Chapter 171. Vacation (1)
There was no sun in Prestige and, consequently, no day and night. When Rachel woke up, it was around 8 a.m.
Inside [English Royal Court Guild’s Hideout], Rachel was the only one awake. The other six members of the Royal Court guild were still asleep, which spoke to how tough their previous day was. After buying their citizenship the day before, they had spent the rest of the day hunting undead monsters.
Together, they hunted 157 Lv.1 undead and 78 Lv.2 undead.
Almost 30% of this was Rachel’s achievement. Her light elemental ‘Lux’ had performed greatly.
“Huu….”
They made 375TP, and since they still had enough of Kim Hajin’s deer meat to last another week, they didn’t need to spend money on food.
As such, Rachel felt refreshed even though she felt a bit sore.
Rachel stretched and opened the Community.
—Does anyone want to go down to the 2nd floor to get food?
—The food situation here is hell. Fuck, how can they call this place a residential area?
—Argh -.- I can’t go down because I already bought my citizenship. Fuck, don’t buy the citizenship, everyone. It screws you over if you want to go back down.
—I made a [group] for an undead hunting party. Click on the link to join or ask questions.
Many Players were expressing their dissatisfaction in the Community. However, Players on the 2nd floor wouldn’t know anything about it, since the Community couldn’t be used on mission floors.
Rachel scrolled through the angry posts looking for useful information. After a few minutes, an interesting post caught her eye.
[There’s a Lv.3 longsword being sold outside the inner wall.]
There was a screenshot attached to it as well.
—Brother and sister NPCs are running the shop. This shop looks like an important one. It’s selling items Lv.2 and above.
The post even contained a list of items being sold at the shop.
Lv.3 Decent Steel Longsword
Lv.2 Red Crystal Axe
Lv.2 Bear Leather Jacket
…
After looking through the list in a daze, Rachel found herself rummaging through her pocket.
“Oh, this place got famous real quick.”
A guild member’s voice rang out from behind her.
Rachel was startled but turned around pretending to be unfazed.
“…Do you know about it?”
“Yes.”
It was Devel, a male member who was four years older than her. Because of his handsome appearance, he was quite a celebrity in England.
“I think this post went up two days ago. But even the cheapest item in that shop is 700TP. We can only watch for now.”
“Ah…”
Rachel let out a dry cough and glanced at her inventory.
Lv.3 Gargoyle’s Leather Armor.
‘Was it a waste to buy this…? N-No. It was thanks to this armor that I couldn’t be hurt by undead monsters.’ Rachel quickly got rid of the doubt in her heart.
“First, let’s eat. Wake everyone up. Today will be just as busy as yesterday.”
“Yes!”
Devel quickly woke up other members while Rachel began to cook Kim Hajin’s deer meat on a frying pan. She sat around the frying pan with members who just woke up and ate breakfast.
“Thank god for this. Without it, we would have been screwed.”
“We’d either be starving or buying the Player Shop’s emergency bento box.”
“Vice-leader, I have the utmost respect for you.”
“…It’s nothing.”
Because the deer meat came with a Lv.2 Satiety effect, eating just a little bit was enough to make them full. Since it was also delicious, no one had any complaints. In fact, they were extremely grateful to Rachel.
“Oh right, will those two be okay? They’re both magicians, and it didn’t look like they brought any food.”
One member suddenly asked about Aileen and Yi Yongha, who left them yesterday.
“They should have food.”
Rachel spoke firmly.
“They asked me if I learned the Dismantling technique.”
—Kid, did you learn the Dismantling technique?
Rachel replayed Aileen’s child-like voice.
“…Dismantling technique?”
“Yes.”
To obtain the Dismantling technique, one needed to ‘properly’ dismantle a monster with their own hands. Since Aileen and Yi Yongha would have never experienced such a thing on earth, the Dismantling technique was likely hard for them to get.
“I think they have monster corpses in their inventory. It wastes a lot of space, but the inventory can fit one or two corpses.”
“Oh… as expected of vice-leader, you have great insight.”
Speaking of the devil, a system alert popped up.
[Player WorldsStrongestMagicHero sent you a friend request.]
From the nickname, Rachel could guess who it was. For now, she delayed accepting it.
“After we’re done eating, why don’t we go visit this famous shop?”
“…Pft.”
Other members began to laugh.
Rachel narrowed her eyes and glared at them.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing!”
“Forming a close relationship with a shop is very important, you know.”
“…Yes, of course, let’s go! Get ready, you guys!”
**
For two days, I spent time with Evandel. I went to Disneyland in America along with Haeyeon and Hayang, toured Michelin 3-star restaurants, and personally watched how far Evandel’s spirit magic progressed.
To expand on this, Evandel’s growth was exponential. Though I’d have to exaggerate ever so slightly… her ghost army could likely fight Shin Jonghak on even grounds.
“You’re leaving her with me again?”
After having fun without regrets, I returned home.
Yun Seung-Ah visited me, saying she had something she wanted to say.
“…Yes, I don’t really have any other choice.”
Evandel was sleeping soundly on my lap.
I stroked her head and smiled bitterly.
“Evandel didn’t cause you any problem, did she?”
“Not at all. She even helped me do laundry when I said she didn’t need to. Oppa adores her too.”
“…That’s great to hear.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“But um… I think we’re going to sell this place soon.”
Yun Seung-Ah brought up something concerning.
“This one too?”
“Yeah, I don’t think Oppa’s work is going well either. I came to say that.”
“Ah….”
“But don’t worry about Evandel. I’ll take good care of—”
“Then I’ll buy it.”
“Her…”
In an instant, Yun Seung-Ah’s eyes widened in shock.
“I’ll buy your house, and you can keep living here. It’ll be my way of paying you back for all the trouble I caused. You don’t need to pay rent or anything either.”
“Erm… you’re that rich? It’s expensive to live around here, you know.”
I simply smiled.
I haven’t been checking my account recently with all the mercenary work I had to do as Fenrir and preparing for the Tower, but when I checked today, I jumped in surprise.
5% of Essential Armory’s stocks, 15% of SH Agency’s, 15% of Essential Pharmacy’s, and other stocks of Essence of the Strait’s businesses… Just the ‘dividend’ I got from them came out to 30 billion won. With how much I made as Fenrir, that amount jumped to 50 billion.
“As you know, I’m Fenrir.”
“But still, bullets are expensive. This apartment is crazy expensive too. We refused to sell it at first at even 13 billion, but we only decided to sell it because we were offered 20 billion.”
20 billion won for a 165~200 square meter apartment. Although it might sound expensive, it was understandable considering that Seoul was the safest place on Earth. In fact, the cost of living in Seoul would only go up as time went on.
“I can buy it, so don’t worry. Is this why you haven’t been looking well?”
“Me?”
Yun Seung-Ah smirked.
“I’m fine. Even if I don’t have a house, I can just sleep in my office. The problem is, well… the entrance ticket.”
“The Tower of Wish entrance ticket?”
I tilted my head.
“Yeah, those things are no joke. Do you know how much they’re going for right now?”
I didn’t. Even if I did, they would have surely changed by now.
“Green tickets are 200 million each, yellow tickets are 400 million, oranges are 700 million, reds are 1.5 billion, and black is practically a blank check.”
“Then…”
My face darkened as well.
I suddenly had a bad feeling. If Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t get a ticket for Suho…
“We wanted to enter the Tower too! Those damned loan sharks!”
Yun Seung-Ah slammed her fist down on the table.
“I don’t know how, but they found out about every ticket we obtained and seized them!”
At the same time, my heart sank.
But my brain spun quicker in urgent situations. It was a skill I gained from working as a mercenary.
Thankfully, I quickly came up with a solution.
With the Book of Truth, I should be able to find one with one day of hard work.
“You don’t have any left?”
“…Haha, who do you think I am?”
But it seemed that wasn’t necessary.
Yun Seung-Ah grinned and held up her index finger.
“I have one. Plus, it’s the best ticket you could get, the black ticket.”
“Oho… I’m glad. That’s for Suho, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the least I can do for him.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
After entering the Tower, Kim Suho should find one hidden piece after the other and become Creator’s Sacred Grace’s wings.
“Oh, before I go…”
I checked my Gift.
===
▷Young Dwarf’s Dexterity
[Intermediate rank] [Illusion-attribute] [Evolving – grade-7] [Growth EXP: 3%]
===
As I thought, it didn’t revert back.
As long as I didn’t die in the Tower, I was able to return to Earth with newly synthesized Gifts and improved ranks.
Anyways, to think that it would be intermediate-rank at just grade-7…
It might even reach Master rank at grade-1.
“…Before you go back, what?”
“Oh, um, I have a gift for Suho. With a black ticket, you can bring up to three equipment with you into the Tower, but I doubt Suho’s equipment is top-class.”
“….”
Yun Seung-Ah flinched, feeling guilty.
Currently, Kim Suho should only have Misteltein. Normally, guild members’ equipment were sponsored by the guild, but Creator’s Sacred Grace just wasn’t in a situation to provide top-class equipment.
“W-We can still provide low-intermediate rank artifacts… like a wrist protector.”
Low-intermediate rank artifacts.
I laughed lightly and looked at my hand.
The modern era’s new descendant of the dwarven race. With this Gift, everything I make would become an artifact to last the ages.
In fact, I had ordered a couple of items as soon as I arrived in Korea.
‘High-intermediate rank grade-1 Mountain Tyrant’s leather’ and ‘suppressed magic stone’.
With these, I should be able to make an item rivaling an intermediate rank artifact.
“…Uh, okay, if you say so. Ah! I just got called in! I’ll see you later!”
Called in at 11 p.m., Yun Seung-Ah ran out of the apartment.
Koong, kwang.
The sound of footsteps rang out a few times, then the world became quiet.
“Nnng…”
Evandel tossed around, seemingly bothered by the noise. I carefully picked her up and placed her on the bed. Then, I sat down at the edge of the bed.
“Huu…”
A silent room, flowing time, and a ticking clock.
Looking down at Evandel sleeping soundly, I suddenly thought of Boss.
“…I hope she’s doing okay.”
I didn’t know why Boss overlapped with Evandel.
But I knew what kind of a life she lived. Perhaps, I knew more about it than anyone else.
Obviously, it was because I was the one who created her background story.
A child who walked a path of sadness and pain more than anyone else, hated by everything in the world, a monster who grew up being betrayed.
Although she was suppressing the monster within her by abandoning her name… there were just too many things in this world I didn’t know.
I opened the Book of Truth, a mysterious book formed with magic power.
Using all 4 streaks of Stigma, I asked.
“Tell me Boss’ past that I don’t know about.”
However, the Book of Truth was incapable of revealing even Chundong’s past.
[…You do not have enough Stigma.]
Was it because a person’s past contained too much information? Or was it simply because 4 streaks of Stigma were incapable of handling it?
“Between January 1st, 2020, and January 3rd, 2020, tell me what Boss was doing and where.”
[…You do not have enough Stigma.]
It was the same.
“What do you know?”
This time, 0.1 streaks of Stigma was consumed. That wasn’t even a question…
[Everything. It is your ability that is lacking.]
“…I guess you’re right.”
I didn’t have much to say to that.
Scratching my neck, I closed the Book of Truth.
**
Next day, early morning.
It was time for me to go back to the Tower.
I knelt in front of Evandel who came to see me off. However, she refused to look at my eyes.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Facing the floor, she didn’t say anything. She was hugging a rag doll that I made that looked just like me.
“Evandel?”
“…When are you coming back?”
When I asked again, she asked back with a trembling voice.
“I’ll come back in a month.”
“….”
Evandel pouted and shook her head. Then, with a tiny voice, she expressed her sadness.
“…Earlier.”
Something rose up from the bottom of my heart. Did my parents feel the same thing when they were raising me?
I embraced Evandel tightly.
“Okay. You can order anything you want to eat and have fun with Hayang and Haeyeon. Before you know it, I’ll be back.”
“….”
“There are sandwiches and hamburger patties in the fridge, so you can eat those too. Ask Haeyeon’s parents to cook the patties. They’ll be great.”
“…Un.”
Our long yet short hug ended, and I stood up. Hayang walked up to Evandel as if to console her. Hayang scratched Evandel’s leg. She seemed to be telling Evandel to do something.
Evandel was on the verge of tears, but she didn’t cry and waved her hand.
“…Come home safe.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
With that, I left the apartment.
But before going back to the Tower, there was one more person I had to meet. She was someone I didn’t need to visit myself.
When I came out to the front of the apartment, a limousine was waiting for me. Its window went down, and Yoo Yeonha peeked her head out.
“You’re really back.”
I smiled and sat down next to her. Yoo Yeonha stared at my face fixedly, then suddenly asked.
“…Did you cry?”
“No. Anyways, you must really be busy. You’re working even when you’re in a car?”
I glanced at the documents sitting on the table inside the limousine.
“I’ve been driving around a lot because of our businesses and the matter with the Tower of Wish.”
“Mm. Oh right, here.”
I handed her a plastic bag.
“…What is it?”
“A handmade burger. I just made it and brought one for you in case you were hungry.”
“….”
Yoo Yeonha blinked her eyes. It looked like she was thinking about what to say. After a brief moment, she nodded and took the bag.
“…I haven’t had time to eat proper food lately. Thank you.”
The smell of hamburger rose up from the bag. Yoo Yeonha peeked into the bag and swallowed her saliva. From the way she licked her lips, it was obvious how much she was looking forward to eating it.
“Anyways, how are things going inside the Tower?”
“I’m doing fine, but your informants probably won’t come out. TP is extremely important in the earlier stages. They won’t have any to spare.”
“I heard. The return ticket is 1000TP and the re-entrance ticket is also 1000TP, right?”
I nodded and stretched.
“Yeah. Aaah~”
“…Um, the Tower is one thing, but…”
She peeked at me and carefully brought up another topic.
“It’s… about that furniture. The chair you gifted me.”
“Oh, the chair? It’s amazing, right?’
“….”
Yoo Yeonha nodded silently.
“I was just thinking, um, if the maker also makes other furniture, I’d like to ask him to make me a bed…”
“You liked it?”
“…Yes.”
Yoo Yeonha muttered quietly.
Did she think she was the loser if she liked something?
“So um, can you ask him?”
“I can, but it’ll be expensive.”
“…Oh? How much is it?”
As she asked, she crossed her arms as if there wasn’t anything she couldn’t buy. It was a look worthy of Seoul’s queen.
“A billion, I guess?”
“That’s nothing at all. If the bed is the same quality as the chair—"
“But it’ll be a used bed.”
“…Eh?”
“It won’t be a new one.”
I didn’t have time to make one for her. A bed was the hardest furniture to make. Even at my current level of skill, I needed at least half a day to make one.
However, I could send her the bed I use. Since I planned to make a new one with Dwarf’s Dexterity, I didn’t mind too much.
“A used one?”
“Yeah, I can give you the one I have.”
“…Eeeh?!”
Yoo Yeonha screamed.
“W-What, what do you mean!?”
“It’s not dirty or anything, so don’t worry. It might smell like me, but it’ll do its job. Oh, I guess it might smell like cigarettes.”
“S-Smell…”
“But once you sleep in it once, I promise you won’t even think about other beds.”
Yoo Yeonha’s face slowly reddened as she glared at me. It looked like she had something to say, but nothing came out of her mouth. When her face changed color from an unripe strawberry to a tomato on the brink of exploding…
“Are, are, are you crazy—?!”
She screamed loud enough to shake the entire limousine.
However, I only shrugged leisurely.
“I mean, I can’t just whip out furniture of that level in a flash.”
“…B-But you can just tell me the maker’s contact address.”
“The maker doesn’t have time. Don’t worry, the bed is clean.”
“….”
Yoo Yeonha looked anguished. I could practically see the internal conflict she was having.
“Huu… okay. So, where is this bed?”
She finally came to a decision.
I grinned. If a clean freak like Yoo Yeonha wanted it that badly… well, I guess she was just really tired from all her work. Objectively speaking, my bed worked wonders on the exhausted body and mind.
“Just tell me the address you want it sent to. I’ll handle it.”
Evandel would be surprised if I gave her the one in my apartment, so I decided to give her the one I was using in Chameleon Troupe’s hideout.
“…I’ll pay for it immediately.”
“Okay… Oh, but that wasn’t why I wanted to meet you.”
I put on a serious expression once again.
I ended up off-topic because of the bed.
“I want to ask you for a favor.”
“…A favor?”
“Yeah.”
The request I had for Yoo Yeonha was rather simple.
The Book of Truth didn’t tell me anything about Chundong’s past. I tried to investigate it on my own, but it was too hard for me to do alone. Chundong was too much of an extra, an almost dust-like existence.
“You know that I’m an orphan, right?”
“….”
When I asked, Yoo Yeonha’s face turned cold.
She stayed silent for a moment, then replied quietly.
“…I do.”
“It’s related to that. I’m wondering, kuhum, what happened to my biological parents. To be more exact… I want to know how they died.”
Chundong’s biological parents were dead. That was the one thing I could find out about Chundong from the Book of Truth. Even that took 3 streaks of Stigma from me.
“I need you to investigate for me. I don’t think I can do it alone anymore. I don’t have the time either.”
“….”
Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything. She was looking down and taking deep breaths.
Because her hair was longer than before, I couldn’t see her face either.
“But well, it’s not a number one priority. I’m asking only because I’m curio—”
“Okay.”
She suddenly interrupted me. Raising her head, she looked straight into my eyes.
“I’ll give it my best.”
She looked determined yet hesitant.
Her eyes were firm, but her fingers were wriggling nervously on her knees.
Looking at these conflicting parts of Yoo Yeonha, I nodded.