CH 39

The two Egos that helped Gi-Gyu the most in the hunt were his most recent purchases. 

[Bi]

[Level 51]

[Power: 19]

[Speed: 25]

[Stamina: 67]

[Magic: 90]

-Abilities-

[Accessory]

[Magic Recovery: Increases the magic recovery speed.]

[Wound Aggravation: Aggravates the wounds and slows down the opponent’s healing.]

It was a necklace with a small jewel ornament: The first pseudo-Ego Gi-Gyu purchased from Old Man Hwang on his last visit. Unlike Lou and El, the stats of the blacksmith’s Egos seemed very random. Gi-Gyu wondered if it was because a human made those pseudo Egos. In addition to its stats, Bi had two skills named Magic Recovery and wound Aggravation. All in all, Gi-Gyu was quite satisfied with this item. 

The next Ego was named Hermes. 

[Hermes]

[Level 45]

[Power: 30]

[Speed: 89]

[Stamina: 12]

[Magic: 40]

-Abilities-

[Accessory]

[Accelerate: Increases the player’s speed for five minutes. After the first three minutes, the player can move at the maximum speed.]

[16% movement speed increment; 8% agility increment.]

Hermes was in the form of a pair of shoes, and it was the second Ego Gi-Gyu purchased from Old Man Hwang. This item also had a strange stats distribution, but Gi-Gyu was just happy with its skills that could increase his speed and agility.

The fourth-floor guardian hunt was the first time Gi-Gyu tried out this item, and its usefulness shocked him. 

-They aren’t important at all right now. You need to concentrate on me. I can’t understand why my body changed this way.

Lou seemed jealous of all the attention Gi-Gyu’s other Egos were getting. When Lou complained in a pouty voice, Gi-Gyu replied, 

‘Don’t be a baby. I was going to look at you anyway. ’

Gi-Gyu replied coldly and opened Lou’s status screen. 

[Lou]

[Level 70]

[Power: 101]

[Speed: 129]

[Stamina: 91]

[Magic: 208]

[Poison Resistance: 7%]

[Fire Resistance: 3%]

-Abilities-

[Accessory]

[Cannibalism: You can prey on corpses to regain stamina.]

[Strong Will: When suffering severe damage, it can provide a quick stamina recovery.]

[Absorbed Devil: Fragment of Perez.]

“Hmm…” 

An odd expression appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face when he looked at Lou’s status screen. Lou and Gi-Gyu had been hunting together for months now, and Lou had leveled up quite steadily over the course. Moreover, when they entered the Maze of Heryond and hunted monsters way above their level, Lou grew at an exponential rate. Suffice to say, Gi-Gyu was pleased with his Ego’s growth so far, but…

“The fragment of Perez…?” Gi-Gyu murmured. 

-I don’t think it has any function.

“I agree.”

Lou didn't feel any changes from absorbing Perez except for the additional line at the bottom of his status screen. Gi-Gyu began to feel frustrated because he had no idea how to use the egofied Chang-Gyung or this fragment. 

-I’m sure we’ll find out in time.

‘I hope so.’

Gi-Gyu shook his head and joined the subjugation group again. Just then, El stammered,

-M-Master.

‘Yes? Ah! You want me to check your status screen too, right?’

-When I absorbed Calleon, I grew quite a bit… I wanted to show you that I can also be helpful to you, Master.

El’s voice trembled as she whispered shyly. Gi-Gyu felt guilty for not even bothering to check El’s condition. He also found El cute for asking this with such shyness. 

‘I’ll have a look right now. Sorry, El.’

-It’s no problem, Master.

[El]

[Title: Empress of Holy Swords]

[Level 87]

[Power: 128]

[Speed: 130]

[Stamina: 145]

[Magic: 120]

-Abilities-

[Accessory]

[El can now reflect 5% of any damages received from other holy swords.]

[Empress of Holy Swords: As the empress, El can absorb all other inferior holy swords.]

[Calleon: It can block a single fatal attack.]

The only major changes were her increased stats and level. After absorbing a part of Calleon, El’s level became higher than Lou's, and her stats also grew evenly. There wasn't much to note except the new skill that allowed her to reflect a percentage of other holy sword attacks. 

-...

Somehow, Gi-Gyu could feel El being disappointed, so he patted El and encouraged,

‘El, I’m so proud of you for growing this much. You’ve done well.’

-Thank you, Master. 

El replied calmly, but Gi-Gyu could tell that she was a little excited by his compliment. 

-Pathetic.

Lou muttered as Gi-Gyu rejoined the hunting party. 

‘I’m a little sad that Brunheart isn’t here with us.’

Gi-Gyu felt strangely naked today since Brunheart wasn’t on his torso.

***

“Good job,” Tae-Shik said to Gi-Gyu.

Before leaving the Tower, Gi-Gyu had to promise the Morningstar Guild members he would have dinner with them at a later date. Kim Dong-Hae of the Child Guild also invited Gi-Gyu to dinner, but all Gi-Gyu said to him was that he would call him later.

Immediately after Gi-Gyu left the tower, he went to the association building to meet Tae-Shik. 

“I guess this is why everyone wants the elixir. I can’t believe you took down the monster that even a B-grade subjugation group failed to kill,” Tae-Shik added, clearly impressed by Gi-Gyu’s work. As the Gate Maintenance Department’s general manager, Tae-Shik had already received a detailed report about the hunt, so he complimented Gi-Gyu with fatherly pride. 

Gi-Gyu replied, “It’s partly thanks to my Egos leveling up in the Maze of Heryond. But, I’ve something more important to discuss.”

“What is it?”

“The guardian orc’s fighting pattern was too similar to a basic orc. Usually, a guardian shouldn’t attack the same way as an average orc, right?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Indeed.” Tae-Shik nodded, realizing that something was wrong. 

Gi-Gyu explained, “This guardian was incredibly strong, and the only reason I could kill it was its familiar fighting pattern. I’m not sure if we would’ve won had I not recognized the pattern.”

“Hmm…”

“It was as if”—Gi-Gyu took a sip of the instant coffee Tae-Shik made— “an orc had evolved into a guardian. When I killed it, the system called it the lowest level devil.”

“I’m looking into the devils too, so I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything about it.” Tae-Shik had been collecting information on the devils because of the many encounters Gi-Gyu had related to them. 

Tae-Shik added, “The subjugation party will be given a reward for the recent kill. I think you’ll be receiving about 300 to 500 million won.”

“Really? That much?” When Gi-Gyu jumped in surprise at the large amount, Tae-Shik replied in confusion, “What are you talking about? I told you this was a B-grade hunt. The amount you’ll get is actually less than the usual reward because there were so many guilds and players involved. You deserve much more.”

“Wow…”

Before Gi-Gyu obtained his Egos, he was happy with the few thousand won he was getting from selling the crystals. But now, he was earning millions of won from a single hunt. Gi-Gyu felt like his reality was changing way too quickly. 

Changing the subject, Tae-Shik said, “And… there is something else.” 

After hesitating for a moment, Tae-Shik continued, “Rogers is alive.”

“I see.” 

Gi-Gyu had stabbed Rogers Han’s neck, so he thought this Korean-American player was dead. But, as it turns out, he was still alive. 

“After the Maze of Heryond perished, it became common knowledge that Lucifer closed it. And you’ve also heard that the Iron Guild and the Athena Guild have both sequestered themselves, right?” asked Tae-Shik.

“Yes, you told me about that before, Hyung.”

"Since Lucifer is nowhere to be found, the players now believe some other high-ranking players took over the maze.” This was news to Gi-Gyu, so he listened carefully. 

Tae-Shik continued, “Everyone thought the Iron Guild and Athena’s sequestration is because they must be recovering from the damages received inside the maze.”

“I see.”

“But the Iron Guild has begun to move recently.” At Tae-Shik’s ominous tone, Gi-Gyu clenched his fists in displeasure. 

Tae-Shik explained, “They’re not making any big moves, but it looks like they’re going to accept recruits again and focus on climbing the Tower like the Angela Guild. They are trying to grow their battle power.”

“Hmm…” When Gi-Gyu didn’t make any comment, Tae-Shik continued, “I’m only telling you this in case you’re curious. And as long as you’re in Korea, those bastards can’t touch you. So don’t worry about that.”

Once again, Gi-Gyu felt thankful to Tae-Shik for his kindness and loyalty. 

With a sigh, Gi-Gyu replied, “Haa… Now, I better focus on leveling up. I won’t have any time to rest at all. I also need to go through my secondary job change.”

The secondary job change was possible after reaching the 50th floor of the Tower. Gi-Gyu’s current strength allowed him to ascend to the 40th floor with relative ease. 

Gi-Gyu had only passed the 20th-floor test till then, but it wasn’t because he lacked the skills to go higher: He just didn’t have the time. Now that Lou and El were stronger than ever and Gi-Gyu owned many pseudo Egos, he felt confident he could reach the 50th floor. 

‘Lucifer told me to find her after reaching the 50th floor, right?’

Gi-Gyu remembered Lucifer’s words. 

“The thing is—” 

Just when Tae-Shik was about to say something, a sudden elderly voice interrupted him. 

“Oh Tae-Shik! Oh Tae-Shik, are you in your office?!”

When Gi-Gyu turned toward Tae-Shik, he found that Tae-Shik’s face was turning blue. 

“Hyung, are you alright?” Gi-Gyu had never seen Tae-Shik look like this, so he was confused and anxious. 

Unable to hide his alarm, Tae-Shik muttered, “Dammit! It’s the old man!”

“The old man? You mean the president?”

“T-that's right!” Tae-Shik replied and began to find a place to hide. The way he was acting looked funny, but Tae-Shik seemed genuinely desperate. 

“Oh Tae-Shik!” When the old man yelled the general manager’s name again, Tae-Shik hid underneath the desk and begged Gi-Gyu, “Gi-Gyu! I’m not here, okay? Just tell him I’m not here!”

Gi-Gyu sat in surprise, not knowing what to do when the office door burst open.

“Huh? Who are you?” When the older man asked rudely, Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his confusion. 

“Pardon?” 

‘Ah! So he’s the president of the association!’

It didn't take long for Gi-Gyu to figure out that he was in the association president’s presence. Quickly standing up and bowing deeply, Gi-Gyu greeted the old man, “How do you do? I'm Player Kim Gi-Gyu.”

“Oh?!” The older man studied Gi-Gyu with interest. Tilting his head knowingly, the president breathed, “Hmm…” 

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu felt an incredible aura pushing on his body. He gasped as he exclaimed, “That’s amazing!”

The suppressive aura wasn’t something a low-level player could endure. He felt certain anyone weaker would have fainted on the spot. Slowly, Gi-Gyu pushed back, but the harder he fought back, the more vicious the old man’s aura became. 

“Old man! What the heck are you doing?!” Just then, Tae-Shik jumped out from the desk and shouted. 

“Got ya! So you were hiding over there, huh?” The old man’s aura abruptly disappeared as he jumped to grab Tae-Shik’s neck. Turning toward Gi-Gyu, the old man apologized, “Well, Young Man, I’m sorry. When this bastard hides his presence, even I can’t find him easily.”

The old man seemed genuinely apologetic; Gi-Gyu understood the president’s actions had no malice, so he accepted the apology quickly. 

“It’s alright, Sir.”

“So you’re Kim Gi-Gyu?”

“Do you know me, Sir? When Gi-Gyu asked, the old man smiled and replied, “Of course I do. You have no idea how many times Tae-Shik has mentioned you. He would go on about Gi-Gyu this and Gi-Gyu that. I was getting so sick of it.”

Gi-Gyu scratched his cheek shyly as Tae-Shik yelled, “Old man! Stop!”

“Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it? I even feared that you weren’t interested in women…” the president muttered loudly.

“Old man! Ackkkkkkk!” Tae-Shik screamed in pain when the old man grabbed and pulled his ear. Gi-Gyu had never seen Tae-Shik like this, so he couldn’t hide his interest in what was unfolding before his eyes. 

Tae-Shik had always been so strong and macho; now, he looked like a child in front of the association president, who was, clearly, an incredible player. 

‘There isn’t much information on the Korean branch’s president. All I’ve heard is that he was a legendary figure and a powerful player.’

Despite being a public figure, the association president was a mysterious man: Many didn’t even know his name. But based on what he had seen so far, Gi-Gyu could tell this elderly man was a powerful player.

‘He’s almost…’

Gi-Gyu refused to finish his thought. He had become a little stronger lately, but if he admitted what he was guessing about the president, Gi-Gyu was sure he would feel depressed. 

“Hey, Young Man.” The president turned toward Gi-Gyu.

“Yes, Sir?”

“When do you have some time to spare?”

“Time?”

Suddenly, Tae-Shik screamed desperately, “Tell him you don’t have any time! Never! Not even in your next life! Not even the life after that!”

Ignoring the big, pleading baby, the president asked Gi-Gyu, “Can you spare me a day next week perhaps?” Before even waiting for Gi-Gyu’s answer, the elderly man added, “We’ll have dinner together.”

Even before he knew what he was doing, Gi-Gyu nodded in agreement.

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