Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Swish, swish—

Suhyuk began putting his clothes back on. The state of his body had been thoroughly checked. By now, Jinwoon probably had a design in mind for the procedure.

But now there was one problem.

“The issue is the cost, isn’t it?”

It was the expensive fee.

“Given how good your canvas is, it’s going to be quite pricey.”

“How much do you estimate?”

“At the maximum, it could go up to a million. Maybe even more.”

“A million...?”

Suhyuk’s eyes widened. The cost was higher than he had anticipated. While that suggested the effectiveness would be tremendous, it was impossible to come up with that many points immediately.

Even for his past self, that wouldn’t have been a small amount. Though back then, he could have considered it a worthwhile investment by closing his eyes and bearing the expense.

Suhyuk checked the points he had.

『230,016』

Two hundred thirty thousand points. He had gathered a substantial amount quickly, thanks to the missions from the recent fourth-floor trial. Though revenue from the Player’s Channel video would soon come in, ‘It’s still not enough.’

Seeing Suhyuk’s troubled expression, Jinwoon asked,

“What’s the matter? Are you short on points?”

“......Yes.”

“I figured that would be the case. How much do you have?”

“Two hundred thirty thousand. Considering the trial fees, I have around two hundred twenty thousand available.”

“Is that so?”

Jinwoon scratched his chin, deep in thought.

After a moment, “Normally, I don’t do this, but....”

As if making a decision, Jinwoon spoke.

“I can accept payments in installments.”

*

『Available Points: 30,016』

The sight of points dropping all at once made Suhyuk sigh. Twenty thousand points vanished in an instant. Gathering them had been arduous, but spending them took mere seconds.

“Points just keep disappearing....”

Raising the skill level of Selfish Sacrifice required thirty-two thousand points. Additionally, more points would be needed to receive Jinwoon’s procedures properly.

No matter how much he earned, it seemed to leak away. Now that he had learned once, it was time to replenish the points.

‘I didn’t know it would be such an expensive skill.’

Crackle—

As sparks danced at his fingertips, Suhyuk muttered, almost amused.

‘Come to think of it, that was the same back then too.’

It wasn’t just Selfish Sacrifice. Reflecting, everything from Jinwoon’s procedures to holy swords and items with various stamina options had all been point-consuming.

Of course, the cost was justified by the effect, which was always substantial, often exceeding expectations.

“Do you know that Lightning is what killed that man?”

Jinwoon had been right. Increasing the skill level of Selfish Sacrifice, receiving Jinwoon’s procedure, earning points through streaming—it was all interconnected with facing the challenge of Lightning.

It was all a desperate struggle to master the Lightning skill.

Crackle—

As sparks danced at his fingertips, Suhyuk glared at the Lightning as if it were his mortal enemy.

‘Let’s see who wins this time.’

Thud—

It was then that Jinwoon returned.

“Are you bored? You’re doing strange things by yourself.”

In his hand, Jinwoon held a long needle and a flask filled with an inky black liquid. He proudly displayed the items in his hands.

“You probably don’t know, but this is all the rage among young people these days. Strange drawings they engrave onto their bodies.”

Jinwoon’s procedure involved directly inscribing formations onto players’ bodies. Like tattoos, these formations engraved deep into the flesh endowed players with mystical attributes based on their design and materials.

That was the essence of Jinwoon’s procedure.

“It’s called a tattoo.”

“Who are they?”

“Don’t mind them. They’re just for show.”

“Yeah, they look like it.”

One of the men flinched at the dismissive comment.

“See? They react immediately.”

“They’re still inexperienced.”

“Are they Muhwi’s trainees? You’ll need to train them well.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

The respectful tone from Muhwi caused visible discomfort among the men behind her. Muhwi then turned her attention to Cheon Ryang.

“Have you been well, Senior Brother?”

“Senior Brother? That’s ancient history.”

“You’ll always be my senior brother.”

“You’re not my junior anymore. So, just go back.”

Cheon Ryang’s response was firm. However, from the start, Muhwi’s business was with Un Hyang. She took a step closer to Un Hyang and asked.

“Will you come with us?”

“If you take one more step.”

Un Hyang gripped a pair of chopsticks in her hand.

“You know what happens, right?”

“.......”

Muhwi stopped advancing further towards Un Hyang. Her face held a smile, but an air of lethal intent emanated from her. The chopsticks in her hand might have been a simple utensil, but with Un Hyang wielding them, the situation was different.

The allowed distance was exactly up to this point. Still, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t there to exert force; as long as they could talk, it sufficed.

“I was told to deliver a message.”

There was no need to ask who sent the message. Muhwi served only one person. And if they were looking for Un Hyang, the identity was all too clear.

“He says he won’t wait long.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know the specifics. I’m sorry.”

“Muhwi.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going back.”

Un Hyang’s answer was met with a shake of the head from Muhwi. It wasn’t something Un Hyang could decide.

“You know you can’t refuse.”

Even Un Hyang, with all her confidence, couldn’t refute this time.

Indeed.

It wasn’t just about her own whereabouts; many things would shift based on her choice. The position of the second-in-command of the great guild Murim was precisely such a role.

With nothing more to say, Un Hyang pressed her lips together, leaving Muhwi to bow her head.

“Then, we will wait.”

*

In the middle of Jinwoon’s workshop, Suhyuk sat with his upper body exposed, for over two days now. Sweat poured from his body like rain. Whenever his focus wavered, he bit down on his lip, causing blood to flow from the cracks.

He endured the pain, concentrating to ensure the procedure being etched into his body worked properly.

Buzz—

The procedure on his back by Jinwoon continued. Neither eating nor sleeping for over two days wasn’t just Suhyuk’s burden but Jinwoon’s as well.

The engraving on Suhyuk’s back, an effort spanning those lengthy hours, amounted to a small circle barely half a palm’s width.

‘It’s hot.’

Through the formation tattooed onto his back, Suhyuk felt intense heat. Whatever materials Jinwoon had used, they differed fundamentally from those in the past.

Even though he couldn’t see the image, he could still feel it deeply since it was etched into his body. The procedure was nearing its end.

As if reading his thoughts, “Time to wrap up.”

Jinwoon, who had been engraving the formation on Suhyuk’s back, wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of one hand.

Then, in the next moment,

Plop—

A small dot was placed in the center of his back, marking the completion of the procedure.

『The “Body Strengthening Procedure” has been completed.』