Episode 87.
It would have been great if the spirits had all the power they had when they were still alive, but that would be ridiculous. The spirits lacked physical strength, and the summoning canceled for more than half of them when they collided with the group of undead. However, the rest of the class showed quite a struggle. Furthermore, when the enemy was successfully defeated, they absorbed a very weak amount of Mana from them, recovering from their injuries and even becoming stronger.
“It’s a legion that can be nurtured.”
“It’s scarier than any other power you have; it’s…”
The scariest thing was that no mana was needed to control them. Jung Si-woo was very satisfied with the brilliant transformation of the skill, which was hard to understand, and felt uncomfortable. At the same time, he felt the importance of exploring the Ant Cave dungeons more often.
“Well, I’ll think about it later.”
“That’s the last one, Hyeong-nim!”
After about five hours of nonstop fighting along with the ghosts, they saw the end of the undead. The skeletons kept coming out like cockroaches, but now they were wavering!
“Wow, it’s over! I’ve done it!”
“Whoa…”
When the monster’s mana vanished, Marina raised her arms high and shouted hurrah. On the other hand, Seria Wilson let out a sigh as if she had put down a heavy weight.
“Si-woo, good job!”
“You, too.”
Realizing that he was looking at them, Marina flapped her wings and flew softly to him. Jung Si-woo looked at her palm held up wide open and gave a high five. A smile bloomed on her face.
“Perfect chemistry!”
“What a high five.”
Soo Ah-rin grumbled. Marina, who embraced Jung Si-woo, stopped in front of him and hugged Soo Ah-rin instead.
“Euukkk.”
“Good job, Ah-rin!”
“And it was all because of you, Marina, that we went through all this trouble. I’m going to make sure that you pay the price.”
“Why do you say such things now?”
“I want to cut my ties with you right now.”
Marina seemed to have been close to Soo Ah-rin before she retired. At least he thought so. Jung Si-woo happily watched Marina cling to Soo Ah-rin instead of bothering him so that he could retrieve the souls. They were spreading their wings and wandering around the battlefield to collect loot that they hadn’t the time for before.
“Oh, Uhm…”
“Hmm? Wilson?”
Meanwhile, when he turned his head to the voice calling for him, Seria Wilson was standing in front of him. She carefully asked as she looked at the shiny wings mixed with gold.
“I don’t know the principle, but…my guild members were among those souls, right?”
“I don’t know why, either, but that’s right.”
It didn’t matter if he killed the players himself or not. At the moment of the player’s death, or immediately after Jung Si-woo moved physically close to them, their souls were absorbed by his tattoo. Even until now, when his skills evolved, the principle was still unknown.
“Can I speak to my…guild members?”
“It won’t reach them.”
“Khuhu…”
In response to his indifferent reply, Seria Wilson bit her lip gently. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to speak as she faced the ghosts of the Emperor guild members approaching her.
“…”
Jung Si-woo didn’t bother to listen to how many words she uttered. After confirming that she was done, he absorbed all the ghosts into the tattoo.
“…Whoa.”
Seria Wilson let out a big sigh for the last time and looked up at Jung Si-woo. Jung Si-woo was a little shaken by her eyes that looked like Lee Seo-hee.
“Thank you. In many ways, for all of them.”
“All you have to do is remember what I said earlier.”
“Yes…I’ll take responsibility.”
After finishing the words, she continued to hesitate for a while.
“I’ll keep what I saw today in my heart. You’re not an ordinary player, but I was saved because of you.”
“I don’t care what you say. If anyone wants to find fault with Si-woo, he’ll have to break me and B&Y before that.”
“Since when have we become destined to be together?”
Jung Si-woo sensed the strange atmosphere and quickly refuted Marina. It was a very grateful thing to him, but when he thought about Ethan Bissett’s words and his eyes full of goodwill, he can’t help but feel bad.
“Today…I want to take a break, so I’m thinking of stepping down. Can I see your face before that?”
“Oh, you’re still trying.”
He wouldn’t talk too much about it when he first met her just a few hours ago, but he wouldn’t mind if it were about the tectonic shift. Moreover, he already showed so many other things off earlier, so revealing his true self wasn’t a big deal.
“Ah.”
He took off his helmet, and she looked very slightly surprised at Jung Si-woo’s bare face.
“Asian…considering the recent track record of Marina Bissett, you must be Korean?”
“Yes, my name is Jung Si-woo.”
“Oh, I see…I’ll tell you again when I see you. Si-woo, thank you so much.”
“Yes, yes, Miss Wilson.”
Jung Si-woo thought it wasn’t something worth hearing. He just didn’t want to feel bad, so he saved her, and if she had become a monster a little later, he would’ve crushed her to death with a hammer. So she should’ve been thankful to Marina rather than Jung Si-woo. Marina was the one who tried to keep her human.
“Hoo.”
Of course, he wasn’t tactful enough to say such a thing. However, to what extent his expression alone might have been able to reveal his inner thoughts, Seria Wilson soon withdrew with a bitter smile. The wings that remained with Louisos’s traces spread wide.
“Today…I’m so sorry. I’ll go back first…Marina Bissett, I want to let many people know how dangerous ‘god’s power’ is. I hope we can talk about it together soon.”
“As much as you want. You’re welcome to contact me about that.”
Seria Wilson finally gave Jung Si-woo another look-over.
“I’ll see you again soon, Si-woo.”
When Jung Si-woo tried to say that he didn’t have to see her again, Seria Wilson flapped her wings and left the scene. Marina’s not-so-trivial gaze followed sharply.
“She’s not gonna…”
“Isn’t it so easy to fall in love with someone who saved your life once? This is a certain era. Don’t you think so too?”
Jung Si-woo was just shrugging when asked by Soo Ah-rin, who was running in a straight line. Honestly, it didn’t matter, and he just wanted to go home and sleep now. Unfortunately, however, his wish didn’t come true. Due to a lack of inventory, loot that wasn’t collected had to be carried to the B&Y headquarters building with Marina in a huge bag.
“Marie, Mr. Jung! I’m glad you’re both safe!”
As a result, he met Ethan Bissett again, who had a face full of gratitude and emotion. Jung Si-woo, who had some idea that this would happen to him, sighed loudly.
“I’ve been briefed on the story. I didn’t know you’d solve it this perfectly…”
“Oh, um, Mr. Bissett?”
“Call me Ethan. Oh, can I call you by your name? We might have the same last name soon. Hahaha.”
The head of the Bisset family wanted to greet Jung Si-woo as his son-in-law. Soo Ah-rin was angry, but she didn’t show up outside and endured it somehow. She must have succeeded in holding it in, yet the next minute Ethan said:
“There’s actually something I have to apologize for. In this case, my minions were monitoring in the area…Si-woo, I was able to see the people who were with you.”
“Gasp.”
It was Yong Se-ha’s voice. However, Jung Si-woo thought this would happen. The area was dangerous, and it was so wide of a canyon. It was better than he had caught him. Eventually, he called Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha to face Ethan.
“It’s Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know Yong Se-ha, but I know about Soo Ah-rin. You can’t forget a healer that nobody can beat. Most of all…”
A healer who was killed during the world’s first 32-stage dungeon clear under the leadership of the Soaring Tempest guild. The news of her death was reported not only in Korea but around the world. He couldn’t have been unaware of it.
“I won’t ask you in detail. I’ll hide it as much as I can if you want.”
“Just for now. I don’t want to hide it forever.”
Jung Si-woo had the ability, and he didn’t mean to let Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha stay hidden forever. Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha looked a little embarrassed at his words, and Ethan nodded with satisfaction.
“Si-woo, you don’t have to worry about anything. We’re already on your side. Don’t forget that.”
“I already said that, Ethan! Don’t score for me!”
“Hahaha.”
To be honest, he seemed reliable. He would’ve gotten along better if there wasn’t a conspiracy to give him the same last name as them…Jung Si-woo felt really sorry. Since then, Jung Si-woo managed to climb the gate to Seoul only after he was able to ditch Ethan, but Marina naturally stood next to him.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’ve got nothing to do because I’ve solved the Grand Canyon with you in a day. It’s all because we’re so good.”
“Let’s go to the dungeon.”
“You know, the 33rd stage dungeon attack team is still a long way off.”
“Then take a good rest at your house.”
“But I want to see Si-woo’s house!”
Marina was trying to keep up with him somehow. Jung Si-woo wasn’t the owner of the gate, so he couldn’t stop her, and eventually, she crossed the gate with him and arrived at the B&Y branch building in Seoul.
“Would you like to have dinner, Si-woo? You’ve been running so sweaty, so you need to get your energy back with steak! There’s wine, too! Yay!”
Marina approached him as soon as they arrived in Seoul. However, the recommendation was no different from the man who asked him to go eat pork belly and soju after the reserve forces training. Of course, there was an overwhelming difference in that he was an old man and Marina was a beautiful blonde who made him feel better just by looking at her…Jung Si-woo shook his head firmly, recalling Ethan Bissett’s happy smile in his head.
“I’ll pass. I’m going home to eat. I have to eat with these guys.”
“Huh?”
“Did you hear that, Marina? If you want to drink wine like that, go to a fancy restaurant and drink a bottle of wine alone. We’re going to sit together and have a home meal.”
Maybe it was just his feeling, but Soo Ah-rin was very flattered. But Marina tilted her head.
“So it’s okay, as long as we can all eat together, right?”
“I can’t take them around in the open yet.”
“That’s all right. There’s a restaurant my brother owns.”
“What…?
“Hello. Yeah. I’m Marie. Remember?”
Was it a problem that could be solved just because of her status? It was Jung Si-woo who thought so at the moment, but Marina quickly opened her phone and got to business. It took less than a minute.
“Okay, it’s break time. We decided not to open for dinner so that we can go now. All the people who work there are his people. Ah-rin and Mr. Yong can show up without any worries.”
“Restaurant…the whole restaurant?”
“Why are you surprised?”
Come to think of it; it was something that could be done with money!
“This ignorant woman…”
“Come on, let’s go!”
Marina crossed one arm with Jung Si-woo and dragged him along. He eventually smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Hooray!”
“Oh, no. My Oppa…he’s being targeted…”
“Seonbae, did you learn about dating by playing games…?”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
It was the moment when Jung Si-woo’s first overseas business trip successfully ended.
