Chapter 162
Upon seeing the system notification, Suho smiled.
It wasn’t just that he had obtained the Talent Pendulum of Atonement, but he had also received a bonus of 10 stat points as a reward for creating the pendulum.
‘Looks like I’ve created something first again this time.’
Whenever someone was the first to obtain something, the system acknowledged it as a great achievement.
And the reward was always 10 bonus stat points.
With that in mind, Suho happily examined the information on the Talent Pendulum of Atonement.
“Talent Pendulum of Atonement, check.”
[ Talent Pendulum of Atonement ]
– Grade: S
# The Talent Pendulum of Atonement provides an opportunity to ‘respec’ stats by paying a cost in stats.
# The cost paid is deducted from each respective stat category that is being redistributed.
Satisfied after reviewing the item information, Suho grinned.
‘Alright. With this, I won’t have to worry about delays in receiving the Unity Perk.’
Immediately, Suho pulled up his status window.
[ Ahn Suho ]
– Lv: 112
– Class: Crusader
– Traits: ＜New Blood＞ ＜Heracles Candidate＞
– Strength (O): 38
– Stamina (O): 14
– Magic (O): 31
– Senses (R): 77
– Bonus Stats: 10
Ten bonus stat points.
He left them untouched, as they would serve as the foundation for the Unity Effect.
Holding the Talent Pendulum of Atonement, which resembled a hand bell, Suho shook it once, triggering the item’s effect.
[ The respec Talent Pendulum has been activated. ]
As the bell rang, golden lines radiated from it, soon wrapping around the status window before his eyes.
The system prompted him.
[ Please select the stats to be redistributed. ]
[ Strength (O): 38 ]
[ Stamina (O): 14 ]
[ Magic (O): 31 ]
[ Senses (R): 77 ]
After calculating briefly, Suho selected two stats.
[ You have selected the Strength and Magic stats. ]
[ As a cost for redistribution, 1 point will be deducted from each of the Strength and Magic stats. ]
[ You have gained 65 bonus stat points. ]
After making his selection, Suho paid two stat points as the cost of redistribution.
As a result, his Strength and Magic stats were reduced to 1, and he received the remaining difference back as bonus stat points.
Suho checked his updated status window.
“Status window, check.”
[ Ahn Suho ]
– Lv: 112
– Class: Crusader
– Traits: ＜New Blood＞ ＜Heracles Candidate＞
– Strength (O): 1
– Stamina (O): 14
– Magic (O): 1
– Senses (R): 77
– Bonus Stats: 75
Seeing his status window, Suho chuckled.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t help but think it was an overpowered option.
‘It’s a little disappointing to lose 2 stat points, but….’
Considering the Unity Perk he’d receive, it was more than worth it.
After some quick calculations, Suho began to allocate his bonus stats.
“First, I’ll raise Senses to 99….”
He raised his Senses stat to 99.
Now, with 53 bonus points remaining, Suho allocated 13 points each to Strength and Magic, setting the Orange stat values to 14.
Now with 27 bonus points left, Suho assigned another 9 bonus points each to the Orange stats, adjusting them to 23.
“Status window, check.”
[ Ahn Suho ]
– Lv: 112
– Class: Crusader
– Traits: ＜New Blood＞ ＜Heracles Candidate＞
– Strength (O): 23
– Stamina (O): 23
– Magic (O): 23
– Senses (R): 99
– Bonus Stats: 0
Seeing his neatly unified stats, Suho felt a slight regret.
‘If I had just 2 more bonus stat points, I could activate the Unity Effect immediately.’
But it was alright.
With just one more level, he’d receive the Unity Perk, which would unify all stats into the same color and value.
‘Now, all I need to do is focus on growing by raiding sealed gates for a while.’
The timing was perfect.
He had also obtained the relevant authority for sealed gate raids, meaning he could aggressively raid them under the guise of a project.
But, as always, there was an order to things.
Just as Suho was thinking about checking off the sealed gates he had already marked, his phone vibrated.
A call was coming in.
Seeing the caller ID, Suho’s brows furrowed instinctively.
It was Pi Seongyeol.
‘Why is this guy calling?’
Unexpected.
He couldn’t imagine why.
But he couldn’t just ignore it, so he answered for now.
“Yes, senior.”
As he answered, a familiar rough voice echoed from the other end.
– Yeah, it’s been a while since I heard your voice, rookie.
“Haha, yes. I should’ve contacted you more often, my apologies.”
– Nah, I see you’ve been pretty busy these days.
“No, no, senior, you’re the one who’s really busy. But what’s the reason for your call?”
– Oh, it’s nothing much. Just calling to keep my promise.
“Promise?”
– Yeah, the promise. Didn’t I say I’d definitely pull you into the Special Division?
Ah, that promise?
Right, he had made that promise.
But now, of all times?
Narrowing his eyes, Suho replied.
“Ah, yes, you did promise. Are you saying you’re planning to bring me into the Special Division right now?”
Come on, no way.
He hoped it wasn’t true.
How long had it been since he was appointed as Deputy Team Leader?
Of course, if it was Pi Seongyeol, he could probably pull some strings.
The reasons could easily be made up to fit.
And so, he was a little worried.
Moving to the Special Division now would be inconvenient, especially since he had just received the authority for the sealed gates.
‘If I have to transfer, I should at least get my fill out of this first.’
To Suho’s question, Pi Seongyeol responded.
– Haha, I’d love to do it right away, but it’s a bit difficult to do immediately… Instead, let’s work on some groundwork together to speed things up a bit.
“Groundwork?”
– Just some preliminary steps. Thanks to you building up such a good reputation lately, we’ve set up a nice picture. If you could rack up a few achievements related to the Special Division and spread some buzz, the timing for a smooth transfer would line up perfectly, wouldn’t it?
“Ah…”
Suho’s brows narrowed once again.
Right.
That would certainly make it line up.
Hearing Pi Seongyeol’s explanation, a smile appeared on Suho’s face.
As long as he didn’t have to transfer right away, he didn’t mind anything else.
‘While I’m doing whatever groundwork he needs, I’ll also raid the redevelopment gates, so I won’t even have to go to the Special Division.’
With that, Suho answered with a bright tone.
“Yes, understood. As expected from you, senior. Just tell me what needs to be done, and I’ll carry it out with all my might.”
– Haha, that’s why I like you. I’ve got a few cases lined up for PR, so I’ll send the files over. Should be easy work, just some apprehensions, so you’ll wrap them up quickly.
“Alright, I’ll contact you as soon as I apprehend the targets this time, too?”
– Yes, call me directly, and I’ll handle the cleanup.
“Understood, senior. Thank you.”
– Alright, looking forward to it.
With that, the call ended.
Shortly after, Suho received the files for the groundwork cases on his phone.
“Tsk, tsk, doing errands at this timing… Just when I was planning to tackle all the sealed gates.”
Grumbling, Suho opened the files.
Scanning through the documents, his eyes stopped at a certain point.
‘Huh? This guy….’
His gaze froze on a familiar name.
Quickly, Suho began rummaging through the Library of Memories.
After confirming that the name in the file matched a record in the Library of Memories, he couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.
“Well, well… Meeting this guy at this timing, huh.”
Someone he hadn’t felt the need to deal with and left out of his plans, but now he was meeting him again in this way.
Was this what they called fate?
Suho immediately headed to the garage.
Now that things had come to this, he figured he should take care of it right away, striking while the iron was hot.
‘Besides, there are a few gates I planned to raid in that area.’
Suho made his way to the garage, calling Jung Chulmin on the way.
After all, he had to report the current situation.
***
Suho drove to Incheon Port.
Looking at the ruined scenery of Incheon Port, he was lost in memories of the past.
‘This place used to be bustling with people.’
Incheon Port.
In particular, Wolmido was a place filled with family memories for Suho.
Personally, he found it quite regrettable.
In the past, Wolmido had been a playground and tourist attraction for residents of the capital area, always crowded with people, but after several gate shocks, it had turned into a deserted land no one visited anymore.
Suho concealed his car in a suitable spot and activated one of his skills.
[ Monochrome Solitude has been activated. ]
Knowing that the target’s main area of activity was Incheon Port, he had come straight here.
Now, all that remained was to search Incheon Port and locate the target.
He had confidence.
After all, this was practically a case that Pi Seongyeol had handed to him on a silver platter.
‘Let’s get started.’
Blending into solitude, Suho began his search.
***
As the sun set and darkness fell, strange presences began to appear.
Several unfamiliar trucks entered Wolmido, their headlights soon illuminating the area.
At the same time, boats arrived at the harbor, and, as if planned, the people separated into two groups.
There were quite a few people.
At least several dozen, even with a low estimate.
At that moment, the side doors of the truck beds rose, revealing the cargo inside.
Inside the cargo.
The cargo wasn’t just any animals.
These were “natural monuments” or “endangered species” as designated within the country.
Then, a man who seemed to be the leader of the group that came by boat lit a cigarette and spoke.
“Well… it’s like Noah himself came by, bringing a truckload again this time.”
A peculiar accent.
Listening closely, he sounded like an ethnic Korean-Chinese.
To the ethnic Korean-Chinese man’s comment, the man called ‘Noah’ replied.
“It’s not my first time in this business. This much is nothing. But it’s getting harder to secure goods, so we may need to adjust our trade volume soon.”
“Haha! Mr. Noah, why act so modest? It’s not like I’m underpaying you, so please keep supplying us.”
“I’m just stating the facts. Let’s check the goods first.”
“Understood. But, as always, it amazes me how every animal you bring is so quiet.”
It was true.
Even though the trucks carried enough animals to fill five vehicles, none of them made a sound.
They weren’t sedated or had their vocal cords removed, either.
They simply kept their mouths tightly shut, as if they’d been silenced.
At that moment—
“Well, of course, they’re keeping quiet because he deceived them.”
“What the—?”
The one who answered in Noah’s stead appeared.
It was none other than Suho.