「I heard you were Fenrir’s #1 fan.」
The reply came five minutes after I sent the message.
CaptainBritain: 「What do you mean?;; ㅋㅋ;;??;;」
I could tell how nervous she was from her text. I smiled and typed my reply.
「I heard from the Divine Archer. I’m sure you said it to get closer to her.」
I could imagine how it all went down.
Rachel likely couldn’t say anything to Jin Seyeon when they first met, only staring at her blankly out of admiration. Then, before they split, she finally worked up the courage to ask Jin Seyeon for her nickname, so she could add her as a friend. Despite not being able to say anything in person, Rachel undoubtedly sent long messages in text afterwards.
CaptainBritain: 「…You met Hero Jin Seyeon-nim?」
「Yes, she told me in person.」
It seemed to have been a great shock for her, as no message came from Rachel for a long time.
I called Spartan while I waited. There was a mission I needed him to do while I was back on Earth.
“Spartan.”
—Pururu.
“You can see the handsome guy I’m thinking of, right?”
I thought of Kim Suho in my mind. Silky brown hair, eyes as clear and deep as the ocean, and sharp and well-defined facial features. His appearance was simply overpowered.
“His name is Kim Suho. Keep an eye on him.”
—Pururu.
Spartan seemed reluctant but nodded his head nonetheless. Spartan seemed to have matured a bit as he was more obedient than before.
“Good boy…. Oh right.”
I went into the auction house just in case.
[Auction House]
Thanks to all the used items I sold, my auction house grade reached the highest tier (CaptainBritain was my #1 customer). However, I rarely bought items from the auction house in comparison. After all, I could simply craft them myself.
That said…
[Search: Transparent Cape]
[A total of two items have been found.]
‘Enchantment’ was something I couldn’t do. Adding a magical effect of my choice was difficult, and even if I succeeded, it would take too much time.
As such, I had to buy enchanted items.
[Lv.6 Transparent Cape]
[Current bid – 11,000TP]
[Buy immediately – 35,000TP]
[Time until auction ends – 3:13:23]
I clicked on ‘buy immediately’. Although it cost 35,000TP, I had more than enough money both inside and outside the Tower.
[You purchased Lv.6 Transparent Cape]
After buying the Transparent Cape, I cut it up to fit Spartan’s body. With my dexterity, it only took 10 minutes with a pair of scissors.
I then made Spartan wear the cute cape I cut up.
“If you’re in danger, escape immediately, okay?”
—Pururu.
“Good boy.”
Next, I glanced at my messenger. Seeing that Rachel had not replied yet, I looked up another item in the auction house.
[Search: Special Skill Acquisition Book – Enchant]
[A total of zero items have been found.]
“Geez, when is this going to appear?”
I couldn’t tell whether it was really rare or if people were buying it the moment it came up (it was probably a bit of both), but [Special Skill Acquisition Book – Enchant] still couldn’t be found in the auction house. It was the one thing I needed to perfectly complement my overgeared concept.
“…Should I try rolling more dice?”
I had a sudden thought. [Random Dice], the bonus skill I obtained from the black ticket, was now at level 6. Nowadays, I haven’t been expecting much from the dice I rolled daily. Now that I was at the latter half of the Tower, there really weren’t items I lacked.
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to try… Come on Enchant.”
I had nothing to lose by trying.
I took out four dice from my inventory and rolled them while only thinking about Enchant.
Perhaps because of Random Dice’s high level, all four dice did become skillbooks. Of course, the chance that Enchant was among them was incredibly low.
“…Huh?”
I tilted my head as I looked at one of the four skillbooks.
[Lv.3 Special Skill Acquisition Book – Four-colored Enchant]
“It worked?”
It was even ‘Four-colored’ Enchant, which sounded better than normal Enchant.
“…I really just had to roll my dice? Why am I so dumb?”
===
[Lv.3 Four-colored Enchant]
○1. Reinforced Magic Infusion – You can enchant magical effects more effectively.
○Lv.2 Four-colored Attributes – Of the attributes possessed by the skill’s user, up to four attributes can be freely infused into an item.
===
It was undoubtedly worth learning. I used the skillbook immediately.
At that moment, the train began to slow down.
—We are now arriving on the 26th floor. Get ready, everyone.
The captain’s voice rang out as I also received a message.
CaptainBritain: 「Let’s meet next week…」
For some reason, she seemed drained of energy.
**
[26F, True Demon Realm]
Kim Suho got off from the train. A thick fog and violet earth greeted him.
“…An unimaginable monster lurks here.”
There was a sign on the train station, which Kim Suho read out loud.
“Hey, are you going to keep climbing?”
Yi Yeonghan, who was next to him, asked with a trembling body.
“The Fermuns left, and even Chae Nayun went back home, so why are you so intent on climbing the Tower?”
The Fermuns said they had troubles with their family and left on the 24th floor saying that they would come back soon. They were likely fighting monsters in Italy at the moment.
“I have to keep going.”
“Why? It’s not like the Tower is going to disappear if you wait a little longer. It’s fine if you wait to get stronger.”
Yi Yeonghan seemed to be afraid of going any further.
“Well… it’s just that…”
However, without the slightest hint of hesitation, Kim Suho stared at the ‘Demon King’s Tower’ standing tall in the far distance.
“I think I have to climb it.”
Looking at the Demon King’s Tower, a strong urge rose in his head. It felt like the reason he came to Earth was inside it.
“But why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’d you say?”
“Oi~”
At that moment, a familiar voice called out to Yi Yeonghan and Kim Suho. It was Aileen, the ‘Human Dragon’.
“You’re alone, right? Wanna come with us?”
“…Um, hello? Can’t you see I’m right here?”
Aileen’s eyes were fixed only on Kim Suho. Slightly offended, Yi Yeonghan pointed at himself.
Aileen spoke, “I see you, but for some reason, I didn’t think you would climb up any higher.”
“…No, I will.”
Yi Yeonghan grabbed Kim Suho’s arm. He wasn’t afraid of anything if he could be in Aileen’s party. Kim Suho snickered inwardly.
“I’m going with Suho. We’re a set.”
“…Well, sure. So, are you coming with us?”
Kim Suho was about to nod in agreement but paused when he saw Shin Jonghak standing next to Aileen glaring at him.
“Ah, he’s okay with it too.”
Aileen pointed at Shin Jonghak and shrugged. Just like she said, Shin Jonghak didn’t seem opposed to the idea. Yi Yeonghan was confused. Shin Jonghak was willing to form a party with Kim Suho? Did he get eaten by his doppelgänger?
“In that case, I’d love to.”
Kim Suho nodded, and a system alert immediately popped up.
[‘Aileen and the Kids’ invites you to the party.]
[Would you like to accept?]
Kim Suho clicked yes.
Just like that, Kim Suho, Jin Seyeon, Shin Jonghak, Aileen, Yi Yongha, and Yi Yeonghan became party members.
“Good choice. As I thought, you know what rope to grab. I heard you have a full light-attribute.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kim Suho’s magic power was 100% light-attribute. Hearing this, Aileen laughed happily.
“Hehehe, I like it. Kid, have you thought about joining the Temple of Justice?”
“No, that’s….”
It was then.
Koong, koong, koong.
With oppressive footsteps, a man with a giant stature walked out of the train. Aileen’s head naturally turned towards him. Then, she furrowed her brows.
“…It’s him.”
Those two words carried many meanings.
Most Rankers were too scared to even touch this man. However, Aileen walked over to this steel-bodied giant, who was larger than most humans…
Soon, Cheok Jungyeong also noticed her bold steps.
“Oi.”
Aileen stood in front of the man who was at least 60cm taller than her.
“…What do you want?”
Cheok Jungyeong’s voice rang out deeply. Aileen found it hard to look up to him, so she lifted herself up with magic power. Standing on a fluffy cloud of magic power, she looked at Cheok Jungyeong at eye-level.
Cheok Jungyeong stared at Aileen dumbfoundedly.
“What, you want me to headbutt you? Your skull and brain are going to explode at the same time.”
“Shut it. Tell me where Black Lotus is.”
Cheok Jungyeong frowned.
“Black Lotus?”
“That’s right. Did you think I was interested in you?”
“…Why are you asking me about him?”
“Hah? Do you think I’m dumb? You two are in the same group! So hurry up and tell me before I use Spirit Speech.”
‘What an unreasonable woman… Did her brain stop maturing in exchange for Spirit Speech?’ Cheok Jungyeong sighed and thought inwardly.
“You’ll be able to meet him if you keep climbing the Tower.”
“What?”
Aileen, Jin Seyeon, Kim Suho, and the rest of the party members were all interested in what Cheok Jungyeong just said.
“Right, since he’s always watching you guys.”
“Us?”
“Is that a warning?”
Jin Seyeon interrupted.
Black Lotus was watching them? It didn’t seem like a bluff. With Black Lotus’ abilities, this meant that his arrows could strike their necks at any time.
“No, that guy… I don’t know why, but he wants you lot to clear the Tower.”
“…Pardon?”
“What does that mean? Explain.”
“Hmph, stop bothering me now and screw off. Especially you, you damned brat.”
Cheok Jungyeong glared at Aileen and spoke.
“…Brat?”
However, height was Aileen’s greatest complex. Magic power blazed up above Aileen’s head, but Cheok Jungyeong grinned and clenched his fists as though this was what he wanted.
“Lady Aileen, please calm down.”
“There’s no reason for Players to be fighting at this point.”
Jin Seyeon and Kim Suho stepped in front of her. Even then, Aileen continued to glare at Cheok Jungyeong for a long time before finally letting out a cute snort.
“…Hmph, I know. Guys like him probably can’t scratch a hair on demons because they lived such dir~ty lives. If you don’t want to be killed by demons, I suggest you go back to Earth.”
“Haha.”
Aileen’s criticism seemed truthful to a certain extent, but Cheok Jungyeong immediately proved that it was false. He condensed a ball of magic power on his palm.
Guoooo—
A blue energy ball resonated with the air.
Although other attributes were mixed into it, its main attribute was clearly light.
“What does this look like?”
“…The heck is that?”
“Don’t get over your head, kiddo.”
Cheok Jungyeong put away his Energy Blast. Then, he walked past Aileen’s party and left the train station without hesitation.
Tak, tak… While receiving the attention of numerous Rankers, he walked into the 26th floor’s forest by himself. His back exuded the aura of heroism and confidence.
“Ah, right—!”
Then, Cheok Jungyeong suddenly shouted. His voice rang out like thunder. He turned his head halfway and looked at Aileen’s party. It was because he felt like he said too much about Black Lotus.
“If you want to look for Black Lotus, do it after you defeat me.”
“…What?”
However, Aileen’s party interpreted his words differently.
To them, his words had a clear meaning. That Black Lotus was someone even that oppressive brute obeyed. In the first place, they knew that ‘Black’ was the strongest color in the Chameleon Troupe.
While Aileen’s group was worrying about Black Lotus, who was supposedly ‘watching’ them, Cheok Jungyeong disappeared into the [True Demon Realm]’s forest.
“…We should go too. There’s nothing to be worried about.”
“…Yes.”
Aileen’s party also stepped onto the 26th floor. They chose a different direction than Cheok Jungyeong.
**
[Earth, Evandel’s Underground Training Center]
I visited the underground training center as soon as I returned to Earth. Ah Hae-In, who was in the middle of training Evandel, paused her lesson for a moment and walked up to me.
“How is it?” I asked.
“…She’s already at the level of a 6~7-star summon magician.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, but that’s only in ‘summoning’ magic. The number of summons she can handle is only a bit less than me.”
“….”
In other words, Evandel was at the 6~7-star level in terms of quality of summons and her commanding technique but was at 7~8-star in terms of quantity of summons.
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s beyond amazing. It’s extraordinary, especially that wolf and tiger.”
A wolf, the end boss of canines, and a tiger, the end boss of felines. The black-maned ‘Fenrir’ was aloof like a solitary samurai, and the golden ‘Great Tiger’ was imposing like the sovereign of a battlefield.
“Those two are getting stronger along with Evandel. They’re at the high-intermediate rank for now, but it’s only a matter of time before they reach high-rank.”
“I see…”
“I didn’t know it back then, but it looks like you raised her well.”
“…Kuhum.”
Evandel and I spent a long time together, but I didn’t really think I raised her well. In my mind, the potential Evandel was born with and the high-class items I gave that increased her growth rate just by wearing them were responsible for how she was now.
At that moment, Ah Hae-In rubbed her chin and muttered, “…She looks like someone no matter how much I look at her.”
“Like who?”
“Rachel. I got to meet her not too long ago.”
I smiled.
Just like Ah Hae-In said, Evandel and Rachel looked alike. It wouldn’t be wrong to say she was a miniature version of Rachel. The only difference was that Evandel was cuter, since Rachel was more pretty than cute.
“…Evandel?”
After finishing my conversation with Ah Hae-In, I approached Evandel, who was lying on the floor using Fenrir’s tail as a pillow. When she heard me call out to her, she immediately shot up.
“Un~! Hajin, I was training hard! Really, really hard!
She ran into my embrace and strongly appealed the effort she put in.
“I know, I heard. So I was thinking….”
I put my mouth against Evandel’s ear. Although I was still a bit hesitant, it was about time. As her guardian, I had to do what was right.
I whispered.
—Let’s go meet Rachel.
Immediately, Evandel froze. She didn’t move an inch as though she became petrified. After staying like that for a while, Evandel said a single word.
“…Really?”
I nodded. Still, Evandel looked at me with widened eyes without being able to express her feelings.
“Really, really?”
“Of course. I told you, right? That I’d let you meet her if you train hard.”
“Really, really, really?!”
“Yeah, but in exchange….”
I held up my index finger.
“Promise me one thing.”
**
[England, Merseyside]
I came to England with Evandel and Hayang. For a day, we toured the place, and I told Evandel about England’s Knight culture. Excited, Evandel ran around until it was 11 at night.
“Evandel, are you going to sleep now?”
After an entire day of fun, we returned to our hotel.
“….”
“Evandel.”
Evandel had fallen asleep with Hayang in her arms.
It seemed like it was time for me to do my job.
I took out the list of Djinn executives that Jain gave me. There was one that lived here in Merseyside.
[England, Merseyside – Crook Levin]
Crook Levin. He was the executive of Slaughtering Annihilation, a Djinn group that specialized in human trafficking and cannibalism. According to the documents Jain gave me, Crook Levin operated his business in Merseyside.
I asked the Book of Truth about his current location.
[53°32’35.5”N 3°05’34.8”W]
The Book of Truth gave me the coordinate, and I opened the hotel window and jumped down. Although I was on the 15th floor, the height had little meaning to me.
Tak.
After lightly landing on the ground, I took out the [Dwarven Supercar] which I had converted into a card. I snapped my fingers, and the Dwarven Supercar materialized.
It was too noticeable, but I had added a magical effect on it with Enchant.
“Convert.” I muttered.
The snowmobile became dismantled, then began to restructure itself as a motorcycle. Just like how the Desert Eagle could change its form, I had added a similar functionality to the Dwarven Supercar with SP.
After hopping on, I activated the enchant effect.
“Dark Travel.”
This enchantment was done with ‘essence of darkness’ extracted from the dark ore and mana stone.
As soon as I activated the effect, my body and the golden motorcycle melted into the darkness. Our forms became translucent like a fog as though we had become part of darkness itself.
I stepped on the accelerator.
Chwaaa….
The motorcycle drove through the darkness of the night.
Five minutes was enough to reach Crook Levin’s location.
The outskirts of Merseyside, the basement of a suspicious building.
Crook Levin of ‘Slaughtering Annihilation’ was carrying out human trafficking in this place.
—This guy looks delicious. Save him for later.
I transformed the Desert Eagle into the sniper rifle. A single bullet was enough. My bullets weren’t hindered by obstacles. It didn’t matter that they were underground.
I only needed to pull the trigger.
“….”
I wasn’t in any danger of being found out. My gun no longer produced any sound when firing.
I pulled the trigger.
The sniper bullet shot forward in silence.
—No, no, that guy is fucking useless. Just kill…
His sentence was cut off midway, never to be continued.
I didn’t stop there.
I shot all the Djinns that were with Crook Levin.
Bullets rained down from the sky, phasing through the ground. The attack that defied the laws of physics easily killed all the Djinns underground before they even had a chance to react.
The building’s basement was soon devoid of any Djinn.
Because Djinns didn’t leave behind corpses.
**
The next day, I went out to the city with Evandel. We were meeting Rachel at 6, and I wanted to play with Evandel before then and lessen her nervousness.
I planned our course. The amusement park we couldn’t go to yesterday, a 3-star Michelin restaurant, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace… We had fun touring England and finally stopped at our final destination, the British Museum.
“Uwoaah~”
I didn’t know Evandel liked museums so much. She ran around excitedly. I smiled and followed close behind her.
It was now 5:45.
Only 15 minutes remained until the promised time.
Since we agreed to meet at this museum, Evandel and Rachel would meet before long.
“Huu…”
My heart pounded the more I thought about it. Feeling nervous, I grabbed Evandel’s hand. Evandel also squeezed my hand with a shy smile.
It was then.
“Hajin-ssi?”
Someone called my name.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
It wasn’t just me who froze. Evandel had done the same.
I took a deep breath and calmed my beating heart.
The voice that tickled my ears and the perfume that touched my nose undoubtedly belonged to the girl I knew.
There was no reason to be nervous. I just had to act natural… just natural…
I slowly turned around. As expected, Rachel was standing there.
“Hello, Rachel-ssi.”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
Rachel looked at me first.
“So, what did you want to talk about…?”
It took her a moment to realize I was holding onto someone’s hand. Her eyes naturally fell on the child next to me, who looked just like her.
The child also looked up at Rachel. Her beautiful eyes carried a hint of fear but also excitement and happiness. Evandel was hoping for something.
Just like that, Rachel and Evandel stared at each other.
