On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 90: Lily and Yaksha

-...Grrrr.

A zombie with a torn leg tried to bite Il-Ho’s leg, as if aiming to take revenge.

Crunch!

But only the clanging of steel resounded. Its teeth couldn’t even pierce Il-Ho’s flesh.

Punch! Squash!

Il-Ho crushed the zombie’s head with his dumbbell sword. It was deader than dead, and soon joined the rest in the mountain of corpses. Thus, Il-Ho had cleared the zone. Back then, he lacked the stamina to deal with all of them, which resulted in his defeat. But now, he’d overcome that hurdle.

“Pant pant!”

Pop! Glug glug!

Il-Ho took a moment to catch his breath, then drank the Blessing of the Growth God. He stared at the mountain of corpses. He didn’t notice it at first, but the zombies were all dressed like soldiers.

Il-Ho clasped his hands together, “Thank you. Please rest in peace now. May God Yu Il-Shin bless you.”

Il-Ho turned around and headed for the next stage.

Psss—

The mountain of corpses behind him turned into dust and vanished.

Ding!

[Il-Ho has inherited the will of the Dead Dragon’s Expeditionary Force.]

[Il-Ho has acquired Iron-Willed Stamina.]

Suddenly, a message appeared. It never happened before, not even when Il-Ho was with Yu Il-shin or was using the potions. Nevertheless, Il-Ho couldn’t hear it. He marched forward, passing the green zone and entering the yellow zone. He waited, all nerves standing on edge.

Swaaaa!

It’s here!

“Hmph, right here!”

Knowing that an arrow was coming, Il-Ho twisted his body diagonally. Unlike what he expected, the arrow hit him squarely in the forehead.

Clang clang!

Thankfully, the arrow didn’t pierce his bones, which had been trained with the dumbest method in existence.

Pop!

“...I’m still too slow.” Grimacing, Il-Ho pulled out the arrow on his forehead, blood trickling from the wound.

Trudge trudge, thud thud!

Three figures emerged from the darkness.

[Legendary Undead Adventurer Party Slain By Dead Dragon]

The zombie elf, zombie barbarian, and the skeletal priest.

Kriiik!

Tucking three more arrows onto her crossbow, the zombie elf was about to shoot.

Click click click! Thump!

However, Il-Ho took off his armor and put down the dumbbell sword.

Krik?

The zombie elf tilted her head, looking at Il-Ho as if asking what he was doing.

“My ultimate goal isn’t to defeat you guys!” Il-Ho stared intently at the zombie elf

Her arrows were extremely fast and sharp, to the point he couldn’t even see them. He wanted to learn its movement! Il-Ho flexed every muscle in his body and shouted, “Muuuuscles! Let me learn from you!”

***

Back at the Hunter Academy’s principal office, after Yu Il-shin left, an awkward silence filled the room.

Briefly, Ko Sa-Deuk closed his eyes to suppress his anger. When he opened them again, a sneer appeared on his face.

“We should get going then.”

In response, Choi Kang-San smiled brightly, as if he had been waiting to hear that. “Oh, really? Haha! About time! Our lessons are still ongoing, so get the hell outta here!”

Seeing Choi Kang-San’s outburst, Ko Sa-Deuk clicked his tongue. He pulled out his wallet from his robes and threw a stack of 50,000 Korean won bills at the former.

“I’ll be back again. Make sure to prepare a proper tea next time.”

“Y-you rich bastard! Who do you take me for?! A damn beggar?!”

“Daddy—no, Mr. Principal, you don’t sound convincing when you’re picking the bills up like that...”

Being homeless for many years, Choi Kang-San’s hands were quite honest. Choi Eun-Bi covered her face in embarrassment.

“Kuku. Let’s head back, Myeong-Hee. We should prepare for the Dead Dragon dungeon raid too.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Don’t come here again, you unlucky skeleton!”

Leaving behind Choi Kang-San and his cries, the grandfather-granddaughter pair left the Hunter Academy. As soon as they stepped out, members of the Immortal Guild in black suits politely opened the limousine door.

As they entered the car, Ko Sa-Deuk glanced at his granddaughter, asking, “So, how do you like your prospective groom?”

Wipe wipe—

Wiping the rouge off her lips with wet wipes, Ko Myeong-Hee tied her hair back.

“Yes, he’s much more interesting than I thought. Kuku.”

Ko Myeong-Hee smiled like a lily as she recalled how Yu Il-Shin trembled when they first met.

Glance glance—

The guild member in the driver’s seat blushed as he sneaked peeks at Ko Myeong-Hee through the rearview mirror. Even though she only wiped off her lip rouge and tied her hair, she looked completely unrecognizable from her earlier virgin ghost appearance.

Of course, since not only was she an S-rank Hunter, she was also a world-class model who’d receive love calls from Hollywood.

Known by the screen name “Lily”, she was much more active overseas than in Korea, so her domestic recognition was much lower than Sung Mi-Na. Nevertheless, as a representative of South Korea, her beauty was second to none. According to men, her bombshell body was much better than Sung Mi-Na’s. Although it wasn’t obvious at the moment, since she was wearing a fluffy robe.

Ko Sa-Deuk clicked his tongue. “If only you had dressed like usual! He’d have been captivated by you in an instant! Tsk, why did you even have this getup? I didn’t stop you because you followed quietly.”

Indeed. Ko Sa-Deuk was also aware of his granddaughter’s fashion sense.

“Hoho, but that’d be boring, Grandfather!.”

In truth, Myeong-Hee didn’t look forward to this meeting at all.

“I thought you’d finally gone senile! Trying to set up Myeong-Ji for marriage and all. Haa... Did you know how hard it is to get tickets in Paris to fly back?”

Out of nowhere, her grandfather wanted to arrange a marriage between Ko Myeong-Ji and Yu Il-Shin. As such, Myeong-Hee flew back and took the matter into her own hands.

“Keke, despite your incessant nagging, you don’t seem to dislike it.”

Ko Myeong-Hee’s multi-colored eyes, dubbed the treasure of the East in the modeling industry, shone mysteriously.

“Yes, I’m kind of interested in him now. I want him for myself. Besides you, no man has ever resisted my charming eyes. This is a first for me.”

After inheriting the mare’s blood, her eyes became both a blessing and a curse. Most of the men who courted her were seduced by her eyes.

Unlike Yu Il-Shin. Could it be, he was the one she’d been waiting for all this time?

“Keke, take your time to make steady progress. He’s already within my grasp.”

“...Pardon? Grandfather, what do you mean by that?”

“Keke.” Ko Sa-Deuk grinned wickedly.

-Keeheehee! Kikiki!

The air behind him vibrated slightly, and a faint, ghostly wail leaked out.

***

An eerie tune echoed beyond the pitch-black darkness.

-Keeheehee! Kikiki!

I ignored it and stared impatiently at my phone. I was prepared to use my healing powers at any moment

[The Thirtieth Floor of the Tower of Warriors: Trial of Dead Dragon.]

“Huff, huff!”

Il-Ho panted heavily, covered in blood. He’d challenged the trial alone. Seeing how serious he was, I didn’t dare interrupt him. Currently, he was fighting the Legendary Undead Adventurer Party. However, he used an entirely different strategy than when we attempted the trial together.

No, I’m not sure if I can even call it a strategy.

Most logically, one would go for the priest first, since they’d keep reviving incapacitated party members. But Il-Ho didn’t do that.

Bam! Bam Bam Bam!

After defeating the barbarian zombie and zombie elf, Il-Ho looked at the skeletal priest. “What are you doing? Revive your comrades, quick.”

Shiver—

Trembling, the skeletal priest revived their comrades with their staff. It happened dozens, no, hundreds more times, until...

“Grrr...”

Plop!

The skeletal priest collapsed to the ground, unmoving. The barbarian zombie fell after, his head smashed in by Il-Ho’s fist. Only the zombie elf was left.

“Aren’t you going to attack me?”

The zombie elf merely stood there blankly. Her crossbow remained empty, as if she had no intention of attacking in the first place.

Plucking the arrows off his body, Il-Ho threw them at her feet. “Use them.”

The zombie elf picked up a single arrow. Rather than an act of disregard, she determined that one would suffice. She cocked the arrow on her crossbow.

Creaaaaak! Pooooow!

A sacred golden glow burst from her bow, an effect that was unthinkable from an undead.

Tzzz!

Gradually, the brilliance that enveloped the entire area converged to the arrowhead.

I’d never seen her unleash such a move before! My guts told me it was by far the most dangerous one! Il-Ho had to attack before the charge was complete!

But Il-Ho did nothing. He stared blankly at the zombie elf and her bow. Then, seemingly realizing something, Il-Ho smiled brightly.

“Compression and focus...”

Pzzz!

Thus, her charge was completed.

Flicker!

Just then, the zombie elf started catching fire from the heat of the glow. It was a skill that destroyed the caster.

“Come to me!” Il-Ho opened his arms wide.

Psss!

Her hands, which clutched onto the crossbow and arrow, were the first to turn to ashes. At the same time, like a dog released from its chains, the arrow shot toward Il-Ho.

“Muuuuscles!” Il-Ho clapped his hands shut.

Flash! Claaaap!

A dazzling golden glow shot at Il-Ho, followed by a booming explosion. It struck Il-Ho like a lightning strike!

Pzzzz!

But the lightning stopped at his neck, clasped by his hands.

Tzzz!

Black smoke rose from Il-Ho's hands, but he was still alive. With an arrow in hand, Il-Ho bowed deeply to the zombie elf.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to gain insight about the true muscle.”

He showed overwhelming gratitude.

“I shall remember your teachings forever. May God Yu Il-Shin bless you and your comrades.”

Was it just me? I thought I saw a faint smile on the zombie elf’s face as she burned.

Pssss—

Now reduced to ashes, Il-Ho left behind the zombie elf and her party.

[Il-Ho has inherited the will of the Legendary Adventurer Party.]

[Il-Ho has acquired Extreme Concentration.]

Il-Ho kept advancing. Up next was the horde of Death Knights who wouldn’t die unless their cores were destroyed. This time, he didn’t even need me to identify his opponents’ weaknesses like before. With his massive dumbbell sword, Il-Ho destroyed the Death Knights in one fell swoop.

“Brave warriors, may God Yu Il-Shin bless you.”

Pssss!

[Il-Ho has inherited the will of the Order of White Dragon Knight.]

[Il-Ho has acquired Lethal Strike.]

But the maze in the next stage would definitely be tough...

“God Yu Il-Shin has spoken, good muscles make things easier for the brain! Muuuuscles!”

Bam! Bam bam bam!

Il-Ho destroyed the maze with his dumbbell sword, making the vampires jump out in surprise. Unfazed, Il-Ho charged at them, plucking their heads off like nothing.

“You abominable mosquitoes! No blessings from God Yu Il-Shin to you!”

Kieeeek!

Soon, the cries of vampires resounded through the maze. At last, Il-Ho arrived at the entrance of the White Dragon, which had melted him before.

Il-Ho declared loudly, “I have returned! Your bony lizard! Let's fight again!”

My heart felt full. I was a little disappointed, but seeing how Il-Ho could come this far without my help made me feel proud of him as well.

Kiiiiiik!

I cheered nervously for Il-Ho as he pushed open the iron gates. Come on Il-Ho! You can do it!

The maniac cackling echoed again. It grew annoyingly louder with each passing second.

“Hey, this is an important moment! Shut it!”

But they were tactless and didn't listen to a single word I said.

-Keeheeheehee!

-Yeeheehee!

Shriiiing! Clack!

Lurking in the darkness were monsters with demonic masks. Soon, they surrounded me, their blue aura spear directed at me. My power appraised them automatically.

Ding!

-----

[Ko Sa-Deuk’s Yaksha Soldiers]

Necromancer Ko Sa-Deuk's lifelong collection of familiars.

Special note: Originally ordered to kidnap you, but they disobeyed his orders and now wish to eat you.

-----

My eyebrows wriggled.

“How dare you.”