Episode 73.
Jung Si-woo had to admit that he was angry.
“This is delicious…”
“Why do you look so angry, though?”
Even if he spoke so bluntly, Soo Ah-rin couldn’t help but smile. Of course, she completely ignored Yong Se-ha, who was gobbling down the food next to Jung Si-woo.
“I gained some experience from living alone, and I cooked quite a bit since then!”
“I can’t believe that you can cook monster meat so well.”
“I felt that the meat texture was different from eel, carp, pork, or beef. Its texture was in between eel and pork.”
So she cooked it with a soy sauce base and put it on top of rice. It was a perfect misjudgment that Soo Ah-rin could only flap her wings when she revealed that she had such an unexpected talent.
“I have healing powers, too! You would’ve been in a lot of danger without me!”
“Oh, yeah, yeah. Healing power.”
“Uhhh…”
In addition to the rice topping, she grilled at least two servings of meat, but Jung Si-woo and Yong Se-ha emptied their bowls already. They were determined to eat everything they hadn’t been able to while they were in the dungeon. Soo Ah-rin was also proud to see their reaction because it made everything worthwhile.
“There’s a lot left, so eat more. More specifically, three thousand pounds.”
“We’ll be eating that for a few years…”
They decided to store only as much as they could in the refrigerator and throw the rest away. There was a refrigerator in a resting place so that the seasoned meat could be kept for a while.
“So, how was the bike?”
“…”
“…”
When Soo Ah-rin asked while taking her share of rice, Jung Si-woo and Yong Se-ha, who had been gobbling down the electric eel meat, shut their mouths as if they had promised each other. Soo Ah-rin’s eyes narrowed.
“We had some accident.”
“Not really an accident. It’s just a little…”
“A little?”
Yong Se-ha smiled softly.
“Maybe the competition for technology development in each country will become more competitive now. Let’s say that we’ve created that opportunity…”
“Did you get caught? I didn’t really think that you would get caught!”
That was all because the transparency wore off too quickly. Fortunately, they didn’t see their faces, but…Jung Si-woo pledged to use a helmet from now on when riding the bike in the outside world. While he was pledging, everyone was shocked when Soo Ah-rin began to search on her phone and found clear pictures of Jung Si-woo and Yong Se-ha. Luckily, their faces looked blurry. You could only see the huge flying bike with two men riding it.
“You were riding it in your human size!?”
“I just wanted to feel a little more comfortable… I’m sorry.”
“Ahhhh, there’s already a lot of speculative articles…”
And, of course, a lot of the articles speculated that he was the man who organized the commotion in Sanha-dong, the famed Chinese restaurant rider. He was similar in size, and the shape of the bike was very similar. Actually, it would’ve been more surprising if someone disagreed. There was a lot of speculation about the bike, including that it was an artifact from the beginning, that it was reborn as an artifact with special technology, and so on, and there were many questions about his companion.
Moreover, the governments of other countries seemed to be already asking the Korean government about the information on the Chinese restaurant rider and how to produce artifacts with modern technology. Just as the broadcast went out looking for him when the Mt. Seolark incident occurred in the past, messages were still circulating everywhere looking for information on Jung Si-woo’s whereabouts.
“Ahh, this must be very difficult for the government. Hahaha.”
“How can you smile so refreshingly without one drop of shame?”
Of course, whether the government was in trouble or not, the grilled eel was the most important thing for Jung Si-woo right now. He couldn’t imagine how many balls would roll because of this, yet he naturally continued his meal. Indeed, there wasn’t a day when she could feel at ease; Soo Ah-rin sighed and turned to him.
“Oppa, you know that you’re washing the dishes, right?”
“I’ll do it.”
Yong Se-ha stepped in, but Soo Ah-rin ignored him and emphasized again with a strange voice toward Jung Si-woo.
“Si-woo Oppa, you know that you’re washing them, right?”
“Uhh, yeah.”
Jung Si-woo had no choice but to get up from his seat with a gentle nod. Soo Ah-rin watched with a pleased smile as he put rubber gloves on to wash the dishes. She knew how he felt, but he didn’t say anything because he would’ve gotten punched if he said it out loud.
“Whoa, I’m done.”
“Take a rest now. Would you like me to cut you some fruit?
“Thank you.”
He didn’t know that Soo Ah-rin could cut an apple so well. If she was that pretty, she must have a flaw or weakness, but he guessed this was why she was a perfect superhuman. Jung Si-woo bit the apple and fell into a strange mood.
“It’s awkward that I’m doing nothing like this after playing in the dungeon.”
“But I’m less nervous than when I used to clear the dungeon myself. We’re not in a position to actively engage inside the dungeons, but when you clear dungeons or face monsters… it’s hard to imagine a critical situation or defeat.”
At Yong Se-ha’s words, Soo Ah-rin also nodded with a bitter smile. At the last minute, his heart trembled when he faced the thunder god’s descendant, but in the end, it fought on an equal footing with Jung Si-woo. No matter how weak it was, it was the descendant of god! Soo Ah-rin bit into the apple while thinking of Jung Si-woo, who used his super-strength skill to fight the thunder serpent head-on.
“Maybe if you were a player earlier, the history of the Earth would have changed.”
“It’s the same now.”
“…Saying such words without hesitation.”
So cool. Soo Ah-rin chewed a piece of apple while Yong Se-ha, who watched the scene, was seen grinning. He was promptly hit on the head by an apple stem.
“Hoo, I feel so comfortable…”
Now the resting place was really like their home. Jung Si-woo was lying on the bed, rolling around and enjoying his temporary freedom. He realized that the bed had become wider. He used to be able to reach the other end in 0.3 seconds, but now he had to spend as much as two seconds! One, two, three…
“Okay, let’s go to the dungeon.”
“This the end of your break?”
Jung Si-woo jumped up from the bed with a face full of lingering feelings. Soo Ah-rin, who couldn’t bear to face him with his shirt off, shouted, turning her head to the other side.
“It’s only been a day!”
“That’s about right. The tension has been moderately relieved. If we take longer than this, we might make a mistake because we’re too loose.”
“That’s the opposite of what players normally think…”
Players took long breaks to recharge themselves as they accumulated a lot of fatigue in a single dungeon. Entering the dungeon once every month or two was their average. In Korea, the Soaring Tempest Guild was said to be pushing guild members hard to foster them as an elite, but they were also restricting the entrance to the dungeon to once every 15 days.
“That’s why they make so many mistakes when they get back to the dungeon.”
“That’s strange. The Soaring Tempest Guild gave players a break based on very reasonable calculations, but after listening to Oppa, I feel like we were doing something really wrong…”
Jung Si-woo’s logic was nothing but a theory, but when they saw him moving so lively, they naturally understood what he meant.
“After one level up, the body is back in perfect condition, so fatigue is no issue. They don’t know that because they didn’t get beaten until they were tired.”
“Ironman…”
Even Jung Si-woo, who must’ve faced more difficulty than anyone else, was saying he was fine, so there was no reason for Soo Ah-rin or Yong Se-ha not to follow him. They walked through the rest area with disappointment plain on their faces and soon returned to their mini size. They felt more familiar with this situation now.
“I think you guys can keep your human size even when you’re outside by the time we reach level 200.”
“Okay, so let’s just keep running until we reach level 200 for you guys.”
“Take it easy, Oppa. I’m sorry.”
“Hyeong-nim, what should I do? Would you like to go outside first?”
“No, we don’t have to bother going outside…and I actually don’t want to go out now.”
Even if nobody saw his face, everyone would be 100% looking for him if he were riding that bike! Of course, Jung Si-woo was going to use the door of the resting place to visit the dungeon. It was also a reason why it was bothersome to walk around with each explorer, but now that he had grown to level 97 after his transfer, he was confident that he wouldn’t feel inferior to any other player.
“Well, it’s a ridiculous leap even if I think about it again. That is what’s exciting about it.”
“Okay, let’s go while you’re still excited.”
Now, the beads stored in the resting place were getting low. Since he had enough weapons, he decided to save all the beads he acquired for the time being.
“We don’t need to save! We need armor. Oppa. Your level rises rapidly, but your armor is a mess. You’re lucky when it comes to weapons, so you won’t have to touch that for a while…”
“Weapons, armor…oops.”
A thought passed through his mind. When Jung Si-woo tilted his head, Soo Ah-rin mimicked the movement. It was very cute, but it didn’t help bring back any memories.
“Hyeong-nim, is it because of the damage to your armor? It’s like a rag now.”
Yong Se-ha chimed in with an awkward voice while looking at the leather jacket, which was half torn. Lightning suddenly struck Jung Si-woo, who was thinking about insisting that it was vintage fashion.
“That’s right, Caina!”
“A more familiar name than mine…”
Jung Si-woo opened his inventory and pulled out the Dullahan’s head. As soon as he came back to the resting place, he was thinking of putting it in the drawer, but he completely forgot about it because of the eel with rice.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three were quiet side by side, and the Dullahan’s head was originally unable to speak. Its appearance made the party dumbfounded.
“No…”
“I didn’t expect it to be a woman.”
“Actually, I had a rough idea because of the name Caina.”
Yes, Dullahan was actually a woman when the helmet was broken, and her life was revealed. A beautiful woman with long silver hair, dark purple eyes, and pale skin! It may be natural that the skin was pale, but it was inevitable that the party was struck silent by her appearance that was different from their imagination.
“Okay, let’s revive the helmet.”
After silence, Soo Ah-rin squinted at the words spoken by Jung Si-woo.
“Oppa, you just felt guilty, didn’t you? You can’t do that. You shouldn’t judge based on appearance or gender. Regardless of appearance or gender, it suits you more when you’re throwing it recklessly.”
“I don’t care, but I’m afraid if I get caught throwing a beautiful woman’s head around, I’ll be treated like a monster. It’s better to have the helmet on.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Soo Ah-rin agreed with him. But before putting the beautiful woman’s head in the drawer, Jung Si-woo suddenly screamed after checking the information.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“What, what, what is it?”
“What if the undead suddenly revived when the helmet was destroyed!”
Jung Si-woo held it out without saying a word. Soo Ah-rin thought it was a little creepy but held onto the hair slightly. In front of her, she saw the same message that popped up in Jung Si-woo’s retina.
[The Essence of Dullahan Caina]
[Rank – B+++]
[Caina’s original soul and mana were concentrated and became Dullahan. The head that remains after the destruction is an undead. The helmet that bound her to armor was exposed intensively to god’s power and disappeared, succeeding in regaining her life records and pure mana. If there is a greater power of a god, a new body, and a soul to settle in it… Special Processing Materials.]
“…”
Was it a coincidence? The stigma of the soul collection engraved on the back of Jung Si-woo’s left hand was shining as if he finally realized how to use his power. But that wasn’t the reason why Jung Si-woo was sad. Soo Ah-rin let out a deep sigh.
“You can’t throw this anymore!”
“I knew this would happen.”
It was the moment when the fraudulent weapon that helped Jung Si-woo easily sweep away the mythological temple turned into a central ingredient of something unknown.
