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Chapter 168: Introductions

The so-called airport riot quickly spread.

It was no small matter; foreign Awakened had caused a disturbance, attempting to illegally occupy a Korean airport.

Korea became abuzz in an instant.

Even with the Griff family members under arrest and investigation, the commotion continued.

Amidst this reaction, Kim Minwoo silently carried on with his tasks.

For instance, introducing new faces to the existing guild members.

“Everyone, please say hello. This is Han Siah, our new guild member. She’s a mage, but she’ll probably become a priest with high probability.”

“A mage, but a priest? Ah… is that what you were talking about, sis?”

At Park Siwoo’s words, Seo Yerim nodded. She had experience changing her class from swordsman to archer.

Han Siah was probably a similar case.

They quickly exchanged ages and decided on how to address each other.

Han Siah was twenty-four years old.

The same age as Kim Minwoo.

“Let’s get along well from now on, Siah.”

“Likewise, Yerim.”

After the brief exchange of greetings, Park Siwoo began staring intently, chewing on his lip.

“Hyungnim. I saw the news today… are you really planning to fight the Griff family? They looked really strong. They even used some strange power.”

“We have to. They’re deeply involved with Han Siah.”

“Deeply involved? But they’re a German family? Ah…”

Park Siwoo’s eyes widened as if he had realized something.

Han Siah was mixed race.

Could it be…?

“…Yes. That family’s head is my father.”

“Oh, you were like, super rich…”

Information about the Griff family had already been spread by netizen investigators. The fact that they were a family that ruled Germany was known in an instant.

Naturally, Park Siwoo, who had seen the video, also knew that fact. Han Siah showed a bitter expression at his words.

“Super rich? No… It’s not like that at all.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that… I just meant it’s not like that…”

She hurriedly waved her hands.

Kim Minwoo spoke up for her.

“Han Siah here has suffered a lot because of her family.”

The story about Han Siah continued. After hearing it, Park Siwoo snorted loudly.

“Those guys are total bastards!”

“Yeah, they are.”

“Then, what Hyungnim did at the airport today…?”

“We have to confront them. If she can’t find her talent, Han Siah will practically be living on borrowed time.”

“So, we have to fight after all. Otherwise, we won’t be able to get her back.”

“That’s right.”

Park Siwoo nodded resolutely.

Should they help?

They had to.

There was the fact that Han Siah was pitiful, but the more decisive reason was…

‘Because that’s what Hyungnim wants.’

This was the reason.

“Hyungnim, if you need my help, feel free to call on me anytime.”

“Me too.”

Seo Yerim also readily promised her help.

A sense of belonging, camaraderie.

These were emotions all too familiar to her, having spent her entire life in the Sword Sect.

Han Siah was no longer a stranger. She was a fellow guild member, a comrade.

Helping her was a matter of course.

Moreover, the head of the Griff family was practically a devilish figure.

Seeing how he treated his own child, his character was obvious.

The family he belonged to was also notorious.

There was no reason to hesitate.

However.

“But how do we catch that Lucas guy?”

This was the problem.

Punishing the villain and restoring Han Siah’s talent.

All good.

The problem was how to capture the head of the Griff family.

The family alone had well over 10,000 members, and they had a tight grip on Germany’s political and business circles.

Furthermore, his own skills were extraordinary, ranking among the top in the world as a mage.

Not only that, but according to Kim Minwoo, he had stolen Han Siah’s talent.

With only 20% of her talent remaining, she had created incredible skills.

He had taken 80% of that talent.

And on top of that, he had colluded with a strange organization called the Shadow to use monstrous powers.

This wasn’t just a matter of individual strength.

“It’s like… a raid boss level.”

“Exactly. It’s difficult. Even if we secretly meet him inside a Gate, it’s the same. To be honest, our current strength is lacking.”

He had to admit it.

Unlike in the game, Lucas had undergone many changes.

Instead of 50%, he had consumed 80% of the talent.

Becoming a servant of Hardronox, not only did his leveling speed increase, but…

‘Crucially, he’ll also use the power of the Shadow.’

And at a much higher level than Jonas.

This, even if you compared it to a monster, the hunting difficulty was extremely high. Even Isabella would have a hard time with him, even with her item buffs.

And this was the difficulty level if they were to deal with him secretly inside a Gate.

What if they had to fight in reality?

No matter how evil this guy was, unless they caught him in a duel, there was a high chance of being charged with murder.

“Then, what should we do?”

The guild members asked, staring at him with a longing for answers.

“What to do? Let’s stop thinking about difficult things. In times like this, we just need to do what we can do right now.”

“What’s that?”

“Level up.”

The first priority was to become stronger.

They could think about how to catch Lucas after they gained enough strength to take him down for sure.

“Hyungnim is right! We need to get stronger to have the right to choose! Should we go run a Gate right now?”

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“Huh? But to get stronger, we need to level up…”

“There are many other ways besides that. So, I was wondering… Does anyone have any aversion to tattoos?”

“…?”

Everyone tilted their heads at his words.

* * *

Rune crafting and tattooing.

Both were truly valuable skills.

Even just tattooing alone was like that.

His tattooing skill had risen to E rank through short-term cramming.

The Barbarian chieftain had said it.

—I heard the former chieftain had eight tattoos. But four was my limit.

A total of four was the limit.

‘I wonder what my limit is.’

He was a bit curious.

He was going to test it out.

Not alone, but with Park Siwoo, who was right next to him.

The reason he chose him was simple.

He had the least aversion to tattoos.

And he was the type to say yes to most things.

Also, as a fellow man, it was easier to try it in the same space.

‘Things like this become common ground.’

He needed to work on his favorability due to the guidance of fate. For various reasons, Park Siwoo was the right fit.

“Is it okay?”

“Uh… yeah. A tattoo is fine. But, it’s not too big, right?”

“No. It’s not that big. I’ve already miniaturized it.”

He had nagged the Barbarian chieftain to make it smaller.

Even if there was some resistance, if they could get stat effects with this size, they would feel like they had to do it.

“Let’s go. To the break room. Hyung has everything set up.”

Gulp.

Park Siwoo swallowed and entered the break room with him.

Clatter!

Two skeletons energetically saluted as if welcoming them.

Hail. Myra.

They were the most senior soldiers. Of course, he had summoned them as tattoo artists.

“Please take good care of him.”

Clatter!

The two skeletons nodded with glowing eyes. Soon, they began their work on the two lying down men.

The first area they attempted was near the head.

The place where mana is given.

Once a skull-like drawing was etched there, the tattoo would be complete.

“Ooh, it tickles.”

“Just bear with it a little.”

Five minutes of work.

Soon, a message popped up.

[1st Stage Skull Tattoo is engraved!]

[It can be further enhanced!]

The process of tattoo growth was simple. First, draw the 1st stage.

Naturally, there was a chance of success and failure. If it failed, the materials would be wasted and the tattoo wouldn’t be engraved.

If it succeeded, and a message appeared saying it could be further enhanced, then they just needed to add more layers on top of it.

As long as they had enough materials…

[2nd Stage Skull Tattoo is…]

[It can be further enhanced…]

This way, the tattoo would grow.

Each stage provided a 3% stat increase.

The 2nd stage Skull Tattoo provided a 6% mana boost.

[Proficiency is insufficient! Cannot create 3rd stage tattoo!]

‘E rank is limited to 2nd stage.’

But it didn’t matter.

He could increase his proficiency gradually.

Just then.

“Wait, Hyungnim…?”

“What’s up?”

“I just got a message saying my mana increased by 6%…”

“Yeah, that’s right. Why?”

“Wait a minute. It’s not like we can only get one of these, right?”

“No. The number of tattoos each person can get varies. Just like everyone has different talents.”

“…Crazy. This is just broken, isn’t it?”

Park Siwoo said in astonishment.

It was such a crazy ability that he couldn’t help but swear.

It was just a small skull-shaped drawing on his head.

It wasn’t even easily visible because of his hair.

But it increased his mana stat by 6%?

‘And this is only the 2nd stage?’

2nd stage.

It didn’t seem like a very high stage, did it? But the return was outrageous.

“It’s definitely broken. Of course, it’s not without its drawbacks.”

“There are drawbacks?”

“Yeah. It’s meaningless to me, though.”

“A drawback that’s meaningless to Hyungnim… Could it be, is it expensive?”

“Wow. You got it in one shot. Your intuition has improved a lot.”

“Hey, I’ve got some experience now. In the military, I’d be a Private First Class.”

“True.”

It takes three months to go from Private to Private First Class. It was the end of May, so it had been almost half a year since he met Park Siwoo.

It wasn’t a short time at all.

“But how expensive is it?”

“1st stage is 500 million won per area, 2nd stage costs 2 billion won per area.”

“…?”

Park Siwoo blinked.

The size he saw in the mirror was, with a bit of exaggeration, just a booger-sized thing.

“This is 2.5 billion won? Wait, this can also fail, right?”

“That’s right. It’s roughly a 50% chance of success or failure.”

“…So, even if you succeed up to the 2nd stage, it would cost 2.5 billion won per area?”

“You’re smart. You calculated it right away.”

“Why is the price so outrageous?”

“It requires a lot of monster byproducts and gathering materials. All of them are quite difficult to obtain.”

“Ah…”

That made sense.

Park Siwoo agreed.

2.5 billion won.

It was expensive.

Considering the success rate, it was even more so. According to Kim Minwoo, the success and failure rate was roughly 50%. Taking that into account, there was no telling how high the price could go.

But…

‘Is it really expensive? Or, maybe it’s not that expensive…’

For ordinary Awakened, it was definitely expensive. No, it was beyond expensive, it was extortionate.

But for high-ranking Awakened, it was different. They had high stats to begin with.

In that situation, giving them a percentage stat increase?

If this were known, all the rankers in the world would rush in with their eyes turned upside down.

This was evident just by looking at the highest-rank potions.

If it were the Park Siwoo of the past, he would have trembled at the price.

But now, it was different.

Environment changes people.

Was it because his guild master was someone who spent trillions of won without hesitation?

‘I’ve grown a lot too.’

Instead of being shocked at 2.5 billion won, he was thinking, ‘Oh, that’s cheap?’

He was having such crazy thoughts.

And so, the tattoos continued to be engraved.

“Hyungnim.”

“What?”

“They’re saying I need to level up if I want to do more. It seems four is my limit.”

“You should have leveled up more diligently.”

“No, I really did my best! I’m already level 270.”

“Well, I’m 370.”

“…No way. Why does the gap keep widening? It’s supposed to get harder to level up as you get higher. How is this possible?”

Well, if he felt wronged, he should have had his summons drop meteors.

Of course, he didn’t say that out loud.

He just shrugged.

Kim Minwoo continued to get tattoos.

[You have reached your limit!]

[A higher level is required to proceed further!]

A message popped up after six tattoos.

‘Six.’

Four tattoos with 6% stat increase each.

And two additional tattoos that boosted mana and agility.

12% mana, 12% agility.

‘Nice.’

It was as satisfying as a hearty meal.

And there was still more power-up work to be done.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes.”

“I’m the guild master of Money Talks, right?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I got six, you got four. Roughly spent 300 billion won?”

“Uh, yeah…?”

Park Siwoo’s eyes wavered.

Just saying they got ten tattoos didn’t feel like much.

But hearing 300 billion won sent chills down his spine.

“Was that a bit underwhelming?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go spend some real money now.”

“…Huh?”

“We need to upgrade our equipment too. There are these good things called runes. Let’s splurge today.”

The baby spending spree was over.

It was time for the adult spending spree to begin.