Chapter 52

It was a miracle he'd made it back home. Due to his resistance to healing, mana potions were useless; he could only wait for his mana to naturally recover.

'But I got it back.'

Yoon Seo's chest swelled with pride, then relaxed as he exhaled deeply.

Once he'd calmed himself with his eyes closed, he rose from his seat, drank some water, settled his mind, and opened his inventory.

He carefully took out the 'Existing Spirit' and placed it on a soft cushion he had prepared in advance.

The spirit was asleep, and it was no longer in the form of a dagger.

Now, it was a small, white egg, about the size of a fist.

['Existing Spirit'

Rank: S

This powerful weapon is yours alone. It can transform without limitation to any form you desire.

Current form: Egg

Status: Asleep]

Thanks to the help of the God of Life, he had gained possession of this item, a literal living artifact.

In the Great Dungeon, it had changed form to fly around him, sometimes perching atop his head or transforming into a cat, purring and swishing its tail affectionately. But as soon as a fight broke out, it would shift into a weapon and ruthlessly tear through monsters.

It was, in every sense, a living item.

"Riceball…"

Emotion welled up in Yoon Seo. It had been so long since he'd said that name.

"Riceball."

At his call, a faint ripple appeared on the egg's surface.

Despite the long separation that had rendered it inactive, it resonated with him immediately upon reuniting, and it responded when he called its name. He was touched by this display of loyalty.

Yoon Seo gently stroked the egg with his finger.

"I didn't know you were still here. If I had known, I would have found you, no matter what…"

"..."

"When you wake up, you can take any form you want. I'll give you plenty of delicious food. I haven't used another weapon since…"

The egg trembled slightly once more. Though faint, its joy was unmistakable, and Yoon Seo couldn't help but smile.

With daily contact and an infusion of mana, it would fully awaken in a month. Though he would likely be running low on mana all the time, reawakening the spirit was his top priority.

"Oh."

He paused while stroking the spirit. Next week, he was set to enter a dungeon that would take about two weeks to clear. Would he have the chance to carry the egg with him inside? He decided it was best to disguise its profile in case anyone else saw it.

[The Skill has been activated. Creating profile for 'Existing Spirit'.]

['Giant Bird Egg'

Rank: C

An egg that looks like it could hatch a super cute bird. Please raise it with love!]

"Maybe that's a bit too lazy…"

Yoon Seo hesitated before adding "It will become part of your family" next to "Please raise it with love."

He had to hide alone, somewhere no one would notice, to incubate the egg. Especially, he needed to be wary of Kwon Jihan, who possessed , an ability whose limits even Yoon Seo couldn't fully grasp. If he got caught… he could only hope that the profile of the spirit would appear as a square box, just as his own profile did.

"…Kwon Jihan."

Yoon Seo quietly murmured the name.

The image of a young man, only twenty-two, embracing a bomb without hesitation was something he would remember for a long time.

'Turns out he wasn't just a fool who talked big.'

The skill was probably some kind of protective skill, but even so, it was still an S-grade bomb, so the damage would have been significant. He must have known he'd get badly hurt, yet he didn't hesitate at all.

He looked like a rough, cocky punk, but at heart, he was a true hero. Among the Revengers, there were many who looked like punks but were needlessly heroic and self-sacrificing.

They all died.

Yoon Seo laughed bitterly.

He was grateful Kwon Jihan was only showing up now, if the Great Dungeon had been there, he'd have been the type to dive in first and die…. Yoon Seo didn't want to hear any last words from Kwon Jihan.

If that happened, he'd… he'd probably be really angry.

***

"You said the exhibit would run through Sunday! I even picked out a date look to match my cute peach and Seo Chaeyoon's weapon concept!"

"I was holding back my excitement, planning to go on Sunday, and then you cancel it! I was planning to film a vlog with my beloved baby baguette, looking at Seo Chaeyoon's weapon!"

"This is the price for trusting the words of the head of Seokyoung? I heard Koreans value promises, so how could someone leading the world break their word? I'm very disappointed in Koreans."

On Monday, when Yoon Seo entered the conference room for the briefing on the S-rank Yellow Dungeon entry, he was greeted by foreign hunters shaking and pressuring the Seokyoung guild master. These passionate fans of Seo Chaeyoon were furious about the exhibit's sudden cancellation, after eagerly waiting for Sunday.

Surrounded by S-rank hunters with glaring eyes, Yoo Juncheol raised his hands and spoke.

"Well, I mean, as you might have read in the article, it was due to unavoidable circumstances because of a terror attack…."

"Hunter Seo Chaeyoon stopped the terror attack!"

"There's no guarantee that the shield used was definitely Hunter Seo Chaeyoon's…."

"He saved many people from the attack, but didn't bring his dagger with him. This means he approved the exhibit!"

"No one can say for sure that it was indeed Hunter Seo Chaeyoon…."

"Guild master of Seokyoung, if you're going to toy with people over Seo Chaeyoon's items, Seo Chaeyoon fans worldwide won't stay silent. Right now, my U-Pad is overflowing with messages from leaders of Seo Chaeyoon fan clubs. If I let these equally outraged fans know that the true holder of Seo Chaeyoon's items is actually the guild master of Seokyoung, what do you think will happen?"

"Hunter Alec, please calm down…. Technically, the holder of Seo Chaeyoon's items is not me personally, but the Seokyoung guild as a whole."

"Do you think we can't take on the Seokyoung Guild? You underestimate the power of religion."

"Religion? What? Religion?"

Yoo Juncheol, who acted domineering in front of the temporary team, was struggling in front of the S-ranks, knowing that they were huge fans of Seo Chaeyoon.

'It seems they deliberately set bait to lure Seo Chaeyoon. But they underestimated him.'

They must have noticed the item was missing. Kwon Jihan was likely watching with .

Imagine how awkward it must be to realize the item is gone yet be unable to mention it now.

Yoon Seo didn't feel particularly sorry. After observing for a moment, he went inside.

Even with five minutes left until the meeting, the seats were already full. The most prominent seat at the wide table was empty, and next to it, the Perfect team manager wore a serious expression, looking at a U-pad. The left row seemed to be reserved for the S-rank hunters, with several seats empty, except for Soo Jaehee, who was talking to Hong Euiyoon across from him. Beside Hong Euiyoon were the leaders of Team 2, and the members of Team 2 were seated behind them.

The briefing for the S-rank Yellow Dungeon, which had already seen numerous fatalities, was underway. While the S-ranks casually talked about Seo Chaeyoon, the A-rank Team 2 looked visibly tense.

At the front row of Team 2 was Park Soobin. Chatting with the person next to him, he noticed Yoon Seo and waved.

"Yoon Seo, you're here? Sit here."

Park Soobin pointed to the seat in front of him. As Yoon Seo walked over, everyone except the Seo Chaeyoon fanatics berating Yoo Juncheol turned to look at him. Even Soo Jaehee and Hong Euiyoon, who were talking, were now watching him closely.

'What's with everyone? Is it because I arrived late?'

Yoon Seo glanced at the clock on the meeting room wall. He wasn't late at all, there were still five minutes left. Yoon Seo was never late, but he wasn't known for arriving early either. He had even once arrived five minutes before a planned attack on the Great Dungeon. So today, he was actually early.

"Am I the last to arrive?"

"No, you're not, hyung. You're third-to-last."

The response came from Soo Jaehee. Unlike the other team members, he looked quite pleased after seeing Seo Chaeyoon's item. Not only did he get to see the weapon, but he might have been in the same room as Seo Chaeyoon. How happy he must have been, probably bragging about it, which led to Yoo Juncheol getting scolded even more.

"Jihan hyung and Hunter Hwashim aren't here yet."

"That guy's late every day." 

Hong Euiyoon grumbled, looking annoyed.

Soo Jaehee narrowed his eyes.

"Hyung, did you just call Jihan hyung 'that guy'?"

"I was talking about Hwashim. He always barely makes it in time for every gathering."

"At least he's close. Jihan hyung's practically always late. Let's see… there are five minutes left now… so he'll probably show up in about twenty."

"What a mess, those two."

"Hyung, if you say that in front of Jihan hyung, I'll officially recognize you as a hero."

"Hmph, I don't need your recognition. Who are you trying to get me into trouble with?"

It seemed Hong Euiyoon and Soo Jaehee had become quite friendly.

Right after the incident on Saturday, Soo Jaehee had approached Hong Euiyoon, using his high social skills to break through his aloofness, and they had become close, referring to each other as brothers. Soo Jaehee seemed deeply impressed by the sense of justice Hong Euiyoon had shown back then.

Yoon Seo was quite pleased with their growing friendship. He was listening contently to their conversation when Park Soobin called him over to introduce someone who had been glancing at Yoon Seo repeatedly.

"Yoon Seo, this is Team 2's leader, Team Leader Lee Inseon. She's an A-rank support hunter, and like you, her main skills are protection-based. Team Leader, this is Yoon Seo. You know of him, right?"

"Of course. Nice to meet you, Hunter Yoon Seo."

"Hello, Team Leader."

Since the team leader extended his hand first, Yoon Seo shook it. Her hand was large and rough, like that of a close-range attack hunter. The team leader's eyes sparkled as she looked at Yoon Seo.

"I heard you possess an S-rank shield skill, Hunter Yoon Seo. I'm looking forward to seeing it since I haven't seen an S-rank shield up close before."