"Woah."
Baek KangHyun's eyes shone.
He looked at KangWoo, who had a relaxed expression on his face.
He wasn't bluffing.
It seemed like he really thought that the conditions weren't good enough.
"Hahaha. You're a funny guy, huh?"
He laughed as if he found that situation funny.
"If you have nothing more to say, why don't you leave?"
It was an arrogant attitude.
It wasn't an attitude one should have in front of Baek KangHyun, who was known as the strongest ranker in Korea.
"Hahaha!"
Baek KangHyun began laughing loudly.
He wasn't sure how long it had been since someone had spoken to him in such an arrogant way.
"I really like you. So, what do you think a satisfying condition would be?"
"Hmm."
KangWoo narrowed his eyes and looked at Baek KangHyun.
Although he seemed relaxed, he was thinking about a lot of things.
'Baek KangHyun, huh?'
It was a name he had gotten tired of hearing about.
He wasn't able to become a world ranker, but people said that there wasn't anyone stronger than him in Korea.
He was someone stronger than Chae YeonJoo.
'I wasn't expecting him to be like this.'
He thought that he’d be like a solitary martial artist, but he ended up being completely opposite to what he thought.
The image he had of the number one player was completely destroyed.
'Has he heard the rumors?'
The incident against the Demon Cult…
He had done too much for him to go unnoticed.
Just like Baek HwaYeon had warned him, he had to embrace some rumors about himself leaking out.
'But I wasn't expecting for him to come himself.'
He was surprised.
'It seems both Chae YeonJoo and Baek KangHyun like to do things themselves.'
KangWoo looked at Baek KangHyun and opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter what condition you give me, I have no intentions of joining a guild."
He didn't have to think about it too much.
He was happy with his current relationship with the Red Rose Guild and the Hwarang Squad.
What he liked the most was that he didn't have to follow their orders; they were on equal standing.
But if he joined a guild, things would change.
He would inevitably have someone above him.
'I can't let that happen.'
Even if they guaranteed his freedom, he didn't like to be under someone else.
'And I don't need to do that.'
When he’d accepted Chae YeonJoo's proposal, things were different.
KangWoo had become strong enough that he didn't really need someone else's support.
"Hmm. There’s nothing I can offer?"
"I'm satisfied in terms of money, houses, and cars. I'm not after things like that."
"Haha. Then what is it that you want?"
"Hmm. I'm not sure. Why don't you figure that out yourself?"
"Hahaha! Nice! It's been a long time since I’ve met someone who could talk confidently in front of me!"
Baek KangHyun laughed while nodding.
"Then how about this? If you join me, I'll give you one legendary piece of equipment."
"..."
Some doubt appeared in KangWoo's eyes.
Baek KangHyun noticed it and smiled.
"It seems that you're now interested."
"Hmm... I won't deny that."
A piece of legendary-rank equipment…
It was something you couldn't easily buy even if you had lots of money.
Equipment that players used were created by players with production-related attributes and scientists who worked in modern weapons fields.
The ingredients used in those weapons were, of course, mana stones and things that came from the corpses of monsters.
Creating legendary equipment was almost impossible because it required materials that came from S-rank Gates.
'The ingredients also don't always appear.'
And something more important than that was the 'imprint.'
Once you equipped a legendary-rank item, an imprint ceremony would happen.
That meant that other people wouldn’t be able to use that equipment.
On top of that, some items had conditions for the ceremony. So in many cases, people couldn't use a piece of legendary equipment even if they got one.
'That interests me.'
Unique items were already quite good.
But to offer something better than that…
'Chae YeonJoo's chains are also legendary-rank. Right?'
It was true that Chae YeonJoo was already strong, but her chains were also quite powerful, especially thanks to the drain passive that they had.
But most importantly, some legendary items increased your stats by a fixed amount.
'Although I'm sure that there isn't anything that increases your demonic energy.'
It was true that he was interested.
'I'll refuse.'
KangWoo thought about it for a while but shook his head.
* * *
It was a sweet proposal.
But it didn't matter how sweet it was, he wasn't the type of person that was willing to be under someone else's command.
"Haha. I knew you'd refuse."
Baek KangHyun smiled and stood up.
"This is my number. If you change your mind, give me a call."
"Okay."
"I'm sorry for interrupting you while you were eating. Oh, if you really want to eat properly, you also need to put this inside."
Baek KangHyun took a plate of kkakdugi next to the udon and put them inside the kimchi stew.
"This is what I call real taste!"
"Putting kimchi inside kimchi stew...?"
"Huh? You aren't as knowledgeable as I thought. Isn't the texture different?"
"Well, I'll give it a go."
KangWoo laughed and ate the kimchi stew that had kkakdugi inside.
That thing that was closer to being trash than kimchi stew.
Han Seol-ah turned her face from the kimchi stew as if she couldn't even fathom looking at it.
"KangWoo, is it delicious?"
"Of course."
Slurp!
After clearing the kimchi stew, he stood up.
"Should we get going?"
"Mr. KangWoo. Is that okay? To refuse that offer..."
"Why? Do you think it's a waste?"
"N-no! It's nothing like that. It isn't my money in the first place. I just thought that he might retaliate."
"If he does that..."
KangWoo laughed.
"I'll just have to make him thoroughly regret it."
* * *
After walking through the shopping center one more time, KangWoo walked toward the garage.
"It was really fun today~!"
"Yeah. I'm happy I was able to get many clothes that KangWoo praised me for wearing."
The two girls smiled, satisfied.
"I'm glad," KangWoo said with a tired expression.
He had used a lot of energy wandering around the shopping center for the entire day, but he didn't feel annoyed.
He thought that it was good that Echidna and Han Seol-ah were able to get close.
"I'll bring the car, so wait for me here."
"Yes, Mr. KangWoo."
After grabbing the shopping bags from Echidna and Han Seol-ah, KangWoo walked toward the car.
That time, Echidna sat in the passenger seat.
KangWoo, who had improved his driving skills, drove off from the shopping mall smoothly.
"But it's still too bad."
"Hmm? What?"
"The legendary-rank equipment. You were interested in it."
"Oh, yeah. That's a shame."
KangWoo clicked his tongue. He couldn't help thinking about the legendary-rank equipment.
"Fufu. But I'm glad Mr. KangWoo refused that proposal."
"You're glad?"
"Yes. Something... Seemed off about him."
"Hmm."
KangWoo thought about Baek KangHyun, who had smiled a lot and spoken with an accent—he wasn't someone you'd feel cautious about.
'I guess it's a girl's gut feelings?'
He thought that he should ask Chae YeonJoo about Baek KangHyun later on.
"I don't like the idea of being under another person."
"Fufu. That's true. I can't imagine you listening to another person's orders."
"KangWoo, you mustn't listen to other people's orders."
Echidna grabbed his clothes while making an anxious expression.
For her, KangWoo was a being close to a god. She didn't even want to imagine him listening to orders from another person.
"Don't worry. That won't happen."
While saying that, KangWoo turned the steering wheel of the car around. There was silence. It seemed like Echidna and Han Seol-ah were also tired because of how much they’d wandered around the shopping.
‘Legendary-rank equipment...'
As it became silent, he naturally thought of the legendary-rank equipment.
'Too bad that I let it go.'
For a moment, he thought that he should maybe ask Chae YeonJoo, but he already knew how valuable it was.
Even if it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to get him one easily.
Bzz-
"Hmm?"
At that moment, his smartphone began vibrating. KangWoo took the phone out and put on an earphone.
"Hello?"
[It's me, Baek HwaYeon. Can you talk?]
"I'm driving, but it's okay... What happened?"
[I was wondering if you could come to the Hwarang Squad base right now.]
"Right now?"
The Hwarang Squad’s base was near the Suwon S-rank gate.
It wasn't that far from Seoul Station, but it wasn't that close either.
[Yes. It probably won't be bad for you.]
You could feel a bit of excitement in her voice. KangWoo tilted his head.
"What is it that you're so excited about?"
[The reward that the government will give you has been decided; you can receive it right now at our base.]
"Woah."
When he thought about it, she'd said the government would reward him.
"What's the reward?"
[Fufu. I hope you realize how much effort I've put into giving you a proper reward.]
It wasn't a Baek HwaYeon-like answer.
He began wondering what kind of reward it was for her to be so excited about it.
"I'll decide if it's a proper reward or not after seeing it."
[Hahaha! Even you'll be satisfied with it. You'll be given a legendary-rank item that was in the Mir Guild's hands.]
"..."
KangWoo's eyes shone.
He was still grieving about the legendary item.
But before he could get over it, he’d received unexpected good news.
It was as if someone had scratched a part of his body that he couldn't reach with his hands.
The tips of his mouth went up.
'This is why you have to live like a good samaritan.'
KangWoo felt as if his good actions had been rewarded.
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