 1500 hunting ground Land of Titan with a large smile on my face.
And I started hunting there casually as if nothing happened.
Five hours later, I wanted to log out to retest my connection.
I knew I could access quickly again because I had already done so once, but I was still nervous.
At that moment, Director Sok messaged me.
[Inse Sok: Young master!]
[Constellation Hunter: Yes.]
[Inse Sok: I heard from your sister. Since it was not the perfect solution, I didn’t say anything to you.]
Director Sok, the head of the Strategy Department, was aware that I changed into the Constellation Hunter in India for one week, so I didn’t show any particular reaction.
But I couldn’t help but respond to his next message.
[Sok: A stranger has come to the main base of the Myongjin Guild. He said that he planted a parasite into your body, and he even wants to take it back.]
[Constellation Hunter: Parasite?]
[Sok: Yes.]
[Constellation Hunter: I’ll be there right away.]
As soon as I finished conversing with him, I suppressed my pounding heart, and moved right away.
At the main base of the Myongjin Guild.
Even if I turned into the Constellation Hunter, I could still use my skills Savant and Blink with zero cooldown, so I quickly reached the Myongjin Guild’s main base.
Instead of going directly inside, however, I stopped and readjusted my clothes neatly, as if I wasn’t in a hurry at all.
When I went inside slowly, I could see a man crouching like a criminal, surrounded on all sides by hordes of Myongjin users.
At that moment, the man shouted, “I’ll take it back. And I will never again aim at Asirante-sama!”
I was neither Lumen nor Asirante, but the Constellation Hunter at the moment.
However, the man pointed to me correctly and yelled as soon as I entered, so I knew instantly he was real.
The man continued, “If I touch Asirante’s body just once, I can take the parasite back. And I will never be hostile to the Myongjin Guild, let alone Asirante. So, please return the parasite to me!”
The man was almost crying while begging me.
At that moment, I recalled a guy. It was Smith who I killed a long time ago.
He did the same thing like this man by first being hostile to me and then begging for his life.
This guy was begging for the return of the parasite.
Of course, I didn’t know the details, but I could figure out to some extent what’s going on.
In other words, the guy planted a parasite in my body, expecting something, but he didn’t achieve his goal because I changed into the Constellation Hunter. That’s why he was crying like that, begging for the return of the parasite.
Of course, I wanted to tell him to take out the parasite right away by touching me.
And it seemed he was genuinely distressed.
But I didn’t want to.
“Why should I accept your request when you were hostile to me?”
Although I was upset, I spoke to him calmly but arrogantly as if I didn’t care about the parasite.
“That’s because…”
The man stumbled about, unable to finish his words.
Instead of waiting for his next words, I continued arrogantly, “You already know where the Myongjin Shelter is, right? I’ll see you there. I’ll accept your request if you reveal your identity to me in reality. I won’t harm you, of course.”
Contrary to what I said, I did indeed think of harming him, given my irritation, frustration and anger because of my delayed access to the game until now.
And it would be better for me to get rid of this kind of bizarre guy.
So, I wanted to tell him to take out the parasite right now, but I held back patiently.
“But…”
Perhaps he knew how dangerous it would be if he revealed himself in reality.
That’s why he was hesitating to reply clearly.
However, there could only be one reason why he took the trouble of visiting me after hiding his identity for such a long time. In other words, the parasite he planted into my body was not in a normal state. Maybe he was worried the parasite would perish forever.
That’s why he came here in distress and begged me to return it to him.
In other words, I was the one calling the shots right now, even though I could maintain the status of the Constellation Hunter for only one or two weeks at most.
But I didn’t express that to him at all.
[…]
[…]
We made eye contact for some time.
Then he finally replied, “Understood!”
In the end, I prevailed.
Then I turned suddenly because if I kept talking with him any longer, my act could be exposed.
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