CH 11

It’s not like he just been playing and eating during this time.

He has invested time in various activities such as adapting to the forgotten civilization, investigating the changed world, and so on.

Among them, if there was one area that received the most investment, it was an ability that could be called a long-time livelihood.

[Samshinki!]

It was a contemplation on the recovery of lost energies such as aura, mana, and spiritual power, and thanks to the considerable time invested, he was able to achieve some small results.

“I don’t know if I should call it ‘rust’ or ‘residue’.”

Thanks to the significant amount of time he spent observing his own body, he discovered that there were remnants of a storm that occurred during dimensional travel clinging to his physical body.

When he discovered this, he was quite surprised.

As expected, there was indeed a subtle difference in the atmospheric energy that arises from the difference in dimensions between this world and the other world.

“But in the end, all places where people live are the same.”

The critical problem was in a different direction.

It was a part that even his physical body, which had reached a transcendent state, could not clearly perceive without spending time and concentrating on observing.

“It was because of these damn leftovers that the energy wasn’t gathering.”

It was like a vague feeling that the world, called Earth, was keeping its distance from the arrival of outsiders.

Or it felt like avoiding impure filth that flowed endlessly.

Therefore, he had half-given up in recent times.

Removing the leftovers of this dimensional storm was no easy task, and he had thought about just living with them as one body.

‘Well, there’s no inconvenience even if there is no Samshinki.’

In the first place, the level here wasn’t significantly threatening, so such thoughts were becoming even more firmly rooted.

In the meantime, he discovered the Saint’s talent from Baek Hwa-seon.

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Although he was about to shout this out loud and cheer, he swallowed it back and maintained composure, throwing a fairly convincing bait.

Pulling out a mat was nothing special, but it served as a foundation.

‘You must be wondering where it came from.’

It was a “sub-space” that could be made thanks to turning crewell’s warehouse upside down. The dual pistols he had taken out during the battle with the ashen wolf earlier had also come from there.

‘Efficiency is the worst.’

The sub-space was such a high-dimensional magic that even making a rough imitation with the top-level magic stones in crewell’s warehouse was the best that could be done.

Of course, in the current situation, that alone was enough.

‘Anyway, what’s left now is…’

It was a matter of waiting for Baek Hwa-seon movement.

“When she learn to harness the power of purification, this kind of leftover stuff will be nothing.”

A being who could appease a world that rejected him and force it to unite.

The saintess was just that special.

“Hmm…but rather than a saintess, she seems closer to a High Elf, doesn’t she?”

Unlike in the other world, where manifestations of trust or blessings of the Holy Kingdom were present, she seemed to possess a talent closer to that of a leader of awakened elves who awakened on their own.

“Ah well, flip it or match it.”

Anyway, there wasn’t much difference in the roles they played.

After considering the roles of the High Elves who receive the will of the World Tree and the saintess who spreads the will of the gods, it could be said that the High Elves are the Holy Maiden or Saint of the Elves.

If they could reach the will of the gods or the will of the world and use that divine power, he believed that they could improve his condition sufficiently.

In that sense, he needed to maintain a close relationship with Baek Hwa-seon.

“By the way… should I call them the Eight Great Guilds?”

Baek Hwa-seon might have moved carefully and cautiously, but the other side was none other than a giant guild representing South Korea.

Recently, there had been suspicious movements around this area, and today he could feel their gaze locked on him.

It was likely related to the White Tiger Guild.

He recalled the face and information of Kim Jung-hoon that he had searched for in the library.

“Did I mention that he’s an uncle?”

Thanks to his position as Baek Hwa-seon’s uncle, he was also a man whose image was being added to that of the nation’s uncle.

“I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble.”

It remained to be seen whether things would go as he pleased.

ΔΔΔ

When I was young, I lost my parents.

As a result, my sister took on the role of the family’s pillar and watched over my younger siblings.

Because of that, my siblings all saw my sister as a mother figure.

Baek Hwa-seon!

She was the child left behind by that sister.

After my brother-in-law and sister passed away in an unexpected car accident, I treated their child like my own and cherished her dearly.

Perhaps it was because I also lost my parents at a young age, but a strange sense of kinship made me love the child even more.

Since I had never been married or had a woman or child of my own, the child felt like my own flesh and blood in every way.

I didn’t hesitate to strongly object and refuse when the said child said she would come into this line of work for that reason.

But in the end, it was an inevitable fate.

My sister’s accident was caused by a monster, something that could not be avoided.

After his refusal, Baek Hwa-seon attempted to join another guild, which forced him to raise both hands and declare white flag.

“I’d rather teach and raise her than leave her to someone else,” he declared.

From then on, he diligently taught her from the basics and helped her grow within his own guild. And he was amazed by what he discovered.

It was because I had discovered the exceptional abilities of a child who would come to as one of the most talented in Korea.

To properly raise her, he also provided him with opportunities to experience the rifts from various countries around the world. As her experience grew, so did her skill, and she quickly earned the honor of an A-ranker.

After that, it was truly a time of prosperity.

But even that was short-lived,

as there were a series of inconvenient incidents and accidents in recent times.

‘Starting from crewell and up to Ashen Wolves…’

It was often more problematic to get involved with these humans than with monsters, so his sense of caution only grew stronger.

Especially since it was related to the safety of his niece, whom he treated like his own child, he had no choice but to show sharp reactions and take action.

The niece must have thought she was hiding well while moving.

‘After all, it was true.’

Her escort team couldn’t read her subtle movements.

“I need to probe her one more time. Tsk!”

But even so, Kim Jung-hoon was able to discover what Baek Hwa-seon was trying to conceal.

It was the White Tiger Guild, one of the top eight guilds in Korea.

By leveraging his intelligence, he was able to move in a way that didn’t upset his niece, and even if it meant taking a detour, he could investigate in a direction out of the child’s sight, completing the information in a way that was feasible.

“Baron.”

He had already completed the minimum information gathering about the target. In fact, it wasn’t too difficult.

Some basic information was gathered through the homeless people, so it was still unknown whether that was the real name or a false one, but it was registered as basic information for now.

After discovering the connection with Lim Seon-hee, it wasn’t too difficult to track his movements.

‘At first glance, he seems to be in his mid to late thirties.’

Although he couldn’t determine his ability, he could speculate that the recent Ashen Wolf incident was resolved because of him.

Although the niece had a talent for it, she was not yet at the level to catch five A-rank hallucinators. Especially if those hallucinators were members of the Ashen Wolf, it went without saying.

In addition to crewell, information obtained by personally digging into things, including the Ashen Wolves, was also directed towards the guild.

“It turns out the story from that perverted voyeur was actually information.”

It left a bad taste in his mouth.

[Argh! That damn beggar!]

[Beggar!]

[Bastard…]

The memory of crewell screaming and shouting like a madman, banging on the iron bars of the ability user’s special prison and screaming as if he were crying out loud, came to mind.

The keyword was the word ‘beggar.’

I thought it was just a derogatory term for the opponent, but it turned out to be ‘information’ that contained the truth.

It was a twist, in its own way.

“I should have listened more carefully. Tsk!”

If there was any doubt, it was the fact that he had faced many of the elite members of the Ashen Wolf alone, which was known for its small and elite numbers.

“If it’s Glaco team of Ashen Wolf, even I can’t guarantee victory.”

Could such a skilled individual suddenly appear?

“It’s not like he fell from the sky.”

He couldn’t just treat him like a savior, as he knew that this world was not such a clean place considering his experiences.

‘Those Hallucinator bastards could be pulling off some nonsense.’

As there were so many crazy people in this town, those who could pull off nonsensical works were none other than the mentally ill called hallucinators.

‘It might be a trick played by hallucinators.’

In this part, it was fortunate that Baek Hwa-seon’s movements were somewhat predictable.

Rather than going in as an ally, she was moving secretly and discreetly, which allowed for a more cautious investigation and approach with adjustable distance.

‘For now, let’s analyze the opponent with goodwill as the basis.’

But he was keeping in mind a certain assumption.

“Even though there are many headaches, sigh! I hope it’s not the worst case scenario.”

As he recalled the meeting of the eight Guilds, his face wrinkled and he began to sigh heavily.

At the same time, his eyes caught sight of a pile of documents that had been put off.

“Ugh…”

He put aside his role as an uncle and returned to his duty as the leader of the White Tiger Guild.

ΔΔΔ

The Black Lion Guild!

As one of the eight major guilds representing South Korea, they had been active since the early days of the rift and could be considered a guild with a long-standing history of dominance in the world of talented individuals in South Korea.

However, currently, their position was at the bottom of the eight major guilds.

While there could be many reasons for this, if we were to name the most significant reason, it would undoubtedly put the White Tiger Guild first.

Once upon a time, Kim Jung-hoon, who was the commander of the special unit of the Black Lion Guild, left the guild and took many talented members with him. This incident caused the once dominant Black Lion Guild to falter.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, other guilds began to rise and eventually took on the form of the 3rd and 5th guilds. Now, they are known as the 8th guild.

“Moreover, why did they choose the name White Tiger?”

It seems like they were deliberately targeting the Black Lion Guild with this name.

Once upon a time, this matter was constantly going up and down people’s mouths. For these reasons, it was not an exaggeration to say that the Black Lion Guild and the White Tiger Guild had a hostile relationship, and as a result, the Black Lion Guild always paid attention to the movements of the White Tiger Guild.

‘We should have stomped on that damn bastard early on.’

Unfortunately, it was the period when the union was forming to counter the association, and when Black Lion Guild saw White Tiger Guild joining the union, Black Lion could not reveal its claws.

Park Man-ho, the leader of the Black Lion Guild, recalled old memories and took a deep breath before focusing on the new report.

“A homeless person…”

As a piece of coincidental information, the report mentioned some recent movements of the special forces of the White Tiger Guild.

Park Man-ho, the leader of the Black Lion Guild, mused. “Hmm…it says here that it’s under the command of Kim Jung-hoon.”

Naturally, the Black Lion Guild couldn’t sit idly by, as they considered the White Tiger Guild to be a thorn in their side.

“Digging into the life of a homeless person isn’t my cup of tea, but we can’t ignore this,” Park Man-ho said.

He believed there must be a good reason why White Tiger guild was taking an interest in something, and he knew that he too would have to put forth some effort to investigate.

ΔΔΔ

“Ah…so annoying. Soooooo annoying~!”

Baron’s constant rambling was starting to wear on Lim Seon-hee, who let out a deep sigh.

She wished she could just shut him up, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Baron’s incessant chatter was all because of her.

[Please teach me a move!]

That was the reason she had asked him for a lesson in the first place.

Amidst all of this, Baron continued to make her feel uncomfortable with his non-stop antics. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was some new form of torture.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the rambling that caused such misunderstandings.

[Bring your swimsuit.]

Isn’t the mention of items enough to make her flustered, if it’s her first time preparing for it?

[If you don’t want to, don’t come.]

She tried to pull her foot back with an attitude of having no regrets, but eventually, she had to prepare a swimsuit and find him in tears.

[Who brings a bikini? Don’t you have a rash guard? It’s good for eye candy, but not practical. And you’re not… an exhibitionist, are you?]

Thanks to a little misunderstanding, the first day was particularly embarrassing, and the subsequent study was truly absurd.

[Change and sit down here.]

As she watched the following training, she furrowed her brow, and soon, she couldn’t help but ask in a voice mixed with bewilderment.

[What is this?]

[Have you ever seen this in a movie or TV show? It’s like when Taoist monks cleanse their body by standing under a waterfall. That’s what it’s like.]

It was the moment when I understood why I needed to bring a swimsuit. However, a problem arose from there.

‘Why? Why? Why should I put my head under this tap water? It’s not a waterfall.’

What’s worse was the intensity of the water stream.

Splish-splash, splish-splash…

The stream of water hitting my head incessantly is pathetically thin, making me feel miserable.

[What’s the point of having such high water pressure in this backward park?]

Baron’s argument was not far off.

As a result, rather than expecting a scene as magnificent as one would see in a drama or movie, it seemed more fitting for a scene that would be found in a comedy program to unfold.

“Oh my! I can’t breathe. I can’t concentrate!”

Whenever her breathing became ragged or shaky while she rambled on, it was like a ghostly instinct that would alert him to point it out.

Luckily, it was a sparsely populated area. Nonetheless, Whenever she felt like someone might pass by, she found herself holding her breath, unable to move even her feet.

‘I can’t handle being treated like a crazy woman.’

She regretted her decision to ask for this kind of instruction every moment, but it was difficult to refuse it because it seemed that this nonsensical training was actually effective.

She was in a frenzy, doing everything she could to improve, and although the difference was not noticeable, she felt that she was making slight progress.

“You’re getting distracted again. Please focus and don’t make me constantly worry about you. Ugh, it’s so annoying. So annoying~!”

Despite her concerns about the current situation and her worries, Lim Seon-hee pushed them aside and focused on the strange breathing technique she learned from Baron, trying to concentrate on the falling water.

As always, when the sun clearly showed its face, the training ended.

At the same time, Lim Seon-hee, worried that someone might see her, hurriedly completed her exercises and turned to leave when Baron asked her a question.

“It’s been a while, haven’t you adapted yet?”

“No matter how hard I try, it seems impossible.”

“Well, you should know how to have a thick skin.”

“It doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

Baron asked her while she was grumbling.

“By the way, you should change your outfit soon.”

Is he finally changing her swimsuit to something else?

Lim Seon-hee’s eyes lit up with expectations, but unfortunately, Baron’s words were full of despair inducing.

“Get a thick one like a wetsuit. It’s getting chilly in the early morning air because it’s fall. You might catch a cold.”

As they say, hope is a double-edged sword. Lim Seon-hee’s shoulders slumped heavier than ever before.

After finishing her packing, she suddenly turned to Baron and asked, as if she had just remembered something,

“By the way, is it okay if I skip the training for two to three days?”

“Why?”

“We are scheduled to go on a two-night, three-day internship soon, and I think I need to rest then. Would it be okay?”

Once again, Baron was merciless.

“Do you think that’s okay?”

“…No?”

“You’re right.”

As she fell into despair once again, Baron asked her where she was going.

“Huh? What! You’re coming with me, aren’t you?”

“Are you crazy? Doing such a bothersome thing. Sigh~! I have no choice. If you don’t lay a solid foundation at the beginning, you could end up being a laughingstock. It’s a hassle, but this is a critical moment, so you have to bear it. You’re going to attend the reinforcement training after that, so be prepared.”

Just as a wave of emotion was about to rise in her, Baron delivered a devastating blow.

“As a penalty for bothering me, you’ll have to do extra training for a week. OK?”

As if enjoying the thrilling moment of being reduced to ashes after being crushed very finely, Lim Seon-hee raised her shoulders with a pale face.