In the Dark Space, Il-wol was deep in training.
Transcended from another world, Dnarr Panijial had not been able to do what the people here referred to as “going to work” for several days now.
“Damn it!”
Kwang-kwang-!
Facing off against the man who continued to disturb his work, Dnarr had barely escaped after taking a serious beating.
Now, hiding in his hideout, he was focusing on recovering from his injuries.
“I never thought he’d be that strong… There’s actually a human in this world stronger than me? How can that even be possible?”
Of course, having lived in this world for several years, he knew well that there were indeed notable strong individuals here.
However, there was no record of a man with that face among the information he had gathered, only raising more questions.
“There’s no way I could forget a face that smooth…”
Even to Dnarr, who came from another world, that man’s appearance was exceptionally striking, making it difficult to comprehend, so he had instructed his subordinate to update the list of those known as the strongest.
“If the information isn’t wrong, then it must be an ability like ‘Mask Arts’. How can it be so perfect without any sense of alienation?”
Dnarr felt as if he had been facing a massive wall for days now.
He had been outmatched in every way and had even fled like a coward.
An undeniable, complete defeat.
“The aura I sensed from him was definitely that of a darkened dragon… A man wielding the power of a dragon turned Evil God… No, that must be-”
The last man he had seen bore a striking resemblance to the legendary Dragon Clan, causing him significant alarm.
“Lubuya… Can light truly not overcome darkness?”
Dnarr called out to the deity he worshipped, feeling the immense burden on his shoulders morph his expression into one of pain.
“No… I must not become weak. First, I need to avoid meeting that guy again. For that, I’ll need a variable… a variable.”
The man’s eyes seemed to pierce through everything, leading Dnarr to conclude that he couldn’t divert the man’s attention using regular methods.
“I haven’t filled even half of the malice yet, so summoning a Great Beast Level may be difficult, but I should be able to summon something comparable.”
Calculating how many days it would take to summon a disaster, Dnarr soon called upon another of his kind.
“……”
A dozen or so Blue-eyed Deities appeared silently beside him.
With their uniform faces and physiques, their eyes cruelly burnt to the point of being hideous, the way they stood rigidly and stared at him sent a chill down Dnarr’s spine.
“I didn’t want to use these guys…”
Realizing the limitations of the incomplete ‘teeth’ his teacher was continually supplying, he had no choice but to borrow the power of the Blue-eyed.
“I will open the rift. The location will be… the place in this city with the most humans.”
“…… Yes……”
They replied simultaneously in a gloomy voice and then vanished.
“Disgusting beings…”
Yet, asking for their help made Dnarr feel like the dirtiest being of all.
“Hmph! I don’t care! I will fulfill my master’s wishes no matter what. For that, I’ll embrace any filth.”
Dnar’s eyes sparkled with determination unlike any before.
* * *
Woo-woo-ooo—
Summoned back home, I stood at the gate to the summoning space, waiting for a cute little creature that was bouncing around nervously.
“Wow, you’re back? How was it? Wasn’t it scary?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
It seemed like Yeon-hee had many questions formed overnight, and she was right by my side bombarding me with them.
Even though Dark Space was practically like my house, from her perspective, it seemed to have been perceived as a scary, forbidden place.
“It does sound scary, but I want to go there once. If I go with Il-wol, it should be… okay, right?”
‘I hope that won’t happen…’
I gently patted Yeon-hee’s head as I quietly listened to her chatter. As she flitted about like a bluebird, she shook off any lingering doubts and headed into the bathroom to wash up.
Now, even when she showered, there was no need to block my senses.
Feeling the graceful curves of her body, I automatically drew out the Great Sword and ran my hand along the blade.
“Hmm… it really is the best.”
The smooth curve of the Great Sword, resembling Yeon-hee’s figure, brought me satisfaction. At some point, I had developed a habit of admiring the sword whenever I had nothing to do.
“Ah, this mealtime is fantastic—”
Cooking for Yeon-hee only happened at dinner.
For other meals, we either ate side dishes we bought from a shop not too far from home or made do with bread.
However, the rice cooked with Irmana’s lake water was irresistibly savory on its own, leading Yeon-hee to finish three bowls without any other dishes.
“Alright! Shall we go? I told Heuk-a I’d be an hour late.”
Nodding—
We didn’t head to the dungeon right away but stopped by the headquarters of the White Knight Guild first.
“Let’s pay off our debts first!”
Nodding—
Yeon-hee used the money she received from Helen’s request to pay back the medical expenses for her mom, which she had borrowed from the White Knight Guild first.
The sum? A whopping seven hundred million.
Though it was close to interest-free at about 1%, hospital bills were still exorbitantly high, so it was quite a significant expenditure.
Still in good spirits after paying back the loan, just then, she found out that the dirty guy, Jo Gi-man, had tampered with the contract.
In the contract with the White Knight Guild, there was a mad clause stating that upon awakening, one must make a contract with the White Knight Guild, and if they failed to actively participate in guild activities for seven years, they would be subject to a fine of up to five billion.
“Even if that is legal? Damn… for real.”
A few years ago, the new Hunter-related laws included wording saying that contracts between hunters could have ‘no limit depending on the situation.’ That became the problem.
“I need to find out which insane guy proposed a law so outdated later.”
Anyway, it seemed that Kang Yeon-su was unaware of such contract terms, as she repeatedly apologized to Yeon-hee.
After all, she hadn’t been involved when that contract was signed, and while it seemed her messages of apology were sincere, she didn’t extend beyond that, as if she had decided not to get involved further.
“A line well kept, isn’t it.”
Yeon-hee chastised herself for being such a fool to fall for it, but nevertheless, out of gratitude for allowing her mom, who would have certainly died soon, to live for almost a year, she appeared determined to pay off the debts, no matter what.
However, her feelings toward Jo Gi-man had severely soured.
Yeon-hee also suspected there was nothing innocent about his helping her, but there it was—the moment she reached for the contract to sign after paying off the loan, the hidden clause revealed itself.
“How unfair… From the start, joining the guild was mandatory, yet what were they thinking coming to my home and persuading me while acting? Was there another victim like me in the guild?”
“Tap…”
Yeon-hee seemed to believe Jo Gi-man was money-driven when he did such things.
But Jo Gi-man was a man who had transcended money; the most important factor must have been the clause requiring ‘absolute membership in the White Knight Guild.’
The visit to her home was merely for him to confirm Yeon-hee’s condition while needing an excuse.
“A five billion scam… This will sting a bit. But in social life, there are surely scammers everywhere. I guess seeing this as an experience is good, and discovering Jo Gi-man’s true nature at this early stage is a blessing.”
Jo Gi-man probably didn’t expect Yeon-hee would pay off her debts this quickly either.
“I wonder what he thinks of Yeon-hee, who has changed so much compared to before?”
Thinking about that brought a sense of fear, yet curiosity too.
“Hmm… What if Jo Gi-man can’t just kill Yeon-hee directly? Is there perhaps some sort of restriction?”
Yeon-hee is indeed a mysterious being.
Among many hunters I’ve seen, I’ve never encountered anyone as alien as she is.
It’s not that she gained any special enlightenment, but her mana steadily grows a certain amount each day.
Also, being able to concentrate obtained stats from leveling up into a single ability was noteworthy.
Plus, I received all kinds of privileges simply because I shared a relationship with her, didn’t I?
“Surprisingly… I might not need to fear Jo Gi-man as much as I thought…”
The thing I feared the most was Jo Gi-man harming Yeon-hee.
If that were indeed impossible, I would have no need to remain so coiled up.
Of course, I wouldn’t slack on the vigilance and preparation I’d maintained thus far, but it was clear my choices would expand when it came to actions.
Before long, Yeon-hee regained her cheerful demeanor.
“The money from the mines starts coming in two weeks, and our income has also increased considerably! After a few years of hardship, we won’t even need to work for seven years; we could just pay off the debts and escape!”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
“Alright! Let’s cheer up!”
Regardless, even after paying off the loan, we still had a substantial amount available, and perhaps we could pay back the funds we received to help purchase a house before, thanks to Yeon-su.
In that respect, the Frog Folk’s tongues and the Nixie Sirens’ hearts were excellent sources of income.
They were byproducts that sold for a pretty penny to alchemists and potion-makers.
However, it wasn’t easy to acquire their tongues and hearts completely intact, which is why their prices were so high.
This was due to the fierce battles that would damage the ingredients, but we often cleanedly severed heads, making gathering materials easier.
We entered ‘Frog Folk Village’ an hour later than yesterday.
The Veil party had requested to stay there for a few more days, wishing to gain exploration experience and additional benefits, and since I didn’t want to progress too hastily compared to the party members, I agreed.
Even though we started an hour late, we quickly surpassed other parties and took the lead.
Out of five safe zones, we arrived at the third zone and began chatting casually, just like yesterday.
“By the way, haven’t those party members reached level 60 yet?”
‘Jeok-a’ asked, already knowing the answer but posing the question to develop the conversation, while Yeon-hee nodded her head slightly, sounding disappointed.
“Everyone else must be overflowing with talent, so they should achieve it soon.”
“That’s true! They’re all much more outstanding than me!”
“Yeon-hee… that’s not quite right.”
“What?”
“You’re still lacking a bit in awareness. Just look at that guy over there…”
“……”
“Never mind. As long as they don’t die, even those with less talent can somehow make it to C-class eventually. So you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Okay…”
The other party members struggling to level up just one level is simply due to having entered the next bracket at level 9, where the experience needed has greatly increased, nothing more.
“By the way, have you heard? A Villain has appeared in the Dire Wolf dungeon.”
“Oh… the Dire Wolf should be the next dungeon, right?”
Heuk-a shared the hot news with a seriousness that didn’t suit him.
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