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Chapter 204: Abyss (6)

Han Siah had lived with the Griff family since she was young.

Her father, who wanted to exploit her talent, and the family members who followed him…

It was an environment where she had no choice but to grow up being wary of others. That’s why she was quite perceptive.

The only exception was her mother, Kim Haeun.

She was her only savior during her childhood.

The only person who told her she loved her.

Although it always stung her heart, Han Siah couldn’t even dare to doubt her mother.

It was absolute trust.

She couldn’t imagine her mother loving money more than her.

The family was cunning and actively used that fact. It was a kind of “bad cop, good cop” strategy.

But now, without the gaslighting, Han Siah could accept the situation as it was.

‘She’s changed.’

She saw it for a moment.

Seo Yerim’s slightly flushed face.

Her trembling pupils.

It was an attitude she had never seen before.

‘Why did she suddenly change?’

The only thing that had happened to Seo Yerim was the spar. The Abyss was said to trigger trauma, could it be that her attitude towards Kim Minwoo changed because of that?

In any case, the important thing was that the sight piqued her interest.

Kim Minwoo was a good person.

He had saved her from being oppressed by the family. Seo Yerim was blunt, but she was a caring younger sister.

If the two of them got along, it wouldn’t be bad…

Sting.

Something stung her like a needle prick.

It was a familiar sensation.

Her mother was abandoned by her father.

When she lived with the family.

When she lived in Korea.

That man, her father, never had a proper conversation with her mother.

Back then, Kim Haeun looked very lonely.

She wished she could meet another good person instead of the trashy head of the family. Her heart ached even then. Even in a short time, she had grown fond of her colleagues.

To the point where she could compare them to Kim Haeun.

She frowned for a moment.

Then, Han Siah smiled.

A picture-perfect smile.

Managing her expressions was one of her specialties. She approached Seo Yerim, who had finished talking with Kim Minwoo.

“Yerim, shall we take a walk? I have something to say.”

“Yes, just a moment, sister.”

Seo Yerim came out.

The two walked through the gray space.

“What’s up?”

“Um… by any chance, do you have any worries?”

“…Yes?”

“You seem to have something on your mind. I’m a priestess, you know. Feel free to confide in me if you have any worries. We’re colleagues.”

Han Siah said with a gentle smile.

Indeed, wearing a pure white robe and using holy artifacts, she looked exactly like a priestess from a fantasy.

Her gentle eyes and smiling lips.

She was also the only woman in the guild.

Of course, there was Merhen in the chat room, but she wasn’t officially a guild member.

She was just Kim Minwoo’s summon.

And she wasn’t even human.

She was a member, or rather an undead, who lacked a lot of things to share common ground with. Han Siah, on the other hand, was different.

She always had a kind smile on her lips. Perhaps because of her difficult childhood, she had a mature aura around her. Seo Yerim was particularly weak to this kind of atmosphere.

There was no place in Korea with as strict discipline as the Sword Sect.

A relaxed motherly smile?

There was no such thing there.

Especially if it was from an older woman. It was extremely rare in her life, surrounded by sweaty instructors and senior disciples.

“…Well.”

“Yes, yes. It’s okay. I’m a good listener. You can tell me anything.”

“That’s why… I just… I wonder if I’ve been too indifferent until now.”

“About what?”

“If you look at Siwoo, he’s really close with Mr. Minwoo. Like, not just on a professional level, but also personally.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

It was definitely true.

Even though they hadn’t known each other for even two months, it wasn’t difficult to understand Park Siwoo’s character.

He was just like a puppy.

He often showed a unique friendliness even to people he met for the first time.

In her case, as soon as he found out her age, he called her “Sister Siah.”

It was a very different attitude from someone who still called her “Ms. Han Siah.”

“Old memories came to mind. I used to have a really hard time. The peace of mind I have now is all thanks to Mr. Kim Minwoo. But I wonder if I’ve been keeping too much distance from him.”

“Keeping distance?”

“Starting with the way we address each other. Except for the time we went to the martial arts gate last time, it’s all been about work. It seems too impersonal…”

“Ah, so that’s what you were worried about. That it seems too impersonal.”

“Yes… but I can’t just cling to him like Siwoo… So I thought about changing the way I address him… but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to it.”

Han Siah’s eyes narrowed.

She was close enough to the tent to have seen Seo Yerim’s behavior earlier.

‘Then that o… that kind of thing too…’

A title that starts with o?

What else could it be but oppa?

She roughly understood.

“You can just call him oppa. What’s so difficult about that?”

“No, no! You don’t understand, sister. That kind of title is completely new to me.”

“There must be a lot of men older than you in Sword Sect. Not all of them would be old enough to be called ‘mister.’ And yet, it’s your first time?”

“…There, all the titles were fixed. Instructor, disciple, and so on. It’s a place where hierarchy based on skill is more important than age…”

“Yerim, I think this way.”

Han Siah said softly.

“You know the gates better than I do. But there’s a common understanding, right? That it’s a dangerous place. Mr. Minwoo always challenges difficult gates.”

“…That’s true.”

“He’s very skilled, but the gates are a place where he could die at any moment. It was the same in the family. I’ve seen too many people who went out as raiders not come back.”

Seo Yerim nodded.

Gates were overflowing with rewards.

But they were equally dangerous.

As a high-ranking Awakened, Seo Yerim knew this very well.

“In other words… Mr. Minwoo could also be in danger. Adventures are always full of the unknown, right?”

“…Yes.”

“So I think it’s better to be honest sooner rather than later. Don’t bottle up your feelings. No one will know about it…”

Han Siah’s face darkened a little.

It was a kind of personal experience.

Her experience of wanting to believe that Kim Haeun loved her, even though she felt something was off.

—Mom, do you love me?

She wanted to ask, but she never could. She always reassured herself that her mother would love her.

That’s why she fell into an illusion.

The illusion that Kim Haeun loved her more than anything.

Sometimes, there’s a saying that ignorance is bliss, but is that really a good thing?

If she had figured out Kim Haeun’s true feelings sooner. If she had realized that she would be thrown away as a sacrifice in exchange for money from the family.

At least she wouldn’t have lived her life so helplessly. She would have tried to do something. To escape from the clutches of the beast.

At the very least, she wouldn’t have grown up foolishly, only hoping for her mother’s love.

“Of course, this could be because you trust Mr. Minwoo more than I do…”

“…That’s not it. I just… I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it before. That he’s in danger, or that he might not come back one day, that kind of thing.”

Seo Yerim hurriedly shook her head and said. It was true that she had never thought that Kim Minwoo could die.

When they first met, he was a good-for-nothing, but he was the eldest son of Ilsung, so she didn’t worry.

And as time passed…

Maybe she subconsciously thought that he was definitely not someone who would die just anywhere.

“…Anyway, thank you, sister. Thanks to you, my perspective has broadened…”

“No, it’s nothing. Don’t mention it. But… is that really all?”

“Yes?”

“About it seeming too impersonal, I mean. I’m curious if that’s the only reason you want to change it. I think there’s more to it.”

“What? No, no! It’s not like that!”

Seo Yerim hurriedly waved her hands.

It was as if she had never thought of it that way, strongly denying it. But her face was quite honest.

It was red like a tomato.

And strong denial means affirmation, they say.

“Go for it. This sister is always rooting for you.”

“I-it’s not like that…”

Just then.

Rumble!

The inland sea shook violently.

In the distance, they could see swirling fog. It was much darker and thicker than last time.

Seo Yerim’s and Han Siah’s faces hardened at once.

* * *

Han Siah and Seo Yerim.

They were SSS-rank Awakened.

And since it was just a space where the fog had disappeared, there was nothing to worry about just wandering around a bit. Meanwhile, Kim Minwoo had summoned Merhen and Cedric and was training his summons.

It was something he always did whenever he had free time.

This side didn’t really develop even with training, but it was different for the summons that were still growing.

They had to study hard, of course.

‘By the way, I’m almost level 500…’

Perhaps because so many rats had flocked to the outer sea, his level had risen from 491 to 497 before he arrived. If there had been monsters in the inner sea, it would have risen even more.

But he hadn’t encountered any.

Or rather, he couldn’t encounter any.

The monsters here lived in the fog like fish, but Hayang had sucked it all up. Just as fish without water would die, so would the monsters in the fog. They had died of natural causes.

Level 500 was one of the important milestones. First, in terms of level alone, it was the starting point for S-rank Awakened.

Second…

‘It’s the activation condition for the item.’

Quite a while ago, he had obtained an interesting item.

[Forgotten Dragon’s Gem]

[Rank: ??]

[A gem cherished by an ancient dragon. The shape of a dragon is reflected in the beautiful light.]

[Effect 1. A medium that allows you to transfer to the ‘Age of Dragons’. However, the user needs the appropriate qualifications.]

It was this gem.

The Sword Saint had cleared a dungeon because he needed a dragon’s corpse, and he had obtained this item by giving him all the byproducts, including the dragon. In return, he gave the remaining three elders enlightenment.

‘That enlightenment was actually given by the Sword Saint.’

Anyway.

At that time, he was a low-level player far from level 500, so he put it in his inventory and forgot about it.

But now he was getting close?

The eligibility requirements had also changed.

[Eligibility Requirements]

[1. Level 500 or higher]

[2. (New!) Hunt a young dragon or higher]

[3. ???]

Originally, the eligibility requirements only stated “Level 500 or higher,” but the second item, which was filled with question marks, had been unlocked. The condition to hunt a young dragon or higher. He had already achieved this a long time ago. Because he had defeated the Ice Dragon and the Elder Dragon in the Orc Gate.

The remaining third condition was still unknown.

‘The Age of Dragons…’

There would probably be a lot of dragons.

And dragons were very useful monsters. Dragon blood could be used to strengthen summons, and dragon corpses and other byproducts could be used to make expensive items.

The dragon’s corpse he had obtained in the past was also still stored in his inventory.

‘The skeletons aren’t skilled enough to handle the materials yet.’

Crafting Rank C.

He could make level 151 to 250 equipment, but the ancient dragon corpse was a high-rank material that required at least Crafting Rank S to even consider handling.

That’s why he was saving it.

‘And I need to hunt an ancient dragon…’

Cedric’s friend, the Divine Dragon Gleipnir.

To create that summon, he needed the last material, the corpse of an ancient dragon over ten thousand years old. Since it was called the Age of Dragons, he thought there might be ancient dragons there as well.

Considering all this, it was one of the gates he had to go to.

Level 500 was also important in that he could use the gem.

And if there was one more thing he was hoping for…

‘Unsealing.’

That’s right, the unsealing of the Legion Commanders.

It was in the demon dungeon that the Shadows attacked.

There, while wiping out the Shadow group, including Han Baekgil, the seals of two Legion Commanders had been released.

[Cedric reaches level 201!]

[The first seal is released!]

[Stats are adjusted…]

‘It was a message like that.’

Cedric’s stats increased by 1 to 2 per level.

Merhen’s power multiplier jumped from x3 to x4 per level.

Since the first seal was released at level 201, he thought the second seal would be released at level 401, but he remembered it had quietly passed then.

‘Then what about level 501?’

Since it was called the first seal, there must be a second and third seal.

Then wouldn’t the second seal be released at level 501?

In that sense, a lot was riding on the level 500 range.

‘I’ll be able to upgrade S-rank skill books to +9 as well… no, wait a minute…’

When were the Americans going to give him the +9 A-rank skill book?

The US president had clearly promised to make it for him, but they had only taken the education and not given him the reward.

Of course, it was a bit ambiguous whether they were intentionally not giving it to him. No matter how big and wide the US was, it would be difficult to make a +9 A-rank skill book right away.

There were no items on the market, and once a skill book broke, they had to collect it again, creating a vicious cycle.

Anyway.

He would have to remind them again sometime…

Just then.

The ground shook violently as if there was an earthquake. He saw Seo Yerim running at high speed with Han Siah on her back.

And behind them, the pitch-black fog was chasing them like crazy.

Seo Yerim, who was running, shouted urgently.

“Oppa! He’s here! That guy!”

Huh?

Kim Minwoo looked around.

He could see Park Siwoo blinking his eyes. She couldn’t have been talking about Siwoo, could she?

“…Me?”

“What are you doing, oppa! Why aren’t you taking out your weapon?”

She shouted with a slightly flushed face, putting Han Siah down.