Chapter 66: The one who dominates the Hand of Gold (2)

Translator: miraclerifle

“Those bastards will die inside there now.”

Keira started to laugh.

“Tell the team to go in when it's over. Steal their artifacts if they are dead and bind them if they are alive as they won't be okay mentally.”

“I understand.”

The subordinates nodded their heads while worrying about Keira.

“I'm sure they were buried alive, but was there a need to use your artifact, ma'am? The risk is too......”

Keira laughed out loud.

“Although I suffered heavy losses, it is fine as long as we managed to bury them alive.”

“Do you think it worked?”

She sneered as if to say how dare he question her abilities.

“Just trust me. I make sure to destroy everything without even leaving a small hole for a rat to crawl through. He truly is a cockroach if he manages to survive in there.”

Ju-Heon who had almost instantly fallen to the level of a cockroach was deep in thought while looking at his skill window.

[Tomb Restoration]

This was the new skill he had received while demonstrating how to restore artifacts to Yoo Jaeha.

There was only one reason such a thing was catching his attention during this dangerous time.

‘I might be able to re-open the blocked exit if I use this.’

He must have been right as the following information popped up as he thought about the Tomb Restoration skill.

[Here is the list of things that can be restored with the current < Tomb Restoration (E-Rank) > skill.]

- Tomb Decoration Restoration (Dexterity D-Rank or Higher)

- Tomb Path Restoration (Radius 2 meters) (Dexterity C-Rank or Higher)

Ju-Heon soon started to smile.

However, there was someone screaming next to Ju-Heon.

"Aigoo, are we all going to die like this?! Aigoo, aigoo!”

That was Yoo Jaeha who was trying to dig the blocked wall with his hands. They could only move a few steps because the tomb had crumbled.

‘We will suffocate to death in a few minutes.’

They became desperate because it was already difficult to breathe.

“Damn it, I haven’t found myself a rabbit-like wife and have a daughter! Damn it, I can’t die at the young age of 26!”

“Mr. Ju-Heon, are we going to die like this?”

It was normal for people to be afraid in such a situation, but Ju-Heon responded as if he found them annoying.

“It’s fine so both of you stop whining.”

Both of them became shocked after hearing that.

“Whining? How can you be so calm even in such a situation......!”

Ju-Heon then clicked his tongue as if to tell him to shut up for a bit.

“Yoo Jaeha. You signed the contract I gave you, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“It said that, ‘During the duration of the contract, the promisee will be responsible for the promisor's necessities of life, safety, and health from illnesses.’”

“I know it said that, but...!”

He wondered if even Ju-Heon could keep such a promise in this situation. But Ju-Heon calmly smiled and looked at the two of them.

“I won’t let any punks I make into my subordinates die.”

‘No, I guess it is more accurate to say, I won’t let you all die again.’

Ju-Heon was still pained about what happened in that final tomb.

“I won't let my client die either.”

Those words made Irene who had been shaking like a hamster and Yoo Jaeha both look at him with teary eyes.

“......Then we can get out of here?”

“Really?”

Ju-Heon started to stretch his hands.

“I would have died a long time ago if I would let a trick like this bury me alive.”

He had made up his mind to blow up even his important artifacts to get out of here. But there was something that was worth testing before resorting to that.

That was why Ju-Heon put his hand on the ground.

‘Tomb Restoration!’

It wasn’t hard to use. This skill was similar to the ability he had received through the Archaeologist's Artifact in the past.

And lo and behold.

Something amazing started to happen once Ju-Heon focused his attention on his fingertips.

“Uhh, uhh?”

Ju-Heon's hand seemed to flash before the spot his hand was touching started to change.

“W, what is going on?”

“The path?”

That was indeed the case.

The crumbled wall returned to its original spot as if it was going back in time. The path that had been completely destroyed slowly reappeared as well.

The area around them instantly became a bit wider. Irene and Yoo Jaeha screamed in joy after seeing that.

“The path appeared!”

That was amazing.

However, Ju-Heon did not seem to be satisfied.

‘This is not enough.’

Only about 30 cm of the path had been restored. However, the information said that the radius was 2 meters.

‘Please.’

Ju-Heon frowned and focused once more, and a bright light flashed and something even bigger than last time happened.

The distance of the restoration was getting wider! It seemed to be about 2m wide.

Ju-Heon finally smiled with satisfaction.

‘I did it. We should be able to make it out on time like this.’

Ju-Heon recalled the direction of the exit and continued to use the skill over and over.

It was still too low in rank to restore the entire tomb at once, but this was enough for now!

“How is it? You still haven't found those bastards?”

About three or four hours had passed since the tomb had crumbled.

Keira rushed her subordinates with an anxious heart. She thought that Ju-Heon should have suffocated to death or be on the brink of death because of oxygen deficiency by now.

“Hurry up and find them, hurry!”

It would have been a waste if she used her artifact braving the risk if those bastards managed to escape. Keira then looked at the clock.

‘There’s less than 30 minutes left before the rebound from using the artifact happens.’

“So hurry up and find them. They have artifacts on them. You should be able to quickly locate them if you use a search artifact.”

[Roger.]

[We have split up into teams to focus on different areas.]

The TSOF were using search artifacts to look for Ju-Heon's group who should have been buried alive. These artifacts were similar to mine detectors.

They were walking around the outside of the destroyed tomb and digging anywhere they got a reaction. A destroyed tomb was just debris, so it was possible to drill through with modern weapons to get inside.

They quickly came back with good news.

[Reporting in. Team 1 has got a reaction!]

Keira was happy.

However...

[Umm...]

Keira started to frown as something seemed wrong.

“What is it? Hurry up and tell me.”

The soldier on the other end seemed anxious even after hearing Keira's question. Keira's insides were burning the longer the silence continued.

“What is going on! Hurry up and report!”

[No, that...you see.]

"Do you want me to decapitate all of you? I asked you what is going on!”

An anxious voice responded as if there really was a sword up against his neck.

[Apparently there is a path inside the tomb!]

“What? A path?”

[Yes ma’am. Everywhere else is destroyed but there is only one area with an undamaged path!]

[It is not an underground tunnel! Apparently it looks as if only that path was not damaged at all!]

What bullshit was this?

Keira was extremely shocked. ‘I destroyed everything so that there wasn’t even a tiny hole, so why is there still a path?’

However, the General then heard something even more shocking that made it feel as if someone had smacked her on the back of her head.

[Reporting in. That path we mentioned seems to be connected to a village 1km away!]

Keira felt dizzy at this point.

“What are you talking about?! I thought there was a reaction to an artifact! What about that?!”

[That is something that we presume to be a piece of a sweet potato. We have no other reactions other than that!]

[The other team only found corpses of our fellow soldiers! I believe the chances that they escaped through this path...!]

Keira dropped the coffee mug in her hand.

‘How the hell could this happen?’

What else could it be?

Yoo Jaeha who managed to escape thanks to Ju-Heon's Tomb Restoration skill shouted in joy.

"Wow, our Captain-nim is the best! You're so amazing!”

Yoo Jaeha was busy praising Ju-Heon while being full of loyalty toward Ju-Heon.

“I will follow you for the rest of my life, Captain-nim!”

They were currently getting on the Holten family private plane.

It had been three hours since they first became stuck inside the tomb.

It was plenty of time to escape from the tomb and head to the airport. They were currently getting ready to depart.

Actually, they had managed to get out of the cave and get to the airport in two hours.

That was why Ju-Heon was leisurely bathing while Yoo Jaeha was laughing as he watched something on his tablet.

“The TSOF bastards are busy shoveling.”

Yoo Jaeha seemed to be watching a Turkish news broadcast.

[There were intruders to Cappadocia's Tomb Appearance. We are currently searching for the intruders but there are no signs of them.]

[The search team has found a path inside the tomb and is extending the search radius to the nearby village.]

Ju-Heon snorted from inside the bathtub after hearing the news.

“What’s the point of searching the nearby village? We’ll be in the air.”

“Huh?”

Yoo Jaeha looked toward the bathroom in shock after hearing Ju-Heon’s comment.

It could not be helped because he was reading the English subtitles. But Ju-Heon who was taking a bath should not be able to see that.

“What the, Captain-nim, you know Turkish too?”

"Why? Is it weird if I do?”

“Damn it, Captain-nim, how many languages can you speak?”

Furthermore, the announcer was talking very quickly, so it was obvious that Ju-Heon was not a beginner. Ju-Heon just chuckled regardless of whether Yoo Jaeha was shocked or not.

It was at that moment.

[The only item we found that could potentially belong to the intruders is a piece of sweet potato. That is why the search team will do their best to investigate this piece...]

‘Huh? A piece of sweet potato?’

It wasn’t translated in the subtitles, but the piece of information he just heard was odd.

“Hey. Number 1. You gathered every piece of the self-destructed artifacts, right?”

“Excuse me? Ah, yes. What about it?! I wanted to try to restore them because it was such a waste!”

“But you left the sweet potato artifact’s pieces behind?”

Yoo Jaeha started to laugh.

“Ah! That thing? I threw it away because it stunk so bad! Why? Did something happen?”

“......No, it’s fine.”

‘Might as well let them take it to Keira to waste their time investigating.’

“Anyway, we achieved our goal.”

Ju-Heon started to smile.

Irene should be able to control her artifact as she pleases now. Furthermore, Ju-Heon should be able to use the power of gold and the power of destitution as he pleased as well.

Ju-Heon had now gained the Hand of Gold.

‘Now I just need to wrap my hand around the Holten household as well.’

The Holten family should reach out to him since he managed to successfully complete their beloved youngest daughter’s request.

As expected, Irene quickly rushed in with some news.

“Mr. Ju-Heon! Mr. Ju-Heon!”

She was smiling brightly as she looked around for Ju-Heon. She found Yoo Jaeha lounging around, but she didn't seem to care for him at all.

Irene wasn’t thinking straight and walked into the bathroom where Ju-Heon was taking a bath before she screamed.

“Kyaaaaa! “I, I'm sorry! No, you see, that.”

She must have never seen a man’s naked body before as she plopped down and covered her flushed face as she apologized.

The Holten household was a strict Catholic household, so it was understandable that she had no experience with a man’s naked body. Ju-Heon's clothes had not completely melted away when they were inside the tomb.

But Ju-Heon didn't care whether Irene was flustered or not and calmly responded.

“It’s fine. What’s all the fuss about?”

“Ah...that! I chatted with my family and my parents and my brother want to meet with you!”

Yoo Jaeha started to shake in fear after hearing that while Ju-Heon smiled wickedly as if things were going according to his plan.

“That’s perfect. There was something I wanted to meet them and tell them about as well.”