CH 53

“Uwaah! So we’re really rich now, Oppa?” Yoo-Jung exclaimed in excitement. 

“Yup. So from now on, you better behave. You'll get nothing from me if you do anything inappropriate like spending the night with your boyfriend.” When Gi-Gyu announced, Yoo-Jung licked her spoon and grumbled, “You should first ask if I even have one.”

Gi-Gyu’s mother, who had been listening quietly, advised, “Gi-Gyu, you need to be very careful with your money, so…” Gi-Gyu’s mother seemed very hesitant talking about money. She knew how hard Gi-Gyu had worked to get here, so she didn’t feel like she had the right to tell him what to do. 

Gi-Gyu knew what his mother was trying to say. He replied, “All I ever wanted was to have enough money for our family to live comfortably. And now that I have, I don’t plan on suddenly changing my spending habits. I’m just relieved that you and Yoo-Jung won’t have to worry about money anymore.”

“Good. I understand.” Gi-Gyu’s mother seemed happy with his answer. Gi-Gyu no longer had to make decisions based on money, so he gave her his honest thoughts. In the past, his days were filled with worrying about money. There seemed to be a never-ending need for it with his mother’s hospital bills and all. Gi-Gyu never spent much on himself, and he didn’t plan on starting now. To him, money was just a tool to buy necessary items and make his family happy. 

‘After all, there is something more important than money now.’

Now, power took priority over money for him. To protect his family from the dangers coming their way, he had to become the strongest version of himself. 

“Yoo-Jung, what is your plan now?” Tae-Shik changed the subject smoothly. 

“Umm… Could you get me a position inside the association, Ahjussi?” When Yoo-Jung asked Tae-Shik, Gi-Gyu shot her a glare and replied, “Yoo-Jung. Just for that, you won’t be getting an allowance this month.”

Yoo-Jung’s face turned blue in fear. Gi-Gyu couldn’t believe how she tried to use Tae-Shik. He would’ve scolded her if they were alone, but he didn’t want to do this when he had company. 

Realizing what Gi-Gyu must’ve thought, Yoo-Jung explained, “That’s not what I meant…” After taking a deep breath, she continued, “I want to study hard and get a position with the association. I really mean it, Oppa. I’m not a player, but I still want to help you, even if it’s just a little. I’m just worried that you won’t need my help if I wait longer. I can see you’re busy every second of the day; I want to help, but there is nothing I can do.”

Gi-Gyu became speechless. Sometimes, he forgot what a thoughtful girl Yoo-Jung was. Was it because he was her brother? 

‘She always looks like a little kid to me.’

Gi-Gyu only saw his little sister as a child even though she was now a mature young woman. But today, she did seem a little more grown-up than usual.  

Gi-Gyu replied, “You don’t have to decide your dream based on my needs, Yoo-Jung. I want you to do what you want. You don’t even have to get a job. You can just enjoy your life, so—” 

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu’s mother interrupted, “Gi-Gyu, this isn’t a rash or injudicious decision on Yoo-Jung’s part.” She continued earnestly, “Yoo-Jung told me long ago that she wanted to help you. Even when I was sick and bedridden, she talked about this.”

“Mom!” Yoo-Jung yelled in embarrassment. 

With a proud smile, Tae-Shik said quietly, “It’s so nice to see a family caring about each other. And if you want, I can get you a position inside the association where you can help Gi-Gyu, Yoo-Jung. But if you aren’t good at it, you will be dismissed immediately, and someone else will take the position.”

“Gosh! I’m going to work hard, okay?!” Yoo-Jung announced loudly. Feeling embarrassed, she picked up the remote to turn on the TV. Gi-Gyu watched a player-related channel a moment ago, and Yoo-Jung didn’t bother changing it.

Just then, Tae-Shik and Gi-Gyu’s phones vibrated. 

Bzzz!

Bzzz!

-The Yeosu Gate…

The reporter on the TV was making an announcement when Yoo-Jung and Su-Jin noticed the strange looks on Gi-Gyu and Tae-Shik’s faces.

“O-Oppa…? 

“Gi-Gyu?”

Gi-Gyu raised his hand and asked, “Please give me a minute.” He quickly answered the call from Sung-Hoon while Tae-Shik began talking to Tae-Gu. While hearing from their respective sides, the two men stared at the TV.

-We have a problem, player Gi-Gyu.

When Sung-Hoon said that, Gi-Gyu murmured, “Yeah, I think we do.”

-Tae-Shik, get back to the association. Now.

The association president told his son. Oh Tae-Shik replied in annoyance, “You stupid old man! You said you were gonna take care of this!”

Suddenly, everyone in the living room glued their eyes to the TV. On a major player channel, a picture of Gi-Gyu in a weird mask was being shown.

***

-I’m sure you are all aware of the recent appearance of an exceptional gate in Yeosu, correct?

-Of course. In light of the recent exceptional gate appearances all around the globe, everyone was curious about how the association would handle it. Unlike what the majority believed, the association took care of it on its own instead of outsourcing it to the numerous guilds. That act piqued the public’s interest even more. 

-Indeed. And yesterday, this exception gate was closed. 

-Pardon?

Countless TV channels dealt with player-related news. This channel, the most popular one, was discussing the Yeosu Gate.

One of the reporters asked calmly,

-Did the association clear it?

The main anchor answered with excitement, 

-Yes, it looks that way, but that’s not what’s important! We just received a report stating this gate was teetering on the edge of breaking before it was closed.  

-What?

It seemed that the reporter was genuinely shocked by this news. Did they not have a prewritten script in front of them?

-Our channel could bring you this latest on-site information thanks to our brave player reporters. Apparently, the association managed to close the gate only moments before it was about to break. There is also a report of an unknown player walking out of the gate before it closed. 

Thankfully, the people believed that the gate was closed before the break rather than the unknown player walking out at the same time as it broke. 

-Oh! So this player must be the hero that saved Yeosu!

-Exactly! Could this be the birth of a new ranker? Our reports state that only one player walked out from the gate. 

-What?! Pardon? Did I hear you correctly?

The anchor grinned and answered,

-Yes, you heard me right.

-Then… Are you saying a single player alone closed a C-grade exceptional gate?

-That’s my point! Like I just said now…

The anchor paused and pointed at the camera to get every viewer’s attention. He continued,

-I believe this could be the birth of a new ranker!

A short silence fell before the anchor added with excitement.

-And we managed to obtain a single photo of this player. The association has asked all the reporters to relinquish any photos that showed this player’s face. They destroyed all the photos taken that day, but we, the public’s number one choice, managed to save one.

Gi-Gyu couldn’t believe they managed to save even one photo. It couldn’t have been an easy or legal task. He suspected that the player paparazzi who sold this photo was now an enemy of the entire association, but they most likely also made a lot of money off of it.

-We will end our programming today with the hero’s photo!

With the news anchor’s announcement, the photo of a player wearing a mask filled the screen. In the photo, countless association agents surrounded this player in front of the Yeosu Gate. 

Tall, wearing a black mask with a large mouth, three noticeable rings, and one necklace. Not everyone would’ve recognized Gi-Gyu from that photo, but anyone who knew him personally could tell who it was instantly.

***

Sun-Pil said on the phone, unable to contain his excitement. 

-That player in the photo is you, right, Gi-Gyu hyung? Suk-Woo hyung didn’t even recognize you because you look so different now!

Gi-Gyu replied, “Umm… Well… I’ll explain everything to you later.”

-All right! You can call me anytime, so please contact me when you get a chance!

“All right.”

As soon as Gi-Gyu hung up the phone, a text came from Kim Dong-Hae.

-Player Kim Gi-Gyu, you’re amazing. 

Gi-Gyu was getting texts and calls from everyone he knew. He didn’t know all of them, but they all seemed very interested in him. Putting down his phone for a moment, Gi-Gyu massaged his temples. He muttered, “This will be a problem.”

Since the news channel only released a masked photo of Gi-Gyu, the general population had no idea who he was. However, and unfortunately, many still recognized him in that photo. Gi-Gyu knew it was only a matter of time before the world figured out his identity. 

Tae-Shik mumbled, “Hmm…”

“What did the association president say?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Tae-Shik replied, “He asked me to tell you how sorry he is about this debacle. He had no idea your photo would be released on the news like that. He didn’t expect an annoyingly skilled paparazzi to be present at the time. This guy has been a thorn in the old man’s side for a while.”

Gi-Gyu became curious.

“There is a paparazzi whom even the president can’t handle?”

“Yeah. This guy used to be a pretty powerful ranker, but he now works as a player paparazzi. He uses a fake name, Go Hyung-Chul, and he’s so skilled that even the association can’t stop him.” Tae-Shik seemed genuinely apologetic. 

Gi-Gyu murmured, “Go Hyung-Chul…” After a short silence, he replied, “Well, it’s too late to worry about what had already happened. There is no one to blame here, so we should just figure out our next move.” 

Gi-Gyu had gone through so many traumatic events that he wasn’t overly bothered by this. His current mentality drove him into finding the solution to a problem rather than crying over it.  

Tae-Shik explained, “The old man’s gonna call you very soon. He will offer a solution to this whole mess as an apology.”

“Sounds like a plan. For now, I better stay hidden as much as I can.”

“Exactly. Just make sure you stay with Sung-Hoon wherever you go outside,” Tae-Shik suggested and apologized again. When Gi-Gyu nodded, Tae-Shik changed the subject. “We received a report of an odd movement inside the Iron Guild.” 

“What?”

“We have noted some hectic movements within that group in the past few days. We are still working on the details, but I don’t think there is anything you need to worry about,” explained Tae-Shik. 

Gi-Gyu nodded and replied, “All right.” He didn’t say anything more, but he continued to massage his head, which was throbbing now. It seemed that this damned life of his would never let him have a moment of peace. When Gi-Gyu finally got a chance to become stronger, his mother’s condition worsened. When his mother got better, Lucifer jumped into the picture. And when he got enough money to live the rest of his life peacefully, the entire world became interested in him. So many great things happened to him recently, but they were all followed by equally shitty problems.

With a sigh, Gi-Gyu muttered, “Haaa… Just gotta accept my fate and prepare for the shitshow that might be my future.”

“You got it,” encouraged Tae-Shik as he patted Gi-Gyu’s back. 

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu looked at Tae-Shik and asked, “Hyung! Have you been hunting lately?”

“Huh?” Tae-Shik scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Gi-Gyu could tell how much stronger Tae-Shik had become just from a light pat. Tae-Shik explained, “Just a little… I can’t just stay idle and lazy anymore. It’s time for me to prepare myself too.” 

When Tae-Shik looked away and stared into the distance, Gi-Gyu asked, “Prepare for what?”

“Prepare to go higher,” Tae-Shik replied with a mysterious smile.

***

Following the discussion with Tae-Shik, Gi-Gyu decided to stay home for a while. There was a good chance reporters were lingering outside the tower, waiting for the new “hero” to appear. Gi-Gyu wanted to remain anonymous as long as possible, and staying home was the best idea he had. 

Another reason Gi-Gyu decided to take a break from hunting was his worries. Anxious, he called out to Lou, “Lou… You’re okay, right?” 

Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure what was going on with his Ego. Perhaps Lou’s awakening was still underway because Gi-Gyu couldn’t even open his status screen. He wondered if the awakening could’ve broken their sync, but he could still feel Lou’s presence. 

El reassured him,

-Please don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll endure it well.

"Endure what?”

While Lou was awakening, Gi-Gyu had the opportunity to have more frequent conversations with El. In the past, whenever Lou spoke, El tended to remain quiet. Gi-Gyu suspected El did this to avoid any confrontation with Lou.

But now that Lou had gone silent, El began to speak much more.

-We, the Egos, have minimal memories of our past, Master.

“Yes, I am aware of that.”

Gi-Gyu already knew that Lou and El didn’t remember their lives before meeting him. Lou only knew that he had been waiting a long time and just some minor information on the Tower and some monsters. All El knew was just a bit about the devil she had been guarding. His Egos spurted out random information at odd times, but it was sporadic. It was as if something or someone was suppressing the Egos’ memories. 

-Currently, we are in a state where our memories, along with most of our powers, are sealed. 

“Huh?”

-This is what I learned after I awakened as the Empress of Holy Swords. I haven’t told you until now because it didn’t seem necessary, Master. But you seem so worried that I thought this would help you ease your concern.

In perfect monotone, El explained,

-I uncovered a layer of my seal by awakening as the empress, and he’s doing the same. 

Gi-Gyu listened carefully as El continued, 

-He has served you faithfully until now, Master. I know he sometimes acts rudely, but I could feel that he cares for you deeply.

“I know that, El,” replied Gi-Gyu warmly.

-But…

El seemed hesitant before she added,

-Lou is the Emperor of Black Magic. The master of all the evil swords. 

Slowly, El announced in certainty,

-His is a vile existence.