Chương 78: ESCAPING ALLEY

"That's none-" the driver muttered. But the moment the words left his mouth, his smirk slowly began to disappear. His eyes shot wide open. The driver exploded in the exact same grotesque manner as Ba-reum, while Jimin hid behind his barrier. Jimin's face twitched slightly.

"Man… This is hard to watch," he murmured. His eyes remained fixed on the dissolving remains. I better get used to it. I have a feeling this isn't gonna be the last time. The purple residue started vaporizing like before.

Jimin's body still felt sluggish, despite the healing. Then, his attention shifted toward himself. He looked down. He was a complete mess. Blood stains covered almost everything. There was even a huge hole around the armor protecting his abdomen. The damage looked brutal.

"I look like shit," he muttered. His brows furrowed slightly. Even 'Repair' can't fix this damn hole. Only a professional blacksmith can. It's completely unusable right now. He sighed. I'll just buy a new one. This was the only E-rank core gear anyway. I clearly need a D-rank one. Then another thought hit him immediately. Mrs. Han will bombard me with questions if she sees me like this. He clicked his tongue lightly. Though I went to the Rift today, it won't save me as an excuse.

Without hesitation, he removed the damaged armor and stored it inside his inventory. But as his eyes briefly landed on the storage ring he looted from the driver, a sudden realization struck him. Wait… This was supposed to disappear alongside him too. But I took it off. His gaze sharpened. Would they really just bet on that? What if this ring is being tracked somehow? Jimin immediately activated 'Inspect' on the ring. But the results were normal. Jimin sighed softly.

At least I don't need to worry about someone tracking me down… Still, there's no harm in being futureproof. He immediately opened his skill creation window and filled in the details. And after much editing, finally a window with full details appeared.

[Skill: Purification] Category: Active Type: Utility / Support Rank: Rare Level: 1/50 Description: Cleanses dirt, stains, contaminants, tracking marks and residual traces of mana or psychic energy Scaling: Scales with INT and WIS. Modes: Target: Cleans a specific target. Area: Cleans the area in 2. 5 m radius. Duration: 3 seconds Cooldown: 10 Seconds Cost: 10 MP (Target Mode) / 25 MP (Area Mode) Required LP: 340 【Create】 【Edit】 [Draft] 【Delete】 Jimin looked over the details carefully.

"This is it…" he muttered. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Fortunately, the System approved everything cleanly. Without wasting another second, he immediately created the skill.

[Skill Successfully Created]'Purification' – Acquired. Total LP: 337 By then- The driver had already completely vaporized. But the alley itself still looked like the scene of a massacre. Blood stains, burn marks, ashes, cracked concrete. Jimin immediately activated 'Purification' in Area Mode. Instantly, a faint white halo spread outward from his body. The mana felt warm and strangely gentle. Like soft sunlight. The halo passed across the alley walls and ground.

Then- The dirt and blood stains that Jimin was covered in, began to fade. Within moments, the halo quickly disappeared.

Completely cleaning him and his surrounding area within the halo. Jimin blinked slightly.

"I guess laundry and cleaning are no longer needed from now on." But then- Faint police sirens echoed from far away. Jimin's expression tightened instantly.

"Shit… Bad timing as always," he muttered. I should get back to the orphanage as fast as I can. He activated 'Purification' a few more times around the remaining corners and surfaces of the alley. It didn't look like any death had just occurred here. After making sure there were no visible traces left, he took a deep breath. His expression gradually relaxed. I just need to act normal and casual. He stored the cloak back into his inventory.

Then used telekinesis to support himself as he climbed the wall near the dead-end section of the alley, landing quietly on the other side. Afterward, he deliberately avoided his usual route home. Instead, he took a long detour before finally approaching the orphanage from the opposite direction, finally reaching the orphanage.

Later that night- Jimin quietly sat by the edge of his bed. Dinner was already over. And fortunately, Mrs. Han hadn't suspected anything. As he had behaved normally. No one had noticed anything strange. Now only silence remained inside his room. Along with several items that were laid out neatly across the bed. The loot from the driver's storage ring. Some bread. Several beer cans. Two healing potions. One mana potion. One stamina potion. 14. 1 million won in cash. A laptop. And finally- The mirror-like artifact.

Jimin's thoughts remained stuck on what happened earlier. I thought I would find something useful on this laptop… But even this thing was completely busted. It has been completely cleaned. Not even the operating system remains. I found absolutely nothing. His expression darkened slightly. Whoever these people were… they belonged to something dangerous. A criminal organization? He shook his head slightly. No… These people are way too thorough to be just normal criminals.

If they had successfully kidnapped me, it would've been a perfect crime, leaving no traces or evidence. But one thought alone unsettled him the most. And what was that unknown energy? Even the System didn't recognize it. He let out a big sigh. Just what kind of shit have I stepped into? Then- His eyes shifted toward the mirror-like artifact resting quietly on the bed. The smooth reflective surface glimmered faintly under the room's light. At least… I found something that's actually useful.

Name: Mirage Mirror of Obedience Category: Artifact Type: Accessory Rank: D Bound: No Description: A polished silver hand-mirror etched with swirling patterns along its rim. It emits blinding rays of light when infused with mana. Targets affected by the light are hypnotized for 2 minutes, forcing them to comply with simple, direct instructions from the user. Cooldown: 1 Hour Durability: 100/100 Hmm… This might come in clutch someday. But I've no idea what to use it for right now.

He sighed and finally stored everything back into his inventory. Jimin slightly leaned back on his bed and exhaled deeply. His body felt much lighter now compared to earlier. The pain from before had already subsided. But the memory still lingered vividly in his mind. The crushing impact. The feeling of nearly blacking out. His expression slowly hardened. I almost lost consciousness from the pain today. I was lucky this time.

But it can happen again. He clenched his fist. What if luck doesn't work in my favor then? The thought alone annoyed him. Without wasting time, he opened his skill creation window again and filled in the details. Then, a window with the full details appeared.

[Skill: Pain Regulation] Category: Passive Type: Defense Rank: Custom Description: Manages the nervous system's response to pain. Regulates physical pain to keep it within a comfortable and manageable range while automatically alerting the user upon experiencing extreme injuries and pain. Cooldown: None Cost: None Required LP: 280 【Create】 【Edit】 [Draft] 【Delete】 Jimin stared at the description for a moment. Then, a grin slowly formed on his face.

"Exactly as I wanted," he murmured. Completely blocking any pain will just create more issues. This is much better… And it's a Custom one too. Without any hesitation, he immediately created the skill. A notification popped up.

[Skill Successfully Created]'Pain Regulation' – Acquired. Total LP: 79 A strange sensation spread through his body almost instantly. He could feel the skill settling within him. It's time to test it. He immediately summoned one of his daggers from the inventory. Carefully, he rolled up part of his sleeve and lightly dragged the dagger across his forearm. A thin cut formed instantly. Blood slowly surfaced from the wound. But he made sure no blood dropped on the floor. But it didn't hurt. Not even slightly.

It merely felt like someone lightly swiped their nail across his skin.

It's working well! Then, he noticed something else. The blood flow had already stopped. And the wound had already begun closing slowly.

"Woah," he murmured. Regeneration is doing its job, huh? The healing speed was still nowhere near instant. But compared to normal humans, it was absurd. He couldn't pay much attention back in the alley. But now, he could literally watch his body repair itself in real time. Jimin observed the wound quietly for a few more seconds until it healed completely, only bloodstains remained. Then, he activated 'Purification'. The blood stains completely vanished off his arm and dagger.

Suddenly, an idea came across his mind, as a grin spread across his face. I will train these skills properly tomorrow. He put his dagger back into his inventory. His expression sharpened slightly. Now, for the next skill…