“Everyone, listen up.”
Kang Yeon-su, wearing sunglasses because her newly done eyes weren’t settled yet, caught the attention of the crowd.
“When the person next to me, Jo Gi-man, brought this up, I had the same reaction as all of you. But from my position handling the finances, there’s a lot to gain from this tournament. Do you even know how much the broadcasting rights are worth? How much money do we get from betting sites every two years just for us to compete?”
Kang Yeon-su’s eyes sparkled as she slammed her hand onto the table and continued her speech.
“I don’t know what kind of wind blew through our beloved Guild Leader, but let’s focus on what we can gain. Earlier, Park Jin-gon was venting his frustrations. If the kids under Jin-gon make it to the top four, we’ll let them choose one more among the A-rank dungeons we manage. Of course, this goes for everyone else too.”
―!!!
“Is this for real? No going back on this later, Vice Guild Leader.”
“Wait a second! We don’t have hundreds of A-rank dungeons. So it’s obvious what that rat will choose, right?”
“Hahaha! Our guild is finally on the right path! Hey, just wait a bit, Auntie. Make sure to take good care of it until I come to get it.”
“What a little rat!”
Low-level dungeons are managed by civil servants, but starting from B-rank dungeons, they can’t be managed by the limited number of state-employed hunters anymore.
That’s why a system was created to grant authority for large-scale guilds to manage independently, and once the concept of dungeons equating to money was firmly established, the number of valuable dungeons owned became an important indicator of a guild’s reputation.
The worth of a single A-rank dungeon is hard to evaluate. One prominent scholar even described dungeons as a never-ending fountain and strongly suggested investing in research to artificially increase the number of Awakened Ones.
“Since it’s a tournament restricted to C-rank and below, and since we can’t participate, just train them well and bring some results.”
“Can mercenaries participate?”
Park Jin-gon asked, and Kang Yeon-su instantly refused.
“No way. At the very least, let’s have some minimal justification for fostering the next generation. Got it?”
“Tch…”
Everyone began to gauge each other’s reactions, and their mental calculators were whirring. Seok Ryu-hwa was already on the phone, seemingly recruiting someone.
“By the way, me and the person next to me will also join.”
―!!
Amidst the strange tension, Kang Yeon-su dropped another bombshell.
“Where’s the logic in that!!”
“Come on, don’t interfere in the kids’ fights.”
“I’m not even fighting, and besides, this isn’t a civil war. Remember, the goal is to take the dungeons of other guilds and raise our renown.”
“But even so!”
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about Hwa-ryeon, Vice Guild Leader?”
“Oh? How did you know?”
“Wait! Are you kidding me?!”
“Come on now—don’t get worked up. Of course, I’m joking. But I do have my eyes on someone, so don’t worry about it.”
What?
“If you touch Hwa-ryeon, I’ll really set everything ablaze…”
Seok Ryu-hwa summoned magic as others mentioned her precious disciple’s name, and intense energy briefly filled the faces of those present.
Ahem—
There were still other topics piling up, but it seemed like a proper meeting wouldn’t happen, so Kang Yeon-su knocked on the meeting table to announce the end of the emergency session.
“Anyway, we’ve decided, so I hope everyone follows through. That’s all.”
“……”
Although they were unhappy that the two guild leaders would make decisions on their own, the potential rising stars of the White Knight Guild, overshadowed by two brilliant figures, were already operating plans in their heads for another leap forward.
After everyone but Kang Yeon-su and Jo Gi-man left the room.
“Is that it?”
“Should I thank you?”
“No need. Just make sure you give me Yeon-hee.”
“……”
Jo Gi-man, who had never asked before, finally inquired about something that had always bothered him.
“Why do you care so much about Lee Yeon-hee?”
“Yeon-hee? She’s pretty and cute, right? Her cheeks are like glutinous rice cakes, plump and white.”
“……”
“Mind your own business. Didn’t we already agree to stop caring about each other?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmph!”
Kang Yeon-su passed by the table where others had left and walked outside with a sense of resolve.
Tsk—
“How can that girl be so consistently annoying every time?”
Jo Gi-man was quite curious about that.
* * *
The day of the after-party.
Yeon-hee had insisted on using all the summoning papers she had, but as soon as she came out of the shower, she collapsed right into my arms.
“Oof! I hope she didn’t hurt herself.”
I gently pulled her in and checked for injuries before bringing over a blanket and laying her down in the room.
Yeon-hee then slept like the dead until lunchtime the next day.
In the meantime, I just practiced summoning Fireball and swinging my club.
‘Why is this so fun?’
After somewhat successfully manifesting Fireball, I found myself enjoying magic and eager to use Fireball quickly, my body itching with excitement. Though I had not progressed at all in shaping rocks, I thought I might get the hang of it by watching Bae Joo-ah use it.
‘Oh, I should test that.’
Splash—
I poured the water from the jug onto my body.
“Blessing of Irmana! Please!”
– The effect of the blessing is only 50% effective due to the artificial environment.
– All attributes +10
“Seriously? All I needed was to get wet, why the detailed evaluation? If you keep doing this, I might get upset?”
But when I tried with regular tap water, I found out that it didn’t work at all. Only water infused with Irmana’s energy seemed to work.
······
“Thank you, Goddess Irmana…”
I bowed my head toward the jug, expressing my gratitude genuinely for the first time since I had embarked on Irmana’s quest, a far cry from my usual flattery.
Afterward, I conducted several experiments and discovered that I didn’t necessarily need to drench myself in water.
By moistening my cloak with Irmana’s lake water and washing my body at regular intervals, I received the 50% effect.
– You are imperfectly receiving the blessing of Irmana.
“Hehe—it’s working.”
– To truly draw out one’s strength, one must avoid petty tricks—
A fragment of memory flickered through my mind again, but this time I had something to say.
‘Whether it’s a trick or not, as long as I get stronger, what difference does it make?’
Just as the gentle-faced man began to scatter in my mind, Yeon-hee finally stumbled into the living room.
“Ahh—!”
She bent over like a bow, stretching her arms wide, revealing a picture-perfect body line that caught my eye.
As I was captivated, fragments of dialogue from the previous night’s drinking conversation suddenly resurfaced.
“From what I see, that Hyeon Yi-hwan guy seems interested in Yeon-hee?”
“What?! What’s your basis for that?!”
“It’s just a feeling I got.”
‘Hyeon Yi-hwan… Hyeon Yi-hwan…’
As I recalled that keyword, forgotten memories began to arrange themselves neatly in my head.
‘I didn’t see him rise to S-rank, but I remember he had potential. Of course, he’s not as good as his brother, though.’
The Hyeon siblings, Hyeon Il-hwan and Hyeon Yi-hwan, enjoyed popularity nearly akin to idols.
‘That’s enough to be a match for Yeon-hee…’
Considering just the current situation, others would say there’s a surplus of candidates to be Yeon-hee’s match.
‘No way!! She’s still young! Once more things are settled… Hmm…’
Is this what fathers feel when they send off their daughters? I now understood the feeling of wanting to refuse even if there was dirt in my eyes.
Sigh…
Thinking of Yeon-hee starting a family with someone made my mood drop sharply. I felt foolish for having been so happy alone just yesterday.
‘There’s no helping it… It’s something I’ll eventually have to deal with.’
“Huh?”
‘Whoa…’
Suddenly, Yeon-hee came up close, looking up at me with sapphire-like eyes.
‘Seeing her in daylight is different. Is my face okay?’
As soon as I got home last night, I checked the mirror and nearly had a heart attack. The reflection showed nothing short of a demon. I could finally understand why Jin-kyeong had described me that way.
From that point on, I’d been ashamed to hold my head high and had a tendency to lower it.
“Uh? Why do you keep trying to hide your face? Hey! Don’t do that!”
As I covered my mouth with my hand, she struggled to push it down.
“Come on. I told you it’s fine.”
Nod…
‘Her taste is strange.’
I nodded and stretched my arm a bit further back, creating some space between us.
“Uh…”
She tentatively touched the thorns sprouting from my body with her fingers.
“This must be uncomfortable, right?”
Nod—
“Yeah, but it might help in a fight?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
I gazed at Yeon-hee’s serious face as she pondered what to do next.
As she continued to eye me thoughtfully, she suddenly raised her finger as if she had an idea and declared, “I’ll just wash up quickly! Then, let’s open the ‘Brown Summoning Paper’ together right after!”
Nod, Nod—
She headed to the bathroom to shower, and I grabbed one of the thorns sprouting from my arm, trying to push it aside forcefully.
“Oof! Why is this so tough?”
It didn’t seem like something I could manipulate with my hands.
Taking this chance, I sat on the floor, observing the thorn growing on my arm, attempting to channel my magic and sense.
‘Smooth it out… smooth it out… Please, just let me hold her! Ugh!’
Shudder, shudder—
“Oh?”
For a moment, the thorn trembled, showing signs of change, but that was all. However, seeing some potential, I decided to add that to my training list.
‘If I can get rid of the thorns… I’ll be able to grow them as well, right?’
I envisioned a movie protagonist sprouting sharp claws from their hands.
‘If I could reveal a sudden means of attack like that, I could deliver a sufficiently threatening blow to my opponent.’
It seemed like it could be useful as a variable in combat.
Although I felt like I was becoming something increasingly bizarre, I was originally born as a Skeleton Soldier. Things couldn’t get any worse.
A little while later, Yeon-hee emerged from the bathroom with slightly wet hair, her cheeks flushed.
The place was warmer than when I lived in a studio, and she had changed into dolphin pants. An enticing scene that any normal guy would be struck by.
But since becoming a skeleton, my emotional responses had dulled, and I found only her beauty captivating.
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