Chapter 166:

Chapter 166:

Chapter 166

The place that Yu-hyun went to after parting with Kang Hye-rim was the training room.

It was called a room, but it was actually a whole floor that had been modified for the training of collectors who had transcended human limits.

In the center of the training room, which was full of all kinds of heavy-duty equipment for collectors, Kwon Jia was sweating profusely and working hard on her training.

“Huff. Ha.”

She didn’t notice Yu-hyun entering, and was busy doing back squats with a barbell.

The weight of over 400kg went up and down lightly.

Yu-hyun stood at the entrance for a while, watching Kwon Jia’s training.

“Ugh. Haa.”

Kwon Jia was dressed appropriately for training. She wore tight-fitting leggings on her lower body, and a tank top on her upper body, with a thin coat over it.

She had tied her hair back neatly, as if it was bothering her. Because of that, her neck line, which was not usually visible, was clearly exposed.

Sweat ran down her thin chin.

Thud.

After finishing the proper training, Kwon Jia immediately put down the barbell she was holding and moved to another weight. She took off her coat to do high-intensity chin-ups, and put on a weight vest. She belatedly noticed Yu-hyun standing at the entrance.

She felt embarrassed for a moment and stammered.

“W-what? Since when?”

“Just now. Are you training? You can keep going if you want.”The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

“...Forget it. What did you come here for?”

“Why do you say that? It makes me look like I have some ulterior motive.”

“Don’t you?”

Yu-hyun thought hard about whether he had done anything to make her wary.

He couldn’t think of anything like that.

“No. I just came by to see what our collectors were doing on my way to the headquarters.”

“I see.”

“You seem to have been training for quite a while.”

Yu-hyun muttered that, looking at Kwon Jia’s pale face from exhaustion.

If a collector like her was sweating so much, it meant that she had been doing high-intensity training that would affect even a collector’s physique for a long time.

The humidity in the air was different. She must have stayed here for at least 4-5 hours.

It was a tough training that most collectors wouldn’t even dare to try.

“O-oh, no, it’s just...”

Kwon Jia realized too late that she was soaked in sweat and smelled bad, and she felt slightly flustered.

She backed away, trying to get away from Yu-hyun.

Yu-hyun felt suspicious of Kwon Jia’s awkward behavior.

‘What’s wrong with her? Why is she acting like that?’

[What do you mean what’s wrong? She’s embarrassed because of her sweat smell.]

‘I can’t really smell it.’

Yu-hyun meant it.

He didn’t mind the smell, even if there was one.

‘It’s a sign of someone who really worked hard. What’s so shameful about that?’

[...Sigh. Never mind.]

Baek Ryeon sighed as if giving up on Yu-hyun’s attitude.

Yu-hyun tried to ease Kwon Jia’s guard by telling her not to worry.

“Anyway, don’t overwork yourself too much. You can take it easy sometimes. Did you read all the books I gave you to read?”

“I read them all. I came here after reading them three times.”

“Huh. You already read them three times?”

“Yeah. Most of them were things I already knew, so I could skip them quickly. And they were useful information. So I did my best to read them.”

Yu-hyun guessed from Kwon Jia’s words how hard she had read the books.

Not only that, but she had been training here alone from morning until now.

‘She has amazing mental strength.’

Yu-hyun recalled what Kwon Jia’s characteristic was.

She lacked talent, and she didn’t have any tricks either.

All she could do was do her best at what she was given.

That wasn’t enough for her, so she cut down on sleep and didn’t spare any time during breaks.

An excessive obsession with becoming stronger.

‘No. Is it a kind of madness that goes beyond obsession?’

Yu-hyun read something wriggling in the pupils of Kwon Jia, who answered as if it was nothing.

She didn’t seem to realize it, but Yu-hyun knew.

“Please do it only to the extent that you don’t torture yourself too much.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course. Jia is now a colleague of our Baek Hwa Management. And also a collector who signed a contract with me. It would be strange if I didn’t worry.”

“Is that all?”

“Huh?”

Is that all? Yu-hyun didn’t understand what Kwon Jia was asking.

Kwon Jia turned her head away with a flick at Yu-hyun’s reaction.

“That’s enough. I was planning to end the training here anyway. You should go and take care of your business.”

“Uh, um. Jia?”

Yu-hyun relaxed and sat back down.

The whispers that had been coming from behind him until a moment ago were no longer audible.

[Hehe. Look at those losers.]

Baek Ryeon, who was hanging on Yu-hyun’s waist, sneered at those tellers.

***

Yu-hyun decided to pay a visit to Galiaz since he was already at the headquarters.

“Oho. You’re here?”

“Yes, sir. It’s been a while.”

“Hehe. It’s not that long in the life of a teller.”

“Is that so? It feels like a long time to me.”

“Haha. Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

Galiaz laughed heartily.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about you. You did another one, didn’t you? The spirits are quite excited about it.”

“No, not really...”

“Heh heh. Aren’t you too modest? You’re one of the rare tellers who have achieved such a feat of storytelling. You can be proud of yourself. The other tellers will be jealous of you.”

“I can do that later. How have you been, sir?”

“Me? I’m always the same. I’m just keeping and organizing this place that no one visits anymore, and sometimes I look up old memories when they come to mind. It’s a very suitable place for living leisurely.”

“Leisurely?”

Yu-hyun looked at the space filled with storage boxes and shook his head.

This place made him feel dizzy just by looking at it.

He honestly felt like he would go crazy if he stayed here for a week.

He understood why the tellers didn’t come to this place.

Only someone like Galiaz, who had reached such a level, could afford to be leisurely here.

“Are there no other visitors besides me? For example, the head of the storytelling department.”

“Oh, you. You met Celestina, didn’t you?”

“You knew?”

“Of course I did. I have some connection with her. When I was in the storytelling department, she was one of the tellers I taught.”

“Really?”

That was unexpected and Yu-hyun widened his eyes.

He knew that Celestina was the head of the department and that she was a very influential teller, but he didn’t know that she was Galiaz’s disciple.

‘A disciple who became a head of the department. This old man is not ordinary after all. No, wait. Then Celestina must have lived for a very long time too. Isn’t that cheating with her appearance and behavior?’

Yu-hyun realized that Celestina, who seemed like a friendly neighbor, was actually very old and shuddered at the discrepancy.

“She even asked me if I wanted to join the Celestial Bing department.”

“Oh, really? As expected, she’s my disciple. She has a good eye.”

“But I refused.”

“Why? Honestly, there’s no better place than there.”

“I prefer to be alone right now.”

Yu-hyun casually changed the subject.

“By the way, sir, you seem to have a keen ear for information. Even though you stay in one place all the time.”

“You, have you forgotten where this is?”

“Oh. I forgot.”

The record storage room is where all the stories collected by Celestial Corporation converge. Naturally, if Yu-hyun does something big, information related to it also flows into this place.

Galiaz doesn’t know everything, but he knows a lot.

He is the manager of this place after all.

“Besides, every time you do something, the aftermath is usually big. Even if I’m not here, I hear some news from time to time.”

“Haha.”

Yu-hyun laughed awkwardly.

He didn’t think it would be that bad.

“More importantly, sir, do you know well about the great spirits who are interested in Earth?”

“That’s right. Why? Did they make you an offer or something?”

“They did a long time ago. But that’s not why I’m asking now. Do you know which great spirits are interested in Earth?”

Yu-hyun asked in hopes of getting some useful information.

He didn’t know who were the great spirits who were interested in Earth before the end came, so he needed to check.

Galiaz stroked his beard.

“Hmm. This is tricky. How should I say it?”

“Is it difficult to say... Is it something like that?”

“No, not really. Rather, there are too many places that come to mind. Earth was considered a treasure trove of stories in the early days of ten years ago, and there was even a rumor that it was the report of the spirits. Now, most of them have turned their backs on it, but things have changed recently. Because of you, that is.”

Galiaz pointed his finger at Yu-hyun.

“Is that so?”

“You seem to be aware of it yourself. The spirits who had lost interest in Earth have started to pay attention to it again thanks to the storytelling you showed recently.”

The information that Galiaz gave him was very useful.

‘The spirits are expecting Earth again? This is a great opportunity.’

He thought of his previous life when Earth was deemed ‘unqualified’ and felt like he had won a lottery.

“Are there any great spirits who are particularly interested among them?”

“Hmm. There are some places like that. Especially, there are a few places that are moving recently.”

“Where are they?”

Yu-hyun asked and Galiaz opened his mouth.