Solo Clear Chapter 18

"Hey, who put the 38th clan on the report?"

Among the papers that were scattered on the desk, one of the managers picked up a report and asked in an annoyed tone.

They couldn't look at each and every clan and there was no need to see them either.
They had planned on holding the meeting by discussing the clans that were in the top 30.

"It's me."

A new manager with the number 13 on their chest carefully raised their hand.

"Didn't you hear the announcement earlier? It said that they would only take the clans that were within top 30."

"A new manager should suppress their opinions as much as possible. You need to watch, learn and gain experience from your seniors before giving your opinion."

It's only been two months since the eighth manager started working, but they felt irritated by how a new manager expressed their opinion without fearing their seniors.
Excluding the eighth manager, the others experienced a similar situation for many years.

Taking the 13th manager's att.i.tude as a rebellion wasn't really difficult.

"Let's hear them out instead of getting angry about it. If the clan is 38th place, then they're not that far from the cutoff line."

The laid-back seventh manager had a smile on their face as if they were pleased by the 13th manager's att.i.tude.
The 7th manager believed that being provoked like this was necessary because they had a system where they would only work hard within the work that they were given.

"Then before we start discussing the main topic, it's probably best to hear out the new manager."

The 1st manager that was sitting at the front of the table spoke up.

Out of all the managers, he was ranked the highest, so when he spoke up, the room became quiet.
When the others spoke, the 13th manager was intimidated, but in front of the first manager, they ended up gulping due to the nervousness they felt.

"The name of the 38th clan is My Way. The clan consists of one member."

Being 38th place was pretty high, but on top of that, the clan only had one member, so the other managers were starting to take interest.

Since everyone had different personalities, some wanted to stand out, some wanted to create a clan that was different from the other clans, but no matter the reason, there were clans that had only one member.
However, there were only a couple that showed outstanding results.

Just from looking at the results, My Way clan was unique.
The clans that were ranked higher were moving with at least 10 members.

"What's Kang Jin Woo's personal ranking?"
"10th."

After hearing his ranking, the managers were surprised.

Honestly, it was safe to say that Kang Jin Woo was in first place.

"And he just happened to be placed in the graveyard for the second stage. Out of all the locations in the second stage, the graveyard is the weirdest."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Since you mentioned the stage, the Skeleton Soldiers that were in front of the ruin were killed by Kang Jin Woo alone."
"You mean the two soldiers?"

The monsters that were called soldiers were the monsters within the second stage that were one level stronger.

They would walk through the forest, inspect the area and kill off any survivors they found.
Despite of the fact that their teammate hasn't returned for days, they didn't decide to go search for them and instead, locked the gate of their fortress.

The entrance of the ruin didn't open and just like that, years have pa.s.sed.
And suddenly, one survivor managed to kill off those guards, which caused the other managers to stay quiet.

"Their stats are pretty up there, but still, this is a bit."

In order to understand the situation, one manager spoke and expressed their opinion, but no matter how they thought about it, it was a level they couldn't understand.

"He might be the first survivor that will enter the ruin…let's continuing watching this survivor."

Kang Jin Woo's name was deeply engraved into the managers' minds because of this event.

Power: 37 (+6) Stamina: 39 (+7) Agility: 40 (+5) Mana: 28 (+6) Luck: 24 (+3)

It was great my skills points increased thanks to the fight with the skeletons, but losing my left arm was a painful mistake.

It's because I had to get used to having one arm.

"3 hours, 35 minutes and 30 seconds remaining until the next attack."

The first attack was getting nearer and nearer.
The defense of the fortress was stronger when compared to the defense I first saw.

When I arrived without my left arm, No. 1 and No. 2 seemed like they were too shocked to even talk to me.

As the owner, I felt bad so I wanted to stop them, but
That might actually insult their loyalty, so I decided not to notice anything.

"How's your arm?"

It seemed like the 30,000 Geny worth of fuel that I used ran out, because No. 1 stopped what they were doing and approached me.

"I see."

I thought I gave a pretty positive answer, but No. 1 weakly looked down.

"Look."

In order to relieve them of their worries, I was trying to show a small trick.
By using the overflowing mana, I created a shield that replaced my left arm.

Mana Shield F rank.
It was an active skill that created a shield with my mana.

After finishing the fight with the skeletons, I visited the store and sold the dropped items. I managed to get 70,000 Geny.
I thought about how I should use it, but I decided to learn a skill that will replace the shield on my left arm.

And that's why I chose the Mana Shield.

After seeing it being sold for 50,000 Geny at the store, I quickly purchased it.

The only bad thing was that it required me to use mana, but.
I was pretty satisfied with the fact that it could fill in for my attacks and defense since that's what I lacked.

When I created a small shield with mana, No. 1 started trembling as if they've seen ridiculous.

"How…did you do that?"
"…Hm?"

I heard No. 1's voice cracking up while it spoke, which wasn't like a robot at all.

Was it that ridiculous?

Right when I sighed to myself and thought I needed to improve more.

"It usually can't be done that way."

No. 2 finished their work and joined the conversation.

"Is that so?"
"The Mana Shield usually appears as just a wall when an ordinary person uses it. It's not easy to create a shape of a shield, which you just did. It's possible after months of training."

After hearing No. 2, I couldn't really understand it.
I just used the skill by imagining it.

And then a shield appeared.

"On top of that, the Mana Enhancement skill that master has is a very rare skill. It's hard to learn it even if you wanted to."
"I…I see."

I decided to gather the information that No. 2 gave.

In the guidebook, it said that even if one's mana increased, managing and controlling it was a totally different skill.

In order to master it, it required years of training.

I thought it was exaggerating.

After seeing No. 1 and No. 2's expression, it seemed like the information that was written in the book wasn't a lie.
In the end, it meant that I had skills, so it didn't put me in a bad mood, but.

"Genius Magic Knight. You're awesome!!"

"Ahem."

No. 1 and No. 2 stood up straight.

"Now, is this it?"

I took out the Red Skeleton's Red Eye from my inventory.

Out of the all dropped items from yesterday, this was the only item that I could eat.
Unlike its name, it looked like a rock that was enveloped in a red light rather than an eye.

Chomp.

If I had to eventually eat it, then it was best to eat it while I wasn't as disgusted by it.

As soon as I chewed on it, it made a popping sound and juice started flowing out of it.

Ackkkkk!!

This was the first time I've tasted something like this and it made me gag.

The texture felt like I was chewing rubber and it gave off a nasty smell that it felt like I was eating rotten intestines.
It tasted so bad that I was confused whether this was really edible.

"Mana has been increased by five points."
Mana: 33 (+5)

I thought it was worth enduring it after seeing that my mana increased, so I decided to just let it slide.
After I ate it, I rinsed my mouth with water several times and in the end, it seemed like most of the smell had disappeared.

"It looked like it didn't taste that good!!"
"It raised my mana, so it's alright."

It tasted gross, but if it raised my mana points just from eating that, I would gladly eat a couple more to increase it.

"This is my personal opinion, but after you clear this stage and you meet the survivors, your popularity will definitely increase!!"

No. 1 said it with excitement.

"I hope so."

I didn't really care, but since No. 1 liked it so much, I didn't really say much.

"It would be great if you guys rested for a while. I don't have any Geny I can give you."

"Oh, it's fine."

"Then, we'll rest until you call for us again."

No. 1 and No. 2 went to the store and like an electronic device, they stopped moving as if their power was turned off.

"There's three hours, zero minutes and 30 seconds left until the next attack."

It was time for me to prepare by checking the condition of the canons, the watchtower and the items that are effective against the Undead.

Whichever it was, it wasn't going to be easy and if I had to choose, I'd rather have an increase in numbers.

"No, maybe it doesn't matter."

As if my body was filled with joy, I couldn't stop laughing for some reason despite of the fact that I knew the enemy would be attacking soon.

If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't have the courage to pick up the sword again.

Waiting is pretty tiring too.

The emotions that I felt here are emotions that I probably would've never felt during the 21 years of my life.
The struggles were my driving force and it helped me stay sane.

And the announced time had finally arrived.

"The Undead's attack has begun. Protect the fortress from the enemy."

End.

Staff :

Kuhaku (PR)