You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿ - Chapter 93

Yoo Han-ul was thankfully back in his original position.
"Da-on."
It seemed like he had regained his senses.

That was a bit unfortunate. While I was glad he was listening to me, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"Are you back to your senses?"
"Yeah... I said some nonsense, didn't I? Sorry."

It seemed like he still remembered talking about something related to a prophecy. I wasnât sure exactly how much he remembered, though.
"Iâm ashamed. As a senior hunter, I couldnât guide you. I think I need to strengthen my mental magic defenses."
In reality, the confusion must have come from the memories of my past life being forced back into my mind by the system, but of course, I couldnât tell him that. Instead, I used the excuse of strengthening my magical defenses.

"But whatâs with that puppy?"
Woof!
 
At my command, the wolf, which had reduced its size, let out a cute bark.

To anyone else, it would probably just look like a large dog.
It wasnât quite a puppy, but considering its original size, it was about 1/5 of its original size.
I figured it would be better to shrink it in front of Yoo Han-ul, who might have remembered some of his past life, so I adjusted its size accordingly.

I patted the well-behaved wolf.
"I found it wandering around the castle. Anyway..."
Thunk!

The sorcererâs body fell limply to the ground.
Yoo Han-ulâs eyes widened.
"That person...?"
"Not a person. A monster. An S-rank one, at that."

"...I see."
Yoo Han-ul briefly looked at the sorcerer with a complex expression but then seemed to make a decision and nodded.
"Alright, I understand. Letâs talk outside."

I frowned for a moment.
âHeâs not even questioning how I defeated an S-rank monster.â
A hunter who had just awakened a few months ago, taking down an S-rank monster aloneâthat should raise suspicions.

I couldnât read Yoo Han-ulâs thoughts at all.
âCould he have figured out who I really am...? But he doesnât seem to be acting like he has. If he knew, he wouldnât be so calm. Is he just too confused to think clearly right now?â
I had prepared an excuse for when he started asking questions, but now I had no idea what he was thinking. It seemed like I needed to dig deeper into his thoughts and the system later.

âHow much of his past life has he remembered?â
"You stay here and look after things. Iâll go find Han Jae-young..."
"Me?"

At that moment, Han Jae-young's cheerful voice rang out from the entrance to the large hall we had entered.
Through the crack in the door, Han Jae-young poked his head in.
"Iâm not making excuses, but just as I was about to finish analyzing the castleâs maze structure and dismantle it, the castle started crumbling, you know? Itâs not like Iâve done nothing..."

"Perfect timing, Hunter Han Jae-young. Please step outside with Hunter Jeong Da-on for a moment..."
"Are you completely ignoring me? And Yoo Han-ul, are you back to normal? Hmm..."
After taking a look around the room, Han Jae-young shook his head.

"I get it. Youâre trying to take down that person, no, the S-rank monster?"
"That's right."
"Well, hurry up and deal with it. Use that sword of yours and slice it up quickly so we can get out."

Yoo Han-ul furrowed his brow at the blunt remark.
I was honestly confused as to why Yoo Han-ul was asking me to leave, but I figured it was probably because he didnât want me to witness him killing a human-like being.
"Han Jae-young Hunter..."

"Jeong Da-on Hunter is no longer a minor, so donât make unnecessary comments and deal with it quickly, alright?"
"About that..."
I raised my hand and interjected.

If I were going to kill the sorcerer, I couldâve already done it earlier when I was pounding him to death.
But the reason I didnât kill him and instead dragged him here in front of Yoo Han-ul was because I had a purpose.
"Everyone agrees that the one who contributed the most to clearing this dungeon is me, right?"

"What are you talking about?"
"I have a proposal."
"A proposal?"

"Huh?"
Yoo Han-ul asked with genuine curiosity, while Han Jae-young looked at me with a suspicious gaze.
"If we kill this sorcerer right now, the barrier will immediately collapse. Han Jae-young, you know that, right?"

Han Jae-young frowned.
His reaction was as if he thought I was stating the obvious.
"Well... I guess that makes sense. This barrier was made to protect the sorcerer, and the magic absorbed by the A-rank statues was ultimately used by that S-rank statue to maintain the barrier. If he disappears, itâll collapse completely. Thatâs how weâll clear the dungeon."

"So here's the thing."
"...Iâm already getting a headache."
"I think itâs possible to clear the dungeon without killing him."

The systemâs dungeon clear conditions depend on whether humans have conquered another world or not.
And the core monster controlling this area had already been fully subdued.
This could also be considered valid for meeting the clear conditions.

...Of course, there are a few more requirements, but those can be met too.
The system is suspicious of the user's true intentions.
 
"Well, theoretically, it wouldnât be impossible. Iâve actually escaped through loopholes a few times. But..."

Han Jae-young tilted his head.
"Why would you do that? Itâd be cleaner to just kill him."
"Da-on, could it be...?"

Yoo Han-ul hesitated and spoke carefully.
"Are you worried about the villagers in this barrier?"
I had expected and subtly guided the conversation toward this point.

...Though it still felt difficult to nod in agreement, I eventually did.
Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to do things you donât want to do.
"Honestly, itâs a bit sad. They probably didnât want to be sacrificed by this magic."

I tried to speak in a more philosophical tone, but it couldnât be helped.
"My god."
Han Jae-young clicked his tongue.

"I knew you were a good person, but to think youâd spare an S-rank monster for this reason..."
Who said I was a good person?
âWhat kind of misconception is this?â

Just like when he called me a saint before, Han Jae-young clearly had some serious misconceptions about me.
There were plenty of things I wanted to rebut, but I decided to hold back and said things I didnât truly believe.
"I want to find a way to save these people. Maybe thereâs a way to restore their bodies..."

"Even though theyâre in human form, the system still classifies them as monsters. You even got hit by a rock, right?"
"Probably because they received orders to guard against outsiders. Since theyâre in soul form, it would have been easy to give them orders through suggestions..."
"My god."

Han Jae-young pressed his hand to his forehead.
I could understand how frustrated he must have been.
Honestly, I sympathized with him. We were victims of being sent to this random dimension, and getting back to Earth as soon as possible was the most important task. Why did these ghosts matter so much?

"...Alright, letâs try to find another way."
But, unfortunately for Han Jae-young, Yoo Han-ul was on my side.
I didnât really understand why, but he was.

Han Jae-young closed his eyes tightly.
"Why are you two acting like this?"
"Itâs not just a moral reason."

Yoo Han-ul glanced down at the sorcererâs body, which was still twitching, as if he were about to regain consciousness.
"I think Hunter Han Jae-young probably guessed it... But weâre likely going to end up here a few more times. If thatâs the case, weâll need a base."
Yoo Han-ul wasnât stupid either.

Based on the systemâs information, he had been searching for the Soul Core, and since he had regained some memories of his past life, he must have known this dimension was where he lived in his previous life.
If someone was trying to connect this dimension with Earth, research on this dimension would also be necessary.
So, the idea of needing a base made sense.

"Plus, we need to analyze these monsters. The monster we found on Yeongjong Island disappeared before we could even analyze it."
"Thatâs true, but..."
Han Jae-young rubbed his forehead, clearly frustrated.

"Letâs put all that aside. How are we supposed to control this S-rank monster without killing it? Even if we try to trick the system..."
"Iâll use this."
Han Jae-youngâs words couldnât continue.

It was because Yoo Han-ul took out a piece of parchment.
And I knew exactly what it was.
"The Soul Contract..."

"No way, how do you have such an S-rank item?!"
Han Jae-young gasped.
What Yoo Han-ul had taken out was, quite literally, a contract that binds someoneâs soul, making them subordinate to the one who holds the contract.

If the conditions of the contract werenât fulfilled, the contractâs words would destroy the soul.
âThatâs an item made by demons.â
By "demons," I didnât mean beings like meâhumans-turned-demon lords, as the system calls themâbut beings who are born as âdemon-kind,â like ghost piranhas.

It was an item not easily obtained, but I guessed it might be because he was a hero.
Still, Han Jae-young seemed to understand when he saw the item.

"Alright, if youâve got that item... I guess that makes sense. So, what are the terms of the contract?"

"Absolute obedience to my command. Thatâs the kind of contract that will get the system to approve the clear condition."
"Wow..."
I couldnât help but admire that.

To say that if the sorcerer doesnât obey, his soul will be destroyed? That was a pretty bold statement for a hero to make.
Perhaps feeling embarrassed by it, Yoo Han-ulâs cheeks turned slightly red.
"This kind of contract, itâs better to keep it simple like this rather than making too many detailed conditions."

"I didnât say anything, and I agree."
The system is considering Hunter âYoo Han-ulâsâ opinion...
 
It seemed the system agreed with him.

When I brought up the same thing earlier, it questioned my intentions.
âHonestly, this feels like the typical "hero favoritism" response.â
Of course, I had brought Yoo Han-ul into this specifically to get this kind of response from the system.

The systemâs support for Yoo Han-ulâs agreement was significant.
Now, I had achieved my goal by involving him.
It felt a little dirty, but I had succeeded.

"If you two keep acting like this, Iâll end up being the bad guy."
With things moving forward this way, Han Jae-young had no choice but to agree.
He let out a deep sigh.

"Then, at least let our HP guild take care of the research on this monster and the area. Thatâs my condition. How about it?"
"I was already planning to ask the HP guild for help. Thereâs no one I can trust other than Hunter Han Jae-young."
"I donât mind hearing that, but... I donât know."

Han Jae-young shook his head and turned to look at me.
"You really are a strange one. Are you... part angel or something?"
"Are you crazy?"

It was such nonsense that goosebumps crept up my arms.
When I glared at him, Han Jae-young burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, was that too much?"

"This is the first time in my life Iâve heard something like that!"
"Then, letâs make the contract."
Yoo Han-ul, not caring about what we were saying, placed his sword at the sorcererâs neck.

Shh!
As the sword lightly grazed the sorcererâs neck, blood started flowing, and it seeped into the floating contract in the air.
"I command you to absolutely obey my orders."

The words Yoo Han-ul spoke became a command that entered the sorcererâs soul.
If he doesnât follow this command, the sorcererâs soul would be completely destroyed.
This was the terrifying part of a contract made by a true demon.

Once the contract was complete, Yoo Han-ul gave additional commands.
"First, use your magic to maintain this barrier, and donât harm the villagers inside the barrier on your own. The contract is valid until I return."
And as Yoo Han-ul completely bound the sorcerer...

Dungeon cleared.
 
The message appeared.
It seemed that after considering Yoo Han-ulâs words, the system finally made its judgment.

Dungeon escape will be possible in 00:30:00
The system will protect the user until dungeon escape is possible/
 

Boom!
As the system message appeared, the walls of the inner castle began to crumble more violently.
And then, sounds of chaos began to be heard from outside the castle.

"The castle, itâs collapsing!"
"Ahh, weâre all going to die!"
It seemed like the villagers, sensing the disturbance, had gathered.

Han Jae-young shrugged.
"...Weâll need to explain what happened before we leave."
"Yeah, letâs go."

Yoo Han-ul briefly glanced at the collapsed sorcerer, then turned his back.
Once bound by the contract, there was no need to talk to him anymore...
âConsidering Yoo Han-ulâs personality, I knew he would act like this.â

Limited time.
I had expected him to comfort the confused people instead of threatening the sorcerer.
It worked out as I thought.

I glanced at the sorcerer lying on the floor and followed Yoo Han-ul out.
By the time we were halfway out of the collapsing castle...
"Those guys!"

"What the hell did they do?!"
The villagers, now filled with hostility, had gathered in swarms.