Chapter 72: Star, The Shadow (3)

Chapter 72: Star, The Shadow (3)

After Chang-Sun and Baek Gyeo-Ul exited the taxi, Gyeo-Ul tilted his head as he looked around the Tailored Shoe Alley in Seongsu-dong. He muttered, “This place is...”

Gyeo-Ul had also visited the same place to get his current spear, but he had only met blacksmiths who tried to rip him off. Thus, he was unsure whether there were any proper blacksmiths in the alley. However, Chang-Sun went deep inside the alley without an explanation. Worried about losing sight of Chang-Sun, Gyeo-Ul quickly followed him.

* * *

“What the hell? You want me to make you another weapon? Do you think I’m a magic wand you can just wave in the air to create weapons? Weapons can’t be forged that easily and quickly!” Choi Bu-Yong exclaimed, furious at Chang-Sun for making yet another absurd request after visiting for the first time in a long time.

「Lee Chang-Sun has deposited 100,000,000 won into your W Bank account.」

“It’s a deposit. I’ll pay you the same amount once you’re done,” Chang-Sun calmly offered.

“Still, it doesn’t work like...!” Bu-Yong yelled.

「Lee Chang-Sun has deposited 100,000,000 won into your W Bank account.」

“Are you still not going to do it?” Chang-Sun asked.

“...Fuck,” Bu-Yong cursed. He gave up, realizing how futile resistance was in the face of Chang-Sun’s shameless calm.

The crazy bastard was throwing money in the air again. Although he was supposed to be happy that he could practically bathe in money, he could not help but be annoyed that he would have to pull an all-nighter for several days once again.

‘What on earth...?’ Gyeo-Ul blinked blankly as he listened to Chang-Sun and Bu-Yong’s conversation.

Every part of their conversation sounded surreal. What had Bu-Yong’s smartphone just said? Chang-Sun had sent one hundred million won twice? Unable to believe his ears, Gyeo-Ul’s jaw dropped as he heard about an amount of money he could not even imagine having.

‘Who is this person?’ Gyeo-Ul wondered.

When he first met Bu-Yong, he had thought the man did not look reliable, because he looked more like a tattooist than a blacksmith. Not only was his body covered with various tattoos, there were also many earrings on his ear. Gyeo-Ul tried not to stereotype people, but it was difficult to think that a person who looked like Bu-Yong could have the ‘mindset of a great artisan’. On top of that, Bu-Yong was blind, and he constantly held the leash of his seeing-eye dog, which only made Gyeo-Ul’s doubts grow stronger.

Regardless, it seemed Chang-Sun did not care, simply silencing Bu-Yong’s protests by showering him with money. Gyeo-Ul had once heard the word ‘flex’, and the current moment seemed to be a perfect example of that word.

‘I-It’s so cool,’ Gyeo-Ul thought, setting the problem of whether or not he could trust Bu-Yong aside.

It had been Gyeo-Ul’s lifelong dream to be able to throw money around at least once, so once again, he was amazed by Chang-Sun. It was difficult to tell whether Chang-Sun was aware of Gyeo-Ul’s thoughts, however.

“Pheeew!” Bu-Yong heaved a long sigh and slowly raised his head. Tidying up his disheveled hair, he cursed in annoyance, “Fucking bastard.”

“I told you to call me CEO,” Chang-Sun replied, unfazed.

“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Fucking CEO, so what do you want me to make again?” Bu-Yong retorted before getting down to business.

“Spear,” Chang-Sun said.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

“If you’re telling me to make another spear like your weird-ass spear, I’ll crack your skull first before I melt any iron,” Bu-Yong growled.

“You don’t have to make the same kind of spear again. An ordinary long spear will be enough,” Chang-Sun assured Bu-Yong.

“Weight and length?” Bu-Yong asked, implicitly agreeing to make Gyeo-Ul’s spear. Noticing his response, Chang-Sun looked at Gyeo-Ul.

Gyeo-Ul was still unsure whether he could trust Bu-Yong, but believed there had to be a reason for Chang-Sun to have brought him here. Thus, he readily answered, “A three-meter long spear will be enough for me, and as for the weight...”

“How am I supposed to know if you explain it like that? Do you not have anything I can refer to?” Bu-Yong interrupted crudely, thinking Gyeo-Ul would be the same as Chang-Sun. However, Gyeo-Ul pulled out his spear from his inventory and gave it to Bu-Yong without any complaint.

‘Now isn’t the time to be distracted,’ Gyeo-Ul thought nervously.

After they finished with their business in Seongsu-Dong, they traveled to the nearest Player practice range right away. Although a crowd of people who recognized Chang-Sun swarmed toward Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul, the practice range owner immediately gave them a room for VVIPs when Chang-Sun asked for it, so they could begin practicing in peace.

Unless they were living on the outskirts, Players living in big cities like Seoul usually lacked places to train. To aid those Players, the Council had set up gymnasiums that Players could use. However, Players sometimes used private practice ranges too, where they could practice in separate rooms. In those practice ranges, the rooms were decorated to resemble Dungeons using magic devices.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ watches the spar between two warriors with great interest.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ is ironing out the details of her reward for you.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ briefly stops paying attention because non-bloody fights are no fun.]

Pabilsag and Minerva devoted their attention to the spar, but on the other hand, Heoju looked away.

‘Well, you’re in for a big surprise,’ Chang-Sun thought, smiling enigmatically at Heoju as he looked at Gyeo-Ul.

Gyeo-Ul shook his head nervously and replied, “I-It’s nothing. I’m just nervous...”

“Don’t be too nervous, or else you won’t be able to train properly,” Chang-Sun instructed.

“Okay, hyung!” Gyeo-Ul replied with a fervent nod.

“By the way, how well are you able to use your ghost energy?” Chang-Sun asked, changing the topic.

“Um, well...” Gyeo-Ul said hesitantly, unable to answer properly.

Chang-Sun chuckled quietly, asking, “I’m guessing you have a problem?”

“...Yes, that’s right,” Gyeo-Ul said. He lowered his head slightly, feeling ashamed.

In truth, Gyeo-Ul had failed to show significant progress after Chang-Sun undid his half-spirit curse. An immense amount of magic circulated in every part of his body, and that magic was different enough from the norm to be called ghost energy or divine energy. Unlike his half-spirit curse, the magic gave him a vast amount of life force.

However, the problem was that his progress ended there. The magic did not budge, let alone obey Gyeo-Ul’s will. He could only occasionally use it in times of need, but other than those moments, the magic only circulated through the paths in Gyeo-Ul’s body like a vast, arrogant river, practically driving him mad. He was able to feel the vigorous flow of energy, but he could not use it at all.

“Of course you would,” Chang-Sun said as if he had expected it.

Gyeo-Ul’s eyes widened in shock. He asked, “Do you... know why?”

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ tilts his head, wondering what you, the snake, are trying to do again.]

Chang-Sun nodded, saying, “You should never try to use your magic like ordinary magic.”

“Please explain in detail,” Gyeo-Ul requested.

Chang-Sun continued, “A half-spirit refers to a person who was conceived while a shaman and a ghost had intercourse, right? They’re also called half-monsters, which suggests they also have monster energy or evil energy. However, the problem is that you’ve completely undone the half-spirit curse, so wouldn’t it be weirder for you to be able to control the energy?”

“Then, what should I do...?” Gyeo-Ul asked.

“You should use a different magic circulation method than the original one you used. Of course, you’ll have to change your every little habit, down to your breathing method,” Chang-Sun said, thinking of Xerxes throughout his explanation.

‘Right now, Gyeo-Ul has shadow energy... So, I should not only help him master the energy, but also help him manifest a Talent or Trait. In order to do so, there can be no better method than helping him be like his father,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun had thought of the cultivation method Xerxes had explained to him at some point in the past, as a means to help Gyeo-Ul properly obtain the special skill [Shadow Secret Technique]. It would be impossible to obtain unless a person had a unique kind of energy known as shadow energy. If that were to happen, Gyeo-Ul would obtain the trait [Shadow Play]. Above all, Gyeo-Ul needed shadow, Xerxes’ foundation, in order to control his shadow energy.

“So,” Chang-Sun said, lightly gripping the Nameless Spear and pointing it at Gyeo-Ul. “You should become my shadow from now on.”