Two weeks after they hunted El Quero…
KangWoo went to Suwon after receiving Baek HwaYeon's call.
"We finally completed it."
Baek HwaYeon put an impressive blue sword down on the table.
"Is legendary-rank equipment always created so fast?" KangWoo asked while touching the sword.
It hadn't even been two weeks since they’d hunted El Quero down.
It had been created so fast that KangWoo was a bit worried about the quality.
"What's hard is getting the materials that only drop from S-rank monsters. Once you have the ingredients, creating the equipment isn't that hard."
"Hmm... But I heard that it still costs a lot of money. HwaYeon, you didn't push yourself too much, right?"
"What if I did? Both of you are doing more for our country's safety than the Hwarang Squad. It would be embarrassing if we didn't offer proper support," Baek HwaYeon said with a firm voice.
The Demon Cult was, at that moment, more dangerous than monsters.
For the moment, only players were falling victim to their crimes, but it was impossible to know when civilians would start being affected as well.
"Although I'm not doing it for public safety..."
Chae YeonJoo avoided Baek HwaYeon's eyes.
"I'm chasing after the Demon Cult for world peace."
"I didn't think you'd say that out loud... Don't lie. I know you aren't someone who'd do something like that."
"So you don't believe me?"
KangWoo shrugged.
Although he'd said it with a half-joking voice, he was telling the truth.
For him, the Earth, in general, was something that had to be protected.
'Although recently I acquired other objectives too.'
The Demon Cult controlled demonic energy in a different way than Hell…
He'd unexpectedly profited while trying to investigate them.
Rather than selflessly protecting the world, he was doing it for his benefit.
"Leaving the reasons aside, it's the truth that both of you are helping us catch the Demon Cult. Although the end doesn’t always justify the means, in this case, I think we can look at it positively," Baek HwaYeon said while smiling.
KangWoo was impressed by her smooth words that flowed like water.
'No wonder Goo HyunMo is fascinated by her.'
Leaving her position aside, she was quite a charming woman.
Although she looked a bit old-fashioned, she was flexible and had a clear concept of reward and punishment.
Although that wouldn't happen, she was the superior he would've liked to have had in the army.
"Don't fall for her..."
"What?"
"Don't start to harbor weird feelings for her! She isn't someone that makes a good match with an asshole like you!"
"Eh…ehem. What are you talking about so suddenly, YeonJoo?"
"His expression showed that he had fallen for you! HwaYeon, be careful. Your life will be ruined if you get involved with an asshole like him!"
"Calm down, YeonJoo. You're too excited."
"Because it's something important!" Chae YeonJoo shouted angrily.
KangWoo looked at her in disbelief.
"Neither of us has thought that. Why are you overreacting?"
"It… it's just in case!" She shouted with her face red.
"It's as if you were jealous," Baek HwaYeon said while smirking.
"What?"
"Hahaha. I was joking."
"Hmph! There's no way I'd be jealous of someone like him!"
"Where did you get such a generic quote..." KangWoo said while shaking his head.
He turned his head from Chae YeonJoo and put his hand on top of the sword.
[Item Information]
Item Name: El Quero Blade
Rank: Legendary (Before Ceremony) * Ceremony Condition: Unique Stat (Qi).
Normal Effect: Lightning Attacks +700, Strength +2, Agility +2
Special Effect: You can freely walk over the water.
Item Description: Sword made with a thorn from El Quero's tail. It has great cutting power and enables you to use lightning-type attacks.
'It increases your stats by four…'
The thing KangWoo checked first was how much it increased stats.
The blade increased stats by four. Among legendary-rank items, it was one that was ranked quite highly.
"Do you like it?"
"It's so good that I would use it if I could."
"Hahaha. I agree. To be honest, I also wanted it... But this will be better than letting a good item rot."
"You've made a good investment. Kim ShiHoon is a player that will become very strong. Soon, he'll be able to participate in the fight against the Demon Cult."
"Did you say he's your brother?"
"Yes, although we aren't blood-related."
"Hahaha. Since you speak of him so highly, I'm kind of curious."
"He won't disappoint you," KangWoo said confidently.
Finding Kim ShiHoon was akin to him having won the national lottery.
'He's the successor of the Martial God, after all.'
If KangWoo weren't there, he would've probably become someone able to rewrite the history of players.
KangWoo was also curious and expectant to see how he would grow.
"Oh, also, there's one more thing I wanted to say…"
"Yes?"
"Isn't it about time you speak to me more comfortably?" She said while leaning on the chair.
"I speak comfortably to the people that aren't my higher-ups... But we're allies. So I thought it wasn't fair if only you spoke formally."
"Then... I'll speak comfortably."
"Hmm."
* * *
He didn't think that speaking formally was unfair.
But considering his relationship with Baek HwaYeon and Chae YeonJoo, speaking comfortably would probably be better for the future.
"Have you found anything about the demonic energy stones yet?"
"Our squad members are searching for them, but we haven't been able to find them."
"It's the same for our guild members. These past two weeks, we've killed almost five times the average amount of monsters, yet we haven’t found a single demonic energy stone."
"Did I guess wrong?"
KangWoo had also been searching for the past two weeks, but he also hadn't been able to find anything.
It was as if he'd been wrong about the Demon Cult implanting more demonic energy stones in other monsters.
"We can't be sure yet, so keep investigating, please."
"Okay."
"Then I'll be going."
KangWoo stood up. Chae YeonJoo followed him.
"But... Don't you have anything to do? Why do you also come every time I come here to Suwon?"
"You didn't catch El Quero alone. Even if I let you have the legendary-rank weapon, I'd make sure you pay for it. I wanted to know what kind of weapon it was so I could ask you for a fair amount in the future."
"Ugh."
There was nothing he could say.
KangWoo took a deep breath and nodded.
Chae YeonJoo seemed to be having fun. She followed him while whispering a song.
* * *
"Ah, hyeongnim!"
"Oh! KangWoo hyeongnim, long time no see!"
Kim ShiHoon's party, which had just come out of a gate, greeted KangWoo.
Except for Han Seol-ah, it had been a few days since he'd seen the rest, so after a short conversation, he moved to his house.
—It was to give the legendary-rank weapon to ShiHoon as discreetly as possible.
"Oh, this is the new house hyeongnim moved to?" TaeSoo let out a surprised exclamation.
"KangWoo?"
Echidna, who was at home, came walking out.
EunBi's eyes shone.
"Wh-who's this cute girl, oppa?"
"I'm KangWoo's summon."
"Summon...?"
"Yes."
EunBi trembled as if she couldn't believe it.
"KangWoo oppa... Don't tell me you've been enjoying doing this kind of roleplay with a kid like this."
"What are you talking about?"
"Aren't you afraid of the police?! This is a crime!"
"Even if she looks like that, she's probably ten times older than you."
"Sh-she's even legal...?!"
She looked at Echidna, who had too many virtues, with a scared expression.
KangWoo hit EunBi's head softly and then walked toward the living room.
"I called you here because there's something I wanted to give you," he said to ShiHoon.
"To me?"
"Yes."
KangWoo gave him the El Quero Blade that he'd received from Baek HwaYeon.
"What's this...?"
"You'll see once you check the details."
Kim ShiHoon checked out the details of the weapon, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"A l-legendary weapon! Is… isn't this a legendary-rank weapon, Hyeongnim?!"
"Yes."
"Y-you're going to give this to me?"
KangWoo nodded.
Kim ShiHoon became lost for words. He looked at the El Quero Blade.
"H-how can you give me something so valuable to me…?"
"Because you're worthy of that weapon."
"Hyeongnim…"
Kim ShiHoon's eyes became red. He touched the El Quero Blade while trembling.
"I... Don't have the right to receive this weapon."
"I decide if you have the right or not."
"..."
"What level are you?"
"I'm level 38."
He was about to do the fifth Awakening.
Although he was leveling up at a slower pace compared to KangWoo, he was probably one of the players who was leveling up faster.
"You know you're getting stronger at a faster pace compared to other players, right...?"
"But that isn't because I'm—"
"It's because you're talented. Of course, TaeSoo, Seol-ah, and EunBi were probably of great help, but the definitive reason is that you're someone who is capable."
"..."
"You're going to get stronger. Once that happens, you can show me you're worthy of that weapon."
"Hyengnim…"
"You believe in me, right?"
"Yes...! I believe in you! I'll do my best to prove that I'm useful to you!" Kim ShiHoon said with eyes full of determination.
KangWoo nodded while making a satisfied expression.
The only thing left was for Kim ShiHoon to do the ceremony with the weapon. As if ShiHoon were responding to his thoughts, he extended his hand.
"Hmm?"
…But he didn't extend his hands toward the El Quero Blade.
He grabbed KangWoo's hands.
'What's wrong with this guy?'
"To be honest... The first time I saw Hyeongnim... I felt a weird sensation of discomfort. It was as if my entire body was rejecting you."
'That's because you're the protector of the world, and I'm the person who destroyed the system that protects it.'
"But when I met Hyeongnim again, that feeling had disappeared."
'That's because I turned you into my familiar spirit.'
"Now... Haha, this could sound a bit weird... but it's as if my soul is connected to yours."
'It's really connected.'
"Hyeongnim..."
'Don't look at me like that.'
KangWoo brushed away ShiHoon’s hands while smiling awkwardly at him.
Kim ShiHoon looked a bit disappointed.
KangWoo felt chills.
'Did I overdo it?'
He had done that to make him trust him more and make him more motivated, but he felt that things had turned out weirdly.
He thought he had to draw a line before things got too dangerous.
"ShiHoon... Please."
"Oh, Hyeongnim…. Now that I think about it, there's something I have to tell you."
Kim ShiHoon took something out of his pocket, and KangWoo's eyes got big after seeing what it was.
"Recently, while hunting, I noticed some monsters were acting weird, so I investigated the corpses, and these came out."
Kim ShiHoon took out two small black gems.
KangWoo quickly touched them.
—They were the demonic energy stones he'd been searching for the last two weeks.
To make things better, there were two of them!
The tips of his mouth went up.
'ShiHoon, let's do our best from now on!'
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