Episode 88.
Dinner with Marina was very pleasant. Of course, Soo Ah-rin could forget and enjoy everything because the steak was great, even though Marina and Soo Ah-rin made the serving staff a little nervous. Jung Si-woo, who didn’t care much about the quality of the meat, also thought it was surprisingly delicious.
“Oh, I want soju.”
“I will despise you if you talk about that disinfectant alcohol.”
“I haven’t tasted soju yet. Next time…”
“Next? Next?”
Marina’s eyes glistened. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt very good. No, actually, he could roughly guess why.
“Okay, then I’ll let you fool me! I’m free for a while, so I’ll hang out with you!”
“Oh, yeah, it’s nice to be pure.”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”
“Ah-rin, why are you in Beast Mode?”
“You should groom her, Hyeong-nim.
She enjoyed a leisurely dinner with the insensitive Jung Si-woo, who turned a blind eye to reality. Marina’s purpose was Jung Si-woo, but the atmosphere was soft because she didn’t even try to push Soo Ah-rin and Yong Se-ha. Soo Ah-rin was the only one worried.
“You should go in and rest before it’s too late, Oppa. If you’re done eating, shall we get up?”
“No, you’re supposed to eat a lot at times like this. Let’s have three more bowls.”
“Some might think we’re at a meat buffet, not a restaurant!”
“Who cares, Ah-rin. It looks good because you eat well. My papa always tells me that I’m a man who eats well no matter what…oh, nothing.”
Jung Si-woo thought as he cut the steak big and stuck it in his mouth. Until now, he had thought Marina accepted him as a partner who fought together, but maybe not. Maybe Marina…
‘Well, that’s ridiculous.’
No matter how pretty Marina was, or if she had a good body, a good family, and even was a top player, Jung Si-woo was confident that he would never be inferior to her. Still, Marina wouldn’t be able to recognize all of it. So she wasn’t looking at Jung Si-woo as a romantic target. Maybe, but.
’…I’m sure you want to build a closer relationship with me and use that. Otherwise, you can’t be so friendly. Well, good. It’s a perfect arrangement.’
Marina and Ethan also analyzed him, but Jung Si-woo also judged them in his own way. As a result, he came to the conclusion that there would be nothing to lose by being close to each other. B&Y was at the cutting edge of magic engineering research and had great influence around the world. There was also Marina’s ability and the information she could get as a player. There was nothing bad about being close. This was for Jung Si-woo, who was confident in his personal strength but had nothing else yet.
“Si-woo?”
“It’s because it’s so delicious. Here’s another plate of meat!”
Around that time, Jung Si-woo pushed out his thoughts and lifted the plate. Marina smiled happily as she watched the waitress clear the dishes.
“Yes, eat a lot!”
“Some might think you cooked it yourself.”
Soo Ah-rin grumbled to the end, but she couldn’t scratch Marina’s smile. If Marina had known what Jung Si-woo was thinking at this point, she would’ve overturned the table and threw a straight punch to his cheek, but luckily for Jung Si-woo, she didn’t have the ability to read minds.
“Wine is delicious, isn’t it?”
“I personally prefer something sweeter, but this isn’t bad either.”
“Isn’t it?”
The first dinner of a man who rolled his head too much without a match and a woman who was too honest and pure ended so pleasantly and regretfully. Marina and Jung Si-woo finally exchanged numbers and promised to follow up, and Soo Ah-rin became tearful as she watched it.
Jung Si-woo, who returned to the resting place as unnoticed as possible after seeing Marina off, threw off all his clothes and took a shower. After washing away all the fatigue and laying roughly on the bed, there was no greater paradise. But Soo Ah-rin, who took a shower after him, squinted at him, drying her hair with a towel. Beyond her light pajamas, the white skin that peeked out was so dazzling that there was nowhere else to look.
“You’re going to sleep for another two hours, wake up, and go back to the dungeon, right?”
“No, we’ve gone up a lot, and we’ve gone up in the process of embracing the power of Setnak…I’m thinking of making some adjustments.”
It was good to hear. In fact, Soo Ah-rin also needed time to check herself because her strength increased as he grew. They had to practice to be proficient in handling skills that they couldn’t use in the past, and there was also the new skill acquired this time.
“Okay, then. The same goes for Yong Se-ha?”
“Yes, now that I can handle the Doom Knight’s Skeleton Lance, I’ll have to practice until I get used to it. No, since we’re talking about it, we should start now.”
“And then there was…I’m going to sleep, so you go to the training camp first.”
“Yes!”
C+++. It was a very good item when he got it, but now it was very soft. Jung Si-woo took out the skeleton lance and shook his hand to see Yong Se-ha off, who charged into the new training center inside the resting place. Then, Soo Ah-rin’s face was right in front of him.
“Huuiiik.”
“Oppa.”
Pure white skin with no blemishes, clear and big eyes were looking right at him. Jung Si-woo was speechless for a moment. Soo Ah-rin kept her eyes fixed on him. He wasn’t in the mood to tell her to stay away just because he wanted to sleep.
“…Isn’t it a little close?”
“Oppa, what do you think of Marina Bissett?”
She didn’t seem to intend to back off. Well, Jung Si-woo thought about it. He wasn’t alone; he had his two supporters and a community of destiny. Now that Marina had caught their identity, it wasn’t unreasonable to want to talk about it seriously. He was a little bit doubtful whether that required such a close distance, though.
“We can trust her right now. So maybe it’ll be okay.”
“What about Seria Wilson?”
“A woman with a good grasp of the subject. So she’ll probably be fine.”
“…”
Jung Si-woo’s harsh evaluation made Soo Ah-rin feel sorry for him! On this trip to the U.S. (All she saw in the U.S. was the B&Y headquarters building and the Grand Canyon, which collapsed in a mess.) was the moment when the factors that made her nervous were solved. But when she thought of Marina and Seria’s charming beauty, should she say that Jung Si-woo’s detached reaction was disturbing her, or even if he had a girlfriend before, she was seriously concerned about whether he liked women at this point…
“Then what about me?”
Full of anxiety and tension, Jung Si-woo blinked at Soo Ah-rin’s impulsive remark.
“You?”
“Me, me. I want to hear what you think of me.”
Soo Ah-rin didn’t stop even though the thought of committing this crime reddened her face. Wouldn’t it be even worse if they stepped back from here? If this happened, even if she was going to die, it was still a charge!
“Well.”
Jung Si-woo put his honest thoughts into his mouth as he watched Soo Ah-rin, who was restless.
“Don’t worry too much because you’re much prettier than them.”
“Sure.”
As soon as Soo Ah-rin heard it, she stiffened with a strange sound.
“…”
“What, didn’t you want me to say that?”
“Well, that’s…”
It was right. It was right, but…she didn’t think he’d really say what she wanted! She was able to say such bold things because she thought she would get a regrettable and annoying answer that suited Jung Si-woo’s personality!
“Well, Oppa. Uh, I mean…”
“Sigh.”
Soo Ah-rin’s eyes twirled around. However, Jung Si-woo put one hand on her head, sighing.
“Somehow, I thought I was too concerned about Marina. If you’re done talking, I’m going to sleep now. You take a rest, too.”
“Oh, no, wait a minute. You have to tell me what you meant to say so that I can see my future position and attitude…Oppa?”
“Snoreeeee.”
“This guy fell asleep!”
Jung Si Woo fell asleep in about three seconds! Soo Ah-rin, who was left alone, was going crazy and jumping around. How dare he say such a heart-pounding thing and fall asleep alone!
“Hmph, stay calm, Soo Ah-rin. This is a trap! I’m sure you said it without much thought. Otherwise, there’s no way I can fall asleep so carelessly.’
After she thought of such an idea, she felt a little empty, and at the same time, peace. Anyway, wasn’t it true that Jung Si-woo thought she was prettier than Marina or Seria? Then that’s it for now. She could be satisfied.
“…Let’s sleep.”
She was more tired because she used up her energy. She let out a big sigh and headed to her bed. She didn’t know yet that she was as sorry as Jung Si-woo was to her.
Once more, Jung Si-woo became a dragon in his dream.
‘Again.’
He didn’t even have a bell this time, but why? Did that mean the bell was attached with after-sales service? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out the cause. But the important thing was that now he was indeed a huge dragon, flying freely in the sky. Feeling the air too real, Jung Si-woo decided to enjoy the infinite sense of freedom.
‘It’s not like before. Just a little bit, but is it because my sense of mana has expanded? I can feel a lot more things.’
The dragon’s body was truly magnificent. The amount of mana that he harbored also felt true, but the body’s composition was fundamentally different from that of humans—bones and muscles with an overwhelming density that couldn’t be seen even by Jung Si-woo’s senses. Blood was pumped from the heart and traveled around the entire body. Mana, which was neither qualitatively nor quantitatively comparable to that of Jung Si-woo, was absorbed into the flesh and came out.
The mana and his body were different and yet the same. Dragons could have pure mana or pure substance.
[Whoo…]
With the body in front of him, the excuse of “different species” didn’t work. The body, which reached the extreme of living things, was itself the ultimate “skill” created by attracting countless years, the level of eternity, and the records of all other living things.
‘Is that so?’
At that point, Jung Si-woo managed to learn one thing that he had never realized before.
‘Everything that makes this dragon is a skill. Maybe, when I reach the end of my skill, I’ll be united with my body. The skill may be acquired in the process of completing the body!’
It added what it took, subtracted what was unnecessary, and thus created a perfect body that fit its direction. The creation was made by god, but the completion of the body was up to itself. Once it was done, there was no longer even a need to distinguish species.
“But a man who gave up on his own and accepted the power of a god. Mana changed his body. They also collapsed themselves. Of course, he is. The body, the soul, and the mana are the same.’
Jung Si-woo’s accent grew faster and faster. Flying in the sky in the body of a dragon, just by that, Jung Si-woo was inspired countless times and awakened new senses. That was to prove Jung Si-woo’s specialty. If it had been someone else, they would’ve fainted or suffered from the unfamiliar sensations.
‘My policy of making skills wasn’t wrong. But it’s also true that you have to balance Mana. If the body is hardware, it’s software. If either of them wins, they’ll end up killing themselves.’
Suddenly, when Jung Si-woo reached a simple conclusion, he stopped. The dragon’s eyes were stuck on a cow strutting on the ground in ruins.
[Is it the last luxury?]
The dragon smiled bitterly and spread its wings wide. He went down and at once bit off the neck of the cow. The flesh, blood, muscles, and bones of the soft cow spread into its huge mouth. The dragon chewed them all up easily.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Jung Si-woo realize why he had this dream.
“The steak was so delicious that I dreamt of it?’
When Jung Si-woo woke up from his dream, he acquired a new sense of taste. He couldn’t understand it at all.
